The presence of lay person at the Eucharist

Today's question is from Bob Randall and Elizabeth Felicetti who serve on the clergy staff of Old Donation Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach. They ask about a question posed by a member of the congregation who"recently asserted in a meeting that Eucharists must have one lay person and one clergy person present." Bob and Elizabeth replied that two clergy would suffice, but were unable to find a source for either position. They also wonder about an upcoming clergy conference at which no lay persons will be present.

They have managed to touch on an issue that was hotly debated in the mid-16th century. Those who, like most Roman Catholic theologians, saw the celebration primarily in terms of a devout act of prayer to God, reasoned that there was no necessity for any lay person to be present for the Eucharist to be valid. That remains the position of the Roman Catholic Church today, thought the Constitution on the Liturgy adopted at Vatican II (1962-65) said that celebrations with lay person present were to be preferred.

Those who look upon the Eucharist primarily as a proclamation of the deepest mysteries of the faith, as many Protestant theologians did, took the opposite point of view. For them it made no more sense to celebrate in the absence of laity than it did to preach in an empty room. Thomas Cranmer adopted that position in the 1552 Book of Common Prayer, adding a new rubric to the conclusion of the Eucharist, directing that "there shall be no celebration of the Lord's Supper, except that there be a good number to communicate with the Priest, according to his discretion." The editors of the 1662 version may have no longer trusted to the discretion of the priest to judge a good number, for they set a minimum number at "four (or three at the least) [to] communicate with the Priest."

Americans dropped the rubric in 1789, but not, I think, because there was any great interest in non-communicating celebrations. I think that by that point the idea that parishioners belonged at any celebration of the Eucharist was deeply ingrained. Technically, however, there is no longer a written requirement for lay presence in the American editions of the prayer book.

One could, therefore, argue either way--that we should continue in the spirit of Cranmer's edition of 1552 and not celebrate in the absence of laity, or that technically we are not bound by the English rubrics and can do what we like.

I would argue that Cranmer's emphasis in 1552 on the communal nature of the Eucharist accords well with our contemporary emphasis on the Eucharist as a joint undertaking of the whole people of God and that a celebration without communicants would be incomplete.

I would argue, however, that clergy need to hear the Gospel proclaimed as much--or more--than anyone else and that it does make sense to have a celebration at a clergy conference. There will be a good number to celebrate with the Bishops, but they will just happen to be priests and deacons.

Bob

Beatitudes of the Gospel

Today's post is an updated form of "the Beatitudes of the Gospel," a 19th-century service that was proposed for inclusion in the Book of Common Prayer in 1883, but rejected three years later. The office's chief proponent was William Reed Huntington, a leading Episcopal advocate of the Social Gospel.

The service, which follows, includes a General Intercession, which was also adopted in 1883 and rejected on second reading in 1886.

The rejection of elements of the 1883 revision in 1886 caused so much confusion that the Episcopal Church would not complete the process of prayer book revision until 1892. The final product of that revision omitted almost all the social action elments first proposed in 1883.

I have modernized the language of the service by replacing biblical allusion to the King James Version of the Bible with Biblical allusions to the New Revised Standard Version.

Bob

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THE BEATITUDES OF THE GOSPEL

¶This Office may be used after the third Collect at Evening Prayer, on any day, instead of the Prayers which are there placed. Or it may be said as a separate Office. The People kneeling, the Minister standing up shall say as follows:

Jesus went up the mountain; and his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

People. Lord, have mercy on us: and let it be with your servants according to your word.

Minister. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

People. Lord, have mercy on us, and let it be with your servants according to your word.

Minister. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

People. Lord, have mercy on us, and let it be with your servants according to your word.

Minister. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

People. Lord, have mercy on us, and let it be with your servants according to your word.

Minister. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

People. Lord, have mercy on us: and let it be with your servants according to your word.

Minister. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

People: Lord, Have mercy on us: and let it be with your servants according to your word.

Minister. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

People: Lord, Have mercy on us: and let it be with your servants according to your word.

Minister. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

People: Let your steadfast love come to us, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise.

Minister. Let us pray

¶Then the Minister shall kneel, and say the Lord’s Prayer, with the Collects following ; but the Lord’s Prayer may be omitted, if it has been said immediately before.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, And the power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.

