Having discussed the two discontinuities that a present Episcopal worshipper would experience encountering the 1789 Communion Office, it’s time to point out the continuity–and it’s a pretty obvious one. As a commenter here noted when I posted the texts, it’s amazing how close the common content is between these two prayer books separated by almost 200 years.
The text of Rite I is substantially the same as the contents of the 1789 rite. Yes, there are some minor differences in phrasing or wording, but for the most part I could rely on my memory of Rite I to supply the texts I needed to say.
There’s not a whole lot left to say on this point.
Except, maybe, that an investigation like this reveals how different the Rite II material is from Rite I and the prayers we had been using for some 500 years. I’m all in favor of liturgical scholarship and liturgical advance, but I do feel like we lost something of our Anglican heritage in relegating our primary means of continuity to Rite I and not having even one prayer in Rite II partaking of a modernized and updated form of the classical Anglican rite.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—if we want a focus on baptismal ecclesiology you can’t get more of it than the language of us abiding in Christ and him in us which has been stripped from our current rites along with the notion of self-oblation.
Now we’ll turn to the past for a bit and look at the sources of the 1789 Communion Office. The title of the presentation these posts are based on was “The 1789 Communion Office: A Surprising Liturgy Now and Then.” We’ve covered the “Now” part; now we’ll turn to why an early American congregation would have found this so surprising.
The second discontinuity experienced in the 1789 Communion Office for a worshipper familiar with the current prayer book is twofold; first, there a quite a number of elements placed in a different order from the present, and second, there are a few insertions we don’t have within our current rites. It’s easiest to present these changes in a chart:
By orienting the main liturgical elements by means of some common standard pieces, you can see where the dislocations occur. As you can see, both the 1928 and the 1979 American BCPs shift the service elements as both received input from successive waves of liturgical studies and theological shifts within the Anglican Communion and the Ecumenical Movement. I often remark that a lot of modern Episcopalians consider the 1928 BCP to be a very traditional book based on its use by traditionalists inside and outside of the Episcopal Church. However, it changed things in a number of ways and was fairly radical within the family of American BCPs. There is no doubt, however, that the 1979 BCP did bring some major changes driven by the Liturgical Renewal Movement and its ecumenical insistence on a return to 4th century ideals.
Here’s a version of the above chart that clearly marks the changes and when they appeared:
The first moving block shifts the Prayers of the People, the Exhortation, and the Confession & Absolution after the Offertory, functionally shifting it outside of the Communion Office proper. This movement elevates these prayers to be their own section, and, through juxtaposition, makes them a response to the readings and sermon within the Service of the Word
The second moving block–accomplished in the 1928 BCP–was the collecting of both the Lord’s Prayer and the Prayer of Humble Access after the Consecratory Canon and immediately before the Reception of the elements. This is an important theological change which I am going to put off describing because it will make much more sense when we get to our discussion of the sources of the 1789 BCP–so put a pin in that for the moment.
The third moving block is the yeeting of the Gloria in excelsis back to the beginning of the service. This current placement conforms to the classical place of the Gloria and, I suggest, undoes a key Calvinist theologically motivated structural move. Again, more on this in a later post.
There are a few new items that do not make this chart, focused as it is on the Communion Service Proper. The initial Lord’s Prayer will be a surprise to everyone, but the Ten Commandments will only surprise Rite II congregants as Rite I retains the option to use this in our present book. This is then followed by Christ’s Summary of the Law which is the Rite I either/or with the Decalogue. The concluding prayer to follow both the laws and commandments does not appear in our prayer book in either rite.
Within the Communion Office itself the main new item will be the Exhortation to Communion. There are three different Exhortations in the 1789 BCP: the first to be read the week before the Eucharist will be celebrated and warning the congregants who wish to receive to prepare themselves, the second to be used if the congregation is negligent in receiving the Eucharist, and the third–the one included in my post containing the text of the office–for use in the service where the Eucharist is being celebrated. For reference, large parishes would usually celebrate the Eucharist on the first Sunday of each Month and on Festivals (Christmas & Easter), smaller and country parishes would usually celebrate in quarterly, but there were regional variations that impacted this as well. Laity were expected to receive a minimum of 3 times a year. The 1928 BCP retained these three Exhortations, but moved them after the service as an optional item.
