Outline:
This is a look at the structure of our current Eucharist service with a look at both purpose and history. The focus will be on Rite I as it includes more elements.
Early Church:
- Starting out, Eucharist likely would have been a shared meal
- Teaching also would have been part of the time together
- Over time got formalized, shifted from meal to service
- Start to see traditional Eucharistic formula settle in the 4th Century
Holy Eucharist:
- Liturgy of the Word
- Comes from teaching in early church Eucharist meals
- Consistently liturgical reforms have culled extraneous elements
- Middle Ages- see this get larger and larger
- Partly due to de-emphasis on the Word
- "Less is More"
- In liturgy, don't need to prop up key elements
- Word needs to be focus, other elements can detract
- Reformation sought to focus on Word again
- Opening
- Begins the service
- Can also open with Exhortation or Penitential Order
- Includes:
- Acclimation
- Starts the service
- Crossing oneself marks our receiving God's blessing
- Collect of Purity
- Inherited by Cranmer from the medieval Sarum Rite
- Sarum Rite comes from Salisbury Cathedral
- Summary of the Law (optional)
- Also can use Ten Commandments
- Comes from Cranmer's use
- Song of Praise
- Kyrie is first option
- Oldest Eucharistic service music
- Know because it is the only one in Greek
- Collect of the Day
- Collect is a specific type of prayer
- Specific for each feast in the church calendar year
- General follows this pattern:
- Say something about God
- Ask God for something based on what we've said about God
- Proclaim the name the prayer is in (one or more aspects of the Trinity)
- Lessons
- Earliest and most important part of this liturgy
- Eucharist for Cranmer did not include Old Testament
- This is only because Eucharist followed Morning Prayer
- MP had an OT Reading
- Psalm
- Psalter is the first hymnal of the church
- Were written to be sung
- Gospel
- 4th Century started ceremonies around reading the Gospel
- Deacon traditionally reads
- In past, other places had Bishop or Celebrant read
- Reading of the Gospel represents presence of Christ in liturgy
- Sermon
- Part of teaching in Eucharistic meals for early church
- Reformation renewed focus
- Meant to illuminate meaning of Scripture
- Creed
- 1st Century used a creed for Eucharistic Prayer
- Nicene Creed
- 325 adopted at Council of Nicaea
- Amended in 381 at 1st Council of Constantinople
- Proper name is Creed of Nicaea-Constantinople
- Some reformers preferred Apostles' Creed
- Had issue with non-Scriptural language
- Easy to forget, tradition of church and Canon of Scripture settled at same time in early councils
- Used in Eucharist as reminder to people what the Faith they professed was
- Prayers of the People
- 2nd Century find after readings
- Role of the Deacon to lead
- Prayers "for the whole state of Christ's church and the world" version from Cranmer
- Confession of Sin
- Reformation added this for the whole congregation
- Before Reformation did have a form of this in the Litany
- In Middle Ages, priest and assistant would exchange mutual confession at altar
- Helps emphasize taking Communion in the right spirit
- Paul in 1 Cor. 11: 27-32
- Comfortable Words (Rite I option)
- BCP tradition
- Peace
- Jesus calls us to be at peace with our neighbor before going to the altar (Matthew 5:24)
- Offertory
- Gifts of wine and money brought up
- Fun Fact, only thing called for on altar is the white linen
- Debate on whether Corporal (white square) counts
- Use both for principle worship
- Holy Communion
- Sursum Corda
- Latin for "Lift up your hearts"
- Call for people to stand
- Thanksgiving
- Have a Proper Preface for each season
- Only used for feast days
- Sanctus (and Benedictus)
- Sanctus- Isaiah 6:1-3
- Benedictus- Matthew 21:9
- Added to Sanctus later
- Optional in BCP
- Institution Narrative
- Jesus' words at the Last Supper: "Do this in remembrance of me"
- Anamesis
- Remember what Jesus did and what it means for us
- Various versions:
- Oblation
- Means "offering"
- Various versions:
- Prayer I (BCP 335): "which we now offer unto thee..."
- Prayer A (BCP 363): "we offer you these gifts."
- Prayer B (BCP 369): "we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving..."
- Prayer D (BCP 374): "and offering to you..."
- Epiclesis
- Calling the Holy Spirit upon the gifts
- Also includes a supplication
- Reminder of the benefits we receive from the Spirit
- Various versions:
- Prayer I (BCP 335 with Supplication on 336): "vouchsafe to bless and sanctify, with thy Word and Holy Spirit..." and "here we offer unto thee, O Lord, our selves..."
- Prayer A (BCP 363): "Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people..." with supplication "Sanctify us also, that we may faithfully..."
- Prayer B (BCP 369): "We pray you, gracious God, to send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts that they may be..." with supplication "being sanctified by the Holy Spirit..."
- Prayer D (BCP 375): "Lord, we pray that in your goodness and mercy, your Holy Spirit may descend upon us, and upon these gifts..."
- Doxology
- Ends the prayer
- "By Him, and with Him, and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit..."
- Great Amen
- People give their assent to the prayer
- Meaning of "Amen"
- Real Presence believers
- Many say this is the moment that Jesus is present in the bread and wine
- Lord's Prayer
- Placed in the service around 400 A.D.
- Breaking of the Bread
- Practical liturgical action- need to do to share
- Prayer of Humble Access (Rite I option)
- Based on prayers for worth reception of Communion
- Constructed from various Biblical sources and other theological writings
- 1979 BCP took out a portion based on Thomas Aquinas' writings
- "The Gifts of God..."
- Comes from 4th Cent. eastern liturgies
- Optional addition comes from Cranmer
- Post-Communion Prayer
- Service originally ended after the Communion of the people
- Prayers added after 4th Cent. to give a sense of closing
- Blessing
- Not present before 4th Cent.
- Dismissal
- Done by Deacon
- Sending us out into the world
Eucharistic Prayers:
- Note: above shows the main structure
- Eucharistic Prayers will often have other components as well
- Memorial Acclimation is one
- Call and response about Jesus' death, Resurrection, and coming again
- Only in Rite II
- Different for Prayers A-D
- Most of our prayers follow West Syrian form listed above.
- Prayer C follows Roman-Alexandrian format
- Epiclesis (BCP 371): "Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be..."
- Gives the sense that Jesus is present from this point on in the prayer
- Instituation Narrative (BCP 371)
- Anamesis (BCP 371): "Remembering now..."
- Oblation (BCP 371): "and offering to you..."
- Rite I Prayer I comes from the Scottish Episcopal Church
- Been part of the American Prayer Book Tradition since the beginning
- Based on Cranmer's prayers
- Rite Prayer II is a shortened version of Prayer I
- Prayer A is based on Prayer I
- Prayer B is based on prayers by Hippolytus and The Most Rev. Frank Griswold
- Hippolytus is the attributed writer of The Apostolic Tradition
- Basis for some of the 20th Cent. Liturgical Movement
- Bishop Griswold is a former presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church
- Prayer D is based on the Liturgy of St. Basil
- Lots options to pray for others in this prayer