Sunday 1st August, 2010
The Ninth Sunday After Trinity
Lammas Day
Holy Communion
The Preface
ALL the faithful who approach Thee with prepared hearts, they well know Thou art there; they feel the virtue of Divine Love going out of Thee, to heal their infirmities and to enflame their affections, for which all Love, all Glory be to Thee.
—Bishop Thomas Ken (1637-1711). "The Practice Of Divine Love".
After which the Priest shall proceed, saying,
Lift up your hearts.1
Answer. We lift them up unto the Lord.
Priest. Let us give thanks2 unto our Lord
God.
Answer. It is meet and right so to do.
Then shall the Priest turn to the Lord's Table,3 and say,
IT is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give These words [Holy Father] must be omitted on Trinity Sunday4.thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God.
Percy Whitlock (1903-1946), Rochester Cathedral Choir |
Communion Service in G: Sanctus
Sanctus5
Here shall follow the proper Preface, according to the time, if there be any specially appointed: or else immediately shall follow,
THEREFORE with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven,6 we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory: Glory be to thee, O Lord most High. Amen.7
Ed.— Although Thomas Cranmer did not direct it here, it is usual to sing the Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy) together with the Benedictus:8 Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord : Glory be to thee, O Lord most High.
REFLECT again upon the honour, O my soul! that is conferred upon thee: where thou art called to sit down, whilst the angels do but stand by and silently admire at those sacred mysteries which thou art actually to partake of. These heavenly spirits cannot penetrate into the wonderful and spiritual conversion of bread and wine into the body and blood of thy dying Saviour; and yet this is certainly done for thee, if thou receivest it with a lively faith, and dost apply the benefits of it to thyself, by a life of piety and devotion.
—Bishop Thomas Ken (1637-1711). "The Practice Of Divine Love".
Proper Prefaces9
Upon Christmas Day, and seven days after.10
BECAUSE thou didst give Jesus Christ thine only Son to be born as at this time for us; who, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, was made very man of the substance of the Virgin Mary his mother; and that without spot of sin, to make us clean from all sin. Therefore with Angels, &c.
Upon Easter Day, and seven days after,
BUT chiefly are we bound to praise thee for the glorious Resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord: for he is the very Paschal Lamb, which was offered for us, and hath taken away the sin of the world; who by his death hath destroyed death, and by his rising to life again hath restored to us everlasting life. Therefore with Angels, &c.
Upon Ascension Day, and seven days after.
THROUGH thy most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who after his most glorious Resurrection manifestly appeared to all his Apostles, and in their sight ascended up into heaven to prepare a place for us; that where he is, thither we might also ascend, and reign with him in glory. Therefore with Angels, &c.
Upon Whitsunday, and six days after.11
THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord; according to whose most true promise, the Holy Ghost came down as at this time from heaven with a sudden great sound, as it had been a mighty wind in the likeness of fiery tongues, lighting upon the Apostles, to teach them, and to lead them to all truth;12 giving them both the gift of divers languages, and also boldness with fervent zeal constantly to preach the Gospel unto all nations; whereby we have been brought out of darkness and error into the clear light and true knowledge of thee, and of thy Son Jesus Christ. Therefore with Angels, &c.
Upon the Feast of Trinity only.
WHO art one God, one Lord; not one only Person, but three Persons in one Substance. For that which we believe of the glory of the Father, the same we believe of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, without any difference or inequality. Therefore with Angels, &c.
After each of which Prefaces shall immediately be sung or said,
THEREFORE with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory: Glory be to thee, O Lord most High. Amen.
Back to top of pageThe Prayer Of Humble Access13
Then shall the Priest, kneeling down at the Lord's Table, say in the name of all them that 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, Ezek 33:13 but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. Mk 7:28 But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh14 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, Heb 9:13-14 1 Jn 1:7 and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Jn 6:52-56 Amen.
Back to top of pageThe Prayer Of Consecration
O GOD Incarnate, how Thou canst give us Thy flesh to eat and Thy Blood to drink, how Thy flesh is meat indeed and Thy Blood is drink indeed, how he that eateth Thy flesh and drinketh Thy Blood dwelleth in Thee, and Thou in him, how he shall live by Thee and shall be raised up by Thee to life eternal, how Thou Who art in heaven art present on the altar, I can by no means explain; but I firmly believe it all, because Thou hast said it, and I firmly rely on Thy Love and on Thy Omnipotence to make good Thy Word, though the manner of doing it I cannot comprehend.
—Bishop Thomas Ken (1637-1711). "The Practice Of Divine Love".
When the Priest, standing before the Table,15 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,16 as followeth.
ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who 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 Heb 10:11-18) a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world17 1 Jn 2:1-2; and did institute, and in his holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory18 of that his precious death, until his coming again; 1 Cor 11:23-26
Hear us, O merciful Father, we most
humbly beseech thee; and grant that we receiving these thy creatures of bread
and wine,19 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
1 Cor 10:16-17:
who, in the same night that he was betrayed,
(a) Here the Priest is to take the Paten unto his hands:
(b) And here to break the Bread:
(c) And here to lay his hand20 upon all the Bread.
(d) Here he is to take the Cup into his hand:
(e) And here to lay his hand upon every vessel (be it Chalice
or Flagon) in which there is any Wine to be consecrated.
(a) took
Bread; and, when he had given thanks, (b) he brake it, and gave it to his
disciples, saying, Take, eat, (c) this is my Body21 which is given for you: Do
this in remembrance of me.22 Likewise after supper he (d) took the Cup; and, when
he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for this
(e) is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many23 for the
remission of sins: Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it,24 in remembrance of me.
1 Cor 11:23-25
Amen.
[Or this. Scottish Prayer Book, 1637.]25
ALMIGHTY God, Our heavenly Father, Which 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.
Hear us, O merciful Father, we most humbly beseech Thee, and of Thy Almighty goodness vouchsafe so to bless and sanctify with Thy Word and Holy Spirit these Thy gifts and creatures of Bread and Wine, that they may be unto us the Body and Blood of Thy most dearly beloved Son; so 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 the same His most precious Body and Blood.
Who, in the night that He was betrayed, took bread, and when He has given thanks, He brake it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, Take eat, this is My body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. Likewise, after supper, He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this, for 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.
Private prayers for immediately after the Consecration, by Dean Brevint.
AMEN, Jesu, my Lord and my God, give me all this which thou shewest; and grant withal, that I may both devoutly take, and faithfully keep, what thou art pleased to give. Bless this thine own Ordinance, and make it of a true Sign, an effectual Means of thy Grace; then bless and sanctify my Heart also, and make it a fit Temple for thy Mercies. …
Come in, O Lord, with thy Salvation to a dying Man, to make him whole; to a Sinner tied Hand and Foot with the Bonds of Iniquity, to release him; to one who confesses his Sins, to absolve him. Finally come in, my Saviour, as thou didst to the Publican, both to make me better, and to save me. O let this Day Salvation come to this House. Amen.
