BX5145.A65 K37 1876
Karslake, W. H.
Litany of the English church : considered
history, its olan. and ihe manner in which
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THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH
CHURCH.
THE LITANY
OF
THE ENGLISH CHURCH
CONSIDERED IN
Jfs fisturg, its Pan, anir ilje mmux in foprjr
it is ixtt^uireb to ht uscir
BY THE
REV. W. H/KARSLAKE, M.A.
Assistant Preacher at Lincoln's Inn; Vicar of Westcott, Dorking;
Late Fefioto and Tutor of Merton College, Oxford.
LONDON
BASIL MONTAGU PICKERING
196 PICCADILLY
1876
ft tC. APR 1882
PREFACE.
J N the following pages an attempt is made to
give a contribution towards a history of the
Litany in the Prayer Book of the English Church ;
and at the same time to show the general plan
according to which it is arranged, and the manner in
which it is intended to be used.
Such an attempt has not been made hitherto, so
far as the Writer is aware ; though there are many
valuable remarks on the Litany, among which those
of Mr. Palmer in the Origines Liturgicai, and those
of Canon Bright in his Introduction and Notes to
the Litany in the Annotated Book of Common Prayer,
hold the chief place.
With the constant distractions, and the separation
from such books as are needed for the purpose of
liturgical study, which the care of a country parish
necessarily entails, it has not been possible for the
Writer to pursue original research as much as he would
vi PREFACE.
have wished. But, in availing himself of such scattered
materials as he could collect from other writers, he has
reproduced the statements of those only on whose
accuracy he had reason to believe that reliance could
be placed.
If the account given in the second chapter of the
origin of Litanies in the Christian Church seems
fragmentary and incomplete, his apology must be
that this could hardly be otherwise from the nature of
the case. While it is easy to describe some ancient
and distinguished tree of the forest, and to narrate so
much as is known as to the mode in which it grew and
gradually spread its branches abroad far and wide, it is
hard to say how it first sprang up, and to trace its
roots deep hidden beneath the soil. And, in a similar
way, all seems plain if the popular conception is repeated,
that " for four hundred years there were no prayers of
this special kind in the Christian Church," and the
Litany is represented as suddenly springing into exist-
ence in the fifth century, as if the Bishop of Vienne had
indeed been gifted, under the pressure of dire distress, to
devise a wholly new form for drawing down, as he hoped,
the mercy of God. But it is far harder to trace how
from the first the needs of men gradually found ex-
pression more and more in that mode of earnest
PREFACE. vii
supplication to God which the Litany represents ; and
how the first germs burst forth, the first roots stretched
out, of that form of petition which appeared in a more
matured condition when it was called for by the
necessities of Vienne ; and then " spread " (in the
words of Dean Stanley) " among the vine-clad
mountains, the extinct volcanoes, of Auvergne, where
the practice was taken up with renewed fervour;
and then passed on from town to town through
France, as a new vent for pent-up devotion, a new
spell for chasing away the evils of mankind ; " and
then flowed on, like a river, gathering fresh and fresh
volume from the wants and distresses and aspirations
of men, till it issued in the fuller, deeper Litanies of
the later centuries of the Christian Church.
The Author has been led to make this attempt to
give an account of the Litany from a growing con-
viction that the history of our Offices is very little
known, and their meaning very little understood, by a
large body of the members of our Church. Accordingly,
he has already endeavoured to give a slight account of
the history of the Prayer Book generally, and an
explanation of the Daily Service in it, in his " English
Churchman's Companion to the House of Prayer."
And now he puts forth this sketch of the history of the
viii PREFACE.
Litany, with the belief that many will enter into that
Office more, and value it more deeply, when they mark
the great antiquity of it in its essential idea and
fundamental form, and trace the steps by which the
Litany was gradually developed, and note the wisdom
and care with which our own Litany has been framed
by a revision and reconstruction of earlier forms.
If, with all its imperfections — of which he is fully con-
scious — the work should lead to this good result, and so
to a more grateful and intelligent use of this beautiful and
pathetic and comprehensive element in our Divine wor-
ship, the labour spent upon it will not have been in vain.
A more complete comparative view of the principal
Litanies in use in various ages of the Church, and a
Commentary on our English Litany in detail, are
additions which he hopes to make in a separate form
at a future time.
To the Benchers of Lincoln's Inn he has again to
return his thanks for their kindness in allowing him
access to their library, which has been to him a great
source of help.
And his thanks are due also to Dr. Littledale, who
has most kindly contributed two very ancient Ambro-
sian Litanies, and also a later, but valuable, Litany of
the Church of Liege.
PREFACE. ix
The chief books from which information has been
derived are, the works of Bona, Martene, Mabillon,
Muratori, and Renaudot ; the Interleaved Prayer Book,
and the Annotated Book of Common Prayer ; the
Origines Liturgicse of Palmer, and the Monumenta
Ritualia of Maskell ; Dr. Neale's translation of Primi-
tive Liturgies ; Bishop Cosin's works ; the Documentary
Annals of Dr. Cardwell ; the works of Dr. Stephens
and Mr. Procter on the Book of Common Prayer ; the
' Choral Service ' of the Rev. J. Jebb ; L'Estrange's
'Alliance;' and the Commentaries on the Litany of
Dean Comber and Bishop Forbes.
Some few specimens only of earlier Litanies and
ancient similar forms are given here. But they will
be enough to enable the reader to form an idea of the
growth of the Litany, and of the manner in which it
may have been brought into the admirable form in
which we have it now. He will picture our Reformers
— Cranmer especially — engaged in the work of revising
the Litany of the English Church, as it existed more
particularly in the ' uses ' of Sarum, Hereford, and
York. They would have before them the reformed
Litanies of Luther and Hermann, as models to guide
them in the work of revision ; while the Early English
Litanies (of which three specimens are given), would
x PREFACE.
supply them with a definite ground plan. And some
of the Litanies in use at various periods and in various
parts of the Church at large, as well as the old some-
what similar Liturgical Forms, would assist them in
carrying out their work of remoulding the clauses in
detail. And in this way, under their hand, our Litany
would assume its present shape.
jipj?-^*"' M •<« ,
tin i :
PRIXTCETQH
^thsologic;.:
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE MEANING OF THE NAME LITANY .... I
CHAPTER II.
THE HISTORY OF THE USE OF LITANIES . . 1 7
CHAPTER IH.
THE MANNER IN WHICH THE LITANY IS APPOINTED TO
BE USED . .28
CHAPTER IV.
THE TIMES AT WHICH IT IS APPOINTED TO BE USED . 45
CHAPTER V.
THE PLACE IN WHICH, AND THE MODE IN WHICH, THE
LITANY IS TO BE OFFERED 60
CHAPTER VI.
THE RELATION OF THE LITANY TO THE OTHER OFFICES 70
xii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page.
CHAPTER VII.
THE PLAN OF THE LITANY, AND THE ELEMENTS OF
WHICH IT IS COMPOSED ..... 83
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SOURCES FROM WHICH THE LITANY GENERALLY IS
DERIVED ........ 97
«
CHAPTER IX.
SOURCES FROM WHICH IT IS DERIVED CONSIDERED IN
DETAIL ......... 106
CHAPTER X.
OTHER LITANIES COMPARED WITH OUR OWN . . 1 19
CHAPTER XI.
A TABLE OF LITANIES IN USE IN VARIOUS TIMES OF
THE ENGLISH, OR IN THE FOREIGN REFORMED
CHURCH 131
CHAPTER XII.
SOME EARLY FORMS OF PRAYER RESEMBLING THE
LITANY I48
CHAPTER XIII.
SOME LITANIES OF THE EARLY CHURCH . . . 163
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THE
LITANY of the ENGLISH CHURCH.
CHAPTER I.
ON THE MEANING OF THE WORD "LITANY."
/ JpHE word Litany in itself expresses simply a Service
of earnest prayer or supplication, more especially
employed in times of distress. It is formed from the
Greek word " Litaneia." And " if we regard its
genuine signification," writes Bona, " the word Litany
implies all serious and earnest prayer, being derived
from the Greek word which means such supplication.
But technically it is used to express a certain species
of prayer, whereby we beseech the Divine mercy." 1
The corresponding term in Latin was " Rogatio." 2 But
though we still speak of the " Rogation days," yet the
name Litany has now become the term commonly
1 Bona : Res. Liturg. xiv. 4, quoted by Bishop Forbes.
2 The word occurs in classical authors — e.g., " Cum amici ctijusdam
injusta: rogationi resisteret." — Vol. Max, vi. 4. " Litania: Grxco nomine
appellantur, qua: Latin! dicuntur Rogationes." — Raianm Maurtit, De
Instil. Cler. , lib. ii., cap. xv.
2
THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
employed alike in the Western and Eastern branches
of the Church, the Latin expression " Rogation " being
comparatively little used. 1 The exact form, " Litaneia,"
indeed, is met with only in later Greek. But other
forms of the same root are found constantly in Greek
writers, and even in Homer they frequently occur. 2
The word seems to be derived from " Li," as its
fundamental element. And this has an intensive force
— as is seen most clearly in the adverb " Lian," " very "
—so that the earnestness of supplication expressed by
the word may be traced up to the root. 3 And when
the word was adopted by the Christian Church, under
the form of " Lite," and still more specially of " Lita-
neia," it did not alter its primitive signification, being
still used for solemn supplication to be made in some
exigence, with a view to entreating the favour and
obtaining the mercies of God. 4 Simeon, Bishop of
Thessalonica, as Dean Comber writes, describes a
1 These supplications were called Litanies in the Eastern Churches, from
whence the name passed to the West. Here they were called Rogations or
Supplications, until the name of Litany became more prevalent than any
other. It is probable that the prevalence of the name of Litany in the
West may have arisen from the derivation of processional supplications
from the Eastern to the Western Churches." — Palmer, i. 269.
2 IloXXa 5e /cat oirtvUuv xpi/crt'y 5£wai Xirdvevev
'E\8efiev. — //. xxiii. 196 ; cf. xxii. 414 ; xxiv. 357.
* A curious instance of the perversities of derivation, regardless of every-
thing but similarity of sound, is that which explains Letania as formed from
Lnetor, "quia lata voce dicebantur." — G/ossar. in Du Cange, by Hen-
schel, s.7'.
4 So Comber, quoting the words of an old Council, Cone. Mogunt,
arm. 813.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD "LITANY:' 3
Litany as " a supplication and common intercession
with God, when His wrath lieth upon us." 1 And a
modern but judicious critic of our own, 2 he adds, saith
that "it is a public kind of supplication, whereby the
mercy of God is more ardently and solemnly implored."
There is a short account of the meaning and history
of Litanies prefixed to the Litany in two of the three
Primers put forth in the reign of Henry VIII. And
the same occurs also in the Sarum Primers ; although,
according to Mr. Maskell, no such preface is found
earlier than the year 1530A.D. 4 Of the two prefaces to
the Litany given in the English Primers of Henry
VHP's reign, the one given in Marshall's Primer
(1535), refers mainly to the invocation of saints in
the Litany, on account of which the Litany had been
omitted in a former edition. The preface in Bishop
Hilsey's Primer (1539) dwells on the significance of
the word Litany, and the origin and history of the use
of Litanies in the Christian Church. Referring to the
conduct of Mamertus, which will be related further on,
the preface adds : " Hereof it came that, when any griev-
ous plague was either sent by God among the people, or
any sudden chance of gladness chanced, procession hath
1 Airaveta 8e eon irapaKXricns vpbs rhv Qe6v, in iKea'iq. tcoivrj, 81 6pyr\v
tiri
r)v.
2 Spelman, Glossar.
Given in the " Three Primers " of Dr. Burton.
Maskell, Mon. Rit. ii. 97.
4 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
always been used, sometimes to pacify God's wrath,
and sometimes to thank Him for His benefits." 1
" These Rogations, or Litanies," Dr. Stephens writes,
" were intended to implore God's mercy in the most
humble manner ; and with the most ardent affection of
soul, to beseech Him to avert all sicknesses and
plagues and tribulations ; to repel the evils of plague,
pestilence, war, hail, and drought ; to compose the
temper of the air, so that it may be for the health of
men's bodies and fertility of the earth ; that He would
keep all the elements in order and harmony, and grant
men peaceable times ; as Eucherius relates the chief
heads of them." 2
And in a similar way the matters contained in the
Litanies are described by Bishop Forbes. " Their
subjects," he says, " were all the good things which
human nature requireth, either heavenly or earthly,
either public or private — what concerneth the body, or
affecteth the soul. But the history of the Church
records their special efficaciousness in times of public
distress, drought, storms, pestilences, earthquakes, and
wars, ' The judgments of the Lord which are out upon
the earth.' " 3
1 The word " procession " here (as often elsewhere) is used for " Litany,"
owing to processions having become a usual accompaniment of the Lita-
nies, as will be explained farther on.
