The Alternate Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion
In this fourth article of my series on A Modern Language Version of the Reformed Episcopal Book of Common Prayer , I examine the Alternative Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the Communion Office of the 2003 Reformed Episcopal BCP and its Modern Language Version. This form is substantially the Communion Office of the 1928 BCP from the General Intercession through the Exhortations with a number of additions and alterations.
In the Alternative Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal BCP’s Modern Language Version the Invitation to Lord’s Table from the 2003 Episcopal BCP is retained. In the rubric that precedes the General Intercession and which comes from the 1928 Communion Office the phrase “secret intercessions,” which in the Form for the Celebration of Holy Communion is replaced by “private intercessions” is retained. Why the Invitation to the Lord’s Table from 2003 Episcopal BCP and the phrase “secret intercessions” in the rubric preceding the General Intercession is retained in this form in the Modern Language Version and not in the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the Modern Language Version is anyone’s guess.
The same rubrics and texts for the General Intercession, the Exhortation, the Invitation, the Confession, the Absolution, the Comfortable Words, the Sursum Corda, the Preface, the Proper Prefaces, and the opening paragraph of the Prayer of Consecration are used in the Alternate Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion as are used in the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office and its Modern Language Version. The reader is referred to my discussion of these rubrics and texts in my article on the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion. The Confession from the Holy Communion, Order Two in Contemporary Language, from the Church of England’s Common Worship (2000) has been provided for comparison with the Confession in the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion and the Alternate Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the Modern Language Version.
Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all people, we acknowledge and lament our many sins and the wickedness we have committed time after time, by thought, word and deed against your divine majesty. We have provoked your righteous anger and your indignation against us.We earnestly repent, and are deeply sorry for these our wrongdoings; the memory of them weighs us down, the burden of them is too great for us to bear. Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father. For your Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that from this time forward we may always serve and please you in newness of life, to the honour and glory of your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Salutation has been prefixed to the Sursum Corda in the Alternate Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the Modern Language Version. To reiterate what I noted in my previous articles in this series to Anglo-Catholics and Roman Catholics the Salutation is more than a greeting or an introduction to a call to prayer but is a prayer for the priest, in which the congregation ask God to arouse the special grace given to the priest in ordination so that God will accept the offerings that the priest makes on the behalf of the people, at the Daily Offices, in the form of prayers and intercessions, and at the Mass, in the form of the representation or reiteration of Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross. This interpretation of Salutation is closely tied to the Medieval Catholic view of the sacerdotal character of the ministry of the priest who acts as an intermediary between the faithful and God, and is intimately associated with the Medieval Catholic doctrines of Baptismal Regeneration, Eucharistic Sacrifice and the Real Presence. This special grace is believed not only to infuse the water in the baptismal font with power to remove sin when the priest blesses the water but also to transmogrify the bread and wine of the Holy Communion into the substance of the body and blood of our Lord when the priest recites the Words of Institution over the elements. Having brought Christ into being in the bread and wine in this manner, the priest extinguishes Christ by eating the bread and drink the wine, thereby by repeating Christ’s death and sacrifice for the remission of sin for the living and the dead. Before consuming the elements priest elevates them for the faithful to gaze upon and worship.
The Benedictus has been added to the Sanctus in this form in the Modern Language Version as in the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the Modern Language Version. This, like the Invitation to the Lord’s Table and the Salutation prefixed to the Sursum Corda, is an addition to the 1928 Communion Office. The reader is also referred to my discussion of the Benedictus in my article on the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion.
The Prayer of Consecration in the Alternate Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal BCP and its Modern Language Version is the 1928 Prayer of Consecration, which is adapted from the 1764 Scottish Non-Juror Prayer of Consecration. In the Modern Language Version of the 1928 Prayer of Consecration a number of changes have been made in the wording of the prayer, which I did not examine in my article on the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion. While retaining “oblation” in the phrase “(by His one oblation of Himself once offered),” the Modern Language Version of the prayer substitutes “offering” for “oblation” in the next phrase, “a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, offering, and complete payment….” It also substitutes “payment” for “satisfaction.”
It is noteworthy that An Australian Prayer Book (1978), A Prayer Book for Australia (1995), and the Church of England’s Common Worship (2000) retain “oblation” in the first phrase and “oblation” and “satisfaction” in the second phrase. The Prayer Book of the Church of England in South Africa (1992) substitutes “by his one offering of himself, never to be repeated” for the first phrase and “a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice…” for the second phrase. The Church Society’s An English Prayer Book (1994) replaces the first phrase with “by his once and for all offering of himself” and the second phrase with “a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice…”; The Anglican Mission’s An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) retains “by his one oblation of Himself once offered” but substitutes “a full satisfaction, perfect self-offering and sufficient sacrifice…” for the second phrase.
This raises the question to what extent, if at all, the REC Standing Liturgical Communion studied how other more recent service books have translated these phrases into modern idiom. It appears to have adopted a “cut and paste” approach to rendering the Tudor English texts into contemporary English. A number of the Tudor English texts, when translated in this fashion, not only loose their eloquence but also the new wording changes their doctrine. With such texts a dynamic equivalency translation may be warranted in order to preserve their doctrine as well as make the most effective use of modern idiom.