Agnus Dei26
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Percy Whitlock (1903-1946), Rochester Cathedral Choir |
O LAMB of God : that takest away
the sins of
the world;
Have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God : that takest away
the sins of
the world;
Have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God : that takest away
the sins of
the world;
Grant us thy peace.
The Communion
IN the multitude of thy mercies, O Lord God, do I now approach thine altar; O pardon my sins, and look not upon my unworthiness, (for I am a sinful creature, O Lord,) but upon those motives which drew me hither, even my own miseries, and thy tender mercies; therefore help me to supply in humility, what I want in worthiness, and let my bended knees and contrite heart shew that I durst not have ventured hither, had not thy mercy held out the golden sceptre, and said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you."
—William Vickers (d. 1719). A Companion To The Altar.
IN the multitude of thy mercies do I now approach thy altar. O Lord of Hosts! Pardon my sins, and receive me graciously. Glory be to thee, O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world. Have mercy on me, and pardon my transgressions. Amen.
I ACKNOWLEDGE my unworthiness, O Lord; but hou hast encouraged me to draw near with faith. May I receive this holy sacrament, to my endless comfort, and obtain the benefits of hy cross and passion. Amen.
—Thomas Bisse (1675-1731). "A Guide To The Altar".
Then shall the Minister first receive the Communion in both kinds27 himself, and then 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,28 all meekly kneeling.29 And, when he delivereth the Bread to any one, he shall say,30
THE Body of our Lord Jesus Christ,31 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.
Having received the Bread, say,
GLORY be to thee, O Lord, for that thou dost vouchsafe to feed us with the bread of life, and last sanctified us with the offering of the body of Jesus, once for all. O heavenly Father, grant his blessed sacrament may preserve my soul and body to everlasting life. Amen.
—Thomas Bisse (1675-1731). "A Guide To The Altar".
When the Priest approaches with the Cup.
MAKE me, O God, duly sensible of the price of my redemption, no less than the blood of my Redeemer, shed for the sins of the world. May his blood purify me from all sin, that henceforth I may be devoted to thy service. Amen.
—Thomas Bisse (1675-1731). "A Guide To The Altar".
And the Minister that delivereth the Cup to any one 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.
After receiving the Cup.
GLORY to thee, O Lord Jesus, who permitest me to drink of the waters of life freely. May thy blood preserve my body and soul to everlasting life.
—Thomas Bisse (1675-1731). "A Guide To The Altar".
When you retire from the Altar, devoutly kneel, and occupy the time while others are communicating, with the following devotions.
O SOVEREIGN Lord and blessed Saviour Jesus, who didst humble thy soul to death, for our redemption, and didst ascend to thy Father, for the full accomplishment of our peace, give us faith to obtain the benefits of thy most blessed cross and passion; and by thy precious blood cleanse us from all our sins, that we may live to thy glory here, and be admitted hereafter to thy heavenly kingdom, where thou reignest, in the unity of the glorious Trinity, one God, world without end. Amen.
—Thomas Bisse (1675-1731). "A Guide To The Altar".
If the consecrated Bread or Wine be all spent before all have communicated, the Priest is to consecrate more cording to the Form before prescribed: Beginning at [Our Saviour Christ in the same night, &c.] for the blessing of the Bread ; and at [Likewise after Supper, &c.] for the blessing of the Cup.
Back to topAn Anthem
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The Lord's Prayer
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.32 Then shall the Priest say the Lord's Prayer,33 the people repeating after him every Petition.34
OUR FatherRom 8:14-17 Gal 4:1-7, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.Lev 23:32 Ez 36:22-23 Rom 2:17-24 Thy kingdom come.Lk 11:20 Mk 1:14 1 Cor 11:26 Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven.Mk 14:35-36 Give us this day our daily bread.Jn 6:56-58 And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against usMk 11:25 Mt 18:21. And lead us not into temptation,1 Cor 10:13 Jas 1:12-15 But deliver us from evil.Gal 1:3-4
WE thank thee, O Lord God Almighty, for having admitted us to partake of thy holy, precious, and heavenly mysteries which thou hast given us for the sanctification of our souls and bodies: and we beseech thee to grant that this our Communion of the holy Body and Blood of thy Christ, may inspire us with faith that need not be ashamed, and with love without dissimulation; may avert all evil from us, and enable us to perform thy commands; may fill us with wisdom, and preserve our souls and bodies unto everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Walter Farquhar Hook (1798-1875)
A Thanksgiving After Communion
After shall be said as followeth.
O LORD and heavenly Father, we thy humble servants entirely desire thy fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgivingHeb 13v15;35 most humbly beseeching thee to grant, that by the merits and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his bloodRom 3v25, we and all thy whole Church36 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 lively sacrifice unto thee Rom 12v1; humbly beseeching thee, that all we, who are partakers of this holy Communion, may be fulfilled with thy grace and heavenly benediction. And although we be unworthy, through our manifold sins, to offer unto thee any sacrifice, Ps 51:16-19 Mt 5:23-24 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. Amen.
Or this.
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 Jn 6:51; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, 1 Cor 10:17 which is the blessed company of all faithful people Col 1:24-26; and are also heirs Rom 8:16-17 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 Jas 2:16-17 Art. XII; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.
Footnotes
1 "Lift up your hearts". According to John Shepherd, "In the Latin Church these versicles were likewise called contestatio: because the people by their responses gave their attestation, or testimony of their complying with the minister's exhortation; declaring, that their hearts were lifted up to Heaven, and that it is meet and right to praise the Lord".
BY the advice of the Council of Nicene [Nicaea AD 325], we ought to lift up our minds by faith, and, leaving these inferior and earthly things, there seek it where the Sun of Righteousness ever shineth. Take then this lesson, O thou that art desirous of this table, of Emissenus [Eusebius of Emessa], a godly father; that, when thou goest up to the reverend communion, to be satisfied with spiritual meats, thou look up with faith upon the holy body and blood of thy God; thou marvel with reverence; thou touch it with thy mind; thou receive it with the hand of thy heart; and thou take it fully with thy inward man.
FOR Christ Himself altogether is so offered and given us in these mysteries, that we may certainly know we be flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bones; and that Christ "continueth in us, and we in Him." And therefore in celebrating these mysteries, the people are to good purpose exhorted before they come to receive the Holy Communion, to lift up their hearts, and to direct their minds to heavenward: because He is there, by whom we must be full fed, and live.
2 "Give thanks". "I give thanks" in Greek is ευχαριστώ, eucharisto (pronounced in Church Greek efharistó), and the word underlying "Eucharist". Thus begins our sacrifice of thanksgiving.