3 Horn, de Litaniis. Stephens, i. 535.
3 Commentary on the Litany, p. 2.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD "LITANY."
But though, in strictness, ' Litania ad luctum perti-
net,' ' a Litany has reference to affliction,' the
Litany was by no means confined to occasions of
distress or special humiliation. And it became
natural to adopt a form of prayer which took so
firm a hold of men's affections on various occasions
when processions were used. At ordinations, or at
consecrations, or at the conferring of monastic orders,
at coronations of emperors, at dedications of churches,
etc., it became common to use the Litany. 1 A Litany
never came amiss. It was particularly welcome as an
element of offices for the sick and dying. Its terse-
ness, energy, and pathos, seemed to gather up all that
was meant by being " instant in prayer." 2 It was the
natural expression of deeper emotion, when the heart
lifted itself up more fervently at solemn seasons in
communion with God. It was the vehicle through
which " deep called to deep," as man from the depths
of his spirit strove to penetrate the depths of the
unseen world, and reach the Presence-chamber of the
Most High ; although it might be the most true
1 A Litany for use at Baptism will be found in Martene, i. 81, from
the Ambros Ritual of the Church of Milan. One for use at the Visitation
of the Sick, in i. 308. (This is a very remarkable Litany, to which he
assigns 800 A.D. as the date.) One for use at a Coronation is given in
ii. 210. (Another will be found in Muratori, Lit. Rom. ii. 463.) And
one for use at the Dedication of a Church is in ii. 247. — Bassani, 1788.
2 From Canon Bright, (Introd. to Litany, in Annotated Book of Common
Prayer,) who refers to the Sacramentary of Gelasius, about 600 A.D.
6 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
response to the invitation, " Call upon Me in the time
of trouble ; so will I hear thee, and thou shalt praise
Me," when man pours forth his prayer to God in
time of trouble, fulfilling God's command, trusting to
His promise, looking with entire assurance for His
help. 1
Neither, so far as litanies do relate to God's aid in
time of need, is the use of them to be confined to
1 The origin of the Litany, and the special revival of it at the Reforma-
tion, accord with this use of it in time of distress. "It sprang," writes
Dean Stanley, "from an age gloomy with disaster and superstition, when
heathenism was still struggling with Christianity ; when Christianity was
disfigured by fierce conflicts within the Church ; when the Roman Empire
was tottering to its ruin. . . .
" Further, it was under a like pressure of calamities that the Litany first
became part of our services. It is the earliest portion of our Prayer Book
that appeared in its present English form. It was translated into English
either by Archbishop Cranmer or by King Henry VIII. himself. These
are the words with which, on the eve of his expedition to France in 1544,
he sent this first instalment of our Prayer Book to Cranmer: 1 Calling to our
remembrance the miserable state of all Christendom, being at this present
time plagued, besides all other troubles, with most cruel wars, hatreds,
and disunions, .... being therefore resolved to have continually from
henceforth general processions in all cities, towns, and churches or parishes
of this our realm, .... we have set forth certain goodly prayers and
suffrages in our native English tongue, which we send you herewith.' —
Fronde, Hist. Eiigl. iv. 482.
"Thus it is, that whilst the Litany at its first beginning expressed the
distress of the first great convulsion of Europe in the fall of the Roman
Empire, the Litany in its present form expressed the cry of distress in that
second great convulsion which accompanied the Reformation. It is the
first utterance of the English nation in its own native English tongue,
calling for Divine help in that extremity of perplexity, when men's hearts
were divided between hope and despair, for the fear of those things which
were coming on the earth." — The Litany, in Good Words, July,
1868.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD "LITANY." 7
seasons of actually prevailing especial distress. At all
times, it is felt, we need God's help to enable us to
meet those dangers, spiritual and temporal, by which
we are beset. The words of Hooker on this subject
have a value for all ages of the Church, though they
were called forth, as many of his most weighty remarks
were, by questions raised, and difficulties propounded,
at the time in which he lived. The actual objections
may no longer be raised ; but the spirit which
prompted them may remain, or the difficulties may be
honestly felt, and require to be met still. Thus it had
been made an objection to our Book of Common
Prayer, that the Litany was ordered to be used at
ordinary times. " We pray," it was objected, " for the
avoiding of those dangers which are nothing near us, as
from lightning and thunder in the midst of winter, from
storm and tempest when the weather is most fair and
the seas most calm. It is true that upon some urgent
calamity a prayer may and ought to be framed which
may beg either the commodity for want whereof the
Church is in distress, or the turning away of that mis-
chief which either approacheth or is already upon it.
But to make those prayers which are for the present
time and danger ordinary and daily prayers, I cannot
hitherto see any either Scripture or example of the
primitive Church." 1
1 T. C. in Hooker, vol. ii., p. 171, note. (Keble's edition.)
8 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
It was in answer to this that Hooker wrote : " As
Litanies have been of longer continuance than that we
should make either Gregory or Mamertus the author of
them, so they are of more permanent use than that
now the Church should think it needeth them not.
What dangers at any time are imminent, what evils
hang over our heads, God doth know, and not we. We
find by daily experience that those calamities may be
nearest at hand, readiest to break in suddenly upon us,
which we in regard of times or circumstances may
imagine to be furthest off. Or if they do not indeed
approach, yet such miseries as being present all men
are apt to bewail with tears, the wise with their prayers
should rather prevent. Finally, if we for ourselves had
a privilege of immunity, doth not true Christian charity
require that whatsoever any part of the world, yea, any
one of our brethren elsewhere doth either suffer or fear,
the same we account as our own burden ? What one
petition is there found in the whole Litany, whereof we
shall ever be able to say at any time that no man living
needeth the grace or benefit therein craved at God's
hands ? I am not able to express how much it doth
grieve me, that things of principal excellency should be
thus bitten at, by men whom God hath endued with
graces both of wit and learning for better purposes." 1
Originally, however, it must be admitted, a Litany was
1 Eccl. Poli, Book v., ch. xli., sec. 4.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD "LITANY." 9
intended to be used with reference to some more imme-
diate and pressing need. 1
Such, then, in a general way, was the idea conveyed
by the word Litany in the early centuries of the
Church. It was a solemn service of supplication —
especially (as will be seen farther on) of processionary
supplication — with reference particularly, but not neces-
sarily, to some existing or apprehended distress.
At the present day, both the last two elements of
the idea of a Litany — its being accompanied with
processions, and its being used in times of special
affliction or danger — are in great measure dropped.
And we express by the word only a specially solemn
and earnest form of supplication to God. We may
regard a Litany, therefore, now as a form of full and
earnest supplication to God, more especially with a
view to those dangers, temporal and spiritual, to which
individuals and families and nations alike are always in
greater or less measure exposed. It corresponds more
or less, as a Service, to the Prayer for all Conditions of
Men in the Daily Service, and still more to the Prayer
for the Church Militant in the Communion office ;
and may be called the full responsive Service of Suppli-
cation of the Church in her Militant State on Earth,
1 Indicebantur Litanire gravi quovis imminente discriminc ; puta famis,
belli, pestis, etc. ; quandoque ad impetrandam camporum benedictionem,
ne tractis frugibus sequeretur fames. — Spelman, Gloss, in voc.
io THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
for her various members, as beset by dangers from
within and from without.
The name " Litany," it must be remarked in passing,
was the name given to the general act of supplication,
and especially of public supplication, in time of trouble
in ancient times ; whereas now we apply the name rather
to a particular form of service suitable for such occasions.
And, further, it must be noticed that the name has been
limited frequently to some particular portion of the
Litany, as some special feature in it came from time to
time more prominently into view. For instance, the
" Kyrie Eleison," " Lord have mercy upon us," is very
commonly called the Litany in ecclesiastical writings. 1
Then, again, the Invocation of Saints assumed to itself
the name of the Litany for a time. 2
But it is to the general service of special and public
supplication that the name of Litany is now com-
monly applied. And the distinguishing feature of a
Litany as a form of prayer may be said to be that
it is a full and complete service of supplication to God
— especially of public or united supplication — in the
spirit of earnest desire for His mercy and aid, with
1 See Martene : i. I, Art. xviii., p. 175. " In the Sacramentary of
Gregory, the prayers which antiently followed the Kyrie Eleeson are
spoken of as ' the Litany.' " — Palmer, i. 266.
2 So the name of Litany is often applied even now. E.g. , " Litanie ;
Priere faite en l'honneur de Dieu, de la Vierge, . . . ou des Saints, en les
invoquant les uns apres les autres." — Lillrt; Diet, de la Langue F)-aucaisr,
sub voce.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD "LITANY." n
entire submission to His will, and a deep sense of
dependence upon Him for help. 1 It is " the col-
lective prayer of the whole Church, especially beseech-
ing God to shower down on us His blessings," 2 and
forgive us our transgressions, and remove evil from us,
so far as He may see fit. And thus a Litany may be
defined as a full, divided, and responsive form of service
for that portion of the great domain of prayer which
consists of petition to God for mercy and help. 3
It is a part of our idea of a Litany, too, I con-
ceive, that it should be not only divided, (instead of
continuous,) and responsive, Minister and people to-
gether taking part in it, but also that the response on
the part of the people should be, " Lord, have mercy
upon us," or words to that effect ; the Minister de-
claring the subjects of prayer, and making supplica-
tion to God with reference to them, and the people
uniting with him by this form of response, or, more
strictly, of completion of the prayer. 4
1 " A Litany expresses the most earnest degree of supplication, and most
absolute submission." — Stephens, i. 528.
2 Bishop Forbes : Comm. on the Litany, p. 3.
3 The best definition of a Litany which I have met with anywhere is the
following : " On entend par ce mot une priere alternative dans laquelle
celui qui prie nomme ceux qu'il invoque, declare l'objet de ses desirs et les
motifs qu'il a d'esperer ; a chaque invocation la communaute icpond par
une formule courte et significative." — From the Dictionnaire Encyclopidique
of IVetzer and Welte, translated into French by Goschlcr. Paris, Gaume
Freres, 1869.
4 " Whereas, in the versicles and responses, what is said by the ministei
and answered by the eople is divided into two sentences, though perhaps
12 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
One other peculiar feature of the Litany must be
noticed here, that it is almost entirely addressed to the
Second Person in the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ our
Lord. In this respect it stands out in striking contrast
with the main body of our prayers. These are, as a
general rule, addressed to God the Father, through the
Holy Spirit, in the Name, for the merits, and with the
intercession of Jesus Christ. So S. Paul, in his Epistle
to the Ephesians, says that " In Him we both (Jews
and Gentiles alike) have access by one Spirit unto the
Father" (ii. 18). So our Lord Himself, in the pattern
prayer which He has given us, directs us to address
God, and say, " Our Father which art in heaven." So
it has been from the earliest ages of the Church that
the great body of Christian prayer was breathed up to
God the Father in heaven. So the chief part of the
collects in our own Prayer Book first address God the
Father with some attribute " congruous " to the petition
about to be offered up in the second portion, and close,
in the third part, with the mention of Christ Jesus, as
offered with special trust to God's mercy in Him.
And this method of prayer is most serviceable, as
keeping before the mind the Unity of Almighty God,
a point which the opening portion of the Litany also is
both pressing the same petition, I observe that in these the whole is but
one sentence. And therefore in these the people are not directed to ansiuer,
which is in effect to reply to something that is said ; whereas nothing is
said till the sentence is filled up — nothing is affirmed or desired." — Dr. Bisse,
Beauty of Holiness, p. I io, note.
THE MEANING OF THE WORD " LITANY." 13
careful to recall, the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity
being invoked first separately, and then together in the
Unity of the Godhead, as a preparation for the body of
.supplication to be addressed immediately to Christ.
But in the Litany generally it is otherwise. And
the peculiarity of the procedure makes it more marked.
There it is the Saviour who is mainly addressed
throughout. And there seems good reason for this.
