Christ the King Episcopal Church
Lakeland, Florida
THE ORDER OF WORSHIP
an Instruction on the Celebration of
the Service of Holy Eucharist
The following is a brief historical and theological commentary on the parts of the liturgy of Holy Eucharistic according to the Book of Common Prayer (1979). The commentary follows Rite 2 (BCP 355), using Eucharistic Prayer A (BCP 361).
BCP
PART OF SERVICE
COMMENTARY & HISTORICAL NOTES
355
THE WORD OF GOD
The Entrance Rites
355
Hymn
A hymn, psalm, or anthem may be sung.
The Entrance Rites gather the community, establish shared purpose, and move the assembly from ordinary time into the sacred rhythm of the Eucharist. Their function is both practical and theological: they form the congregation, proclaim God’s presence, and prepare hearts and voices for Word and Sacrament. Since at least the 5th century, it has been the custom to accompany the entry or procession with a psalm or canticle. This processional hymn is suited for the occasion or season.
355
The Opening Acclamation &
The Collect of Purity
The people standing, the Celebrant says
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People And blessed be God's kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
The Celebrant may say
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Acclamation and Collect for Purity establish worship as an act of corporate praise offered to the Triune God. They prepare the people gathered to enter sacred time and the presence of God with honesty and openness, recognizing that true worship begins with divine grace rather than human worthiness. Worship is thus grounded in transformation, not performance.
In keeping with the Prayer Book's emphasis on the Easter season, the acclamation is replaced during the Great Fifty Days with the Resurrection Greeting ("Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia"). During Lent and on other penitential occasions, an acclamation with a penitential (ie. sorrowful, remorseful) focus is used.
The Collect of Purity originated in high middle ages, known in at least two missals from the 10th century. It first appeared as a public rite in Anglican worship in the 1552 Prayer Book.
356
The Song of Praise
When appointed, the following hymn or som suitable song
of praise is sung or siad, all standing
Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest)
Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy)
Trisagion (Holy God)
The Song of Praise is the first full outburst of joyful praise and thanks in the service. Through it, the assembly sings with corporate voice in wonder, love, and praise to the God they are about to meet in Scripture and Sacrament. The three suggestions (with GLoria in excelsis having pride of place) offered in the Book of Common Prayer (1979) each uniquely frame the Eucharist, and give the assembly a posture with which to approach God:
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Gloria in excelsis ("Glory to God in the highest") is an example of a "private psalm" -- a popular composition in the 2nd and 3rd centuries imitating the biblical Psalter (other examples: Te Deum--BCP 95, Phos Hilaron--BCP 118). Originally used primarily at Morning Prayer, Gloria in excelsis entered use in the Eucharist around 360, driven by the fourth century bishop, Hilary of Poitiers' translation from the Greek. By the 11th century, Gloria in excelsis became the quintessential song of praise used at the beginning of worship, customary on Sundays and holy days except during Advent and Lent.
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Kyrie eleison ("Lord, have mercy") entered religious usage from Roman civic life, in which it was used to announce the arrival of the emperor or lord. It was adapted by Christians as a concise cry in honor of Christ the King.
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Trisagion ("Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One") draws from Isaiah’s vision of God’s holiness and expresses awe before the divine majesty. The earliest known use of was from a mid-3rd century burial inscription. It was first used liturgically in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon.
Thomas Cranmer included Gloria in excelsis in the 1549 Prayer Book at the beginning of the Eucharist. After centuries of prayer books shifted its placement to the Daily Office (primarily in Evening Prayer), the Book of Common Prayer (1979) restored it to its traditional place as the primary option as the Song of Praise during the Entrance Rites.
The Liturgy of the Word
357
211-261
The Collect of the Day
The Celebrant says to the people
The Lord be with you.
People And also with you.
Celebrant Let us pray.
The Celebrant says the Collect.
People Amen.
A “Collect” (from the Latin collecta, meaning "having been gathered") may refer to any prayer that sums up the prayers of those gathered. The earliest Western prayer books (5th-8th centuries) had five such variable prayers: the Opening, at the Preparation of the Table, during the Offertory, after Communion, and as a Final Blessing. More recently, the "Collect" came to specifically designate the variable prayer said immediately before the Lessons, after the greeting and song of praise. It sums up the purpose of those gathered and meditates on the “themes” of their gathering.
