Ritual Conformity / Interpretations of the Rubrics of the Prayer-Book Agreed Upon by a Conference Held at All Saints, Margaret-street, 1880-1881

by Unknown

There is no direction for loudness of voice, but the words of the office should be, as was anciently ordered, "roundly and distinctly pronounced."[d]

94. Then shall the Priest, turning to the people, rehearse distinctly all the TEN COMMANDMENTS; and the people still kneeling shall, after every Commandment, ask God mercy for their transgression thereof for the time past, and grace to keep the same for the time to come, as followeth.

The Commandments were first introduced in 1552, and no rubric can be more express than this against their omission. Such omission involves also the loss of the Kyrie, an ancient and valuable feature of the Liturgy.

The Commandments are to be rehearsed 'turning to the people,' implying that the Priest was not standing so before.

95. Then shall follow one of these two Collects for the Queen, the Priest standing as before, and saying, Let us pray, &c. The words 'standing as before' mean standing in the position in which the Priest was before he turned to the people to rehearse the Commandments, viz. facing eastward.

96. Then shall be said the Collect of the Day.

97. And immediately after the Collect the Priest shall read the Epistle, saying, The Epistle [or, The portion of Scripture appointed for the Epistle] is written in the———Chapter of———beginning at the———Verse. And the Epistle ended, he shall say, Here endeth the Epistle. Then shall he read the Gospel, (the people all standing up) saying, The holy Gospel is written in the———Chapter of———beginning at the———Verse.

98. And the Gospel ended, shall be sung or said the Creed following, the people still standing, as before.

If more collects than the collect or collects of the day be used, they must be taken from the six collects at the end of the Communion Office. If a collect be used in commemoration besides the collect of the day at Morning and Evening Prayer, it should also be used in the Communion Service.

The practice of the people sitting during the reading of the Epistle, though not prescribed in the rubric, may be justified by ancient English custom.