When the whole body of the Christian Church is
before the mental view, with all the various commu-
nities, all the diverse conditions, comprised within its
pale, it is natural for the mind to rise at once to the
thought of Him who is specially, in His mediatorial
Kingdom, the Head of the Church purchased by His
blood ; who watches over all, as the Good Shepherd,
with tenderest care ; who knows each individual and
each section of His mighty flock ; and before whose
eye all the separate interests, trials, difficulties, wants,
of each portion stand disclosed.
And closely connected with this is the thought that
to Him specially we have recourse, by a Christian
instinct, in time of trouble and need. When being
overwhelmed by his relentless enemies, St. Stephen in
spirit beheld the Saviour standing at the right hand of
God, to support and cheer His faithful servant, and
sustain him with the hope of a reward in store ; and,
seeing Him thus, he addressed to Him his petition :
14 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
" Lord Jesus, receive my spirit ; Lord, lay not this sin
to their charge." In the Book of the Revelation, in
which the trials and judgments and conflicts of
the Church in the world are pourtrayed, it is as
" the Revelation of Jesus Christ," showing unto His
servants things which must shortly come to pass,
that all is foreshown. To St. Paul, troubled by
the thorn in the flesh, the Lord appeared ; and to
Him the Apostle addressed the threefold suppli-
cation, " Let this depart from me." " So is it in the
Litany. Those who wrote it, and we who use it, stand
for the moment in the place of Stephen and Paul.
We knock, as it were, more earnestly at the gates of
heaven ; we ' thrice beseech the Lord,' and the veil is
for a moment withdrawn, and the Son of Man is there
standing to receive our prayer. . . . Christ and the saints
at such times " of strong emotion and heavy calamity
" seemed to come out like stars, which in the daylight
cannot be seen, but in the darkness of the night were
visible. . . . The saints, like falling stars or passing
meteors, have again receded into the darkness.
But Christ, the Lord and King of the saints, still
remains, the bright and Morning Star, more visible
than all the rest, more bright and more cheering as the
darkness of the night becomes deeper, as the cold be-
comes more and more chill. . . . And this one remarka-
ble exception of our Litany in favour of addressing our
THE MEANING OF THE WORD "LITANY." 15
prayers to the One great Divine Mediator may be
surely allowed, if we remember that it is an exception,
and understand the grounds on which it is made. In
the rest of the Prayer Book we follow the ancient rule,
and our Saviour's own express command, by address-
ing our Father only. Here, in the Litany, when we
express our most urgent needs, we may well deviate
from that general rule, and invite the ever-present aid of
Jesus Christ, at once the Son of Man and Son of God." 1
And nothing can be more simply solemn and impres-
sive than the service of the Litany heartily performed.
Then a united congregation kneels in special supplica-
tion before the Saviour, as the Redeemer, the Guardian,
the Head of His Church — one with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity, which
His Word has revealed. And all the needs and afflic-
tions, all the trials and temptations, of the various orders
of men in the Church are open before their view, and
presented in humble intercession to the Lord. And as
the Minister of God sets forth in solemn array the
various dangers, spiritual and temporal, to which the
Church is exposed, and mentions in due order the
various ranks and conditions of men who, all in their
several circumstances, need the Saviour's support and
care, the people testify the sincerity of their devotion
by pouring forth together, again and again, as the
1 Dean Stanley on the Litany. — Good Words, July, 1868.
16 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
service proceeds, with a lowly but earnest voice, the
response, " Deliver us, good Lord;" "Good Lord, we
beseech Thee to hear our prayer." How fully then
do we realize our condition, as parts of a great united
spiritual community, members of the Militant Church
on earth! How heartily do we enter into the work of
intercession ! How faithfully do we accept our great
privileges, and avail ourselves of the Saviour's promise
to be with His united people, to bless them, and to
watch over them, and to mark their needs, and to
accept and answer their earnest prayer ! How fully do
we look for God's blessing at such times ! " If, where
two or three are gathered together, Christ is in the
midst of them, He will be specially so where the whole
people, kneeling between the porch and the altar, sends
up to heaven a cry of penitential supplication — confess-
ing its overwhelming and aggregated sinfulness, plead-
ing the meritorious actions of its Redeemer, and
enumerating the wants which it desires to have supplied,
and the persons for whom it beseeches deliverance." 1
! Bisbop Forbes, p. 3. — "At all times let us desire to bring to the use of
the Litany a heart prostrate before God with the deep sense of its own sin.
Let us use it in the spirit of devout penitence in which the royal Psalmist
penned the fifty-first Psalm ; and then we shall realize for ourselves, as we
mark the power of the Church's availing supplication, the truth of the
words, ' A broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise '
(Ps. li. 17)."
" Many penitents have found the Litany a golden treasure-house of prayer.
Its petitions seem so completely in union with the spirit of the publican,
who smote upon his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.'"
Bau d, Inheritance of our Fathers, p. 120.
CHAPTER II.
THE HISTORY OF THE USE OF LITANIES.
TT was to be expected that Litanies, or forms of
special supplication, should be framed from the
earliest times for use in the Church, when they were
called for by any more pressing emergency, while
shorter and more simple prayers might be enough at
ordinary times. And ample warrant is found in Holy
Scripture for such special supplications. " When our
Lord Jesus gave us a perfect pattern for all our
prayers," writes Dean Comber, " He laid the founda-
tion of Litanies among the Christians in those latter
petitions, ' Forgive us our trespasses, And lead us not
into temptation, But deliver us from evil.' And that
His own practice might confirm the sanction, His
most earnest supplication in His agony (S. Luke
xxiii. 44) had all the properties of a Litany which
could agree to Him ; the posture, kneeling ; the com-
panions, strong crying and tears (Heb. v. 7); the form,
repeating the same words (S. Matt. xxvi. 44). . . .
2
1 8 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH
And although the name be not expressly found in
Holy Scripture, yet if we consider the thing, we have
many precedents of such kinds of earnest supplications
there. The fifty-first Psalm was David's litany, begin-
ning with the peculiar phrase of the office, 'Miserere,'
And Daniel's supplication is set down in chap. ix.
From both of which some passages are transcribed
into ours. But if these be affirmed to have been used
in private, there is an illustrious instance of a public
and solemn Litany instituted and appointed by God
Himself, in a time of general calamity, the sum where-
of was, "Spare Thy people, O Lord" (Joel ii. 17).
So that the Jewish Church had them by Divine insti-
tution, and use them in their offices to this day. 1
The solemn service of the Ninevites, recorded in the
book of Jonah (iii. 5 — 10), is another instance of what
may be called the use of a Litany in ancient times. 2
" And as for the frequent repetitions of ' Lord, have
mercy upon us,' " L'Estrange observes, " in all proba-
bility Christianity did not devise it new, but imitated
elder patterns; I mean, that mode of the 136th
Psalm, where ' for His mercy endureth for ever ' is
iterated no less than seven and twenty times, and
which versicle was used litany-wise (i.e., returned by
1 On the Litany, p. 8.
2 Hooker (v. 41, 1) refers to Exod. xv. 20, 2 Sam. vi. 2, Wisd. x. 20, etc., as
illustrating the processional element of the Litany service in Jewish times.
THE HISTORY OF THE USE OF LITANIES. 19
the people) in the service of the Temple, as is evident,
1 Chron. xvi. 41, and 2 Chron. v. 13."!
As a private form of devotion, the Litany appears
to have been used in early times. For neither the
name nor the form of the Litany was confined alto-
gether to the public services of earnest supplication in
ancient days. Then, as now, in the litanies which are
sometimes framed for private use, the specially fervent
prayers of individuals too assumed the name and form
of litanies, when any more urgent emergency led to
their beseeching God's aid in their personal or national
needs. Thus Eusebius speaks of Constantine's custom
of retiring to his tent before a battle, and there pro-
pitiating God with supplications and litanies, that he
might obtain in his enterprises His favour, direction,
and aid. And he also relates that, shortly before his
death, Constantine entered the Church of the Martyrs
at Helenopolis, and there for a long time offered up
supplicatory prayers and litanies to God. 2
With respect to the use of Litanies, or forms of
supplication, "it is difficult," Mr. Palmer writes, "to
determine the period at which the custom of public
1 The form of the Litany, it will be observed, seems in the early ages to
have been equally simple. In the time of Theodosius the younger (400 —
450). the Bishop and people, it is said, were directed " to perform a Litany
thus (\iTavtvuv ovtu), and say, ' O Holy God, O God Holy and Almighty,
O God Holy and Eternal, have mercy upon us.' " — Hooker, v. 41, 2, p. 173.
Keble's edition, note.
' Palmer, i. 264, from " Vit Constant," iv. 61. Ed. Valesii, p. 557.
2o THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
supplication to God under circumstances of peculiar
urgency and importance was introduced into the Chris-
tian Church. We are, indeed, well aware that from
the beginning it has not only been the habit, but the
duty, of Christians to apply specially to the throne of
grace when calamities are to be deprecated, or bene-
fits implored, for themselves or for their neighbours.
During the captivity of the holy Apostle Peter, prayer
was made for him by the Church. And as he found
them all assembled together and praying on his deli-
very from prison, it is not improbable that they may
at that very time have been met together to offer up
prayers for him. Tertullian says that drought was
removed by the prayers and fastings of the Christians. 1
Cyprian says that they continually made prayers and
supplications for the repelling of enemies, for rain, for
the removal or moderation of calamities. 2 We find by
the testimony of Sidonius, that supplications for rain
and fine weather were customary in Gaul before
1 And so. in speaking of Christian women matching themselves with
infidels, he writes : " If there be cause for the Church to go forth in solemn
procession," (' si procedendum erit'), "his whole family have such business
come upon them, that no one can be spared." — Lib. ii., Ad Uxor., c. 4,
quoted in Hooker, v., xli. 2.
* Pro arcendis hostibus, et imbribus impetrandis, et vel auferendis vel
temperandis adversis, rogamus semper et pieces fundimus. (Ad Dem., p.
445, ed. Par.) S. Chrysostom, in his xvth Homily, p. 191, says that the
whole city met together, and with one common voice (ixiq. Koivrj . Cosin's Works, vol. ii.,
p. 232, Anglo-Catholic Library.
CHAPTER XI.
A TABLE OF LITANIES IN USE IN VARIOUS PERLODS OF
THE ENGLISH OR IN THE FOREIGN REFORMED
CHURCHES.
132
THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Our Present Litanv.
O God the Father, etc.
O God, etc.
O God the Son, etc.
O God, etc.
O God the Holy Ghost, etc.
O God, etc.
O holy, blessed, and glorious
Trinity, etc.
O holy, etc.
[Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God
our Saviour, Jesu Christ,
Pray for us.
All holy Angels and Archangels,
and all holy orders of blessed
spirits,
Pray for us.
All holy Patriarchs and Prophets,
Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors,
and Virgins, and all the blessed
company of Heaven,
Pray for us.] 1
Remember not, Lord, etc.,
Spare us, good Lord.
Litany of
Hermann's Consultation.
{Translated.)
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
O God the heavenly Father,
Have mercy on us.
O God the Son, Redemer of the
world,
Have mercy on us.
O God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Be favourable :
Spare us, 0 Lord.
1 King Henry VIII. 's Prymer, 1545.
A TABLE OF LITANIES.
'33
Litany of the English
Primer (1410).
Lord, haue mercy on us.
Crist, haue merci on us.
Crist, heere us.
God, Fadir of heuens,
Haue merci on us.
Sone of the, 1 agenbier of the world,
God,
Haue merci on us.
God, the hooli goost,
Haue merci on us.
The hooli Trinite, 00 God, 2
Haue merci on us.
Here follows a long catalogue of
saints, whose prayers are desired,
extending over four pages.
Anglo-Saxon Litany
(850 — 900).
{Translated.)
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on 7ts.
Christ, hear us.
God, Father, from the heavens,
Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the
world,
Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Here follows a long series of
Invocations, beginning —
Holy Mary, pray for us ;
and ending—
O all ye Saints, pray for us.
Lord, be merciful,
And spare us.
1 Sone of the Fadir? In the Douce MS. of
the English Prymer, to which Mr. Maskell
assigns 1420 as the approximate date, this
clause runs,
Goddis Sone, that boughtest the world,
Haue merci of us.
' In the ' Golden Litany' this clause is,
Lorde God, by Thy increate and undi-
vided Trinity,
Haue mercy on us.
Be favourable :
Spare us, %ood Lord.
■34
THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Our Present Litany.
From all evil and mischief, etc.,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all blindness of heart, etc.,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From fornication, etc., [and from
the deceits, etc., K. H. P.,]
Good Lord, deliver us.