In a literary sense, “Collects" are a prayer with a fixed structure, having three general parts: an invocation (address), a petition, and a mediation (conclusion). The opening Collects in the Book of Common Prayer (1979) are drawn and adapted from sources ranging from the sacramentaries of the early and medieval church to the prayer books of the reformers, with some written specifically for the 1928 and 1979 revisions of the American Prayer Book.
357
The Lessons
The People sit. One or two lessons, as appointed are read, the Reader first saying
A Reading (Lesson) from .
After the Reading, the Reader may say
The Word of the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.
Lessons from the Old Testament & Epistles are proclaimed at every celebration of the Holy Eucharist. In The Episcopal Church, these readings are appointed by a lectionary—a structured table of Scripture readings used in public worship. In 2006, The Episcopal Church adopted the Revised Common Lectionary for its Sunday and major-feast day readings.
The public reading of Scripture is among the earliest Christian practices, revealing God’s saving work and anchoring the church in an ancient faith. The Lessons (Old and New) remind the community that God’s covenant purposes unfold across generations. As a practice, the public reading of Scripture continues a pattern established in Jewish synagogue, where passages from the Law and the Prophets were read aloud and interpreted. As Christian worship developed, communities began forming their own tables of readings, which included early Christian writings from Paul and the Gospels, among others. The earliest verifiable, uniquely Christian lectionary is the Lectionary of Marseilles from the 2nd century. Scholars believe, however, that even earlier lectionaries—especially in the Christian East—were modeled on synagogue patterns of appointed readings.
The custom of announcing the lesson (with the option of chapter and verse) and the response developed in late middle ages as a way of attracting attention and acknowledging having heard what was said.
357
The Book of Common Prayer psalter is normally used - see 585 ff.
The Psalm
The Gradual & Sequence
A Psalm, hymn, or anthem may follow each Reading.
The Psalms have shaped Christian worship from its ear`liest days, continuing the Jewish practice of singing and reciting Israel’s sacred poetry. The first Christians inherited the Psalter as their primary prayer book, using it in daily gatherings, Eucharistic worship, and monastic offices. Over time, psalmody became the backbone of the Divine Office and a regular element of the Eucharist. In Christian worship, the Psalms serve to voice the full range of human prayer—praise, lament, trust, and thanksgiving—while forming the church’s spiritual imagination. They teach believers to pray in the language of Scripture and to join their lives to the worship of God across centuries.
The Gradual is the formal name given to the recitation of the appoined Psalm after the Old Testament lesson. Such a reading dates to the mid-4th century, representing the oldest regular use of the Psalter in Chrisitan liturgy. The name derives from the Latin gradus, meaning "step," because it was likely chanted from the steps of the pulpit or sanctuary.
The Sequence is the name given to the hymn or anthem sung after the Epistle and before the Gospel. As early as the 3rd century, "Alleluias" were sung in anticipation of the Gospel, replaced by penitential verses in Lent. By the 9th century, the "Alleluias" became elaboate hymns introucing the Gospel lessons (even sung in the vernacluar in Germany and Scandinavia as early as the 10th century). Today, the Sequence is a summation of the Lessons, an introduction to the Gospel, or a praise to their recitation.
357-358
The Gospel
Then, all standing, The Deacon or Priest reads the Gospel, first saying
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to .
People Glory to you, Lord Christ.
After the Gospel, the Reader says
The Gospel of the Lord.
People Praise to you, Lord Christ.
The Gospel is proclaimed with distinct ritual honor in Christian worship because it announces the life and teaching of Jesus. From at least the 4th century (Apostolic Consitutions, 380), churches marked the Gospel with processions, candles, and incense, reflecting its centrality.
From that time also, the reading of the Gospel was assigned to the Deacon (Priest or Bishop in a Deacon's absence). The Gospel is normally read from the midst of the assembly, signifying Christ present among the people. Standing to hear the Gospel expresses reverence and readiness to receive Christ’s word. These practices developed from early cathedral liturgies and continue today to highlight the Gospel as the church’s definitive proclamation of God’s saving work.
357-358
The Sermon
The Sermon or Homily opens, exposes, or interprets Lessons for the gathered community, connecting the Gospel to daily life and deepening faith. Its purpose is to proclaim Christ, teach the church’s tradition, and help the assembly discern God’s call. Preaching forms disciples, strengthens understanding, and nurtures spiritual growth. It is not optional!
