THE
! SCOTTISH LITURGY
ITS VALUE AND
I HISTORY
SECOND ED]
REVISED
AND ENLAJ5
. PERRY, D.D
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TORONTO
THE
SCOTTISH LITURGY
ITS VALUE AND HISTORY
BY
W. PERRY, D.D.
PRINCIPAL AND PANTONIAN PROFESSOR OF THB THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN SCOTLAND
CANON AND CHANCELLOR OF ST MART S CATHEDRAL, EDINBURGH
SECOND EDITION
REVISED AND ENLARGED
iDINBURGH: THE SCOTTISH CHRONICLE PRESS
100 PRINCES STREET
LONDON : A. R. MOWBRAY & CO., LTD.
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Printed in Great Britain
George Lewis &* Co., Selkirk
IN MEMORIAM
M. B,
PREFACE
THIS small volume makes no pre
tension to be a substitute for the
masterly work of the late Bishop Dowden,
entitled The Annotated Scottish Communion
Office, a book which will remain indispens
able to any student who desires to under
stand thoroughly the origin and structure
of the Scottish liturgy of 1764. My object
has been to provide for the general reader
a plain exposition of the Value of the
liturgy of 1912, along with some explana
tion of its origin and growth. As contrast
makes for clearness, I have been at some
pains to compare the liturgy, not only
with some ancient forms, but also with
the English rite ; and, if my criticism of
the latter appears somewhat unsympathetic
and unqualified, it is not because I am
devoid of appreciation for the rugged and
massive strength of the English liturgy,
which bears on its face the marks and
scars of the Reformation movement, but
because the amount of paper at my disposal
in these days of war has obliged me to
exclude everything that is not essential to
my purpose.
Liturgiology is commonly supposed to
be a dismal science, which busies itself
i
2 Preface
merely with ancient and worn-out pre
cedents. I conceive it rather to be an
art which reverences the models of anti
quity, not only because they are ancient,
but also because they enshrine, in forms
of beauty and fitness, the principles of
Eucharist ic worship. A liturgy may be
said to be of value in so far as it enables
people to practise the Apostolic injunction,
" I will pray with the spirit and I will pray
with the understanding also ; I will sing
with the spirit and I will sing with the
understanding also."
I acknowledge with deep gratitude my
indebtedness to the Bishop of Moray,
Ross, and Caithness (the Right Rev.
A. J. Maclean, D.D.), who with rare
generosity rendered me invaluable assist
ance out of the rich stores of his litur
gical learning. My readers must, however,
understand that he is in no way responsible
cither for the accuracy of my statements
or for the soundness of my arguments.
I owe the index to my brother, the Rev. A.
Perry, Chaplain at Wemyss Castle, who
also kindly revised the proofs.
I am much indebted to the Cambridge
University Press for permission to print
the outline and the more important parts
of the liturgy in Appendix A. The reader
of this book should study the complete
liturgy, which can be obtained from the
Cambridge Press at prices from 2d.
upwards.
Preface
PREFACE TO NEW EDITION
IN this edition I have carefully revised
the substance of the book, incorporating
in several of the chapters a considerable
amount of fresh matter. There is added
also a new chapter consisting of short
notes on the text of the liturgy which
may prove useful for study circles and
classes, besides providing questions which
may encourage discussions.
The more one studies the present edition
of the liturgy, the deeper does the con
viction grow that a fresh revision will be
required before it can take its place in a
complete Scottish Prayer Book. The re
vision of 1912 was a compromise rather
than an effort to secure the best, and only
the best form which the liturgy can take
will enable it to maintain its position
against a revised edition of the English
Communion Service, which sooner or later
is bound to appear.
W, P.
Xmas 1921.
DEFINITION OF LITURGICAL
AND OTHER TERMS
Anamnesis (see oblation).
Anaphora (i.e. "offering up")- The Eastern name for
the central part of the Eucharistic Service, from
the Surtum Corda (" Lift up your hearts") to the
end. Pro-Anaphora (i.e. f before the offering ") is
the title sometimes applied to the introductory
part of the service, corresponding to our Ante-
Communion.
Canon of the Mass is the Western title for the central
part of the service after the Preface ; originally it
included the Sursum Corda and Preface.
Eucharist (i.e. " thanksgiving"). The usual title for the
Holy Communion in early Christian writings (e.g.
in the letters of S. Ignatius, A.D. 112); derived
from a Greek word in Gospels, "gave thanks."
Placed on title-page of Scottish Liturgy in 1912.
Eucharistic Prayer. The central prayer (commencing
with thanksgiving for creation and redemption)
by which consecration is effected. Styled in the
Book of Common Prayer in the Scottish liturgy
"the Prayer of Consecration."
Institution) words of. Our Lord s words at the Institu
tion of the Eucharist, which form part of the
Consecration Prayer in almost all liturgies. The
prevailing theory in the Roman Catholic Church
is that these words are the formula of consecration.
Invocation (Greek "epiclesis"). The form of words in
which God is invoked to bless the elements of
bread and wine, the blessing being almost always
extended to include the communicants also.
5
Liturgical and other Terms
Liturgy. Order of service for the Celebration of the
Holy Eucharist ; popularly, but less accurately,
applied to describe any service hook. Placed on
title-page, 11.H2.
" Laud s Liturgy." Popular name for the Scottish
Prayer Book, 16-37.
Conjurors. A party both in England and Scotland
who refused the oath of allegiance to William,
Prince of Orange, 1(589. (See page 49.)
Oblation (i.e. "offering," Greek term, Anamnesis).
