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 For Use in Parish Instruction, 
 
 and in the Preparation of Candidates 
 
 for Coniirmi^tion 
 
 By the Rev. EUiston J. Perot, B.D. 
 
 Rector of St John's Church, Salem, N. J. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031320520 
 
Notpa 
 
 ON 
 
 Slljf Ammran Uttwr^ 
 
 For Use in Parish Instniction, 
 
 and in the Preparation of Candidates 
 
 for Confirmation 
 
 By the Rev. Elliston J. Perot, B. D. 
 
 Rector of St. John's Church, Salem. N. J. 
 
 Philadelphia 
 Jacobs' Book Store 
 
 1210 Walnut Street 
 
Copyright, 191 1- 
 By Elliston J. Perot. 
 
In Grateful Memory 
 of the clear, concise teaching 
 
 OF 
 
 Fourth Bishop of Connecticut, 
 
 February 7, 1899, 
 
 AND of the Fearless Leadership toward Christian Reunion 
 
 OF 
 
 ®lfj Ertt. ir. Jfolfti 3ffulton 
 
 OF Pennsylvania, 
 
 April 24, 1907. 
 
 In the Communion of the Catholic Church, 
 
 In the Confidence of a Certain Faith, 
 
 In the Comfort of a Reasonable, Religious 
 
 AND KoLY Hope. 
 
In the Office for Holy Baptism, on page 251 of the 
 Prayer Book, the Church refers to "Those things which 
 a Christian ought to know and beheve, to his soul's 
 health," and cites the Catechism as being "set forth for 
 the purpose" of making those things plain. 
 
 It is self-evident, moreover, that the objective point 
 of all such instruction is the formation of regular habits 
 of Divine worship ; the instruction referred to is intended 
 to be, not merely academic, but intensely practical. If 
 the person instructed does not become an actual worship- 
 per, and form the habit of regular prayer, the instruction 
 is failing of its chief purpose, so that even Baptism and 
 Confirmation, with all their glorious possibilities, may in 
 the end come to imply only unused gifts and added re- 
 sponsibility. 
 
 Further, it is evident enough that the habit of wor- 
 ship can never be regarded as complete until there is a 
 loving appreciation of that which the Holy Communion 
 stands for, since that Sacrament is the divinely given 
 keystone of the arch of worship, without which it can 
 never be firm and strong to bridge the trials and tempta- 
 tions of life. The Holy Communion is not merely the 
 privilege of the advanced saint, nor the last refuge of 
 the helpless sinner, but it is intended to be the normal 
 support of the average Christian man or woman, boy 
 or girl. It would seem therefore that truly efficient 
 parish instruction ought to succeed in making, out of the 
 great majority of those who come to Confirmation, life- 
 long and regular attendants at the Lord's Table. The 
 evidence that such results today are far from universal, 
 may be found in almost every parish. May not condi- 
 tions be improved, by means of the placing of a more 
 constant emphasis upon the Eucharist itself, throughout 
 the whole course of preparatory instruction, and by means 
 of an united appeal to all intelligent Christian people, 
 
 5 
 
to raise that most essential act of worship to its rightful 
 place of importance? 
 
 It has been well suggested, in a recent booklet by the 
 Rev. C. Morton Sills, D. D., entitled "The Teaching of 
 the Divine Liturgy," that all instruction preparatory to 
 Confirmation can most profitably be based upon the text 
 of the Liturgy itself, for the actual use of which the can- 
 didates are being trained. To that suggestion the present 
 writer is much indebted, and this work is an attempt to 
 apply it further to the practical requirements of parish 
 instruction at the present time. The present booklet is 
 intended to be used as a plan for the instruction of juve- 
 nile classes for Confirmation, making constant reference 
 to the actual text of the Church Catechism for illustra- 
 tion and drill ; but the writer hopes that it may also prove 
 readable and helpful when placed in the hands of per- 
 sons of maturer mind, who, for whatever reason, and 
 whether or not already confirmed, have failed as yet to 
 realize what a help and comfort the Holy Communion 
 might be to themselves. 
 
 An analysis of the Catechism shows that the chief 
 topics upon which the Church deems instruction to be 
 necessary are five in number, namely. 
 
 The Christian Covenant, 
 
 The Christian Faith, 
 
 The Christian Law, 
 
 Christian Prayer, 
 
 The Christian Sacraments. 
 
 But it may readily be seen that, though in a different 
 order, the study of the Liturgy presents for considera- 
 tion, not only those same five topics of instruction, but 
 also other matters about which every Churchman ought 
 to be informed. Thus we find 
 
 The Christian Covenant (including Holy Baptism 
 sealed by Confirmation), underlying the whole use of the 
 Liturgy, as its necessary condition ; 
 
 The Christian Law, proclaimed in the Decalogue, 
 and again summarized in Our Lord's words; 
 
The Christian Faith, triumphantly set forth in 
 the Creed; 
 
 Christian Prayer, not only exemplified in the reci- 
 tation of the Lord's Prayer, but also illustrated through- 
 out the service, in all its varying forms, confession, peti- 
 tion, intercession and thanksgiving ; and 
 
 The Second Sacrament, made the subject of study 
 from the beginning of the Liturgy to the end, and there- 
 by interpreted for practical use. 
 
 Thus evidently the Liturgy omits no principal topic 
 included in the Catechism. But further, its use necessi- 
 tates a place set apart for the purpose, and also a duly 
 qualified leader or minister; and so the arrangement of 
 God's House, and the essential outlines of the Christian 
 Ministry, subjects that ought not to be overlooked, come 
 up for consideration in their natural order. 
 
 Since the following pages are not intended for use as 
 a devotional manual, of which class of publications there 
 seems to be already an abundant supply, only one or two 
 forms of prayer for personal use have been inserted. 
 For the sake of compactness, the full text of some parts 
 of the Liturgy has been omitted, or printed in the Ap- 
 pendix; and it has been the writer's aim to present the 
 subject in such a form as may encourage a continuous 
 reading, and to concentrate all attention on the Eucharist 
 itself, as the key to the successful Christian life. With 
 this end in view, the analyses of the Christian Law, the 
 Christian Faith, etc., have also been placed in the Ap- 
 pendix. A series of questions which may be of use either 
 in class-instruction or for self-instruction, comprising 
 ten questions on each of the ten chapters, has been 
 added, with spaces for written answers. These will also 
 be printed upon a separate eight-page form. 
 
 It seems best before the actual text of the Liturgy 
 is reached, to outline in three preliminary chapters these 
 three subjects which lead up to it, namely. 
 
 Chapter I. — The Covenant with God. 
 
 Chapter II. — The House of God. 
 
 Chapter III. — The Ministry of the Church. 
 7 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Etft domtmut wttl; (Sub 
 
 The Holy Communion is the highest and most help- 
 ful privilege within the reach, on earth, of those of God's 
 children who have accepted Christ as their Saviour and 
 have entered into that covenant-relation with God which 
 He has provided for our salvation. 
 
 For man to have proposed to make a covenant with 
 his Creator would have been an impertinence, but this 
 offer of the blessings of a covenant comes to us from 
 God Himself. In the Old Testament times the covenant- 
 ed mercies were for the most part limited to the Chosen 
 People, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; 
 (see Gen. ix. 9, xv. 18, and many other similar passages). 
 The Israelites often broke the Covenant and forfeited its 
 blessings, but when they repented God forgave them 
 and re-established it. As early, however, as the days of 
 Isaiah (Iv. 3), and of Jeremiah (xxxi, 31-33), a new 
 and better covenant began to be foreshadowed; and on 
 Pentecost, the Birthday of the Christian Church, this 
 new covenant was established as God's normal relation- 
 ship with the faithful, both of the Jews and of the Gen- 
 tiles. It implies an impartation of Divine grace, depend- 
 ent upon the Sacrifice of Christ, and offered to all men 
 by means of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. (S. Matt, 
 xxviii. 19; Acts ii. 37-39.) It is therefore in the bond of 
 the Christian covenant that we are to prove our loyalty 
 to Christ; and keeping the covenant in force involves 
 success in the Christian life. 
 
 The making of a covenant is always an interesting 
 occasion. There must in every case be two parties, per- 
 haps each with his own attorney or representative; there 
 
 8 
 
must be conditional promises made by each party, and 
 there must be some outward sign or token that will serve 
 as evidence to witnesses that the promises are made, and 
 that the covenant is entered into ; and either party to the 
 covenant is then only bound in so far as the other party 
 also is faithful. 
 
 The two parties to the Christian covenant, therefore, 
 are God the Creator, and the person who comes to be 
 baptized; the Minister is there commissioned to act as 
 God's representative; the mutual promises are clearly 
 stated; and then by the use of the water, together with 
 the signing with the Cross and the giving of the new 
 Christian name, the covenant is made. Baptism being 
 God's own appointed way of making this Christian cove- 
 nant, it is evident that no mere human ordinance can pos- 
 sibly serve as a substitute for it. 
 
 The mutual promises in the covenant of Baptism are 
 three in number, imparting to us salvation, and on the 
 other hand, pledging to God our loyalty, with regard to 
 the past, the present and the future; and these promises 
 should always be definitely stated before the person is 
 baptized. God's grace for the past conveys to us the for- 
 giveness of sins and the washing from their stain in the 
 waters of Baptism ; but it is conditioned upon our renun- 
 ciation of those sins and our true repentance. God's 
 grace for the present conveys to us the power 
 to overcome temptation and to live aright for the 
 time being, but it is conditioned upon our trusting 
 in His guidance and strength and not in our 
 own. God's grace for the future conveys to us the gift 
 of eternal life, beginning now, continuing so long as the 
 covenant is in force, and capable of lasting into eternity ; 
 but it is conditioned upon our "obediently keeping God's 
 holy will and commandments,'' and our conquering by 
 His grace all rebelliousness of heart; (see the promises 
 as made, Pr. Bk. pages 261, 262). Some further points 
 also about these promises should not be overlooked. In 
 the promise of renunciation, "the Devil" is renounced 
 
 9 
 
absolutely, since we cannot possibly be loyal at the same 
 time to both of two contending masters. But "the world" 
 and "the flesh" are only renounced in so far as concerns 
 their sinfulness ; for even as Christians we must continue 
 to share this world's industrial and social life, and our 
 bodies, with their appetites and desires, are given us in 
 order that we may make them our obedient servants, and 
 "the temples of the Holy Ghost." The promise to trust 
 in God is made in the form of our voluntary acceptance 
 of the Christian Faith as contained in the Apostles' 
 Creed. And our promise for the future is that, by God's 
 help, we will make God's will and commandments the 
 law of our life. Since God Himself proposes the terms 
 of this covenant, His part in it is sure. The only danger 
 of failure in the bond of the covenant is that of failure 
 on our part; and such failure will be our fault, since 
 God's honour is pledged to help us keep it. 
 
 It is the teaching of our branch of the Church (Pr. 
 Bk. bottom of page 251), and of much the greater part of 
 the Christian world in all ages, that this covenant should 
 be made in fancy, following the analogy of the old Jew- 
 ish covenant, into which the child was admitted at the age 
 of eight days, as in the case of Our Lord Himself (S. 
 Luke ii. 21). Thus the Church would provide for the 
 child's normal and steady growth in grace, even from 
 infancy, under the safeguard of the loving care of its 
 parents and god-parents. But if for any reason the 
 privilege of infant membership in the Church has been 
 denied to a child, then Baptism should be sought at the 
 earliest opportunity. For since God has offered us His 
 grace under the terms of the covenant, it would be both 
 ungrateful and presumptuous for a person to choose 
 rather to rely upon the "uncovenanted mercies," even 
 though such may exist for those to whom the covenant 
 is not offered. A person not yet baptized ought there- 
 fore to seek Baptism at once, and no one who believes in 
 Christ ought willingly to die without receiving Christian 
 Baptism, or to run any risk of so doing. 
 
 )0 
 
But though the covenant itself is thus a means of 
 grace, yet it should be remembered that even this cove- 
 nant-thought does not comprehend the fullness of all the 
 mercies of Baptism. It was Christ Himself Who joined 
 together the "birth of water" and the "birth of the 
 spirit" (S. John iii. 5), and it is not for man to separate 
 them. Baptism involves membership in the Church, and 
 therefore adoption into God's Family, and a new relation 
 of sonship with God, so that we may now the more confi- 
 dently approach Him as our Father, through the inter- 
 vention of the Holy Spirit; (see Romans viii. 14, 15; I 
 Cor. xii. 13). Thus it is, as the Catechism teaches, that 
 we are made by Baptism "Members of Christ, children of 
 God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven"; (see Pr. 
 Bk. page 266). 
 
 Confirmation. — It was the uniform teaching 
 of the undivided Church that Baptism, whether receive^ 
 in childhood or later, ought in due time to be followed 
 by Confirmation; and a number of writers from among 
 the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, etc., might also 
 be cited as favoring the use of this rite, which can easily 
 be traced back to Apostolic days. The Church's teaching 
 of the importance and value of Confirmation is based 
 upon the custom of the Apostles, as illustrated in Acts 
 viii. 14-20 and xix. 1-7, and also referred to, as in the 
 same class with Baptism, in Hebr. vi. 2. The rite consists 
 of prayer for the seven-fold gift of the Holy Spirit, fol- 
 lowed by the laying on of the Bishop's hands, with an 
 individual prayer of benediction on behalf of each candi- 
 date. In response to this prayer and to the act of faith 
 in seeking this benediction, the person confirmed should 
 confidently expect such an endowment of the Holy Spirit 
 as is then needed in order to make a new and efficient 
 start in the Christian life. In the Book of the Acts 
 we read of certain miraculous gifts of the Spirit that 
 came with the laying on of the Apostles' hands, such as 
 the working of miracles, the gift of tongues and the gift 
 of prophecy, but these are not to be expected today be- 
 ll 
 
cause there is no reason to think that we would have 
 good use for them if they were given. The gifts that we 
 ought to expect in Confirmation are rather the ordinary 
 gifts (the gifts that will set us in order to live the Christ- 
 ian life), such for instance as those enumerated in Isaiah 
 xi. 2, 3, namely "Wisdom, understanding, counsel, spirit- 
 ual strength, knowledge, godliness and the fear of the 
 Lord." And if we receive these, and use them, and "stir 
 them up" (II Tim. i. 6), our lives will soon show some- 
 thing of the "fruits of the Spirit," named by S. Paul in 
 Gal. V. 22, 23, "Love, joy, peace, longsuflfering, gentle- 
 ness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance." 
 
 The Confession of Christ. — It is as a part of the 
 Confirmation office that the Church calls on us to make 
 an open confession of Christ before men in the form of 
 a deliberate and voluntary renewing of the baptismal 
 vows ; this confession is made by the fact of our presence 
 there, and by our answer "I do," to the question of the 
 Bishop, who is our chief pastor upon earth. Thus, even 
 at the time when we are claiming as our own the full 
 privileges of the covenant, we are enabled to fulfill our 
 Lord's requirement that we must confess Him before 
 men; (S. Matt. x. 32-33). Leading the Christian life 
 will also, of course, oblige us to keep on confessing 
 Christ, by our words and actions, every day we live. 
 
 The Age for Confirmation. — Experience seems 
 to teach that there is far more danger to the soul in need- 
 lessly postponing the time of Confirmation, than there is 
 in making an apparently premature Christian confession. 
 The years of youth and early manhood or womanhood, 
 if spent without the Holy Communion, will be spiritually 
 wasted years, and exposed to needless dangers. There 
 comes in every earnest life a normal time for taking this 
 step ; and every year lost beyond that time seems to throw 
 greater difficulties in the way of entrance into the full 
 privileges of the covenant of Divine grace. 
 
 A suggestion of the age at which Confirmation may 
 be sought is found in the record of Our Lord's coming to 
 
 12 
 
the Temple and becoming a "child of the Law" when 
 twelve years old. The Prayer Book makes it the duty of 
 parents and godparents to lead to the Bishop for Con- 
 firmation at an early age, those for whose training in 
 the Christian life they are responsible. And it may be 
 said that the most promising time for Confirmation has 
 come, as soon as a child is old enough to feel his spiritual 
 need, to desire a personal share in the highest privileges 
 of religion, and to understand that he is now assuming 
 the full responsibility of the service of Christ. 
 
 The Christian covenant, made in Baptism and sealed 
 in Confirmation, must be frequently renewed at the Lord's 
 Table. When the covenant is in force we are safe ; when 
 it is broken our souls are in peril. 
 
