The ANiC's 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English: A Liturgy in the Reformed Anglican Tradition—Part 3

By Robin G. Jordan

I had originally thought that I would be able to tackle the three remaining sections of the Anglican Network in Canada’s 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English in one article. But these sections have so many rough spots that need ironing out that it may take two or three articles to come up with suitable recommendations and suggestions for their improvement. I had also hoped to include a brief explanation of the Eucharistic doctrine embodied in the 1552 Communion service. That explanation may require a separate article. The section that is the focus of today’s article is called in a number of more recent Anglican service books “The Preparation for the Lord’s Supper.”

1. Alter the phrase “seek to live in love and peace with your neighbors…” to “are reconciled and at peace at peace with your neighbors….”

Rationale: The Pocket Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary English (Clarendon Press, 1934) defines “charity” as “Christian good feeling” and uses “charity with” as an example of this use. The original passage in the 1552 Invitation is “…and be in love and charity with your neighbors.” The 1552 Invitation presupposes that the communicants are reconciled with their neighbors and at peace with them. It is not something that they are seeking to do as in the working group’s version of the Invitation. In the sixteenth century the English population lived in close proximity to one another in villages and towns or on the estates of the nobility and landed gentry. Neighbors were people with whom one had daily contact. In this sense sixteenth century England did not differ greatly from ancient Israel. Both were largely agrarian societies. Jesus expanded the meaning of neighbor in his Parable of the Good Samaritan. But to most people who are attending our services, neighbor is the guy in the apartment or house next door with whom they have little daily interaction. The people with whom they interact daily do not live in close proximity to them. The Invitation in The Lord’s Supper Form I in Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings embodies the spirit of the 1552 Invitation. At the same time it is geared to current realities.

You then who truly repent of your sins, and are reconciled with others, intending to lead a new life of joyful obedience to God, draw near with faith, and take this holy sacrament to strengthen and sustain you. But first, let us make a humble confession of our sins to Almighty God.

In drafting the foregoing Invitation the Archbishop of Sydney’s Liturgical Panel employed the principle of dynamic equivalence.  Dynamic equivalence is sense-for-sense translation rather than word-for-word translation. In translating older services into contemporary English and adapting them to the needs of the twenty-first century church, liturgical commissions must employ both approaches to translation if a service is to be understandable and edifying to North America’s unchurched population.

2. Add this rubric after the Invitation, “A pause for self-examination may be observed.”

Rationale: This provides the congregation with an opportunity to examine themselves and to confess particular sins and wrongdoings silently to God before the General Confession. In this way the words of the General Confession will be heart-felt.

3. Alter the rubric before the General Confession to “All say this General Confession.”

Rationale: This recognizes that the congregation may be worshiping in a setting which does not permit kneeling. The congregation may be using the sanctuary of another congregation, which does not have kneelers. It may be worshiping in rented space that it uses only on Sundays. In the twenty-first century directions to stand, kneel, or sit should be kept to a minimum and should be suggestions only.

Those drafting a service cannot assume that the congregation will be worshiping in the conventional setting of a twentieth century or older parish church. The Anglican Church in North America’s Prayer Book and Liturgy Task Force repeatedly makes this mistake in The Book of Common Prayer 2019.

4. Replace the version of the General Confession in the 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English with this version which is adapted from An Anglican Prayer Book (2008).

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all people, we acknowledge and confess all our sins and wickedness, which we have committed by thought, word, and deed against your divine Majesty, provoking most justly your righteous anger against us. We earnestly repent, and are deeply sorry for all our wrongdoings. The memory of them grieves us and the burden of them is too great for us to bear. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father. For your Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, forgive us all that is past and grant from this time forward we may serve and please you in the newness of life, to the honor and glory of your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rationale: The foregoing General Confession is closer to the original 1552 General Confession and rolls more smoothly off the tongue. The latter is an important consideration in composing set forms of prayer. It also avoids language suggestive of a proposal that the Puritans made at the Savoy Conference and which the Restoration bishops rejected. Evan Daniel draws attention to this proposal and the bishops’ response in The Prayer Book: Its History, Language, and Contents on page 318.

5. Alter the rubric before the Absolution to “The minister (or the bishop when present) stands and pronounces this Absolution.”

Rationale: The Absolution is not a prayer for God’s forgiveness but a declaration of God’s forgiveness.

6. Alter the rubric before the Words of Assurance to “The minister may say.”

Rationale: This makes the Words of Assurance optional. There will be occasions when it is desirable to omit the Words of Assurance such as when there is a baptism.

7. Add this rubric after the Words of Assurance, “All stand. The minister says.”

Rationale: This rubric will ensure that the congregation is standing when the minister begins the passing of the Peace.

8. Alter the wording, “The congregation greets one another with the words: The peace of Christ be with you” to “All greet one another saying, ‘Peace be with you,’ which they may accompany with a handclasp or similar action.”

Rationale: The passing of the Peace, it must be noted, is not a part of the 1552 Communion service. Its inclusion may be justified as an adaptation of the service to the twenty-first century church in which the exchange of such a greeting has become a common practice. The practice does not affect the doctrine of the 1552 Communion service. The passing of the Peace should be kept simple. The words should be easy to remember. The passing of the Peace should also enable members of the congregation to demonstrate by gesture as well as word that they are genuinely reconciled and at peace with one another.