Credo: We do NOT believe

As seems to have been mandated (or at least strongly encouraged) by the ACNA, our parish has been using the proposed ACNA liturgy since Advent 1 of this liturgical year. On the one hand, it kills all the traditional language of the 1662/1789/1892/1928 prayer books; on the other hand, in terms of theology and form, it is more faithful to them than was the contemporary language of the 1979 ECUSA prayer book.

I Believe

Even after two months, there’s one thing I’ve been unable to accept: the plural form of the Nicene Creed. The 1549 liturgy was created from the creed of the Sarum rite, which begins:

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem Omnipotentem, factorem cœli et terra, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.

Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia sæcula: Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, Genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt.

In fact, the word “creed” comes from the credo that begins it. Credo is the latin word for “I believe.”

The Cranmer translation of the liturgy set the standard for all other English-language Protestant liturgical worship. It was not just the Methodist church when it split off from the Church of England, but it also was used for the English-language liturgy of the Presbyterian church (coming from Geneva) and the Lutheran church (coming from Germany and Scandinavia).

If you attended any American Protestant worship through the mid-1970s, you would hear Cranmer’s words (with the 1789 ECUSA modernized spellings):

I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made;

This is the text (for example) in the 1941 The Lutheran Hymnal, used by the Missouri Synod until their 1982 hymnal. (Being slightly anti-Papist, the Lutherans did change “one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church” to “one Holy Christian and Apostolic Church.”)

We Believe

The use of “we believe" came to ECUSA in the 1970s with the 1979 prayer book via the ICET. As Hatchett (1980: 29) writes in his 670 page commentary on that book:

For rites in contemporary language the last revision of the Prayers We Have in Common: Agreed Liturgical Texts Prepared by the International Consultation on English Texts [ICET] is used for common texts, with a few exceptions. … The word “men” has been deleted from a phrase in the Nicene Creed.

In discussing the Nicene Creed later on (p. 334), he writes:

The ICET translation, which left the inclusion of the filioque clause optional, has been adopted for this Book. The plural form is restored, true to the document of the council and fitting for use in the Eucharist as a proclamation of the faith of the Church.

While rejecting many of the theological changes of Rite II, the ACNA task force embraced this philosophy with the first word of their creed. As the ACNA FAQ explains

Nicene Creed: Why, in the Nicene Creed, are we saying "We believe" rather than "I believe?"

The original Greek text used "We Believe" because this Creed reflects the belief of the whole Church as a united body, as contrasted with the Apostles' Creed which is a personal profession of faith used at baptism. The translation we are using for the Creed is that used by The Church of England in "Common Worship," an adaptation of 1662 BCP.

The citation of Common Worship is slightly misleading. In Order One, the CoE uses “we believe” but Order Two of the latest CoE liturgy retains the Cranmerian credo.

Ecumenical Disharmony

That the ACNA used a CoE modernization rather than inventing its own is somewhat reassuring. However, its decision on "we believe" is still in disharmony with the ACNA's most likely ecumenical partners.

For much of the past century, the CoE and Anglicans more broadly have been trying to repair the Tudor rift with Rome. However, in their new liturgy, adopted in 2008 and put into effect in 2011, the Order of Mass dropped the “We believe” in favor of the “I believe.”

In the US, the ACNA has been courting the Orthodox church for the past five years, inviting Metropolitan Jonah to address the 2009 convention, and a delegation of Orthodox clergy last fall to Nashotah House. The various American branches of Orthodoxy still use “I”.

Then there is the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Of the liturgical churches among US Protestant denominations, it is one of the largest — in fact, the largest of the traditionalist denominations (with only the UMC, ELCA and PCUSA mainline Protestants being larger). In fact, with 2.3 million members it has more than the 2.0 million of TEC (vs. 100,000-140,00 for the ACNA).

Maybe that’s why the ACNA has actively courted the LCMS as a liturgical partner, with a series of “dialog” meetings that led to a 2012 joint communique.