From lightning and tempest, etc.,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all sedition, etc.,*
Good Lord, deliver us.
Litany of
Hermann's Consultation.
{Translated.)
Be favourable,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From all sin,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From all error,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From all evil,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the awaites of the devil,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From sudden and evil death,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From pestilence and hunger,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From war and slaughter,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From sedition and privy hatred,
Deliver us, O Lord..
From lightning and tempests,
Deliver us, O Lord.
Fsom everlasting death,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
* 1 From all sedition and priiry conspiracy;
from the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome, and
his detestable enormities ; from all false
doctrine and heresy ; from hardness of heart,
etc." — K.H.P. The words' from the tyranny"
- "enormities" were omitted in 1559. The
words " rebellion and schism " were added, on
the King's restoration, in t66 .
A TABLE OF LIT A XI ES.
Litany of the English
Primer (1410).
Fro al pel,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro endless dampnacioun,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro drecful periles of oure synnes,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro feereof the enemy,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro the spirit of fornicacioun,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro al un:leannes of bodi and of
saule,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro unclerc thoughts,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro fleshli lesiris,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro wrathe and hate and all yuel
wille,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro pestilexe of pride and blind-
ness of hrte,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro sudcyndecth and unauysid,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro leytis aid tempestis,
Lord, deliver us.
Fro covetie of veyn glorie,
Lord, deliver us.
Anglo-Saxon Litany.
(850-900).
(Translated.)
From all evil,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the deceits of the Devil,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the pestilence of pride,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the desires of the flesh,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From all uncleannesses of mind
and body,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the persecution of the heathen,
and of all our enemies,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the wrath to come,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From sudden and everlasting
death,
Deliver us, O Lord.
'3 6
THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Our Present Litany.
By the mystery of Thy Holy Incar-
nation, etc.,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By Thine Agony and Bloody
Sweat, etc.,
Good Lord, deliver tis.
In all time of our tribulation, in the
hour of death, etc.,
Good Lord, deliver us.
Litany of
Hermann's Consultation.
(Translated?)
By the mystery of Thy Holy Incar-
nation,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
By Thy Holy Nativity,
Deliver us. O Lot J.
By Thy Baptism, Fastng, and
Tentations,
Deliver u;, O Lord.
By Thine Agony and Sveating of
Blood,
Deliver is, O Lord.
By Thy Cross and Passon,
Deliver ■is, O Lord
By Thy Death and Buying,
Deliverus, O Lord.
By Thy Resurrection and Ascen-
sion,
Deliverus, 0 Lorn.
By the coming of the Ioly Ghost,
Deliverus, O Lord.
In all times of our tribilation,
Deliver its, O Lord.
In all times of our properity,
Deliverus, O Lord.
In hour of death,
Deliverus, O Lord.
In the day of judgment
Deliverus, 0 Lord.
We sinners do beseech Thee, etc.
We beseech Thee, etc.
We sinners beseech The to hea
us,
A TABLE OF LITANIES.
137
Litany of the English
Primer (1410).
Bi preuytie of thin hooli incarna-
cioun,
Lord, deliver us.
Bi thin hooli natiuyte,
Lord, deliver us.
Bi thi blessid circumcisioun and
baptym,
Lord, deliver us.
Bi thi fastynge and moche other
penaunce doynge,
Lord, deliver us.
Bi thin hooli passioun and most
piteuous deeth,
Lord, deliver us.
Bi thin blessid biriynge,
Lord, deliver us.
Bi thi gloriouse rising fro deeth,
Lord, deliver us.
Bi thi meruielous stizing to heuene,
Lord, deliver us.
Bi the grace of the holi goost, com-
fort our,
Lord, deliver us.
In oure of our deeth,
Lord, deliver us.
In the day of dome,
Lord, deliver us.
[In the golden Litany, given in
Maskell ii. 244, from a MS. at
Lambeth, are ten pages of obse-
crations to our Lord under various
forms.]
Anglo-Saxon Litany
(850 — 900).
{Translated.)
By the mystery of Thy Holy
Incarnation,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
By Thy Cross and Passion,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
By Thy Holy Resurrection,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
By Thy glorious Ascension,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
By the grace of Thy Holy Spirit,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the punishment of Hell,
Deliver us, O Lord.
In the day of Judgment,
Deliver us, O Lord.
We synneris preyen Thee to heere
us,
We sinners beseech Thee to hear
us,
i 3 3 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Our Present Litany.
That it may please Thee to keep,
etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to rule,
etc., 1
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to be her
Defender, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to bless
and preserve, etc., 2
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to illu-
minate, etc.,*
We, etc.
Litany of
Hermann's Consultation.
(Translated.)
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to rule
and govern Thy Holy Catholic
Church,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to keep
the Bishops, Pastors, and Minis-
ters of the Church in wholesome
doctrine and holy life, 1
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to give
to all Kings and Princes peace
and concord,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to give
our Emperor perpetual victoiy
against the enemies of God,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to guide
and defend our Prince with his
Officers,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to bless
and preserve our officers and
Commonalty,
We, etc.
1 Here, after 'love,' 'and that he may ever
seek Thy glory.'— K.H.P.
- That it may please Thee to keep our noble
Queen Catherine in Thy fear and love, giving
her increase of all godliness, honour, and
children,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to keep and defend
our noble Prince Edward, and all the King's
Majesty's children,
We, etc.
' That it may please Thee to illuminate all
Bishops, Pastors, and Ministers of the Church,
etc.,
We, etc.
' The seven petitions follow ing on page 140,
marked * belong strictly to this place.
A TABLE OF LITANIES.
139
Litany of the English
Primer (1410).
That Thou give to us pees and
verrei concord,
We preien Thee to heere us.
That Thi merci and Thi pitee keepe
us,
We, etc.
That Thou fouche saaf to gouerne
and defende Thin hooli chirche,
We, etc.
That Thou yelde everlastynge
goodis to oure good doeris ;
We, etc.
That Thou fouche saaf the lord of
apostaile and each degree of
hooli chirch in good religion,
We, etc.
That Thou fouche saaf to gyue to
oure Kyngis and Pryncis verrei
pees and concord,
We, etc.
That Thou fouche saaf to kepe all
congregations of Thin hooli folk
in Thi blessid seruyse,
We, etc.
That Thou fouche saaf to kepe all
Christen people, bougt with Thi
precious blood,
We, etc.
That Thou fouche saaf to deliver
the soulis of oure fadirand modir
from everlastynge dampnacioun,
We, etc.
Anglo-Saxon Litany
(850 — 900).
{Translated.)
That Thou give us peace and con-
cord,
We beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou vouchsafe to rule and
defend Thy holy Church :
We, etc.
That Thou vouchsafe to keep in
Thy holy religion the Lord
Apostolic and all degrees in the
Church,
We, etc.
That Thou vouchsafe to keep in
Thy holy religion our Archbishop
and every congregation com-
mitted to his care,
We, etc.
That Thou vouchsafe to visit and
to comfort this place and all who
dwell in it,
We, etc-
That Thou wouldest give to all our
benefactors everlasting blessings,
We, etc.
That Thou wouldest preserve our
souls and the souls of our parents
from everlasting damnation,
We, etc.
14.0
THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Our Present Litany.
That it may please Thee to bless
and keep all Thy people,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to give to
all nations, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to give us
an heart, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to give to
all Thy people, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to bring
into the way of truth, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to
strengthen, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to suc-
cour, etc.,
We, etc.
Litany of
Hermann's Consultation.
(Translated?)
*That Thou wilt vouchsafe to take
away sects and offences,
We, etc.
*That Thou wilt vouchsafe to bring
them into the way of truth that
have been seduced,
We, etc.
* That Thou wilt vouchsafe to tread
Satan under our feet,
We, etc.
* That Thou wilt send forth faith-
ful workmen into Thy harvest,
We, etc.
* That Thou wilt vouchsafe to give
to all the hearers increase of Thy
word, and the fruits of the Spirit,
We, etc.
* That Thou wilt vouchsafe to lift
them that be fallen, and to
strengthen them that stand,
We, etc.
* That Thou wilt vouchsafe to com-
fort and help the weaklings and
such as be tempted,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to regard
and save the afflicted and such as
be in danger,
We, etc.
A TABLE OF LITANIES.
141
Litany of the English
Primer (1410).
That Thou fouche saaf to gyue and
kepe the fruytis of the erthe,
We, etc.
That Thou reise our mindis to
heuenli desiris,
We, etc.
That Thou fouche saaf to biholde
and releeve the meselis of pore
men and thrallis,
We. etc.
Anglo-Saxon Litany
(850 — 900).
(Translated!)
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to
look in Thy pity on the sorrows
of the pityful,
We, etc.
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to
give to our enemies a spirit of
peace and charity,
We, etc.
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to
give and preserve to our use the
fruits of the earth,
We, etc.
THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
I \2
Our Present Litany.
That it may please Thee to preserve
all that travel, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to defend
and provide for, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to have
mercy upon all men,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to forgive
our enemies, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to give
and preserve to our use, etc.,
We, etc.
That it may please Thee to give us
true repentance, etc.,
We, etc.
Son of God, we beseech Thee to
i
hear us.
Son of God, etc.
0 Lamb of God, that takest away
the sins of the world,
Grant us Thy peace.
Litany of
Hermann's Consultation.
{Translated.)
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to give
lucky deliverance and increase to
women with child, and to help
those who are giving suck,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to cherish
and keep infants and sick folk,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to deliver
prisoners,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to defend
the orphans and widows, and to
provide for them,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to have
mercy on all men,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to pardon
and convert our enemies, perse-
cutors, and slanderers,
We, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafeto giveand
preserve the fruits of the earth,
We, etc.
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to
hear us,
We, etc.
The Lamb of God which takest
away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
The Lamb of God which takest
away the sins of the world,
Give us peace.
A TABLE OF LITANIES.
'43
Litany of the English
Primer (1410).
That Thou gyue to us hoolsum and
resonable eir,
We, etc.
That Thou kepe our Bishops and
all the people bitallun to them
togider in Thi seruyce,
We, etc.
That Thou ordeyne in Thi hooli
wille oure daies and weakis,
We, etc.
That Thou gyue euerlastynge reste
to alle trewe deede ; 1
We, etc.
That Thou fouche saaf to heere us
wel,
We, etc.
Anglo-Saxon Litany
(850 — 900).
( Translated. )
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to
give to our brethren and to all
Thy people who are sick and
afflicted health of mind and body,
We, etc.
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to
give everlasting rest to all Thy
saints departed this life,
We, etc.
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to
hear us,
We, etc.
Sone of God, we prcien Thee to
heere us.
Lambe of God, that doist awei the
synnes of the world, we preicn
Thee to heere us, Lord.
Son of God, we beseech Thee
hear us.
O Lamb of God, who takest away
the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
[' To all that belittle in Thee, tu the quick
and deedc. 1538.
44
THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Our Present Litany. Litany of
Hermann's Consultation.
{Translated.)
u Lamb of God, that takest away
the sins of the world,
Have mercy upo?i us.
^ Christ, hear us.
O Christ, hear us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Lord's Prayer.
Pr. — O Lord, deal not with us after
our sins.
Ans. — Neither reward us after our
iniquities. [Gloria Sentences.
Let us pray.
O God, merciful Father, etc.
O Lord, arise, help us, etc.
O God, we have heard, etc.
0 Lord, arise, help us, etc.
Gloria Sentences.
Let us pray.
We humbly beseech Thee, etc.
Prayer of St. Chrysostom .
Almighty God, who hast, etc.
Benedictory prayer.
The grace of our Lord, etc.
[In 1552 the prayers were intro-
duced here for rain.
„ fair weather.
In time of dearth.
„ war.
„ common plague or
sickness.
Christ, hear us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Amen.
Prayer.
M. Lord, deal not with us after
our sins.
Q, Neither render unto us accord-
ing to our iniquities.
Prayer and Collect.
M. Call upon Me, etc.
Q. And I will deliver thee.
Prayer and Collect.
M. Help us, O God, etc.
Q. And for the glory of Thy name
deliver us, etc.
Prayer and Collect.
M. Show us, O. Lord, Thy mercy.
Q. And grant us Thy salvation.
Prayer and Collect.
M. Enter not, Lord, etc.
Q. For in Thy sight, etc.
A TABLE OF LITANIES.
145
Litany of the English
Primer (1410).
Anglo-Saxon Litany
(850 — 900).
{Translated?)
Lambe of God, that, etc.