 A Prayer. 
 
 f\ BLESSED Saviour, who didst give thy life for me upon 
 the Cross, and hast extended thy covenanted mercies even 
 unto me, I hless thee that thou didst take me into thine arms, 
 even when I was a helpless child, and didst graft me into the 
 body of thy holy Church. When I have wandered from thy 
 care, thou hast again sought me out and found me, and now in 
 thine infinite love thou hast called me to the knowledge of thy 
 grace, and faith in thee. As thou when on earth didst heal all 
 the sickness of men, so now heal, I pray thee, all the sicknesses 
 of my soul ; and give me of thine own life. Let me not, hence- 
 forth, wander from thy paths, but by thy grace keep me stead- 
 fast in the bond of thy covenant, and bring me at last to thy 
 eternal kingdom, who livest and reignest with the Father and 
 the Holy Spirit, One God, world without end. Amen. 
 
 1,3 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ilift ^tlam a£ (Sad 
 
 The Holy Communion may be administered, if 
 necessary, in any convenient place. The English liturgy 
 was used for the first time in America, so far as we 
 know, under a tent at Jamestown, in 1607 — if indeed it 
 had not already been used, with the other services of the 
 English Prayer Book, when the expedition of Sir Francis 
 Drake, with its English chaplain, landed and encamped 
 for six weeks upon the coast of what is now California, 
 in the summer of 1579. 
 
 We should never forget the possibility of keeping 
 this service, if necessary, even in a private house. The 
 "Upper Room" was almost certainly in a private house, 
 as were also many of the other meeting places of the 
 early Christians. And when a communicant is sick for a 
 considerable time, even though not apparently in danger 
 of death, arrangements ought to be made to have the 
 Communion administered in the sick room, with the sick 
 person and a few others, in order that the presence of 
 Christ there, according to His promise (S. Matt, xviii. 
 20), may be recognized and His benediction given. Sick 
 persons need the Bread of Life quite as much as do well 
 persons, and they ought to crave it. To minister to this 
 need is one of the special duties of the parish priest. 
 When sickness is prolonged it is by no means unreason- 
 able to ask for a private celebration of the Holy Com- 
 munion once a month. 
 
 But the usual place for the administration of both 
 the Sacraments is the Church building, specially designed 
 for that purpose, consecrated to God, and never used 
 except for Divine worship. We may learn much from a 
 
 14 
 
study of the symbolical meaning of the several parts of 
 a church, and of the furniture which they contain. 
 
 The Nave. — Entering any church through the door 
 (itself symboHcal of Christ; see S. John x. 9), we come 
 first to that part where the people worship, which is 
 called the "Nave." This word means "ship," and it may 
 remind us of the great ark of Noah, into which all living 
 things were gathered to be saved; (see "The Ark of 
 Christ's Church," P. B. p. 245). The Nave may also be 
 compared with the open courts around the Temple in 
 Jerusalem, in which the people gathered for worship, 
 and from one of which Our Lord drove out the traders. 
 The furniture of the Nave consists of the seats for the 
 worshippers, and the "Font," which is the place of admis- 
 sion by Baptism into the membership of the covenant- 
 body, and which for that reason generally stands near 
 the church door. In some churches also a "Litany desk" 
 will be found in the aisle of the Nave, in order that the 
 Minister, when saying the Litany, may identify himself 
 with the Congregation. 
 
 The Choir. — Generally at the East end, and raised 
 two or three steps above the floor of the Nave, is the 
 "Chancel." Sometimes it is also separated from the 
 Nave by a high open screen of wood or stone, bearing 
 aloft a Cross; such a screen is called a "rood screen," 
 because of the Cross upon it (rood means Cross), and 
 it is from the Latin name for the bars of such a screen 
 that the word Chancel is derived. The "Altar rail" or 
 "Communion rail" divides the Chancel into two parts, 
 called the "Choir" and the "Sanctuary." The Choir 
 is the outer part, nearer the Nave, and gets its name 
 from the body of singers, or Choir, who in all well ap- 
 pointed churches are stationed there to support the min- 
 ister in the rendering of the worship. It is in the Choir 
 that the minister conducts Morning and Evening Prayer. 
 The most important pieces of furniture in the Choir are 
 therefore the "Lectern," or reading desk, supporting the 
 Holy Bible, the "Prayer-desk," at which the prayers are 
 
 15 
 
offered, and the "Pulpit," for the preaching of the Word 
 (though the pulpit is sometimes set out in the Nave). 
 Reading the Scriptures, prayer, singing the Psalms, ex- 
 hortation and instruction were all likewise characteristic 
 of the exercises of the Jewish synagogues, which Our 
 Lord frequently attended, and to the customs of which 
 He thereby gave His approval. 
 
 The Sanctuary. — The inner part of the Chancel is 
 called the "Sanctuary," which means "holy place" (a 
 word sometimes used, however, in a broader sense to 
 designate the whole church-building). The Sanctuary is 
 directly associated with the most exalted forms of Chris- 
 tian worship, and its chief piece of furniture is the "Holy 
 Table," or "Altar." Often there is also a side-table, or 
 shelf, for holding the vessels for the Holy Communion, 
 which is called the "Credence," or "Credence-table" 
 (from an Italian word meaning "to taste"). In most of 
 our churches there are some seats for the clergy within 
 the Sanctuary, and in the Sanctuary of a "Cathedral 
 Church" a feature is always the Bishop's seat, or "Cath- 
 edra," from which that name cathedral is derived. The 
 Choir and Sanctuary correspond in a general way with 
 that part of the Jewish Temple which was under roof, 
 and which was similarly divided into two parts, known 
 as the "Holy Place" and the "Holy of Holies." It may 
 be noted, however, that in coming to receive the Com- 
 munion the people come forward as far as the Altar- 
 rail, which is the boundary between the Choir and the 
 Sanctuary; the Jewish laity had no such privilege as 
 this of setting foot within the Holy Place. Indeed, 
 in many large churches, especially the great cathedrals, 
 at the daily services the Nave is not used, but the whole 
 body of worshippers is in the Choir. When the perform- 
 ance of duty in preparation for the services takes any 
 person into the Chancel, and especially when into the 
 Sanctuary, such work should be performed in perfect 
 silence; conversation there is entirely out of order, for 
 it is the most holy spot that we can ever enter on earth. 
 
 16 
 
•The Holy Table. — The central piece of furniture 
 in the Sanctuary, and therefore in the whole building, 
 is the "Table" which is used in the celebration of the: 
 Holy Communion. It is called in the Prayer Book the 
 "Holy Table" (p. 228), the "Lord's Table" (p. 234), and 
 also the "Altar" (p. 553). "Altar" means "high place," 
 and any structure that is raised up in order that gifts 
 offered to God may be placed upon it is to that extent 
 an altar. As we shall see, it is for this purpose that the 
 Holy Table, or Altar, is chiefly used; a table set apart 
 for such a purpose is always an altar, and an altar is 
 always a table. The Holy Table is sometimes built with 
 legs, like an ordinary table, but on the other hand is often 
 erected solidly from the floor, or even from the rock be- 
 neath. The solid rock in Jerusalem, on which the Altar 
 of Burnt Offerings once stood, and on which it also was, 
 according to tradition, that Abraham built his altar to 
 offer Isaac, is accounted a holy place, even by the Mo- 
 hammedans, to this day. The top stone or board of any 
 altar is called the "Mensa," which means "table." 
 
 It is on the Holy Table or Altar that, at the time of 
 the "Offertory," we place the bread and wine which we 
 are about to ask God to bless for our use in the Holy 
 Communion ; it is here also that we offer them to God as 
 a memorial of the One Sacrifice of Christ. Beside them 
 we place and venture to present our meagre offerings of 
 money, and in connection with these offerings we also 
 profess to offer "our selves, our souls and bodies, to be 
 a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice" unto God. But it 
 is only because of the One meritorious Offering of Christ 
 Himself, Which we are pleading before the Throne, that 
 we can hope to have our own offerings accepted. The 
 Holy Table or Altar is directly associated with all these 
 offerings. 
 
 The Holy Table therefore stands, even when not 
 actually in use, as a constant reminder of all that is 
 highest and holiest in the worship of God. It is evidently 
 fitting that it should be made as beautiful as possible, 
 
 17 
 
and that, as a reminder of the Offering of Our Lord, it 
 should be surmounted by the Cross,* which is not, of 
 course, an object of worship, but only the great symbol 
 of what sacrifice means. The Cross on the Holy Table 
 (or rather on the "Retable" behind it) is made beautiful 
 apd brilliant, the sombreness of Calvary being for us 
 transfigured by the eternal victory of life over death, 
 on Easter Day. It is also fitting that the Holy Table 
 should stand in the most conspicuous place in the church, 
 and that the Lectern and Pulpit and all other pieces of 
 furniture should be placed at the side, so as not to hide 
 or dwarf it 
 
 A Prayer. 
 
 r\ ETERNAL Father we bless thee that thou hast put it into 
 the hearts of men to build temples for thine honour, and 
 that thou thyself dost come to meet us, and to bless us, when 
 we assemble together to partaJce of the Bread of Life. Make 
 us, O Lord, to love the habitation of thy house, and the place 
 where thine honour dwells; make it to be for us a place of 
 peace and joy; and as we go back from thence to meet the 
 trials of life, do thou O Lord, go with us by thy Spirit, that 
 we may ever glorify thy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Amen. 
 
 *Such further symbolical ornaments of the Sanctuary, as flow- 
 ers (using the beautiful things of nature to beautify Uie place), 
 Eucharistic lights (especially the two lights, reminders of the 
 two Natures of our Lord), the seven lamps (see Rev. iv. 5), 
 etc., even including the Cross as mentioned above, were not in 
 itse m America, nor were the Eucharistic vestments, when the 
 Church in this country began its separate national existence; 
 and since that time the Church has not legislated either for or 
 against .tiiem. Their use in any parish, therefore, is left to be 
 determined by considerations of diocesan or parochial ex- 
 pediency, and of common sense. 
 
 18 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 tSiff (Sifxxsam ilinistrg 
 
 The celebration and administration of the Holy 
 Communion evidently requires some leader or minister, 
 properly commissioned to stand before God as the repre- 
 sentative of the Congregation and also to administer to 
 them the Bread of Life. In the "Ordinal" (which is 
 bound up with the Prayer Book, and begins at p. 509), 
 we may learn how the Church's Ministers are "Or- 
 dained," or receive their ministerial commissions. In the 
 first rubric on that page we read thus : "It is evident unto 
 all men diligently reading Holy Scripture and ancient 
 authors that from the Apostles' time there have been 
 these Orders of Ministers in Christ's Church, Bishops, 
 Priests and Deacons." 
 
 Deacons. — The Deacons com.prise the lowest order, 
 and in the present day most of the Deacons in our 
 Church are young ministers who are preparing to be 
 advanced to the Priesthood, that is, a man must serve 
 as a Deacon for a year before being ordained as a Priest. 
 Deacons are, therefore, assistant ministers, whose special 
 duties are to teach the young, to care for the poor, and 
 to assist the Priest in the administering of the Holy Com- 
 munion; (see Pr. Bk. p. .^IZ). They are also allowed to 
 baptize (like S. Philip the Deacon in Acts viii), and to 
 preach (like S. Stephen the Deacon in Acts vi, vii), if 
 so licensed. Those who are Deacons may generally be 
 recognized as such by the custom of wearing the "Stole" 
 diagonally, hanging from one shoulder only, which sig- 
 nifies that they do not yet bear the whole burden of the 
 yoke of the Ministry. 
 
 Priests.— In order to celebrate the Holy Commun- 
 ion, however, a man must hold the Order of Priesthood. 
 
 19 
 
This word "Priest" is the shortened form of the word 
 "Presbyter," or "Elder." Christ is Himself the One great 
 High Priest of all the world, as well as the One Sacrifice 
 for sins. But He has given to men the "Ministry of 
 reconciliation," and has honoured them by making them 
 His "Ambassadors" (II Cor. v. 18-20) ; He has made 
 them "Stewards of the Mysteries of God" (I Cor. iv. 1) ; 
 He has committed human souls to their care (see Acts 
 XX. 28) ; such, then, is the great Office of the Christian 
 Priesthood. The special responsibility of the Priest is 
 the pastoral charge of the "Parish" and the care of 
 human souls; the highest functions of his office consist 
 in the authority to celebrate the Holy Communion and 
 to pronounce Absolution and the Benediction. But the 
 Priest has no authority outside his own parish unless 
 such is especially delegated to him, nor has he any 
 authority to ordain others, or to lay on his hands as in 
 Confirmation. There is one interesting exception to this 
 latter rule, however, in the rubrical provision that when a 
 Priest is ordained, the other Priests who are present shall 
 join with the Bishop in the act of laying on of hands, 
 though the Bishop alone speaks the words of commis- 
 sion (see Pr. Bk. page 522). The Bishop's laying on of 
 hands would suffice, but in this case it is provided that he 
 shall act also as the Head of his College of Presbyters. 
 
 Bishops. — According to the teaching of the New 
 Testament and the usage of the historic Church, the 
 authority to confirm, as well as the authority to ordain, 
 belongs only to the office of the Bishop, and his respon- 
 sibilities to-day, especially within the territory of his own 
 "Diocese," while defined by the laws of the Church, are 
 similar to those borne in the Apostolic Church, by the 
 Twelve Apostles, whom Our Lord sent forth. And when 
 a new Bishop is to be consecrated there must, in accord- 
 ance with the uniform law of the Church since the Coun- 
 cil of Nicaea, be at least three Bishops to unite in laying 
 hands upon him and so in the conferring of the Aposto- 
 lic Commission. The passing down of the Episcopate 
 
 20 
 
from age to age is, therefore, like the weaving of a great 
 net, at least three strands of which are knotted together 
 at each new consecration. There is all the evidence that 
 can reasonably be required that those strands reach back 
 to include the Apostles themselves, whom Our Lord 
 promised that He would "be with all the days, even to 
 the end of the world." (S. Matt, xxviii. 20.) 
 
 The Bishops, however, belong, in one sense to the 
 whole Church, and therefore, in America at least, the 
 making of a new Bishop is really the act of the Church 
 as a whole, through its representatives. The clergy and 
 laity among whom a new Bishop is to exercise his office 
 must first agree in the election of the man; and formal 
 consent must be given both by a majority of the Bishops 
 and also by a majority of the "Standing Committees" of 
 the several Dioceses, thus representing the clergy and 
 laity of the whole Church ; and these facts must be certi- 
 fied by the "Presiding Bishop" to the three Bishops who 
 are to act in laying hands upon him before the elected 
 man can be consecrated as a Bishop. 
 
 One of the greatest needs of the Church at the 
 present day is the demand for more new men of faith 
 and self-consecration, to offer themselves for service in 
 the Sacred Ministry, and to devote to that all important 
 work every talent of mind and heart that has been given 
 them. The need is greatest, and the work is probably 
 hardest, in those parts of our own and of other lands 
 where irreligion reigns, where the Word of God is least 
 known and the Sacraments held in least esteem ; and the 
 call for volunteers to go out into the Mission field is 
 becoming ever more insistent. Many parishes in city 
 and country also offer splendid opportunities for the 
 service of devoted women, and especially of such as have 
 had the training that the Church can now give to those 
 who desire to become Deaconesses. The Order of Dea- 
 coness may be traced to Apostolic times, but has only in 
 recent years been revived. 
 
 21 
 
THE LAWS OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 For the purpose of framing its laws and furthering 
 its missionary work, the American Church, through its 
 regularly appointed representatives, meets once in three 
 years in "General Convention." This body and the 
 United States Congress are formed upon very similar 
 models. The fathers of the American Church, who 
 framed its formal Constitution, at Christ Church, Phila- 
 delphia, in 1789, were in close sympathy with the ideals 
 of those fathers of the Republic who two years earlier 
 had framed the National Constitution in the old State 
 House near by. Both bodies of men were guided by those 
 principles of representative government which are as old 
 as the liberties of the Anglo-Saxon race ; and one notable 
 feature of the Constitution of the American Branch of 
 the Church was the restoration to the Laity of formal 
 representation in the Church's councils, in accordance 
 with the Scriptural precedent set by the First Council at 
 Jerusalem (see Acts xv. 22, 23). 
 
 Thus the General Convention, like the American 
 Congress, has two houses; the Bishops, now upward of 
 100 in number in America, meet by themselves in the 
 House of Bishops, which may be compared with the 
 American Senate ; the deputies, four clergymen and four 
 laymen from each diocese, comprise the House of Dep- 
 uties, which may be compared with the National House 
 of Representatives ; and these two Houses must agree in 
 order to enact any law. In some minor matters, also, 
 each diocese, through its Diocesan Convention (which 
 consists of its Bishop, all its clergy, and lay representa- 
 tives from each parish), makes laws or "Canons," for its 
 own government, just as each State in the Union can 
 within certain limits, make its own laws by its State 
 Legislature. 
 
 It should be noted, however, that the supreme law 
 of the Church so far as concerns its worship is the Book 
 of Common Prayer, and that changes in it, or in the Con- 
 stitution, can only be made by the concurrent action of 
 
 22 
 
two General Conventions, after being submitted also to 
 the Diocesan Conventions for approval. 
 
