Category Archives: Anglican

New Stuff at the OJN Liturgy Page

I have been alerted through a broken link notice (thanks, bls!) that there is new material that the Order of Julian of Norwich’s Liturgical Publications page. There are three new items: a new set of collects, a 2008 kalendar, and—perhaps most exciting—the order’s hymnal from Advent through Lent. I’d posted Advent bits but did not have the time to get to the rest. Thankfully, they have…

Clint Eastwood as an Anglo-Catholic Liturgist

“I know what yer thinkin’, punk…

“The evening of the 20th by all rights oughtta be the First Vespers of St. Thomas the Apostle, a second class universal double feast. But yer thinkin’ maybe–just maybe–the Second Vespers of a second class feria in Sapentia-tide just might take it…and you can get away with usin’ the ‘O’ antiphon with the Magnificat instead of the one appointed for St. Thomas…

“Ya gotta ask yerself a question: do I feel lucky? Well, do ya–punk?”

(The answer, of course, is that the antiphon for the Magnificat is that appointed for St Thomas [Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; * blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed] However, the “O” antiphons appear on the 20th and 21st as commemorations—after the collect of the day, with their versicle & response [if you’re using them] and followed by the collect of the Third Sunday of Advent.)

A Word from Our Sponsor

In lieu of actual content, I bring you two from one our sponsors, Blessed George Herbert:

Church-Rents and Schismes

Brave rose, (alas!) where art thou? in the chair
Where thou didst lately so triumph and shine,
A worm doth sit, whose many feet and hair
Are the more foul, the more thou wert divine.
This, this hath done it, this did bite the root
And bottome of the leaves: which when the winde
Did once perceive, it blew them under foot,
Where rude unhallow’d steps do crush and grinde
Their beauteous glories. Onely shreds of thee,
And those all bitten, in thy chair I see.

Why doth my Mother blush? is she the rose,
And shows it so? Indeed Christs precious bloud
Gave you a colour once; which when your foes
Thought to let out, the bleeding did you good,
And made you look much fresher then before.
But when debates and fretting jealousies
Did worm and work within you more and more,
Your colour faded, and calamities
Turned your ruddie into pale and bleak:

Your health and beautie both began to break.
Then did your sev’rall parts unloose and start:
Which when your neighbours saw, like a north-winde,
They rushed in, and cast them in the dirt
Where Pagans tread. O Mother deare and kinde,
Where shall I get me eyes enough to weep,
As many eyes as starres? since it is night,
And much of Asia and Europe fast asleep,
And ev’n all Africk; would at least I might
With these two poore ones lick up all the dew,
Which falls by night, and poure it out for you!

The Call

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joyes in love.

++Rowan Sends Letters

++Rowan has sent ’round the world this morning two letters–one for Advent and one for Christmas. Ever the liturgical snark, my first instinct was to wish he had sent the Christmas one later than the Advent one if even only by a day or two…

There will be lots of talk about these letters and their contents. I may weigh in on them–I may not. But I do want to suggest that the Advent letter be analyzed with two entirely different questions in mind:

  1. Does this letter reflect the Anglican understanding of the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury? How well does it go about being faithful to our Anglican ways of relating to each other?
  2. How should the Episcopal Church respond–in so far as we are able to respond in any kind of unified way?

Again, I want to stress that I see these as two entirely different questions that will help us gain a better sense of where we ought to be moving in response to this missive.

Anglican Affairs

I suspect all who care know that the Diocese of San Joaquin voted to disassociate from the Episcopal Church this weekend. Every time I come back to study this event and my reaction to it, I always come away with the same feeling—this is another link in a long chain of events that reek of personal aggrandizement and power politics from both sides of the fence than the sweet savor of Gospel truth. (So sorry, but give my experience with Anglo-Catholic parishes and clergy, the idea that this Anglo-Catholic diocese split because of homosexuality is laughable; furthermore, given the way that many “pragmatic liberals” trumpet “full inclusion” yet act as they will when they will makes me question the purity of their intentions.)

That’s all I have to say on the matter—but I have two thoughts from others to commend to you:

1) More on the split from Fr. David at Ayia Iluvatar.

2) On intemperate blogging from the Morning Office (being myself under the word of judgment):

     

Psalm 52
       
   

1

   Why boastest thou thyself, thou tyrant :
  that thou canst do mischief;
         
   

2

   Whereas the goodness of God :
  endureth yet daily?
         
   

3

   Thy tongue imagineth wickedness :
  and with lies thou cuttest like a sharp razor.
         
   

4

   Thou hast loved unrighteousness more than goodness :
  and to talk of lies more than righteousness.
         
   

5

   Thou hast loved to speak all words that may do hurt :
  O thou false tongue.
         
