Here follows the Saint Aelfric Customary for the Service of Holy Communion.

Choosing between the rites

The first decision, when planning a Communion service either individually or over the long-term, is which rite to use. The first rite is called the Anglican Standard Text, rightly so because it contains historic prayers that have comprised the classical Prayer Book pattern since 1549, albeit in its own new arrangement. Those concerned with precedent and the force of history will find no reason to deviate from this rite, except perhaps to borrow occasionally from the Renewed Ancient Text’s shorter Prayers of the People, for example. And so the first and primary recommendation is to use the Anglican Standard Text for all celebrations of Holy Communion, and (permitted by the rubrics) draw upon the Renewed Ancient Prayers of the People for especially short or non-feast-day services.

But according to this Customary’s other principle – for every option an appropriate use – the Renewed Ancient Text, complete with its modern abbreviated confession and its unique interpretation of the The Apostolic Tradition attributed to Hippolytus, ought to have its place. For those who wish to use it, the best times to do so are as follows:

  • From the first Sunday of Advent through the first Sunday of Epiphany (excluding the feasts of Saints Thomas, John, Stephen, and the Holy Innocents)
  • Ascension Day until the Eve of Pentecost
  • Feasts of our Lord and his relatives: The Presentation, St. Joseph, The Annunciation, The Visitation, Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Parents of St. Mary, The Transfiguration, The Virgin Mary, Holy Cross Day, Holy Michael and all Angels, and All Saints’ Day.

The rationale behind these appointments is that the Prayer of Consecration in the Renewed Ancient Text takes a broader scope of the gospel, prominently including the doctrine of the incarnation even to the point of naming the Virgin Mary herself. This makes it particularly appropriate for the above named seasons and feasts with a particular emphasis on the incarnation.

Besides the Anglican Standard and the Renewed Ancient Text, the rubrics of the 2019 Prayer Book also permit and provide for the re-ordering of the Communion liturgy to conform to the pattern of the 1662 Prayer Book (and any other classical prayer book such as the American 1928). This option, too, should be utilized by local churches at least occasionally to provide the congregation with exposure to the classical pattern of Anglican worship. The Day of Pentecost is the most appropriate day to do this, as that is the anniversary of the promulgation of the first Prayer Book. Other occasions include commemorations of Anglican divines, and especially the Martyrdom of King Charles I.

Devotions before Communion

The Altar Book being prepared for Anglican Liturgy Press contains vesting prayers and an excellent Office of Devotion, appropriate for use by the celebrant and the altar party before the beginning of the Communion service. To this, the following Occasional Prayers may be added:

  • #5 for the spirit of prayer
  • #97 preparation for personal prayer
  • #98 for the acceptance of prayer
  • #101 before the reading of scripture
  • #102 on Sundays
  • #103 preparation for public worship
  • #104 before receiving holy communion

Acclamation

The nine Acclamations in the Prayer Book are clearly marked as to their times of their use. A few clarifications may be in order:

  • The Nativity of St. John the Baptist may use the Advent Acclamation.
  • Other Saints’ Days should use the All Saints’ Day Acclamation.
  • Holy Michael and All Angels Day may use either the All Saints’ Day or the standard Trinity Acclamation.
  • Transfiguration Day may use the Epiphany Acclamation.
  • The Annunciation and the Visitation should use the Christmastide Acclamation.
  • Days of Optional Commemoration and “Other Occasions” should use the Acclamation of the season.

Collect for Purity

The celebrant should pray this facing the altar, or holy table. Modern custom calls for the congregation’s recitation of this prayer also, though prior tradition is that this was spoken by the priest only.

Appointed use of Penitential Rite

The standard two options are to use the Summary of the Law with the Kyrie or to use the Decalogue. The Summary of the Law & Kyrie are the default in the 2019 Prayer Book, though the Decalogue should be used throughout Advent and Lent except on major feast days, as well as on Ember Days and the Rogation Days. Other times to use the Decalogue include:

  • The Last Sunday of Epiphany
  • The Sunday after the Ascension
  • The Day of Pentecost (especially if using the 1662 Order)
  • The first Sunday of the month in July through October. This would include Propers 9 (or 8), 13 (or 14), 18 (or 17), 22 (or 21), and All Saints’ Sunday (Proper 26 or 27).

