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.

Anglo-German favorites

Today our opening hymn was a familiar one for the congregation — not only for us, but a German visitor who joined us. We have special readings this month, and it turns out that the first two hymns — matched to the readings — were both based on 17th century German masters.

The entrance hymn was “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (H40: 279; H82: 390), a Catherine Winkworth translation of the 1680 text by Joachim Neander. The hymn is found in every English and American Anglican hymnal since the 1860s. The original text is based on Psalm 103 and 150.

My Hymnal 1940 Companion describes Neander as “the principal poet of the Reformed Church in Germany.” Our German visitor recognized the tune but not the English words, until (quoting Ian Bradley’s text) I noted German text is called “Lobe den Herren”. He also noted that the hymn was a favorite of King Frederick Wilhem III of Prussia (1770-1840).

The five verses were published in 1680. In 1863, the English translation was published (in her Chorale Book for England) by Miss Winkworth, “the foremost translator of German hymns into English in the nineteenth century.” The Hymnal Companion said that Neander picked the tune “Hast du denn, Jesu” from the Strassund Erneuerten Gesangbuch. It lists the date as 1665 while Bradley lists it as 1655.

Pulling out my LCMS hymnals, both The Lutheran Hymnal (39) and Lutheran Service Book (790) also use the Winkworth translation — but with all five verses. The Handbook to The Lutheran Hymnal lists the tune as 1665, and “Neander adapted this tune to his text in 1679.”

The gradual hymn was “Ah, Holy Jesus” (H40: 71; H82: 158). Our German visitor considered it somewhat familiar, but not a well known favorite from back home.

According to the Companion, it was published in 1630 as “Herzliebster Jesu” by Johan Heermann and adapted from a 15th century text (once attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo). The tune was written a decade later for this text by Johann Crüger (1598-1662), who served as cantor of the St. Nicholas Church of Berlin from 1622-1662. The companion describes him as “a principal fountain-head in the development of Lutheran hymnody throughout the 17th century.”

ECUSA sings the 1897 text by Robert Bridges, but the LCMS hymnals (TLH: 143; LSB: 439) they use the earlier Catherine Winkworth translation, “O, dearest Jesus,” complete with 15 verses.