Alcuin Ceremonial for the 1928 American Prayer Book

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Alcuin Ceremonial for the 1928 American Prayer Book is a ceremonial adaptation of English Church ceremonial for the Holy Communion according to the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer. Prepared by the Rev. Brian Foos of St. Andrew's Church in Lake Almanor and available as a PDF, the guide presents an eastward-facing order of celebration, drawing principally on Percy Dearmer and the Alcuin Club while adjusting the older English pattern to the American rite.

The guide's stated aim is not to impose a universal ceremonial, but to preserve the inherited logic of English ceremonial where it can be used honestly within the 1928 American Prayer Book. It treats the Prayer Book rite as controlling, and uses ceremonial authorities as helps for ordering ministers, servers, books, incense, reverences, and processions.[1]

Sources and Character

The guide names the Alcuin Club's A Directory of Ceremonial (1921) and Ceremonial Pictured in Photographs (1924) as its principal ceremonial sources. It also uses Percy Dearmer's The Parson's Handbook for clarification and Massey H. Shepherd Jr.'s Before the Holy Table as an American ceremonial source. Shepherd's versus-populum arrangement is noted but not adopted; the ceremonial described in the guide retains an eastward-facing celebration.[2]

Its working principle is conservative adaptation: "change as little as necessary." Where the 1928 Prayer Book does not require alteration, the guide generally retains the older English ceremonial pattern. Practical American parish conditions are also acknowledged, including the possibility that Morning Prayer may lead directly into Holy Communion, taperers may also sing in the choir, a separate clerk may not be available, and one service book may contain both the Epistle and Gospel.[3]

Ministers and Servers

The full entrance procession is ordered from west to altar as:

Verger -> Cross-bearer -> Taperers -> Thurifer -> Subdeacon -> Deacon -> Priest

The verger precedes as far as the choir gate; the cross-bearer carries the processional cross; the taperers carry their candles; the thurifer carries the censer and boat; the clerk, when present, carries the service book; the subdeacon carries the Gospel Book; the deacon follows; and the priest comes last.[4]

When Morning Prayer immediately precedes Holy Communion, the full procession belongs at the beginning of Morning Prayer. At the beginning of the Communion office itself, the sacred ministers enter the sanctuary in their appointed order, followed by the thurifer with thurible and incense boat.[5]

Opening Ceremonial

At the introit the subdeacon, priest, and deacon form a line at the foot of the altar steps and bow. The thurifer stands behind them for the blessing of incense and the censing of the altar.[6]

The priest goes to the midst of the altar, rests his hands upon it, and either bows or kisses the mensa. The deacon receives the boat from the thurifer and puts incense into the censer. Where a separate Gospel Book is used, the subdeacon places it at the north corner of the altar; where only a service book is available, the subdeacon places it at the south corner for the opening prayers and then moves to the north end of the footpace during the censing.[7]

The altar is censed three times in the midst, three times toward the right, and three times toward the left. The deacon then censes the priest and returns the censer to the thurifer.[8]

Ante-Communion

The priest says the Lord's Prayer and Collect for Purity at the south side of the altar, in the traditional medieval English parish position noted by Dearmer. The deacon and subdeacon stand behind him in line, each on his own step, facing east.[9]

For the Commandments or Summary of the Law, the priest turns toward the people. The guide distinguishes the use of the full Decalogue, with the appointed response after each commandment, from the shorter use of the Summary of the Law with the Kyrie when the Decalogue is omitted.[10]

At the Collects, the priest turns to the people for "The Lord be with you," then turns back to the altar for "Let us pray" and says the Collect of the Day facing east. The deacon and subdeacon remain behind him in the normal eastward-facing line.[11]

Epistle and Gospel

At the Epistle, the priest and deacon sit at the sedilia, with the priest in the easternmost seat and the deacon immediately to the west. The subdeacon reads or sings the Epistle from the service book, then carries the book to the north side of the altar and prepares for the Gospel procession.[12]

The Gospel procession is led by the crucifer, followed by the taperers, the thurifer, the subdeacon with the book, and the deacon. The priest remains at the midst of the altar. At the Gospel station the deacon proclaims the Gospel, signing the book and himself, while the subdeacon holds the open book and the taperers stand on either side.[13]

After the Gospel, the ministers return to the sanctuary. The deacon gives the Gospel or service book to the subdeacon, who places it at the north side of the altar. The priest begins the Creed at the midst, with deacon and subdeacon on either side, all facing east.[14]

Sermon and Offertory

After the Creed, the priest and sacred ministers go to the sedilia for the sermon. If the priest preaches, the deacon and subdeacon assist with the removal of the chasuble and maniple, or with other customary arrangements.[15]

If an offertory procession is used, the gifts may be brought from a place away from the high altar in the order:

Crucifer -> Taperers -> Thurifer -> Server or servers carrying the gifts

At the Offertory proper, the priest reads the Offertory sentence facing west. The subdeacon receives the alms at the choir gate, carries them to the altar, and presents them to the priest. The priest then completes the preparation of the oblations, placing the paten on the corporal and preparing the chalice.[16]

The oblations and ministers may then be censed. The deacon censes the priest; the thurifer censes the deacon and subdeacon, and then the choir and people. The priest washes his hands at the south corner, assisted by the subdeacon and another server as required.[17]

