Ritual Conformity Part 4

31. Or this Psalm, _Jubilate Deo_, &c.

32. Then shall be sung or said the Apostles' Creed by the Minister and the people, standing: except only such days as the Creed of Saint _Athanasius_ is appointed to be read. I believe, &c.

When the Name of the Lord JESUS is p.r.o.nounced, the inclination of the head should not be neglected, nor superseded by any other gesture; it being the ancient English usage, directed by the 18th Canon to be continued as the accustomed form of due and lowly reverence to the Holy Name.

33. And after that, these Prayers following, all devoutly kneeling; the Minister first p.r.o.nouncing with a loud voice, The Lord, &c.

The mutual salutation is to be said, both Priest and people standing; the people kneeling down while the Priest says, 'Let us pray.'

34. Then the Minister, Clerks, and people, shall say the Lord's Prayer with a loud voice.

35. Then the Priest standing up shall say, O Lord, shew, &c.

36. Then shall follow three Collects; the first of the Day, which shall be the same that is appointed at the Communion; the second for Peace; the third for Grace to live well. And the two last Collects shall never alter, but daily be said at Morning Prayer throughout all the Year, as followeth; all kneeling.

The number of Collects is fixed at three, as a general rule, to which exceptions are made by other rubrics, as in Lent and Advent, &c. If the Minister uses the discretion of saying, after the Collects of Morning or Evening Prayer, one of the six Collects provided at the end of the Order of Holy Communion, it is proper to say it before the two invariable Collects.

A comparison of other rubrics in the Prayer-Book shews that the words 'all kneeling,' often apply to the congregation only, to the exclusion of the Minister; and as the universal rule up to 1662 was that the officiant, if a Priest, should stand for the Versicles and Collects, it is probable that such is the interpretation of this direction, especially as it is absent from the corresponding place at Evening Prayer.

37. In Quires and Places where they sing, here followeth the Anthem. The expression 'Quires and Places where they sing,' does not at the present time exclude village churches; but the anthem (suggesting part-music) may in such churches be replaced by the ordinary hymn.

38. Then these five Prayers following are to be read here, except when the Litany is read; and then only the two last are to be read, as they are there placed.

The 'two last' of these prayers are not to be read at Morning Prayer on Litany days, inasmuch as they are then read the Litany, instead of at Morning Prayer.

39. Here endeth the Order of Morning Prayer throughout the Year.

THE ORDER FOR

EVENING PRAYER,

DAILY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

See notes on the Rubrics of Morning Prayer for the corresponding Rubrics of Evening Prayer.

40. At the beginning of Evening Prayer the Minister shall read with a loud voice some one or more of these Sentences of the Scriptures that follow. And then he shall say that which is written after the said Sentences.

41. A general Confession to be said of the whole Congregation after the Minister, all kneeling.

42. The Absolution, or Remission of sins, to be p.r.o.nounced by the Priest alone, standing; the people still kneeling.

43. Then the Minister shall kneel, and say the Lord's Prayer; the people also kneeling, and repeating it with him.

44. Then likewise he shall say, O Lord, open, &c.

45. Here all standing up, the Priest shall say, Glory be, &c.

46. Then shall be said or sung the Psalms in order as they are appointed. Then a Lesson of the Old Testament, as is appointed.

And after that, _Magnificat_ (or the Song of the blessed Virgin _Mary_) in English, as followeth.

47. Or else this Psalm; except it be on the Nineteenth Day of the Month, when it is read in the ordinary Course of the Psalms.

48. Then a Lesson of the New Testament, as it is appointed. And after that, _Nunc dimittis_ (or the Song of _Symeon_) in English, as followeth.

49. Or else this Psalm; except it be on the Twelfth Day of the Month.

When Evening Prayer is said once only in the day, it is better never to drop the _Magnificat_ or _Nunc Dimittis_. When Evening Prayer is said twice on the same day, it seems proper not to drop the _Magnificat_ at the first service (representing the ancient Evensong or Vespers, of which _Magnificat_ was an invariable part); and, similarly, not to drop the _Nunc Dimittis_ at the second service (representing the other component of Evening Prayer, viz.

the ancient Compline, at which that Canticle was invariably used), so that in any case one of the Gospel Canticles should be always used.

50. Then shall be said or sung the Apostles' Creed by the Minister and the people, standing.

51. And after that, these Prayers following, all devoutly kneeling; the Minister first p.r.o.nouncing with a loud voice. The Lord, &c.

52. Then the Minister, Clerks, and people, shall say the Lord's Prayer with a loud voice.

53. Then the Priest standing up shall say, O Lord, shew, &c.

54. Then shall follow three Collects; the first of the Day; the second for Peace; the third for Aid against all Perils, as hereafter followeth: which two last Collects shall be daily said at Evening Prayer without alteration.

55. In Quires and Places where they sing, here followeth the Anthem.

56. Here endeth the Order of Evening Prayer throughout the Year.

AT MORNING PRAYER.

57. Upon these Feasts; _Christmas-Day_, the _Epiphany_ Saint _Matthias_, _Easter-Day_, _Ascension-Day_, _Whit-Sunday_, Saint _John Baptist_, Saint _James_ Saint _Bartholomew_, Saint _Matthew_, Saint _Simon_ and Saint _Jude_, Saint _Andrew_, and upon _Trinity-Sunday_, shall be sung or said at Morning Prayer, instead of the Apostles' Creed, this Confession of our Christian Faith, commonly called The Creed of Saint _Athanasius_, by the Minister and people standing.

The Athanasian Creed being a Psalm or Hymn, as well as a Confession of Faith, may properly be recited antiphonally as a Psalm, and turning eastward as a Creed.

THE LITANY.

58. Here followeth the LITANY, or General Supplication, to be sung or said after Morning Prayer upon _Sundays_, _Wednesdays_, and _Fridays_ and at other times when it shall be commanded by the Ordinary.

There is no direction in this rubric, as to the place where the Litany is sung or said; but it is clear from the rubrics of the Commination Service, that it must be distinct from the 'Reading Pew,' or from the place usually occupied by the Minister during Morning and Evening Prayer. From the old Injunctions we learn that it was to be 'in the midst of the church;' in most churches below the chancel-steps. The Minister may exercise his discretion in using a special desk.

In the Injunctions of 1547 and 1559, and in the Communion Office of the Prayer-Book of 1549, the Litany was enjoined to be sung immediately before the Communion. Our present rubric does not insist upon the connexion with the Communion.

The liberty of using it as a separate service, and of combining it with a sermon, or with other services than Morning Prayer, is recognized and confirmed by the Convocations of Canterbury and York, in their report upon which the Act of Uniformity Amendment Act 1872 was framed, enacting the same.

Each of the four opening invocations should be separately sung or said by the people, after it has been completely sung or said by the person officiating. The same should be done with the concluding invocations, 'Son of G.o.d' &c., and with the lesser Litany preceding the Lord's Prayer.

59. Then shall the Priest, and the people with him, say the Lord's Prayer.

60. Here endeth the LITANY.