A History of the Book of Common Prayer

occurred in the Service, except on those mornings when OCCAthe Litany was said.

SIONAL PRAYERS.

givings.

Praise is an essential part of Divine worship. Hence Thankswe retain, throughout the Service, Doxologies, Psalms, and Canticles. But these do not include that particular thanksgiving for extraordinary deliverances, or indeed for daily mercies, which is due to the Author and Giver of all good things. Hence some particular thanksgivings' were annexed to the Litany, at the revision of the Prayer-Book after the Hampton Court Conference, by order of James II., under the title of 'An enlargement of thanksgiving for diverse benefits, by way of explanation".' These were thanksgivings for Rain, for Fair Weather, for Plenty, for Peace and Victory, and for Deliverance from the Plague in two forms. At the last revision, after the restoration of the Monarchy, another special form of thanksgiving was added, for Restoring Publick Peace at Home. Its language must have been felt to be strikingly appropriate, when read with the restored Common Prayer, after such a period of outrage and sedition. At the same time the Convocation accepted a form of General Thanksgiving, composed by Bishop Reynolds, which rendered the book more perfect

1 'The English ritual, I believe, is the only one which contains special thanksgivings for the mercies of God, others having confined themselves to general expressions of gratitude on all such occasions. It has therefore, in the present case, improved on the ancient customs of the Christian Church, instead of being in any way inconsistent with them: Palmer, Orig. Lit. I. p. 307. See Hooker, Eccl. Pol. v. 43.

2 See above, pp. 90 sq.

3 Cardwell, Conf. pp. 222 sq.

4A form of general thanksgiving was prepared and presented by the Bishop of Norwich on the 14th of December. It is frequently stated that the General Thanksgiving was composed by Sanderson; but it is clear from the proceedings of the Upper House that it was prepared by Bishop Reynolds: Lathbury, Hist. of Convoc. p. 289. See also Cardwell, Conferences, p. 372, note; Joyce, English Synods, p. 716.

OCCA- by making the Thanksgivings correspond with the

SIONAL

PRAYERS. Prayers'.

1 In the American Prayer-Book, the Prayer for all Conditions of Men and the General Thanksgiving are inserted in their place in the Morning and Evening Prayer. The Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings include additional forms, For a Sick Person, for a Sick Child, For a Person or Persons going to Sea, For a Person under Affliction, For Malefactors after Condemna

tion, and A Prayer to be used at the Meetings of Convocation; also a Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth, For Recovery from Sickness, and For a Safe Return from Sea. The Prayer for the Parliament becomes, with a slight alteration, A Prayer for Congress. In the Prayers For Fair Weather, and In time of Sickness, the references to the Old Testament are omitted.

CHAPTER II.

The Collects, Epistles, and Gospels; and Proper
Lessons for Sundays and Holy-Days.

THIS part of the First Prayer-Book of Edward VI. was entitled, The Introits, Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, to be used at the celebration of the Lord's Supper and Holy Communion through the year: with proper Psalms and Lessons for divers Feasts and days. An Introit, or Psalm to be sung at or before the commencement of the Communion Office, was prefixed to each Collect. These were removed' at the revision in 1552; and the Proper Lessons were placed in the Calendar of Lessons.

parts of the

Trinity.

The Epistles and Gospels are, with few exceptions, the same that had been appointed in the Missal. They The two form two series, which may be distinguished as doctrinal Church-year. and practical. The ecclesiastical year is divided into two parts; the first, from Advent to Trinity, is designed to Advent to commemorate the life of Christ on earth; and the several particulars of His life are celebrated in their order,-His incarnation, nativity, circumcision, manifestation to the Gentiles; His doctrine and miracles, His baptism, fasting, and temptation; His agony, His cross, His death, His burial, His resurrection, His ascension; and the mission of the Holy Ghost: the object of the Epistles and Gospels during this time is to remind us of the benefit which we receive from God the Father, through the mediation

1 As a substitute for the Introit, in cathedrals, the hymn Tersanctus is generally sung by the choir: the

practice shows that the appropriate
Psalm might have been advan-
tageously retained.

TY OF THE

ANTIQUI- and atonement of God the Son, and through the miniCOLLECTS. stration of God the Holy Ghost. Hence this part of the Church's course of teaching is fitly ended with the Commemoration of the blessed Trinity. In the second part of the year, from Trinity to Advent, the portions of Scripture are selected with the view of instructing us to lead our lives after our Lord's example.

Trinity to
Advent.

Antiquity of the Collects.

The Collect may be defined as a Prayer for some grace or blessing in connexion with the Epistle or Gospel for the day, or with both of them. It is peculiar to the Western Church'. The following Tables' will show the general antiquity of our Collects, of which the greater part were translated from those in the Missals of the English Church. Many of them exist in the Sacramentary of Gregory, and therefore date at least from A. D. 590; some are still older, and are found in the Sacramentary of Gelasius (494), and some may be traced to that of Leo (483):

I. Table of those Collects which were substantially retained from Ancient Liturgies.