For most modern worshippers experiencing the 1789 service, the Exhortation will be a new experience. However it may not be or need not be… Our current book has an Exhortation on page 316-7 that can serve as a lead-in to Confession & Absolution with either the Penitential Office at the start of a service or in its traditional place between the Prayers of the People and the Confession & Absolution. (I will say, that I’ve never experienced it in all of my years of church-going though.)
So–that’s the second discontinuity between the 1789 Communion Office and the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, a reordering of elements and the inclusion of unfamiliar liturgical elements (even those that are retained though rarely used in the present book).
From the perspective of a present-day Episcopal worshipper, the experience of the 1789 Communion Office presents two discontinuities with modern practice, and one key continuity.
Today we’ll take a look at the first discontinuity: the Feel. I break this down into three main headings, the different visual setting, the different ceremonial action, and the different participants. Clearly, this is the discontinuity that it is hardest to express through the media of writing and reading. In the talk, we’d just experienced the liturgy together; reading this, you’ll have to try to imagine it… (We did try to record it, but apparently the recording stopped halfway through.)
All three of these headings (visual, ceremonial, and participants) need to be discussed together because they all relate to two particular points of rupture that we’re on the far side of now: The Cambridge/Camden Movement and Vatican II.
If you’re a church nerd, you probably know about the Oxford Movement which was a theological renewal movement in the Church of England that began in the mid 1800’s; only the nerdiest of the church nerds are familiar with the Cambridge/Camden movement which took and ran with the theological points of the Oxford Movement and turned them into sound, stone, and movement. If you think a church should look like a Gothic Revival building with stone and stained glass and all, these are the people who made the Gothic Revival happen!
The other thing they did was to look into the English Church’s past for the music and vestments and ritual that had been thrown out at the Reformation and also looked ecumenically towards what was going on in the Roman Catholic Church. What we see, hear, and expect in a modern Episcopal Church was largely shaped by these folks. A proper Hanoverian-period church looked a lot more like this:
This satirical print by William Hogarth entitled “The Sleeping Congregation” was originally published in 1736, but was enhanced and reprinted in 1762 with the helpful additions of a couple of warts to the preacher and more cracks in the walls. Hogarth communicates a number of things visually that connect to the Feel of the service I’m trying to get across.
First, notice what is and isn’t shown. The right half of the image is dominated by the giant double-decker pulpit. Where’s the altar? No idea–it’s not visible here. The sleeping congregation in the box pews fills the left; there’s no organ, no choir, no suggestion of music at all.
Second, the sleeping congregation and the two non-sleeping ministers says something else about the experience–there’s not a lot of congregational participation and a lot of talking by the ministers. One of the things I noticed when Fr. Eric and I did our first run-through and again at the liturgy itself is how little he sat; he was constantly standing or kneeling because he was the one doing the vast majority of the talking. Many of the items now said corporately were said by the priest alone like the initial Lord’s Prayer (which our congregation joined in on out of habit!) and even the Prayer of Humble Access which the priest prays aloud on behalf of all.
Then there’s the role of the clerk whose principle reason for being is to respond to the priest. In fact, that’s the reason why the clerk exists. The role of liturgical clerk came to prominence at the Reformation to overcome two major problems: lack of literacy and a dearth of prayer books. In 16th century England in a small country parish, it could not be taken for granted that the congregation who gathered had prayer books or could even read them if they had them. Thus, the clerk was the one layman who the clergy could be certain would be present, possessed a prayer book, and was literate. The clerk would read the congregational parts with the idea that the congregation would learn their lines through repetition and could eventually join in with what the clerk was saying.
The clerk was also responsible for leading the singing, knowing the tunes, and which tunes went with which metrical psalms and hymns as there was no printed music in the early hymnals. In fact, I suspect that this 1790 printing may have been used by the clerk at Trinity Church, New York, because the hymnal in the back is notated by meter and tunes; this page identifies the Psalm 51 paraphrase as being in Long Meter (LM) and customarily sung to Southwell (used in #641 of the ’82 Hymnal), the paraphrase of Psalm 52 is Common Meter (CM) and sung to St. David. And, yes, that’s why there’s an index of tune names on pages 949-53 in the back of the ’82 Hymnal even today. (Indeed, some hymnals even contain a metrical index that lists tune names by their meter so you can see which tunes match with which meter as did the green Lutheran Book of Worship with which I grew up.) Thus, the clerk can not only serve in the role of the congregation, but organ and choir as well!