While the Orthodox (being Orthodox) stick to traditional language, the RCC demonstrates it is possible to do contemporary language while keep the credo in the creed.

Why Others Do Not Believe

After joining with the ICET pluralism with a 1970 decision of the ICEL, the RCC consciously reverted to the singular with their 2011 liturgical revision.

In anticipation of that shift, Rev. James V. Schall, then a Jesuit priest and Georgetown professor wrote a July 2011 essay explaining the RCC theology behind the change:

In the Denziger collection of Church documents, however, all the ancient creeds, except the Apostles’ Creed, begin, following the Greek, in the first-person plural: Credimus – “we believe.” From its earliest appearance in the Church, the “I believe” version is for liturgical use. Those present affirm their own personal belief.

Why the English translation currently in use from the 1960s changed to “we believe” is open to speculation. Obviously, if it was good enough at Nicea, it ought to be good enough in Kansas City. When the Church Fathers at Nicea and Constantinople said “we believe” or “we affirm,” however, they were speaking definitively in the name of the tradition. They affirmed authoritatively what the Church held, what is to be believed as true. At Mass, the individual parishioner is not so speaking with authority. He is articulating his personal acceptance and knowledge of what is held. He is not defining it, but he does understand it.
…
The problem with the formula “we believe” is that the one who recites it may not in fact be affirming what is in the Creed. Instead of saying “I believe” as a public expression of what he holds, he means rather, “We believe” — that is, this is what this organization holds, though not necessarily what I hold myself. The unity of belief is broken.

I recommend the entire article for reading.

The Orthodox church is certainly not a fan of the RCC position on the creed — in particular three words added by Rome the 11th century that helped prompt the Great Schism. And the “we” form — gone in the West by the 5th century — lasted longer in the East.

That said, an official statement of the Orthodox Church in America, comments on the evolution of the creed after it was finalized in 381:

This whole Symbol of Faith was ultimately adopted throughout the entire Church. It was put into the first person form “I believe” and used for the formal and official confession of faith made by a person (or his sponsor-godparent) at his baptism. It is also used as the formal statement of faith by a non-Orthodox Christian entering the communion of the Orthodox Church. In the same way the creed became part of the life of Orthodox Christians and an essential element of the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church at which each person formally and officially accepts and renews his baptism and membership in the Church. Thus, the Symbol of Faith is the only part of the liturgy (repeated in another form just before Holy Communion) which is in the first person. All other songs and prayers of the liturgy are plural, beginning with “we”. Only the credal statement begins with “I.” This, as we shall see, is because faith is first personal, and only then corporate and communal.

As best I understand, the LCMS position is the same as the Catholic and Orthodox. When (during my Lutheran period) I asked my LCMS pastor why the creed we recited was "I" and not "we," he answered simply: “because I don’t know what is in your heart — only what is in my heart.”

Conclusions

When the ACNA created its liturgy task force, it was pre-ordained that they would create a single modern language service: their “Guiding Principles” of 2009 made that clear, calling for “a modern language adaptation of the Rite I.” It claimed the primacy of Scripture and the creeds — but which creeds?

Verbally, I heard statements that the task force was trying to avoid the theological errors of the 1979 prayer book, but the word “theology” only appears twice in the Guiding Principles.

With the discussion of “What is Anglican worship?” several of the principles would suggest a desire to hew to first millennial church practice:

Although profoundly influenced, over several generations and in diverse directions, by the Continental 16th-century Reformation, the Church of England claims a direct !continuity of faith, governance and practice from before the arrival of St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597 to the present.
…
The central identifying marks of the Anglican version of Reformed Catholicism were and remain:
a. The primacy and sufficiency of Scripture
b. Credal orthodoxy
c. Justification by grace alone through faith alone
d. Patristic Heritage, including the 3-fold ministry of bishops, presbyters, and deacons.
e. Historic liturgy in continuity with ancient catholic tradition, but “purged” of late Medieval aberrations.

