'To make the profession of his belief with his own mouth': the ceremonies of the Creed at Matins and Evensong

Last week, we reflected on how John Shepherd, in his A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), expounded the meaning of the place of the Apostles' Creed at Matins and Evensong. This week, we consider Shepherd's account of the ceremonies accompanying the Creed - that it is said by the congregation, standing, facing east, with the head bowed at the Name of Jesus. 

Shepherd begins by noting that there is salvific significance to the congregation joining with the minister in the saying of the Creed:

It is the confession of every person present, and therefore every one ought personally to pronounce it with the minister. It should be remembered, that our Creed does not, like our prayers, run in the plural number. The minister does not say in the name of the congregation, "We believe," but he for himself, and every individual for himself, is directed to say, "I believe" ... every man must believe for himself, and ought to make the profession of his belief with his own mouth, since every one is to be justified and saved by his own faith, and not by the faith of others. Let none of the people imagine, if they hear the minister repeat it, and themselves say Amen, that this is sufficient. For every member of the congregation is as much concerned in the rehearsal of it, as the minister himself. 

As to the rubric directing that all stand for the saying of the Creed, Shepherd sees here an indication of the ancient role of the Creed as the symbol binding together the church:

It is a solemn declaration, reciprocally made by one man to another, by every individual to the whole congregation. Now whenever one man addresses an assembly of his equals, and in the house of prayer all men must be considered as equal, standing is the attitude which among us decorum naturally suggests; and it is therefore the attitude enjoined by the regulations of the church.

Shepherd's explanations of both the congregation reciting the Creed and doing so standing is a further reminder of the need for the liturgy to include the Creeds and the importance of the congregation professing them standing. These actions, in a particular manner, give expression to and provide for a reaffirmation of the Church's identity.

It is interesting that nearly four decades before the beginning of the Oxford Movement, Shepherd also notes that facing east for the Creed "is still retained by many of our congregations", though "not enjoined by any Rubric, or direction of our church". As to its meaning, Shepherd grounds this in patristic practices surrounding Baptism:

For the origin of this practice we must look to the usage of antiquity, where, as we have observed, the Creed was first publicly used in baptism. 

He then turns to Ambrose to explain the symbolism:

And Ambrose says, "thou art turned to the East. For he that renounces the devil turns unto Christ," intimating that turning to the East, or rising fun, was considered as a conversion from Satan unto Christ, a change from darkness unto light, from serving idols, to worship the fountain of light, the fun of righteousness.

Rooting the practice of facing east in both patristic Baptismal ceremonies provides a powerful additional illustration of the meaning of the Creed and its place in the liturgy.

Finally, Shepherd draws attention to bowing at the Holy Name in the Creed. Again, it is worth noting that he considers this be "general practice" long before the Oxford Movement:

There is a general practice in our churches of bowing here at the mention of the name of Jesus ... At present it is customary to do reverence, when the name of Jesus is mentioned in this and the Nicene Creed.

The meaning of this indicated by his quotation from the 18th of the 1604 Canons:

due Acknowledgment that the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and eternal Son of God, is the only Saviour of the World, in whom alone all the Mercies, Graces, and Promises of God to Mankind, for this Life and the Life to come, are fully and wholly comprised.

To bow at the Lord's Name in the Creed, therefore, is to acknowledge the Church's Christological centre; to profess faith in Him is the very purpose of the Creeds.

Shepherd provides a rich account of the ceremonies surrounding the Creed.  Yes, they are the decent, ordinary ceremonies of Prayer Book Anglicanism, but they point to and signify the purpose, meaning, and centre of Creedal confession.