You may have an experience of this if you have attended Choral Mattins or Choral Evensong. The choir takes the place of the clerk which is why all of the responses are sung by the choir, not the congregation. Indeed, a full Choral Evensong can be performed without a congregation present at all–and that’s not a bug, it’s a feature! This is why cathedrals and other large churches in England had paid choirs: so the full required round of Mattins and Evensong could take place regardless of whether a lay congregation was present or not. It’s a hold-over from the originally monastic concept that the community as a whole would provide for the proper worshipping of God to function even if the individual members of the congregation could not be physically present–a communal notion of community worship rather than an individualized one.
However–back to Hogarth and his print–it could also lead to what he pictures here… If you look carefully you can see that the priest’s prayer book is open to the (misquoted) Comfortable Words: “Come unto me, all ye that Labour and are Heavy Laden, and I will give you Rest. St. Matt. xi.28.” (Hogarth gives the KJV while the prayer book uses a modified “I will refresh you” found in none of the English Bibles of the time.) Indeed, a congregation was not required to say, sing, or do anything, merely to be present. (Remember, analogously, the old Roman obligation was to “hear” Mass not to participate or receive!) The hero of the Sarum Revival, Walter Frere, was still complaining about this tendency in his 1905 Principles of Religious Ceremonial where he encourages participation saying, “Liturgical worship must be co-operative and corporate… A good deal is needed to get rid of the false idea of the duet of parson and clerk, or parson and choir, or even parson and congregation.”
Third, notice the visual vocabulary of the space. The ministers would normally wear a surplice over their cassocks of Eucharist was being celebrated; apparently it was not on this occasion. Without that garment, the preaching tabs are the only signal that this was not a courtroom or some other governmental affair as the bewigged parson could easily be a judge or magistrate. The art on the walls is equally secular with a coat of arms in the lozenge shape in the balcony and a very large, mostly obscured, Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom on the church wall, supported by the cherub. The stained glass window as well holds the (political) Cross of St. George. The only apparently religious image is the rather ambiguous glowing triangle that may or may not represent the Trinity. (Hogarth himself was a Deist and a Freemason, and it could easily be a Masonic symbol as much as a religious one!) This is a visual comment on the theological principle of Erastianism, the idea of secular supremacy over the church which would become a major concern of the early Oxford Movement.
Finally, Hogarth is definitely taking a jab at the morals and complacency of both clergy and congregation. The clerk is quite obviously eyeing the rather exposed bosom of the young lady by him. She does have a prayer book, but you’ll see it is open to the marriage service, indicating that her mind was certainly elsewhere than on the present service. While biblical verses inscribed on pulpits are quite common, the verse on this one is not one of the usual: “I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. Galatians 4:11.” Much of Hogarth’s art was satirical moralizing, often portraying biting commentary on the state of English society particularly around rampant drinking and sexual immorality (and Methodism). The implication here is that the spiritual and ethical formation taking place is…lacking.
Between the Cambridge/Camden Movement and the ecumenical Liturgical Renewal Movement that culminated in Vatican II and a whole spate of new Protestant liturgies in the ’60’s and ’70’s–like our current prayer book–even Broad Church Episcopalians are quite sanguine about things like altar candles, chasubles, signs of the cross, and other liturgical gestures that were seen as rampant Romanism in earlier ages. Even practices we take for granted like standing communion stations are borrowed from Roman Catholic practice due to the ecumenical rapprochement of our present age.
So–this is the first main discontinuity, the very stripped-down Protestant aesthetic and clergy-heavy content creating the Feel of the experience.
In order to talk about the 1789 Communion Office, we’ve got to get familiar with it. I’ll offer a set of introductory comments here, then put in the full text afterward. If you’d like to use this office or have a copy for reference in another medium, I’ll include two different versions in Microsoft Word:
Standard caveats apply: For the base text I used the Chad Wohler’s HTML edition that I checked against the First Standard edition printed in 1793. The hymn included is from the unattributed hymnal (but of course it’s Tate & Brady) bound into the Hall & Sellers first printed edition from 1790 (pp. 208-9 in the very back). I added some items in brackets, particularly in terms of people and action; you’ll see that we went with a North-side celebration following the plain sense of the text. I also added two lines where the clerk introduces the Gloria in excelsis and the hymn using the standard form of introduction recommended in The Parish-clerk’s Guide from 1709. I can’t guarantee that it is 100% error-free, but I certainly did my best!