That the creeds entered the liturgy of the one true and (pre-Schism) undivided church with “credo” — first person singular — would seem to point to keeping the only form that Anglicans used for 400 years. Instead, the ACNA seems to favor the congregational feel of the “we,” while ignoring the theological change this represents.

Theological and ecumenical continuity would support support “I” while emotion supports ”we.” This key decision provides a window into the future character of the Evangelical Church in North America and its founder, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan.

References

Common Worship, London: Church House Publishing, 2000

Hatchett, Marion J., Commentary on the American prayer book, New York : Seabury Press, 1980

International Consultation on English Texts, Prayers We Have in Common: Agreed Liturgical Texts, 2nd revised edition, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975.

Lex orandi, lex credendi

Since the ACNA released its new liturgy in October, I’ve wanted to go through and systematically analyze what the task force did. Defining its liturgy helps reveal what the ACNA does (and does not) stand for. It's a sizable task, and sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin.

Liturgy is what distinguishes the worship of the liturgical Protestant churches (Anglican, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Methodist) from the more freeform denominations (Assembly of God, the various Stone-Campbell movement churches). For centuries, many have remarked that the Anglican faith is defined more by a shared BCP than by any particular doctrine or theology.

Finally, there is the principle of “lex orandi, lex credendi,” attributed by Wikipedia to a 5th century Augustinian theologian. Since the liturgy is corporate worship — how we pray together — it is statement of what we believe, both by the fact that we say it — but also because by saying it every week, the members of the congregation commit these ideas to memory.

Since October, the new ACNA liturgy has been slightly updated to fix typos. The ACNA website also makes clearer the status of the new liturgy:

Introduction

The Liturgy and Common Prayer Task Force is pleased to announce that the the following Texts for Common Prayer are now available in PDF and Microsoft Word format:

• Morning & Evening Prayer
• Holy Eucharist
• The Ordinal

Reception Process

With the exception of The Ordinal, which has been authorized and adopted, and is The Ordinal of the Province, the other materials offered in Texts for Common Prayer are “working texts” approved for use by the College of Bishops. These working texts are not yet finalized, awaiting response from the experience of their wide use in the Church. With that in mind, these rites are commended as appropriate forms for worship in the present season. The Archbishop’s instruction to the Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force was the production of rites that were “so faithful and attractive that the Church would want to use them.” The hope in making Texts for Common Prayer available now is to give evidence that the assignment is well underway, and to invite the whole Body of Christ into the process of receiving and perfecting.

Much as I’d love to analyze Morning Prayer, nowadays it’s the communion service that shapes the weekly lives of American Anglicans. Given I have limited time, I’ll focus on the mass.

Contrasting Liturgies

I can think of two ways to systematically analyze the new liturgy. One is by comparing it to its antecedents. This includes the ECUSA, CoE, the Edwardian and the Cranmer original in English, as well as the Sarum and other pre-reformation Latin texts.

However, since the explicit goal of the new liturgy was modernization — without the theological aberrations of the 1979 prayer book — I think it’s also fair to compare the new texts to other modern translations from those who are theologically orthodox, notably the RCC Roman Missal (2010) and the LCMS Lutheran Service Book (2006). For the latter, the LSB has five different settings (rites), but many of the specific passages (such as the Lord’s Prayer) are common across all settings.

It should be noted that Cranmer was the first to put the Latin mass into English. Even if they had differences with his theology, English (and American) liturgical Christians — Catholic, Lutherans, Methodists and others — started with Cranmer’s text (or some derivative thereof) when creating their own liturgies. So when comparing ACNA to other 20th (or 21st) century English texts, we are comparing various attempts at modernization of the original Cranmer original.

Parts of Service

The other way to analyze it to break it down by parts, such as to look the first half of the service (Word) and then the second half (Sacrament).

