Proper Prefaces (1928 BCP)
Proper Prefaces (1928 BCP) are the seasonal and festal insertions appointed in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer order for Holy Communion. They stand between the fixed opening of the eucharistic preface and the Sanctus, giving the Church a particular reason for thanksgiving on Christmas, Epiphany, the Purification, the Annunciation, the Transfiguration, Easter, Ascension, Whitsunday, Trinity Sunday, and All Saints. In the 1928 rite they do not replace the common eucharistic thanksgiving; they interpret it according to the mystery or feast being kept.
Place in Holy Communion
The 1928 office places the Proper Preface after the Sursum Corda and the fixed opening thanksgiving:
It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God.
The rubric then makes the seasonal insertion conditional. If a proper text is appointed, it is used; otherwise the priest proceeds directly to the angelic hymn.
Here shall follow the Proper Preface, according to the time, if there be any specialty appointed; or else immediately shall be said or sung by the Priest,
This structure explains the name "proper." The thanksgiving is always due to the Father "at all times, and in all places"; the proper text names the particular saving work or ecclesial commemoration through which the Church gives thanks on that day. The prefaces therefore bind the church year to eucharistic praise without turning each feast into a separate rite.
Appointed Occasions
The 1928 list includes seven named prefaces plus one group preface shared by the Purification, Annunciation, and Transfiguration, and it provides an alternative form for Trinity Sunday. The Christmas preface states the Incarnation in creedal and soteriological terms:
Because thou didst give Jesus Christ, thine only Son, to be born as at this time for us; who, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, was made very man, of the substance of the Virgin Mary his mother; and that without spot of sin, to make us clean from all sin. Therefore with Angels, etc.
The wording joins the Nicene confession of the Word made flesh to the pastoral aim of Communion: Christ is "made very man" for us and "without spot of sin" to cleanse sinners. That gives Christmas a eucharistic force. The congregation does not only remember the birth of Christ; it gives thanks for the incarnate Son whose sinless humanity is the ground of redemption.
The Epiphany preface gives the feast a missionary and illuminative emphasis:
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who, in substance of our mortal flesh, manifested forth his glory; that he might bring us out of darkness into his own glorious light. Therefore with Angels, etc.
The Thanksgiving is still addressed to the Father through Christ, but the reason named is manifestation: glory appears "in substance of our mortal flesh." The clause also connects the feast with biblical language of light and deliverance, so that Epiphany is not mere commemoration of a past sign but praise for the revealed Christ who brings his people from darkness to light.
The Purification, Annunciation, and Transfiguration share a single 1928 preface. It gathers the Marian, incarnational, and transfiguration themes around the same mystery of divine light in Christ:
Because in the Mystery of the Word made flesh, thou hast caused a new light to shine in our hearts, to give the knowledge of thy glory in the face of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore with Angels, etc.
The allusion to "the face of thy Son" recalls 2 Corinthians 4:6 and makes the shared preface more than a convenience. The three occasions are read through one theological center: the incarnate Son reveals the Father's glory and gives inward illumination.
Easter gives the strongest example of a Proper Preface as a compressed doctrinal confession. It ties Resurrection to sacrifice, victory over death, and restored life:
But chiefly are we bound to praise thee for the glorious Resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord: for he is the very Paschal Lamb, which was offered for us, and hath taken away the sin of the world; who by his death hath destroyed death, and by his rising to life again hath restored to us everlasting life.
The Easter preface is especially important because it reads the Eucharist through Christ's completed paschal work. It praises the risen Lord as the Lamb "offered for us" and guards the Prayer Book's doctrine of sacrifice by locating redemption in Christ's death and resurrection, not in any repetition of Calvary.
Ascension and Whitsuntide extend that paschal pattern. The Ascension preface praises Christ who "ascended up into heaven, to prepare a place for us," while Whitsuntide praises the sending of the Holy Ghost, who teaches, leads into truth, and empowers apostolic preaching.[7] These two prefaces show the movement from Christ's exaltation to the Spirit's mission, so that eucharistic thanksgiving is both heavenly and apostolic.
Trinity Sunday has two forms. The first confesses unity of substance and equality of glory:
Who, with thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord, in Trinity of Persons and in Unity of Substance. For that which we believe of thy glory, O Father, the same we believe of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, without any difference of inequality.
The alternative form is shorter and more directly christological and pneumatological:
For the precious death and merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and for the sending to us of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; who are one with thee in thy Eternal Godhead.
Together the two Trinity forms show a Prayer Book habit: doctrinal precision and doxological economy belong together. The first form names "Trinity of Persons" and "Unity of Substance"; the second returns the confession to the economy of salvation, the death and merits of the Son and the sending of the Comforter.
All Saints closes the 1928 list by drawing Hebrews 12 into the Communion preface and by replacing the abbreviated "Therefore with Angels, etc." with the full transition into the Sanctus:
Who, in the multitude of thy saints, hast compassed us about with so great a cloud of witnesses that we, rejoicing in their fellowship, may run with patience the race that is set before us, and together with them may receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away.
All Saints therefore makes explicit what the Sanctus implies throughout: the earthly congregation praises God with "Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven."[11] The fellowship of saints is treated as encouragement to perseverance, not as a distraction from Christ's mediation.