One note on this… I was concerned that there was an error in the form of the Confession because it was lacking the phrases “there is no health in us” and “miserable offenders.” This led into a rabbit-hole deep-dive where I discovered that there are two different textual traditions of the Confession–one for the Communion Office and a different one for Morning & Evening Prayer. In short, the original form without the two phrases appears in the Communion Office of the 1549 BCP; 1552 book added those two phrases when the Confession was appended to the start of the Daily Office, but never added it into the Communion Office. As far as I can tell, the first time these phrases got into the Communion Office itself was the American 1892 BCP!
Furthermore, as I warned the congregation ahead of the liturgy itself and as I re-iterated at the beginning of my talk, my great specialties in the history of the prayer book are the times before and after this edition! As a catholic-minded Anglican, I consider this book and its predecessors as part of our “protestant phase” where the Anglican Churches openly embraced a more Calvinist perspective on liturgy and ceremonial–and I have not put in nearly the time and effort on understand and reconstructing that ceremonial as much as I have the catholic versions. Thus, I can’t claim that our ceremonial reconstruction was error-free, but it was based on solid research. (As always, the more you learn, the more you realize just how much you don’t know!!)
Ceremonial Choices
As our ceremonial North Star, we leaned into its protestant character wherever possible. Thus, as indicated above, we went with a North-side celebration as described in the initial rubrics where the priest stands at the north, short end, of the altar with his right side to the people where they can see, side on, what he is doing with the bread and wine in the consecration.
When I say “we,” I’m referring to our two ministers, the priest and the clerk. The priest was the wonderful Rev. Eric Bailey; the role of the clerk was taken by me. No acolytes, of course! With no candles, acolytes didn’t start showing up in Episcopal churches until after the middle of the 19th century. Rather, the clerk was an essential minister. A lay position, the clerk had two main roles: to say the parts that the people were supposed to say and to start (or do) the singing of the psalms and hymns. More on the clerk to come…
17th cent. Pulpit from Frenze, Norfolk; photo by Simon Knott
In terms of the space, we had no altar candles, no frontals, and only a fair linen on the altar. Lacking a classic double-decker pulpit, we used two chair & prie dieu combos on each side of the chancel, facing one another choir-style. (Had we had a double-decker pulpit, the priest would have occupied the top position with the clerk below.) The priest officiated from the chancel until we reached the Communion proper whence he ascended into the sanctuary.
Because we did a North-side celebration, we realized that using a South-side credence table didn’t make much sense so we moved a small table to the North end of the sanctuary for the vessels before the priest moved them to the altar. No water was needed as neither a lavabo nor mingling of water with the wine were done. Our only intentional anachronism was using wafer bread instead of a loaf of fine wheat bread.
We also distributed communion by tables, filling the altar rail, distributing the elements silently, then the priest dismissing the whole group with the words of administration. (Well, sort of… We hadn’t walked through this and so while the priest had the Bread words to hand, I didn’t have the Cup words so we left these out. Had we thought through this better, he would have said both sentences.)
Manual gestures were stripped to the bare minimum. No bowing during the Sanctus, Gloria, or Creed. No signs of the cross at any point. We did bow to the altar when we entered and left, the priest performed the manual actions as described in the consecration (and we did have to practice breaking the bread during the words of Consecration a couple of times!). The only manual action retained was the bowing of the head at the name of Jesus. While I usually only see this now in High Church or Anglo-Catholic establishments, it is famously the only physical action required in canon law, added in 1604. I noted a reference to this practice in The Parish-clerk’s Guide linked above indicated that a century later it was still a recommended practice among the lay ministers of the Church of England.
The 1789 American Communion Office
The ORDER for the
ADMINISTRATION of the LORD’s SUPPER,
or, HOLY COMMUNION.
(Book of Common Prayer, 1789)
¶If among those who come to be partakers of the Holy Communion, the Minister shall know any to be an open and notorious evil liver, or to have done any wrong to his neighbours by word or deed, so that the Congregation be hereby offended; he shall advertise him, that he presume not to come to the Lord’s Table, until he have openly declared himself to have truly repented and amended his former evil life, that the Congregation may thereby be satisfied; and that he hath recompensed the parties to whom he hath done wrong; or at least declare himself to be in full purpose so to do, as soon as he conveniently may.