357-358
The Nicene Creed
On Sundays and other Major Feasts there follwos, all standing
We believe....
The Nicene Creed holds a central place in Anglican theology and worship, serving as a touchstone for Christian belief and practice. The Creed's content centers on the doctrine of the Trinity: one God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It proclaims Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection, and future return, and affirms belief in the one Church, baptism, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection of the dead.
The Creed has origins in the fourth‑century ecumenical councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) as the early Church (as well as the Roman authorities) sought to resolve doctrinal disputes. It was largely abandoned by the Continental Reformers, but it was included by Cramner in the 1549 Prayer Book as part of the Eucharist. While it was originally left aside by the authors of the first American Prayer Book (1789), the Nicene Creed was fully restored to present place and importance as part of the Eucharistic in the Book of Common Prayer (1979).
360
383-395
The Prayers of the People
Prayer is offered with intercession for
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The Universal Church, its members and its mission
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The Nation and all in authority
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The welfare of the world
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The concerns of the local community
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Those who suffer and those in any trouble
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The departed (with commemmoration of a saint when appropriate)
The Prayers of the People embody the church’s vocation to intercede for the world. Rooted in ancient synagogue and early Christian practice, these intercessions give voice to the community’s needs—church, nation, creation, and those who suffer. Their theology reflects the baptized priesthood, inviting all to share in Christ’s mediating work.
Such prayers were common in Eucharistic liturgies from very early, appearing in Justin Martyr's account of the Eucharist in the 2nd century just before the Eucharistic prayers. Cramner included them in the1549 Prayer Book, as did the Continental reformers, though theirs were placed as ante-communion prayers. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) restores the Prayers of the People to their historic place before commuion and after Sermon and Creed.
Different forms of the Prayers of the People are provided in the Book of Common Prayer, allowing for variation in tone and style. Some forms include set responses, such as “Lord, hear our prayer,” encouraging congregational participation. Others allow space for spontaneous petitions, naming specific people or situations. In many parishes, laypersons lead these prayers, highlighting the shared ministry of all baptized members.
359-360
Confession & Absolution
A Confession of sin is said here if it has not been said earlier. On occasion, the Confession may be omitted.
The Deason or Celebrant says
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Minister and People
Most merdivul God....
The Bishop, when present, our the Priest, stands and says,
Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
Confession and Absolution form a central moment of repentance and reconciliation as the congregation reflects on sin, grace, and communal restoration. Confession occurs after the Prayers with the people acknowledging sin “in thought, word, and deed,” thus highlighting both personal and collective responsibility and underscoring the belief that all sin has communal consequences. The Absolution pronounced by bishop or priest declares God’s forgiveness with words grounded in Scripture, as they act not on personal authority but as a sacramental sign of divine mercy. Confession and Absolution prepare worshippers to receive the Eucharist with humility, as they acknowledge all while trusting in God's merciful love.
The practice of public, communal Confession is relatively new in Christian worship, emerging only during the Reformation. In the early Church, Christians simply acknowledged their sinfulness by thanking God for their redemption. Absolution was not included, as communion was thought to grant forgiveness. Late in the middle ages, the act of confession and absolution began to be carreid out by the priest and his assistants (acolytes) in preparation for Holy Eucharist. Public litanies also began to appear. The 1548 English Order of Communion was the first liturgy to feature communal confession and absolution, which Thomas Cranmer added (but revised) in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer.
360
The Peace
All stand. The Celebrant says to the people
The Peace of the Lord be always with you.
People And also with you.
Then the Ministers and People may greet one another in the name of the Lord.
The Peace is a solemn declaration of restored relationship within the Body of Christ (not merely a social greeting). Episcopal practice stresses the Eucharist as a foretaste of God’s reconciled kingdom, and the Peace embodies the commitment to be at peace with one another before sharing Communion (see Matt 5:23–24). In practice, the Peace may be exchanged through words, handshakes, embraces, or bows, but its core purpose remains constant: to enact the unity, forgiveness, and mutual recognition that define the Christian community gathered for Eucharist.
As a liturgical action, the Peace has deep roots in Christian worship. It originates in the “holy kiss” mentioned repeatedly in the New Testament (e.g., Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20), where Christians greeted one another as members of a reconciled community. Early sources show that the Peace was especially linked to baptismal liturgies, marking the newly baptized as full participants in the community’s fellowship.
