The Eucharistic Theology of the Anglican Church in North America’s Texts for Common Prayer (2013): The Holy Communion, Long Form

By Robin G. Jordan

The General Instructions printed at the end of the Holy Communion, Short Form, state:

The Holy Communion, Long Form, is intended for use at the principal service(s) on the Lord’s Day and for other major celebrations. The Holy Communion, Short Form, is intended for use at other times.

In this article I will be examining more closely the eucharistic theology of the rite that the General Instructions require to be used at all principle services on Sundays and on major festivals. The Anglican Church in North America has entered a period of reception. Unless serious objections are raised to the eucharistic theology of this rite, its theology will become the official eucharistic theology of the Anglican Church in North America.

The eucharistic theology of the rite, as we shall see, is incompatible with the doctrine of the Thirty-Nine Articles and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, which with the 1661 Ordinal, are the doctrinal formularies of authentic historic Anglicanism. It raises serious questions about the Anglican Church in North America’s acceptance of the authority of the Bible and the Anglican formularies.

As the GAFCON Theological Group points out in Being Faithful: The Shape of Historic Anglicanism Today, the official GAFCON commentary on the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration, the authority of the Thirty-Nine Articles is the authority of the Bible. The GAFCON Theological Group identifies acceptance of the authority of the Thirty-Nine Articles as constitutive of Anglican identity. An ecclesial body that does not fully accept their authority cannot be viewed as genuinely Anglican.

In the haste in which I put together my four-part article, “The new ACNA eucharistic rites on closer inspection,” flipping back and forth between book pages and computer windows late at night and in the wee hours of the morning, I may have inaccurately described the Prayer of Consecration in The Holy Communion, Long Form. This was inadvertent. In this article I will be providing what I believe is a more accurate description of that prayer. I will also be correcting an inaccuracy in my description of the Communion Rite.

The Prayer of Consecration in The Holy Communion, Long Form, in the new ACNA eucharistic rites is a contemporary English revision of the 1928 Prayer of Consecration. It takes elements from the 1928 Prayer of Consecration and rearranges them seemingly in the order that elements of the 1549 Canon are arranged. However, the 1928 Prayer of Consecration contains elements that are not a part of the 1549 Canon. These elements have not been omitted. Rather they have been so placed in the Long Form’s Prayer of Consecration that they undo the partial reforms of the 1549 Canon.

A number of additions have also been made to the 1928 Prayer of Consecration. They ostensibly come from the 1549 Canon but they are also found in the new English translation of the third edition of the The Roman Missal. They undo the reforms of the 1552-1662 Prayer of Consecration.

Among the changes that have been made in the 1928 Prayer of Consecration is that the versicle and response "The Lord be with you" "And with your spirit," with its association with the doctrines of the sacrifice of the Mass and Transubstantiation has been added to the Sursum Corda. The same versicle and response begins the Sursum Corda in the eucharistic prayers in the new English translation of the third edition of The Roman Missal. Anglo-Catholics and Roman Catholics believe that ordination confers upon the ordinand through the imposition of the bishop’s hands the special grace to change the substance of the bread and wine into the substance of Christ’s Body and Blood and to cause the addition or introduction of the property to spiritually regenerate human beings to the water in the baptismal font. This versicle and response is interpreted as a prayer for the Celebrant at Mass for the stirring-up of this special grace in the Celebrant.

The Benedictus with its implications of a substantive (or corporal) presence of Christ’s Body and Blood has also been added to the Sanctus. The text of the Sanctus-Benedictus used in the Prayer of Consecration in The Holy Communion, Long Form, is the same as that of the Sanctus-Benedictus used in the new English translation of the third edition of The Roman Missal.

The Epiclesis in Prayer of Consecration in The Holy Communion has been moved to a position before the Words of Institution. It is a contemporary English rendering of the Epiclesis from the 1928 Prayer of Consecration:

And now, O merciful Father; in your great goodness, we ask you to bless and sanctify, with your Word and Holy Spirit, these gifts of bread and wine, that we, receiving them according to your Son our Savior Jesus Christ’s holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood.

