Collect for St. Peter's Day (1928 BCP)

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Collect for St. Peter's Day (1928 BCP) is the appointed collect for Saint Peter the Apostle on June 29 in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer. The prayer is not simply a commemoration of Peter's personal gifts. It asks that Christ's charge to Peter, "feed thy flock," may be continued in the Church through faithful preaching, pastoral oversight, obedient hearing, and the promised crown of glory.

Text of the Collect

O ALMIGHTY God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy Apostle Saint Peter many excellent gifts, and commandedst him earnestly to feed thy flock; Make, we beseech thee, all Bishops and Pastors diligently to preach thy holy Word, and the people obediently to follow the same, that they may receive the crown of everlasting glory; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[1]

The collect begins with divine gift before it names ecclesiastical office. Peter's "many excellent gifts" are given "by thy Son Jesus Christ," so the prayer treats apostolic ministry as Christ's work, not Peter's possession. The second clause, "commandedst him earnestly to feed thy flock," points directly to the risen Lord's charge in John 21. The petition then widens from Peter to "all Bishops and Pastors," asking that they preach the Word diligently and that the people follow it obediently. Its final hope, "the crown of everlasting glory," echoes apostolic exhortation about shepherding the flock under the chief Shepherd.

He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

[2]

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

[3]

Appointed Epistle and Gospel

The 1928 Epistle, Acts 12:1-11, does not present Peter as safely insulated from the Church's suffering. James is killed, Peter is imprisoned, and the Church prays without ceasing. The collect's concern for bishops, pastors, and people should be read against that background: apostolic witness is vulnerable, but the Lord remains able to deliver and preserve his servants.

Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

[4]

The Gospel, Matthew 16:13-19, gives the doctrinal center of the feast. Peter confesses Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God." The Church is built by Christ, not by an autonomous ecclesiastical office, and the keys are connected with confession, apostolic witness, and the ministry of binding and loosing.

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

[5]

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

[6]

Prayer Book History

The American 1928 form follows the inherited English collect with one important local note: the Standard Book restores the fuller "through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord" ending printed by the Society of Archbishop Justus comparative source as a 1928 reading. Historically, Procter and Frere place St. Peter's Day among the Reformation holy-day collects composed after the older saint-invocation collects could no longer be used as they stood.

When the Kalendar was reformed it was necessary to compose a considerable number of new Collects, since many of the old Collects were mainly prayers for the saints' intercession.

[7]

Then follows a series of Reformation Collects for the festivals of SS. Philip and James (which has also a new Epistle), of S. Barnabas (which has the Roman in place of the Sarum Gospel), of S. John Baptist (with a new Epistle), of S. Peter and of S. James.

[8]

The official Church of England 1662 text shows the same collect, Epistle, and Gospel in their English Prayer Book setting. The American 1928 book therefore receives the older Anglican proper while applying it in the American calendar as "Saint Peter the Apostle."

O Almighty God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy Apostle Saint Peter many excellent gifts, and commandedst him earnestly to feed thy flock: Make, we beseech thee, all Bishops and Pastors diligently to preach thy holy Word, and the people obediently to follow the same, that they may receive the crown of everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[9]

Theological Interpretation

M. F. Sadler's Anglican catechetical treatment is useful because it interprets Matthew 16 without isolating Peter from the confession of Christ or from the visible Church. The rock is the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; the Church is a visible body gathered by apostolic preaching and sacramental incorporation.

Yes; when He says, "Upon this rock (i. e., the belief that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God) I will build my Church."

[10]

By Christ, through the Holy Spirit. Were any men employed as instruments? Yes: the Apostles. By what were men called into the Church? By the preaching of the Apostles.

[11]

The collect's petition for "all Bishops and Pastors" also belongs under Christ's continuing shepherdhood. Sadler's language is explicitly ministerial but not independent: Christ remains the one Bishop and Pastor, while ordained ministers act under him in his name.

Yes; in the sense in which He is the one only Bishop, and the one only Pastor: but as there are Bishops and Pastors acting under Him in His name, in exercising oversight and pastoral care, so there are priests acting under Him.

[12]

Clause-by-Clause Reading

The address, "O ALMIGHTY God," places the feast under divine sovereignty. Peter's apostolic gifts, his confession, his deliverance from prison, and his pastoral commission are all gifts from God through Christ.

"Who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy Apostle Saint Peter many excellent gifts" gathers the appointed Gospel. Peter's confession is revealed by the Father, not by "flesh and blood." The collect therefore honors Peter by confessing grace first.