 And as to the essence of the Church's Faith, that is 
 set forth in the ancient Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, and 
 belongs to the whole Christian World. Their history we 
 shall glance at later ; but they can neither be added to nor 
 subtracted from by us, acting alone, without the forfeit- 
 ing of our claim to be a true branch of the Holy Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 We may now be prepared to examine, in its Ameri- 
 can form, the "Liturgy," or Service of the Holy Com- 
 munion and to learn such lessons as it can teach us of the 
 meaning of the Christian life, and the offering of accept- 
 able worship to God revealed in Christ. This Service 
 comes to us as an inheritance from earliest Christian 
 days, enriched by the devotion of each age that has used 
 it since Our Lord gave us the great command, "Do this, 
 in remembrance of me." The Liturgy is ours to use and 
 to prize, but not to destroy, for we also hold it in trust 
 for the Christian ages to come. 
 
 A Prayer. 
 
 r\ HEAVENLY Father, Lord of the harvest, look with com- 
 passion we beseech thee on the multitudes in our own 
 and in foreign lands that are scattered abroad as sheep having 
 no shepherd. Have respect, we beseech thee, to our prayers, 
 and send forth labourers into thine harvest. Fit and prepare 
 them by thy grace for the work of their ministry; give them 
 the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind; strength- 
 en them to endure harness; and grant that both by their life 
 and doctrine they may show forth thy glory, and set forward 
 the salvation of all men; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 23 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Qllfr ISiHtB of tift !|alg (Eamtsmnian 
 
 (221) 
 THE ORDER FOR THE 
 ADMINISTRATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER, 
 
 OR 
 
 HOLY COMMUNION. 
 
 "Order" means "Form of service established by 
 authority." 
 
 "Administration" is appropriate as referring to the 
 distribution to the communicants, of the consecrated Ele- 
 ments. 
 
 This Sacrament is called the "Lord's Supper/' be- 
 cause it is the new and spiritual feast which, immediately 
 after He had partaken of the Passover Supper for the 
 last time, Our Lord appointed to take its place in the 
 days to come. It is also called the "Holy Communion," 
 because it is God's appointed way whereby we may have 
 communion, or fellowship, with all the Holy Ones, visible 
 and invisible; that is, fellowship with Himself, our 
 Heavenly Father; with His dear Son, our Saviour; with 
 the Holy Spirit, our Divine Comforter and Companion; 
 with the holy angels that minister at His command ; with 
 our departed Christian friends who have gone before us, 
 and fellowship with all the people on earth who are 
 trying to live the life of faith. 
 
 Thus the Title itself gives us two of the most appro- 
 priate names for this highest act of Christian worship. 
 One more name, which views it from yet another side, 
 is also found in the Prayer Book, that is "The Holy 
 Eucharist" (see Pr. Bk. page 554). This name "Euch- 
 
 24 
 
arist" is of Greek origin and means "Thanksgiving," 
 and it reminds us that the Holy Communion is always a 
 service of joy and gratitude for our salvation — in fact 
 that it is the very best way known on earth of celebrating 
 the love and goodness of God. The root from which 
 the word Eucharist comes is also found in this sense in 
 the New Testament, where it is said that Our Lord "gave 
 thanks" (S. Luke xxii. 17, 19), and where S. Paul speaks 
 of the people responding with the "Amen at the giving 
 of thanks" (see below page 59). 
 
 In the Roman Church the Holy Communion has for 
 many centuries been called ''The Mass." This name is 
 of Latin origin and comes from "Ite, missa est," either 
 meaning "Go, the assembly is dismissed," or else "De- 
 part; the Sacrifice has been sent up to God." We have 
 still a reminder of the word in the Prayer Book, in the 
 name "Christmas-Day." But as an authorized name for 
 the Holy Communion "Mass" was dropped from the 
 Prayer Book in 1552 and has never been reinstated; and 
 since the authorized names are amply sufficient, and 
 emphasize very important phases of the meaning of this 
 Service, it is much better not to speak of the Holy Com- 
 munion as "The Mass." 
 
 The word "Liturgy," which denotes a form of ser- 
 vice for the Holy Communion, is derived from a Greek 
 word, one that is found in the New Testament in this 
 sense, and which means "A public work," or "A service 
 for the people" (see the word "ministry" in Hebr. viii. 
 6). There are many liturgies whose origins are so 
 ancient as to be lost in the obscurity of the days of the 
 early persecutions, showing how early it was felt to be 
 impossible to express the full rich meaning of the Holy 
 Eucharist without adhering to a form of words chosen 
 and prepared with utmost care. It is not unreasonable to 
 think that parts of our liturgy as used today are even of 
 
 25 
 
Apostolic origin. The ancient liturgies fall naturally into 
 five classes, examples of each of which are still pre- 
 served, namely, the West Syrian, the East Syrian, the 
 Alexandrian, the Galilean and the Roman. Some of the 
 others are even older than the Roman liturgy; some are 
 in Greek or other languages, and some in Latin. In 
 England before the Reformation there were different 
 liturgies in use, but the most prominent of them was 
 that known as the "Sarum (Salisbury) Use." It was in 
 Latin, and belonged to the Roman family of liturgies, but 
 it differed from the liturgy used at Rome. It will re- 
 main for others to show if they can, that in simplicity, 
 comprehensiveness and beauty the American Liturgy, 
 which we are about to study, has ever been excelled by 
 any other liturgy, in any language. 
 
 The present English liturgy, from which the Ameri- 
 can is immediately derived, has been practically unchanged 
 since the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth 
 (1559) and indeed in most respects corresponds exactly 
 with the form in the Second Prayer Book of Edward 
 VI (1552). That was the second form prepared by 
 Archbishop Cranmer, who was afterward burned at the 
 stake at Oxford with Bishops Ridley and Latimer in 
 1556. Like the earlier English form in the Prayer Book 
 of 1549, it is largely based on the old Latin "Sarum 
 Use," but it shows in several ways the influence of the 
 thought of the Continental Reformers, and that Arch- 
 bishop Cranmer, whom we know to have been a man of 
 wide reading, was familiar with some liturgy of the Gal- 
 ilean group. 
 
 In England, however, as even to this day, political 
 complications have limited the freedom of the Church to 
 give expression to Her best thought, and consequently 
 several later attempts to revise the English Prayer Book 
 failed. It was not, therefore, until the time when the 
 American Church had been entirely separated from the 
 State, after the Revolution, and had adopted its own 
 Constitution, that any further opportunity came to im- 
 
 26 
 
prove upon the form of the liturgy. Bishop Seabury, 
 of Connecticut, the first American Bishop, had been ac- 
 quainted when a young man, with the liturgy of the Scot- 
 tish Episcopal Church, the form of which had been 
 partly derived from the Greek (or West Syrian) "Lit- 
 urgy of S. James." It was a feature of this and of all 
 the earliest liturgies that the Presence of the Holy Spirit 
 should be invoked upon the Elements after the Words of 
 Institution had been narrated. Under the conflicting in- 
 fluences that produced the Prayer Book of 1552, this 
 feature had been altogether omitted and the receiving of 
 the Communion placed immediately after the Words of 
 Institution. In 1789, through the influence of Bishop 
 Seabury and others, this defect of the English office was 
 therefore very successfully remedied, by the restoring 
 to its ancient place of the Invocation of the Holy Spirit, 
 as we have it now in America; and hence it is that the 
 American Liturgy is not merely a translation of the 
 Roman, nor even a copy of the English. While follow- 
 ing the teaching of the English Reformation, it claims 
 descent from three of the five groups of liturgies, the 
 Roman, the Galilean and the West Syrian; and thus our 
 "Prayer of Consecration" has been termed, not without 
 reason, the "finished work of the English Reformation." 
 Probably no other liturgy than this can make as strong 
 a claim to be a compilation of that which is best in all the 
 liturgies; and it was the first and only liturgy after the 
 ancient models to assume its present form on American 
 soil and under influences that were distinctly American. 
 
 27 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Mws 3 (Home to tt;e 3|alg (Somnumion? 
 
 __ 
 
 ^ If among those mho come to be partakers of the Holy Com- 
 munion, 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 thereby offended; he shall 
 advertise him, that he presume not to come to the Lord's Table, 
 
 We have seen in Chapter I that the Holy Com- 
 munion is the privilege of those who are in the covenant- 
 relation with God. If, however, we are at heart rebellious 
 against the obligations of the covenant, we have no right 
 to claim the privilege, and the mere fact of our having 
 been baptized and confirmed will but increase the sin- 
 fulness of such presumption. We must therefore make 
 sure, however faulty our actual performances may have 
 been, that we really desire to live up to our part of the 
 covenant, before we presume to come. 
 
 The above rubrics define the minister's responsibility 
 as to repelling persons from the Lord's Table. It is his 
 duty to advise "open and notorious evil livers," whose 
 coming forward would reasonably offend the congrega- 
 tion, and likewise those who have knowingly wronged 
 their neighbours, to stay away; also those who allow 
 malice or hatred to reign in their hearts ; and when he so 
 advises anyone he is obliged to report the facts to the 
 Bishop "within fourteen days at the farthest." 
 
 But -the real responsibility for the state of mind in 
 which we come to the Lord's Table rests upon the indi- 
 vidual conscience ; and this means that we must "examine 
 ourselves, and so eat of that Bread and drink of that 
 Cup." Self-examination is, however, to be examination 
 
 28 
 
(221) 
 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 pur- 
 pose so to do, as soon as he conveniently may. 
 
 of ourselves, rather than examination of our sins. The 
 Prayer Book carefully guards against the danger of mere 
 morbid introspection by clearly stating, in the last answer 
 of the Catechism (p. 272), the five principal points in 
 regard to which we must examine ourselves, namely (1) 
 "Whether they repent them truly of their former sins, 
 (2) (are) steadfastly purposing to lead a new life; (3) 
 have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ, (4) 
 with a thankful remembrance of His death; and (5) 
 (whether they) be in charity with all men." To repent 
 of our sins means that we are ready to acknowledge them 
 before God, and that if the sins are against man we are 
 ready also to acknowledge them before those we have 
 wronged, and to seek for their forgiveness. True peni- 
 tence always involves "bringing forth fruits meet for re- 
 pentance" (S. Matt. iii. 8), and doing our best to make 
 amends for the wrong, and the import of it is beautifully 
 set forth in Hymn 595 of the Hymnal. The need of a 
 "lively faith" and of a "thankful remembrance of the 
 death of Christ" will sufficiently appear as we study the 
 liturgy. "To be in charity" means that we are trying to 
 treat all persons as we would like to be treated ourselves, 
 and that we are not harboring any jealousy, malice, hatred 
 or vindictiveness, even though we think, perhaps, that 
 someone is doing or has done us an intentional harm (S. 
 Matt. V. 43-48). Self-examination of this kind is "like 
 weeding the garden so that the good plants may grow" — 
 we must never forget the good seed which we are trying 
 to cultivate. 
 
 By providing the two forms of warning that may 
 be read on the Sunday before the Communion the 
 Church takes further care that previous attention shall 
 be given to a proper preparation. (The forms are printed 
 
 29 
 
(221) 
 
 1[ The same order shall the Minister use with those, betwixt whom 
 he perceiveth malice and hatred to reign; not suffering them to 
 be partakers of the Lord's Table, until he know them to he 
 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 
 
 in Appendix A, pages 65-67.) The first and longer of 
 the two warnings opens by emphasizing the purpose of 
 the Sacrament and then the need of coming to it only in 
 "the marriage-garment required by God in Holy Scrip- 
 ture," and finally lays stress upon these duties just re- 
 ferred to, of self-examination, confession of our sins, 
 reconciliation with those we have offended, restitution 
 for the harm we have done and forgiveness of those 
 who have harmed us. Such an honest effort on our part 
 as is there outlined, together with the preparatory part 
 of the liturgy itself, should ordinarily suffice to assure 
 us of th.e actual pardon of our sins. The Church has no 
 compulsory private confessional that must be resorted to 
 before receiving the Sacraments, other than our private 
 confession of all our sins to God. But it is also at times 
 both helpful and important to seek the personal counsel, 
 advice and assurance of God's Minister, in order that 
 we may really overcome sinful habits, dissolve doubts, 
 deal with perplexities or other troublesome thoughts, 
 restore and maintain happy relations with our neighbours, 
 and keep ourselves in a fit state of mind and heart to 
 be recipients of Divine grace. To give such counsel and 
 assurance is one of the most important duties of the 
 parish Priest; and anything that may be told him about 
 one's self under such circumstances is told under the seal 
 of a sacred confidence which he has no right to disregard. 
 The need of occasionally seeking for such spiritual coun- 
 sel and for the assurance of Divine forgiveness is clearly 
 set forth in the concluding paragraph of that same first 
 warning (see page 66, or Pr. Bk. p. 241). 
 
 The second of these warnings (see page 66), is in a 
 more severe tone, namely that of an urgent and insistent 
 
 30 
 
(221) 
 
 himself hath offended; and the other party will not be per- 
 suaded to a godly unity, but remain still in his frowardness 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, within fourteen days after, at the farthest. 
 
 plea not to neglect or treat lightly the privilege of the 
 Holy Communion. It makes short work of the excuses 
 that keep people away, and is based largely on the Par- 
 able of the Great Supper (S. Luke xiv. 16-24). Christ- 
 ians of our day need to hear it more often than they do. 
 
 When either of these warnings is read, it comes 
 after the Creed; they are solemn enough both against 
 those who neglect and against those who come without 
 repentance. But still we may remember that what is 
 primarily required is our sense of the need of God's 
 grace and our willingness to receive it in God's own way. 
 And when that willingness and humility are surely there, 
 we may further remember for our comfort that the invi- 
 tation is extended to the poor, the weary, the sick, the 
 tempted, the troubled, the sinful and the wandering, quite 
 as directly as it is to those who are well-to-do and to 
 those who are already prospering and happy in the 
 Christian life. In this sense the Church of Christ knows 
 no such thing as "close Communion." 
 
 Many communicants stand ready to testify to the 
 special blessings that await those who go forth fre- 
 quently, and in the peace and quiet of the early morning 
 of the Lord's Day, to meet their Lord at His Table. 
 
 31 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Q^lff ^ttntntg a£ % Citnrgg 
 
 (221) 
 ^TAc 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 right 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. 
 
 A. ^ift &ul{arietir Cttaitg 
 
 "The Minister." Notice that the person who "offi- 
 ciates" is called by this general term, until the time of the 
 Offertory, but that after that point the name Priest is 
 used instead; a Deacon may conduct the service up to 
 that point, but after that only one who holds the Order 
 of Priesthood. 
 
 "Shall say." It appears to be the intention of this 
 rubric that the minister alone shall say the Lord's Prayer 
 in this place, including the "Amen" at the end. The ex- 
 planation is that this occurrence of the Lord's Prayer, 
 together with the Collect for Purity which follows, were 
 originally part of a private devotional office which the 
 Priest, according to the Sarum Use, said before he 
 entered the Chancel. Except for this fact it is improb- 
 able that the Lord's Prayer would be found in this place, 
 for the Lord's Prayer essentially belonging to the liturgy, 
 as it also belongs to every other office of the Prayer 
 Book, is that occurrence of it after the Communion. It 
 has been the opinion of many, including Bishop White 
 and Bishop Seabury, our first two American Bishops, 
 
 32 
 
(221, 222) 
 (~\ UR 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. 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. Amen. 
 
 ^Then shall the Minister, turning to the People, rehearse dis- 
 tinctly The Ten Commandments; and the People, still kneel- 
 ing, 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. 
 
 that this first occurrence of the Lord's Prayer had best 
 be regarded as an exception to the rubric on p. 5*. 
 
 "Deliver us from evil." The Lord's Prayer occurs 
 twice in the Bible, namely in S. Matt. vi. 9-13 and in S. 
 Luke xi. 2-4. In the former case, but not in the latter, 
 it contains the familiar words of the doxology, "For 
 thine is the Kingdom," etc. In the Prayer Book use it 
 only has the doxology when it occurs in a distinctly 
 joyful connection, for instance on pages 5, 20 and 237. 
 The opening of the liturgy is clearly penitential in char- 
 acter, and so the Lord's Prayer here is in the briefer 
 form. (See further. Appendix E, page 74.) 
 
 "The Collect" is known as "The Collect for Purity" ; 
 it is said by the minfster, but the people make it their 
 own by saying Amen at the end; the Amen printed in 
 Italic type, as here, always indicates a response made by 
 the people to words of prayer spoken by the minister. 
 This Collect is very old — probably 1600 years at the 
 least ; it is found in Latin in the old Use of Sarum, but 
 is not in the Roman liturgy. 
 
 * See the Rev. Dr. Samuel Hart's book (1910), "The Book of 
 Common Prayer," p. 171. 
 
 33 
 
(222-224) 
 
 ^ The Decalogue may be omitted, provided it be said once on each 
 
 Sunday. But Note, That whenever it is omitted, the Minister 
 
 shall say the Summary of the Law, beginning. Hear what our 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ saith. 
 