3 "Turn to the Lord's Table". He faced the people to urge them to "lift up their hearts". He now turns to God, whose heavenly sanctuary is represented by the altar.
4 "These words must be omitted". Because on Trinity Sunday, we emphasise the Unity of One God in Three Persons by addressing our thanks to all.
5 "Sanctus". This passage comes from Is 6:3, and is taken up in Rev 4:8, as Mark Frank said, "presenting to us what is done in heaven, what God would have done on earth".
"HOLY, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty;" holy in our creation, holy in our redemption, holy in our sanctification; holy in heaven, holy in earth, holy under the earth too; holy in glorifying of his angels, holy in justifying his saints, holy in punishing the devils; holy in his glory, and holy in his mercy, and holy in his justice; holy in his seraphims, and holy in his cherubims, and holy in his thrones; holy in his power, and holy in his wisdom, and holy in his providence; holy in his ways, and holy in his laws, and holy in his promises; holy in the womb, and holy in the manger, and holy on the cross; holy in his miracles, and holy in his doctrines, and holy in his examples; holy in his saints, and holy in his sacraments, and holy in his temples; holy in himself, holy in his Son, holy in his Spirit; holy Father, holy Son, and holy Spirit.
Therefore, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, and all the saints in heaven and earth, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee, and saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory; glory be to thee, O Lord most high, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come; glory, and honour, and thanks be unto thee for ever and ever. Amen, amen, amen.
6 "All the company of heaven". With some exceptions, the Church of England has historically been doubtful as to whether the saints in heaven are aware of what passes here below. No such qualms are felt concerning angels (for more, see my collection of extracts on Angels).
A WONDERFUL thing: the table is set forth, furnished with God's mysteries, the Lamb of God is offered for thee, the priest is careful for thee, spiritual fire cometh out of that heavenly table, the angels Seraphin be there present, covering their faces with six wings; all the angelical powers with the priest be means and intercessors for thee, a spiritual fire cometh down from heaven, blood in the cup is drunk out of the most pure side unto thy purification.
WHENEVER we enter the Church, and draw near to the heavenly mysteries, we ought to approach with all humility and fear, as well because of the presence of the angelic powers, as of the reverence due to the sacred oblation; for as the angels are narrated to have stood by the Lord's body when it lay in the tomb, so we must believe that they are present in the celebration of the mysteries of His most sacred body at the time of consecration.
BUT I mentioned Angels, and let me tell you that the Catholike Fathers alwayes thought the Holy sept, or the Altar place to be full of Angels. I shall name two, or three and doe you judge of it. ... The place of the Altar echoes out at the noyse of heavenly powers. Then the Angels stand by the preist and the place is filled with them in honour of him that lyes on the Altar [St John Chrysostom]. The expression is Rhetoricall, but the intention, the thing is dogmaticall.
EVEN at thy home, address thyself for the church: prepare to come before a dreadful majesty of God and his powerful angels. Thou seest them not; no more did Elisha's servant, till his eyes were opened (2 Kings 6:17). It is thine ignorant and gross infidelity that hath filmed up thine eyes, that thou canst discern no spiritual object; were they but anointed with the eyesalve of faith, thou shouldst see God's house full of heavenly glory; and shouldst check thyself, with holy Jacob, when he awakened from his divine vision, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. How dreadful is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven (Gen. xxviii. 16, 17).
7 "Holy, Holy, Holy". The "Sanctus" hymn is based on Is 6:1-7. To appreciate this, we must recall that the Jerusalem Temple was built as a copy of the heavenly sanctuary (Exod 25:40; Heb 8:5), and that we now enter this heavenly sanctuary where Christ has gone before us (Heb 10:19-22). With that firmly in mind, we may re-read Isaiah:
IN the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
CHRYSOSTOM likewise frequently takes occasion to notice the use of this hymn at the Communion. "Heretofore," he says, "this hymn was sung only in Heaven, but after the Lord vouchsafed to appear upon earth, he brought this melody to us also. Therefore the Bishop, when he stands at the holy table to present our rational service and unbloody sacrifice, does not simply call upon us to join in this glorification, but first naming the Seraphim and Cherubim, he exhorts us all to send up these tremendous words; and withdrawing our minds from earth, by intimating with what company we make a choir, he cries out to every man, and says as it were, Thou singest with the Seraphim: stand together with the Seraphim; stretch forth thy wings with them; with them fly round the heavenly throne."
THAT the Angels were present at the performance of divine mysteries, hath been the opinion of both Heathens and Christians; and that they are especially present at the Lord's Supper, is generally received. For since Jesus by his death hath united heaven and earth, it is fit that, in this commemoration of his passion, we should begin to unite our voices with the heavenly choir, with whom we hope to praise him to all eternity. For which end the Christians of the very first ages took this Hymn into their office for the Sacrament, being of divine original, and from the word Holy thrice repeated in it, called by the Greeks [τρισάγιον] the Trisagium, or Thrice Holy.
8 "Benedictus". The Benedictus qui venit is based on Mk 11:9-10, and in turn on a Passover Psalm (Ps 118:25-26). Not to be confused with the Benedictus in Morning Prayer (here), which is the Song of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist.
9 "Proper Prefaces". "Proper" in the sense of "belonging to".
IN the Roman church they had ten of them, but our Reformers have only retained five of the most ancient; all which (except that for Trinity-Sunday, retained by reason of the great mystery it celebrates) are concerning the principal acts of our Redemption, viz. the Nativity, Refurrection, and the Ascension of our Saviour, and of his sending the Holy Ghoft to comfort us.
10 "Seven days after". In the 1549 Book, the Prefaces were appointed only on the day itself. The specific mention of seven days, says Bishop Cosin (1594-1672) in his Notes on The Book Of Common Prayer (First Series, 1619)., is "A plain proof that our Church intends to have the Communion celebrated every day". He pointedly wrote the same note after every occurrence of these words in the Proper Prefaces.
THE reason of their being fixed to eight days, is taken from the practice of the Jews, who by God's appointment observed their greater festivals, some of them for seven, and one, viz. the feast of Tabernacles, for eight days. And therefore the primitive church, thinking that the observation of Christian festivals (of which the Jewish feasts were only types and shadows) ought not to come short of them, lengthened out their higher feasts to eight days.
11 "Six days after". Because Trinity Sunday interrupts the usual seven day series, and has its own Proper Preface.
12 "Lead into all truth".
THE proper office of the Holy Ghost is, not to institute and bring in new ordinances, contrary to his doctrine before taught; but to expound and declare those things which he had before taught, so that they might be well and truly understood. When the Holy Ghost, saith he, shall come, he shall lead you, into all truth.