The rubrics permit more elaborate forms of a Penitential Rite, but they should only be used on special occasions for specific reasons.

Appointed use of the Gloria

The Gloria in excelsis Deo is to be omitted during Advent, Lent, Ember Days, Rogation Days, and other penitential occasions. In a liturgy with music, it is best replaced on these occasions with a hymn appointed for that season or occasion.

The Collect of the Day

In the classical Prayer Books there would sometimes before more than one Collect of the Day. The Collects for the first Sundays in Advent and Lent, for example, were to repeated throughout their respective seasons. The rubrics of the 2019 Prayer Book do not direct this, but this tradition may be observed with the rector or vicar’s consent.

Similarly, when a Major or Minor Feast is displaced by a Sunday, and cannot or will not be transferred to another day, the celebrant may read the Collect for the displaced day alongside the Collect of the Day. If this is to be done, it should be a regular practice throughout the year, and the preaching and instruction from the ministers on such days should at least acknowledge the use of this custom, otherwise these extra collects will needlessly clutter the liturgy.

The Lessons

After each lesson (even if from the Books called Apocrypha) the reader says “The Word of the Lord…” This distinguishes the Communion service from the Daily Office, emphasizing the focus on the voice of God through the liturgy.

The Psalm is not to be followed by the Gloria Patri. If read, it should be read responsively between the reader and the congregation; if sung or chanted, the congregation normally should be invited (and instructed how, if necessary) to participate.

Music may follow the Epistle lesson, as the traditional Gradual and Alleluia in Pre-Reformation tradition. Music should not follow the reading of the Gospel. Where a Gospel Procession is observed it should return to the altar in silence; if the gap of silence is too lengthy for the people then the procession ought to be shortened.

Appointed use of the Creed

The Nicene Creed is to be said on every Sunday and Major and Minor Feast Day, except for Trinity Sunday when the Creed of St. Athanasius is read instead. Optional Commemorations and other weekday occasions may omit the Creed.

The Prayers of the People

On weekdays or other times when a shorter liturgy is desirable, the Prayers of the People from the Renewed Ancient Text may replace those of the Anglican Standard Text.

The offering of additional prayers and thanksgivings by the congregation is encouraged in both rites. In the Anglican Standard Text, the people’s additions are to be added after the regular petitions have been read, whereas the Renewed Ancient Text permits both that and for individual prayers to be added between each petition. This latter arrangement works best with a small gathering of worshipers who are more likely to add their petitions after the appropriate bidding.

In both rites, the concluding prayer may be substituted for other appropriate Collects. The 1979 Prayer Book contained a list of several options, some of which can be found among Occasional Prayers #98–100.

  • Standard Prayer on BCP112/129 – every Sunday with rare exception
  • #98 For the Acceptance of Prayer – when the congregation’s prayers include spurious additions
  • #99 For the Acceptance of Prayer – on occasions of distress
  • #100 For the Answering of Prayer – on occasions of particular entreaty

The Comfortable Words

Although the rubrics permit “one or more” of the sentences to be read, the celebrant should read either all four or none of them. They form a coherent whole and should not be separated. The celebrant should give particular attention to the reading of the Comfortable Words at times that the doctrines of salvation are particularly in focus, such as during Advent, Lent, and Eastertide. However, as these are literally words of comfort, the congregation should hear them more often than miss them.

Appointed use of the Exhortation

The Exhortation is to be read at least on the First Sunday in Advent, the First Sunday in Lent, and on Trinity Sunday. The celebrant should have the text ready on any occasion, however, as it is helpful as an explanation when there are visitors who may be unfamiliar with Anglican theology and worship.

For pastoral reasons (such as low attendance on Thanksgiving weekend) the celebrant may defer the reading of the Exhortation to the following week in order that the greatest number of the congregation will hear it at least thrice annually. Also, whenever the Sacrament of Holy Communion is the subject of the sermon, the Exhortation should be read.