   

6

   Therefore shall God destroy thee for ever :
  he shall take thee, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling, and root thee out of the land of the living.
         
   

7

   The righteous also shall see this, and fear :
  and shall laugh him to scorn;
         
   

8

   Lo, this is the man that took not God for his strength :
  but trusted unto the multitude of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
         
   

9

   As for me, I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God :
  my trust is in the tender mercy of God for ever and ever.
         
   

10

   I will always give thanks unto thee for that thou hast done :
  and I will hope in thy Name, for thy saints like it well.

Advent Goodness from the OJN

Two items for Advent:

  • I’ve scanned the hymns used by the Order of Julian of Norwich during the season of Advent and compiled them into a single document (Advent_Hymns). Father John-Julian appointed hymns for First and Second Vespers of the four Sundays of the season and in doing so incorporated the traditional Lauds and Matins hymns as well. For the sake of completness, I also added the Marian Antiphon for Advent (Alma Redemptoris) at the end of the file. The translations are not under copyright (but see the fair use terms on the side-bar) since they were prepared specifically for the Order into contemporary (Rite II) English. The sole exception is the final hymn; it was composed by Fr. John-Julian himself. The hymns contained here in order of appearance by original language incipit are:
    • Vos ante Christi tempora (Paris Breviary, XVIII cent.)
    • Conditor alme siderum [aka Creator alme siderum] (Ascr. St. Ambrose, VII cent.)
    • Verbum supernum prodiens (Unknown, V cent.)
    • In noctis umbra desides (C. Coffin, Paris Breviary, XVIII cent.)
    • Vox clara ecce intonat [aka En clara vox] (Unknown, V cent.)
    • Instantis Adventum Dei (C. Coffin, Paris Breviary, XVIII cent.)
    • Jordanis oras praevia (C. Coffin, Hymni Sacri, XVIII cent.)
    • They knew you not (John-Julian, OJN, 1997)
  • Fr. John-Julian has also sent the kalendar and ordo for the 2007-2008 liturgical year (ordo-2007-8.pdf).

The traditional (i.e., Anglo-Saxon/Sarum/Tridentine) Office hymn distributions are:

Links go to the Latin and English parallel texts at the wondrous hymn page at Thesaurus Precum Latinarum.

Positive Points from a Purple Shirt

Given the behavior of bishops the last few (yeah, ok, 18 hundred or so) years*, it’s always refreshing to see a bishop make some clear, cogent, and thoroughly Christian points. And these are the Canadian Diocese of New Westminster which—as I understand it—is one of the more divided dioceses theologically in the Anglican Church of Canada.

I’ll only editorialize one little bit and that’s to cite James: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (Jam 1:22). It’s important to think these things—but it’s not enough to congratulate yourself for saying you think them; they must be ennacted as well. And that goes as much for the bishop who spoke them as for the rest of us.

1.

Pray for the unity of Christians, for a spirit of charity towards those with whom we may disagree, and for God’s forgiveness of our mutual failure to honour the prayer of Christ in St. John’s Gospel “that they may be one.”

2.

Give particular support to those conservative and traditional Christians who remain with their church and grieve the departure of friends.

3.

Teach our members about the genius of Anglicanism and its balance of Scripture, reason and tradition within the boundaries of common prayer.

4.

Emphasize in our preaching and leadership the centrality of mission and its priority over ecclesiastical politics.

5.

Challenge the false stereotypes that foster polarization – e.g. the ‘heartless conservative’ or the ‘unbiblical liberal.’

6.

Give thanks that our church, for all its messiness, is honestly and openly facing issues some other bodies cannot.

7.

Press forward in ministry and evangelism at the local level.

8.

Deepen our study and immersion in Scripture. Place ourselves under the authority of the Christ it reveals. Avoid both an empty relativism and a harsh literalism.

9.

Encourage both local media and the non-churchgoing public to understand the deeper roots of this development.

10.

Take the ‘long view’ – i.e. remember the consistent triumph of the Gospel over the historic fragmentation of the church, and the persistence of faith through the failures of human discipleship.

Please remember our diocesan and national leaders in your prayers too. And above all, let’s get on with the normal work of being the church.

A big thank you to Lisa from My Manner of Life who posted it and a h/t to the Postulant for linking to it.

* Yes, I believe in bishops. As an Apostolic Succession believer I believe they’re necessary for the fullness of the Church. But I also believe they’re completely human and have ably demonstrated over the centuries their fallibility…

Sarum Office Hymns

I took a walk on the wild side of M’s hymnal collection. Poking through them I found a 1904 edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern (which I’m 99% sure was a gift from the Lutheran Zephyr). This was the edition that was roundly mocked at the time of its publication for its attempt to be too “historical.” (IIRC, Percy Dearmer was in on this edition but I don’t see the editors listed.) In the front is a table of “Sarum Office Hymns”; happily, the entire contents of this volume are posted online at Oremus.org. [Update: Or not. It seems some hymns had to be removed for reasons of copyright.]