What truth doth he mean? Any other than he himself had before expressed in his word? No. For he saith, He shall take of mine, and shew unto you. Again, he shall bring you in remembrance of all things that I have told you. It is not then the duty and part of any Christian, under pretence of the Holy Ghost, to bring in his own dreams and phantasies into the church: but he must diligently provide that his doctrine and decrees be agreeable to Christ's holy Testament.
13 "Prayer of Humble Access". This "Address" is widely regarded as one of the most flawless gems of the Prayer Book. It seems to be based on prayers from the Liturgy of St James.
THIS address, the priest kneeling down at the Lord's table, offers up in the name of all them that shall receive the Communion. In ancient Liturgies we meet with prayers resembling this. Thus in the Liturgy ascribed to James, We come to this divine mystery, unworthy indeed, but relying on thy goodness. And again, We trust not in our own righteousness, but in thy mercy. But in no form extant, can the humble and devout Christian so fully, as in this, express his sense of his own unworthiness, and pray the gracious Father of all mankind, to have compassion upon his infirmities, to relieve his necessities, and to fulfil his desires.
14 "Eat the flesh &c". The Anglican position is that this Christ's true body and blood are received in this sacrament.
Question. What is the inward part, or thing signified?
Answer. The Body and Blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper.
However, they recoiled from the idea that Christ's flesh is eaten and his blood drunk "corporally", which they regarded as gross; and also as paradoxically less "real", because Christ's supreme gifts to us are spiritual gifts.
IN my book I have written in mo [sic] than an hundred places, that we receive the selfsame body of Christ that was born of the Virgin Mary, that was crucified and buried, that rose again, ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
And the contention is only in the manner and form how we receive it. For I say (as all the old holy fathers and martyrs used to say), that we receive Christ spiritually by faith with our minds, eating his flesh and drinking his blood: so that we receive Christ's own very natural body, but not naturally nor corporally.
Bishop Jeremy Taylor explained, that in the Scripture the word "spiritual" tends to indicate something that is more real, not less.
WHEN things spiritual are signified by materials, the thing under the figure is called true, and the material part is opposed to it, as less true or real. The examples of this are not unfrequent in Scripture: 'the tabernacle,' into which the high-priest entered, was a type or a figure of heaven. Heaven itself is called σκηνή αληθινή, "the true tabernacle (Hebrews 8:2);" and yet the other was the material part. ...
SO we may say of the blessed sacrament, "Christ is more truly and really present in spiritual presence, than in corporal, in the heavenly effect, than in the natural being"; this, if it were at all, can be but the less perfect; and, therefore, we are, to the most real purposes, and in the proper sense of Scripture, the more real defenders of the real presence of Christ in the sacrament; for the spiritual sense is the most real, and most true, and most agreeable to the analogy and style of Scripture, and right reason, and common manner of speaking.
15 "Standing before the Table". The wording strongly suggests in the middle of the altar, and consequently with his back to the people. This is the proper way to face when making prayer to God.
CORRESPONDENT to this practice was the manner of the Jews of old, for at the reading of the Law and other Scriptures, he that did minister, turned his face to the people, but he who read the prayers turned his back to the people, and his face to the ark [i.e. the Ark of the Covenant].
THUS it was in Solomon's Temple; If they pray towards this place, then heare thou in Heaven etc. Est ergo Altare in Coelis. Illuc enim preces nostra, et oblationes nostra, diriguntur: et ad Templum quemadmodum Johannes in Apocalypsi ait, et apertum est Templum Dei, et Tabernaculum. Ecce enim inquit, Tabernaculum Dei in quo habitabit cum hominibus: saith S. Irenaeus†. For Gods seat is in Holy places: his presence is there; his face is there: his feet is there: his throne is there.
† "The altar, then, is in heaven (for towards that place are our prayers and oblations directed); the temple likewise [is there], as John says in the Apocalypse, And the temple of God was opened: the tabernacle also: For, behold, He says, the tabernacle of God, in which He will dwell with men.". (Adv. Haer. Bk IV Ch. 18). See Rev 21:1-4.
Note that the priest does not kneel for this prayer.
16 "Prayer of Consecration". For a picture of Anglican teaching on the changes effected by the Prayer of Consecration, see the extracts collected under the heading of the Real Presence. The Divines focus on the active and transforming presence of those divine powers (virtues, energies, &c) which come from his Passion and resurrection. The phrase much-loved by St Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444) "the life-giving blessing" seems a fair summary of what the consecration effects in the bread and wine.
COME Holy Ghost, Thine influence shed,
And realize the sign;
Thy life infuse into the bread,
Thy power into the wine.
2 Effectual let the tokens prove
And made, by heavenly art,
Fit channels to convey Thy love
To every faithful heart. Amen.
THE form of Consecration in the ancient Church was a repetition of the history of the institution, together with prayer to God, that he would sanctify the elements of bread and wine by his Holy Spirit, and make them to become the Body and Blood of Christ, not by altering their nature and substance, but their qualities and powers; and by exalting them from simple elements of bread and wine, to become types and symbols of the Body and Blood of Christ, and efficacious instruments of conveying to worthy receivers all the benefits of his death and passion.
IT is bread, and it is Christ's body. It is bread in substance, Christ in the sacrament; and Christ is as really given to all that are truly disposed, as the symbols are; each as they can; Christ as Christ can be given; the bread and wine as they can; and to the same real purpose, to which they are designed; and Christ does as really nourish and sanctify the soul, as the elements do the body.
AS to the manner of the presence of the Body and Blood of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we that are Protestant and Reformed according to the ancient Catholic Church, do not search into the manner of it with perplexing inquiries; but, after the example of the Primitive and purest Church of Christ, we leave it to the power and wisdom of our Lord, yielding a full and unfeigned assent to His words."
17 "For the sins of the whole world". The Swiss Reformers asserted that Christ died only for the "Elect", i.e. those predestined to salvation by God's eternal decree, and not for all human beings. However, the Anglicans never endorsed this position, and were at pains to emphasise the fact.
THE doctrine which denieth general grace, (which is presupposed unto special,) and tells the world, that Christ died only for the elect, and that all the mercy of the Gospel is confined to them alone... Such doctrines cut the veins of thankfulness; and being not doctrines according to godliness, the life of grace, and spiritual sense of believers are against them.
AND satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.] Quia pretii est immensi et infiniti ['Because it is for a price immense and infinite', a quotation from Protestant theologian Georg Calixtus, 1586-1656]. Which is the doctrine of the Church of England, founded upon the words of the apostle, 1 John ii. 2, And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.