While “required” is substituted for “bounden” in the Modern Language Version of the Sursum Coda, “bounden” is retained in the concluding paragraph of the Modern Language Version of the 1928 Prayer of Consecration in the Alternative Form of the Celebration of the Holy Communion. “Required” is also substituted for “bounden” in the Modern Language Version of the First Post-Communion Prayer—“the Prayer of Oblation”—in the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion. The decisions that the REC Standing Liturgical Commission made as to the retention or replacement of particular words in the Tudor English texts appear to be inconsistent and arbitrary. What principles guided the REC Standing Liturgical Commission in their translation of these texts into modern idiom is not discernable. In a number of ways their translation of the texts is reminiscent of the Prayer Book revision of the 1970s.
Implicit in the 1928 Prayer of Consecration is the doctrine of eucharistic sacrifice of the 1764 Scottish Non-Juror Prayer of Consecration upon which it is based. In the 1928 Prayer of Consecration and the 1764 Scottish Non-Juror Prayer of Consecration the Words of Institution precede the Oblation and the Invocation. The Oblation consists of an Anamnesis and an Oblation of the Bread and Wine—the Major Oblation. Thomas Deacon explains this doctrine of eucharistic sacrifice in his Comprehensive View. The priest, he writes:
“…does as Christ did...he next repeats our Saviour’s powerful words ‘This is my Body,’ ‘This is my Blood’ over the Bread and Cup. The effect of the words is that the Bread and Cup are made authoritative Representations or symbols of Christ’s crucified Body and of His Blood shed; and in consequence they are in a capacity of being offered to God as the great Christian Sacrifice....God accepts the Sacrifice and returns it to us again to feast upon, in order that we may be thereby partakers of all the benefits of our Saviour’s Death and Passion. The Bread and Cup become capable of conferring these benefits on the priest praying to God the Father to send the Holy’ Spirit upon them. The Bread and Cup are thereby made the Spiritual, Life-giving Body and Blood of Christ, in Power and Virtue.”
In the pre-Reformation Medieval Catholic doctrine of eucharistic sacrifice, the priest, having consecrated the Bread and Wine by the recitation of the Words of Institution over the elements and thereby transformed them into the Body and Blood of Christ, at the Major Oblation reiterated or represented Christ’s sacrifice for the remission of the sins of the living and the dead.
The 1549 Prayer of Consecration differs from the 1764 Scottish Non-Juror and 1928 Prayers of Consecration in that the Invocation precedes the Words of Institution and asks God to bless and sanctify the elements with the Holy Spirit and the Word. The Invocation in 1764 and 1928 Consecration Prayers ask God to bless and sanctify them with the Word and Holy Spirit, reversing the order, which also reflects the order of the Words of Institution and the Invocation in these prayers. The 1549 Consecration Prayer has no Oblation. The Anamnesis follows the Words of Institution and the “oblation of the Church” follows the Anamnesis. A rubric preceding the “oblation of the Church” directs the priest not to elevate the Bread and Wine or show them to the people, practices associated with the Major Oblation, the Medieval Catholic doctrine of eucharistic sacrifice, and the Medieval Catholic practice of eucharistic adoration.
Archbishop Cranmer sought assiduously to avoid any suggestion of eucharistic sacrifice in the 1549 Consecration Prayer, which is not the case in the 1764 Scottish Non-Juror and 1928 Consecration Prayers. Nor is it the case in the Consecration Prayer in the Alternative Form of the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office and its Modern Language Version. This represents a significant departure from the eucharistic theology of the 1963 Reformed Episcopal BCP and its predecessors, including the 1662 BCP, which reject any notion of sacrifice related to the Holy Communion beyond our sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise and our offering of ourselves, our souls and our bodies of the First Post-Communion Prayer of the 1662 BCP.
As in the 1928 Communion Office the Lord’s Prayer and the Prayer of Humble Access follow the Prayer of Consecration and precede the distribution of the Communion in the Alternate Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion. As in the 1928 Communion Office a Prologue is prefixed to the Lord’s Prayer. A rubric permitting a hymn follows the Prayer of Humble Access, except in the Modern Language Version.
The Agnus Dei follows the Prayer of Humble Access in the Alternate Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the Modern Language Version. A rubric permitting a hymn follows the Agnus Dei.
The placement of the Lord’s Prayer and the Prayer of Humble Access (and the Agnes Dei in the Modern Language Version) before the distribution of the Communion delay the actual reception of Communion and minister to the idea to an objective presence, which is why Archbishop Cranmer placed the Prayer of Humble Access after the Sanctus and the Lord’s Prayer after the distribution of the Communion in the 1552 Communion Office and dropped the Agnus Dei from that Communion Office. The latter had strong associations with the doctrine of Transubstantiation and the practice of eucharistic adoration.