 Minister. 
 /^OD 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. 
 
 (For the sake of brevity the rest of the Decalogue is not 
 printed here.) 
 
 If 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 neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all 
 the Law and the Prophets. 
 
 The Ten Commandments. — The Sarum Use and 
 other ancient liturgies contained, at about this point, the 
 "Kyrie," or "Kyrie eleison me," (meaning "Lord have 
 mercy upon me") nine times repeated. It was only at 
 the Reformation (1552) that for the first time the Ten 
 Commandments were made a part of the liturgy, and 
 read alternately with the "Kyries," and this usage is, 
 today, confined to the Anglican Communion. They intro- 
 duce, however, a very appropriate Old Testament feature, 
 and are of special value in this connection because they 
 build the structure of our highest religious worship upon 
 the great and permanent foundation of all morals. 
 
 The Catechism (Pr. Bk. page 269) sums up for us 
 the practical meaning of the Ten Commandments and of 
 Our Lord's Summary of the Law, under the two heads 
 of "My duty towards God" and "My duty towards my 
 neighbour." Some further suggestions for teaching pur- 
 poses may be found below, in Appendix B on p. 67. 
 
 The Summary of the Law, as a part of the liturgy, 
 is an American feature, first introduced in 1790. The 
 
 34 
 
(224) 
 
 U Here, if the Decalogue hath been omitted, shall be said. 
 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Christ, have mercy upon us. 
 
 Lord, have mercy upon us. 
 
 1[ Then the Minister may say. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 O ALMIGHTY Lord, and everlasting God, vouchsafe, we be- 
 seech thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern, both our hearts 
 and bodies, in the ways of thy laws, and in the works of thy com- 
 mandments; 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. Amen. 
 
 ^Then shall be said the Collect of the Day. And immediately 
 after the Collect the Minister shall read the Epistle, saying. The 
 
 responses that follow it when the Commandments are 
 omitted are another form of "Kyrie," and are often 
 called the "Lesser Litany." 
 
 "Then the Minister," etc. The prayer which is thus 
 introduced is called the "General Collect," as dis- 
 tinguished from the special "Collect for the Day." It 
 continues the penitential tone of the Kyrie, and is also 
 found in the Confirmation Office (Pr. Bk. p. 276). At 
 this point in the liturgy, however, the tone changes to 
 one of reassurance and promise. 
 
 S. ^\it MtBtrngt lit tifi QUtristian ^ear 
 
 There have been, from the very earliest times, por- 
 tions of the liturgy which change to correspond with the 
 seasons of the Christian Year; indeed, the custom of 
 associating the several parts of God's message to man 
 with the varying seasons dates from Old Testament 
 times. Thus it is that for many centuries each Sunday 
 and Holy Day has had a special prayer of its own, 
 called the "Collect," and also two passages of Scripture 
 selected for use on that day in connection with the lit- 
 urgy, and known respectively as the "Epistle" and the 
 "Holy Gospel." For an analysis of the Christian Year 
 see Appendix C, page 69. 
 
 35 
 
(224) 
 
 Epistle [or The portion of Scripture appointed for the Epistle] 
 
 is written in the — Chapter of , beginning at the — Verse. 
 
 And the Epistle ended, he shall say. Here endeth the Epistle. 
 Then, the People all standing up, shall he read the Gospel, say- 
 ing. The Holy Gospel is written in the — Chapter of , begin- 
 ning at the — Verse. 
 
 The Collect of the Day is so called because it 
 collects or gathers up into the form of a prayer the 
 special teaching of that day. Many different ages have 
 contributed to that rich collection of devotional forms 
 which we have in the collects of the Prayer Book; a 
 majority of them are translations of Latin forms, in 
 many cases thirteen centuries old or older; and in the 
 case of those collects which are brief and terse this fact 
 can generally be taken for granted. Reformation and 
 post-Reformation authors, however, added a number of 
 beautiful ones to the collection. Archbishop Cranmer's 
 contributions include six of the Sunday collects, namely 
 the first two in Advent, Quinquagesima, the First in 
 Lent, and the first two after Easter; while the days of 
 the Savoy Conference (1661) added, probably from the 
 pen of the once exiled Cosin, Bishop of Durham, those 
 for the Third Sunday in Advent, S. Stephen's Day, the 
 Sixth after Epiphany and Easter Even. An examination 
 will show that the references to the words of Scripture 
 in these later collects are more distinct than in the older 
 translations, this fact being a reminder of the eagerness 
 with which the Bible was then being read by all classes 
 of people. 
 
 The Epistles are taken from the Epistles or letters 
 of the New Testament, or, in a few cases and for special 
 reasons, from the Book of the Acts, the Revelation of S. 
 John, or the Old Testament Prophets. The Holy Gospel 
 is always selected from one of the four Gospel-records 
 of the Life of Our Lord, S. Matthew, S. Mark, S. Luke 
 or S. John, which tell us of what "God has spoken unto 
 us by His Son." Notice that when we say "The Holy 
 Gospel," we mean the special Gospel-passage appointed 
 
 36 
 
(224) 
 1[ Here shall he said or sung, 
 Glory be to Thee, O Lord. 
 
 for that day. The whole Gospel-record is "holy," of 
 course, but to use the word every time we name one of 
 the Four Gospels of the New Testament is needless, and 
 unauthorized. The selection of the Epistles and Gospels, 
 very nearly as we have them today, can be traced back 
 at least to the time of St. Jerome, who died in the year 
 420 A. D. 
 
 The congregation is kneeling, of course, when the 
 Collect is said. We then rise and take our seats to listen 
 to the reading of the Epistle; and when the Holy 
 Gospel is announced we immediately rise and stand, ac- 
 cording to a very ancient custom, as a mark of greater 
 respect for that more direct message of good tidings 
 through Christ. The response "Glory be to thee, O 
 Lord," is called the "Gloria Tibi." In some churches it is 
 a custom to sing, after the reading of the Gospel is 
 ended, "Thanks be to thee, O Christ." This latter re- 
 sponse is not authorized either by the English or by the 
 American Prayer Book, but it exactly expresses the 
 thought that ought to be in our hearts at that point, for 
 the Holy Gospel is God's gracious answer to our prayers 
 for mercy just offered in the Kyries and the collects. 
 
 37 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 QTlf? CMTf ring of (0m JFattt; 
 
 (224) 
 
 ^Upon the Sundays and other Holy-days, {though there be no 
 Sermon or Communion,) shall he said all that is appointed at 
 the Communion, unto the end of the Gospel, concluding with the 
 Blessing. [This rubric is on page 240.] 
 
 ^ Then shall be said the Creed commonly called the Nicene, or else 
 the Apostles' Creed; but the Creed may be omitted, if it hath 
 been said immediately before in Morning Prayer; Provided, 
 Ttiat the Nicene Creed shall be said on Christmas-day, Easter- 
 day, Ascension-day, Whitsunday, and Trinity-Sunday. 
 
 Thus far we have been listening to the summons to 
 that great act of worship which the liturgy calls upon us 
 to make. This single act of worship is in three parts, 
 three ascending steps. The first part may be called "The 
 OiTering of our Faith" ; and it will only have been com- 
 pleted when we shall have recited the Creed, presented 
 our offerings, and offered the intercessions in the 
 "Prayer for the Church Militant." In the midst of it, 
 however, the rubrics provide for the Sermon, which 
 may be both preceded and followed by a hymn (see Pr. 
 Bk. page viii of the introduction) ; and when the Com- 
 munion is not to be celebrated, the presentation of the 
 offerings and the closing prayer and Blessing form a ter- 
 mination for the Morning Service. 
 
 The Creeds. — The Christian Faith is set forth for 
 us in two forms, known respectively as "The Apostles' 
 Creed" and "The Nicene Creed." They are really but 
 different statements of one and the same Faith, namely 
 that Faith which is implied in the words of Baptism, "In 
 the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 
 38 
 
(224, 226) 
 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 sit- 
 teth 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 
 
 Ghost." The shorter, or Apostles' Creed, is the form re- 
 ferred to in the office for Baptism, and generally used in 
 the daily services. Its statements may be found almost 
 word for word in the New Testament. 
 
 The Nicene Creed is the form generally used in the 
 liturgy, and the rubric above requires that it must be 
 used on the five great festivals. The first two paragraphs 
 of this Creed, including the words "And I believe in the 
 Holy Ghost," were framed as we have them at the 
 Council of Nicaea (in Asia Minor) in 325 A. D., and 
 were put forth, not in any sense as a new faith, but as a 
 statement of what the true Faith was, as then held in 
 all parts of the world; it was a statement evidently 
 needed at that time, because some people had denied that 
 Christ was God and others had denied that He was Man. 
 In the half century that followed, this Nicene Creed 
 proved the battle-ground of the fiercest struggle between 
 belief and unbelief which the Christian world has ever 
 witnessed, the famous Arian conflict, in which the great 
 Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, was the unfailing 
 champion of the true Faith, though for awhile he con- 
 tended almost single-handed. But by the year 381 A. D. 
 the battle was won, and in that year the Second General 
 Council, held at Constantinople, reaffirmed the Creed of 
 
 39 
 
(226) 
 
 the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; 
 Who spake by the Prophets : And I beheve one Catholic and 
 Apostolic 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. 
 
 Nicaea. The rest of the third paragraph was then 
 added as we have it, excepting only the words "and the 
 Son" after the words "Who proceedeth from the 
 Father."* With the exception of those words the Nicene 
 Creed is beyond question the Faith of the Holy Catholic 
 Church, since it is professed alike by the Eastern Church, 
 the Roman Church, and our own, as well as by the "Old 
 Catholics" of Europe (who threw off the yoke of the 
 Papacy in 1870), and by most Protestant bodies of 
 Christians. 
 
 As a part of the liturgy, the Nicene Creed is our act 
 of loyalty and love towards God's revealed truth, and we 
 ought to rejoice and be filled with zeal because we too are 
 privileged to confess before men the ancient Faith of 
 the martyrs. We naturally stand when we recite it, as 
 being ready to defend our Faith with our life, and to 
 follow where it shall lead us. Also, in accordance with 
 a custom well nigh universal, and one which may claim 
 the warrant of Philippians ii. 10, 11, we should reverently 
 bow the head at the mention of the Name of Jesus, 
 especially when, as in the Creed, we acknowledge His 
 Divinity and confess Him as Lord.f 
 
 * The words "and the Son," as referred to above, were un- 
 fortunately added later still, and were a chief doctrinal cause of 
 the schism between the Greek and the Roman Churches. This 
 schism may be dated from the mutual sentences of excommuni- 
 cation pronounced by the Bishops of Rome and of Constantinople 
 in the year 863 A. D., a complete separation resulting in 1052 
 A. D. The words were never accepted by the whole Christian 
 world, as the rest of the Nicene Creed has been, but are found in 
 that form of it which we have inherited as one of the Western 
 Branches of the Church. 
 
 t Another custom, which is followed by some, is that of 
 kneeling for a moment, during the Nicene Creed, when the words 
 
 40 
 
(285) 
 ^ Then the Minister shall declare unto the People what Holy-days, 
 or Fasting-days, 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. 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 fol- 
 lowing, as he thinketh most convenient. And Note^ That these 
 Sentences may be used on any other occasion of Public Worship, 
 when the alms of the People are to be received. 
 
 At the same time it is necessary to try to understand 
 and to mean every word we say, especially in reciting the 
 Creed. The service which God requires of us is a 
 "reasonable service," that is, one which includes the 
 homage of our reason. The Church does not ask us to 
 believe, as a part of our Christian Faith, anything that 
 cannot be proved from the Bible (See Article VI, P. 
 B. pages 557-558). We have a right, and therefore it is 
 our duty, to know what we believe and why we believe 
 it, and to that end to examine for ourselves the ample 
 Scriptural evidence on which the Creed is based. An 
 analysis of the contents of the Nicene Creed will be 
 found in Appendix D, page 72. 
 
 It is after the Creed (or after the Holy Gospel if 
 the Creed is omitted), that the warnings for coming to 
 the Communion on some future occasion are introduced, 
 as already referred to (see pages 30 and 31, and Ap- 
 pendix A), and then other notices may be given. "The 
 Banns of Matrimony" refer to the old custom, now fallen 
 into disuse, of announcing to the Congregation the names 
 of persons intending to be married. 
 
 "Then shall follow the Sermon." This is the only 
 formal provision for a sermon made in the Prayer Book, 
 excepting in some special cases, such as the offices for 
 Ordination. The Church regards sermons as being im- 
 
 "And was made man" are being said or sung. This is intended 
 as a reverent recognition of the glorious Mystery of the Incarna- 
 tion. The Prayer Book, however, gives no direction as to either 
 of the customs here mentioned. 
 
 41 
 
(225—228) 
 
 REMEMBER the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is 
 more blessed to give than to receive. Acts xx. 35. 
 
 (Twenty-three other sentences are here omitted.) 
 
 All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we 
 given thee. 1 Chron. xxix. 14. 
 
 '^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. 
 
 portant, but not as being the only important part of 
 Divine worship. We should never, therefore, speak of 
 going to service as if we were merely going "to hear 
 someone preach." It is God that we go to meet, and 
 for Whose message we should listen, and not a mere 
 human speaker. From the position of the Sermon in 
 the liturgy it would appear that it is intended to be an 
 interpretation of the Scripture passages just read, or of 
 the Faith just professed ; but the Church does not really 
 place any limitations upon the use of sermons and in- 
 structions, by Her authorized ministers. 
 
 The Offertory. — By this term is meant, not the 
 taking of the collection, nor the singing of a hymn or 
 anthem, but the reading of the Sentences, and the pre- 
 senting to God of the Offerings received and of the 
 Bread and Wine for the Holy Communion. The Sen- 
 tences themselves will repay study. The first six deal 
 with almsgiving generally; the next five apply to one 
 great object of the Offerings, namely the support of the 
 clergy; the eleven following refer to the other great 
 purpose, the relief of the poor ; the last four, taken from 
 the Old Testament, were added in 1892 to the American 
 Prayer Book. The first two of these set forth the duty 
 of giving as defined under the Law ; the last two express 
 the loyal acceptance by ourselves of that duty. 
 
 We have now come to that part of the liturgy which 
 
 42 
 
(228) 
 ^And the Priest shall then place upon the Table so much Bread 
 and Wine as he shall think sufficient. 
 
 ^And when the Alms and Oblations are presented, there may be 
 sung a Hymn, or an Offertory Anthem in the words of Holy 
 Scripture or of the Book of Common Prayer, under the direc- 
 tion of the Minister. 
 
 ^ Then shall the Priest say. 
 Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's Church militant. 
 
 may be rendered only by one who holds the Order of 
 Priesthood, and which also brings the Holy Table or 
 Altar directly into use. Notice that the word "Minister" 
 is used in the rubric preceding the Sentences, while the 
 word "Priest" is used in the rubric that follows them 
 and tells of the presenting of the Offerings on the Holy 
 Table, that action being one which naturally belongs to 
 the Priesthood. When we thus place the Bread and the 
 Wine on the Holy Table, we regard them as gifts of 
 God's bounty which we bring to Him in order that He 
 may bless them and give them back to us as our heavenly 
 Food. A most interesting parallel case occurred on the 
 shore of the Lake of Galilee (S. John xxi : 10-13), where 
 the heavenly banquet was provided but was regarded as 
 incomplete until the Apostles had added to it the first 
 fruits of their night's fishing. 
 
 If persons are not intending to remain for the Cele- 
 bration of the Holy Communion, the best time to with- 
 draw is immediately after the presentation of the Offer- 
 ings. The singing of a hymn of sufficient length at that 
 point would help to cover the regrettable confusion which 
 such a movement makes. But no one should willingly 
 miss the Benediction, and unless obliged to leave it is 
 best to remain reverently in one's place, even if not pre- 
 pared to come forward among the "partakers of that 
 Holy Table." 
 
 The Prayer for the Church. — A prayer of Inter- 
 cession for others has always been a feature of the litur- 
 gies; and when we know that Christ is pleading for us 
 
 43 
 
(228, 229) 
 A LMIGHTY 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 * If there he no 
 oblations, and] to receive these our prayers, alms or oblations, 
 which we offer unto thy Divine Majesty; be- then shall the 
 seeching thee to inspire continually the Uni- words [to accept 
 versal Church with the spirit of truth, unity, our alms and obla- 
 and accord: And grant that all those who tions, and] be left 
 do confess thy holy Name may agree in the unsaid. 
 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 impar- 
 tially 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 Minis- 
 ters, that they may, both by their Ufe 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 
 
 in Heaven, the appropriateness of our remembering be- 
 fore the Throne those who are our f ellovir-members of the 
 Church Militant, or those for whom we are concerned 
 and anxious, and indeed all those we love, is sufficiently 
 evident. In some of the liturgies, as in the Roman, the 
 principal intercessions come later in connection with the 
 Prayer of Consecration. But in the English Prayer Book 
 of 1552 that arrangement was abandoned, and the prin- 
 cipal prayer of Intercession was put where we now have 
 it, that is, immediately after the Offertory, as it is in the 
 Gallican class of liturgies. The mention of our "Alms 
 and oblations," which are still lying on the Holy Table at 
 this time, together with (or rather, including) the Bread 
 and the Wine, and the solemn offering of them all to 
 God by the Priest in the opening words of this prayer, 
 make a very close connection between it and the Creed 
 and Offertory. This mention, together with the Offer- 
 tory Sentences, corresponds with "The First Oblation" in 
 the ancient liturgies. The intercessions for others are 
 themselves an offering of our faith, our hope and our 
 love. 
 