Perhaps the most controversial figure here is John Wesley (1703-1791). See this extract, Christ Died For All Men &c. See also his brother Charles's hymn Victim Divine, Thy Grace We Claim:
VICTIM Divine 1 Cor 5:7, thy grace we claim,
While thus thy precious death we show: 1 Cor 11v23-26
Once offered up, Heb 9:24-28 Heb 10:12-14
a spotless Lamb, Jn 1:29-36 Jn 1:29-36
In thy great temple here below,
Thou didst for all mankind atone, Rom 5:11
And standest now before the throne. Rev 5:6-10
2 Thou standest in the holy place, Heb 9:23-28
As now for guilty sinners slain;
The blood of sprinkling speaks, Heb 12:22-24 and prays,
All prevalent for helpless man;
Thy blood is still our ransom found, Mk 10:45 1 Tim 2:6
And speaks salvation all around.
18 "Perpetual memory". The word for "memory" in the New Testament (1 Cor 11:23-26 and Lk 22:19) is ανάμνησις (anámnesis). It is patient of more than one meaning.
At one level, it is a simple reminder prompting thanksgiving in the heart.
FOR the best preservative of any benefit is the remembrance of the benefit, and a continual thanksgiving. For this cause even the awful mysteries, so full of that great salvation, which are celebrated at every gathering, are called Eucharist [thanksgiving] because they are the commemoration of many benefits, and they signify the very sum of God’s care for us, and by all means they work upon us to be thankful. For if His being born of a virgin was a great miracle, and the evangelist said in amaze, “now all this was done;” His being also slain, what place shall we find for that? tell me. I mean, if to be born is called “all this;” to be crucified, and to pour forth His blood, and to give Himself to us for a spiritual feast and banquet,—what can that be called? Let us therefore give Him thanks continually, and let this precede both our words and our works.
However, for the Anglicans most closely following the Church Fathers, "memorial" must be understood primarily in the sense in which it is used in the Old Testament, which is a place where God comes to meet his people. As such, it embraces the bread and wine but is not confined to it. The memorial is the entire liturgy, bread and wine included.
AND if the Altars, and the Arke and the Temple in the Law of Nature and Moses were Holy, because they were Gods Memorialls, as I shewed above, then by the same reason shall the Altar be υπεράγιον, highly Holy, because it is Christ's Memoriall, there we commemorate his Death, and passion in the dreadful, and mysterious way that himselfe with greatest mysteriousness appointed. τούτο ποιείν εις την εμήν ανάμηνησιν, doe this for my memorial ...
Wee doe beleive that Christ, is there really present in the Sacrament, there is the body and bloud of Christ which are "verely, and indeed" taken and received by the faithfull, saith our Church in her Catechisme.
Furthermore, "memorial" (or "remembrance") is, in the Scripture, a sacrificial term. It is used not only of Cornelius's prayers rising to heaven (Acts 10:4; NIV has "memorial offering" here) but also of the Shewbread or "Bread of the Presence" in the Temple (Leviticus 24:5-8; Exod 25:23-30), and of Israel's sacrifices in Num 10:10, and again, together with Christ's sacrifice, in Heb 10:3.
THEIR [the Jews'] Paschal Lamb represented our Saviour Christ, and the sacrificing of it the shedding of His blood upon the cross; and as the Passover was the memorial of the Israelites' redemption from Egypt's bondage, so is the Lord's Supper the memorial of our redemption from the slavery of sin, and assertion into Christian liberty: or rather, it is a solemn and lively representation of the death of Christ, and offering it again to God, as an atonement for sin and reconciliation to His favour.
So that I believe this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper under the Gospel succeeds to the rite of sacrificing under the Law, and is properly called the Christian sacrifice, as representing the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross.
In faithfulness to Scripture, we must therefore regard our memorial, our representation of Christ crucified before our eyes (Gal 3:1), as a sacrifice. However, we do not offer or sacrifice Christ. We offer, as he commanded at his final Passover meal, our memorial of his sacrifice, his everlasting intercession before the throne of the heavenly grace (Heb 7:25).
THE holy sacrament is, in its nature and design, a solemn prayer, and the imitation of the intercession, which our glorious High Priest continually makes for us in heaven; and as it is our ministry, and contains our duty, it is nothing else but the solemnity and great economy of prayer, for the whole, and for every member, and for all and every particular necessity of the church...
For what Christ did once upon the cross in real sacrifice, that he always does in heaven, by perpetual representation and intercession; what Christ does by his supreme priesthood, that the church doth by her ministerial; what he does in heaven, we do upon earth; what is performed at the right hand of God, is also represented, and, in one manner, exhibited upon the holy table of the Lord: and what is done on altars upon solemn days, is done in our closets in our daily offices; that is, God is invocated, and God is appeased, and God is reconciled, and God gives us blessings and the fruits of Christ's passion in the virtue of the sacrificed Lamb; that is, we, believing and praying, are blessed, and sanctified, and saved, through Jesus Christ.
Such is our "memorial" and "remembrance" and "Commemoration" and "representation" in the Eucharist of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. See also Sacrifice in the Sermons section.
19 "Creatures of bread and wine". The Anglicans regard the continued presence of thoroughly authentic bread and wine alongside the theandric (i.e. human and divine) energies of Christ as an essential part of what makes a sacrament a sacrament.
They draw heavily on the Church Fathers for this, e.g. St Irenaeus of Lyons and St John Damascene.
TRANSUBSTANTIATION (or the change of the substance of bread and wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.
FOR what can be said more plainly, than that which Ambrose saith: Bread and wine remain still the same they were before, and yet are changed into another thing or, that which Gelasius saith: The substance of the bread, or the nature of the wine, ceaseth not so to be or, that which Theodoret saith: After the consecration the mystical signs do not cast off their own proper nature; for they remain still on their former substance, form, and kind: or that which Augustine saith: That which ye see is the bread and cup, for so our eyes tell us: but that which your faith requireth to be taught, is this: the bread is the body of Christ, and the cup is His blood.
CHRIST in the Sacrament is not altogether unlike Christ in the cratch. To the cratch we may well like the husk or outward symbols of it. Outwardly it seems little worth but it is rich of contents, as was the crib this day with Christ in it. For what are they, but infirma et egena elementa, "weak and poor elements" of themselves? yet in them find we Christ. Even as they did this day in the beasts' crib the food of Angels; which very food our signs both represent, and present unto us.
20 "Lay his hand". The 1549 Book directed that the priest make the sign of the Cross here. This was removed for the 1552 Book at the request of Swiss Reformer Martin Bucer.
This may be a good place to remark, that the reformed Church of England followed ancient practice in not using incense to hallow the altar or consecrated elements. However, it has traditionally burnt incense in a static pot, to fragrance the church, and to symbolise the rising of prayers to heaven.
