'He acknowledges his and their unworthiness to approach the Lord's Table': on kneeling for the General Confession at the Holy Communion

The rubric introducing the general Confession at the Holy Communion states that both the minister and the communicants are to be "kneeling humbly upon their knees". As John Shepherd notes - in his A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Book of Common Prayer, Volume II (1801) - this is one of only three places in the 1662 rite in which the priest is directed to kneel, emphasising the solemn and corporate nature of the general Confession:

During the whole time of the Priest's officiating at the Communion he is directed to kneel only thrice, at this Confession, at the Collect before the prayer for Consecration, and at the act of receiving. In every other part of the office he is to stand. This was the practice of the ancient Church, and the attitude was probably borrowed from the service of the temple, where the legal sacrifices were offered by the Priest standing. Between the legal and evangelical sacrifice there is the same correspondence that exists between the shadow and the substance. The Christian Priest offers up the incense of prayers, praises, and alms; the oblation of ourselves, our souls, and bodies; and the memorial of the sacrifice of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. At the Confession, and the Collect before the prayer of Consecration, which form no part of these oblations, he kneels. In the former he confesses his own sins, as well as the sins of the people; and in the latter he acknowledges his and their unworthiness to approach the Lord's table.

This reference to the priest kneeling for both the general Confession and the Prayer of Humble Access, at one with the congregation in the acknowledgement of sin, is a reminder of the seriousness with which the 1662 and related rites understand our unworthiness as we draw near to the holy Sacrament. When, in contemporary eucharistic rites, we stand for what is usually a much less searching confession - or, worse, merely the kyries - there is no parallel acknowledgement of our sin and unworthiness. If the congregation kneel, but the minister or ministers remain standing, again this fails to adequately symbolise the reality and extent of our individual and corporate sins.

The rubric, therefore, points us to one of the many strengths of the 1662 rite: the seriousness with which it recognises our sinfulness is particularly compelling. There can, however, be ways of at least partly replicating this in contemporary rites: using a meaningful exhortation to self-examination and repentance; not replacing a proper confession with the kyries; ensuring the absolution, as a proclamation of God's forgiveness of our sins, is not omitted. And, mindful of Shepherd's words, the minister/s kneeling with the congregation for the solemn confession of our sins, in solemn acknowledgement of our shared "unworthiness to approach the Lord's Table".

Why I support the ordination of women: a High Church reflection

A number of commenters on this blog have asked about my occasional expressions of support for the ordination of women to all three orders. With some hesitation, I have decided to post a summary of my own views on this matter. The hesitation is because I have sought on this blog to focus on issues and themes which can unify those who identify with or have respect (grudging or otherwise!) for what we might term 'classical' Anglicanism (the Anglicanism of the Formularies and - yes - of the Old High Church tradition). Some oppose the ordination of women (and I have friends and colleagues who do so, Anglo-Catholic, High Church, and Reformed Evangelical). Some of us support it (again, friends and colleagues covering a wide range of theological traditions). Below, I have organised my thinking around 5 points (needless to say, no reference to Dort is implied). 1. The Declaration for Subscription required of clergy in the Church of Ireland states: (6) I promise to submit ...

How the Old High tradition continued

Charles Gore's 1914 letter to the clergy of his diocese, ' The Basis of Anglican Fellowship ', can be regarded as a classical expression of the Prayer Book Catholic tradition. A key part of the letter - entitled 'Romanizing in the Church of England' - addressed the "Catholic movement", questioning beliefs and practices within it which tended to "a position which makes it very difficult for its extremer representatives to give an intelligible reason why they are not Roman Catholics". Gore provides the outlines of an alternative account and experience of catholicity within Anglicanism, defined by three characteristics. What is particularly interesting about these characteristics is their continuity with the older High Church tradition. Indeed, the central characteristic as set out by Gore was integral to High Church claims over centuries: To accept the Anglican position as valid, in any sense, is to appeal behind the Pope and the authority of t...

1928 practices and the 1979 book: unthinking conservatism or popular piety?

Those responsible for Earth & Altar - a new blog emanating from a group within TEC - are to be congratulated for an excellent contribution to wider Anglican discussion and debate. The commitment to "an expansively conceived credal orthodoxy as fully compatible with LGBTQ inclusion, gender equality, and racial justice" is an important part of a wider retrieval of creedal orthodoxy within what we might call the post-liberal generation. It is in this spirit that I want to respond to a recent post on the site by Andrew McGowan , Dean of the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and Professor of Anglican Studies at Yale Divinity School. Against the background of another round of "ill-defined" liturgical revision in TEC, he understandably urges that a fuller reception of the 1979 BCP should occur before further reforms. In doing so, however, he takes aim at what he describes as "clinging to the ritual structures of 1928" while using the text of 1979. We ...

laudable Practice

Search This Blog