I think it’s more useful to break it down as

1. The corporate (congregational) prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer, Confession and Prayer of Humble Access. I’m also going to include the Nicene Creed here — theologically it’s not a prayer, but in terms of length and usage, it is more similar to the Lord’s Prayer than to (say) the Gloria.
2. The Ordinary of the Mass: Kyrie, Trisagion, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei. (The classification of the Ordinary normally includes the creed)
3. Misc. responsorial sentences, e.g. Sursum Corda
4. Clergy prayers, e.g. Prayer of Consecration
5. Other texts, such as the Prayers of the People.

Due to limited time, I probably won’t be able to get to #4 and #5., because they are not part of the corporate worship (the laity listen rather than participate in these prayers). Also, it seems to me that #5 (especially the Prayers of the People) have varied the most over the centuries, so a claim of “normal”, “historic” or “ecumenical” norms would be hard to make.

For #3, today I’ll contrast the Sursum Corda of 2013 with earlier texts.

Sursum Corda

For the Sursum Corda, the Sarum rite lists this as the text:

Dominus vobiscum.
Et cum spiritu tuo.
Sursum corda.
Habemus ad Dominum.
Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
Dignum et justum est.

Below are the comparisons of the early (and most influential) Church of England prayer books, the last three ECUSA prayer books, two ecumenical texts and the ACNA text. (Here I use “P” for priest and “A” for answer, although the books might say “minister”, “celebrant”, “congregation” etc.).

1549 BCP 1552 BCP	1662 BCP (CoE) 1892 BCP (ECUSA) 1928 BCP	1979 Rite II (ECUSA) 2006 LSB (LCMS)
P: The Lorde be with you. A: And with thy spirite. P: Lift up your heartes. A: We lift them up unto the Lorde. P: Let us give thankes unto our Lorde God. A: It is mete and right so to do.	P: Lift up your hearts. A: We lift them up unto the Lord. P: Let us give thanks unto our Lord God. A: It is meet and right so to do.	P: The Lord be with you. A: And also with you. P: Lift up your hearts. A: We lift them to the Lord. P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. A: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

2013 ACNA	2011 Roman Missal
P: The Lord be with you. A: And with your spirit. P: Lift up your hearts. A: We lift them to the Lord. P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. A: It is just and right so to do.	P: The Lord be with you. A: And with your spirit. P: Lift up your hearts. A: We lift them up to the Lord. P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. A: It is right and just.

As indicated, from 1662-1928, the Sursum Corda was not preceeded by the dominus vobiscum (but the original “with thy spirit” is found elsewhere in the liturgy).
A few observations:

• The 2013 liturgy (as does the latest Roman liturgy) fixes the most egregious Protestant error of the late 20th century, by now translating “cum sancto spiritu” to be “and with your spirit”, the only plausible contemporary translation.
• On the fourth and fifth phrase, the ACNA seems unduly deferential to the 1970s modernization. 
• In the final phrase, the task force changed just one word, “meet” to “just”, and eliminated the other egregious error of the 1970s translation (“thanks and praise”).
• On two of the four phrases where Cranmer’s text is changed, the ACNA changes match the Roman Catholic changes.

Given the goals of modern , the choices seem reasonable. The one tweak I would be inclined to make is to match the RCC text for the fourth phrase — “We lift them up to the Lord” — both for greater continuity with 400 years of Anglican worship, and ecumenical compatibility.

In future postings, I’ll look at the Ordinary and the main congregational prayers.

Golden Age of Christmas Carols

Every reader of this blog knows about the importance of the Tractarian (Oxford) movement of 19th century England in revival traditional hymnody, notably with the efforts of John Mason Neale that culminated with the publication of Hymns Ancient & Modern in 1861.

However, thanks to the excellent BBC 4 series hosted by Jeremy Summerly, I realized that the 19th century brought a comparable advance (and preservation) of Christmas carols.