By the second century, Justin Martyr describes the Peace occurring before the presentation of the Eucharistic gifts, effectively concluding the Liturgy of the Word. By the 5th century, the Roman rite moved it to the breaking of the bread, immediately before the reception of communion (this is where it generally remains in the Roman Catholic liturgy). The Reformation and Anglican liturgies of the 15th and 16th centuries removed the act altogether. It was first revived in modern times in Anglican worship through the Book of Common Worship of the Church of South India. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) restored the Peace to its ancient location—after the prayers and before the offertory—emphasizing its theological purpose as an act of reconciliation before approaching the altar.
361
THE HOLY COMMUNION
361
376
The Offertory
The Celebrant may begin the Offertory with one of the (Offertory) sentences, or with some other sentence of Scripture. For example:
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Ascribe to the Lord the honor due his Name; bring offerings and come into his courts. Psalm 96:8
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Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2
During the Offerroty, a hymn, psalm, or anthem may be sung.
Representatives of the congregation bring the people's offerings of bread and wine, and money or other gifts, tp the deacon or celebrant. The people stand while the offerings are presented and placed on the Altar.
The Offertory acknowledges the central conviction that all gifts originate in God and are returned for God’s purposes.
The worshipping community presents its life, labor, and gratitude to God. The presentation of the gifts—bread, wine, and alms—makes this theology visible. Moreover, the congregation’s offerings, placed on the altar, symbolize the joining of human labor with Christ’s own self‑offering. Thus the offertory is not simply practical preparation for Communion; it is a prayerful act of self‑offering, a declaration that the Eucharist involves the whole life of the community, gathered and given for the work of God in the world.
Historically, early Christians brought bread, wine, and other necessities to the gathering, offering not only the elements for the Eucharist but also material support for the poor. Over centuries, this moment became more formalized. Eventually, however, the act of presenting the elements disappeared altogher and the colletion of alms was left to the deacon or the wardens. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) stands at a crossroads of ancient Christian practice and the liturgical vision of the 20th century, by intentionally recovering the early pattern. The Offertory Sentence, drawn from Scripture, frames the action by reminding the congregation that generosity, justice, and praise are inseparable from Eucharistic worship. These sentences are not mere transitions; they interpret the moment. Whether the text emphasizes mercy, stewardship, or joy, it calls the assembly to recognize that giving is a spiritual act rooted in God’s abundance.
The Great Thanksgiving
What follows is from from Rite 2, Eucharistic Prayers A.
361
Sursum Corda
The people remai,n stading. The Celebrant, whether bishop or priest, faces them and sings or says
The Lord be with you.
People And also with you.
Celebrant Lift up your hearts.
People We lift them to the Lord.
Celebrant Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People It is right to give God thanks and praise.
Then, facing the Holy Table, the Celebrant proceeds.
It is right, and a good and joyful thing....
The Great Thanksgiving is the church’s central act of offering thanks for God’s redeeming work in Christ and the gift of the Eucharist. Led by the Bishop or Priest, the whole community remembers God’s saving acts, making them present through the bread and wine becoming the real presence of Christ’s body and blood. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) provides six Eucharistic Prayers for Sunday use, with three additional options in Enriching Our Worship (EOW).
Sursum Corda (Latin, meaning “Lifted hearts”) begins the Great Thanksgiving with an ancient threefold exchange calling the people to be with the Lord, assent to lifting their hearts, and give thanks to the Lord. Not just a greeting, Sursum Corda is an invitation to a posture of awareness, calling on the congregation to lift their hearts to God and to align themselves with heavenly worship. Moreover, it marks the movement to a participatory remembrance in God’s saving work. It is a brief but profound dialogue in which the church declares its readiness to join Christ’s self‑offering.
Sursum Corda is one of the most enduring elements of Christian liturgy, appearing in virtually every Eucharistic tradition reaching back to at least the 3rd century. Early witnesses such as Hippolytus preserve a form nearly identical to what appears in the Book of Common Prayer (1979). It’s a remarkable continuity that shows how central the dialogue is to the Church’s understanding of Eucharistic.
361-362
377-382
The Preface & Sanctus
Then, facing the Holy Table, the Celebrant proceeds
It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
Here a Proper Preface is sung or said on all Sundays, and on otheroccasions as appointed.
Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:
Celebrant and People
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Following the Sursum Corda, the Preface reaches back into the worship life of ancient Israel, reflecting the structure of the Jewish berakot -- blessings that praise God for creation, covenant, and deliverance. These prayers shaped synagogue worship during the Second Temple period, and formed the pattern of thanksgiving that early Christians naturally adopted when they gathered for the breaking of bread. By the third century, this inherited structure had become the opening movement of the Christian Great Thanksgiving, introducing the Eucharistic prayer with praise for God’s creative and redemptive work.
Theologically and liturgically, the Preface serves as an entry into the Eucharist, praising God for the whole sweep of creation and salvation history, often highlighting the particular grace of the liturgical season or feast. Its climactic turn joins earthly worship to the heavenly liturgy, echoing Isaiah’s vision and the song of the angels as the church is swept into the ceaseless praise of “Holy, holy, holy,” uniting its voice with prophets, apostles, martyrs, and all creation. There are Proper Prefaces used for various seasons and occasions.
Sanctus (“Holy, holy, holy”) is the acclamation at the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer that joins the worship of congregation with the unending praise of heaven and earth through space and time. The first half of the acclamation is drawn directly from Isaiah’s temple vision in Isaiah 6, where the prophet is swept into the worship of the seraphim and confronted with God’s overwhelming holiness. Early Christians understood this angelic hymn as the eternal song of heaven, and by the second and third centuries it had become a fixed element of Eastern and Western Eucharistic prayers, signaling that the church’s worship participates in the ceaseless praise of the heavenly court. The second half of the acclamation comes from the crowd’s cry in Matthew 21, adding a distinctly Christian confession: the One whom the angels adore is the same Christ who comes among his people in the Eucharist.
The fusion of Isaiah’s vision with the Messianic acclamation emerged in the early church as a way of uniting creation’s praise with the church’s hope in Christ’s coming. Liturgically, the Sanctus marks the moment when the assembly acknowledges that it stands before the divine, entering the mystery of God’s kingdom. It expresses awe before God’s holiness, humility in the presence of glory, and hope in the Christ who comes to his people in bread and wine. In this acclamation, the church joins heaven and earth, past and future, angels and saints, in one unending hymn of praise.
362-363
The Institution Narrative &
Memorial Acclamation
Then the Celebrant continues
Holy and gracious Father: In your infinite love you made us for yourself, and, when we had fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death, you, in your mercy, sent Jesus Christ, your only and eternal Son, to share our human nature, to live and die as one of us, to reconcile us to you, the God and Father of all.
He stretched out his arms upon the cross, and offered himself, in obedience to your will, a perfect sacrifice for the whole world.
At the following words concerning the bread, the Celebrant is to hold it, or to lay a hand upon it; and at the words concerning the cup, to hold or place a hand upon the cup and any other vessel containing wine to be consecrated.
On the night he was handed over to suffering and death, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."
After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said, "Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Celebrant and People
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
The Institution Narrative recounts Jesus’ words at the Last Supper. Its use in the Eucharistic prayer emerged as the church sought to anchor its prayer and action in the saving events of the life and death of Jesus, especially the Paschal remembrance. Though the Didache and earliest Christian prayers do not yet contain Jesus’ Last Supper words, they reveal a liturgical world shaped by thanksgiving, covenantal memory, and the Paschal pattern and laid fertile ground for the narrative’s later inclusion. By the early third century, the Apostolic Tradition, attributed to Hippolytus, provides the first full Eucharistic Prayer with the Institution Narrative embedded. Hyppolytus was himself drawing on the theological currents of Easter homilies and typological preaching that linked Christ’s Passion to Exodus 12 and Israel’s covenantal remembrance. By the late fourth century, Eastern and Western Eucharists had made the narrative a regular component, reflecting the church’s desire to proclaim Christ’s command, “Do this in remembrance of me,” as part of their offering.
Biblically, the narrative rests on Paul’s account in 1 Corinthians 11:23–26, the earliest written witness, which frames the Eucharist as both proclamation and anamnesis (see below). The Synoptic tradition deepened this with covenantal and sacrificial language, presenting the meal as the inauguration of the new covenant. Theologically, the narrative functions as the church’s entry into the Paschal mystery, a covenant renewal grounded in Scripture and apostolic tradition, proclaimed by the priest as both witness and anamnetic act. Anglican liturgy inherits this ancient pattern through Cranmer who saw the Institution Narrative as the pivot of consecration, the scriptural anchor of the Eucharistic prayer, and the church’s faithful remembrance of Christ’s command. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) reflects this continuity.
