The ANiC's 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English: A Liturgy in the Reformed Anglican Tradition—Part 4

By Robin G. Jordan

The focus of today’s article on improving the Anglican Network in Canada’s 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English is the two remaining sections of the service—the Lord’s Supper and After Communion.

1. Omit the rubric “all standing” before the Sursum Corda.

Rationale: Having passed the Peace, the congregation should be already standing. The rubric is extraneous. In some congregations the passing of the Peace can be quite exuberant. The singing of a hymn or song and the presentation of the people’s gifts can provide a smooth transition from the passing of the peace to the Sursum Corda. If the people’s gifts have already been presented, a hymn or song still may be appropriate. It can serve to prepare the congregation for what follows.

2. Alter the Sursum Corda and Preface as follows:

Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
It is right to give him thanks and praise

It is indeed right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you, Lord, holy Father, mighty Creator, and eternal God.

Rationale: This Sursum Corda and Preface come from An Australian Prayer Book (1978). They are closer to the original 1552 Sursum Corda and Preface than the Sursum Corda and Preface used in the 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English. They are also not awkwardly worded as is that Sursum Corda and Preface. They preserve a large measure of the eloquence of the 1552 Sursum Corda and Preface. Good liturgy is Scriptural, doctrinally-sound, and eloquent.

3. Add the rubric “The minister and people together” before the Sanctus.

Rationale: It is unclear whether the people are to join the minister in saying the Sanctus. It is also unclear in the 1552 Communion service. Where more recent Anglican service books offer rubrical direction, the 1552 Prayer Book relied upon established custom. It has become established custom in most Anglican churches for the congregation to sing or say the Sanctus. Therefore, there is no reason that this practice should not be formalized in the rubrics. One of the notable inconsistencies of the 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English is that in places it deviates from the 1552 Communion service and in places it strictly adheres to the service. There is no consistent pattern.

4. Omit the optional Benedictus after the Sanctus.

Rationale: Archbishop Cranmer omitted the Benedictus from the 1552 Communion service for a reason. It is open to interpretation as inferring a substantive presence of Christ in the communion elements. Such a belief is incompatible with the Eucharistic doctrine of 1552 Communion service. Even though the Benedictus is optional, it changes the doctrine of the service just as the amen that the Restoration bishops added after the Words of Institution in the 1662 revision of the service changes its doctrine.

5. Alter the rubric before the Prayer of Humble Access to “The minister, kneeling down at the Lord’s Table, says this prayer in the name of all who are to receive the communion (or all may join him in the prayer.)”

Rationale: It is not always practicable for a congregation to kneel in the setting in which the congregation is worshiping. If the congregation kneels on the floor, the older members of the congregation and other members of the congregation who have physical limitations will have difficulty not only kneeling but also struggling to their feet and may require assistance. They may injure themselves. The result may be a needless delay in the flow of the service. The church may be held liable for the injuries that members of the congregation sustain. Older members of the clergy may also have difficulty kneeling and struggling to their feet. The rubrical direction to kneel should be treated as a suggestion only. There is nothing wrong with the minister and the congregation standing throughout the Prayer of Humble Access, the commemoration of Christ’s Sacrifice, the petition to receive the inward grace of the sacrament with the outward sign, and the Words of Institution. Standing is both a Biblical and ancient posture for prayer.

6. Add the following rubric before the commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice.

The minister arranges the bread and wine so that they may be taken, and the bread broken in the sight of the people. Then the minister says

Rationale This rubric ensures that the minister will perform the Manual Acts in such a way that the the congregation can see them, either standing behind the Lord’s Table, facing the congregation, or standing at the north side of the Table as directed in the rubrics of the 1552 Communion service. The rubric rules out the eastward position which is incompatible with the doctrine of the 1552 Communion service.

7. Alter the words “all praise and glory belongs to you God our heavenly Father, because of your tender mercy…” to “Almighty God, our heavenly Father, in your tender mercy….”

Rationale: The recommended wording is closer to that of the 1552 Communion service. The commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice in the 1552 Communion service has no exordium at its beginning. The addition of an exordium at the beginning of the commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice can be traced to the Scottish Usager Non-Juror Communion Office of 1764.

If an exordium is desired, the following exordium is recommended.

All glory and praise to you, Almighty God, heavenly Father, for in your mercy you gave…

It is not awkwardly worded like the one in the 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English and flows smoothly off the tongue. As I previously noted, eloquence is an important characteristic of good liturgy.

8. Add the 1552 Words of Administration as an optional alternative to the 1559 Words of Administration.

Rationale: Without the 1552 Words of Administration the 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English is not the 1552 Communion service. It is the 1559 Communion service and is misnamed. The 1552 Words of Administration are in contemporary English:

Take and eat this, in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

Drink this in remembrance that Christ’s blood was shed for you, and be thankful

An Australian Prayer Book (1978) permits the use of the 1552 Words of Administration as optional Words of Administration in its contemporary English version of the 1662 Communion service. In the 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English the 1559 Words of Administration should be optional alternative.

9. Omit the second post-communion thanksgiving.

Rationale: The second post-communion thanksgiving is poorly-worded version of the second 1552 post-communion thanksgiving. “Vouchsafe” does not mean “promise.” It means to condescend. “Do assure us by your favor and goodness toward us….” Is a mistranslation of the second 1552 post-communion translation.

10. Alter the rubric before the Gloria in Excelsis to “Then may be sung or said this canticle. Other versions of this canticle may be used, or when appropriate another suitable hymn of praise.”

Rational: The Gloria in Excelsis is a hymn of praise and should be sung. This rubric permits the use of other settings of the Gloria in Excelsis, including metrical versions of the hymn. It also permits the substitution of another suitable hymn of praise for the Gloria in Excelsis. The practice of substituting a hymn or doxology for the Gloria in Excelsis was first introduced in the 1789 American Prayer Book. It permitted congregations on the American frontier, which had not mastered a setting of the Gloria in Excelsis to sing God’s praise at the conclusion of the Lord’s Supper as Jesus and the disciples did at the end of the Last Supper. It has been a feature of all subsequent revisions of the American Prayer Book. It has been adopted by a number of more recent Anglican service books, including the Church of Ireland’s 2004 Book of Common Prayer from which this alteration to the rubric before the Gloria in Excelsis was adapted. The alteration of the rubric may be justified on the grounds that it is an adaption of the service to the needs of the twenty-first century church.

11. Add the 1552 Declaration on Kneeling to the end of the service.

Rationale: The omission of the 1552 Declaration on Kneeling along with the 1552 Words of Administration belie the title of the service—the 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English.

At some time in the near future I hope to post the full text of the 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English with the recommendations and suggestions for its improvement incorporated into the service.