Lord, spare us.
Lambe of God, that, etc.
Lord, haue merci on us.
Crist, wel heere us.
O Christ, hear us.
O Lamb of God, Who, etc.,
Have mercy upon us.
Lord, haue merci on us.
Christ, haue merci on us.
Lord, haue merci on us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us,
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Lord's Prayer.
Hail Marie.
Lord, Thy merci come on us,
And Thi saluacioun after Thi
speche.
Lord, be Thou to us a tower of
strengthe,
Fro the face of the enemi.
We have synned with our fadirs
We diden uniusthli ; we wrougten
wickidnesse.
Lord, have thou not mynde of oure
eelde wickidnessis : thi mercies
shulen soone bifore take us, for
we ben ful moche made poore.
Preie we for al the staat of the
chirche ; thi prestis be clothid
rigteoisnesse, and thin nalewis
fu] out glade thee.
Lord, make saaf the king : and ful
out heere thou us in the dai that
we shulen inclepc thee.
For oure brithren and sistris ; my
god, make saaf thi servauntis
and handmaidis hoping in thee.
Lord, shewe to us thi merci ; and
gyue to us thi saluacioun.
10
146 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Our Present Litany.
Rubric. — And the Litany shall
ever end with this Collect following,
Almighty God, who hast given
us, etc.
[The concluding benedictory
prayer was added to the Litany of
Elizabeth in 1559.]
Litany of
Hermann's Consultation.
{Translated.)
Prayer.
Almighty God, who knowest us to
be in the midst of so many and
great dangers, that, etc.
A TABLE OF LITANIES.
Litany of the English
Primer (1410).
Lord, heere my preier : and my cri
come to thee, for all cristen
peple. Lord, make saaf thi
peple and blesse to thin eritage,
and reule hem and reise hem into
withouten ende.
Lord, pees be maad in thi vertu ;
and plentee in thi touris.
Preie we for all feithful deede men
andwymmen. Everlastyng reste
gyue to hem, lord, and perpetual
ligt shyne to hem.
Lord, fulout heere myn orisoun ;
and my cri come to thee.
CHAPTER XII.
SOME EARL Y FORMS OF PR A YER RESEMBLING THE
LITANY.
J T was remarked in an earlier chapter that some forms
are found in the antient Liturgies, especially of the
Eastern Church, and elsewhere, which resemble more or
less what we understand by a Litany, though still more
closely resembling our prayer for the whole state of
Christ's Church militant here on earth.
I.
In the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom, " the normal Liturgy
of the Eastern Church," as Dr. Neale describes it, 1
occurs at the opening the following prayer : —
Deacon. In peace let us make our supplications to the Lord.
Choir. Lord, have mercy.
D. Foi the peace that is from above, and for the salvation of our
souls, let us make supplications to the Lord.
C. Lord, have mercy.
1 Introduction to the Liturgies of St. Mark, etc., translated, p. xx. The
form of prayer here quoted is given by him in "The Divine Liturgy of St,
Chrysostom," p. 92,
SOME EARLY FORMS OF PRAYER. 149
D. For the peace of the whole world, the stability of the Churches
of God, and the union of all, let us, etc.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. For this holy house, and them that in faith, piety, an the
fear of God enter it, let us, etc.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. For our Archbishop N., the venerable presbytery, the dia-
conate in Christ, all the clergy and the laity, let us, etc.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. For our most pious and divinely preserved kings, all thei
palace and their army, let us, etc.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. For this holy abode, the whole city and country, and them
that inhabit it, let us, etc.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. For healthfulness of air, plenty of the fruits of the earth, and
peaceful times, let us, etc.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. For them that voyage, that journey, that are sick, that labour,
that are in bonds, and their safety, let us, etc.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. That we may be preserved from all tribulation, wrath, danger,
and necessity, let us, etc.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. Assist, preserve, pity, and protect us, O God, by Thy grace.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. Commemorating the all holy, spotless, excellently laudable,
and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and ever Virgin Mary, with
all saints, let us commend ourselves and each other and all our life
to Christ our God.
C. To Thee, O Lord.
Priest For all glory, worship, and honour befits Thee, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, now and for ever, and to ages of ages.
Amen.
II.
Further on, in the same Liturgy of St. Chrysostom,
occurs the following : —
ISO THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
D. Let us all say with our whole heart and soul,
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, we pray Thee, hear and
have mercy upon us.
C. Lord, have mercy.
D. Have mercy upon us, O God, after Thy great goodness. We
pray Thee hear, and have mercy on us.
C. Lord, have mercy.
Prayer of the Ectene.
Lord, our God, we pray Thee to receive this intense supplica-
tion from Thy servants, according to the multitude of Thy mercy,
and send down Thy compassions upon us, and upon all Thy people,
which is expecting the rich mercy that is from Thee.
Deacon. Further, we pray for pious and orthodox Christians.
People. Lord, have mercy.
D. Further, we pray for our Archbishop N.
P. Lord, have mercy.
D. Further, we pray for our brethren, priests, monks, and all our
brotherhood in Christ.
P. Lord, have mercy.
D. Further, we pray for the blessed and ever memorable founders
of this holy abode, and for all our fathers and brothers that have
fallen asleep before us, and lie here, and the orthodox that lie
everywhere.
P. Lord, have mercy.
D. Further, we pray for mercy, life, peace, health, safety, pro-
tection, forgiveness, and remission of sins, of the servants of God, the
brethren of this holy habitation.
P. Lord, have mercy.
D. Further, we pray for them that bring forth fruit and do good
deeds in this holy and all venerable temple, that labour, that sing,
and for the people that stand around, expecting the great and rich
mercy that is from Thee.
P. Lord, have mercy.
Exclamation. For Thou art the merciful God and the Lover of
men, and to Thee we ascribe.
P, Lord, have mercy.
SOME EARLY FORMS OF PRAYER. 151
D. Catechumens, pray unto the Lord. Let us, the faithful, pray
for the catechumens, that the Lord may have mercy upon them, and
may teach them the word of truth.
P. Lord, have mercy.
D. That He may reveal to them the gospel of righteousness.
P. Lord, have mercy'.
D. That He may unite them to His holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church.
P. Lord, have mercy.
D. Preserve, have mercy, support, and continually guard them,
O Lord.
P. Lord, have mercy.
D. Catechumens, bow your heads to the Lord.
III.
In the Liturgy of S. James occurs the following : —
The deacon makes the Catholic Synapte}
D. In peace let us make our supplication to the Lord.
P. Lord, have mercy.
D. For the peace that is from above, and the love of God, and
the salvation of our souls, let us make our supplication unto the
Lord.
For the peace of the whole world, and the unity of all the churches
of God, let us, etc.
For them that bear fruit and do good deeds in the holy churches
of God, that remember the poor, the widows, and the orphans, the
strangers and them that are in need ; and for them that have
desired us to make mention of them in our prayers, let us, etc.
1 That is, the collect or prayer for the whole state of Christ's Church.
The Synapte, Dr. Neale remarks, is literally collect, but in no way corre-
sponds to the prayer so called in the Western Church, to which, indeed, the
East offers no parallel. This Synapte answers much more nearly to the
Ectene, or Missal Litany. Note on Liturgy of S. Mark, p. 8. where the
very striking Synapte of the Liturgy of S. Mark is given. In its form it is
not so like our Litany as that of S. James, given here ; but in its matter, it
has points of remarkable correspondence, as will be seen.
1 52 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
For them that are in old age and infirmity, the sick, the distressed,
and that are vexed of unclean spirits, for their speedy healing from
God, and salvation, let us, etc.
For them that lead their lives in virginity, and purity, and asceti-
cism, and in venerable marriage, and them that carry on their
struggle in the caves and dens and holes of the earth, 1 our holy
fathers and brothers, let us, etc.
For Christians that sail, that journey, that are strangers, and
for our brethren that are in bonds and exile, and imprisonment
and bitter slavery, for their peaceful return, let us, etc.
For the forgiveness of our sins, and remission of our offences,
and that we may be preserved from all affliction, wrath, danger, and
necessity, and the insurrection of enemies, let us, etc.
For good temperature of the atmosphere, peaceful showers,
pleasant dews, abundance of fruits, fulness of a good season, and for
the crown of the year, let us, etc.
For those, our fathers and brethren, that are present and pray
together with us in this holy hour and at all seasons, their diligence,
labour, and readiness, let us, etc.
And for every Christian soul in affliction and distress, and
needing the mercy and succour of God, and for the conversion
of the erring, the health of the sick, the rescue of the prisoners, and
the rest of them that have departed afore, our fathers and brethren,
let us, etc.
That our prayer may be heard and acceptable before God,
and that His rich mercies and pities may be sent down upon us, let
us, etc.
Let us commemorate the most holy, spotless, exceedingly glorious,
blessed Lady, the Mother of God and ever Virgin Mary, with all
the saints together, that we may obtain mercy through their prayers
and intercessions, let us, etc.
And for the proposed, precious, heavenly, ineffable, spotless,
glorious, fearful, terrible, divine gifts, and the salvation of the priest
that stands by and offers them, let us supplicate the Lord our
God.
P. Lord, have mercy.
1 A clause probably added in the fourth century. (Dr Neale.)
SOME EARLY FORMS OF PRAYER.
IV.
At a later point in the Service there is in the same
Liturgy of S. James this prayer 1 : —
For Thy holy Catholic Apostolic Church throughout the world.
Supply it,' O Lord, even now, with the plentiful gifts of Thy Holy
Ghost.
Remember also, O Lord, our holy fathers and brothers in it, and
the Bishops that in all the world rightly divide the Word of Thy
truth.
Remember also, O Lord, every city and region, and the orthodox
that dwell in it, that they may inhabit it with peace and safety.
Remember, O Lord, Christians that are voyaging, that are
journeying, that are in foreign lands, in bonds and in prison, cap-
tives, exiles, in mines and in tortures, and bitter slavery, our fathers
and brethren.
Remember, Lord, them that are in sickness or travail, them that
are vexed of unclean spirits, that they may be speedily healed and
rescued by Thee, O God. Remember, Lord, every Christian soul
in tribulation and distress, desiring the pity and succour of Thee,
O God, and the conversion of the erring.
Remember, Lord, all for good ; have pity, Lord, on all ; be
reconciled to all of us ; give peace to the multitude of Thy people ;
dissipate scandals ; put an end to wars ; stay the rising up of
heresies. Give us Thy peace and Thy love, O Lord our Saviour,
the succour of all the ends of the earth.
Remember, O Lord, the healthfulness of the air, gentle showers,
healthy dews, plenteousness of fruits, the crown of the year of Thy
goodness ; for the eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest
them their meat in due season.
Remember, Lord, them that bear fruit and do good deeds in
Thy holy Churches, and that remember the poor, the widows, the
orphans, the stranger, the needy, and all those who have desired us
to remember them in our prayers.
Remember also, O Lord, me Thy humble servant, and the
1 It is given slightly abridged.
154 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Deacons that surround Thy holy Altar. Grant them blamelessness
of life, preserve their ministry spotless, keep their goings for good,
that they may find mercy and grace with all Thy saints that have
been pleasing to Thee from one generation to another, since the
beginning of the world.
V.
This prayer following, which is from the Liturgy of
S. Mark, is so full in many points, that it forms almost
a commentary on the corresponding portions of our own
Litany.
Remember, O Lord, the holy and only Catholic and Apostolic
Church, which is from one end of the earth to the other end of it,
all peoples and all flocks. Vouchsafe to all our hearts the peace
which is from heaven, and also bestow on us the peace of this life.
The king, the military orders, the princes, the councils, the
boroughs, every neighbourhood, our comings in and our goings out,
set in order in all peace.
O King of peace, give to us Thy peace in concord and love ;
possess us, O God ; beside Thee we know none other ; we are
called by Thy name ; quicken all our souls, and the death of sin
shall not have dominion over us, nor over all Thy people.
Them that are sick, O Lord, of Thy people, visit in Thy pity and
mercies, and heal. Avert from them and from us all sickness and
infirmity ; drive away from them the spirit of weakness ; raise up
them that are lying in long sickness ; heal them that are vexed of
unclean spirits, them that are in prisons, or in mines, or in courts of
justice, or with sentence given against them, or in bitter slavery, or
tribute ; have mercy on all, free all. For Thou art our God, He
that sets free the bound, He that raises those that are in misery,
the hope of the hopeless, the succour of the defenceless, the resur-
rection of the fallen, the harbour of the tempest-tossed, the avenger
of the afflicted. To every Christian soul that is in trouble, and that
is a petitioner to Thee, give mercy, give remission, give refresh-
ment. Furthermore, O Lord, heal the diseases of our souls ; cure
SOME EARLY FORMS OF PRAYER. 155
our bodily weaknesses, 0 Physician of souls and bodies ; Overseer
of all flesh, oversee and heal us by Thy salvation.
