Bishop Cosin's Conditions for Unity

Upon reading this passage from Bishop Cosin (found in Kenneth Hylson-Smith's book High Churchmanship in the Church of England), I thought I'd post this here at the Hackney Hub.  I am rewording it a bit and proposing that it serve as a statement of belief or purpose for High Churchmen.

I would like to hear the opinions of the readers of this blog.

“We that profess the Catholic Faith and Religion in the Church of England do not agree with the Roman Catholics in any thing whereunto they now endeavour to convert us… If the Roman Catholics would make the essence of their Church (as we do ours) to consist in these following points, we are at accord with them in the reception and believing of:

1. All the two and twenty canonical books of the Old Testament, and the twenty-seven of the New, as the only foundation and perfect rule of our faith.

2. All the apostolical and ancient Creeds, especially those which are commonly called the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Creed of St. Athanasius; all which are clearly deduced out of Scripture.

3. All the decrees of faith and doctrine set forth, as well in the first four General Councils, as in all other Councils, which those first four approved and confirmed, and in the fifth and sixth General Councils besides (than which we find no more to be General), and in all the following Councils that be thereunto agreeable, and in all the anathemas and condemnations given out by those Councils against heretics, for the defence of the Catholic Faith.

4. The unanimous and general consent of the ancient Catholic Fathers and the universal Church of Christ in the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, and the collection of all necessary matters of Faith from them during the first six hundred years, and downwards to our own days.

5. In acknowledgment of the Bishop of Rome, if he would rule and be ruled by the ancient canons of the Church, to be the Patriarch of the West, by right of ecclesiastical and imperial constitution, in such places where the kings and governors of those places had received him, and found it behooveful for them to make use of his jurisdiction, without any necessary dependence upon him by divine right.

6. In the reception and use of the two blessed Sacraments of our Saviour; in the Confirmation of those persons that are to be strengthened in their Christian Faith, by prayer and imposition of hands, according to the examples of the holy Apostles and ancient Bishops of the Catholic Church; in the public and solemn benediction of persons that are to be joined together in Holy Matrimony; in public or private absolution of penitent sinners; in the consecrating of Bishops, and the ordaining of Priests and Deacons, for the service of God in His Church by a lawful succession; and in visiting the sick, by praying for them, and administering the Blessed Sacrament to them, together with a final absolution of them from their repented sins.

7. In commemorating at the Eucharist the Sacrifice of Christ’s Body and Blood once truly offered for us.

8. In acknowledging his sacramental, spiritual, true, and real Presence there to the souls of all them that come faithfully and devoutly to receive Him according to His own institution in that Holy Sacrament.

9. In giving thanks to God for them that are departed out of this life in the true Faith of Christ’s Catholic Church; and in praying to God, that they may have a joyful resurrection, and a perfect consummation of bliss, both in their bodies and souls, in His eternal kingdom of glory.

10. In the historical and moderate use of painted and true stories, either for memory or ornament, where there is no danger to have the abused or worshipped with religious honour.

11. In the use of indulgences, or abating the rigour of the canons imposed upon offenders, according to their repentance, and their want of ability to undergo them.

12. In the administration of the two Sacraments, and other rites of the Church, with ceremonies of decency and order, according to the precept of the Apostle, and free practice of the ancient Christians.

13. In observing such Holy days and times of fasting as were in use in the first ages of the Church, or afterwards received upon just grounds, by public or lawful authority.

14. Finally, in the reception of all ecclesiastical constitutions and canons made for the ordering of our Church; or others which are not repugnant either to the Word of God, or the power of kings, or the laws established by right authority in any nation."

Reflecting on the Prayer Book: To Serve the Lord with a Quiet Mind

[The first in a series of reflections on the Prayer Book this year.]

GRANT, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


The Collect for the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, read by laymen in place of the Absolution in the Daily Offices, reflects the comforting nature of the Book of Common Prayer for the faithful believer.  The prayer begs that the Lord grant his people “pardon and peace” to the end that they may be “cleansed from all their sins” and subsequently serve Him “with a quiet mind.”  What does it mean to serve the Lord with a quiet mind?  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers several meanings of the adjective quiet in the English language, among which could include, calm, gentle, still, or secluded.  However, perhaps the best definition in the context of this prayer is the sentiment of being “free from noise or uproar.”  The Lord extends to us in peace through the grace of forgiveness to be loosed from our sins that bind us.  The “uproar” we often feel upon pondering our own weakness is the burden of guilt.  Through the merits of Christ on the Cross, the “uproar” of our burdened souls can be cured and, through Him, we can obtain the peace we most deeply desire.  The only thing that we must do is to reach out to Him, in faith, and by His grace, to receive the benefits of His Sacrifice for us, and thereby receiving the peace we desire.

