ABSTRACT
Although the Anglican Communion finds its origins in England in the reign of Henry VIII in the first half of the sixteenth century and its Primate holds his see in Canterbury, it is a mistake to imagine that the Anglican Communion and the Church of England are one and the same thing. Nor is the service provided for visitation of the sick simply intended for use with the dying. However, it does offer a commendatory prayer for a sick person at the point of departure. The burial service of BCP1662 reveals a much simpler provision than the earliest rites of the Church of England. The liturgical change reflects the theological shift fostered in the ferment of Cromwell's Commonwealth. The brevity and simplicity of the single service found in BCP1622 are replaced by a series of the services with many options.