¶The same order shall the Minister use with those, betwixt whom be perceiveth malice and hatred to reign; not suffering them to be partakers of the Lord’s Table, until he know them to be reconciled. And if one of the parties, so at variance, be content to forgive from the bottom of his heart all that the other hath trespassed against him, and to make amends for that wherein he himself hath offended; and the other party will not be persuaded to a godly unity, but remain still in his forwardness and malice; the Minister in that case ought to admit the penitent person to the Holy Communion, and not him that is obstinate. Provided, that every Minister so repelling any, as is herein specified, shall be obliged to give an account of the same to the Ordinary, as soon as conveniently may be.
¶The Table, at the Communion-time having a fair white linen cloth upon it, shall stand in the body of the Church, or in the Chancel. And the Minister, standing at the north side of the Table, or where Morning and Evening Prayer are appointed to be said, shall say the Lord’s Prayer and the Collect following, the People kneeling; but the Lord’s Prayer may be omitted, if Morning Prayer hath been said immediately before.
[Minister alone]
OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. [All] Amen.
The Collect.
ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name, through Christ our Lord. [All] Amen.
¶Then shall the Minister, turning to the People, rehearse distinctly the TEN COMMANDMENTS, and the People, still kneeling, shall, after every Commandment, ask God mercy for their transgressions for the time past, and grace to keep the law for the time to come as followeth.
Minister.
GOD spake these words and said; I am the Lord thy God Thou shalt have none other gods but me.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Minister. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them nor worship them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God and visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and show mercy unto thousands in them that love me and keep my commandments.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Minister. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless, that taketh his Name in vain.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Minister. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all that thou hast to do; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt do no manner of work; thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, thy cattle, and the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Minister. Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Minister. Thou shalt do no murder.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Minister. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Minister. Thou shalt not steal.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Minister. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.
Minister. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.
People. Lord, have mercy upon us, and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee.
¶ Then the Minister may say,
Hear also what our Lord Jesus Christ saith.
THOU shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
Let us pray.
Almighty Lord, and everlasting God, vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern, both our hearts and bodies, in the ways of thy laws, and in the works of thy commandments that through thy most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
[All] Amen.
¶ Then shall be said the Collect of the Day.
[Collect of the Day goes here]
[All] Amen.
[The People shall sit]
¶And immediately after the Collect the Minister shall read the Epistle,
The Epistle is written in the ___ Chapter of _____ beginning at the _____nth Verse.
[Epistle of the Day goes here]
¶And the Epistle ended, he shall say,
Here endeth the Epistle.
¶Then shall he read the Gospel (the People all standing up) saying,
The Holy Gospel is written in the ____th Chapter of The Gospel according to St. ____, beginning at the ____Verse.
[Gospel of the Day goes here]
¶ Here the People shall say,
Glory be to thee, O Lord.
¶ Then [all still standing] shall be read [by all] the Apostles’, or Nicene Creed; unless one of them hath been read immediately before in the Morning Service.
I BELIEVE in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, Begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God; Begotten, not made; Being of one substance with the Father; By Whom all things were made: Who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And was made man: And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried: And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures: And ascended into Heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, The Lord, and Giver of Life Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the Prophets. And I believe one Catholick and Apostolick Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins: And I look for the Resurrection of the dead: And the Life of the world to come. Amen.
[The People shall sit]
¶ Then the Minister shall declare into the People what Holy-days, or Fastingdays, are in the week following to be observed and (if occasion be) shall Notice be given of the Communion, and of the Banns of Matrimony, and other matters to be published.
¶ Then shall follow the sermon.
[Sermon goes here]
¶After which the Minister, when there is a Communion, shall return to the Lord’s Table, and begin the Offertory, saying one or more of these Sentences following, as he thinketh most convenient.
LET your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. St. Matt. v. 16.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth; where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven; where neither moth nor rust corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. St. Matt. vi. 19, 20.
Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, even so do to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets. St. Matt. vii. 12.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. St. Matt. vii. 21.
Zaccheus stood forth, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have done any wrong to any man, I restore fourfold. St. Luke xix. 8.
Who goeth a warfare at any time of his own cost? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? Or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? 1 Cor. ix. 7.
If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your worldly things? 1 Cor. ix. 11.
