Category Archives: Anglican

Eight Plainsong Masses (OJN)

I now have posted eight plainsong masses that Fr. John-Julian arranged, setting the words of the Rite II BCP to medieval settings. Please feel free to not just reference these but to use them as well.

The graduals, sequence, and tracts mentioned on the title page coordinate with the old BCP calendar; with the change to the RCL they are now out of date. Replacements are in the works but will not be available for quite a while…

One hindrance to the use of the masses may be that they—like the other files on the page—are in square-note plainsong notation. While square-note is (and should be) considered normative for writing plainsong, it clearly requires a congregation familiar with it—and few these days are. If anyone has the software and capability to transcribe these masses into the modern form of stemless notation used in contemporary hymnals to write chant (like the material in the front service music section of the ’82 Hymnal), please do so that these masses may be more broadly used and known.

As far as use goes, this material (and everything else here) falls under the Creative Commons license that appears on my side bar: you can use it and adapt it but must give attribution to Fr. John-Julian and the order, and you can’t sell the material or your adaptation (without contacting the author and making arrangements). Given the nature of the material, if you do use it I think it would be only fitting to include a prayer for the order in your Prayers of the People as well…

OJN Liturgical Materials

Fr. John-Julian has graciously allowed me to post some of the Order of Julian of Norwich‘s liturgical materials on my Trial Liturgies page.

At the moment, I have put up the order’s Offices of the Dead (which also includes a procession) and their use for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

There is much more great material–much of it freshly translated and arranged by Fr. John-Julian himself–to go up, but it will appear in bits and pieces due to my rather full current schedule. I’ll let you know as items appear.

Once again, my heartfelt thanks to Fr. John-Julian. Please keep the order in your prayers and, if you are able to do so, consider a contribution to assist them in their work.

Update: I’ve already changed things around… Upon reflection I decided that it would be more fitting for the Materials from OJN to have their own page since they really aren’t “trial” liturgies—they’re “actual” liturgies in continuous use. So, for these liturgies, please visit my new Liturgies of the Order of Julian of Norwich page. (I’ll try and transfer the pertinent comments there too but haven’t tried doing that before…)

Dissertation Distraction Project N+4

I’ve been having an interesting discussion with Fr. Knisely in the comments of this post at the Cafe on major and minor doctrines and the authority of the Ecumenical Councils.

Add to that the recent thoughts from Fr. Jones on teaching the doctrines we hold…

So what doctrines do “we” hold? Or, what are the chief sources of authority for deciding doctrinal issues?

Folks who’ve been here a while know that I love to go back to Lancelot Andrewes on this one: 1 Canon, 2 Testaments, 3 Creeds, 4 Councils, 5 centuries and the Fathers who taught therein. And yet, as I look this list over, I find myself embarrassed by my general ignorance of the teachings of those four Ecumenical Councils. I know our major Christological definitions are in there–but what else? Furthermore, according to the classic Elizabethan Settlement,an Anglican heretic is one who contradicts these four Councils, making them a pretty important touchstone for what “we” believe.

So what do we do about this? There’s an ancient solution–or at least a big step in the right direction–for those who slept through the Ecumenical Council class in seminary or who didn’t have one altogether (yours truly among them). There’s a summary of the canons of the first seven councils (those recognized by the Romans, Orthodox, and Anglo-Catholics) called the Ancient Epitome which gives a line or two to indicate what each canon is up to. And–these are both contained and translated in the NPNF volume on the Councils.

It would be a relatively easy task to:

  1. Download the flat file of this volume from CCEL.org
  2. Write a macro/VBA script that would search for the text “ancient epitome” and then copy the paragraph where that was found and the next paragraph (i.e., the title, then the contents)
  3. Proofread for accuracy and clarity
  4. Add “new” epitomes for the ones that are unclear
  5. Format for ease of reading and reference
  6. Construct a thorough index/cross-reference
  7. Distribute as a PDF/Lulu Press publication

On the other hand–such a thing may already exist and I just don’t know about it…

Discussion Question on the Apostolic Faith

I ran across this recently and found it quite interesting. This is from the editor’s intro to the records of the Seven Ecumenical Councils in the Nicene/Post-Nicene Fathers series. See what you think…

The history of the Council of Nice has been so often written by so many brilliant historians, from the time of its sitting down to to-day, that any historical notice of the causes leading to its assembling, or account of its proceedings, seems quite unnecessary. The editor, however, ventures to call the attention of the reader to the fact that in this, as in every other of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, the question the Fathers considered was not what they supposed Holy Scripture might mean, nor what they, from à priori arguments, thought would be consistent with the mind of God, but something entirely different, to wit, what they had received. They understood their position to be that of witnesses, not that of exegetes. They recognized but one duty resting upon them in this respect—to hand down to other faithful men that good thing the Church had received according to the command of God. The first requirement was not learning, but honesty. The question they were called upon to answer was not, What do I think probable, or even certain, from Holy Scripture? but, What have I been taught, what has been intrusted to me to hand down to others? When the time came, in the Fourth Council, to examine the Tome of Pope St. Leo, the question was not whether it could be proved to the satisfaction of the assembled fathers from Holy Scripture, but whether it was the traditional faith of the Church. It was not the doctrine of Leo in the fifth century, but the doctrine of Peter in the first, and of the Church since then, that they desired to believe and to teach, and so, when they had studied the Tome, they cried out:

“This is the faith of the Fathers! This is the faith of the Apostles!…Peter hath thus spoken by Leo! The Apostles thus taught! Cyril thus taught!” etc.