 44 
 
(220) 
 
 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 par- 
 takers of thy heavenly kingdom. Grant this, O Father, for Jesus 
 Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen. 
 
 We pray, therefore, for the unity of the Universal 
 Church, for all Christian Rulers, Christian Ministers, and 
 Christian people; especially for the Congregation then 
 present and for those who are sick or in trouble; and 
 finally we remember before God all the faithful departed, 
 and ask for our reunion with them in God's Heavenly 
 Kingdom. (See also the prayer in the Burial Office, 
 Prayer Book, page 300.) The mention of the saints by 
 name was left out of the liturgy in 1549, and the special 
 prayer for the King of England was of course left out in 
 the American revision; but the thoughts that are now 
 contained in our "Prayer for the Church Militant" can all 
 be traced back to the early liturgies. 
 
 45 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ®lff flMDpring of Wnv ^raiap 
 
 (229,230) 
 
 ^At the time of the Celebration of the Communion, the Priest 
 shall say this Exhortation. But Note, That the Exhortation may 
 be omitted if it hath been already said on one Lord's Day in that 
 same month. 
 
 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 dili- 
 gently 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 un- 
 worthily. Judge there yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged 
 of the Lord; repent you 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, miser- 
 
 The second step in our great act of Eucharistic wor- 
 ship, which we now prepare to ascend, has been well 
 called "The Offering of our Praise;" and this climax is 
 reached, as we shall see, in the great Sanctus Hymn. It 
 is at this point that the Church shows Her most anxious 
 care that those who approach the Lord's Table shall do so 
 only in the right state of mind. 
 
 "Dearly beloved in the Lord." This Exhortation, 
 which is to be used each month, is probably of early 
 English origin and, together with that which follows, 
 forms "a truly wonderful admixture of grave warning 
 and tender encouragement," in which there is again insist- 
 
 46 
 
(230) 
 able 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 exceed- 
 ing 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 con- 
 tinual remembrance of his death, to our great and endless com- 
 fort. 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. Amen. 
 
 IT 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 confes- 
 sion to Almighty God, devoutly kneeling. 
 
 ence both upon the duty of the Eucharistic expression of 
 our gratitude to God, and also upon the preparation of 
 the heart by a true repentance. The people stand to hear 
 this, as in the case of all the other exhortations, and also 
 for the Invit.\tion which follows. But when the Invi- 
 tation alone is used (as generally is the case at an early 
 morning Eucharist), since it follows at once the Prayer 
 for the Church Militant, and is followed by the Con- 
 fession, there is no need of rising from our knees. 
 
 We have now reached the beautiful Preparatory 
 Office, the introduction of which was intended partly as 
 a substitute for the practice of compulsory confession that 
 had grown up in the middle ages. It was derived by 
 Archbishop Cranmer from various sources, some of 
 them ancient, and some belonging to the Continental 
 Reformation, and consists of the Invitation, the Gen- 
 eral Confession, the Prayer of Absolution, and the 
 Comfortable Words. This was the first part of the 
 liturgy written in English, and was put forth in 1548, 
 to be used after the Latin Prayer of Consecration, in 
 
 47 
 
(231) 
 ^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 indig- 
 nation 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 
 hfe, To the honour and glory of thy Name ; Through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. Amen. 
 
 order to prepare the Communicants for receiving the Sac- 
 rament. It was similarly placed in the First English 
 Prayer Book, but in 1552 was removed to its present 
 position before the Sanctus. The change was a wise 
 one, for that great "Sacrifice," which we are "not worthy 
 to offer," includes the whole Prayer of Consecration, as 
 well as the actual receiving of the Elements. 
 
 The Invitation. — The Church now regards those 
 present as intending to receive, and so when the Priest 
 addresses to them the final welcome it is limited only by 
 those conditions named in the Catechism, which have 
 been already referred to. (See page 29). The words 
 "Draw near with faith" were originally intended to be 
 understood literally, those who were about to receive 
 moving forward at this point, in some churches even ad- 
 vancing from the Nave into the Choir. But before we 
 finally draw near we must first acknowledge our com- 
 mon lot, Priest and People alike, as sinners before God, in 
 
 The General Confession. — It is sin which hides 
 the glory of God ; hence the sin must be removed before 
 we can realize that glory. This form of Confession is 
 more fervent than that in the Daily Offices, (Pr. Bk., 
 page 4.) It expresses the very deepest sorrow for sin, 
 covering all sins of thought, word and deed, recognizing 
 
 48 
 
(231) 
 ^ Then shall the Priest Ohe Bishop if he he present) stand up, 
 and turning to the People, say, 
 
 A LMIGHTY 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. 
 
 that by them God is offended, and calling upon God for 
 mercy and forgiveness, for Christ's sake. It takes for 
 granted that we have already thought about our sins in 
 private self-examination, and that we are now honestly 
 seeking for their forgiveness through the Blood of Christ. 
 It is evident that the thoughts of each worshipper should 
 be upon his own sins, and not upon his neighbours. 
 
 The Absolution, which naturally follows, is the 
 shorter of the two forms of Absolution in the 
 American Prayer Book, and is an actual, though 
 conditional, forgiveness of the sins of those who 
 have just confessed them before God, for the pro- 
 nouncing of which His ministers have received both 
 power and commandment. It is a real remission 
 of all sins confessed in penitence and faith, and 
 not merely a declaration of the general principle that 
 God forgives the sins that are repented of. The Absolu- 
 tion may, of course, only be spoken by a Priest (or by the 
 Bishop if present) , since it is to the Order of the Priest- 
 hood that the Church has handed down, in the words 
 "Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven; and 
 whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained," the com- 
 
 49 
 
(232) 
 
 Hear also v/hat 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. IS. 
 
 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. 
 
 mission which Our Lord gave on Easter Day. (See Pr. 
 Bk., page 522; S. John xx. 22, 23; and page 20.) What- 
 ever the practical meaning of these words of Christ in 
 present-day life, we may be assured that there is no body 
 of men now living with a better title to that Office than 
 those who have been so commissioned by our branch of 
 the Holy Catholic Church. If our repentance, our faith 
 and our purpose are sincere, the Absolution should be all 
 that we need to assure us that the "way into the Holiest" 
 is now open before us. 
 
 The Comfortable Words. — But that assurance 
 which we have heard from the Church is yet further rein- 
 forced from the Scriptures, in fourfold testimony; first 
 the double testimony of Christ, that He bids us come, and 
 that Everlasting Life is ours through faith in Him; then 
 the testimony of S. Paul, that Christ is truly the Saviour 
 of sinners; and finally the testimony of S. John, that 
 we have in Christ a sufficient Sacrifice for sins, and also 
 an Advocate before the Throne. We owe the suggestion 
 for the use of these Words to the Continental Reformers. 
 After this assurance further words of testimony from any 
 source would be superfluous, and we ought now to be 
 ready to rise to the high level of Praise to God. This 
 uplifting part of our worship is found in every known 
 early liturgy, in words almost identical. 
 
 The "Sursum Corda.^' — It is certainly for sixteen 
 centuries and a half that the Priest has said or sung at 
 this point "Sursum Corda," or its English equivalent 
 "Lift up your hearts;" and that the loyal worshippers 
 have responded "We lift them up unto the Lord." For 
 
 50 
 
(232) 
 
 ^ 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 * These words 
 
 duty, that we should at all times, and in [Holy Father] 
 
 all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, must be omitted 
 
 [*Holy Father,] Almighty, Everlasting God. on Trinity- Sunday. 
 
 1[ Here 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, 
 
 almost as long a time we know that the other versicle and 
 response have followed, so that the incitement to the 
 great Offering of Praise has ever been responsive ; indeed 
 a tradition not unreasonable assigns the origin of this 
 part of the liturgy to the Apostles themselves. 
 
 "It is very meet," etc., is known as the Preface; and 
 then on the five great Festivals, Christmas-day, Easter- 
 day, Ascension-day, Whitsunday and Trinity Sunday 
 (and, except in the last case, also on the days following 
 the Festival itself), comes the Proper Preface^ remind- 
 ing us of the special reason for giving thanks at that 
 season. Some Western forms of the liturgy provide 
 Proper Prefaces for every Sunday of the year, but at 
 the Reformation (1549), the Church omitted all except 
 these five, thus marking off those great Festivals as in a 
 class by themselves. 
 
 For the sake of compactness, the Proper Prefaces 
 are not printed in the text above, but they may be found 
 in Appendix C, page 69. Of the six forms in the Amer- 
 ican Prayer Book those for Easter-day, Ascension-day 
 and the first of the two for Trinity Sunday are transla- 
 tions of ancient Latin forms, while those for Christmas- 
 day and Whitsunday were composed in 1549, probably by 
 Archbishop Cranmer. The second form for Trinity 
 Sunday is of American origin, first appearing in 1790, 
 
 51 
 
(232) 
 
 Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and with all the com- 
 pany of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; ever- 
 more praising thee, and saying, 
 
 HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, Lord God of rp„-«t and 
 hosts. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory: pj' ^/^ 
 Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High. Amen. ^eopte. 
 
 but because of the majestic fullness of the first form the 
 second is seldom used. 
 
 The Sanctus. — The mention of the Angels which 
 opens the Sanctus is very ancient, reminding us that 
 human beings, however many or few in numbers, are not 
 alone in singing God's praises ; and then all. Priest, Choir 
 and People, join in singing the great everlasting Hymn 
 of Praise. It is the hymn which Isaiah (Chapter vi., 3) 
 heard the Seraphim crying one to another, and that S. 
 John (Rev. iv. 8-11) heard all creation joining in, and 
 the representatives of faithful humanity responding to. 
 In this Hymn the second part of our worship reaches its 
 climax; when we can indeed realize the uplifting power 
 of it, we shall have learned something of what worship 
 really means, in Heaven, and on earth. How can merely 
 human words of piety or of praise be thought of for a 
 moment as in the same class with that Eternal Song? 
 
 But this wonderful liturgy has even greater riches 
 yet in store for us. For, to use the words of one of our 
 Hymns (No. 553), there is 
 
 "A song which even angels 
 Can never, never sing; 
 They know not Christ as Saviour 
 But worship Him as King." 
 
 That song is the Song of the Redeemed, the "Song of 
 Moses and the Lamb." 
 
 62 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 ^Ift ®ttetms of &elf-(EsmaetvuXlan 
 
 (234) 
 ^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 Tab'e. 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. Amen. 
 
 We are now mounting the third step in our worship, 
 where we are to share the highest spiritual privilege 
 offered to man on earth, namely, that of uniting the entire 
 consecration of our own lives to God's service with the 
 One perfect and accepted Sacrifice of Our Lord. Our 
 aim is implicit obedience to the expressed will of Christ, 
 as interpreted by the Church ; our purpose the renewal of 
 the covenant with God, by participation in the Life of 
 His Son our Saviour, given for us and now also given 
 to us.* 
 
 The Prayer of Humble Access, which received its 
 present form at the Reformation though it has close 
 
 * A most interestinj? study of the origins of such a thought as 
 this is found in "The Blood Covenant," by the late Rev. Dr. H. 
 Clay Trumbull, the author also of "Friendship the Master-Pas- 
 sion." Though rather diffusely written, these remarkable books 
 throw much side light upon the meaning of the Eucharist, the 
 full significance of which seems to be the one truth needed to 
 make their joint argument complete. 
 
 53 
 
(235) 
 
 1[ When the Priest, standing before the Table, hath so ordered the 
 Bread and Wine, that he may with the more readiness and de- 
 cency break the Bread before the People, and take the Cup into 
 his hands, he shall say the Prayer of Consecration, as foUoweth. 
 
 parallels in the Greek liturgies, may be regarded as "a 
 sort of parenthesis," and yet a most appropriate one; no 
 more iitting time than this could be chosen for adopting 
 as our own the thought first expressed by the Syrophoe- 
 nician woman v;ith her wonderful faith. (S. Mark vii. 
 27, 28.) But still we dare not now hesitate to go for- 
 ward, for we have listened to Christ's own invitation to 
 follow Him into the Holy Place, even through the 
 shadows of Good Friday into the joy of the Easter 
 triumph. 
 
 The Prayer of Consecration. — It is for the Great 
 Prayer which we have now reached that all thus far has 
 been but preparing the way ; for by it, through the Pres- 
 ence and Operation of the Holy Spirit, our gifts of bread 
 and wine are to be given back to us as the Bread and 
 Wine of Life. 
 
 This prayer then, with the Communion which is to 
 follow, gathers up into itself all that is highest, rnost 
 spiritual and permanent, of that institution of sacrifice 
 which is as old as the days of Cain and Abel. A study of 
 the ancient liturgies shows that from earliest Christian 
 times the Eucharist was regarded as the sacrificial com- 
 memoration of the Death of Christ, and among modern 
 writers perhaps none have been more earnestly insistent 
 upon this truth than John and Charles Wesley.* But, 
 even as this prayer makes clear, there is in history One 
 only Sacrifice efficient to take away sins, namely, that 
 Sin-Offering completed once for all on the Cross of Cal- 
 vary. It is to be remembered thai in the old Jewish 
 worship the "Sin-offering," the "Burnt offering," and the 
 
 * See "Hymns on the Lord's Supper,'' by J. and C. Wesley, 
 for instance, as quoted by Dr. G. H. S. Walpole (now Bishop) in 
 "The Eucharistic Offering," page 72. 
 
 54 
 
(235) 
 A LL 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 (a) Here the 
 for our redemption; who made there (by his Priest is to take 
 one oblation of himself once offered) a full, the Paten into his 
 perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and hands. 
 satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; (b) And here to 
 and did institute, and in his holy Gospel break the Bread. 
 command us to continue, a perpetual memory (c) And here to 
 of that his precious death and sacrifice, until lay his hand upon 
 his coming again : For in the night in which all the Bread. 
 he was betrayed, (o) he took Bread; and (d) Here he is 
 when he had given thanks, (6) he brake it, to take the Cup 
 and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, into his hands. 
 (c) this is my Body, which is given for you; (e) And here he 
 Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, is to lay his hand 
 after supper, (d) he took the Cup; and when upon every vessel 
 he had given thanks, he gave it to them, say- in which there is 
 ing. Drink ye all of this; for (?) this is my any Wine to be 
 Blood of the New Testament, which is shed consecrated. 
 for you, and for many, for the remission of sins ; Do this, as oft 
 as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me. 
 
 "Peace-offering'' were separate and distinct institutions, 
 with quite different symbolical meanings, and that the 
 sacrifice of the Passover Lamb was clearly one of the 
 Peace-offerings, and not a Sin-offering. Our Christian 
 Sacrifice, therefore, belongs to the same class; it too is 
 a "Peace-offering," and a "Sacrifice of Praise and 
 Thanksgiving;" it also, like the Passover again, is a 
 feast upon a sacrifice, the symbols of which are the 
 consecrated Bread and Wine, as well as a service of Me- 
 morial and a means of grace. 
 
 Eucharistic praise, then, is the central thought of 
 this whole prayer, as indeed of the entire liturgy. And 
 so it opens with words of praise to God our Heavenly 
 Father, for the gift of His Son "to suffer death upon the 
 Cross for our redemption," for the "full, perfect, and 
 sufficient sacrifice" for sins which He made there, and 
 also for this Memorial "of that His precious death and 
 sacrifice" which we are about to make. 
 
 Then immediately follows the narration of what 
 
 55 
 
(235) 
 
 WHEREFORE, O Lord and heavenly ^, ^, , ,. 
 
 Father, according to the institution of ^^^ Oblation. 
 
 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 remem- 
 brance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resur- 
 rection and glorious ascension; rendering unto thee most hearty 
 thanks for the innumerable benefits procured unto us by the same. 
 
 Christ did and commanded on the night of His betrayal, 
 the Priest, as instructed by the rubrics at the side, imi- 
 tating each action of Our Lord as he narrates it, and 
 symboHcally doing the same thing.* In this way the 
 Priest sets apart this Bread and Wine forever, to be 
 used for nothing else but for the Sacrament. But notice 
 that the American Liturgy does not teach that the act of 
 consecration is completed until after the Oblation and 
 Invocation which follow; this is an important point, and 
 of much interest. (See pages 27, 57, 58, and Appen- 
 dix F.) 
 