The Memorial Acclamation (”Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”) draws on ancient Eastern Christian practice, where short congregational responses regularly followed the Institution Narrative as a way for the assembly to proclaim the Paschal mystery. Syriac and Byzantine liturgies long used such acclamations to give the people an active voice within the Eucharistic prayer, affirming Christ’s death, resurrection, and future coming. Although the Western tradition did not historically include these responses, the twentieth‑century liturgical movement recovered their early use, recognizing that the Eucharist is the prayer of the whole church, not the priest alone. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) adopted a Memorial Acclamation in each Eucharistic prayer, restoring the ancient pattern and strengthening congregational participation. Theologically, the acclamation embodies anamnesis. By proclaiming that Christ has died, is risen, and will come again, the assembly voices the entire sweep of salvation history and joins its faith to the priest’s proclamation of the Institution Narrative.
Anamnesis is the Church’s active, Spirit‑filled remembrance of Christ’s saving work, a dynamic act that moves far beyond recalling past events. Rooted in Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 11:26, anamnesis begins with the community’s proclamation of Christ’s death, resurrection, and coming again, but it culminates in a present participation in the Paschal mystery. In biblical thought, remembrance is never passive; it is the means by which God’s saving deeds become effective for the worshiping community. Thus, in the Eucharist, the congregation does not simply remember what Christ has done—it enters into that saving work as a living reality. Through anamnesis, the Church is continually shaped by the Paschal pattern of dying and rising with Christ, forming its identity as a people redeemed, renewed, and awaiting his return. This shared remembrance becomes the foundation of Christian belonging, binding the assembly to Christ and to one another in the unity of his Body.
362-363
The Epiclesis
(Oblation, Supplicaiton, & Doxology)
The Celebrant continues
We celebrate the memorial of our redemption, O Father, in this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Recalling his death, resurrection, and ascension, we offer you these gifts.
Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of new and unending life in him. Sanctify us also that we may faithfully receive this holy Sacrament, and serve you in unity, constancy, and peace; and at the last day bring us with all your saints into the joy of your eternal kingdom.
All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ: By him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.
The Epiclesis reveals how the early church understood the Eucharist as an act of the Holy Spirit. Explicit invocations of the Spirit appear first in the fourth‑century Eastern liturgies of Basil, Chrysostom, and the Antiochene tradition. The impulse behind such invocations can, however, be found in earlier witnesses such as Irenaeus, who describes the Eucharist as a "Spirit‑filled act" transforming the elements (bread and wine) and the people. In the West, the medieval rites emphasized the Institution Narrative, leaving the Spirit’s role largely implicit. Reformation liturgies continued this trajectory, focusing on Christ’s words and the faith of the assembly. A notable exception is John Calvin's insistence that the Spirit is the true agent of sacramental grace. Nevertheless, it was only during the twentieth‑century liturgical movement that Western churches recovered an explicit Epiclesis
The reintroduction of the Epiclesis in Western liturgies restored the balance between Word, Spirit, and Sacrament, making clear that consecration is not mechanical but the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit. By invoking the Spirit to sanctify both the gifts and the people, the prayer emphasizes transformation: bread and wine becoming the Body and Blood of Christ, and the assembly becoming Christ’s Body for the world. This Trinitarian dynamism anchors Anglican Eucharistic theology in the living action of God rather than in any single moment or formula.
The Oblation, placed immediately before the Epiclesis in the Book of Common Prayer (1979), draws the church’s self‑offering into Christ’s own offering recalled in the Institution Narrative. This restored placement mirrors early Christian patterns in which the church’s sacrifice of praise flowed naturally into the invocation of the Spirit. Following the Epiclesis, the Supplication gathers the intercessions of the church, linking the Eucharist to the world’s needs and expressing the belief that communion with Christ leads to communion with all creation. The prayer concludes with the Doxology, a Trinitarian act of praise—glorifying the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit—that seals the Eucharistic offering and returns the church’s thanksgiving to God in the language of eternal worship.
362-363
The Lord's Prayer
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,
People and Celebrant
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.