Do ye not know, that they who minister about holy things live of the sacrifice; and they who wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord also ordained, that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel. 1 Cor. ix. 13, 14.
He that soweth little shall reap little; and he that soweth plenteously shall reap plenteously. Let every man do according as he is disposed in his heart, not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Cor. ix. 6, 7.
Let him that is taught in the Word minister unto him that teacheth, in all good things. Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he reap. Gal. vi. 6, 7
While we have time, let us do good unto all men; and especially unto them that are of the household of faith. Gal. vi. 10.
Godliness is great riches, if a man be content with that he hath: for we brought nothing into this world, neither may we carry any thing out. 1 Tim. vi. 6, 7.
Charge them who are rich in this world, that they be ready to give, and glad to distribute; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may attain eternal life. 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18, 19.
God is not unrighteous, that he will forget your works and labour that proceedeth of love which love ye have showed for his Name’s sake, who have ministered unto the saints, and yet do minister. Heb. vi 10.
To do good and to distribute forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased Heb. xiii. 16.
Whoso hath this world’s good and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 1 St. John iii. 17.
Give alms of thy goods, and never turn thy face from any poor man; and then the face of the Lord not be turned away from thee. Tobit iv. 7.
Be merciful after thy power. If thou hast much, give plenteously; if thou hast little, do thy diligence gladly to give of that little: for so gatherest thou thyself a good reward in the day of necessity. Tobit iv. 8,9.
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and look, what he layeth out, it shall be paid him again. Prov. xix. 17.
Blessed be the man that provideth for the sick and needy: the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble. Psalm xli. 1.
¶ Whilst these Sentences are in reading, the Deacons, Church-wardens, or other fit persons appointed for that purpose shall receive the Alms for the Poor, and other Devotions of the People, in a decent Basin to be provided by the Parish for that purpose, and reverently bring it to the Priest, who shall humbly present and place it upon the Holy Table.
¶ And the Priest shall then place upon the Table so much Bread and Wine as he shall think sufficient. After which done, he shall say,
Let us pray for the whole state of Christ’s Church militant.
[All shall kneel]
ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who by thy holy Apostle hast taught us to make prayers, and supplications, and to give thanks for all men.; We humbly beseech thee most mercifully to accept our alms and oblations, and to receive these our prayers, which we offer unto thy Divine Majesty; beseeching thee to inspire continually the Universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity, and concord: And grant that all those who do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word, and live in unity, and godly love. We beseech thee also, so to direct and dispose the hearts of all Christian Rulers, that they may truly and impartially administer justice, to the punishment of wickedness and vice, and to the maintenance of thy true religion, and virtue. Give grace, O heavenly Father, to all Bishops and other Ministers, that they may, both by their life and doctrine set forth thy true and lively Word, and rightly and duly administer thy holy Sacraments. And to all thy people give thy heavenly grace; and especially to this congregation here present; that, with meek heart and due reverence, they may hear, and receive thy holy Word; truly serving thee in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life. And we most humbly beseech thee, of thy goodness, O Lord, to comfort and succour all those who, in this transitory life, are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity. And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee to give us grace so to follow their good examples, that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom. Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our only Mediator and Advocate.
[All] Amen.
[The People shall sit]
¶ At the time of the Celebration of the Communion, the Priest shall say the Exhortation.
DEARLY beloved in the Lord, ye who mind to come to the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, must consider how Saint Paul exhorteth all persons diligently to try and examine themselves, before they presume to eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. For as the benefit is great, if with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive that holy Sacrament; so is the danger great, if we receive the same unworthily. Judge therefore yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord; repent ye truly for your sins past; have a lively and steadfast faith in Christ our Saviour; amend your lives, and be in perfect charity with all men; so shall ye be meet partakers of those holy mysteries. And above all things ye must give most humble and hearty thanks to God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, for the redemption of the world by the death and passion of our Saviour Christ, both God and man; who did humble himself, even to the death upon the Cross, for us, miserable sinners, who lay in darkness and the shadow of death; that he might make us the children of God, and exalt us to everlasting life. And to the end that we should always remember the exceeding great love of our Master, and only Saviour, Jesus Christ, thus dying for us, and the innumerable benefits which by his precious blood-shedding he hath obtained for us; he hath instituted and ordained holy mysteries as pledges of his love, and for a continual remembrance of his death, to our great and endless comfort. To Him therefore, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, let us give (as we are most bounden) continual thanks; submitting ourselves wholly to his holy will and pleasure, and studying to serve him in true holiness and righteousness all the days of our life.