 The Oblation, the second paragraph of the great 
 Prayer, is the solemn offering to God of our Memorial 
 of Christ's Death. Notice its careful statement of our 
 purpose, in keeping thi'j service, to follow the command 
 of Christ, and with these gifts now designated for that 
 use alone, to "Celebrate and make" the Memorial which 
 He commanded. The word "Memorial," or "Remem- 
 brance," which Christ Himself used, is distinctly a sacri- 
 ficial word, familiar to the Apostles from old Jewish 
 usage ; it implies something much more than the mere act 
 of reminding ourselves, for it involves both the thought 
 of witnessing to our Faith before an unbelieving world, 
 and also the thought of "putting God in mind," or of 
 pleading before God. And the words of the liturgy make 
 
 * The New Testament gives us four accounts of what Christ 
 said and did, namely, those in St. Matt, xxvi, 26-29; St. Mark 
 xiv. 22-25 ; St. Luke xxii. 17-20, and I. Cor. xi. 23-26. The narra- 
 tion in our Liturgy follows very closely the words as recorded 
 by St. Luke and in I Corinthians. 
 
 56 
 
(236) 
 
 AND we most humbly beseech thee, O mer- ^, , „, „,-„ 
 ciful Father, to hear us; and, of thy The Invocahon. 
 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. 
 
 clear what it is that we plead before God, namely, not 
 only "His blessed passion and precious death," but also 
 His "mighty resurrection and glorious ascension;" and 
 the Oblation closes with a further expression of "most 
 hearty thanks" for all that it means to us. 
 
 The Invocation, which forms the third paragraph, 
 is an especially interesting feature of our American Lit- 
 urgy, since it marks the restoration to this place in the 
 service (that is, after the Elements are finally set apart) 
 of the prayer for the presence and operation of the 
 Holy Spirit, which is a marked feature of all the early 
 liturgies. Unfortunately (as is now generally acknowl- 
 edged) at the English revision in 1552 both the Oblation 
 and also the Invocation in this place were entirely omit- 
 ted, there only being left in their stead a very we^ form 
 of invocation before the Words of Institution. Today, 
 therefore, in the English Liturgy, the Communion follows 
 immediately after the Words of Institution, and this is 
 sometimes interpreted as meaning that the mere repeti- 
 tion of those Words by the Priest is all that is required to 
 make the Sacrament effective. But on the other hand 
 we confess our faith that it is "The Holy Ghost, the 
 Lord," who is also "the Giver of Life;" the Catechism 
 teaches that it is "spiritually" that the Body and Blood 
 of Christ are to be "taken and received" in the Sacra- 
 ment (Pr. Bk., bottom of page 271), which must mean 
 through the presence and operation of the Holy Spirit; 
 and Our Lord teaches us (S. Luke xi: 13) that it is "to 
 them that ask (the Heavenly Father for) Him," that the 
 Holy Spirit is given. There seems, therefore, to be no 
 possible question of the fitness and the value of restoring 
 
(236) 
 
 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, our selves, 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 
 
 the Invocation to its ancient place in the liturgy, as we 
 have now had it, in America, for nearly a century and a 
 quarter. (See Appendix F, page 76.) 
 
 Notice that in our Liturgy, after the Words of In- 
 stitution have been spoken, the Elements are still re- 
 ferred to as "These thy gifts and creatures of bread and 
 wine;" and that it is as such that the Divine Presence is 
 invoked upon them, that thereby we, receiving them in 
 obedience and faith, may become partakers of that "most 
 blessed Body and Blood" of Christ, which He says are 
 the true life-giving Food and Drink of the soul. ( See S. 
 John vi: 50-55, 58.) If then we are faithful in the use 
 of that Heavenly Food, we have Christ's own word for 
 it that thereby we shall live forever. 
 
 The Consecrated Elements being now ready for our 
 use we ask God, in this final paragraph of the Great 
 Prayer, to "Accept this, our sacrifice of praise and 
 thanksgiving," granting us remission of our sins and all 
 other benefits of the passion of Christ. And to this Offer- 
 ing of Himself, we venture to add the offering of "our- 
 selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy and 
 living sacrifice" to God. We intercede for our fellow- 
 communicants also, and ask for God's benediction and 
 for our incorporation with Him. Not forgetting our con- 
 stant unworthiness, we yet ask that our Service may be 
 accepted, through the merits of Christ; and we close the 
 Prayer of Consecration, as we began it, with words of 
 Eucharistic praise to Christ our Saviour, now enthroned 
 in the glory of the Father. How wonderfully evangeli- 
 
 58 
 
(236) 
 
 Son Jesus Christ, be filled with thy grace and heavenly benedic- 
 tion, and make one body with him, that he may dwell in us, and 
 we in him. And although we are unworthy, through our mani- 
 fold sins, to oiler 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. Amen. 
 
 cal it is ! How different from that conception of worship 
 which regards the minister's or Priest's office as one 
 either of intellectual or spiritual isolation, and the Con- 
 gregation as only passively receptive ! 
 
 The Great Amen. — The Priest has indeed been 
 fulfilling his high office, but he has been standing before 
 God also as the spokesman of each single worshipper. 
 And so it is that every worshipper must now make the 
 Priest's prayer his own, by saying, aloud and clearly, 
 the "Amen at his giving of thanks." It is as old as the 
 time of S. Paul, and is referred to by him in I Cor. 
 xiv. 16, the word which he uses there for "giving of 
 thanks" being the same as the word "Eucharist." Under- 
 line that particular "Amen" in your Prayer Book, and 
 never forget to join in it. 
 
 59 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 lilfi (Sotnmmttau axiSt $aBt-€mnttumfon 
 
 ~~ (236, 237) 
 
 1[ Here may be sung a Hymn. 
 ff Then shall the Priest first receive the Holy 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 de- 
 voutly kneeling. And sufficient opportunity shall be given to 
 those present to communicate. 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. 
 
 The hymn sung at this point may fitly be expressive 
 either of penitence, of intercession or of praise. The 
 use of the "Agnus Dei" at this point is of ancient origin. 
 
 The Priest then receives the Communion in both 
 kinds himself, and thereupon offers it to the other clergy 
 in the Sanctuary, and afterward to the choir and congre- 
 gation, who come forward in turn and kneel at the Altar- 
 rail to receive it. Kneeling for this purpose is the 
 general custom of the Western Church; in the Eastern 
 Church the rule is to stand instead; but in ancient days 
 no one sat to receive the Holy Communion, unless it was 
 the Pope. 
 
 This act of obedience then, together with the prayer 
 just offered, forms the final climax of our solemn ap- 
 proach into the presence of God. The Church has no 
 rule requiring fasting communion; but when circum- 
 stances permit there is surely a fitness in receiving the 
 - Spiritual Food as the first food of the day. 
 
 60 
 
(237) 
 ^ 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 he 
 thankful. 
 
 If// the consecrated Bread or Wine be spent before all have com- 
 municated, 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 7»ith a fair linen 
 cloth. 
 
 "The Body of Our Lord." — The words spoken to 
 the communicant when the separate Elements are admin- 
 istered have an interesting history. The earliest recorded 
 forms were "The Body of Christ," and "The Blood of 
 Christ," to which in both cases the communicant an- 
 swered "Amen." About the year 600 A. D. the forms 
 were "The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy 
 soul," and "The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve 
 thy soul." Some two centuries later we find the words 
 "unto everlasting life," and later still the words "which 
 was given for thee." A famous Roman authority, Car- 
 dinal Bona, acknowledges that "always, everywhere, 
 from the very first foundation of the Church to the 
 Twelfth Century, the faithful always communicated 
 under the species of bread and wine." It was only the 
 dogma of Transsubstantiation that made possible the 
 teaching that communion in one kind was sufficient for 
 the laity, and this was one of the most evident abuses 
 corrected by the Reformation. 
 
 With the English Prayer Book of 1549 (indeed even 
 in the previous year) came the immediate restoration of 
 communion in both kinds, with the use of the two forms 
 of words just indicated. Three years later, in 1552, the 
 Protestant influences caused these forms to be discarded, 
 and the second paragraphs of the present forms to be 
 
 61 
 
(237, 238) 
 
 ^Then shall the Minister say the Lord's Prayer, the People re- 
 peating after him every Petition. 
 
 f^ UR 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. 
 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 re- 
 ceived 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 king- 
 
 substituted for them; but finally, in 1559, at the opening 
 of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in order to please all 
 parties, the two forms, the ancient and the Protestant 
 ones, were united as we have them at present. 
 
 "// the consecrated Bread and Wine." Notice this 
 rubrical provision that even when it is necessary to con- 
 secrate an additional supply of the Elements, the Words 
 of Institution are not regarded as sufficient, but the 
 Prayer of Consecration must be used as far as the end of 
 the Invocation. 
 
 "Our Father." After the Communion comes imme- 
 diately the Lord's Prayer which properly belongs to the 
 liturgy, and which now is ordered to be said both by 
 the Priest and by the people; it has the doxology 
 attached to it, because now the note of thankfulness and 
 praise rules the service entirely.* 
 
 "We most heartily thank thee." This beautiful 
 Thanksgiving is partly derived from ancient sources, and 
 partly from the Continental Reformers, and dates in its 
 present form from 1549. Notice that the Sacrament is 
 
 * See Appendix E, page 74. 
 62 
 
(238) 
 dom, by the merits of the most precious death and passion of thy 
 dear Son. And we most humbly beseech tiiee, 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. Amen. 
 
 11 Then shall he said or sung, all standing, Gloria in excelsis ; or 
 some proper Hymn from the Selection. 
 
 /^LORY 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 the glory of God 
 the Father. Amen. 
 
 here spoken of as an "Assurance of God's favour," and 
 how certain the language is which speaks of our member- 
 ship in "the mystical Body of Christ, which is the blessed 
 company of all faithful people," and of our inheritance 
 in the Kingdom; (compare the Catechism, second answer 
 page 266, and answer, page 270, to the Question "What 
 meanest thou," etc.). 
 
 "Glory be to God on high." This very ancient hymn, 
 known as the "Gloria in Excelsis/' has been printed 
 in this place in the liturgy since 1552, and can be traced 
 back to the year 450 A. D., or earlier. It opens with the 
 song of the angels at Bethlehem on the night of the 
 Nativity, beautifully combining with it the thought of 
 the "Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the 
 world" (Agnus Dei) ; and it closes with another triumph- 
 ant ascription of praise and glory to Our Lord on His 
 Throne. Thus, standing at the end of the Service, it 
 helps to make our liturgy "in the element of thanksgiv- 
 
 63 
 
(239-240) 
 
 %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 Al- 
 mighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst 
 you, and remain with you always. Amen. 
 
 ing, superior to any other communion office used on 
 earth." 
 
 "The Peace of God." A final prayer may follow the 
 Gloria in Excelsis, mentioning some special need, or per- 
 haps remembering again those who have passed from 
 our sight "in the Communion of the Catholic Church," 
 and then the liturgy closes with the form of Benediction 
 which is peculiar to the English and American liturgies, 
 and which has been well called "at once the grandest 
 and most solemn form of Blessing ever written."* 
 
 It need only be added here that a Eucharist in which 
 we have taken our part ought not soon to be forgotten, 
 and should call forth its echo of thankfulness, of strength 
 and of peace, for days to come. But its uplift cannot be 
 expected to last for a year, or even for three months; 
 Christ taught us to pray "Give us this day, our daily 
 bread," and those words are no warrant for the suffi- 
 ciency of a semi-occasional communion. When then in 
 the future we know that the Table of the Lord is spread 
 within our reach, let us remember that these blessings 
 may be ours, if we so choose. 
 
 And when this great act of worship which Our 
 Lord commanded shall be exalted, by common agree- 
 ment, as some day it must, into such a position of 
 supreme importance in Christian thought and devotion, 
 that all other services and all sermons are considered 
 as but auxiliary to it, will it not again avail, more than 
 any other common treasure which Christians possess, 
 toward cementing the corporate unity of the Church of 
 Christ, Vifhich is His Body? 
 
 * See "The Book of Common Prayer," by the Rev. Dr. Hart, 
 p. 194. 64 
 
APPENDIX A. ( See page 30.) 
 
 (240,241) 
 
 ©Ife ^xlpitMiottB PrtttiottB tn tljp Qlonutmnion 
 
 ^ When the Minister giveth warning for the Celebration of the 
 Holy Communion, (zvhich he shall always do upon the Sunday, 
 or some Holy-day, immediately preceding,) he shall read this 
 Exhortation following; or so much thereof as, in his discretion, 
 he may think convenient. 
 
 r\ EARLY beloved, on day next I purpose, through God's 
 
 ^ assistance, to administer to all such as shall be religiously 
 and devoutly disposed the most comfortable Sacrament of the 
 Body and Blood of Christ; to be by them received in remem- 
 brance of his meritorious Cross and Passion; whereby alone we 
 obtain remission of our sins, and are made partakers of the King- 
 dom of heaven. Wherefore it is our duty to render most humble 
 and hearty thanks to Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that 
 he hath given his Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, not only to die 
 for us, but also to be our spiritual food and sustenance in that 
 holy Sacrament. Which being so divine and comfortable a thing 
 to them who receive it worthily, and so dangerous to those who 
 will presume to receive it unworthily; my duty is to exhort you, 
 in the mean season to consider the dignity of that holy mystery, 
 and the great peril of the unworthy receiving thereof ; and so to 
 search and examine your own consciences, (and that not lightly, 
 and after the manner of dissemblers with God; but so) that ye 
 may come holy and clean to such a heavenly Feast, in the mar- 
 riage-garment required by God in holy Scripture, and be received 
 as worthy partakers of that holy Table. 
 
 The way and means thereto is : First, to examine your lives 
 and conversations by the rule of God's commandments ; and 
 whereinsoever ye shall perceive yourselves to have offended, 
 either by will, word, or deed, there to bewail your own sinfulness, 
 and to confess yourselves to Almighty God, with full purpose of 
 amendment of life. And if ye shall perceive your offences to 
 be such as are not only against God, but also against your neigh- 
 bours ; then ye shall reconcile yourselves unto them ; being ready 
 to make restitution and satisfaction, according to the uttermost 
 of your powers, for all injuries and wrongs done by you to any 
 other; and being likewise ready to forgive others who have 
 offended you, as ye would have forgiveness of your offences at 
 God's hand ; for otherwise the receiving of the holy Communion 
 doth nothing else but increase your condemnation. Therefore, if 
 any of you be a blasphemer of God, an hinderer or slanderer of 
 his Word, an adulterer, or be in malice, or envy, or in any other 
 
 05 
 
(241-243) 
 
 grievous crime ; repent you of your sins, or else come not to that 
 holy Table. 
 
 And because it is requisite that no man should come to the 
 holy Communion, but with a full trust in God's mercy, and with a 
 quiet conscience; therefore, if there be any of you, who by this 
 means cannot quiet his own conscience herein, but requireth fur- 
 ther comfort or counsel, let him come to me, or to some other 
 Minister of God's Word, and open his grief ; that he may receive 
 such godly counsel and advice, as may tend to the quieting of his 
 conscience, and the removing of all scruple and doubtfulness. 
 
 1[ Or, in case he shall see the People negligent to come to the Holy 
 Communion, instead of the former, he shall use this Exhor^u 
 tion. 
 
 P) EARLY beloved brethren, on I intend, by God's grace, 
 
 '--' to celebrate the Lord's Supper: unto which, in God's behalf, 
 I bid you all who are here present ; and beseech you, for the Lord 
 Jesus Christ's sake, that ye will not refuse to come thereto, being 
 so lovingly called and bidden by God himself. Ye know how 
 grievous and unkind a thing it is, when a man hath prepared a 
 rich feast, decked his table with all kind of provision, so that 
 there lacketh nothing but the guests to sit down ; and yet they 
 who are called (without any cause) most unthankfully refuse to 
 come. Which of you in such a case would not be moved ? Who 
 would not think a gieat injury and wrong done unto him? 
 Wherefore, most dearly beloved in Christ, take ye good heed, lest 
 . ye, withdrawing yourselves from this holy Supper, provoke God's 
 indignation against you. It is an easy matter for a man to say, I 
 will not communicate, because I am otherwise hindered with 
 worldly business. But such excuses are not so easily accepted 
 and allowed before God. If any man say, I am a grievous sinner, 
 and therefore am afraid to come : wherefore then do ye not 
 repent and amend? When God calleth you, are ye not ashamed 
 to say ye will not come? When ye should return to God, will ye 
 excuse yourselves, and say ye are not ready? Consider earnestly 
 with yourselves how little such feigned excuses will avail before 
 God. Those who refused the feast in the Gospel, because they 
 had bought a farm, or would try their yokes of oxen, or because 
 they were married, were not so excused, but counted unworthy of 
 the heavenly feast. Wherefore, according to mine office, I bid 
 you in the Name of God, I call you in Christ's behalf, I exhort 
 you, as ye love your own salvation, that ye will be partakers of 
 this holy Communion. And as the Son of God did vouchsafe to 
 yield up his soul by death upon the Cross for your salvation ; so 
 it is your duty to receive the Communion in remembrance of the 
 sacrifice of his death, as he himself hath commanded : which if ye 
 shall neglect to do, consider with yourselves how great is your 
 
 66 
 
(243) 
 
 ingratitude to God, and how sore punishment hangeth over your 
 heads for the same; when ye wilfully abstain from the Lord's 
 Table, and separate from your brethren, who come to feed on the 
 banquet of that most heavenly food. These things if ye earnestly 
 consider, ye will by God's grace return to a better mind : for the 
 obtaining whereof we shall not cease to make our humble peti- 
 tions unto Almighty God, our heavenly Father. 
 