To our brethren who -are departed from us, or are about to
depart, in whatever place, give a fair journey, whether by land or
river, or lakes or highways, or in whatever way they may be travel-
ling, restore them all everywhere to a tranquil harbour, to a safe
harbour ; vouchsafe to be their fellow-voyager and fellow-traveller.
Give them back to their friends, rejoicing to the rejoicing, healthful
to the healthful.
And preserve, O Lord, to the end, our sojourning also in this life
without harm and without storm.
Send down richly good showers on the places that need them
and desire them ; rejoice and renew by their descent the face of
the earth, that in their drops it may be made glad, and may spring
up. Raise up the waters of the river to their full measure ; rejoice
and renew by their ascent the face of the earth ; water her furrows,
multiply her increase. Bless, O Lord, the fruits of the earth.
Preserve them continually whole and unhurt ; preserve them to us
for seed and for harvest. Bless also now, O Lord, the crown of the
year of Thy goodness, for the poor of Thy people, for the widow,
and for the orphan, for the proselyte,' for all of us who hope in
Thee, and who are called by Thy holy Name ; for the eyes of all
wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season.
Thou that givest meat to all flesh, fill our hearts with joy and glad-
ness, that we always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound
unto every good work, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
King of kings, and Lord of lords [preserve ?] the kingdom of
Thy servant, the orthodox and Christ-loving King, whom Thou
hast vouchsafed to rule over the land in peace and might and justice.
[Overthrow ?] every enemy, both native and foreign. Lay hand
upon the shield and buckler, and stand up to help him. Bring
forth the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute him.
Cover his head in the day of battle. Cause them that spring from
his loins to sit [on his throne ?] " [speak good things to his heart ?]
1 Dr. Neale observes, that " If this word, as is probable, is to be taken
in its Jewish meaning, it must fix the date of this intercession to a period
of the most remote antiquity, prior to the destruction of Jerusalem."
2 In the broken and corrupted state of the petitions for the Emperor,
156 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
for Thy holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and all the people
that loveth Christ, that we also in his tranquillity may lead a quiet
and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
VI.
The prayer of the Liturgy of St. Clement gives most
fully the Intercessions for the Bishop, Priests, and
Deacons, and may have suggested the corresponding
clause in our Litany. Some chief points only of the
prayer are given here.
For the holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, which is from one
end of the earth to the other, let us make our supplication, that the
Lord would preserve it and guard it continually, unshaken and
without storm, unto the consummation of all things founded upon
the rock. 1
For every episcopate under heaven of those who rightly divide
the word of Thy truth, let us make our supplication. And for our
Bishops and their parishes ... let us make our supplication. And
for their presbyters let us make our supplication, that the Lord
would preserve them from every unseemly and wicked thing, and
afford to them their priestly office safe and honourable.
For them that are in the yoke of marriage and the production
of children, let us make our supplication, that the Lord may have
mercy on them all.
For our brethren that are exercised by sickness, let us make our
supplications ; that the Lord may preserve them from all diseases
and infirmity, and may restore them safely to His holy Church.
For them that sail and journey, let us make our supplication ; for
them that are in mines, and exiles, and prisons, and bonds ; for our
there is an evidence, Dr. Neale thinks, that these formed no part of the
original Liturgy, but were a later addition, when the government had
become Christian.
1 Words founded, Dr. Neale observes, on S. Matthew vii. 25, not on
S. Matthew xvi. 18.
SOME EARLY FORMS OF PRAYER. 157
enemies and them .that hate us for the Lord's sake ; that the Lord
may soften their mind, and disperse their passion against us.
For them that are without and wandering, let us make our sup-
plication, that the Lord may convert them.
Let us remember the little ones of the Church, that the Lord ,
perfecting them in His fear, may bring them to the full measure of
age.
For each other let us make our supplication, that the Lord may
guard us and preserve us by His grace to the end, and may defend
us from the wicked one, and all the scandals of them that work
iniquity, and may save us to His heavenly kingdom.
VII.
Some special points illustrating our Litany have
already been given from the Liturgy of St. Basil.
But the relation of the similar prayer in his Liturgy
to portions of our Litany will be best understood if
the prayer is given more or less in full.
We beseech Thee, O Lord, remember Thy holy Catholic and
Apostolic Church, from one end of the world unto the other, and
give peace unto it, which Thou has purchased with the precious
blood of Thy Christ, and strengthen this holy House until the con-
summation of the world.
Remember, O Lord, them who have offered their holy gifts unto
Thee, and them for whom, and through whom, or for what ends,
they have offered them.
Remember, O Lord, them who bring forth fruit and do good
works in Thy holy Churches, and who remember the poor. Recom-
pense them with Thy rich and heavenly graces. Vouchsafe them
things heavenly for things earthly, eternal for temporal, incorruptible
for corruptible things.
Remember, O Lord, those in deserts, and mountains, and dens,
and caves of the earth,
158 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Remember, O Lord, them who live in virginity, and piety, and
discipline, and holy conversation.
Remember, O Lord, our most pious and faithful sovereigns, whom
Thou hast given the right to reign over the earth. Crown them
with the shield of truth, the shield of good-will ; over-shadow their
head in the day of battle, strengthen their arm ; uplift their right
hand, stablish their kingdom ; put all barbarous nations, which
desire war, under them ; vouchsafe them profound and inviolate
peace ; speak good things unto their heart for Thy Church and all
Thy people, that we may spend, during their calm time, a quiet and
tranquil life in all piety and holiness.
Remember, O Lord, every magistracy and authority, and our
brethren in the palace, and all the army.
Preserve the good in Thy goodness, and make the evil good in
Thy bounty.
Remember, O Lord, the people which stand about, and those who
are absent for reasonable causes, and have mercy on them and us,
according to the multitude of Thy mercy. Fill their stores with
good things. Keep their unions in peace and concord, rear up the
infants, guide the youth, strengthen the old, comfort the timid,
collect the scattered, bring back the erring, and unite them to Thy
holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Free those troubled by unclean spirits ; sail together with them
that sail ; journey with travellers ; stand before the widows ; shield
the orphans ; deliver the captives ; heal the sick.
Remember, O God, them that are in trials, and banishments, and
all tribulation and necessity and distress, and all them that need
Thy great loving-kindness, and them which love us, and which hate
us, and those who have enjoined us, unworthy as we are, to pray for
them.
And, O Lord our God, remember all Thy people, and pour out
on all men Thy rich mercy, granting to all their petitions unto
salvation.
And them whom we, through ignorance, or forgetfulness, or the
number of names, have not remembered, do Thou, O God, remember
them, who knowest the age and the name of each one, who knowest
each from his mother's womb. . . .
Remember, 0 Lord, every see of the orthodox, who rightly divide
the word of Thy truth. . . . Remember, 0 Lord, the Presbytery,
SOME EARLY FORMS OF PRAYER.
the Diaconate in Christ, and every priestly order, and make none
of us ashamed who compass Thy holy Altar.
Visit us in Thy bounty, O Lord ; be manifest unto us in Thy rich
compassions ; vouchsafe us temperate and wholesome weather ;
bestow showers upon the earth for the produce of fruit ; bless the
crown of the year with Thy goodness ; quiet the schisms of the
Churches, quench the boastings of the nations, quickly destroy the
uprisings of heresies, by the Power of Thy Holy Spirit, receiving us
all into Thy kingdom, making us children of light, and children of
the day. Vouchsafe us Thy peace and Thy love, O Lord our God,
for Thou hast given us all things.
VIII.
But, in some respects, the most striking of all, and
the most nearly approaching to the form of a Litany,
is the Prayer, answering to the Ectene, of the Church of
Malabar. It is given last 'here, (in an abridged form,)
with the Prayer from the Apostolical Constitutions, as
the link of transition to the actual Litanies.
Priest, turning to the people. Let us all stand in order, and
with joy and gladness let us seek and say,
People. O Lord, have mercy upon us. {And so at the end of every
petition.)
Deacon. Father of mercies, and God of all consolation, we
beseech Thee,
For the peace and unity and well-being of the whole world, and of
all Churches ;
For the healthfulness of the air, the richness of the year, and its
provisions, and the beauty of the whole world ;
For our holy Fathers, our Patriarch, the universal Pastor of the
whole Catholic Church, and our Bishop, that they may enjoy good
health.
The merciful God who governcth all things by His love, . . .
the Immortal Nature that inhabits that most glorious light, we
beseech ;
160 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Save us, O Christ our Lord and God, by Thy grace, and multiply
in us peace and love, and have mercy upon us.
Let us pray also for the holy Catholic Church, which is spread
over the whole orb of the world, that the peace which is from God
may remain in it till the consummation of all things.
Let us pray also for the holy Fathers, our Bishops, that without
blemish and complaint they may remain all the days of their life in
the government of their Churches ; ... let us pray that the Lord
may keep them and preserve them at the head of their flocks ; that
they may feed and govern and prepare for the Lord a perfect people,
zealous of all good works.
Let us pray also for the Presbyters and Deacons who are occupied
in the ministry of the truth ; that with a good heart and pure con-
science they may accomplish their ministry before God.
Let us pray also for every holy and sober congregation of the sons
of the holy Catholic Church, that they may accomplish the most
excellent course of sanctity, and may receive the hope and promise
of the Lord in the land of the living.
Also for this province and city, and for them that dwell therein,
especially for this congregation ; let us pray the Lord by His grace
may turn away from us sword, captivity, rapine, earthquake, famine,
pestilence, and other things which are injurious to the soul and the
body.
For those that have departed from the true faith, and are held in
captivity by the net of Satan ; let us pray that the Lord God may
convert their hearts, and that they may verily acknowledge God the
true Father, and His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us pray also for the sick, and especially for those who are vexed
with cruel diseases, and are tried by most evil spirits ; we pray that
the Lord our God may send to them His holy Angel of love and
salvation, and may visit and heal and help them, through the great-
ness of His grace and mercy.
Also for the poor, orphans, widows, and afflicted, and them that
suffer persecution ; let us pray that the Lord may govern them by
His grace, and nourish and console them by His pity, and by His
loving-kindness set them free from them that do violence to them. 1
1 From Dr. Neale's " Primitive Liturgies Translated," p. 42. With these
may be compared the corresponding prayer in the Liturgy of St. Cyril,
SOME EARL Y FORMS OF PR A YER.
161
IX.
The following form of prayer, combining very strikingly
some of the elements of a Litany and of a Prayer for the
Church Militant, is drawn from the Apostolical Con-
stitutions, to which about the fourth century is assigned
as the probable date. 1
Let us pray for this Church and people.
Let us pray for the whole order of bishops, for all presbyters, for
all deacons and ministers of Christ, and for the whole family of the
Church, that God would preserve and keep them.
Let us pray for kings, and all in high places, that under them
being peaceably and quietly governed, we may spend our days in
all godliness and honesty.
Let us pray for our brethren afflicted with sickness, that the Lord
would please to free them from their diseases, and restore them in
perfect health to His Church.
Let us pray for those that sail by water or travel by land.
Let us pray for those that are condemned to mines, to banishment,
to imprisonment and bonds, for the sake of the Lord.
Let us pray for those that are oppressed.
given in Renaudot (i. 46), of St. Gregory (i. 32), yEthiopic (i. 500).
Litiirg. Orient. Collectio, Parisiis, 1 716. The yEthiopic prayer is a very
full one, and will be found translated in p. 97 of "A Collection of the
principal Liturgies from the Latin of M. Renaudot and P. Le Brun : "
Dublin, 1822. It is observed (p. 12) that " There can be no doubt but that
the old /Ethiopic Liturgy is the Liturgy which was used in the Church of
Alexandria in the fifth century."
' The various opinions as to the date of the Apostolical Constitutions
will be found well collected in the appendix to "A Complete Collection of
Devotions, taken from the Apostolical Constitutions, " (London, 1734,) in
which the remarks of the several writers on the subject are given in full.
