Burial of a Child (1928 BCP)

Burial of a Child (1928 BCP) is the child-specific funeral form in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer. It stands within the larger Burial of the Dead office, but it changes the tone and scriptural emphasis for the death of a child: Christ's resurrection remains the foundation, yet the rite places special weight on the Lord's welcome of little children, the shepherding care of God, and the Church's prayer for mourners.

Place in the Prayer Book

The office appears after the ordinary Burial of the Dead and the form for burial at sea. The preceding burial rubric says that the office is appointed for "the faithful departed in Christ," while allowing the minister to use fitting prayers and devotions from the Prayer Book in other cases. That location matters. The child-burial form is not a separate sentimental appendix, but a pastoral adaptation of the Church's burial rite within the Occasional Offices (1928 BCP).

The order includes the minister's entrance sentences, Psalms 23 and 121 with Gloria Patri, a lesson from Matthew 18, prayers in church, a sentence at the grave from John 16, committal, an anthem from Revelation 7, and final prayers. Its doctrine is therefore carried by Scripture at each stage: resurrection, Christ's blessing of children, shepherding providence, humility before the kingdom, consolation in grief, and final heavenly rest.

Entrance Sentences

The first sentence is the same resurrection proclamation used in the ordinary Burial office. Before the service speaks about childhood, grief, or family sorrow, it begins with Christ's own words to Martha in John 11.

I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.

The next two sentences turn directly to children and to the shepherding imagery of Isaiah. The office does not ground comfort in vague innocence or in the emotions of the mourners. It grounds comfort in Christ's revealed will toward children and in the Lord's pastoral care for his flock.

Jesus called them unto him and said, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom.

Psalms and Gospel Lesson

The appointed psalms are Psalm 23 and Psalm 121. Psalm 23 gives the child's burial the language of the Good Shepherd: pasture, still waters, restoration, the valley of the shadow of death, and dwelling in the Lord's house. Psalm 121 gives the mourners the language of keeping: the Lord who made heaven and earth neither slumbers nor sleeps, and he preserves both going out and coming in.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.

The LORD shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in, from this time forth for evermore.

The lesson is from Matthew 18. Jesus places a child in the midst of the disciples, calls them to conversion and humility, and warns them not to despise "one of these little ones." In the burial rite, this lesson serves both comfort and correction: the child is received under Christ's regard, while the living are summoned to humility, repentance, and reverence before the kingdom of heaven.

Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Prayers for the Child and the Mourners

After the lesson, the rite moves through Kyrie, the Lord's Prayer, versicles, and prayers. The versicle "Blessed are the pure in heart" echoes the Beatitudes and leads into the first prayer, which asks the Church to believe steadfastly in God's keeping of the child.

O merciful Father, whose face the angels of thy little ones do always behold in heaven; Grant us stedfastly to believe that this thy child hath been taken into the safe keeping of thine eternal love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The second prayer asks that the living may be conformed to the "innocency and perfect faith" associated with children and finally stand with them before God. This is not Pelagian optimism about human nature. Read within the Prayer Book as a whole, it is a pastoral prayer addressed to the Father through Christ, asking grace for those who remain and interpreting childlike faith as a gift to be followed, not a natural achievement to be celebrated apart from grace.

At the grave, the office gives mourners the words of John 16: "Ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again." The rite names sorrow, but it does not leave sorrow in command. The promised future sight of Christ governs the grief of the present.

Committal and Heavenly Hope

The committal for a child is shorter than the ordinary committal, but it retains the same eschatological center: "sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life." It then adds the Aaronic blessing, applying the Lord's own blessing to the child at the grave.

In sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commit the body of this child to the ground.

The anthem following the committal comes from Revelation 7. Its imagery is especially apt for the burial of a child because it moves from loss and exposure to shelter, service, living waters, and the wiping away of tears by God himself.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

The final prayers entrust the child's soul to God's "neverfailing care and love" and ask comfort for those who mourn. The rite therefore holds together two pastoral needs that should not be separated: the child is commended to God, and the bereaved are placed under the consolation of divine mercy.

Anglican Theological Use

Burial of a Child shows how the 1928 BCP handles extreme grief without abandoning doctrinal clarity. It does not turn the funeral into a biography, an explanation of providence, or a speculation about hidden things. Instead, it gives the Church a disciplined order of prayer in which Scripture speaks before sentiment, and the promises of Christ shape the language of mourning.

Several Anglican convictions are especially clear:

• The resurrection of Christ is the first and controlling word at Christian burial.
• Children are spoken of under Christ's explicit welcome and blessing.
• The Psalter gives grief both tenderness and theological depth.
• The Church prays for confidence in God's keeping, rather than offering curiosity about what God has not revealed.
• The body is committed in resurrection hope, not discarded as though bodily life were unimportant.
• The mourners are not forgotten; they are commended to the Father of mercies and giver of all comfort.

For classical Anglican and Reformed Episcopal use, the office is a strong example of Prayer Book pastoral theology. It is evangelical in its dependence on Christ's promise, catholic in its ordered public prayer, and restrained in its refusal to say more than Scripture and the liturgy warrant.

See Also

• Book of Common Prayer (1928)
• Occasional Offices (1928 BCP)
• Burial of the Dead (1928 BCP)
• Baptism (1928 BCP)

External Links

• 1928 Book of Common Prayer at Justus Anglican