 APPENDIX B. (See page 29.) 
 ^\it OltftrtBttan ^a.m 
 
 By the Ten Commandments, we learn two things, our duty 
 TOWARDS GOD, and our duty towards our neighbour. 
 
 Note. — The Scriptural references introduced below are in- 
 tended rather as suggestions in the development of the subject, 
 than as literal proof-texts. 
 
 1. My duty (debt, or what I owe,) towards God the Uni- 
 versal Father, as revealed in Jesus Christ His Son, is To believe in 
 Wot, through Christ; St. John iii. 16; XX. 31, io fear him, (Prov. i. 
 7 ; Eccl. xii. 13 ;) And to love him, (I John iv. 19) with all my heart, 
 (Psalm Ixxxiv. 1, 2) with all my mind, (I John v. 20) with all 
 my soul, (Psalm xlii. 1, 2) with all my strength; (Psalm xlvi. 
 1-3) ; To worship him, (Rev. iv. 8-11) ; to give Him that of which 
 He is worthy; at least (a) our reverent attendance at Church 
 and at the Eucharist; (b) the glad tribute of our freewill offer- 
 ings, the first fruits of our principal as well as of our income; 
 (Prov. iii. 9, 10) ; To give him thanks, that is, (a) cultivating the 
 thankful spirit, (Ephes. v. 20) and (b) expressing it publicly, 
 as in the Eucharist; To put my whole trust in him, (Isa. li. 5) ; 
 To call upon him, (see Appendix F, on Christian Prayer) ; 
 To honour his holy Name that is, throwing our whole influence 
 against all pimfanity and irreverence, and his Word: the Bible, 
 the written Word, is the revelation of the Incarnate Word of 
 God; its teachings must become a part of our thought; And to 
 serve him truly all the days of my life. Keeping Sunday; but 
 more than that, a religion for seven days in the week, and one 
 that is neither to be forgotten nor outgrown. 
 
 IT. My duty towards my Neighbour, because we are all 
 members one of another, (Romans xii. 5,) is To love him as 
 myself. Our Lord's restatement of Levit. xix. 18 ; and to do unto 
 ail men as I would they should do unto me: Our Lord's "Golden 
 Rule," St. Matt. vii. 12: To love, honour, and succour my father 
 
 67 
 
and mother: listening to them, obeying them, defending them, 
 helping them, (Prov. i. 8, 9;) .To honour and obey the civil author- 
 ity: (I Peter ii. 13, 14;) in America this means voting, if we are 
 qualified, to create the authority, and then giving our allegiance, 
 so far as we rightly can, to those who are chosen by the will of 
 the majority; To submit myself to all my governors, teachers, 
 spiritual pastors and masters: none is fit to command who has 
 not learned to obey; if in their place we would demand respect 
 for these several offices; To order myself lowly and reverently to 
 all my betters: proper outward respect is owed to those who bear 
 the higher responsibilities in the family, the Church, the Govern- 
 ment, the shop, the office, the school ; To hurt nobody by word or 
 deed: To be true and just in all my dealings: To bear no malice 
 nor haired in my heart: To keep my hands from picking and 
 stealing, and my tongue from evil speaking, lying, and slandering: 
 special applications of the Golden Rule, based on Commandments 
 VI, VIII and IX ; To keep my body in temperance, soberness, and 
 chastity: "temperance" means self-control; we must strive to be 
 pure in thought, word and deed, since the Holy Spirit has hon- 
 oured our bodies by making them His temples; (I Cor. vi. 19;) 
 Not to covet nor desire other men's goods; a sin of the heart, 
 even if not consummated in action ; Commandment X ; But to 
 learn and labour truly to get mine own living, our God-given 
 capacity for usefulness must be developed ; the price of independ- 
 ence is self-support, (II Thess. iii. 10-12) And to do my duty in 
 that state of life unto which it shall please God to call me. God 
 has put us where we are at present ; He wants to put us hereafter 
 where we can serve Him most efficiently and usefully. 
 
 III. God's Holy Will, and How we Learn It. These ways 
 may be suggested: {A) From the instructions of parents, god- 
 parents and teachers, appealing to our own conscience; (B) From 
 the Church's teaching, set forth in the Prayer Book, with special 
 regard to 1. Holy Baptism; 2. Confirmation, and Confessing 
 Christ; 3. The Holy Communion; (C) From the Teachings of 
 Christ in the Gospels, and from other Bible-reading; {D) From 
 sermons, — ^the messages of Christ's Ministers; (£) From the 
 teachings of Providence, in answer to our prayers. 
 
APPENDIX C. (See pages 35 and 51.) 
 2Il|p QIIjriBttan ^par anb Sta iMfaaagp 
 
 The seasons of the Christian Year group themselves around 
 the five great Festivals, each with its special call to thanksgiving. 
 Each Festival is preceded by a season of preparation and peni- 
 tence; each is follov/ed by a season of joy and thanksgiving. 
 
 CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Preceded by the Four Sundays of Advent, associating the 
 Return of Christ for Judgment with the Memorial of His Birth 
 at Bethlehem. 
 
 The Day, December 2Sth, as kept by the whole Western 
 Church. 
 
 The Message : 
 
 Upon Christmas-day, and seven days after, 
 
 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, etc. 
 
 The Season^ continuing till the shadows of Good Friday fall 
 across its path, nine weeks before Easter. Clear echoes of the 
 Christmas joy, on the Feast of the Circumcision, (Jan. 1,) The 
 Epiphany, (Jan. 6,) The Purification, or Presentation of Christ 
 in the Temple, (Feb. 2,) The Annunciation, (Mar. 25,) and the 
 Nativity of St. John the Baptist, (June 24.) 
 
 EASTER-DAY. 
 
 Preceded by the "penumbra" of Septuagesima, Sexagesima, 
 Quinquagesima ; and then the Forty Days, (Sundays excepted) of 
 Lent. Lent including the two great Fast-days of the Year, Ash 
 Wednesday and Good Friday; and all its six Sundays, (especially 
 Palm Sunday,) although not "Fast-days," yet being somewhat 
 darkened by the shadow of the Cross. The darkness of a deeper 
 shadow hanging over the last Great Week, ("Holy Week; notice 
 that "Passion Week" is the week before Palm Sunday;) until at 
 mid-day on Good Friday there comes the total eclipse; and on 
 Easter-even the peace and silence of the Tomb. 
 
 The Day, fixed so as to be always on "The First Day of the 
 week ;" and yet also dependent, as was the Jewish Passover, upon 
 the date of the full moon following the Vernal Equinox; (see 
 p. xxiv of the Introduction, in the Prayer Book.) 
 
 69 
 
The Message: 
 
 Upon Easter-day, and seven days after. 
 
 BUT chiefly are we bound to praise thee for the glorious Resur- 
 rection of thy Son Jesus Christ: 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, etc. 
 
 The Season, including Monday and Tuesday of Easter-week, 
 and the first five weeks after Easter-day, even Ascension-day 
 and Whitsunday indeed being but a further echo of the Easter 
 
 ASCENSION-DAY. 
 
 Preceded by the three Rogation days, to seek the blessing of 
 the Ascending Lord, upon our spiritual efforts, as well as upon the 
 fruits of the ground. 
 
 The Day, always Thursday, the fortieth day after Easter-day ; 
 (Acts i. 3.) 
 
 The Message: 
 
 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, etc. 
 The Season : The Sunday after Ascension echoes its message. 
 
 WHITSUNDAY. 
 
 Preceded, by the "Ten days of Expectation" : (not so called 
 in the Prayer Book;) see St. Luke xxiv. 49. 
 
 The Day, the fiftieth day after Easter, corresponding with the 
 Jewish Pentecost. To be kept as the Birthday of the Christian 
 Church. 
 
 The Message: 
 
 Upon Whitsunday, and six days after. 
 
 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, 
 lighting upon the Apostles, to teach them, and to lead them to all 
 truth; 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. Wherefore with Angels, etc. 
 
 70 
 
The Season, especially the Monday and Tuesday following: 
 in some Churches the rest of the Sundays of the Year are num- 
 bered from Whitsunday, or "Pentecost." 
 
 TRINITY SUNDAY. 
 The Day, one week after Whitsunday. 
 The Message: 
 
 Upon, the Feast of Trinity only, may be said, 
 
 \A/HO art one God, one Lord; not one only Person, but three 
 V ' 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, etc. 
 
 ^ Or else this may be said, the words (Holy Father) being 
 retained in the introductory address. 
 
 C OR the precious death and merits of thy Son Jesus Christ 
 *■ our Lord, and for the sending to us of the Holy Ghost, the 
 Comforter; who are one with thee in thy Eternal Godhead. 
 Therefore with Angels, etc. 
 
 The Season; the balance of the Christian Year, in which the 
 practical duties of the Christian life are set forth in the services; 
 until again the trumpet-call of Advent Sunday 
 
 "Announces that the Lord is nigh." 
 
 The Ember-days at the four seasons are respectively the 
 Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after the First Sunday in Lent, 
 after Whitsunday, after September 14 and after December 13. 
 They precede the regular Sundays for Ordination, and are 
 appointed as days of intercession on behalf of those who are to be 
 ordained. 
 
 The Transfiguration, August 6, is another day commemorat- 
 ing an event in Our Lord's life. 
 
 St. Michael's Day, September 29, brings before us the thought 
 of the Ministry of the Angels. 
 
 All Saint's Day, November 1, is a day that grows in richness 
 and tenderness of meaning as one grows older. 
 
 All the Fridays of the Year, (except in the case of Christmas- 
 day,) are fast-days, echoes of Good Friday. 
 
 Each of the other Holy Days, or Saint's Days, has some 
 special lesson, for him who would learn it. ( See P. B. page xxiv, 
 and also pages x to xxiii.) 
 
 71 
 
APPENDIX D. (See page 41.) 
 
 "First, I learn to believe in God the Father, who hath made 
 me. and all the world." (Catechism p. 267.) 
 
 I BELIEVE with heart as well as mind, and being not ashamed 
 to confess it; (Romans x. 9-11, in one God, that primary truth, 
 once revealed to the Hebrews, (Deut. vi. 4,) never having been 
 changed, and yet the very word "God" being, in the Hebrew lan- 
 guage, a word of plural form; the Father, with reference to all 
 things created, but especially with reference to Christ as the Son 
 of the Father, (St. Matt. xi. 25) ; Almighty, (St. Mark xiv. 36; 
 Rev. i. 8;) Maker of heaven and earth. He alone creates, or makes 
 out of nothing; (Gen. i. 1; Isaiah xl. 22-26;) and of all things 
 visible and invisible: that is, of all other spiritual beings, includ- 
 ing the angels, as well as of all worlds, thus guarding against the 
 error that the Evil One is either almighty or eternal. (Colos. 
 i. 16.) 
 
 "Secondly, in God the Son, who hath redeemed me and all 
 mankind." 
 
 And in one Lord Jesus Christ, that is, not two separate 
 beings, the one human and the other Divine, but the two natures 
 united in the one Person; "Jesus" meaning "Saviour," and 
 "Christ" meaning "anointed" ; the only-begotten Son of God; that 
 is, not merely a created and adopted Son like ourselves; (St. John 
 i. 18; St. Matt. iii. 17) Begotten of His Father before all worlds, 
 (St. John xvii. S; Colos. i. 15-17;) God of God, Light of Light, 
 (St. John i. 4, 5,) Very God of very God; notice that in each of 
 these phrases the word "of" must be emphasized in order to bring 
 out the meaning, which is not merely intensive, but denotes that 
 the Son is not self-existent, but receives His Being and glory 
 from the Father; (St. John xvii. 21, 22; see Article II, P. B. p. 
 557;) Begotten, n^t made; Being of one substance with the 
 Father; "I and my Father are one;" (St. John x. 30, 33;) the 
 Jews counted these words blasphemy; By whom all things were 
 made: note that "whom" here, as throughout this sentence, refers 
 to the Son, and not to the Father; (St. John i. 3.) 
 
 His Incarnation and Offering of Himself. 
 
 Who for us men and for our salvation came doivn from 
 heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin 
 Mary, and was made man: the Mystery of the Incarnation; the 
 Father "sent," (St. John iii. 16, 17;) the Son "came," (St. John i. 
 11, vi. 38;) thereby "He humbled Himself," (Phil. ii. 5-8;) His 
 birth was miraculous. He (alone) having no human father; (St. 
 Luke i. 35;) the wonder of it inspired the Angels to songs of 
 
 72 
 
praise, and it brouglit the good tidings of peace on earth, (St. 
 Luke ii. 13, 14;) indeed, thereby, the Eternal Word of God became 
 also man, (St. John i. 14;) and remains such still, in Heaven; 
 (Hebr. iv. 14-16) : And was crucified also for us under Pontius 
 Pilate; thus fixing the date in the world's history, as probably in 
 April of the Year 30 A.D., (St. Luke iii. 1,) the form of His 
 execution being one devised by Roman cruelty, but administered 
 at the request of His own people, the Jews; (St. Luke xxiii. 
 20-24;) He suffered, and was buried: (St. John xix. 30, 41, 42.) 
 His Restoration to Life and Glory. 
 And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures: 
 that is, according to the Old Testament prophecies; (Psalm xvi, 
 10; Acts ii. 29-32; see St. Matt, xxviii, St. John xx. 9;) And 
 ascended into heaven, forty days later, from the Mount of Olives ; 
 (Acts i. 9-11;) And sitteth on the right hand of the Father: 
 (Colos. iii. 1, I Peter iii. 22;) except when St. Stephen sees Him 
 standing instead; (Acts vii. S6;) And he shall come again, with 
 glory, (Acts i. 11, St. Matt. xxv. 31;) to judge both the quick and 
 the dead; (St. Matt. xxv. 32, 33;) Whose Kingdom shall have no 
 end. The Kingdom long ago promised to David, (1 Chron. xvii. 
 11-14;) foretold by Isaiah, (ix. 7;) by Daniel, (vii, 13, 14;) and 
 by Gabriel to the Son of Mary, (St. Luke i. 32, 33;) it will last, 
 till death is no more : (I. Cor. xv. 25, 26. ) 
 
 "Thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost^ who sanctifieth me. and 
 all the People of God." 
 
 And I believe in the Holy Ghost, likewise a Divine Person, 
 the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, (St. Matt. iii. 16, 17;) 
 sharing in the possession of the Divine Name, (St. Matt, xxviii. 
 19;) The Lord, (compare Acts xxviii. 25, 26 with Isaiah vi. 8-10;) 
 and Giver of Life, or Life-Giver ; He was concerned in the Crea- 
 tion of the world, (Gen. i. 2, ii. 7; Job xxxiii. 4;) His coming at 
 Pentecost gave life to the Church, (Acts ii. 4;) and His coming 
 by means of the Laying on of hands brings a new gift of spiritual 
 life; (Acts xix. 6;) His coming means power; (Acts i. 8;) Who 
 proceedeth from the Father, (St. John xv. 26;) and the Son; (see 
 note page 40; at least we may all agree that His mission in the 
 world is the act of the Son of God; see last reference;) Who 
 with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; 
 (St. Matt, xxviii. 19, and Rev. iv. 8;) Who spake by the Prophets: 
 (Ezek. iii. 24-27;) And I believe one Catholic and Apostolic 
 Church: in two sections, (a) Militant, here on earth; (b) Expect- 
 ant, in Paradise ; made one by the indwelling of the One Spirit ; 
 (I Cor. xii. 13;) the chief marks of the Church being, (a) the 
 Faith, (b) the Sacraments, (c) the Word of God entrusted to 
 Her care, and (d) the Historic Ministry; (see Acts ii. 42;) Her 
 unbroken traditions also commanding attention, especially those 
 of (a) The Lord's Day, (b) the Baptism of Infants, (c) Litur- 
 
 73 
 
gical worship, and (d) the Christian Year: / acknowledge one 
 Baptism for the remission of sins: the word "regeneration," as 
 understood by the Church, being but another name for Baptism ; 
 (Titus iii. 5;) And I look for the resurrection of the dead: 
 (1 Cor. XV. 20-22;) And the Life of the world to come. (1 Thess. 
 iv. 16, 17.) 
 