Historical Development
The 1928 Proper Prefaces stand in continuity with earlier Anglican books but expand their range. The Church of England's official 1662 Holy Communion text gives five prefaces: Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Whitsunday, and Trinity Sunday. Its Easter form is substantially the same as the 1928 Easter text:
But chiefly are we bound to praise thee for the glorious Resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord: for he is the very Paschal Lamb, which was offered for us, and hath taken away the sin of the world; who by his death hath destroyed death, and by his rising to life again hath restored to us everlasting life.
The 1662 Trinity form also shows the older wording from which the 1928 form develops:
Who art one God, one Lord; not one only Person, but three Persons in one Substance. For that which we believe of the glory of the Father, the same we believe of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, without any difference or inequality.
The comparison is useful because it shows both continuity and American expansion. The 1928 book preserves the central Christmas-Easter-Ascension-Whitsunday-Trinity sequence, while adding or restoring prefaces for Epiphany, Purification/Annunciation/Transfiguration, and All Saints. That expansion gives more of the church year its own eucharistic thanksgiving while retaining the fixed Prayer Book shape.
J. Robert Wright, writing in a Project Canterbury essay on the first Prayer Book, places the proper prefaces inside the 1549 eucharistic structure and notes their limited number:
Only five proper prefaces are retained, those for Christmas and Whitsunday being freshly written. Although the Sanctus is introduced by the Sursum Corda, the 1549 "Canon" ... is introduced by a bidding from the priest or deacon to pray for the whole state of Christ's Church.
Wright's historical interpretation helps read the 1928 rite accurately. Proper Prefaces are not detachable ornaments; they belong to the eucharistic preface and Sanctus sequence. The 1928 expansion is therefore a development within inherited Anglican eucharistic order, not a different sacramental theology.
The Episcopal Church's glossary gives a concise institutional description of the same liturgical category:
Western eucharistic liturgies for certain major observances in the church year have typically included a variable portion of the preface which is included in the fixed or common portion of the preface. This variable preface reflects the theme or occasion of the day, and it is known as the proper preface.
That definition fits the 1928 use exactly. The common portion of the preface remains stable, while the variable portion reflects the "theme or occasion" of the feast. In this way, Anglican common prayer teaches doctrine through repetition and variation: what is always true of Christian thanksgiving is applied to the mysteries of Christ and the communion of saints.
Theological Use
The Proper Prefaces teach by concentration. Each is a short theological sentence, but each carries a large doctrinal claim: the Incarnation cleanses sinners; Christ manifests divine glory in mortal flesh; the Resurrection destroys death; the Ascension prepares a place for the faithful; the Spirit teaches and sends the Church; the Trinity is confessed without inequality; the saints bear witness to perseverance.
They also teach the logic of eucharistic thanksgiving. The Church gives thanks to the Father through the Son in the Holy Ghost, and the particular feast gives a reason for that thanksgiving. The language is therefore both doctrinal and devotional. It is doctrine prayed at the altar, not a lecture inserted into worship.
For parish catechesis, the Proper Prefaces can be read clause by clause before or after the principal feasts. Christmas explains why the sinless humanity of Christ matters for cleansing from sin. Easter links the Paschal Lamb, the removal of sin, the destruction of death, and everlasting life. Trinity Sunday teaches that Christian worship is irreducibly Trinitarian. All Saints teaches that heavenly fellowship strengthens earthly perseverance. Together, the prefaces show how the 1928 Communion rite receives the church year as an ordered school of thanksgiving.
See Also
- Book of Common Prayer (1928)
- Holy Communion (1928 BCP)
- Sursum Corda (1928 BCP)
- Sanctus (1928 BCP)
- Prayer of Consecration (1928 BCP)
References
- ↑ 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," opening of the eucharistic preface after the Sursum Corda; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 443-448. - ↑ 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 Proper Prefaces; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 449-452. - ↑ 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," Proper Preface for Christmas Day and seven days after; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 462-473. - ↑ 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," Proper Preface for the Epiphany and seven days after; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 474-485. - ↑ 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," Proper Preface for the Purification, Annunciation, and Transfiguration; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 486-494. - ↑ 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," Proper Preface for Easter Day and seven days after; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 495-504. - ↑ 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," Proper Prefaces for Ascension-day and Whitsunday; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 505-524. - ↑ 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," first Proper Preface for Trinity Sunday; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 525-533. - ↑ 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," alternative Proper Preface for Trinity Sunday; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 534-540. - ↑ 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," Proper Preface for All Saints' Day and seven days after; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 541-548. - ↑ 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," full Sanctus transition following the All Saints Proper Preface; Society of Archbishop Justus transcription, Holy Communion - The 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Local comparison:
sources/justus1928/HC.htm, lines 549-555. - ↑ Church of England, The Book of Common Prayer (1662), "The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion," Proper Preface upon Easter Day and seven days after; official Church of England worship text, The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion.
- ↑ Church of England, The Book of Common Prayer (1662), "The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion," Proper Preface upon the Feast of Trinity only; official Church of England worship text, The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion.
- ↑ J. Robert Wright, "The First Prayer Book of 1549," Project Canterbury AD 2002, adapted from an earlier essay published in But One Use, General Seminary Library exhibition catalogue commemorating the 450th anniversary of the Book of Common Prayer, discussion of the 1549 Eucharist, p. 7 in the PDF text; The First Prayer Book of 1549.
- ↑ The Episcopal Church, "Preface (Eucharistic)," glossary entry, first published 2012, official denominational glossary; Preface (Eucharistic).