Now—here’s Article XXI of the Articles of Religion as annoted by the current American BCP:

XXI. Of the Authority of General Councils.

[The Twenty-first of the former Articles is omitted; because it is partly of a local and civil nature, and is provided for, as to the remaining parts of it, in other Articles.]

The original 1571, 1662 text of this Article, omitted in the version of 1801, reads as follows: “General Councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will of Princes. And when they be gathered together, (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God,) they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they be taken out of holy Scripture.”

And now—two words to further stimulate conversation: Oral Torah.

Discuss…

The Anglican Rosary

I’ve never been a true fan of the Anglican Rosary. It’s always seemed like one of those half-measure flirts with our catholic roots that is neither one nor the other and ends up being a totally modern practice in search of a spirituality.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve never been sold on the classical rosary either(instructions here include the new “Luminous Mysteries” add by JP II)… Those who know me won’t be terribly surprised at my reason–it’s one of those “recent” innovations. You know, a new-fangled 13th century thing that didn’t seriously catch on until the end of the 15th century… (See here for details.)

However, Catholic in the Third Millennium brings to our attention a devotion using the Anglican Rosary that I can really get behind–a means of praying the St. Patrick’s Breastplate. This hymn has long been a favorite of mine and holds a lot of personal meaning for me. It’s associated of General, was sung at M’s ordination and was one of the few things that would put Lil’ G to sleep as a baby. I had the *whole* thing [midi alert!]–not just the few verses that appear in the hymnal–memorized from singing them nightly for several months. (I’ve since forgotten bits…)

In any case, this may actually move me to try my hand with the Anglican Rosary…

On African Bishops

Okay, I may well have been wrong before–with the announcement of a North American Ugandan bishop it seems like there may well be a coherent plan that the “Global South” bishops are following to get a replacement province in place before September 30th so that on October 1 they can demand a new Anglican entity in North America.

If we are moving towards this new flat-earth (Friedman style) Anglicanism where we can all select the bishops we serve under regardless of continent or diocesan boundaries, ++Schori may have to worry about losing me to an African bishop… I quite liked this sermon which arrived over the wires the other day from ++Ndungane. Imagine, a primate who keeps his proclamation centered on the love of God, is open to modern (responsible) biblical interpretation, AND openly confesses a creedal understanding of who Jesus is…

Benediction Question

The on-going motu proprio discussion thread has made its way around to Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament (the paraliturgical adoration of Jesus in the consecrated host most often attached to Solemn Evensong) and has brought up questions for me on use and official policies.

As we all know, the BCP is the official source for all public liturgies within the Episcopal Church supplemented by the Book of Occasional Services.

Neither of these contain Benediction.

That means that to officially do Benediction, the parish must receive permission from the bishop or else do it under the radar.

My sense is that most bishops turn a blind eye to parishes doing Benediction—but I don’t know that for sure. So, here are my questions:

  1. Are there any Episcopal dioceses where the bishop has given permission for Benediction?
  2. How does your bishop handle Benediction (if at all)?
  3. Has anyone heard of a bishop disciplining diocesan clergy for doing Benediction?

Yet More On Preaching

It’s a homiletical bonanza…

This is because the Episcopal Preaching Foundation’s yearly Preaching Excellence Program just wrapped up; and here’s an article summarizing the presentations.

A few notes:

  • On Tom Troeger’s poetry selections: perfect! I often use these two poems myself in talking about what Anglican preaching should be. I love George Herbert’s poetry in general and these two are fantastic choices.
  • Speaking of George Herbert and “general”, M and I were thrilled on Sunday to sing one of his texts to one of our favorite tunes—General Seminary. (I forget the hymn number…)
  • As they seem to have noted, a life-long commitment to spiritual practices and disciplines rooted in Scripture is the chief way of becoming a better interpreter of Scripture and therefore a better preacher. The article did not mention if they promoted any particular practices, but you know what I recommend…
  • Playing with the Scriptures is precisely what we do when we read for preaching—but play can only be edifying play when it is in the communal practices of the faith. If the Scriptures are a great field in which we run and play, the boundaries are marked out by the creeds and the playground at the center is the experience of the Triune God rooted in the Mass and Office.
  • As for the intersection of liturgy, preaching and music, the way the article presents the presentation seems almost backward to me. A proper homily is not something separate from the liturgy. Rather, it is an integral part of it. It’s the improv section within the liturgy. Thus, when considering the very shape and nature of the sermon, the preacher should think carefully—yes, about the hymns, but not just the hymns—about the whole liturgy and consider how the homily will be an agent for clarifying how the whole liturgy is an invitation into the presence of God. (And I don’t think, from the sounds of it, that the presenter would disagree with me; it’s just a matter of emphasis…)