A congregation that says or sings the Agnus Dei Sunday after Sunday or hears the priest say or the choir sing this devotion every Sunday is going to conclude that Christ is objectively and even substantively present in the eucharistic elements irrespective of what the rubrics say. The saying or singing of the Agnes Dei is a common practice in Anglo-Catholic congregations using the 1928 Communion Office and is associated with belief in the Real Presence and the doctrine of Transubstantiation and adoration of Christ present in the elements. Since the nineteenth century Anglo-Catholic congregations have used this devotion for that purpose in England and the United States. The printing of the Agnes Dei in the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion and the Alternative Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office’s Modern Language Version gives this practice the color of liturgical authorization.
The remainder of the Alternative Form of the Celebration of the Holy Communion in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office and its Modern Language Version is identical to 1928 Communion Office after the Prayer for Humble Access. As in the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion no provision is made for the singing of hymns, anthems, Psalms, canticles, and worship songs during the distribution of the Communion. The rubrics for consecration of additional Bread and Wine are the same as in the 1928 Communion Office. The result is the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office has two forms for the consecration of additional Bread and Wine, which does not make any sense. A rubric after the Blessing permits a hymn following the conclusion of the service.
The following rubrics follow the Alternate Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion.
GENERAL RUBRICS
¶ If any consecrated Bread or Wine remain, apart from that which may be required for the Communion of the sick, the Celebrant or Deacon and other communicants shall reverently eat or drink it, either after the Communion of the people or immediately after the dismissal.
¶ If among those who come to be partakers of the Holy Communion, the Minister shall know any to be an open and notorious evil liver, or to have done any wrong to his neighbours by word or deed, so that the congregation be thereby offended; he shall warn him, that he presume not to come to the Lord’s Table, until he have openly declared himself to have truly repented and amended his former evil life, that the congregation may thereby be satisfied; and that he has recompensed the parties to whom he has done wrong; or at least declare himself to be in full purpose so to do, as soon as he conveniently may.
¶ The same order shall the Minister use with those, between whom he perceives malice and hatred to reign; not permitting them to be partakers of the Lord’s Table, until he know them to be reconciled.
And if one of the parties, so at variance, be content to forgive from the bottom of his heart all that the other has trespassed against him, and to make amends for that wherein he himself has offended; and the other party will not be persuaded to a godly unity, but remain still in his frowardness and malice; the Minister in that case ought to admit the penitent person to the Holy Communion, and not him that is obstinate. Provided, That every Minister so repelling any, as is herein specified, shall be obliged to give an account of the same to the Ordinary, within fourteen days after, at the farthest.
¶ When the Minister gives warning for the celebration of the Holy Communion, he may read this Exhortation.
It is unclear whether these rubrics apply to both the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion and the Alternative Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion or the Alternative Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion only.
If these rubrics apply to both forms, it would appear that the 1662 Declaration on Kneeling applies only to the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion since it is printed after that form. The implication is staggering. Clergy who use the Alternative Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion are free to preach and teach that Christ is substantively present in the eucharistic elements and that the priest reiterates or represents Christ’s sacrifice for the remission of sins for the living and the dead in the Eucharist. If the 1662 Declaration on Kneeling applies to both forms, it should have been printed with the General Rubrics.
It is noteworthy that the first rubric makes provision for the Reservation of the Sacrament for the sick and the Ablutions at the Roman position after the Communion of the people as well as the Anglican position after the Blessing. The second and third rubrics retain archaic and unfamiliar language and the fourth rubric permits the use of an abbreviated version of the Warning of a Celebration of the Holy Communion. The first and fourth rubrics are not found in the 1928 Communion Office; the second and third rubrics are. No provision is made for Ante-Communion if there is no Communion, which is a useful option especially when a congregation contains a large number of unbaptized people, and for which a number of other more recent service books do make provision in recognition of its usefulness.
If the rubrics apply only to the Alternative Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion, my observation that the Form for the Celebration of the Holy Communion permits the communion of the wicked and makes no provision for the Ablutions stands.
In the Declaration of Principles that the Reformed Episcopal Church adopted on December 2, 1873, the REC condemned and rejected five erroneous and strange doctrines as contrary to God’s Word. They included that Christian Ministers are “priests” in another sense than that which all believers are “a royal priesthood”; that the Lord’s Table is an altar on which the oblations of the Body and Blood of Christ is offered anew to the Father; and that the Presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper is a presence in the elements of Bread and Wine.
The Order for the Administration of the Holy Communion in the 2003 Reformed Episcopal Book of Common Prayer and its Modern Language Version affirm in one form or another all three doctrines that the REC condemned and rejected in its Declaration of Principles in 1873. The 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office not only represents a serious departure from the eucharistic theology of the 1963 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office and its predecessors, including the 1662 Communion Service, but it also comprises a repudiation of the doctrinal position of the 1873 REC Declaration of Principles.
The 2003 Reformed Episcopal Communion Office shows how a denomination can within less than a generation succumb to what its founders regarded as false teaching and which they sought to leave behind them in the Protestant Episcopal Church. It is further evidence that North America has no Anglican jurisdiction that may be accurately described as Protestant, Reformed, and evangelical in character.
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