Prayer for the Church Through Comfortable Words

For the Prayer for the Church, the priest turns to the people for the bidding, then turns east to continue the prayer. The deacon and subdeacon resume the usual eastward-facing line behind the priest.[18]

At the Short Exhortation the priest turns toward the people, with the deacon and subdeacon moving outward to his right and left. At the Confession, the priest turns back to the altar and kneels; the deacon and subdeacon kneel at his sides. The priest then rises for the Absolution and remains facing west for the Comfortable Words, while the deacon and subdeacon remain kneeling.[19]

Eucharistic Prayer and Communion

After the Comfortable Words, the priest remains facing the people for the Sursum Corda. The deacon and subdeacon rise and draw apart laterally, leaving the priest clear in the center. At "Let us give thanks unto our Lord God," the priest turns east toward the altar.[20]

At the Sanctus, the deacon comes to the priest's right and the subdeacon to his left, so that the three sacred ministers stand together before the altar. The guide treats the Creed, Sanctus, and Gloria in Excelsis as great corporate acts in which the ministers stand three abreast.[21]

For the Prayer of Consecration, Oblation, and Invocation, the priest stands at the midst of the altar facing east. The deacon stands directly behind the priest, and the subdeacon directly behind the deacon, each on his own step. The guide explicitly follows the order of the 1928 American Prayer Book through the consecration, oblation, and invocation.[22]

After the Prayer of Consecration, the Lord's Prayer is said with the priest still at the midst of the altar. The Prayer of Humble Access is then said kneeling, with the deacon at the priest's right and the subdeacon at his left. After the priest and sacred ministers have communicated, the priest administers the paten to the people and the deacon follows with the chalice.[23]

Post-Communion and Dismissal

After Communion, the priest places what remains of the consecrated elements reverently on the altar. The service book is placed at the south side, clear of the Blessed Sacrament. The priest, deacon, and subdeacon kneel for the Post-Communion Thanksgiving.[24]

At the Gloria in Excelsis, the priest remains at the midst of the altar facing east, with the deacon on his right and the subdeacon on his left. Following Dearmer, the guide directs profound bows at "we worship Thee," "Jesus Christ," "receive our prayer," and again at the conclusion, with the sign of the cross at the final words.[25]

For the Blessing, the priest does not turn squarely west with his back to the Blessed Sacrament. Instead, he moves to the north of the corporal and faces south, turning toward the people at the words "the blessing," raising his right hand, and making the sign of the cross over the people at "the blessing of God." The deacon and subdeacon kneel clear of the priest's movement.[26]

The ablutions follow the Blessing. The priest consumes what remains of the Blessed Sacrament, unless the parish custom includes reservation. The subdeacon ministers wine and water, while the deacon assists at the altar and folds the corporal and pall. The crucifer, taperers, and thurifer then take their places for the closing procession.[27]

The closing procession follows the order:

Crucifer -> Taperers -> Thurifer -> Subdeacon -> Deacon -> Priest, with the Verger preceding where one is used.

Before departing, the priest, deacon, and subdeacon bow or genuflect together before the altar.[28]

Ceremonial Principles

The guide concludes by reducing the ceremonial to five recurring spatial rules:

  • Eastward prayer: the ministers line up behind the priest.
  • When the priest faces the people: the center is cleared.
  • Creed, Sanctus, and Gloria: the sacred ministers stand three abreast.
  • Confession and Humble Access: the deacon and subdeacon kneel flanking the priest.
  • Different ministries: each minister goes to the proper station required by the action.

The master rule is to ask what the priest is doing next. If the next action is eastward prayer at the altar, the ministers normally return to the eastward-facing line: priest, deacon, subdeacon.[29]

Significance

The guide represents a form of Anglican ceremonial retrieval rather than a revision of the Prayer Book rite. It assumes that the 1928 American Prayer Book supplies the text and order of the Holy Communion, while the older English ceremonial tradition supplies a disciplined way of moving through that order with priest, deacon, subdeacon, and servers. Its practical notes also show an attempt to make Alcuin and Dearmer usable in ordinary parishes where staffing, books, altar dimensions, and the relation of Morning Prayer to Communion may vary.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Brian Foos, English Church Ceremonial According Principally to Percy Dearmer and the Alcuin Club, Adapted for the 1928 American Church Tradition, St. Andrew's Church in Lake Almanor, pp. 1-2; PDF.
  2. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 2.
  3. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 2.
  4. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 4.
  5. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 5.
  6. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 6.
  7. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 7.
  8. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 8.
  9. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 9.
  10. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, pp. 10-11.
  11. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 12.
  12. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, pp. 13-15.
  13. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, pp. 16-18.
  14. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 19.
  15. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 20.
  16. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, pp. 21-23.
  17. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 24.
  18. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 25.
  19. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, pp. 26-27.
  20. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 28.
  21. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, pp. 28, 35.
  22. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 29.
  23. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, pp. 29-30.
  24. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 30.
  25. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 30.
  26. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 31.
  27. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 32.
  28. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, p. 33.
  29. ↑ English Church Ceremonial, pp. 34-36.

External Links

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