Prayer for Rulers

Based on the "Collect for the Queen" in the 1662 BCP


O LORD our heavenly Father, the high and mighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, the only Ruler of rulers, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth; Most heartily we beseech thee with thy favour to behold our Ruler on earth, ________; and so replenish him with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that he may always incline to thy will, and walk in thy way. Endue him plenteously with heavenly gifts; grant him in health and wealth long to live; strengthen him that he may overcome all his enemies; and finally, after this life, he may attain everlasting joy and felicity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rethinking Sunday Services

Some thoughts on Sunday worship...

Most of you will be familiar with the sort of liturgy found in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.  Along with most modern liturgies, it is based upon Dix's idea of liturgical shape.  There is an introductory rite, Gloria, collect of the day, readings, sermon, creed, prayers of the people, peace, offertory, prayer of consecration, communion, post-communion prayer, dismissal, roughly, with some local variations, etc.  This shape has been adopted by most Christian denominations, the exception being churches like the Reformed Episcopal Church, who have resisted the "liturgical peer pressure" on most Protestant denominations.  In addition to this modern liturgical shape, the Anglican Communion has had a major shift from being a Word-based faith to a symbol-based faith in the last two hundred years.  As you may or may not be aware, the typical Anglican service before the 1860's was Morning Prayer, followed by the Litany, and the Ante-Communion Service (Communion was celebrated at most once a month).  There was little ceremonial action other than perscribed by the Prayer Book (which in these services was mostly sitting, standing, etc.).  The meat of the service was the reading of the Scripture and the expounding of the same in the sermon.  In those times, there could have been up to nine readings from the Scriptures during a service.  There were the two readings from the Table of Lessons for the Daily Office, usually a chapter each, the Psalms from the Psalter, from one to five depending on the day and length of each, and the Epistle and Gospel of the day, usually shorter than the Office readings.  In addition to the readings, the Liturgy is saturated with Scripture; most of the versicles and responses are taken from Scripture. 


I've come to realize that, we, Episcopalians, are very much versed in the art of liturgy and the "mechanics" of public worship.  Only an Episcopalian would know what an aspergillum is or that the liturgical color for Gaudete Sunday is rose.  However, if you ask him to recite the Scriptures, you will find that he is not thoroughly familiar with God's Word.  Perhaps it is time to reconsider the ceremonial complexity of our services in modern Anglicanism.  Perhaps it is time to shed our rituals for a simpler service in accordance with the simplicity of the Prayer Book.  The Lord says, "Thy Word is truth," yet we know not the Words of life as they are contained in the Scriptures.  It is time for the Episcopalian to know and love the Word of God.

An (Episcopal) Evangelical Eucharistic Prayer?

Phillip Wainwright at the Barnabas Project has revealed a "loophole" in the 1979 BCP which might allow for a more Evangelical Eucharistic Prayer to be used in the Sunday Liturgy.  Essentially, the Evangelical complaint with the main Eucharistic prayers is their wording which implies a notion of Eucharistic Sacrifice.  While I am not opposed to a mild commemorative sacrifice in the Eucharist, I know that Evangelicals are opposed to this.  Phillip offers advice on how to write your own Eucharistic prayers.  I wanted to work the 1662 liturgy into this structure in the 1979 BCP, albeit a bit of a stretch of the rubrics.


Phillip describes his interpretation the rubrics:


"For those willing to be thoughtful in their encounter with the rubrics, here’s something I’ve done pretty consistently over the last fifteen years or so: use the eucharistic prayer on p 402 of the Prayer Book. This prayer is designed for use when using the Order for Communion on p 400, but there’s no rubric that prohibits its use in a regular service. The rubric concerning the eucharistic prayer in Rite II says ‘Alternative forms will be found on page 367 and following’ and this prayer follows p 367, even if at a distance."


First, let me quote Phillip, who offers a rationale for using this prayer:


"First, it uses the word ‘bring’ instead of ‘offer’ when indicating the elements. To say that the elements are brought can hardly mislead anyone. It’s true that they are described as ‘gifts’, but since the prayer immediately preceding these words is left to the discretion of the celebrant, they can easily be referred to in that prayer as God’s gifts, which will remove any ambiguity... Second, it refers to I Corinthians 11.26 in saying that in doing this ‘we show forth the sacrifice of His death’. Third, the language of sacrifice is firmly linked to our offering of ourselves rather than our observing the rite: ‘Make us a living sacrifice of praise’."