The sixth episode, “A Second Golden Age”, outlines the role of Neale and Sir John Stainer in the 19th century carol revival. The episode was broadcast Dec 16 (and the BBC inexplicably cancels their back episodes after 7 days). In the episode, the cause of Stainer is advocated by Prof. Ian Bradley, author of the familiar hymn reference.

The episode identifies the key books of carols of the 19th century, all of which are out of copyright and thus (most) are available free online.

In 1822, Davies Gilbert published a collection of medieval Christmas carols that included “A Virgin Most Pure” and “The First Nowel.” A second, enlarged edition was published in 1823.

Many years later, Neale acquired a copy of Piae Cantiones, a 16th century compilation of Latin carols from Swedish-speaking Finland. From this, in 1853 he and Thomas Helmore published their own collection that includes “Good Christian Men Rejoice” and his own carol, “Good King Wenceslas.”

From the same source, Neale translated the text “Of the Father’s love begotten”, which was later published in Hymns Ancient & Modern with modification by H.W. Baker.

Finally, with H.R. Bramley, Stainer published his own collection of 20 carols in 1867, expanded to 42 in 1871 and 70 in 1878. This included “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” “Once in Royal David’s City” and “What Child is This.” As Prof. Bradley notes, this put a large supply of singable carols in the hands of local vicars. Percy Deamer (the textual author of The English Hymnal and Songs of Praise) says “mainly to Bramley and Stainer that we owe the restoration of the carol”.

When looking for these books, I found background information at the website Hymns and Carols of Christmas (HCC) and so link that below. Some information can also be found at the IMSLP (International Music Score Library Project).

References

Theodoric Petri, Piae Cantiones, Greifswald, Sweden, 1582 (Reprinted in London 1910 and available from the U. Rochester Sibley Library). Summarized at HCC

Davies Gilbert, Some Ancient Christmas Carols, London, 1822 (available at Google Books) Summarized at HCC

Thomas Helmore and John Mason Neale, Carols for Christmas-tide, London, 1853. Summarized at HCC.

Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Stainer, Christmas Carols, New and Old, London, 1871 (Available at the CCEL) Summarized at the HCC.

Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Stainer, Christmas Carols, New and Old, London, 1878 (Available at the Internet Archive)

Edith Rickert, Ancient English Christmas Carols, 1400-1700, London, 1910 (Available at Google Books) Summarized at the gcc.

Rt. Rev. John David Schofield, 1938-2013

The Rt. Rev. John-David Mercer Schofield, one of the founding bishops of the ACNA and retired bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, died October 28 at home, aged 75. His requiem mass will be held today at a Catholic church in Fresno.

Bishop Schofield will be remembered as one of the last Anglo-Catholic bishops of the Episcopal Church and one of the first (hopefully not the last) Anglo-Catholic bishops of the Anglican Church in North America.

In 2007, Bishop Schofield was the first of four Episcopal Church bishops to lead his diocese out of TEC, followed by Robert Duncan (Pittsburgh), Keith Ackerman (Quincy) and Jack Iker (Ft. Worth). (Ackerman retired from TEC and Quincy before the latter completed its succession.)

Along with Ackerman and Iker — and unlike Duncan — Schofield was also one of the last three TEC bishops to reject women’s ordination. In 1989, he was one of the original TEC bishops to support the Episcopal Synod of America, which a decade later became the North American branch of Forward in Faith.

In his eulogy, Ackerman wrote

The death of [Bp. Schofield] … has touched the hearts of many people throughout the world, and particularly those Traditional Anglicans who looked to him as a courageous leader, who took seriously his vows as a Successor of the Apostles and a Defender of the Faith once delivered to the Apostles.

A cradle Anglican with deep English roots, Bp. Schofield's life embodied the breadth of Anglicanism: Anglo-Catholic in theology, Evangelical in proclaiming the Gospel, and Charismatic in expression. Those with a limited view will remember him primarily for his staunch defense of the Catholic Faith which resulted in his participation in numerous events that challenged the Catholic order of the Episcopal Church.