For Grace to seek Spiritual Blessings

O GOD, you have made us for yourself; incline our hearts unto your decrees, and turn away our eyes from beholding vanity ; and that we may be freed from too great a love of earthly things, knit our affections to things heavenly, through Christ our Lord. Amen

For Wisdom

O GOD, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly; Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of Wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

A General Intercession

O God, at whose word mortals go forth to their work and to their labor until the evening, be merciful to all whose duties are difficult or burdensome, and comfort them concerning their toil. Shield from bodily accident and harm the workers at their work. Protect the efforts of sober and honest industry, and suffer not the hire of the laborers to be kept back by fraud. Incline the hearts of employers and of those whom they employ to mutual forbearance, fairness, and good-will. Give the spirit of governance and of a sound mind to all in places of authority. Bless all those who labor in works of mercy, and schools of good learning. Care for all aged persons, and for all little children, the sick and the afflicted, those who travel by land or by sea, all strangers, and emigrants, and outcasts. Remember all who by reason of weakness or poverty are forgotten. Let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before you, and according to the greatness of your power preserve those who are sentenced to die. Give ear unto our prayer, O merciful and gracious Father, for the love of your dear Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Lord bless us, and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious to us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace, both now and evermore. Amen

Today’s Service

Today’s service is modernized form of a service crafted by William Reed Huntington. He was a leading advocate of the Social Gospel in the Episcopal Church at the end of the 19^th century. As a deputy to General Convention from 1871 to 1907, he sought to make the Episcopal Church more responsive to the poor and needy. The high point of his efforts was the Convention of 1883, at which he accomplished three things: 1) As co-chair of the committee on prayer book revision, he convinced the convention to adopt on the first of two required readings a revision of the Book of Common Prayer that included the social action prayers that we will read today. 2) As a leading advocate of the ministry of women, he helped to convince the General Convention to adopt a canon recognizing the ministry of Deaconesses. The order had been introduced on a parish level in the middle of the century, and deaconesses were leaders in many forms of social action, but it was Huntington’s efforts that finally brought national recognition. 3) He convinced the House of Bishops to adopt his Quadrilateral, a statement of the essential elements of the church, and an invitation to other denominations to join in the ministry of the Gospel.

Unfortunately, Huntington was not able to follow up on all of his successes of 1883. The Convention of 1886 rejected most of the 1883 revisions to the prayer book on second reading, in part because of an elaborate procedure for revision that Huntington had himself advocated in the interim between conventions. Huntington resigned from the committee on liturgy, which went on to produce the relatively conservative prayer book revision of 1892. The Lambeth Conference adopted Huntington’s Quadrilateral, and a number of Anglican Provinces began ecumenical discussions; in most cases, however, Anglican provinces refused to join the union churches that they helped to plan. Deaconesses continued their work, but they made limited progress in gaining further acceptance in the church. Deaconesses would, for example, be stung by the refusal of the General Convention of 1925 to include an ordination service for Deaconesses in the 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. Deaconesses continued as a separate order until 1970, when the General Convention eliminated all distinctions between male and female deacons. Deaconesses were allowed at that time to choose whether they retained their status as Deaconesses.

Confirmation in the 18th century

Today's question is from Beth Palmer, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, West Point, Virginia. She writes:

Bishop Lee will be with us this year and so we are doing confirmations and communion. It is our tradition to use an older prayer book and this year we plan to use the 1662 BCP. I wonder where in the course of the communion liturgy one might encounter confirmation? It seems to me appropriate for confirmation to occur right after the sermon and before the offertory sentences, but I cannot find affirmation of this placement in rubrics or any of the books sitting on my shelf. ID you thoughts on this?

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Beth,

It is unlikely that confirmation would have been celebrated at any point in the communion liturgy in England in the 17th or 18th century. The idea that the communion liturgy was divisible into two part (the Synaxis or Word of God and the Great Thanksgiving) and that it was appropriate to add various elements (baptism, marriage, Eucharist, etc) to the Eucharist is a result of the 20th century scholarship of authors like Gregory Dix.

It would have been more common in the 18th century to combine elements with Morning or Evening Prayer. This was, for example, where baptism was celebrated. I suspect that Confirmation (with the possible recitation of the Catechism) was celebrated as a separate office or connected with Morning or Evening Prayer.

That is not to say, however, that there is anything wrong with your intention to place the confirmation service where you have indicated. Any attempt to recreate an historic involves some compromises.

Bob