Praye

3818

Precentor

stituted it the only legal service book in
England. There has been no substantial al-
ternation in the English Prayer Book since
that time, although since 1906 there ha? been
a strong movement for its revisal and in 1927
a revised form was presented to Convocation
by the bishops. The principal changes offered
were in regard to the Communion Office and
the marriage ceremony. Provision was made
for additional services and various occasional
prayers were added. The adoption of the
revision was voted on favorably by the
House of Lords but was rejected by the
House of Commons.

Bead of Hermes by Praxiteles

When the American Episcopal Church was
organized a Prayer Book was compiled in
1783 which marie too radical departures from
the English usage to meet with general ac-
ceptance. Another was adopted in 1789 in
which the most noteworthy change, aside
from things required by local conditions, was
the omission of the Athanasian Creed, An-
other Prayer Book of the Protestant Epis-
copal Church was published in 18(32 after a
revision carried on through nine years, aim-
ing at liturgical flexibility and enrichment,
but with due rogarcl to conformity with the
use of the Mother Church in England. In
1913 at the General Convention of the
Church a joint commission consisting of sev-
en bishops, seven presbyters and seven lay-
men was appointed to consider the revision
and enrichment of the Prayer Book pro-
vided certain conditions were complied with.
In 1929 after a period of fifteen years de-
voted to study and revision, the new Prayer
Book was issued. The most important of its

many changes are those relating to the mar-
riage service.

Praying Wheel, a mechanical device used
by the Buddhists of Tibet and Central Asia
as an aid to pry ye r. It is generally formed of
a pasteboard cylinder, wrapped in long paper
bands inscribed with repetitions of the

Wheel {Tibet)

prayer, Om matn pad me hum, which may be
translated, 'Oh, the Jewel in the Lotus,' re-
ferring to the incarnation of Buddah in a
lotus flower. The efficacy of the devotion is
reckoned by the number of revolutions made
by the wheel.

Prebend, a term originally applied to the
food given monks at their common table. In
English ecclesiastical law it now refers to an
endowment given to a cathedral or collegiate
church for the support of a secular priest or
a regular canon. The holder of a prebend is
called a prebendary.

Precedence, the order in which individu-
als are entitled to be seated at a public din-
ner, presented at any public function, or fol-
low each other in procession. In the United
States where there is no hereditary ranking,
the most generally accepted order of pre-
cedence is as follows: The President, the
Vice President and President of the Senate,
ambassadors in their order, thi! Chief Justice
of the, United Stiites, Senators, the Speaker
of the House, Representatives in Congress,
associate justices of the Supreme ("curt, the
Secretary of State, members of the Diplo-
matic Corps, other than ambassadors, and
foreign members of international commis-
sions the Secretary of the Treasury, the
Secretary of War, the Attorney-General, the
Postmaster -General, the Secretary of the
Navy, the Secretary of the Interior, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Com-
merce, the Secretary of Labor, the general of
the army and the admiral of the navy, the
governors of States, followed by the various
army and navy officers, government officials
and the like.

Precentor, occasionally called Cantor,
generally the leader of the musical portion of
the service in a church ; specifically an officer
in an English cathedral, in rank next to dcan;
who has the direction of the music.