In the course of the Words of Institution the Celebrant may break the bread.

In the tradition of the Eastern Church the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine is viewed as consecrating them. In the tradition of the Western Church Christ the Word of God is regarded as consecrating through the repetition of his words in the Institutional Narrative. The Prayer of Consecration in The Holy Common, Long Form, admits both views of consecration of the bread and wine.

In the 1552, 1559, 1604, and 1662 Prayer Books the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine with its implications of a mutation of the elements and its affirmation of a substantive (or corporal) presence of Christ’s Body and Blood in the consecrated bread and wine is omitted. It is replaced with a petition that those receiving the bread and wine, in accordance with Christ's institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, might be partakers of Christ's Body and Blood. In the Prayer of Consecration in The Holy Communion, Long Form, this petition is combined with an invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the elements. The result is a much more realist view of the Sacrament than that of the 1662 Prayer Book. It admits the view that the substance of the bread and wine become the substance of the Christ’s Body and Blood.

The Oblation in the Prayer of Consecration in The Holy Communion, Long Form, has been moved to a position after the Epiclesis and the Words of Institution. It is the Oblation from the 1928 Prayer of Consecration, rendered into contemporary English:

And therefore, O Lord and heavenly Father, according to the institution of your dearly beloved Son our Savior Jesus Christ, we your humble servants celebrate and make here before your divine Majesty, with these holy gifts, which we now offer you, the memorial which your Son commanded us to make; remembering his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension and his promise to come again: and offering our wholehearted thanks to you for the countless benefits given to us by the same.

This Oblation is itself a departure from the theology given expression in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the Books that preceded it. The anamnesis in the Canon in the 1549 Prayer Book, "the memorial which thy son hath willed us to make, having in remembrance his blessed passion, mighty resurrection, and glorious ascension" is "so worded as to avoid any reference to any offering or sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ or of the bread and wine of the people's oblation."

The 1552, 1559, 1604, and 1662 Prayer Books remove from the Prayer of Consecration any suggestion of a oblation or sacrifice other than the "full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world" that Christ made upon the cross, "by his one oblation once offered." They omit the anamnesis altogether, and reword and move the petition for the acceptance of "this our Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving" and the offering of "ourself, our souls, and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto thee" to a position after the Communion, where they are combined with the petition that God accept the "bounden duty and service" of those present and made an alternative to a slightly revised version of the 1549 Prayer of Thanksgiving. This Prayer of Thanksgiving also serves as a second Prayer of Oblation.

The Oblation in the Prayer of Consecration in The Holy Communion, Long Form, contains an offering of the bread and wine with which those present will be making and celebrating in God's presence the memorial that Christ has commanded them to make. The language of the Oblation in the Prayer of Consecration parallels that of the oblation in the Roman Canon. With the exception of one clause, "the memorial which your Son commanded us to make," the words of the Prayer of Consecration are essentially the words of the Roman Canon. The Prayer of Consecration substitutes this clause for "an immaculate sacrifice, a holy sacrifice, an immaculate sacrifice, or host, the holy bread of eternal life, and, the cup of perpetual salvation" of the Roman Canon.

In offering the bread and wine with which those present will celebrate and make the memorial, the Celebrant in The Holy Communion, Long Form, is also offering the consecrated bread and wine to God. This offering of the consecrated bread and wine is open to a variety of interpretations, including the interpretation that what is being offered is a proprietary sacrifice as in the Medieval doctrine of the sacrifice of the Mass.

While the rubrics of The Holy Communion, Long Form, do not direct the Celebrant to offer the bread and wine after the Offertory before placing them on the table, they do not prohibit this practice. Both the offering of the bread and wine after the Offertory and the offering of the consecrated bread and wine in the Oblation of the Prayer of Consecration represent a significant departure from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the 1549, 1552, 1559, and 1604 Prayer Books that preceded it.

