THE THANKSGIVING OF WOMEN AFTER CHILD-BIRTH,
COMMONLY CALLED, THE CHURCHING OF WOMEN.
275. The Woman, at the usual time after her Delivery, shall come into the Church decently apparelled, and there shall kneel down in some convenient place, as hath been accustomed, or as the Ordinary shall direct: And then the Priest shall say unto her, Forasmuch, &c.
By the direction that the woman should be decently apparelled, it was originally meant that she should be veiled. This was part of the general practice of her being (in the words of the Bishops at the Savoy Conference), 'perspicuous to the whole congregation.' And although the custom of veiling cannot be revived, yet its principle of marking the individual should be borne in mind in the arrangement of the Service, as e.g. placing the woman in a special place.
The convenient or proper place in which the woman was to kneel, was 'near the church door' in the ancient English use, 'near the choir door' in the Prayer-Book of 1549, 'nigh unto the place where the Table standeth' in the book of 1552. The words 'as hath been accustomed' refer to the one of these usages which has survived, and been adhered to, in any old church. The place at the altar rails was approved by the Bishops at the Savoy Conference, in regard of the offering she is there to make. The Priest, in all cases, should stand by her—i.e. near to, and in front of, her.
He is to say to her the Address and the Psalm. The congregation should not join in the latter. Care must be taken not to replace from an ordinary Psalter the verses omitted from the 116th Psalm.
In cases where the new-born child has died, it is better to use the 116th Psalm.
276. (Then shall the Priest say the cxvith Psalm,)
277. Or Psalm cxxvii.
278. Then the Priest shall say,
Let us pray. Lord, have mercy, &c.
The Priest may at this point properly turn to look eastward.
279. The Woman, that cometh to give her Thanks, must offer accustomed Offerings; and, if there be a Communion, it is convenient that she receive the holy Communion.
The Service is intentionally concluded without a blessing, which it is wrong to insert. The suggestion of the woman's receiving the Holy Communion is aided by the incompleteness of the Service ending abruptly with the Thanksgiving.
With regard to the time of the Service, there is no express direction, provided that a congregation may be reasonably expected.
The offering of the woman is connected with her receiving the Holy
Communion, and should be made in that Service, if she comes to it.
In all cases, it is well that it should be formally received by the
Priest or an assistant, in an alms-bag or bason, and presented by
the Priest on the Altar.
It is to be observed that no mention is made of the condition of the woman, as being in wedlock or not. When it was objected at the Savoy Conference that some profession of humiliation ought to be required of an unmarried or profligate woman before she was admitted to the privilege of thanksgiving, the Bishops replied, "that such a woman should do her penance before she was churched."
If the Priest, therefore, be privately cognizant of the penance of such a woman, he is bound to admit her to the Service, without requiring public profession of her humiliation.
Without such cognizance he could hardly admit such a woman to a
Service which expressly implies access to Communion.