The question is also discussed in a Prize Essay, at Bonn, translated by
Irah Chase, D.D. (New York, 1848.) Renaudot, Bishop Bull, Bingham,
and others consider them to be earlier than the Council of Nice, i.e., about
300 A.D.
I 1
i62 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
Let us pray for those that persecute us for the Lord's sake, that
He would abate their rage, and confound all their devices against
us.
Let us pray for all that err and are deceived, that God would bring
them into the way of truth.
Let us pray for all widows and orphans.
Let us pray for seasonable and temperate weather, that we may
receive the fruits of the earth. 1
1 The translation of the Greek form is taken rom. L'Estrange, pp. 14,
148.
CHAPTER XIII.
SPECIMENS OF ANTIENT LITANIES.
I.
T T OW the Litany gradually assumed its present
form will be seen from the following " short
Litany for use before the Mass," which Martene gives
in his Antient Rites of the Church (vol. iv., p. 29.
Bassani, 1788). It occurs in a chapter on the Usages
of the Monks.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Holy Mary, pray for us, etc., etc.
(Here all rise.)
O all ye Saints, pray for us.
Be favourable unto us.
Spare us, O Lord.
From the crafts of the Devil,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From lightning and tempest,
Deliver us, O Lord.
By Thy Passion and Cross,
Deliver us, O Lord.
By Thy glorious Resurrection,
Deliver us, 0 Lord.
1 64 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
By Thy marvellous Ascension,
Deliver us, O Lord.
By the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter,
Deliver us, O Lord.
In the Day of Judgment,
Deliver us, O Lord.
We sinners do beseech Thee to hear us,
That Thou wouldest grant us peace,
We beseech Thee, etc.
That Thy goodness and mercy may watch over us,
W ? beseech Thee, etc.
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to rule and govern Thy Church,
We beseech Thee, etc.
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to give and preserve to our use the
fruits of the earth,
We beseech Thee, etc.
That Thou wouldest vouchsafe to hear us,
We beseech Thee, etc.
Son of God, we beseech Thee to hear us,
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
(Here follows the introit.)
II.
With this Litany may well be compared one which,
it is considered, must have been in use before the
year 887 A.D. It is translated here from Muratori, De
rebus Liturgicis Dissertatio, p. 995, in Migne, Patrol.
Cursus Completus, vol. lxxiv.
Lord, have mercy. {Thrice?)
Christ, have mercy. {Thrice.)
Holy Mary, pray for us.
(Three columns of Saints, whose prayers are desired.)
O all ye Saints, pray for us.
SPECIMENS OF ANTIENT LITANIES. 165
Be favourable,
Spare us, 0 Lord.
Be favourable,
0 Lord, deliver us.
From all evil,
O Lord, deliver us.
From evil enemies,
O Lord, deliver us.
From the peril of death,
O Lord, deliver us.
By Thy Cross,
O Lord, deliver us.
We sinners beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou wouldest grant us Thy peace,
We beseech Thee, etc.
That Thou wilt give us health,
We beseech Thee, etc.
That Thou wilt give us the fruits of the earth,
We beseech Thee, etc.
That Thou wilt grant us mild and healthful seasons,
We beseech Thee, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to preserve our Apostolic Lord in Thy
holy religion,
We beseech Thee, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to preserve our Lord the Emperor, and
the army of the Franks,
We beseech Thee, etc.
That Thou wilt vouchsafe to preserve the whole Christian people,
whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious Blood,
We beseech Thee, etc.
Son of God, we beseech Thee to hear us.
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
Christ, hear us.
Lord, have mercy tipon us.
Even more striking are the two following very Early
Ambrosian Litanies, for which I am indebted to the
1 66 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
great kindness of Dr. Littledale. He considers that
they bear clear marks of the fourth century, though
they may have been retouched at a later date. It
has seemed best to give these and two others in the
original Latin.
III.
LlTANIA AMBROSIANA. A.
Miss. Amb. Dom. i. Quadrag.
V. Divinae pacis et indulgentias munere supplicantes, ex toto
corde et ex tota mente precamur te.
R. Domine miserere.
V. Pro Ecclesia tua sancta catholica quae hie et per universum
orbem diffusa est, precamur te.
R. Domine miserere.
V. Pro Papa nostro N., et Pontifice nostro N., et omni clero
eorum omnibusque Sacerdotibus et ministris, precamur te.
R. Domine miserere.
V. Pro famulis tuis, N. Imperatore et N. Rege, Duce nostro,
et omni exercitu eorum, precamur te.
R. Domine miserere.
V. Pro pace Ecclesiarum, vocatione Gentium, et quiete populorum
precamur te.
R. Domine miserere.
V. Pro civitate hac, et conversatione ejus, omnibusque habitantibus
in ea, precamur te.
R. Domine miserere.
V. Pro aeris temperie, ac fructu et fascunditate terrarum precamur
te.
R. Domine miserere.
V. Pro virginibus, viduis, orphanis, captivis, ac pcenitentibus,
precamur te.
R. Domine miserere.
V. Pro navigantibus, iter agentibus, in carceribus, in vinculis, in
metallis, in exiliis constitutis, precamur te.
R. Domine miserere.
SPECIMENS OF A NT IE NT LITANIES. 167
V. Pro his qui diversis infirmitatibus detinentur, quique spiritibus
Vexantur immundis, precamur te.
R. Domine miserere.
V. Pro his, qui in sancta tua Ecclesia fructus misericordias largi-
untur, precamur te-
R. Domine miserere.
V. Exaudi nos, Deus, in omni oratione atque deprecatione nostra,
^precamur te„
R. Domine miserere.
V. Dicamus omnes,
2??. Domine miserere, Kyrie, Kyrie, Kyrie.
IV.
LlTANIA AMBROSIANA. B.
Miss. Atnb. Dom. iv. Quadrag.
V. Dicamus omnes,
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Domine Deus omnipotens patrum nostronini)
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Respice de ccelo Deus, et de sede sancta tua,
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Pro Ecclesia tua sancta catholica, quam conservare dignaris,
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Pro Papa nostro N. et Pontifice nostro N. et Sacerdotio
eorum,
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Pro universis Episcopis, cuncto clero et populo,
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Pro famulis tuis, N. Imperatore et N. Rege, Duce nostro, et
omni exercitu eorum,
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Pro civitate hac, omnibusque habitantibus in ea>
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Pro aeris temperie, et fsecunditate terrarum.
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Libera nos, qui liberasti filios Israel,
R. Kyrie eleison.
168 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
V. In manu forte et brachio excelso,
R. Kyrie eleison.
V. Exurge Domine, adjuva nos, et libera nos propter nomen
tuum,
R. Kyrie, Kyrie, Kyrie.
V.
There is a very remarkable Keledean Litany given
at the end of the second volume of the Councils and
Ecclesiastical Documents relating to Great Britain
and Ireland, edited by Mr. Haddan and Professor
Stubbs. In its present form, it may be of the date
of a.d. 1448 — 1575. But it seems based on a much
older document. It shows in a striking manner how
particular features in the Litany varied in ancient
times.
After a very long list of Angels, Apostles, Martyrs,
Bishops, Confessors, Virgins, etc.. whose prayers are
sought, it adds the three remarkable lines —
That through your prayers we may persevere in true penitence ;
That through your intercessions we may overcome the Devil and
his temptations ;
That through your intercessions we may be brought safely to the
kingdom of heaven.
Its close, too, is very striking :
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
O Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Grant us Thy peace.
SPECIMENS OF ANTIENT LITANIES. 169
Christ triumphs, Christ reigns, Christ rules.' {Thrice.)
O Christ, hear us. {Thrice.)
Lord, have mercy. ( Thrice. )
Christ, have mercy. (Thrice.)
Do Thou, O Chri.st, vouchsafe us Thy grace.
Do Thou, O Christ, grant us joy and peace.
Do Thou, O Christ, vouchsafe us life and safety. 2
VI.
Another Litany specially deserves to be compared
with the foregoing forms, as being perhaps the most
striking and complete Early Litany which has come
down to our times. It is given by Mabillon, in his
Analecta Vetera, p. 168. He says that its antiquity is
proved both by the age of the manuscript, and by the
saints who are mentioned in it : " E quibus nullus est
medio ssculo septimo inferior." 3 The manuscript he
describes as " Ab annis prope nongentis exaratus,"
writing in 1723. And he thinks that it was Anglo-
Saxon, because it contains a petition in favour of the
1 Christus vincit, Chrisms regnat, Christus imperat. (Ter.)
2 Tu Christe nobis concede gratiam tuam.
Tu Christe nobis dona gaudium et pacem.
Tu Christe nobis concede vitam et salutem.
:l Earum antiquitatem probat in primis vetustas Remigiani Codicis, ab
annis prope nongentis exarati. Deinde sanctorum aetas, quorum suffragia
postulantur ; e quibus nullus est medio sseculo septimo inferior. Ad hxc,
quod multi sancti apud Anglos, sub finem sxculi septimi et initium octavi
maxime celebres, in ipsis Litaniis omittuntur. . . . Ex quibus infero,
Litanias istas labente sscculo septimo in Anglicana Ecclesia usitatas
fuisse.
Renaudot, notainloc, p. 169.
i/o THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
English clergy and people : " Ut clerum et plebem
Anglorum conservare digneris."
But Lingard, in his History of the Anglo-Saxon
Church (ii. 387), after examining Mabillon's statement,
concludes : " For these reasons, I am inclined to think
that this Litany belonged to one of the Welsh or
Armorican Churches ; and would attribute the insertion
of the petition in favour of the English clergy and people
to the fact of the country having been added by conquest
to the Anglo-Saxon dominions, or to gratitude for the
benefactions received from the Anglo-Saxon princes "
(pp. 381-387)-
He coincides with Mabillon in his opinion as to its
great antiquity : " As none of the saints mentioned
in it is known to have lived after the year 650 A.D., we
may infer that it was composed towards the end of the
seventh century " (p. 386).
The introduction of the Invocation of Saints into the
Early Litanies, it may be observed in passing, serves
thus the good purpose of assisting us to judge ap-
proximately of the date at which the Litanies were
composed.
This Litany is so important that it is quoted in full,
with the exception that the series of Martyrs, Confessors,
and Virgins, whose prayers are desired, have been left
out. It may be doubted whether this Litany, or the
Anglo-Saxon Litany given in chapter xi., may be most
SPECIMENS OF ANTIENT LITANIES. 171
truly said to be the type according to which the Sarutn
Litany of the English Church was formed.
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Christe audi nos.
Christe audi nos.
Christe audi nos.
Sancta Maria, ora.
Sancta Maria, ora.
Sancta Maria, ora.
De Atigelis.
Sancte Michael, ora.
Sancte Gabriel, ora.
Sancte Raphael, ora.
Omnes sancti Angeli, orate.
Omnes sancti Archangeli, orate.
Omnes sancti chori novem fidinum ccelestium, orate pro nobis.
De Apostolis.
Sancte Petre, ora, etc., etc.
Omnes sancti chori Apostolorum orate.
De Martyribus.
S. Stephane, ora pro nobis, etc. 1
Omnes sancti chori martyrum, orate pro nobis.
De Confcssoribus.
S. Leo, ora pro nobis, etc. 1
Omnes sancti chori confessorum, orate pro nobis.
De Virginittus.
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis.
S. Felicitas, etc. 3
Omnes sancti chori Virginum, orate pro nobis.
Omnes sancti, intercedite pro nobis.
1 About fifty added. " About forty added.
2 About forty-five added.
172 THE LIT AX Y OF THE E.XGLISH CHURCH.
Omnes sancti Angeli, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Archangeli, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancue Virtutes, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sanctje Potestates, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Principatus, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancta? Dominationes, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Throni, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Cherubim, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Seraphim, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Patriarchal, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Prophets, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Apostoli, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Martyres, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti Confessores, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sanctae Virgines, intercedite, etc.
Omnes sancti, intercedite.
Ut per vestras orationes adipiscamur sine fine regnum Coelorum
Domino volente per omnia saecula saeculorum,
Propitius esto, parce nobis Domine.
Propitius esto, libera nos Domine.
Ab omni malo, libera nos Domine.
Ab omni immunditia cordis et corporis, Libera nos Domine.
A morbo malo, etc.
Ab hoste malo, etc.
Ab insidiis Diaboli, etc.
A persecutione inimici, etc.
A periculo mortis, etc.
A ventura ira, etc.
Per Adventum Tuum, etc
Per Nativitatem Tuam, etc.
Per Baptismum Tuum, etc.
Per Passionem Tuam, etc.
Per Crucem Tuam, etc.
