Opening Sentences in Anglican Morning and Evening Prayer

Opening Sentences in Anglican Morning and Evening Prayer are the short passages of Scripture read at the beginning of the daily offices in the Book of Common Prayer tradition. In classic Anglican use they introduce the worshipper to a pattern of repentance, confession, absolution, praise, psalmody, and hearing of Scripture. The term "sentence" here means a scriptural saying or passage, not a judicial penalty. Their role is liturgical and theological: the gathered congregation begins common prayer by first hearing the Word of God.

Place in the Office

In the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the minister begins both Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer by reading one or more of the appointed sentences. These precede the exhortation, the general confession, and the absolution. Their position gives them a threshold function. Before the congregation says the confession or joins in the psalms and canticles, it hears Scripture summoning it to repentance and trust in divine mercy.

The sentences are not themselves a prayer, hymn, or declaration of forgiveness. They are biblical texts used to frame the act of worship. In parish use they can be read plainly, without ceremony, but they carry significant weight because they are the first public words of the office. In this respect they differ from later opening hymns or informal greetings sometimes used in Anglican services. The office begins not with commentary by the officiant, but with a scriptural summons addressed to the people.

Theological Themes

The classic sentences emphasize penitence, contrition, conversion, and hope in God. Some stress the seriousness of sin and the need to turn from evil; others emphasize the Lord's mercy toward those who repent. This balance is characteristic of historic Anglicanism, in which confession is neither a merely private act nor a despairing one. The congregation is called to acknowledge sin truthfully while approaching God as one who forgives.

The opening sentences also show the close relation between Scripture and prayer in Anglican worship. The daily office is not simply a sequence of devotional texts; it is ordered around a dialogue in which God speaks through Scripture and the Church responds in confession, praise, intercession, and thanksgiving. By placing Scripture before the confession, the Prayer Book gives the confession an objective ground. The people confess because they have first been addressed by the Word, not merely because the service requires a ritual act.

This pattern also shapes the pastoral character of the office. The sentences help worshippers move from ordinary concerns into a disciplined form of common prayer. They do not require an elaborate introduction, and they do not depend on the personality of the officiant. Their repeated use can form a stable spiritual vocabulary for daily repentance and renewed obedience.

Historical Development and Use

The penitential opening of Morning and Evening Prayer is especially associated with the English Prayer Book tradition after the first generation of Reformation revision. The 1552 book gave the daily offices a more fixed penitential beginning, and the structure was retained in the later English books, including the 1662 Prayer Book. This development reflected the Reformation emphasis on vernacular Scripture, congregational participation, and the regular public confession of sin.

Later Anglican prayer books have adapted the practice in different ways. Some retain the classic sentences substantially unchanged. Others provide seasonal or thematic alternatives, simplify the exhortation, or allow a more flexible opening rite. Even where the exact texts differ, the underlying principle remains recognizable: Anglican daily prayer commonly begins by placing the congregation under the authority and consolation of Scripture.

The opening sentences therefore occupy a small but important place in Prayer Book spirituality. They are brief, but they establish the tone of the office and connect the worship of the Church with the biblical call to repentance, faith, and praise.

References

• Book of Common Prayer (1552), Orders for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer.
• Book of Common Prayer (1662), Orders for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer.
• Marion J. Hatchett, Commentary on the American Prayer Book.