The Liturgical Destruction in the 1960s

Following up on our episode of the 1979 Prayer Book revision and its apocalyptic consequences, we have a talk about the liturgical climate in the 1960s, especially as seen through the eyes of W. H. Auden. An Anglican, and one of the most famous poets of the 20th century, Auden has left us eyewitness commentary on the liturgical revolution underway during the 1950s and the 1960s, that would lead after his death to the catastrophe of the 1979 revision. We bring on Auden fan, Brian Miller, to talk about the poet, his life, and opinions of the liturgical upheavals taking place in his lifetime. We look at Auden's view of the proper nature and purpose of a Liturgy, the role of elevated and hieratic language, continuity with the Anglican tradition, and the prevalence of deep philosophical errors like Egalitarianism which swept away the old Episcopal Church, and left wreckage in its place; to be learned from, for the survivors of the shipwreck who live in the present.