Here is the list of Office Hymns as they appear in the front of Hymns Ancient & Modern, 2nd Ed., 1904. The hyperlink will take you to where the English text ought to be at Oremus.

Warning: Many of these files no longer exist on the Oremus server. Furthermore, the links that are active will begin playing a midi version of the hymn when you open it.

Table of Ancient English Office Hymns*

Advent
43 Creator of the starry height (Conditor alme siderum) E.**
44 O Word, that goest forth on high (Verbum supernum prodiens) M.
45 Loud rings the warning voice round (Vox clara ecce intonat) L.
34 To Thee before the close of day (Te lucis ante terminum) C.

Christmas
55 O come, Redemeer of the earth (Veni Redemptor gentium) E.
57 O Christ, Redeemer of our race (Christe Redemptor omnium) M.
56 From east to west, from shore to shore (A solis ortu cardine) L. & E.
58 Of the Father’s love begotten (Corde natus ex parentis) C. (York)
67 O Saviour of the world, we pray (Salvator mundi Domine) C.

Epiphany
79 Why doth that impious Herod fear (Hostis Herodes impie) E. & M.***
80 The Father’s sole-begotten Son (A Patre unigenitus) L.
67 O Saviour of the world, we pray (Salvator mundi Domine) C.

From the Epiphany to Lent
2 O splendor of God’s glory bright (Splendor paternae gloriae) L.
15 O blest Creator of the light (Lucis Creator optime) E.
34 To Thee before the close of day (Te lucis ante terminum) C.

[Before Septuagesima
89 Alleluia, song of sweetness (Alleluia, dulce carmen) (Anglo-Saxon Hymnals)]

The first fortnight of Lent
92 By precepts taught of ages past (Ex more docti mystico) E.
93 O Thou Who dost to man accord (Summi largitor praemii) (8.8.7 D) M.
94 O merciful Creator, hear (Audi, benigne Conditor) L.
105 O Christ Who art the Light and Day (Christe, qui lux es et dies) C.

The second fortnight of Lent
95 Lo! now is our accepted day (Ecce tempus idoneum) E.
96 It is the glory of this fast (Clarum decus ieiunii) M.
97 O Jesu, Thou didst concecrate (Jesu quadragenariae) (CM) L.
105 O Christ Who art the Light and Day (Christe, qui lux es et dies) C.

From Passion Sunday**** to the Wednesday before Easter
106 The Royal banners forward go (Vexilla regis prodeunt) E.
107 Sing, my tongue, the glorius battle (Pange lingua gloriosi praelium certaminis) M. & L.
108 Servant of God, remember (Cultor Dei, memento) C.

Eastertide
141 Up, new Jerusalem, and sing (Chorus novae Jerusalem) E.
142 Light’s glittering morn bedecks the sky (Aurora lucis rutilat) M. & L.*****
143 The Lamb’s high banquet call’d to share (Ad cenam Agni providi) E.
145 O Christ, the heav’ns’ Eternal King (Rex sempiterne caelitum) (Anglo-Saxon Hymnals)
163 Jesu, the world’s redeeming Lord (Jesu Salvator saeculi) C.

Ascensiontide
167 O Thou, Eternal King most High (Aeterne rex altissime) E. & M.
168 O Christ, our Joy, gone up on high (Tu, Christe, nostrum gaudium) L.
176 Jesu, our Hope, our heart’s Desire (Jesu nostra redemptio) (CM) C.

Whitsuntide
178 Now Christ above the starry floor (Iam Christus astra ascenderat) E. & M.
179 O joy! because the circling year (Beata nobis guadia) E.
67 O Saviour of the world, we pray (Salvator mundi Domine) C.

Trinity Sunday
188 Be near us, Holy Trinity (Adesto, sancta Trinitas) E. & M.
189 Father most Holy, merciful and loving (O Pater sancte) L.
190 All hail, adored Trinity (Ave colenda Trinitas) (Anglo-Saxon Hymnals)

From Trinity to Advent
15 O blest Creator of the light (Lucis Creator optime) E.
36 O Trinity, most blessed Light (O lux beata Trinitas) E. (Saturday)
34 To Thee before the close of day (Te lucis ante terminum) C.

There are sanctoral propers after this point—I’ll add them later as I have the chance.