[All] Amen.
¶ Then shall the Priest say to those who come to receive the Holy Communion,
YE who do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways; Draw near with faith, and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort; and make your humble confession to Almighty God, devoutly kneeling.
¶ Then shall this general Confession be made, by the Priest and all those who are minded to receive the Holy Communion, humbly kneeling.
ALMIGHTY God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, Judge of all men; We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, Which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, By thought, word, and deed, Against thy Divine Majesty, Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; The remembrance of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; For thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, Forgive us all that is past; And grant that we may ever hereafter Serve and please thee In newness of life, To the honour and glory of thy Name; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ Then shall the Priest (the Bishop, if he be present) stand up, and turning to the People, say,
ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those who with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto him; Have mercy upon you; pardon and deliver you from all your sins; confirm and strengthen you in all goodness; and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ Then shall the Priest say,
Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all who truly turn to him.
COME unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. St. Matt. xi.28.
So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. St. John iii. 16.
Hear also what Saint Paul saith.
This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Tim. i. 15.
Hear also what Saint John saith.
If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our sins. 1 St. John ii. 1, 2.
¶ After which the Priest shall proceed, saying,
Lift up your hearts.
Answer. We lift them up unto the Lord.
Priest. Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.
Answer. It is meet and right so to do.
¶ Then shall the Priest turn to the Lord’s Table, and say,
IT is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God.
¶ Then shall follow the Proper Preface, according to the time, if there be any specially appointed; or else immediately shall be said or sung by the Priest and People,
THEREFORE with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Thy glorious Name evermore praising thee and saying:
[Said or Sung according to Merbecke] Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory: Glory be to Thee, O Lord Most High. Amen.
¶ Then shall the Priest, kneeling down at the Lord’s Table, say, in the name of all those who shall receive the Communion, this Prayer following.
WE do not presume to come to this Thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Thy Table. But Thou art the same Lord, Whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink His blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by His body, and our souls washed through His most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in Him, and He in us. [All] Amen.
¶ Then the Priest standing before the Table, hath so ordered the Bread and Wine, that he may with the more readiness and decency break the Bread before the People, and take the cup into his hands, he shall say the Prayer of Consecration, as followeth.
ALL glory be to Thee Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that Thou, of Thy tender mercy, didst give Thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption; Who made there (by his one oblation of Himself once offered) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and in His holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that His precious death and sacrifice, until His coming again:
For in the night in which He was betrayed,
(a) He took Bread, and when He had given thanks
Here the priest is to take the paten into his hands.
(b) He brake it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, Take, eat,
And here to break the Bread.
(c) this is my Body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. Likewise after supper,
And here to lay his hands upon all the bread
(d) He took the Cup; and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for
Here he is to take the cup into his hands
(e) this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins; do this as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.
And here he is to lay his hands upon every vessel in which there is any wine to be consecrated.
The Oblation
THEREFORE, O Lord and heavenly Father according to the institution of thy dearly beloved Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, we, thy humble servants, do celebrate and make here before thy Divine Majesty, with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy Son hath commanded us to make; having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; rendering unto thee most hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits procured unto us by the same.
The Invocation
And we most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Father, to hear us; and, of thy almighty goodness, vouchsafe to bless and sanctify, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, these thy gifts and creatures of bread and wine; that we, receiving them according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ’s holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood. And we earnestly desire thy fatherly goodness, mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly beseeching thee to grant, that by the merits and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we, and all thy whole Church, may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion. And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee; humbly beseeching thee, that we, and all others who shall be partakers of this Holy Communion, may worthily receive the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, be filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in them, and they in him. And although we are unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto thee any sacrifice; yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden duty and service; not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offences, through Jesus Christ our Lord; by whom, and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto thee, O Father Almighty, world without end.
[All] Amen.
¶ Here shall be sung a Hymn, or part of a Hymn, from the Selection for the Feasts and Fasts, &c.
Clerk: Let us sing to the Praise and Glory of God Hymn X to the tune of Rockingham.
HYMN X
For the Holy Communion
MY God, and is thy Table spread,
and does thy Cup with Love o’erflow?
