Fr Arthur Gabriel Hebert SSM is perhaps best known for his role in the Parish Communion Movement (PCM), a predominantly Church of England based offshoot of the wider liturgical reform movement of the early and mid-twentieth century. The PCM made the case for Holy Communion to be the main act of Sunday morning worship, rather than the then more widely used Matins service.

Today Hebert's name is most often associated with liturgical reform, and the systematic theology which underpinned his work has fallen largely into obscurity. This paper explores the theology that informed Hebert's liturgical arguments, drawing out his understanding of a faith that transcends denominational and stylistic differences, and makes the case that Hebert's theology has much to contribute to present-day ecumenical and missional dialogue.

This essay examines the Anglican claim for the early church as the normative standard for liturgy, as reiterated throughout our history from the time of Thomas Cranmer through the liturgical revisions of the late twentieth century. A secondary claim of general uniformity through similarity in texts of common prayer is then discussed as a point of historic resonance for Anglican identity. Some very general examples of early church evidence follow, as a means of debunking the notion of a unified and simple structure for primitive liturgy. I will then discuss the notion of ‘early church’, and what we mean by terms like it, and follow this with a consideration of liturgical diversity. The gospel call to privilege Christian unity, I will assert, remains the primary stumbling block to the full embracing of the God-given diversity of the one holy, catholic and apostolic church.