A petition for God’s acceptance of the congregation’s sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise follows the offering of the consecrated bread and wine. This petition is open to interpretation as not only referring to the memorial that those present are celebrating and making but also to the consecrated bread and wine that the Celebrant is offering.

Two fraction anthems are provided for optional use after the breaking of the bread if the bread is broken after the Lord’s Prayer. The first fraction anthem, “[Alleluia] Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast [Alleluia],” Bishop William Thompson, the chair of the Prayer Book and Common Worship Task Force, interprets as giving expression to the Lambeth doctrine of eucharistic sacrifice. It can also be interpreted as giving expression to the Medieval doctrine of the sacrifice of the Mass.

In my discussion of the second fraction anthem, ‘[Alleluia.] Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed, once for all upon the cross; therefore let us keep the feast. [Alleluia.]’ in my article, “The ACNA eucharistic rites on closer inspection,” I overlooked the clause, “once for all.” The inclusion of this clause does preclude the interpretation of this fraction anthem as giving expression to the belief that the priest reiterates or represents Christ’s sacrifice in the Eucharist.

The distribution of communion in The Holy Communion, Long Form, is preceded by a series of devotions—the Lord’s Prayer, the Prayer of Humble Access, and the Agnus Dei. Here the Communion Rite of The Holy Communion, Long Form, follows the pattern of the 1928 Communion Communion Rite. While the text of the Agnus Dei is not printed in the 1928 Communion Rite, rubrics of the service do permit a hymn before the distribution of communion. This has been interpreted as permission to sing the Agnus Dei at this point in the service. Musical settings of the Agnus Dei are printed in the 1940 Hymnal for use before the distribution of communion.

These devotions point to a substantive (or corporal) presence of Christ’s Body and Blood in the consecrated bread and wine. For this reason Archbishop Cranmer moved the Prayer of Humble Access and the Lord’s Prayer to a different position the 1552 Communion Service and omitted the Agnus Dei altogether.

The Prayer of Humble Access in Communion Rite of The Holy Communion. Long Form, is a contemporary language version of the Prayer of Humble Access in the 1928 Communion Service. As it is used in Communion Rite of The Holy Communion, Long Form, it is open to interpretation as giving expression to the doctrine that the Body and Blood of Christ are substantially, or corporally, present in the consecrated bread and wine.

In the Communion Rite of The Holy Form, Long Form the use of the Agnus Dei is optional. The rubrics permit another anthem to be sung in its place. As I noted in my previous article, this rubrical permission allows the use of anthem even more suggestive of the substantive (or corporal) presence of Christ’s Body and Blood in the consecrated bread and wine.

Two optional Invitations to Communion are printed in the Communion Rite of The Holy Communion, Long Form after the Agnus Dei. The first Invitation to Communion is the Sancte sanctis, “The gifts of God for the people of God,” which in the Eastern liturgies of the fourth century is associated with showing the Sacrament to the people. The Celebrant may add, “Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.”

The second Invitation to Communion is the words “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world; blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb,” which in the Anglican Missals is also associated with the showing the Sacrament to the people. It is used after the Agnus Dei and before the distribution of Communion in the Communion Rite in the new English translation of the third edition of the The Roman Missal. The people respond, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

The text, “The gifts of God for the people of God,” and in particular the text “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world; blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb,” may be used to invite the people to venerate the Sacrament.

In the Communion Rite of The Holy Communion, Long Form, a contemporary language version of the 1549 Words of Administration is used for the distribution of communion. The 1552 Words of Administration may be added to the 1549 Words of Administration. When the 1549 Words of Administration are used without the 1552 Words of Administration, they imply a substantive (or corporal) presence of Christ’s Body and Blood in the consecrated bread and wine. When used in combination with the 1552 Words of Administration, they become a prayer for the communicant.

The rubrics of The Holy Communion, Long Form, permit the Celebrant to “offer” a sentence of Scripture at the conclusion of the distribution of the communion. The form does not provide any sentences. The selection of this sentence is left to the discretion of the Celebrant who may use a sentence that appears to lend support to the view of the eucharistic celebration articulated in Canon 899 §1 of the Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church:

In it, Christ the Lord, through the ministry of the priest, offers himself, substantially present under the species of bread and wine, to God the Father and gives himself as spiritual food to the faithful united with his offering.