 Amen. 
 
 APPENDIX E. ( See pages 33 and 62.) 
 
 Its nature, pleading before the Father the merits of Christ; 
 its warrant, St. John xvi. 23, 24. 
 
 The Lokd's Prayer. 
 
 (a) A model for all prayers; "After this manner therefore 
 pray ye ;" St. Matt. vi. 9. 
 
 (b) A definite form of prayer to be used; "When ye pray, 
 say;" St. Luke xi. 2. 
 
 Our Father, the Father of all by creation; the Father of the 
 Christian also by adoption, and by the new birth "of water and 
 the Spirit;" (St. John iii. 5;) all humanity, and especially the 
 Christian Family, therefore one Brotherhood; who art in heaven, 
 a most gracious truth, since Christ, our Elder Brother, is now at 
 His right hand, preparing a place for us; (St. John xiv. 1-3.) 
 
 Three Petitions for God's Glory. 
 Hallowed he thy Name. "Hallowed" means removed from all 
 common and careless uses ; God's Name, God's House, God's Day, 
 and God's Word are symbols of God Himself; as we treat them, 
 so we are really treating Him ; Thy Kingdom come. Christ must 
 first become King in our own hearts ; then we must not only pray, 
 but also work for the triumph of His rule everywhere, even in 
 foreign lands, if this prayer is to be sincere. Thy will he done on 
 earth, as it is in heaven. That is, promptly, cheerfully, willingly, 
 in the confidence that the triumph of the Divine Will must be 
 complete; the praying of this prayer led Christ to Gethsemane 
 and Calvary; but afterward, Easter-day dawned. 
 
 Four Petitions for Man's Necessity. 
 Give us this day our daily bread. This means "all things that 
 are needful both for our souls and bodies;" but God wants us 
 only to ask for "the bread of the day in its day." And forgive us 
 our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us. 
 Implying the sense of sin, repentance, confession and the will to 
 
 74 
 
make restitution; also the renunciation of all malice and ill-will. 
 And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil. Guard 
 us against the necessary perils of our way ; and save us from the 
 Evil One who would work our ruin. 
 
 The Doxology. 
 
 For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for 
 ever and ever. Amen. The Kingdom of God the Son is manifest, 
 in the Church vvhich He founded on earth; the Power of God 
 the Holy Ghost is operating unseen in human souls everywhere; 
 the Glory of God the Father is the purpose and end of all Crea- 
 tion, of all His works of Nature and His works of Grace. 
 
 Together with this outline should be studied the analysis of 
 the Lord's Prayer in the Catechism, P. B. page 270. 
 
 Four Methods of Pkayee. 
 
 1. Ejaculatory Prayer; momentarily, in each emergency, 
 thus guarding against surprise, and always maintaining the spirit 
 of prayer. 
 
 2. Regular Private Prayers; "morning, evening, noonday;'' 
 (Psalm Iv. 18,) kneeling; the key to all personal religious life; 
 noonday prayer for Missions. 
 
 3. Family Prayers ; reading aloud a passage from Scripture 
 and then joining in the Lord's Prayer and a Collect, and making 
 this a rule at least once a day. 
 
 4. Public Worship; in Our Father's House, where others 
 join their prayers with ours, and where He has promised that He 
 may always be found. 
 
 Words in Which to Pray. 
 
 Why not commit to memory at least a few Psalms and 
 Hymns ? For instance : 
 
 Psalms 1, 11, IS, 42, 46, 84, 90, 91, 122, 148, ISO. 
 
 Hymns 1, 3, 7, 11, 12, IS, 21, 32, 81, 88, 216, 228, 235, 289, 33S, 
 336, 340, 342, 344, 345, 506, 595, 606, 642, 673, 674. 
 
 75 
 
APPENDIX F. (See pages 27 and 58.) 
 Q^Ifr Jintumttion in % Slitnrgg 
 
 The importance of the question, whether it is the mere narra- 
 tion by the Priest of the Words of Institution, that makes the 
 Sacrament effective, or whether on the other hand it is chiefly the 
 Presence and Operation of the Holy Spirit, coming upon the Ele- 
 ments in answer to the joint prayers of the Priest and of the 
 faithful People, can hardly be exaggerated. But it would appear 
 that the Roman dogma of Transsubstantiation can hardly be 
 defended except upon the former theory. And it is interesting to 
 note, that the present Roman Liturgy, which has been unchanged 
 for many centuries, still contains, in symbolic language, the traces 
 of the ancient Invocation after the Words of Institution; while 
 the English Liturgy of 1552 is notably weak in this particular, as 
 are most of the present Protestant Communion Services, which 
 also follow models set by the Continental Reformation. A most 
 exhaustive and recent study of these problems, and one that ought 
 to be full of interest both to American and to English Church- 
 men, may be found in "The Consecration of the Eucharist," by 
 the Rev. Henry Riley Gummey, D.D., published in London and in 
 Philadelphia in 1908. 
 
 76 
 
UPON THE TOPICS TREATED IN 
 
 NolPB on % Aatf rtratt ffittwrgg 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 1. Who first proposed a covenant-relation between God 
 and man? 
 
 2. When was the Christian covenant first offered to men? 
 
 3. (a) What place does the minister fill, in the making 
 of this covenant? (b) What place do the godparents fill, when 
 a child is baptized? 
 
 4. What gift of grace does God offer, (a) with regard to 
 the past? (b) with regard to the present? (c) with regard to 
 the future? 
 
 S. What must we do in order to receive the first? (b) in 
 order to receive the second? (c) in order to receive the third? 
 
 6. Why is it not true to say that " in Baptism we re- 
 nounce the Devil, the world and the flesh?" 
 
 7. What were you made in Baptism? (See second answer 
 in the Catechism, Pr. Bk., page 266.) 
 
 8. What does the rite of Confirmation consist of? 
 
 9. Name the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit that we 
 should expect to receive when we are confirmed? 
 
 ID. (a) By what answer in the Confirmation Service do 
 we publicly confess our allegiance to Christ? (b) Whose duty 
 is it to lead young Christians to Confirmation? 
 
 77 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 1. When should the Holy Communion be administered 
 in a private house? 
 
 2. Why is the Church the usual place for it? 
 
 3. What is the name of that part of a Church where the 
 people gather to worship, and what does the viford mean? 
 
 4. Why does the Font usually stand near the Church 
 door? 
 
 5. What is the word " Chancel " derived from? 
 
 6. What are the names of the two parts of the Chancel? 
 
 7. What are the chief pieces of furniture in the " Choir." 
 
 8. What privilege do Christians have in the church which 
 the lay people of the Jews never had? 
 
 9. What are the three Prayer Book names for the 
 " Table " used in the Holy Communion? 
 
 10. Why are the Pulpit and the Lecturn placed at the 
 sides, and not in the centre of the Chancel? 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 I. For what two purposes must a man be properly com- 
 missioned, by ordination, in order to celebrate the Holy Com- 
 munion? 
 
 2. In what part of the Prayer Book may we learn about 
 the Orders of Ministers, and their duties? 
 
 3. Name two of the first Deacons ordained in the church. 
 
 4. What official duties may Deacons perform? 
 
 5. Wliat order of the Ministry must a man hold who is 
 to celebrate the Holy Communion? 
 
 78 
 
6. What are the three highest functions of the ofSce of 
 the Priesthood? 
 
 7- Name two acts which none except a Bishop may per- 
 form. 
 
 8. In what case may a Priest take part in the Laying on 
 of Hands? 
 
 9- How does a man become a Bishop? 
 
 10. Has our branch of the Church, acting alone, any 
 authority to alter the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed? 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1. From what fact is the name " Lord's Supper " derived? 
 
 2. Why is it also called " The Ploly Communion?" 
 
 3. What is the third Prayer Book name for this Sacra- 
 ment, and what does it mean? 
 
 4. Why is it best not to speak of the Holy Communion 
 as "The Mass?" 
 
 S- What does the term " Liturgy " apply to, and what 
 is its original meaning? 
 
 6. How many classes of ancient liturgies can be distin- 
 guished? 
 
 7. What name was given to the Liturgy most generally 
 used in England before the Reformation? 
 
 8. How old is the present form of the Liturgy of the 
 English Church? 
 
 9. From what three classes of liturgies may the American 
 Liturgy trace its descent? 
 
 10. In what prayer, especially, may it be considered super- 
 ior to the Liturgy of the English Church? 
 
 7;» 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 1. To whom alone does the privilege of receiving the 
 Holy Communion belong? 
 
 2. What three classes of persons is the minister required 
 to warn not to come to the Lord's Table? 
 
 3. Where does the real responsibility rest, for making a 
 right preparation for the Communion? 
 
 4. " What is required of those who come to the Lord's 
 Supper?" (See Pr. Bk., page 272.) 
 
 5. What is meant by being " in charity with all men?" 
 
 6. What is the only form of private confession in prepara- 
 tion for the Holy Communion, which our branch of the Church 
 always requires? 
 
 7. To whom does the Church bid us go if we need 
 further counsel or assurance of forgiveness? 
 
 8. What classes of persons is the Second Warning in- 
 tended to reach? 
 
 9. What two things are chiefly necessary, in order that 
 we may receive the Communion aright? 
 
 10. Is the Communion only intended for those who are 
 happy and prosperous in their Christian life? 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1. Why is the word " Minister " used in the Rubrics up 
 to the time of the Offertory, while after that the word " Priest 
 is used instead? 
 
 2. How does it happen that the Lord's Prayer appears at 
 the opening of the Liturgy, as well as after the Communion? 
 
 3. Why does the Lord's Prayer when used at the begin- 
 ning close with the words " Deliver us from evil?" 
 
 80 
 
4- When were the Ten Commandments first introduced 
 into the Liturgy and made a part of it? 
 
 5. When was the Summary of the Law first introduced 
 into it? 
 
 6. What is meant by "The Kyrie?" (b) by "The Lesser 
 Litany?" 
 
 7. How long, at least, have some of the Prayer Book 
 collects been in use? 
 
 8. What is signified by the word " holy " when we say 
 " Holy Gospel?" 
 
 9. Why do we rise when the Holy Gospel is about to be 
 read? 
 
 10. What is meant by "The Gloria Tibi?" 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 1. What name describes the first of the three " steps " 
 of worship into which the Liturgy may be divided? 
 
 2. What three things must we do in order to complete the 
 worship of this step? 
 
 3. Has the Church two Faiths, or only one Faith stated 
 in two forms? 
 
 4. What words of our Lord form the basis of both 
 creeds? 
 
 5. Which form of the Creed is referred to in the office for 
 Baptism? 
 
 6. How much of the Nicene Creed was framed at the 
 Council of Nicaea? 
 
 7. By what other Council, and in what year, was most of 
 the rest of it added? 
 
 8. Does the Church require us to believe anything that 
 cannot be proved from Holy Scripture? 
 
 9. What is meant by " The Offertory?" 
 
 10. What parts of our Liturgy correspond with " The 
 First Oblation " in the ancient liturgies ? 
 
 81 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 1. What kind of worship do we especially offer to God, 
 when we ascend the second of the steps of the Liturgy? 
 
 2. When and by whom was the Preparatory Office com- 
 piled? 
 
 3. What four parts does it consist of? 
 
 4. What did the words " Draw near with faith " origin- 
 ally mean? 
 
 5. Why is the General Confession necessary at this point? 
 
 6. Why may no one who is not a Priest say the Abso- 
 lution? 
 
 7. To whose suggestion do we owe the use in the Liturgy 
 of "The Comfortable Words?" 
 
 8. What is meant by " The Sursum Corda,'' and how 
 long has it been in use? 
 
 9. What Festivals of the Christian Year are now pro- 
 vided with Proper Prefaces? 
 
 10. What two writers, of the Old and New Testament re- 
 spectively, heard the Angels singing a Hymn corresponding to 
 the Sanctus? 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1. What title may be given to the worship which we ofifer 
 when we reach the third and highest step in the Liturgy? 
 
 2. Whose words do we adopt as our own in the Prayer of 
 Humble Access? 
 
 3. What primitive institution is exemplified, though in a 
 spiritual manner, in the Liturgy and especially in the Prayer 
 of Consecration? 
 
 4. What is the only effective " Sin-oflfering " that has ever 
 been offered to God? 
 
 5. What class of sacrifices did the offering of the Pass- 
 over Lamb belong to? 
 
 6. In what three other respects is the Holy Eucharist like 
 the Passover? 
 
 82 
 
7- What is the central thought of the whole Prayer of 
 Consecration? 
 
 8. What is The Oblation, or the second paragraph of the 
 Great Prayer? 
 
 9. For what purpose do we invoke the Presence of the 
 Holy Spirit upon the Elements which have now been solemnly 
 designated for sacramental use? 
 
 10. By what means should the people adopt as their own 
 every word and symbolic action of the Priest in this Eucharis- 
 tic Prayer? 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 1. Whence do we derive the custom of kneeling to receive 
 the Communion? 
 
 2. What are the earliest recorded forms of words for the 
 administration of the separate Elements to the People? 
 
 3. About what time, according even to Roman Catholic 
 authorities, was the Cup first refused to the laity? 
 
 4. What was it that made possible the teaching that com- 
 munion in one kind was sufficient for the laity? 
 
 5. What form of words was used in the administration of 
 the Bread, when communion in both kinds was restored in 
 England, in 1548? 
 
 6. What form of words was substituted for this, through 
 the influence of the Continental Reformers, in 1552? 
 
 7. Who was responsible for the combining of these two 
 forms, as we have them at present, and why was this done? 
 
 8. Why does the Lord's Prayer after the Communion, 
 have the Doxology? 
 
 9. With what song does the Gloria in Execlsis open; and 
 with what thought does it close? 
 
 ID. What thought from the Lord's Prayer teaches us that 
 a mere occasional coming to the Holy Communion is not all 
 that our souls need? 
 
 83 
 
APPENDIX D, 
 
 QT^f JlSitent (Emit 
 
 1. In what three ways must we mean it, when we say, 
 " I believe?" 
 
 2. What two things do we mean, when we confess our 
 faith that God is " The Father?" 
 
 3. What error do the words " visible and invisible " guard 
 against? 
 
 4. What do we mean when we say, "And in one Lord?" 
 
 5. Why should the word " of " be emphasized, in the 
 phrases " God of God," etc.? 
 
 6. Does the word " Whom," in the phrase " By whom all 
 things were made," refer to the Father, or does it refer to the 
 Son? 
 
 7. What do we call the Mystery expressed in the words 
 " And was made man," etc. 
 
 8. Why is the name of Pontius Pilate in the Creed? 
 
 9. In the words " According to the Scriptures," what 
 Scriptures are referred to? 
 
 10. To whom was the promise of the " Kingdom that 
 should have no end " first made known? 
 
 11. Does the Nicene Creed say that the Holy Ghost is 
 " The Lord of Life?" 
 
 12. Into what two sections is the one " Catholic and Apos- 
 tolic Church divided? 
 
 13. What are the four great treasures, or " marks," of 
 the Historic Church? 
 
 14. What four traditions of the Church are of special in- 
 terest and importance? 
 
 15. What is " Regeneration " but another name for, as the 
 word is used in the offices of the Prayer Book? 
 
 84 
 
^mnf HixUb far CDrntmuttitrmtta 
 
 I. Follow carefully, so far as your' health will permit, 
 the rubrical. directions as to standing and kneeling. 
 
 ■2. When directed to kneel, get down oh your knees; that 
 is what knees were made for. 
 
 3. Take off both gloves, if you are wearing them, before 
 coming forward to receive, and- bring nothing in your hands. ' 
 
 ,4'. Come forward promptly:and fill the rail without need- 
 less delay. If there is no room, for you at that time, it is best 
 to kneel in some conyenieiit place while you ate waiting, w 
 
 5. Receive the Bread in the open paliri of your right 
 hand, which may be supported on the left and should be 
 raised high enough to make it unnecessary for the Priest to 
 $tpop. 
 
 ' - 6. , Take hold of the base of the Cup with one hand and of 
 the, stem with the other, so as to guide it safely. Consume 
 onl^ enough of the Wine to make sure that ydu receive it. 
 
 .'- 7. Do not remain long at the rail, but return quietljr to 
 your place. Reniain on your knees, if you can. profitably' db 
 so, till all have received. 
 
 8. Try to fix your thoughts on the great Love of God, 
 of which you have been a sharer, and not on other people's 
 affairs. 
 
 9. TJie proper posture during the Gloria in Excelsis is 
 standing. 
 
 10. Seek for at least a inbmenFs time on your knees, 
 alone in your own room, as soon as .possible after the service,