As I mentioned earlier in the post, after reading Phillip's post, I got the idea to see if the rubrics would permit substitution from other texts.  While they don't specifically permit this, they always say something to the effect of, "using these or similar words," thus allowing the celebrant some freedom in the choice of language. The text does perscribe that the Sursum Corda and Sanctus be used in their 1979 forms thus obligating the use of the Benedictus qui venit.  Likewise, the rubrics provide (and do not allow alternative wording) the forms for the Words of Institution and some material after it.  


A note on the format, everything in brackets is taken from Common Worship Order Two, the contemporary language edition of the 1662 BCP.  It doesn't work perfectly but it's a start, maybe someone else can improve on it.

In making Eucharist, the Celebrant uses one of the Eucharistic Prayers from Rite One or Rite Two, or one of the following forms

Celebrant    The Lord be with you.

People        And also with you.

Celebrant    Lift up your hearts.

People        We lift them to the Lord.

Celebrant    Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People        It is right to give him thanks and praise.

[It is indeed right, it is our duty and our joy, at all times and in all places to give you thanks and praise, holy Father, heavenly King, almighty and eternal God]

The Celebrant gives thanks to God the Father for his work in creation and his revelation of himself to his people;

Recalls before God, when appropriate, the particular occasion being celebrated;

Incorporates or adapts the Proper Preface of the Day, if desired.

If the Sanctus is to be included, it is introduced with these or similar words

And so we join the saints and angels in proclaiming your glory, as we sing (say),

[Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we proclaim your great and glorious name, for ever praising you, and saying/singing:]

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who, in your tender mercy, gave your only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption; who made there by his one oblation of himself once offered a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; he instituted, and in his holy gospel commanded us to continue, a perpetual memory of his precious death until he comes again.]

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts. Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.

On the night he was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, he took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. By means of this holy bread and cup, we show forth the sacrifice of his death, and proclaims his resurrection, until he comes again.

Gather us by this Holy Communion into one body in your Son Jesus Christ. Make us a living sacrifice of praise.

By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever.

AMEN.

The Third Sunday of Advent

[This starts a new series here.  I will be posting the lectionary texts from the Revised Common Lectionary, highlighting the portions of the Bible which are omitted and offering the texts from the 1928 BCP for comparison.]

BCP 1979

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

 2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

 3To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

 4And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

 5And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

 6But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

 7For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

 8For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

 9And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.

 10I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

 11For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

 16Rejoice evermore.

 17Pray without ceasing.

 18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

 19Quench not the Spirit.

 20Despise not prophesyings.

 21Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

 22Abstain from all appearance of evil.

 23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 24Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

John 1:6-8,19-28

6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

 7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

 9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

 10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

 11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

 15John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

 16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

 18No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

 19And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

 20And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

 21And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

 22Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

 23He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

 24And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

 25And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

 26John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

 27He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

 28These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Collect

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

BCP 1928

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

LET a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.  But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgement: yea, I judge not mine own self.  For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified; but he that judgeth me is the Lord.  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every man have praise of God.

S. Matthew 11. 2-10

NOW when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?  Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.  And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind?  But what went ye out for to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  But what went ye out for to see? a prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he, of whom it is written,

     Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,

     Which shall prepare thy way before thee.

THE COLLECT

O LORD Jesu Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare the way before thee: Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.  Amen.

The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today the Church celebrates the Conception of the Blessed Virgin  Mary.  It is a "black letter" day in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, meaning that it has no proper Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, as a "red letter" day would get.  The American 1928 BCP did not retain the black letter days so it does not occur in the Protestant Episcopal Church calendar.

In contrast with the Church of Rome, our Church does not celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.  It is important to note that our Church maintains the original title and spirit of the feast over the medieval accretions included in the Roman Liturgy for this feast.  It is also interesting to note that many notable Roman theologians denied the Immaculate Conception, such as Thomas Aquinas and the Dominican Order, yet that opinion has been made dogma by the Roman Church.  The Immaculate Conception intends to distort true Marian veneration, which our Church plainly rejects.  The true spirit of Marian veneration is the veneration of Christ.  To worship the Virgin is to insult the Virgin in an attempt to rob her Son of the worship due to Him.  Our Lady does not accept invocations in her name but instead points us to the blessed Name of Christ.  We should not fumble with beads in order to gain the favor of Mary but devote ourselves in prayer and the Scriptures to glorify God in Christ.  It is a slap in the face of the "pure Virgin" as the BCP titles her to invoke her in prayer or sing praises to her name.  Humble Mary prefers that we lift our eyes to the Lord in prayer and fasting in imitation of her holy example.  How did the woman who uttered these words, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word, (St. Luke 1:38)" come to be called the "Queen of Heaven"?

A theology of Mary which centers on Mary is not a Marian theology at all.  The Blessed Virgin Mary, through her life and witness, exhorts us to worship Christ alone as our Lord and Savior of our souls.