Thither be all thy Children led,
and let them thy sweet Mercies know.
Hail, sacred Feast, which Jesus makes!
rich Banquet of his Flesh and Blood!
Thrice happy he, who here partakes
that sacred Stream, that heav’nly Food!
Why are its Dainties all in vain
before unwilling hearts displayed?
Was not for you the Victim slain?
are you forbid the Children’s Bread?
O let thy Table honour’d be,
and furnish’d well with joyful Guests;
And may each Soul Salvation see,
that here its holy Pledges tastes!
Drawn by thy quick’ning Grace, O Lord!
in countless Numbers let them come,
And gather from their Father’s Board,
the Bread that lives beyond the Tomb!
Nor let thy spreading Gospel rest,
till through the World thy Truth has run,
Till with this Bread all Men be blest,
who see the Light, or feel the Sun!
¶ Then shall the Priest first receive the Communion in both kinds himself and proceed to deliver the same to the Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, in like manner (if any be present) and, after that, to the People also in order, into their hands all devoutly kneeling. And when he delivereth the Bread he shall say,
THE Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart by faith, with thanksgiving.
¶ And the Minister who delivereth the Cup shall say,
THE Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ’s Blood was shed for thee, and be thankful.
¶ If the consecrated Bread or Wine be spent before all have communicated, the Priest is to consecrate more according to the Form before prescribed; beginning at — All glory be to thee, Almighty God and ending with these words — partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood.
¶ When all have communicated, the Minister shall return to the Lord’s Table and reverently place upon it what remaineth of the consecrated Elements, covering the same with a fair linen cloth.
¶ Then shall the Minister say the Lord’s Prayer, the People repeating after him every Petition.
Minister: OUR Father, who art in heaven,
People: OUR Father, who art in heaven,
Minister: Hallowed be thy Name.
People: Hallowed be thy Name.
Minister: Thy kingdom come.
People: Thy kingdom come.
Minister: Thy will be done on earth
People: Thy will be done on earth
Minister: As it is in heaven.
People: As it is in heaven.
Minister: Give us this day our daily bread.
People: Give us this day our daily bread.
Minister: And forgive us our trespasses,
People: And forgive us our trespasses,
Minister: As we forgive those who trespass against us.
People: As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Minister: And lead us not into temptation;
People: And lead us not into temptation;
Minister: But deliver us from evil:
People: But deliver us from evil:
Minister: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
People: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
[All] Amen.
¶ After shall be said as followeth.
ALMIGHTY and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee, for that thou dost vouchsafe to feed us who have duly received these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, which is the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs through hope of thy everlasting kingdom, by the merits of the most precious death and passion of thy dear Son. And we most humbly beseech thee, O heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end.
[All] Amen.
¶ Then shall be said or sung, all standing Gloria in excelsis; or some proper Hymn from the Selection.
Clerk: Let us sing to the Praise and Glory of God the Gloria in excelsis of Merbecke.
GLORY be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will towards men. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.
O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.
For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in glory of God the Father. Amen.
¶ Then the Priest (the bishop if he be present) shall let them depart with this blessing.
THE peace of God, which passeth all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord: And the Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always.
[All] Amen.
¶ And if any of the consecrated Bread and Wine remain after the Communion it shall not be carried out of the Church; but the Minister and other Communicants shall, immediately after the Blessing, reverently eat and drink the same.
So the new resolution to write more is not going well.
It started out well enough, but the problem arose when I got into the research… I fell down a research hole of papal bulls and encyclicals that are quite fascinating, but kept leading me from one thing to read to the next.
I already know how to research–that’s not the task.
I’m still working on the AI Encyclical and do plan to take it up once more of the research has been done. In the meantime, I’ve decided to write on something that won’t require research! At least not much because the great body of it has already been done.
In light of the nation’s 250th anniversary and a somewhat similar anniversary of their own founding, the good folks at St. John’s Lafayette Square invited me at the beginning of May to assist them with a Communion Office from the 1789 Book of Common Prayer and to deliver some remarks afterward to put it into its proper context.
While I usually give talks from fully-written manuscripts, this one exists more in notes on PowerPoint slides and is begging to be put into a more formal shape. Thus, I hope to get back into the habit of regular writing and posting with the equivalent of the out-of-shape runner’s run/walk to ease them (me) back in.
So, expect to see the first of these appearing before too long.