The Lord’s Prayer emerged from Jesus’ own teaching and quickly became the church’s foundational pattern of prayer. At first, the prayer was primarily used as catechesis, a way to prepare new believers for Baptism, reserving its public recitation for the newly baptized during Eastertide. Around 400 AD, the Lord’s Prayer was first included in the celebration of Eucharist as a shared devotion to prepare worshippers to receive the Sacrament. This placement reflected the church’s conviction that approaching the Sacrament required hearts shaped by forgiveness, dependence on God, and longing for the coming kingdom. In the Western tradition, its position varied until the 1662 Book of Common Prayer fixed it after the Doxology, though Anglican practice has long permitted its use after the Fraction as well.
Theologically, the Lord’s Prayer expresses the essence of Christian discipleship. Its opening petitions proclaim God’s holiness and seek the inbreaking of God’s reign; its middle petitions ask for daily sustenance, forgiveness, and deliverance—needs that define the Christian life. Its communal language—our Father, give us, forgive us—reveals that Christian prayer is never an isolated act but the shared voice of the Body of Christ. At its place within the Eucharist, the prayer becomes the church’s final act of preparation before Communion: a bold approach to the Father through Christ’s sacrifice, aligning the community’s desires with God’s will and binding the assembly together in forgiveness, trust, and hope.
The Book of Common Prayer (1979) provides two forms of the Lord’s Prayer, each preserving a different thread of Anglican tradition. The traditional version maintains the classic, rhythmic language inherited from earlier prayer books, offering continuity with centuries of English worship. The contemporary version uses modern speech while keeping the prayer’s theological clarity and communal emphasis. Their shared presence allows congregations to pray either in the familiar cadence of Anglican heritage or in language that reflects present‑day usage, while remaining faithful to the same pattern of Christian discipleship.
The Breaking of the Bread & Dismissal
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The Fraction
The Celebrant breaks the consecrated Bread.
A period of silence is kept.
Then may be sung or said
[Alleluia.] Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
Therefore let us keep the feast. [Alleluia.]
In Lent, Alleluia is omitted, and may be omitted at other times except during Easter Season.
In place of, or in addition to, the preceding, some other suitable anthem may be used.
The Breaking of the Bread (or Fraction) marks the church’s movement from consecration to communion. By the second century, writers such as Justin Martyr described the Eucharist with the fourfold pattern of Christ’s own action—took, blessed, broke, gave—making the fraction a necessary sign that the one Body is shared among many.
The Fraction Anthem is sung or said immediately after the Fraction. In the Western tradition, the Agnus Dei was added in the seventh century as a chant accompanying the breaking of the consecrated bread, linking the act to Christ the Paschal Lamb whose sacrifice brings mercy and peace. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) preserves this ancient instinct through the Fraction Anthem, whose scriptural language proclaims Christ’s self‑offering and the church’s trust in his mercy.
Theologically, the fraction reveals that communion is not merely reception but participation in Christ’s death and resurrection: the broken bread signifies the crucified Lord now given to his people, and the shared cup signifies the new covenant poured out for the world. In this moment, the assembly beholds the mystery it is about to receive—Christ broken for us, Christ shared among us, Christ forming us into one Body.
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The Invitation to Communion
Facing the people, the Celebrant says the following Invitation
The Gifts of God for the People of God.
and may add
Take them in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith, with thanksgiving.
The Invitation to Communion—“The Gifts of God for the People of God”—has antecedents in early Christian assemblies where the bishop called the baptized to the holy meal. It emphasizes that Communion is not a private devotion but the church’s participation in Christ’s self‑offering. The optional second part of the invitation comes from Reformation-era Anglican devotion. Theologically, the invitation declares that what is offered is truly Christ’s gift, given for the life of the world, and that those who gather are united as one Body in him.
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Distribution of Holy Communion
The ministers receive the Sacrament in both kinds, and then immediately deliver it to the people.
The Bread and the Cup are given to the communicants with these words
The Body (Blood) of our Lord Jesus Christ keep you in
everlasting life. [Amen.]
or with these words
The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven. [Amen.]
The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. [Amen.]
During the ministration of Communion, hymns, psalms, or anthems may be sung.
During the Distribution of Communion, the priest and ministers share the consecrated bread and wine with the assembly, echoing the earliest descriptions of Christian worship in Justin Martyr and the Apostolic Tradition. The act of distribution embodies the church’s identity as a communion—receiving Christ, becoming Christ’s Body, and being sent to live his life in the world. The accompanying words, drawn from Scripture, proclaim the real presence of Christ and the grace given in the sacrament. Together, these elements reveal the Eucharist as both gift and calling: Christ shared among his people, and his people strengthened to share his life with others.
