Collect for Purity
The Collect for Purity is a short opening prayer traditionally used near the beginning of the Holy Communion liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer. It asks God, "unto whom all hearts are open," to cleanse the thoughts of worshippers by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that they may love God perfectly and worthily magnify his holy name. In Anglicanism, the collect has become one of the most recognizable prayers of the eucharistic rite, linking preparation for worship with the inward purification of the heart.
Historical background
The prayer is older than the English Reformation. Its Latin antecedent, commonly beginning Deus cui omne cor patet, was known in the medieval Western liturgical tradition and was associated with priestly preparation before Mass.[1] Thomas Cranmer incorporated an English version into the first Book of Common Prayer of 1549, placing it at the opening of the public Communion service rather than leaving it only as a private preparatory devotion.[2]
That placement was significant. In the 1549 book, the prayer stood at the beginning of the eucharistic action, before the Decalogue was added in later English revisions. The 1552 Prayer Book retained the collect and helped establish its enduring place in Anglican worship. Subsequent Prayer Books, including the 1662 English book and many provincial revisions, preserved the text or a closely related form. Its continuity across revisions made it a stable feature of Anglican liturgical memory, even where other parts of the Communion rite changed substantially.
Liturgical use
In the classical Prayer Book order, the Collect for Purity is said by the priest at the beginning of the Communion service. In the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, it follows the Lord's Prayer and precedes the Ten Commandments or summary of the law. In this position it functions as a corporate act of preparation, framing the congregation's approach to confession, hearing the law, receiving Scripture, and partaking of the sacrament.
Modern Anglican liturgies often retain the collect, though its exact location may vary. Some rites place it immediately after the opening acclamation; others allow it as an optional prayer of preparation. Contemporary-language versions usually keep the structure and theological emphasis of the traditional text while updating vocabulary. Because the collect is concise, scriptural in tone, and easily memorized, it is also used in private devotion and in non-eucharistic settings.
The prayer is closely associated with the Anglican preference for common, repeated texts that shape doctrine through worship. Its regular use teaches that participation in the liturgy is not merely outward attendance but requires the grace of God to order the affections, thoughts, and intentions of the faithful.
Theological themes
The Collect for Purity begins with the omniscience of God: all hearts are open, all desires known, and no secrets are hidden from him. This is not presented chiefly as a threat, but as the basis for honest worship. The congregation approaches God as already fully known. The prayer therefore resists both self-justification and superficial piety, asking instead for divine cleansing.
The central petition is for the purification of "the thoughts of our hearts" by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The phrase reflects a classical Christian understanding of grace: human beings do not prepare themselves for holy worship by unaided effort, but by God's action within them. The prayer's final purpose is doxological. The worshipper is cleansed in order to love God perfectly and magnify his holy name worthily, through Christ.
The collect also illustrates a characteristic Anglican integration of doctrine and liturgy. Its theology is Trinitarian, penitential, and sacramental without becoming polemical. It prepares for the Eucharist by joining self-examination to confidence in divine mercy. For this reason, the Collect for Purity has remained a durable expression of Anglican spirituality, especially in traditions shaped by the Book of Common Prayer and its descendants.