THE Country Parson hath a special care of his church, that all things there be decent, and befitting His name by which it is called. Therefore, First, he takes order, that all things be in good repair; as walls plastered, windows glazed, floor paved, seats whole, firm, and uniform, especially that the pulpit, and desk, and communion table, and font be as they ought, for those great duties that are performed in them. Secondly, that the church be swept, and kept clean, without dust or cobwebs; and, at great festivals, strewed and stuck with boughs, and perfumed with incense.
THE burning of incense in a standing vessel for the two-fold purpose of sweet fumigation and of serving as an expressive symbol, has undoubtedly been used from ancient times. The practice of censing ministers and ornaments, and of swinging censers, is of much more recent origin.
21 "This is my body... this is my blood". The Anglican view is that the bread and wine are consecrated not by these "words of institution" alone, but by the whole prayer of the Church, and the entire liturgy, but especially the Prayer of Consecration all told. This sets the Anglicans apart from the later Western tradition, and closer to the Eastern Orthodox.
FOR though all churches in the world have, through all ages, used the words of Institution at the time of Consecration; yet none, I believe, except the church of Rome, ever before attributed the Consecration to the bare pronouncing of those words only: that was always attributed, by the most ancient fathers, to the prayer of the church. The Lutherans and Calvinists indeed both agree with the Papists, that the Consecration is made by the bare repeating the words of Institution.
BY what argument will it so much as probably be concluded, that these words, "This is my body," should be the words effective of conversion and consecration? That Christ used these words is true, and so he used all the other; but did not tell, which were the consecrating words, nor appoint them to use those words; but to do the thing, and so to remember and represent his death.
Furthermore, the Anglicans insisted that the nature of Christ's presence in the Eucharist is an impenetrable mystery, and that both the Romans and the Swiss had attempted to penetrate too far into matters beyond our understanding.
CHRIST said this is My Body; in this, the object, we are agreed with you, the manner only is controverted. We hold by a firm belief, that it is the Body of Christ, of the manner how it comes to be so, there is not a word in the Gospel; and because the Scripture is silent in this, we justly disown it to be a matter of faith; we may indeed rank it among tenets of the school, but, by no means, among the Articles of our Christian Belief. We like well of what Durandus is reported to have said, "We hear the word, and feel the motion, we know not the manner, and yet believe the presence;" for we believe a real presence no less than you do.
THIS mystery is a pledge and a symbol; Christ's body is truth. This pledge we hold mystically until we come to the truth, and then will this pledge be ended. But it is, as we before said, Christ's body and his blood, not bodily but spiritually. Ye are not to inquire how it is done, but to hold in your belief that it is so done.
Consequently, the Divines cheerfully use all manner of language, but recoil from turning it into any kind of scholastical system. For this, they were (and are still) excoriated by Rome and the Swiss alike, both parties demanding intellectual precision; but in truth the English didn't much care.
ALL the time we find as different expressions among those primitive Fathers, as among our modern writers at this day: calling the Sacrament "the Sign of Christ's Body" – "the Figure of His Body" – "the Symbol of His Body" – "the Mystery of His Body" – "the Exemplar" "Type' and "Representation, of His Body", saying "that the Elements do not recede from their first nature"; others naming it "the true Body and Blood of Christ," – "changed, not in shape, but in nature;" yea, doubting not to say, that in this Sacrament "we see Christ" – "we touch Christ" – "we eat Christ," – "that we fasten our teeth in His very Flesh, and make our tongues red in His Blood".
The Fathers never meant by these forms of speech to determine the manner of the Presence (which was not dreamt of in their days), but to raise the devotion of their hearers and readers; to advertise the people of God, that they should not rest in the external symbols, or signs, but principally be intent upon the invisible grace: which was both lawful and commendable for them to do. Leave us their primitive liberty, and we will not refrain from the like expressions.
CHRIST is present spiritually, that is, by effect and blessing; which, in true speaking, is rather the consequent of his presence than the formality. For though we are taught and feel that, yet this we profess we cannot understand; and therefore curiously inquire not. Σαφής έλεγχος απιστίας, το πως περί Θεού λέγειν, said Justin Martyr; It is a manifest argument of infidelity, to inquire, concerning the things of God, 'How, or After what manner?'.
And in this it was, that many of the fathers of the church laid their hands upon their mouths, and revered the mystery, but like the remains of the sacrifice, they burnt it; that is, as themselves expound the allegory, it was to be adored by faith, and not to be discussed with reason: knowing that, as Solomon said, Scrutator majestatis opprimetur a gloria: He that pries too far into the majesty, shall be confounded with the glory".
22 "In remembrance of me". Jesus's words here (1 Cor 11:23-26 and Lk 22:19) are εις την εμήν ανάμνησιν (eis ten anamnesin).
"Remembrance" is a sacrificial term, connected with prayers rising to heaven (Acts 10:4; NIV has "memorial offering" here), the Shewbread or "Bread of the Presence" in the Temple (Leviticus 24:5-8; Exod 25:23-30), and of Israel's sacrifices in Num 10:10, and again, together with Christ's sacrifice, in Heb 10:3.
The force of it is that our Eucharistic prayers rise to God's throne and are received there with all the acceptance of Christ's own prayer and sacrifice; and that in turn, God showers down upon us all those blessings that Christ's sacrifice on the cross has won for us.
AS Christ is a Priest in heaven for ever, and yet does not sacrifice himself afresh, nor yet without a sacrifice couId he be a Priest, but by a daily ministration and intercession represents his sacrifice to God, and offers himself as sacrificed; so he does upon earth by the ministery of his servants —, he is offered to God, that is, he is by prayers and the Sacrament represented or offered up to God as sacrificed; which in effect, is a celebration of his death, and the applying it to the present and future necessities of the Church, as we are capable, by a ministery like to his in Heaven.
It followes then, that the celebration of this sacrifice be in its proportion an instrument of applying the proper sacrifice to all the purposes, which it first designed; it is ministerially and by application an instrument propitiatory, it is Eucharistical, it is an homage, and an act of adoration, and it is impetratory, and obtains for us, and for the whole Church all the benefits of the sacrifice, which is now celebrated and applied —, that is, As this rite is the remembrance and ministerial celebration of Christ's sacrifice, so it is destined to do honour to God, to expresse the homage and duty of his servants, to acknowledge his supreme dominion, to give him thanks and worship, to beg pardon, blessings, and supply to all our needs.
