General Confession in Holy Communion (1928 BCP)

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General Confession in Holy Communion (1928 BCP) is the corporate confession of sin said by intending communicants in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer order for Holy Communion. It follows the invitation, "Draw near with faith," and immediately precedes the priestly Absolution and the Comfortable Words.

The confession is not a general penitential devotion inserted at random. In the 1928 rite it belongs to the immediate preparation for reception of the Sacrament. The communicants have already heard the Commandments or Summary of the Law, the Collect, Epistle, Gospel, Creed, sermon, offertory, and Prayer for the Whole State of Christ's Church; they now kneel together, acknowledge sin before God, seek mercy for Christ's sake, and ask to serve him in newness of life.

Text in the 1928 Communion Office

The rubric limits the confession to those who are "minded to receive the Holy Communion." That placement makes the prayer both corporate and sacramental: it is said by the priest with the communicants, not merely about them.

Then shall this General Confession be made, by the Priest and all those who are minded to receive the Holy Communion, humbly kneeling.

[1]

The confession itself addresses God first as Father of Jesus Christ, creator, and judge. It then names sin as repeated, grievous, personal action "by thought, word, and deed," before turning to mercy, forgiveness, amendment, and God's glory.

ALMIGHTY God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, Judge of all men; We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, Which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, By thought, word, and deed, Against thy Divine Majesty, Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, And are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; The remembrance of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; For thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, Forgive us all that is past; And grant that we may ever hereafter Serve and please thee In newness of life, To the honour and glory of thy Name; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[2]

The sequence matters. The invitation has just required true repentance, charity with neighbours, intention to lead a new life, obedience to God's commandments, and faith in approaching the Sacrament. The confession gives those requirements a common voice.

YE who do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways; Draw near with faith, and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort; and make your humble confession to Almighty God, devoutly kneeling.

[3]

Repentance Before Communion

The 1928 confession interprets penitence as truthful self-accusation before God, not as a claim to have become worthy in oneself. "We acknowledge and bewail" is both doctrinal and pastoral: the communicants confess real sins before the Judge of all, but they do so to the "most merciful Father" and for the sake of Christ.

The New Testament gives the same pattern of confession and forgiveness. The communicant does not deny sin in order to approach Communion; he comes by truthful confession and by the mercy of God in Christ.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[4]

St. Paul's warning about unworthy reception also explains why the confession stands where it does. The Prayer Book does not isolate self-examination from the liturgy; it places examination, confession, absolution, and evangelical consolation in the Communion office itself.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

[5]

The confession is therefore evangelical rather than merely severe. It asks forgiveness "For thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake" and asks that the forgiven may "Serve and please" God "In newness of life." Pardon and amendment are held together: the communicants seek mercy for the past and grace for future obedience.

Historical Continuity

The 1928 text descends from the first English Prayer Book tradition. In 1549 the confession appeared after the consecration and before Communion, and its wording is already recognizably the same as the later Anglican form.

Then shall thys generall Confession bee made, in the name of al those that are minded to receive the holy Communion, either by one of them, or els by one of the ministers, or by the prieste himselfe, all kneeling humbly upon their knees.

[6]

The 1549 confession itself already contains the elements retained by 1928: God as Father of Jesus Christ, maker and judge; manifold sins by thought, word, and deed; sorrow, burden, mercy, forgiveness for Christ's sake, and newness of life.

ALMYGHTIE GOD father of oure Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all thynges, judge of all men, we knowlege and bewaile our manyfold synnes and wyckednes, which we from tyme to tyme, most grevously have committed, by thought, word and dede, agaynst thy divine maiestie.

[7]

The 1662 Church of England book retains the same confession in substantially the form inherited by later Anglican Communion offices. Its rubric differs from the 1928 American rubric by specifying that the confession is made "by one of the Ministers," but it preserves the same corporate kneeling and the same penitential text.

Then shall this general Confession be made, in the name of all those that are minded to receive the holy Communion, by one of the Ministers: both he and all the people kneeling humbly upon their knees and saying,

[8]

Francis Procter and Walter Howard Frere identify the confession as part of the inherited English preparation of communicants. Their history is especially useful because it explains both the source of the text and the liturgical purpose of its placement.

Three of the Exhortations mentioned above, together with the Confession, Absolution, and Comfortable Words that immediately follow, were derived from The Order of the Communion of 1548.

[9]

They also give a theological rationale for the confession's place after invitation and before absolution. The confession belongs to immediate preparation for the mysteries, so that penitence is answered by the Church's declaration of God's promises and by Scripture's words of comfort.