Appointed use of the Offertory Sentences

When the 1662 Order for Holy Communion is used, the celebrant should read all of the Communion sentences in full from the 1662 Prayer Book, at least once a year, such as on the Day of Pentecost. Through the rest of the year, the following rotation of the Communion Sentences in the 2019 Prayer Book should be used:

  • Acts 20:35: Epiphany 7, Proper 1, Proper 21, Various Occasions
  • Matthew 5:16: Epiphany 8, Proper 2, Proper 22, Optional Commemorations
  • Matthew 6:19-21: Epiphany Last, Proper 3, Proper 23
  • Matthew 7:21: Lent 1, Proper 4, Christ the King
  • 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: Lent 2, Proper 5, Proper 24
  • Galatians 6:10: Proper 6, Proper 25, Major and Minor Saints Days
  • Hebrews 6:10: Proper 7, Proper 26, Transfiguration Day
  • Hebrews 13:16: Presentation, Lent 3, Proper 8, Proper 27
  • 1 John 3:17: The Epiphany, Lent 4, Proper 9, Proper 28
  • Tobit 4:8-9: The Circumcision, Lent 5, Proper 10
  • Matthew 25:40: Christmas Day, Palm Sunday, Proper 11
  • Romans 10:14-15: Easter Week, Proper 12
  • Luke 10:2: Easter 2, Proper 13
  • Deuteronomy 16:16-17: Advent 1, Easter 3, Proper 14
  • Psalm 50:14: Advent 2, Epiphany 1, Easter 4, Proper 15
  • Psalm 96:8: Advent 3, Epiphany 2, Easter 5, Proper 16
  • Ephesians 5:2: Advent 4, Epiphany 3, Easter 6, Proper 17
  • Romans 12:1: Christmas Sunday, Epiphany 4, Ascension Day & Sunday, Proper 18
  • 2 Corinthians 8:9: Christmas 2, Epiphany 5, Pentecost, Proper 19
  • 1 Peter 2:9: Epiphany 6, Trinity Sunday, Proper 20

Most of this order is simply a rotation through the options, such that the congregation will hear the full variety of these verses at least twice a year. A few of them, however, have thematic matches to their appointed occasions.

Appointed use of the Proper Prefaces

The Prefaces and their use are clearly marked in the 2019 Prayer Book, and the celebrant should not deviate from these rubrics except on rare occasions for specific reasons. A few clarifications are in order:

  • The Preface “At Any Time” may be used on Sundays after Trinity, but are meant for weekday services.
  • The Preface “For Penitential Occasions” is meant for special weekday occasions, but may also be used on the First Sunday in Lent.

The Prayers of Consecration

Two paragraphs in the Anglican Standard Text are marked in the Prayer Book as optional. There are two considerations in addressing this choice: length of time, and English versus American tradition. A time-conscious celebrant may wish to omit them, but should be assured that this only “saves” about 30 seconds of time, so this is not a significant method of shortening the liturgy. As for tradition, the 1662 Prayer Book’s Communion prayers are much shorter than those in the American books (through 1928), and the optional material in the 2019 Book roughly reflect the additional material that is displaced or omitted in the English books. Thus, the celebrant is encouraged to make the following considerations:

  • When there are visitors who are new to Anglican theology and worship, include the optional paragraphs so that they hear a more full explication of our doctrine of Holy Communion.
  • When circumstances make managing the liturgy difficult (such as celebrating outdoors on a windy day), there should be no shame in choosing to omit these paragraphs.
  • Both paragraphs should be included or omitted together; choosing one but not the other is a disingenuous mix of false time saving and lack of confidence in our liturgical theology.

The Communion Hymn

It is preferred, in many churches, to sing during the administration of Holy Communion. This is both a joyful and solemn moment, however; the reception of the Sacrament must remain the primary focus through this time, just as there should be no secondary devotional distractions during the preaching of a sermon. The music, thus, when sung, ought to be songs or hymns particularly appropriate for Holy Communion, and should not exceed the length of time required to commune the congregation and complete the brief ablutions at the altar and credence table.