"And commandedst him earnestly to feed thy flock" connects the feast with John 21 and 1 Peter 5. Peter is restored after denial and made a shepherd under the chief Shepherd. The flock remains Christ's flock, not Peter's private possession.

"Make, we beseech thee, all Bishops and Pastors diligently to preach thy holy Word" turns commemoration into intercession. The feast becomes a prayer for the present ministry of the Church: bishops and pastors are to preach the Word, not merely preserve institutional continuity.

"And the people obediently to follow the same" completes the pastoral relation. The prayer does not ask for strong ministers and passive hearers, but for faithful preaching joined to obedient discipleship.

"That they may receive the crown of everlasting glory" joins the collect to 1 Peter 5. Pastors and people are ordered toward the appearing of the chief Shepherd, when faithful oversight and obedient following are crowned by God.

Use in Worship

In the 1928 BCP, St. Peter's Day is a fixed holy day on June 29. The collect may be used at Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Holy Communion according to the Prayer Book's calendar and rubrics. Its pastoral emphasis makes it especially suitable for intercession for bishops, clergy, preachers, and congregations, but the collect remains first of all a feast-day prayer: it remembers Peter by asking that Christ's word continue to govern the Church.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Collect for St. Peter's Day; Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, identified here as the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, "The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels," Saint Peter the Apostle [June 29], p. 244; 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book". Complete collect compared word for word with the Society of Archbishop Justus transcription. The Society of Archbishop Justus transcription's footnote marker after "through" was expanded to the Standard Book wording "through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord."
  2. ↑ John 21:17, Authorized Version; Wikisource, "Bible (King James)/John". This passage supplies the collect's phrase "feed thy flock" and was checked against the cited Wikisource transcription.
  3. ↑ 1 Peter 5:2-4, Authorized Version; Wikisource, "Bible (King James)/1 Peter". This passage directly supports the collect's pastoral language and its petition for "the crown of everlasting glory."
  4. ↑ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, "The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels," Saint Peter the Apostle [June 29], "For the Epistle. Acts xii. 1," p. 245; 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book". The transcription punctuation artifacts around "keep him" and "the people" were corrected from the Standard Book.
  5. ↑ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, "The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels," Saint Peter the Apostle [June 29], "The Gospel. St. Matthew xvi. 13," pp. 245-246; 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book". Quotation checked against the Standard Book PDF, PDF page indexes 251-252 / printed pp. 245-246.
  6. ↑ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, "The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels," Saint Peter the Apostle [June 29], "The Gospel. St. Matthew xvi. 13," p. 246; 1928 Common Prayer, "The 1928 Book of Common Prayer: The Standard Book". Quotation checked against the Standard Book PDF, PDF page index 252 / printed p. 246.
  7. ↑ Francis Procter and Walter Howard Frere, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer: With a Rationale of Its Offices, revised and rewritten edition (London: Macmillan and Co., 1907), chapter XIII, "The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels; and Proper Lessons for Sundays and Holy Days," p. 552 in the 1908 Macmillan impression; Project Canterbury transcription, "A New History of the Book of Common Prayer: Chapter 13".
  8. ↑ Francis Procter and Walter Howard Frere, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer, revised and rewritten edition (London: Macmillan and Co., 1907), chapter XIII, p. 552; Project Canterbury transcription, "A New History of the Book of Common Prayer: Chapter 13".
  9. ↑ Church of England, The Book of Common Prayer (1662), "Saint Peter's Day," official Church of England online text, collect for June 29; Church of England, "Saint Peter's Day". Quotation checked against the cited official page by HTTP retrieval during revision.
  10. ↑ Michael Ferrebee Sadler, The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction: Being the Church Catechism Expanded and Explained in Question and Answer, 3rd ed. (London: Bell and Daldy, 1872), section on "The Holy Catholic Church," p. 127; Internet Archive scan/text, The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction.
  11. ↑ Michael Ferrebee Sadler, The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction, 3rd ed. (London: Bell and Daldy, 1872), "The Holy Catholic Church," p. 137; Internet Archive scan/text, The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction.
  12. ↑ Michael Ferrebee Sadler, The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction, 3rd ed. (London: Bell and Daldy, 1872), section on Christ's priesthood and ministry, p. 63; Internet Archive scan/text, The Church Teacher's Manual of Christian Instruction. Punctuation and line breaks normalized.

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