Duncan said “His spiritual depth twinned with his unparalleled sense of humor made him one of a kind.”

Schofield retired in 2011(succeeded by Eric Menees of San Diego). Never married, he had been in poor health for years, presumably exacerbated by his self-acknowledged weight problem.

I never met Bishop Schofield, but I know several people whose careers and faith were shaped by working with him. Let light perpetual shine upon him.

For all our saints

As noted earlier, two hymns are the obvious choice for the observance of All Saints Day:

• The mandatory processional hymn (since The English Hymnal in 1906) is “For all the saints,” to the tune Sine Nomine by Ralph von Williams (H40: 126; H82: 287). Hymnal 1982 cheats us men out of one verse of harmony (#4) and as usual the notes are too tiny for us middle-aged choir members, but otherwise the hymn survived unscathed.
• At some point after the children return from Sunday school, play the Hymnal 1940 song — “I sing a song of the saints of God” — with words by Lesbia Locket Scott to the tune Grand Isle (H40: 243; H82: 293).

To suggest hymns for this year’s observance of All Saints Day, I found very helpful to pull out my copy of Hymnal Studies Five, an official companion to Hymnal 1982. It certainly recommend 287 for entrance, but somehow forgets about 293 — even though it’s the last of the 63 hymns under “Holy Days and Various Occasions” (but one of only three marked for All Saints’ Day).

There are two other “saint” hymns in plain sight. One — by HS5 recommended for Communion — is “Let saints on earth in concert sing” (H40: 397; H82: 526). With text by Charles Wesley and the 17th century tune Dundee, it should be easy if unfamiliar.

The other was called to my attention by Issues Etc., and its interview Thursday with Prof. Arthur Just. The topic of his interview is the hymn “We sing of all the unsung saints.” Set to a 19th century tune, the text is by Rev. Carl P. Daw, a TEC priest, adjunct hymnology professor, former executive director of the Hymn Society of America and an acknowledged contributor to the Hymnal 1982 revision. But because it was written in 1996, it’s not in H82 but instead is only found in the 2006 Lutheran Service Book (#678).

The most useful suggestions that I found were listed in the post-communion (recessional) hymns. Two are tied to the epistle (Revelation 21:1-4,22–22:5 in the 1979 prayer book):

• Ye watchers and ye holy ones (H40: 599; H82: 618)
• Ye holy angels bright (H40: 600; H82: 625)

These were two of my favorites as a kid, and I see the tie of both to the Revelation reading. However, I always associated 599 with early Sundays after Trinity (although H40 lists it for the Annunciation in August and Michaelmas in September), and 600 is listed by H40 as being for Holy Innocents and Christmas 2. So neither made the cut this year.

Another recessional recommended by HS5 is “Lo what a crowd of witnesses” (H40: 569; H82: 545), set to the 16th century tune St. Flavian. I love the text (quoting the vivid imagery of Hebrews 12:1-2) but I don’t ever recall singing it in church (as child or adult).

Instead, my favorite choice (and the one I recommended for recessional) was “Jersualem my happy home" (H40: 585; H82: 620) a 16th century text set to Land of Rest, a traditional American spiritual tune:

Jerusalem, my happy home,
when shall I come to thee?
When shall my sorrows have an end?
Thy joys when shall I see?

Thy saints are crowned with glory great;
they see God face to face;
they triumph still, they still rejoice
most happy is their case.

There David stands with harp in hand
as master of the choir:
ten thousand times that man were blessed
that might this music hear.

Our Lady sings Magnificat
with tune surpassing sweet,
and all the virgins bear their part,
sitting at her feet.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
God grant that I may see
thine endless joy, and of the same
partaker ever be!

The promises of eternal rest — to a tune named “Land of Rest” — seems perfect for this date. It’s also something on the draft list of hymns for my own funeral.

References

Marion J. Hatchett, Hymnal Studies Five: A Liturgical Index to The Hymnal 1982, New York: Church Hymnal Corporation, 1986.