* Unless it is otherwise specified, the Hymns represent the Sarum use, and are translated in their original metres.
** The initials represent the Ancient Services of Evensong, Mattins, Lauds, and Compline.
*** My note: IIRC, this is an abcedarian hymn by Sedulius and only part of it is contained here.
**** My note: Passion Sunday is the Sunday before Palm Sunday in the old kalendar.
***** My note: This hymn is split into three parts suggesting some were sung for Mattins, the rest was sung for Lauds.

Breviary Hymns

I’ve had some thoughts on breviary hymns running around in my head the past few days. I’m teaching a class on the Church Year right now, so these issues are towards the front of my brain…

Anciently, hymns were something that appeared in the Daily Office—not in the Mass. Therefore they had a different dynamic than how we currently experience them. In our current church practice we would be shocked if a hymn that we had sung earlier in the season reappeared in that same season unless, perhaps, a hymn paraphrase were being used to replace a standard part of the liturgy like the Gloria. So—repetition is not a big part of our current understanding of hymns. Classically, however, repetition was the name of the game. The Little Hours of the Office—Prime, Terce, Sext, None, and Compline—use the same hymns every day. (The exception is Compline—in some Benedictine systems there was a different Compline hymn for the Winter and Summer halves of the year.) The hymns of the major hours—Vigils, Lauds, and Vespers—changed to fit the season or the observance.

At Lauds and Vespers in particular, the hymn was the largest primary element that changed with the season. Overall, the structure of the Office doesn’t change with the change of seasons as the Mass does; we don’t drop out elements of the Office in the way that the Mass drops the Gloria or formerly moved to a Tract instead of a Gradual. Thus, the hymn became the central element in the Office that gave depth and character to the season. In fact, it’s a discursive transitional point that moves us into the depth of the season. Remember, the traditional Roman patterns for Lauds and Vespers begin with the same essential structure:

  1. opening versicles,
  2. psalmody—typically five psalms although that can get calculated in a variety of ways,
  3. the little chapter—a verse or two usually from Scripture that also changes with the season,
  4. the hymn with an attendant versicle and response, and
  5. the gospel canticle—the Benedictus (Song of Zechariah) at Lauds and the Magnificat (Song of Mary) at Vespers.

In terms of flow, these hours begin with the Old Testament prophecy (as the Church understands the Psalms) that repeats weekly through the year. Then, the little chapter gives you a passage to focus on that relates integrally to the season. Then the hymn clarifies what the little chapter has only hinted at. The text of the hymn lays out a tapestry of biblical citations, allusions, images, and doctrinal understandings to give you a big-picture view of the themes and concepts of the season. As you sing through it, the hymn invites you to discover the presence of these themes and concepts in the psalms that you’ve just completed. As the hymn draws to a close, you now have a body of prophecy experienced through a particular hermeneutical lens that has highlighted certain theological facets that lay latent in the psalms until they were brought to your attention by the direction of the hymn. Now moving into the Gospel Canticle—the hour’s major turn into the New Testament—the newly highlighted prophecies from the Old Testament give a depth and context for the canticles’ discussion of God’s faithful fulfillment of his promises.

Thus, the hymns operated as the hermeneutical lenses par excellence for the season. They taught the themes and concepts, identified key doctrines and more than that helped these images, themes, and doctrines become apparent in Holy Scripture. Because of their daily repetition, the whole Psalter was scanned with these liturgical lenses multiple times, enabling the praise of God to lead into contemplation of the mysteries of redemption hidden in the Scriptures.

One of the praiseworthy features of the ’82 Hymnal is that it has retained many of these classical breviary hymns. Many, in fact, appear twice using the same translation set to two different melodies: a plainchant tune and a later musical form. In our recovery of the Daily Office, these hymns are an invaluable asset to growing deeper into the meaning of the seasons.

The placement of the hymn in the Office has changed—following the rubrics of the ’79 BCP, the hymn now goes at the end of the Office. The prayers separate it from the psalmody and from the two lessons. As a result, using the hymn as a hermeneutical lens for finding the seasonally-connected mysteries of redemption in the Scriptures has to be a more self-conscious process—not impossible, of course, but just not as natural as in the past. It is, however, a process that we would do well to cultivate. As we head towards a new liturgical year and its seasons, I’d encourage you to look into the breviary hymns for the upcoming seasons and, even if you don’t use them daily, at least keep them within your Office rotation to keep contact with the classical meanings of our seasons.

A simplified listing of the breviary hymns from the post-Tridentine era can be found on the second page of this document (Anglo-Catholic Style Daily Office), including numbers for hymns that appear in the ’82 Hymnal. A tenth-century English Benedictine list appears here. At some point in the future I may consolidate these for ease of reference (perhaps in connection with scanning the Office Hymns used by the Order of Julian of Norwich) but time currently does not permit.