The Exhortation in The Holy Communion, Long Form, is an abbreviation, conflation, and revision of the First and Third Exhortations from the 1662 Prayer Book. What is particularly worthy of note is this change:

If you have come here today with a troubled conscience, and you need help and counsel, come to me, or to some other priest, and confess your sins; that you may receive godly counsel, direction, and absolution.

In the Second Exhortation in the 1662 Prayer Book, those who cannot quieten their own consciences but require further comfort or counsel are instructed:

Let him come to me, or to some other discreet and learned Minister of God’s Word, and open his grief; that by the ministry of God’s holy Word he may receive the benefit of absolution, with ghostly counsel and advice, to the quieting of his conscience, and avoiding of all scruples and doubtfulness.

In the version of the Exhortation in The Holy Communion, Long Form, the absolution offered is priestly absolution in the Anglo-Catholic and Roman Catholic sense of the term. In the 1662 Second Exhortation it is something altogether different: those who have a troubled conscience receive reassurance of God’s forgiveness of their sins from the Scriptures.

The General Instructions that follow The Holy Communion, Long Form, state:

If any consecrated Bread or Wine remains after the Communion, it may be reserved for future reception in a safe place set aside for that purpose. Apart from that which is to be reserved, the Priest or Deacon, and other communicants, shall reverently consume the remaining consecrated Bread and Wine either after the Ministration of Communion or after the Dismissal.

The General Instructions contains nothing like the 1662 Declaration on Kneeling:

Whereas it is ordained in this office for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, that the Communicants should receive the same kneeling; (which order is well meant, for a signification of our humble and grateful acknowledgement of the benefits of Christ therein given to all worthy Receivers, and for the avoiding of such profanation and disorder in the holy Communion, as might otherwise ensue;) yet, lest the same kneeling should by any persons, either out of ignorance and infirmity, or out of malice and obstinacy, be misconstrued and depraved: It is here declared, that thereby no Adoration is intended, or ought to be done, either unto the Sacramental Bread or Wine there bodily received, or unto any Corporal Presence of Christ's natural Flesh and Blood. For the Sacramental Bread and Wine remain still in their very natural substances, and therefore may not be adored; (for that were Idolatry, to be abhorred of all faithful Christians;) and the natural Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ are in Heaven, and not here; it being against the truth of Christ's natural Body to be at one time in more places than one.

Texts for Common Prayer (2013) does not contain a statement like that in the Church of England in South Africa’s Worship ’85 or Church Society’s An English Prayer Book (1994):

No doctrine or practices may be construed or based on the revised services ,apart from those authorized by the 39 Articles of Religion and/or the Book of Common Prayer of 1662.

The theology of The Holy Communion, Long Form, despite what may be described as some mitigating texts, is clearly not consistent with the Bible and the Anglican formularies. The Anglican Church in North America’s website boasts that the ACNA wholeheartedly affirms the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration. But is it quite evident from the theology of The Holy Communion, Long Form, this is really not the case.

Two ACNA bishops, Bishop Keith Ackerman and Bishop William Thompson, guided the task force that drafted the rite. Bishop Ackerman is the president of Forward in Faith North America and a leading advocate for a new Oxford Movement. Bishop Thompson is the bishop of the Diocese of Western Anglicans. The ACNA College of Bishops had input in the rite’s development and approved the final draft of the rite .

If the Anglican Church in North America does not drastically alter the eucharistic rites in Texts for Common Prayer (2013) or replace them altogether, North American Anglicans who are committed to the authority of the Bible and the Anglican formularies and who genuinely affirm the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration need to reassess and rethink their options. The hand writing is on the wall: they have no future in the Anglican Church in North America.

For a discussion of the doctrines of eucharistic sacrifice give expression in the new ACNA eucharistic rites, see the accompany article, “Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Bible, and the Anglican Formularies.”