Hence, that all may come with clean hands and pure heart, this more immediate preparation contains an humble Confession, and an Absolution, in which the promises of God to the penitent are applied with the authority which He has given to His visible Church.

[10]

Clause-by-Clause Theology

The opening address, "Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," keeps judgment and mercy together. The communicants confess to the Creator and Judge, yet they name him through Jesus Christ. The prayer is therefore neither vague theism nor private guilt management; it is Christian repentance before the Father of the Son.

"We acknowledge and bewail" requires truthful speech. The confession does not allow sin to be minimized as weakness, accident, or religious embarrassment. "Manifold sins and wickedness" gathers many kinds of offense, while "from time to time" admits repeated sin rather than a single isolated failure.

"By thought, word, and deed" is a comprehensive moral inventory. The communicants confess inward disorder, spoken sin, and outward action. In the Communion setting this reaches back to the Law, Gospel, sermon, and intercession already heard, and forward to the reception of Christ's Body and Blood.

"The remembrance of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable" gives penitence emotional weight without making feeling the ground of forgiveness. The prayer's basis is stated instead in the petition "For thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake." Christ is not added after confession as a pious conclusion; he is the ground on which forgiveness is sought.

The final petition, "Serve and please thee In newness of life," prevents confession from becoming a ritualized apology with no change of life. It asks that forgiveness issue in obedience, holiness, and doxology: "To the honour and glory of thy Name."

Relation to Absolution and Comfortable Words

The next action in the 1928 rite is not another human speech about sin, but the priestly absolution. This answer to the confession declares forgiveness to those who repent and believe, then the Comfortable Words immediately place gospel promises before the congregation.

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those who with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto him; Have mercy upon you; pardon and deliver you from all your sins; confirm and strengthen you in all goodness; and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[11]

This sequence is a compact Anglican account of worthy Communion: repentance and charity are required; sin is confessed; forgiveness is proclaimed through God's promise; Scripture comforts the penitent; and the congregation then turns to the Sursum Corda and eucharistic praise. For catechesis, the confession can be taught phrase by phrase as the Prayer Book's school of repentance before Holy Communion.

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, "The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion," rubric before the General Confession; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. Quotation compared with local source sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 380-382.
  2. ↑ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, "The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion," General Confession; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. Quotation compared word for word with local source sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 383-394; HTML drop-cap styling and line wrapping normalized.
  3. ↑ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, "The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion," invitation before the General Confession; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. Quotation compared with local source sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 373-379.
  4. ↑ The Holy Bible, Authorized Version, 1 John 1:8-9; BibleGateway, 1 John 1:8-9, King James Version. This citation supports the confession's movement from acknowledged sin to divine forgiveness and cleansing.
  5. ↑ The Holy Bible, Authorized Version, 1 Corinthians 11:28; BibleGateway, 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, King James Version. This Scripture quotation supports the Communion office's requirement that those who receive do so penitently and discerningly.
  6. ↑ Church of England, The Book of Common Prayer (1549), "The Supper of the Lorde and the Holy Communion, commonly called the Masse," rubric before the General Confession; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Communion (1549). Quotation checked against the resolving Justus HTML source on 2026-07-18; early modern spelling retained, whitespace normalized.
  7. ↑ Church of England, The Book of Common Prayer (1549), "The Supper of the Lorde and the Holy Communion, commonly called the Masse," General Confession; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Communion (1549). Quotation checked against the resolving Justus HTML source on 2026-07-18; early modern spelling retained, punctuation and line breaks normalized.
  8. ↑ Church of England, The Book of Common Prayer (1662), "The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion," rubric before the General Confession; official Church of England online text, The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion. Quotation checked against the resolving official text on 2026-07-18.
  9. ↑ Francis Procter, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer, with a Rationale of Its Offices, revised and rewritten by Walter Howard Frere, London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1920, chapter XII, "Holy Communion," p. 485 in the Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer: Chapter XII, Holy Communion. Quotation checked against the resolving Justus HTML source and the Internet Archive bibliographic record, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer.
  10. ↑ Francis Procter, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer, with a Rationale of Its Offices, revised and rewritten by Walter Howard Frere, London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1920, chapter XII, "Holy Communion," p. 496 in the Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer: Chapter XII, Holy Communion. Quotation checked against the resolving Justus HTML source and the Internet Archive bibliographic record, A New History of the Book of Common Prayer.
  11. ↑ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Book of Common Prayer, Standard Book accepted in 1928, "The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion," Absolution after the General Confession; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. Quotation compared with local source sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 395-403.
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