THE main Intention of Christ, was not here to propose a bare Image of his Passion, once suffered in order to a bare Remembrance: but over and above to enrich this Memorial with such an effectual and real Presence of continuing Atonement and Strength, as may both evidently set forth Christ himself crucified before our Eyes, Gal. iii. 1 and invite us to his Sacrifice, not as done and gone many Years since, but as to expiating Grace and Mercy, still lasting, still new, still the same that it was, when it was first offered for us. …
Therefore this Sacrifice being such, the holy Communion is ordained of Christ to set it out to us as such, that is, as effectual now at his holy Table, as it was then at the very Cross: and by the same Proportion the Act of worthy Receivers (besides Remembrance and Worship) must needs be this; first to elevate their Faith, and stretch their very Souls up to the Mount, with the blessed Virgin, who stood nearest the Sacrifice; or at least with the Disciples, who looked on it at some Distance: and then look up to the Victim, to Jesus the Everlasting Mediator of the Everlasting Covenant, and to the Blood of Sprinkling that speaks yet, and craves for better Things (Pardon and Blessing) than Abel's did. Heb. xii.24.
Here Faith must be as true a Substance of those Things past, which we believe, as it is of those other Things yet to come, which we hope for: Heb. xi. 1.
23 "For many". A Hebrew idiom (Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24), meaning "an indeterminate number", which can and often does mean "everyone", especially where it applies to the universal condition of fallen humanity, and the limitless scope of the redemption freely offered to us in Christ.
For example, in Rom 5:15, we read "For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many". As we believe that "death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (v12), "many be dead" must mean "all be dead". Christ's therefore grace abounds for all too, though not all make use of it.
DID not Christ die for all mankind? And is not that death said to be "a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world"? All this is true: but it does not from hence follow that all men must be actually saved and absolved from their sins by virtue of His death. No; it is only they who apply to themselves the merits of His passion, by partaking duly of this Holy Sacrament, which is the proper means by which these blessings are conveyed to us, "whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption".
Likewise, the Scripture is clear that Christ died as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn 2:2; 1 Tim 2:5-6), and God wishes all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of his truth (1 Tim 2:4).
24 "As oft as ye shall drink it". The Pre-Reformation English Church followed Roman practice, in celebrating the Mass with great frequency, but rarely with the laity receiving communion. The Reformers tried to increase frequency of communion by the laity.
THE benefit of frequent communion is also of great advantage, because hereby we are confirmed in all grace and goodness, and our resolutions to live in obedience and conformity to God's laws are strengthened; and the grace of God's Holy Spirit, to do his will, is hereby conveyed to us: It is the sovereign remedy against all temptations, by mortifying our passions, and by spiritualizing our affections: In a word, it is the likeliest method to make our bodies the temples of the Holy Ghost, and to prepare our souls for the enjoyment of God to all eternity.
LET every one, therefore, who has either any desire to please God, or any love of his own soul, obey God, and consult the good of his own soul, by communicating every time he can; like the first Christians, with whom the Christian sacrifice was a constant part of the Lord's day's service. And for several centuries they received it almost every day: four times a week always, and every saint's day beside.
25 "Scottish Prayer Book". In 1637, at the behest of King Charles I, Archbishop William Laud attempted to bring a new Prayer Book into Scotland. The highly Calvinist and Presbyterian Scots rebelled, and in 1690 threw off both Episcopacy and English control.
The BCP of 1637 remained, however, the basis of the Prayer Books of both the Scottish Episcopalians (who remained loyal to the CofE) and, through them, the early American Bishops of the 18th century, who received their consecrations through the Scottish Episcopalians. The American BCP of 1928 is based on the Scottish model.
The Prayer of Consecration in the BCP of 1637 included a direct invocation of the Holy Ghost, known as an "epiclesis" (Greek επίκλησις, "calling upon"). Blunt wrote of our present Prayer of Consecration, at "receiving these thy creatures of bread and wine":
IN this place the Invocation of the Holy Ghost was inserted in 1549. This occurs in every ancient Catholic Liturgy of both East and West, excepting only the Roman, and those derived from it (if indeed the Roman or Petrine family of Liturgies did not itself also originally contain it), and the Holy orthodox Church of the East has always thought it essential to the act of consecration. It was omitted in 1552, probably in deference to the scruples of Bncer. It was inserted in the Scottish Book of 1637, and forms part of the existing Scottish and American Communion Offices, where it follows tho Words of Institution and the Prayer of Oblation, as in the Eastern Liturgies. The clause in our present Office contains an implied or oblique invocation of the Holy Ghost, since it is only through His divine operation that we, by receiving God's "creatures of Bread and Wine," can "be made partakers of Christ's most blessed Body and Blood." But we may be allowed to wish, with Bishops Horsley and Wilson, and the best informed English Divines, that the direct Invocation had been left untouched.
26 "Agnus Dei". The Agnus Dei is not part of the Prayer Book Communion service, though it was sung in the pre-Reformation service, and is still said in the Litany. It was present in the Prayer Book of 1549, and a letter from Thomas Cranmer finds him commissioning suitable music for singing it. It was removed for the Prayer Book of 1552.
The Anthem had, however, come back into the Lord's Supper by the 19th century, and was pronounced legal by the Lincoln Judgement of 1890, provided it was treated as an optional anthem and not as a fixed part of the service. It is traditionally sung while the priest is making his communion. See Bishop Nicholas Ridley (1500-1555), How The Lamb Of God Is Present Upon The Altar In Holy Communion.
Blunt mentions that at Durham, an organ voluntary was substituted for the Agnus Dei.
27 "In both kinds". Before the Reformation, it was usual to give only the bread to the laity. This was one of the matters upon which the English Reformers were most indignant.
DURING the corrupter ages, when the sacramental bread and wine were believed to be the actual Body and Blood of Christ, a wafer was substituted for bread, and that was by the priest put into the mouth of the communicant, that no particle of the Body of Christ should be wasted or lost. And lest the blood should be spilt, or any accident happen, the cup was totally withheld from the laity. At the Reformation the primitive practice was restored, and the Communion in both kinds delivered into the hands of the people.
28 "Into their hands". This was the most ancient practice. More recently, the Roman Church had insisted on delivering the bread directly onto the tongue.
WE have the unanimous testimony of the Fathers, that the communicants always received the elements into their own hands. Cyril [of Jerusalem] in his fifth Mystagogic Catechesis, directs the communicant to receive the Body of Christ in the hollow part of his right hand, which he advises him to support with the left. This is what others call receiving it in the hands placed in the form of a cross.
THE Church of Rome use to give it to the people into their mouths, which is not so ancient. It was the the ancient custom, that the people took it from the priest in their hands ... From whence we have another custom of the Christians, now also used among many, that they touched their eyes, their nose, their temples and forehead, with the Sacrament before they did eat it, as being confident that there was such virtue and force in it, that it would make all their senses the more happy by it, and less subject to evil desires.
29 "All meekly kneeling". The more extreme supporters of the Swiss Reform wanted to abolish kneeling at this point, because it was held to imply worship of the bread and wine. See the Declaration on Kneeling for more on this.
In fact, we kneel not to the bread and wine, but to the presence of God at his altar, and of Christ thereon.