Communion Hymns during the Distribution of Holy Communion continue an ancient Christian pattern of singing as the faithful receive the Sacrament. Early descriptions of worship, such as Justin Martyr’s, note psalms and refrains accompanying Communion, a practice later formalized in medieval Western Communio chants. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) restores this tradition by encouraging hymns, psalms, or anthems during the distribution, allowing the congregation’s prayer to remain continuous and communal. Theologically, these hymns deepen the church’s unity in Christ: as the Body receives the Body, the assembly sings with one voice, expressing gratitude, devotion, and hope. Music becomes an extension of the Eucharistic prayer, helping worshippers meditate on Christ’s presence and the grace they receive.
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The Post Communion Prayer
After Communion, the Celebrant says
Let us pray.
Celebrant and People
Eternal God, heavenly Father,
you have graciously accepted us as living members
of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ,
and you have fed us with spiritual food
in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood.
Send us now into the world in peace,
and grant us strength and courage
to love and serve you
with gladness and singleness of heart;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Post‑Communion Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer (1979) stands in continuity with ancient Christian thanksgiving after Communion, echoing early patterns found in the Apostolic Tradition and later Western sacramentaries. These antecedents emphasized gratitude for sacramental grace and a renewed commitment to Christian mission. Cranmer’s 1549 and 1552 books preserved this impulse, though with more penitential tone. The 1979 revision restored a richer, baptismal theology, drawing on patristic themes of incorporation into Christ and empowerment by the Spirit.
In contemporary Episcopal liturgy, the prayer functions as a hinge between the sacramental feast and the church’s sending. Its language—“you have fed us with spiritual food” and “send us now into the world in peace”—frames Communion not as a private devotion but as nourishment for public discipleship. The prayer thus reinforces the Eucharist’s shape: gathered, fed, and sent.
Theologically, it expresses sanctification, mission, and thanksgiving. The faithful are strengthened “for service,” embodying the church’s vocation to bear Christ’s reconciling love. Its eschatological note—anticipating “the heavenly banquet”—roots present worship in the hope of God’s final restoration. In this way, the Post‑Communion Prayer gathers the Eucharistic mystery into a single act of gratitude, commissioning, and joyful expectation.
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The Blessing
The Bishop, when present, or the Priest, may bless the people.
The Final Blessing sends the congregation forth in the grace and power of God. Its roots lie in the ancient Jewish and early Christian practice of blessing the people at the end of worship, a pattern seen in the priestly blessing of Numbers 6 and in early episcopal liturgies where the bishop dismissed the assembly with words of peace. Medieval Western rites preserved this custom, and Anglican worship inherited it as a distinct act of pastoral care. Theologically, the Final Blessing is more than a farewell: it seals the Eucharistic celebration by invoking God’s presence upon the people who have been fed with Word and Sacrament. Whether using the seasonal blessing or the simple Trinitarian form, the priest proclaims God’s favor, protection, and guidance, equipping the assembly to live as Christ’s Body in the world. In this moment, worship turns outward—the grace received becomes the grace carried into daily life.
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The Dismissal
The Deacon, or the Celebrant, dismisses them with these words
Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
People Thanks be to God.
From the Easter Vigil through the Day of Pentecost "Alleluia, alleluia" may be added to any of the dismissals.
The People resond Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Dismissal in Holy Eucharist, Rite II of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer sends the congregation forth to live the gospel they have received. Rooted in early Christian practice—where deacons dismissed the assembly with a charge of mission—it marks the moment when worship turns outward. The deacon or priest proclaims, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,” or another authorized formula, and the people respond with grateful affirmation. Theologically, the Dismissal completes the Eucharistic pattern of being gathered, fed, and sent, commissioning the church to bear Christ’s reconciling love in daily life. It is the liturgy’s final act of mission, carrying grace into the world.
A Recessional Hymn usually accompanies the ministers’ departure and signals the congregation’s movement from worship into mission. Rooted in medieval processional customs, it evolved into a joyful sending‑forth song that reinforces the Eucharist’s final charge. Theologically, it embodies the church’s call to carry Christ’s light into the world.