For much of the year, the chapter on Daily Hymnody in this Customary appoints a Communion on Thursday. If a survey through various Communion hymns is desired over the course of several months, these Thursday appointments may be selected for the liturgy on the nearest Sunday.

It may also be helpful to consider the Communion hymn from the perspective of the liturgical season. The hymn numbers provided are according to the hymnals Book of Common Praise 2017 and Magnify the Lord.

  • Advent: #266, 273, 277, 293
  • Christmas: #263, 291
  • Epiphany: #264, 274, 280
  • Lent: #267, 271, 272, 275, 288/289 (Holy Week), 290
  • Easter: #268, 276, 285, 286, 296 (Good Shepherd), 299
  • Ascension: #269, 287
  • Pentecost: #283
  • Trinitytide: #265, 270, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 284, 292, 294, 295, 297, 298

Communion Sentences

Only the Prayer Book of 1549 provided Communion Sentences, though before the Reformation each Mass had its own appointed sentence. The following is a recommended implementation of the rubric in the 2019 Prayer Book, favoring the list of sentences from the 1549 Book.

  • Advent I: The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. ROMANS 13:12
  • Advent II: And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. LUKE 6:47
  • Advent III: Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. LUKE 6:37
  • Advent IV: You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. LUKE 6:40
  • Christmas Day & Sunday: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people; that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. LUKE 1:68, 74b-75
  • The Circumcision & Christmas II: The Lord declared his salvation; his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations. PSALM 98:3
  • The Epiphany: Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. MATTHEW 2:2
  • Epiphany I: While you have light, believe in the light, that you may become son of light. JOHN 12:36
  • Epiphany II: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ROMANS 8:31b-32
  • Epiphany III: Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? ROMANS 8:33-34a
  • Epiphany IV: And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 CORINTHIANS 1:30-31
  • Epiphany V: For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. JOHN 6:55
  • Epiphany VI: This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. JOHN 6:58
  • Epiphany VII: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 1 CORINTHIANS 10:16-17
  • Epiphany VIII: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 CORINTHIANS 11:26
  • Last Sunday of Epiphany: Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. JOHN 6:54
  • Ash Wednesday & Lent I: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. MATTHEW 16:24
  • Lent II: But the one who endures to the end will be saved. MARK 13:13
  • Lent III: If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. JOHN 8:31b-32
  • Lent IV: See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you. JOHN 5:14
  • Lent V (Passion Sunday): Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. JOHN 14:21a
  • Palm Sunday: You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 CORINTHIANS 6:20
  • Maundy Thursday: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. JOHN 15:12
  • Easter Day: For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 CORINTHIANS 5:7b-8
  • Easter II: But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. JOHN 4:23a
  • Easter III: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. JOHN 14:23
  • Easter IV: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. JOHN 15:7
  • Easter V: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. 1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-17a
  • Easter VI (Rogation): Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. EPHESIANS 5:1-2
  • Ascension Day & Sunday: By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. JOHN 15:8
  • Pentecost: And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ACTS 2:42
  • Trinity Sunday: The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. HABAKKUK 2:20
  • Proper 3: For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. JOHN 6:55
  • Proper 4: This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. JOHN 6:58
  • Proper 5: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 1 CORINTHIANS 10:16-17
  • Proper 6: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 CORINTHIANS 11:26
  • Proper 7: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. MATTHEW 16:24
  • Proper 8: But the one who endures to the end will be saved. MARK 13:13
  • Proper 9: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people; that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. LUKE 1:68, 74b-75
  • Proper 10: Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. LUKE 6:37
  • Proper 11: You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. LUKE 6:40
  • Proper 12: And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. LUKE 6:47
  • Proper 13: But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. JOHN 4:23a
  • Proper 14: See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you. JOHN 5:14
  • Proper 15: If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. JOHN 8:31b-32
  • Proper 16: While you have light, believe in the light, that you may become son of light. JOHN 12:36
  • Proper 17: Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. JOHN 14:21a
  • Proper 18: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. JOHN 14:23
  • Proper 19: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. JOHN 15:7
  • Proper 20: By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. JOHN 15:8
  • Proper 21: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. JOHN 15:12
  • Proper 22: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ROMANS 8:31b-32
  • Proper 23: Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? ROMANS 8:33-34a
  • Proper 24: The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. ROMANS 13:12
  • Proper 25: And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 CORINTHIANS 1:30-31
  • Proper 26: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. 1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-17a
  • Proper 27: You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 CORINTHIANS 6:20
  • Proper 28: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. EPHESIANS 5:1-2
  • Proper 29 (Christ the King): Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. MARK 11:24
  • The Annunciation, Visitation, the Virgin Mary: All generations will call me blessed; for he that is holy has magnified me, and holy is his Name. LUKE 1:48b-49
  • All Saints’ Day & Major Saints’ days: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. MATTHEW 5:8-10
  • Minor Saints’ days & Optional Commemorations: Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. JOHN 6:54
  • Holy Matrimony: Indeed, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. May you see your children’s children, and may there be peace upon Israel. PSALM 128:5, 7
  • Burial & Commemoration of the Faithful Departed: Await your shepherd; he will give you everlasting rest, because he who will come at the end of the age is close at hand. Be ready for the rewards of the kingdom, because the eternal light will shine upon you for evermore. 2 ESDRAS 2:34b-35