Per Resurrectionem Tuam, etc.
Per Ascensionem Tuam. etc.
Per Descensionem Spiritus Sancti, etc.
Peccatores, Te rogamus, audi nos.
Ut pacem nobis dones, Te, etc.
SPECIMENS OF A NT IE NT LITANIES. 17 3
Ut vitam atque sanitatem nobis dones, Te, etc.
Ut nobis in operibus bonis perseverantiam dones, Te, etc.
Ut nos in vera Fide et religione conservare digneris, Te, etc.
Ut Ecclesiam Catholicam conservare digneris, Te, etc.
Ut Regem et Episcopum nostrum conservare digneris, Te, etc.
Ut vitam et sanitatem eis dones, Te, etc.
Ut populo Christiano pacem et unitatem largiri digneris, Te
etc.
Ut fructum terras nobis dones, Te, etc.
Ut pluviam opportunam nobis dones, Te, etc.
Ut caritatem nobis dones, Te, etc.
Ut nobis veram pcenitentiam concedas agere, Te, etc.
Ut clerum et plebem Anglorum conservare digneris, Te, etc.
Ut universalem congregationem sanctorum conservare digneris,
Te, etc.
Ut earn in vera Fide et religione conservare digneris, Te, etc.
Ut nobis misereri digneris, Te, etc.
Ut nos exaudire digneris, Te, etc.
Fili Dei, Te, etc.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, parce nobis Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.
Christe audi nos (iii.).
Kyrie eleison (iii.).
Christe eleison (iii.).
Oremus.
Pater noster, etc.
Hcec Oratio post Litaniatn canitur.
Magnificis mirificisque orationibus atque meritis recensitorum
Patriarcharum, Prophetarum atque Apostolorum, plurimorumque
Martyrum, vel electorum, atque Confessorum omnium, petimus et
oramus, ut quemadmodum eorum nomina vel memoriam in hoc
sasculo memorari et recitare frequentamus, ita atque ipsi pro nobis
in regnis ccelestibus affectuales ac privatas preces fundere dignentur,
ut a Deo veniam et indulgentiam impetrare atque obtinere, et eorum
desiderandam et aspiciendam speciem et gloriam in regno videre,
et congaudere mereamur, praestante Domino nostro Jesu Christo,
1 74 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
cui est honor, et potestas et imperium, una cum Patre atque Spiritu
Sancto in saecula sa?culorum. Amen.
One more Litany is added here, that of Liege, for
which I am again indebted to the kindness of Dr.
Littledale. He assigns the twelfth century as its probable
date.
VII. — LlTANIA LEODIENSIS.
Prcccs Majores Brev. Leod., Sccc. XII. (?).
Kyr, Xte, Kyr, Pater noster.
V. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem.
R. Sed libera nos a malo.
V. Ego dixi, Drie miserere mei.
R. Sana animam meam, quia peccavi in te.
V. Oremus pro omni gradu Ecclesia?.
R. Sacerdotes tui induantur justitiam et sancti tui exultent.
V. Pro pace et imitate Ecclesias.
R. Fiat pax in virtute tua, et abundantia in turribus tuis.
V. Pro Pastore nostro.
R. Dfis consonet eum et vivificet eum, et non tradat eum in
animam inimicorum ejus.
V. Pro Rege nostro.
R. Dfie salvum fac Regem, et exaudi nos in die qua invo-
caverimus te.
V. Pro cuncto populo Catholico.
R. Salvum fac populum tuum, Drie, et benedic hereditate tua ; et
rege illos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.
V. Pro cunctis benefactoribus nostris.
R. Retribuere dignare, Dfie, omnibus nobis bona facientibus
propter nomen tuum vitam aeternam.
V. Pro iter agentibus.
R. O Drie, salvum me fac. O Dfie, bene prosperare, benedictus
qui venit in nomine Dfii.
V. Pro fidelibus navigantibus.
Exaudi nos, Deus salutaris noster, spes omnium finum terra;,
et in mari longe.
SPECIMENS OF ANTIENT LITANIES. 175
V. Pro discordantibus.
R. Et pax Dei, qua; exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda
et corpora illorum in pace.
V. Pro persequentibus et calumniantibus nos.
R. Dne Jesu Christe, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum quia nesciunt
quod faciunt.
V. Pro pcenitentibus.
R. Convertere, Dne, usque quo, et deprecabilis esto super servos
tuos.
V. Pro afflictis et captivis.
R. Libera eos, Deus Israel, ex omnibus tribulationibus.
V. Pro infirmis.
R. Mitte, Dne, verbum tuum, et sana eos de interitu eorum.
V. Et pro fidelibus defunctis.
R. Requiem reternam dona eis, Dne, et lux perpetua luceat
eis.
V. Requiescant in pace.
R. Amen.
V. Pro peccatis et negligentiis nostris.
R. Dne, ne memineris iniquitatum nostrarum antiquarum, cito
anticipent nos misericordiae tui, quia pauperes facti sumus nirnis.
V. Adjuva nos Deus salutaris noster.
R. Et propter gloriam nominis tui, Dne, libera nos et propitius
esto peccatis nostris propter nomen tuum.
V. Pro fratribus nostris absentibus.
R. Salvos fac servos tuos, Deus meus, sperantes in te.
V. Mitte eis, Dne, auxilium de sancto.
Et de Sion tuere eos.
V. Esto nobis, Dne, turris fortitudinis.
R. A facie inimici.
V. Dne exaudi orationem meam.
R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat. De profundis, etc.
These are but few specimens, out of many more
which might have been given of Antient Litanies, and
Antient Similar Liturgical Forms. But these specimens
176 THE LITANY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
which are given will be enough, it is thought, to show
the manner in which the Litany grew, and gradually
assumed its present form. And further, (which is one
main object for which they are given here), they will
suggest the thought, when they are studied with
reference to our own Litany, of the patient study, the
judicious discrimination, the skilful arrangement and
combination of points disconnected before, and the
loving comprehensive care for all those who should be
the special objects of prayer, with which the Litany,
as we have it now, has been framed. And in this
way, it is hoped, many may be led to acknowledge
more the debt of gratitude which is due to those by
whom this and other Forms were brought into their
present state. And, still more, they may be brought
to study more carefully, and then to enter more
heartily and intelligently into this portion of our
Service, which, as it is certainly one of the most
touching and comprehensive elements of our Prayer
Book, so it may be reckoned as one of the choicest
devotional treasures of our English Church.
THE END.
Printed by Hazell, Watson, and Viney, London and Aylesbury.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
Sin afrrpos&i'ti'on of tlje HorD'tf Reaper,
DEVOTIONAL, DOCTRINAL. AND PRACTICAL;
With Four Preliminary Dissertations, and an Appendix of Extracts from Writers on
the Prayer for Daily Use.
By the Rev. W. H. KARSLAKE, M.A.,
Fellozu and sometime Tutor of Merton College, Oxford.
Oxford and London: J. Parker & Co.
"A volume of as much solid merit, combined with as little of show, as we have seen for
some time. It is a thorough exposition of the Prayer in detail, yet so carefully developed
in connection with doctrine, and handled with so much plainness and so much depth in
its connection with practice, as to obviate the disjointed discursiveness usually attendant
upon a commentary. It is singularly full of quotation and reference, — built, indeed, upon
the words of great divines and holy men of almost all schools ; yet it is at the same time
marked by its own independent line of thought. It brings out the full doctrinal meaning
of each petition, but without anything strained or far-fetched, handling each topic with
the reality of a thoughtful mind, to which sure proofs are not speculations but facts.
There is no attempt at rhetoric. The style is especially plain, and its merits lie in the
meaning more than in the words. As a specimen of college sermons addressed to an
educated congregation, yet to one consisting of young men, and so needing plain instruc-
tion in elementary truth, it strikes us as entitled to rank high." — Guardian.
" We have no hesitation in speaking in the strongest possible terms in their praise, and
in recommending them most strongly to our readers. Both as to their style, their spirit,
and their matter, they cannot fail to attract and benefit all who are seriously inclined. "—
Press.
" The work of a careful and painstaking scholar, pervaded by quiet but severe thought.
The ' Preliminary Dissertations' are very favourable specimens of careful and scientific
theology ; and the same is to be said of the sermons on the different clauses. Mr.
Karslake's acquaintance with the enormous literature that belongs to the subject appears
to be complete, the Greek and Latin Fathers, German expositors, our own great divines,
and contemporary literature, are all laid under contribution, and the Author has done
good service by incorporating with his work an Appendix of Extracts. We cordially
recommend Mr. Karslake's book as one of the most valuable theological manuals that has
been issued of late. " — Literary Gazette.
' ' Scholarlike, grave, and exact in its theology, as addressed to the members of a learned
college. We know no work more complete on the subject than that of Mr. Karslake,
which embodies the best thoughts of all previous commentators, from St. Cyprian and
St. Chrysostom through the foreign Reformers, not excepting Luther and Calvin, to
Bishop Andrewes, Barrow, South, downwards to our own times, drawing them from
writers of various schools, though citing only what is orthodox and catholic. This is a
book for the Biblical student, and is likely to become a standard work." — John Bull,
Dec. 21, 1861.
"The lectures before us were delivered in the chapel of Merton College, Oxford, and
are published at the request of the College : and the judgment shewn in the request will
be readily acknowledged by all who love sobriety of thought, earnestness of tone, and
correct argumentation. They shew very great learning, great skill in the management of
those things (whether old or new) which should form the elements of our discourses, and
great discernment in the selection of the points of view in which the several topics touched
upon should be placed before a learned yet Christian audience. The lectures are intro-
duced to our notice by four dissertations, which will be found to be exceedingly useful.
It is a volume that we can heartily commend to the use of all, as one from which it will
be impossible to rise without reaping very great benefit indeed from its perusal." — Oxford
Herald.
" Mr. Karslake did well to accede to the request that he would publish the lectures he
preached. Prefixed are four admirable dissertations. The book is beautifully printed, so
that he who runs may r ead. ! " — Spectator.
"Thoughtfully, scholarly, and religiously written. A dissertation on the origin of the
Lord's Prayer, comparing it with the ancient Jewish forms of prayer, is the most interesting
feature of the volume." — Notes and Queries.
atU3 to tlje stuop of 3Lo5i'c.
2 vols., 8vo.
" Of recent English works, two should be particularly referred to, as placing the func-
tion of Logic on a solid and philosophical basis ; Mr. Karslake's masterly sketch, and Mr.
Mansel's treatise, alike acute and comprehensive." — Professor Spalding's Introduction
to Logical Science.
fltntrli'sflj Ctjurcljman'S Companion to
tfje 1£ouse of draper •
AN ACCOUNT OF THE
HISTORY, PLAN, AND MEANING OF THE DAILY SERVICE FOR
MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER
" Full of valuable information." — Guardian.
"We ran quite recommend it for young, and indeed for old readers." — Literary
Ckurchman.
" It is not too much to say that every Churchman ought to have it." — Ecdestastica
Review.
SKEFFIXGTOX, 163, PICCADILLY.
>
past, ttje present, and tfje JFutuce.
A SERIES OF LECTURES FOR THE WEEKS BEFORE AND AFTER
CONFIRMATION ;
With Questions for Examination, and Prayers.
" In this simple, practical Manual, the subjects for meditation are treated in Eight
Lectures, so as to occupy five weeks previous to Confirmation, and three after. To each
are appended questions for self-examination, a course of Scripture reading, and appropriate
prayers. We recommend it for the use of candidates of all classes — as the simplicity of
the language and line of thought make it intelligible to the uneducated, while it is equally
suited for those above them.'* — English Churchman.
" In a course of Eight Lectures, Mr. Karslake has faithfully and affectionately handled
the subject of Confirmation. " — Literary Churchman.
" A work of real merit, grave, sober, and affectionately earnest in tone : intended for
use in the weeks immediately before and after Confirmation." — Church Reziiew.
"It will be found useful for putting into the hands of, or reading to classes." — John
Bull.
Cfje (fCficacp of draper,
A SHORT TREATISE ON THE PRINCIPAL POINTS OF CONTROVERSY
AT THE PRESENT TIME RESPECTING PRAYER.
Written for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
'(Ilje '(Etjeocp of prapeu;
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MODERN THOUGHT.
Forming part of the Christian Evidence Series of the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge.
CLARK, DORKING,
DEPOSITORIES OF THE CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY.
P iffm e fl?. n » 1 ■Q'ifSSfliS 31 Seminary Libra
1 1012 01245 7406