THE Lamb of God is in heaven, according to the verity of the body: and here he is with us in a mystery, according to his power; not corporally. ... For that heavenly Lamb is (as I confess) on the table; but by a spiritual presence, by grace, and not after any corporal substance of his flesh taken of the Virgin Mary. ... "But rather," saith the canon [a text attributed to the Council of Nicaea, 325], "lifting up our minds into heaven, let us consider with faith the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world, sitting or lying upon the table.
"For a lifted-up faith," saith he, "seeth him which sitteth on the right hand of God the Father, after the true manner of a body set by grace on the Lord's table, and taking away the sins of the world".
30 "He shall say". The words used at the distribution are a compromise. Charles Wheatly explains how it came about:
THE first part of the form then, viz. The Body, or The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, was the only form used in St. Ambrose's time at the delivery of the Bread and Wine, to which the receivers answered Amen; both to express their desire that it might be Christ's Body and Blood unto them, and their firm belief that it was so.
The next words, preserve thy Body and Soul unto everlasting Life, were added by St. Gregory [the Great]: and these with the former were all that were to be used at the delivery of the Elements, during the first Common Prayer Book of King Edward VI [1549].
But these words, I suppose, being thought at that time to savour too much of the real Presence in the Sacrament, which was a doctrine that then was thought to imply too much of Transubstantiation to be believed; they were therefore left out of the second book, and the following words prescribed in the room of them, Take and eat this, &c. or Drink this, &c. as in the latter part of our present forms.
But these on the other side reducing the Sacrament to a bare eating and drinking in remembrance of the Death and Passion of our Lord; they were in a little time as much disliked as the former. And therefore, upon Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne (whose design and endeavour was to unite the nation as much as she could in one doctrine and faith), both these forms were enjoined to be used (as we have them still) to please both parties.
31 "The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ".
AFTER the sacrifice is ended, let all in order receive our Lord's Body, with shamefacedness and fear, as coming to the body of the king. Let the women also, with their heads veiled, come in order. Let the bishop give the oblation, saying, The Body of Christ. And let him that receiveth say, Amen. When the rest receive, let the 33rd Psalm be said. This was the old order, as appeareth by Clem. Const. 1. ii. c. 61, and 1. viii. c. 20.
32 "Fair linen cloth". A "corporal", a white cloth wrapped around the bread and wine. For practical purposes, to keep flies etc. from the bread and wine; for symbolic, to recall the winding sheet of Christ.
THIS Rubric, taken from the Scottish Liturgy [of 1637], was likewise added in 1661; the ceremony which it prescribes, was probably observed before. This cloth, by the Latin ecclesiastical writers is called the corporal, because it was wrapped round the body of Christ in the Eucharist. It was in use in the time of Isidore Peleusiota, who wrote A. D. 412, and says [Ep. 123], the fine linen cloth, which is stretched over the holy gifts, represents the good office of Joseph of Arimathea. Durandus [William Durandus, 1230-1296], in his Rationale, delivers the same opinion: The corporal represents the fine linen cloth in which the body of Christ was wound up in the sepulchre. The corporal was likewise called palla, or pall, because it vailed the sacramental elements. The institution of the corporal or pall is ascribed to Eusebius, who was Bishop of Rome about the year 300. But it was probably in use before, for he ordered that it should be made, not of silk, or purple, or died cloth, but of fine white linen, like that in which our Lord was buried. In the colour, manufacture, and use of the corporal, the old liturgical writers have discovered many mystical significations.
33 "The Lord's Prayer".
THE Post-communion, like the Ante-communion, begins with the Lord's Prayer, and we can at no time repeat this form more properly, or more effectually, than when we have just commemorated the meritorious sufferings and death of its divine Author. The Doxology ['for thine is the kingdom &c'] is here added to the Lord's Prayer, because this part of the office is principally eucharistic.
34 "Repeating every petition". A rubric from the days when literacy was lower than it might be, and when books were extremely expensive.
35 "Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving". Archbishop William Laud summed up three sacrifices in the Eucharist.
AS Christ offered up Himself once for all, a full and all-sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, so did He institute and command a memory of this sacrifice in a Sacrament, even till His coming again.
For at and in the Eucharist we offer up to God three sacrifices: one by the priest only; that is the commemorative sacrifice of Christ's death, represented in bread broken and wine poured out; another by the priest and the people jointly, and that is the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for all the benefits and graces we receive by the precious death of Christ; the third by every particular man for himself only, and that is the sacrifice of every man's body and soul, to serve Him in both all the rest of his life for this blessing thus bestowed on him.
However, it is only the pleading of the blood and the merits of Jesus Christ that make our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, and of our souls and bodies, acceptable in the eyes of our heavenly Father.
HIS Sacrifice did consist of two Parts. The first and chiefest was, the Lamb, that did foreshew the Lamb of God; and the second was, the Meat and Drink Offering, made of Flour, mingled with Oil and Wine: all which, being but an Additional thrown on the Lamb, Morning and Evening were counted but for one and the same Sacrifice (Exod 29:38-46; Num 28:1-10).
Those secondary Oblations, so thrown and burnt upon the main Sacrifice, signified properly these Offerings, which Christians must present to God, of themselves, as their Goods, and of their Praises. ... For, on the one Side, our own Persons, our Works, or any Thing else that may be ours, are, by themselves, but weak, unsubstantial Kinds of Offerings, which cannot be presented unto God, otherwise but as these additional Oblations, which from themselves fall to the Ground, unless a more solid Sacrifice do sustain them: and, on the other Side, this solid and fundamental Sacrifice upholds, saves, and sanctifies, but those Persons and Things, that, according to the Law of Moses, his Meat Offerings are thrown into this his Fire, are hallowed upon his Altar; and are, together with him, consecrated to God by him.
36 "All thy whole Church". This reminds us that our Eucharist is a commemoration of a sacrifice made for the whole world, including those with whom we commiserated, and those for whose memory we gave thanks, in the Prayer For The Church Militant.
THIS is a plain oblation of Christ's death once offered, and a representative sacrifice of it, for the sins, and for the benefit, of the whole world, of the whole Church; that both those which are here on earth, and those that rest in the sleep of peace, being departed in the faith of Christ, may find the effect and virtue of it.† And if the authority of the ancient Church may prevail with us, as it ought to do, there is nothing more manifest than that it always taught as much. And it is no absurdity to say, here is an oblation made for all, when it is not only commemorated to have been once offered, but solemn prayers are here also added, and request made, that it may be effectual to all.
†This is NOT a prayer for souls in Purgatory, which is rejected by the Church of England (Article XXII), but on the contrary, a recognition and thanksgiving that those who have died and are now at rest have gone to our Father through Christ's sacrifice, no less for them as for us, upon his cross.