Additional Blessings

The 2019 Prayer Book rubric allows for alternative blessings but provides none. There are modern resources wherein every Sunday can have its own unique blessing; this is excessive. It is the regular repetition of liturgy that gives it its staying power, and if the people hear a different blessing every week then its message will never sink into their hearts and minds. Thus the people should hear the classical Prayer Book blessing, as provided, the great majority of the time. That understood, occasional exceptions can then stand out for particular impact. Here are a few considerations.

The Aaronic Blessing

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you always. Amen.

From the Burial Rite

The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you always. Amen.

From the Daily Office

And now the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all evermore. Amen.

Solemn Blessing for Christmas Day

May Almighty God, who sent his Son to take our nature upon him, bless you in this holy season, scatter the darkness of sin, and brighten your heart with the light of his holiness. Amen.

May God, who sent his angels to proclaim the glad news of the Savior’s birth, fill you with joy, and make you heralds of the Gospel. Amen.

May God, who in the Word made flesh joined heaven to earth and earth to heaven, give you his peace and favor. Amen.

And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you for ever. Amen.

Solemn Blessing for Easter Day

May Almighty God, who has redeemed us and made us his children through the resurrection of his Son our Lord, bestow upon you the riches of his blessing. Amen.

May God, who through the water of baptism has raised us from sin into newness of life, make you holy and worthy to be united with Christ for ever. Amen.

May God, who has brought us out of bondage to sin into true and lasting freedom in the Redeemer, bring you to your eternal inheritance. Amen.

And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you for ever. Amen.

Occasionally the celebrant may find an appropriate text for the blessing among the day’s Scripture lessons. When adapting a verse for a blessing, care should be taken that the verb tense and the person of the object are correct. “May God ___” is a petition, not a blessing. Further, “God bless us” is not a blessing in the formal sense; this is the minister concluding the Liturgy of the Altar, the object of the blessing should be “you”, the congregation. Finally, the triune Name – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – must be invoked. If making the sign of the cross, the celebrant does so deliberately, not hurriedly, with the right hand in time with the triune Name. Priests keep their hands flat, little finger towards the congregation; Bishops may other hand positions, such as the thumb and forefinger together and the rest of the hand as the priest.

The Dismissals

The Dismissal is not a part of the classical Prayer Book tradition, and thus our modern use of this feature is optional. For those who wish to use them, the Deacon (or otherwise the celebrant) should be free to use the one that is most appropriate in light of the lessons and sermon that day. In general, the following seasonal guidelines may prove helpful:

  • In the Name of Christ: Eastertide, Ascensiontide, & Trinitytide
  • Love and serve the Lord: Advent & Epiphanytide
  • Rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit: Pentecost & Trinitytide
  • Let us bless the Lord: Lent & Holy Week