Commontide

For Sleep

Father, in your mercy dispel the darkness of this night, and let your servant sleep in peace, that at the dawn of a new day I may wake with joy in your Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Touch screen to pause

Skip to main content
Commontide
HomeCalendar

Wednesday after the 3rd Sunday of Easter

Liturgical Color: Red

Weekly Collect

The 3rd Sunday of Easter

Almighty God, you gave your only Son to be for us both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living: Give us grace thankfully to receive his inestimable benefits, and daily to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Proper Preface

Easter

But chiefly are we bound to praise you for the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; for he is the true Paschal Lamb, who was offered for us, and has taken away the sin of the world; who by his death has destroyed death, and by his rising to life again has won for us everlasting life.

Commontide

Most liturgical texts are from the Book of Common Prayer (2019) of the Anglican Church in North America.

The New Coverdale Psalter, © 2019 by the Anglican Church in North America. Used by permission.

Licensing·Gratitude·Privacy Policy·Terms·Feedback

The Hours

Morning Prayer

30 Day Psalter

Psalms 44, 45, 46

60 Day Psalter

Psalms 92, 93

Lessons

  • Leviticus 19
  • Mark 6:30–6:56
  • Short Form
  • Readings
Midday Prayer

Benedictine Weekly

Short Form

Psalm 119:73-104

Readings
Evening Prayer

30 Day Psalter

Psalms 47, 48, 49

60 Day Psalter

Psalms 94

Lessons

  • Job 7
  • 2 Timothy 3
  • Short Form
  • Readings
Compline

Psalter

Short Form

Psalms 4, 31, 91, 134

Readings

Last Sunday

The 3rd of Easter

  • Acts 4:5–14 or Micah 4:1–5
  • Psalm 98 or Psalm 98:1–5
  • 1 John 1:1–2:2
  • Luke 24:36–49

Upcoming Sunday

The 4th of Easter (Good Shepherd)

  • Acts 4:(23–31)32–37 or Ezekiel 34:1–10
  • Psalm 23
  • 1 John 3:1–10
  • John 10:11–16

Thomas Cranmer

Archbishop of Canterbury and Martyr

Anglican Commemoration

First Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury and principal architect of the Book of Common Prayer, the foundational liturgical text of Anglicanism. His complex journey through multiple recantations to a dramatic final retraction at the stake makes him a figure of profound human complexity. His liturgical prose remains the defining expression of Anglican worship.

Read more

Thomas Cranmer studied at Cambridge and was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533. He oversaw the English Reformation's liturgical dimension, commissioning English-language Scripture and composing the Book of Common Prayer (1549, revised 1552), which replaced the Latin Mass with vernacular worship. The BCP's prose — the Collect for Purity, the General Confession, the marriage vows — remains among the finest in the English language.

Under Edward VI, Cranmer produced the Forty-Two Articles (1553) and advanced Reformed theology. He wrote the Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament (1550), articulating a Reformed eucharistic theology. His Homilies provided authorized doctrinal teaching for parish clergy.

When Mary I restored Catholicism, Cranmer was tried for heresy. Under enormous psychological pressure, he signed multiple recantations — genuine submissions reflecting real terror and theological uncertainty. But at his execution on March 21, 1556, he publicly retracted all his recantations, declaring his true Reformed faith. Eyewitnesses reported by Foxe record that he thrust his right hand — which had signed the recantations — into the flames first, crying 'This hand hath offended.' His final words were reportedly 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'

Traditions & stories

Cranmer's legacy has been interpreted differently across traditions. Protestant tradition emphasizes his final retraction and martyrdom; Catholic accounts stressed his recantations as evidence of uncertain faith. Modern scholarship sees genuine human complexity — real fear, real faith, and a final act of moral courage.

Collect
Almighty God, you gave your servant Thomas Cranmer boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.