Part of the Consecration Prayer, in which the
redemptive acts of Christ are rehearsed and the
memorial of the one Sacrifice is offered before
God. Its usual place is between the words of
institution and the invocation.
Offertory. Presentation or offering of the elements of
bread and wine at the beginning of the second
part of the service. Not the collection of alms,
as popularly understood.
Preface. Western name for the introduction to the
Consecration Prayer, commencing "It is very
meet, right, and our boundeu duty ..."
Surf urn Corda ("Lift up your hearts"). The call to
thanksgiving, leading" to Preface and Eucharistic
Prayer.
" Usages." Name given in eighteenth century to four
Catholic practices oblation, invocation, prayer
for departed, and mixed chalice.
" Wee bookies." Reprints in eighteenth century of
Scottish Communion Office of 1037, beginning
with Offertory.
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
PREFACE ..... 1
DEFINITION OF LITURGICAL AND OTHER
TERMS ..... 5
INTRODUCTION . . . . 9
I. MAIN FEATURES ANJ> THEIR COUNTER
PARTS IN SCRIPTURE . . .13
II. OTHER FEATURES OF THE LITURGY . 25
III. THE SCOTTISH LITURGY COMPARED WITH
ANCIENT FORMS . . .34
IV. HISTORY OF THE SCOTTISH LITURGY . 4o
V. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND THE
LITURGY OF 1012 . . 54
VI. THE WITNESS OF THE LITURGY . . 64
VII. THE INFLUENCE OF THE SCOTTISH LITURGY 76
VIII. NOTES ON THE TEXT OF THE LITURGY . 8(>
APPENDIX A. OUTLINE OF THE SCOTTISH
LITURGY .... 1)0
APPENDIX B. THE PRINCIPAL LITURGICAL
RITES . . . . .109
APPENDIX C. THE PAX OR Kiss OF PEACE . Ill
APPENDIX D. INTERCESSION IN THE LITURGY . 113
APPENDIX E. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY CIRCLES
AND CLASSES . . . .115
BOOKS FOR STUDY . . . .119
INDEX 121
INTRODUCTION
IN one sense the Scottish liturgy has
had but a short life. It appeared
first in the volume entitled The Book of
Common Prayer for the use of the Church
of Scotland, which was used once only,
in the year 1637. But it was not till the
middle of the eighteenth century, when
the Church had been disestablished, that
it secured a real hold upon the affections
of our Jacobite forefathers. A century
and a half is, therefore, all that it can
boast of continuous use. Yet in another
sense the liturgy is as old as the Book of
Common Prayer itself, possessing vital
connection with the first as well as with
the last edition of that volume. The
Scottish liturgy, in fact, is simply a re
vision of the Communion Service of the
English Book of Common Prayer, which
itself is not a book composed at the Re
formation, but a compilation of services
drawn directly from the liturgical wealth
of the Catholic Church. The immediate
source of the Prayer Book is to be found
in the pie-Reformation service books of
the Western Church, but influences have
also poured into it from other sources
from the Reformed Church Orders as well
10 Introduction
as from the liturgies of the Eastern Church.
No proof of the continuity of the Church
is so convincing as her Book of Common
Prayer, and no service in that book is so
rich in links with the past as the Order for
the Administration of Holy Communion,
to which alone in early times was given
the title of the divine liturgy. It was to
strengthen these links with the past that
the Scottish liturgy was compiled, when
its authors saw that the old were also the
better ways for providing a reasonable
and intelligent mode of celebrating the
Holy Eucharist. Thus, though the liturgy
appears in history as late as 1637, it
goes back to the first Prayer Book of
1549, and, along with it, is heir to all the
devotional wealth of the ages, incorporating
through the Sarum Missal of the twelfth
century all that is best in the Roman
liturgy of the fifth century, taking its
distinctive feature of the Invocation from
the Eastern liturgies of the fourth and
fifth centuries, and ultimately tracing its
descent back to the simple outline of
liturgical worship described by Justin
Martyr in the second century. What the
Apostolic mode of celebrating the Eucharist
was we are unable to tell ; but that it
included the present two main divisions
of our present liturgy is certain, the first
or introductory part being derived from
the worship of the Jewish synagogue and
the second being modelled on our Lord s
actions at the Institution of the Eucharist.
Introduction 11
It is with the second, the specially Eucharist
part of the service, that we are concerned
in this book ; but it is worthy of notice
that the first part consisted of the four
elements of lections, sermon, with praise
and prayer, which were the core of the
worship of the Synagogue, and which the
Apostolic Church would naturally continue,
substituting, of course, the Christian con
ception of God for the Jewish. In Jewish
worship there was no counterpart to the
Eucharist proper, and in devising a form
for celebrating the Eucharist there was
only one mode of procedure possible, to
follow the example of Christ Himself.
CHAPTER I
Main Features and their Counterparts in
Scripture
IN the compilation of an order of service
for the supreme act of Christian
worship there can be but one model that
of our Lord Himself, when, on the night
in which He was betrayed, He enjoined
His Apostles to "do this in remembrance
of Me."
Our Lord s example. A glance at the
passages in the New Testament (S. Matt.
xxvi. 26-28 ; S. Mark xiv. 22-24 ; S. Luke
xxii. 19, 20 ; 1 Cor. xi. 23-26, cf. x. 16)
shows tr>at our Lord, in instituting the
memorial of His Sacrifice, performed these
actions which may, for convenience, be
separately enumerated as follows, though
the first two probably refer to the same
act under different aspects :
1. He gave thanks.
2. He blessed.
3. He brake the bread.
4. He distributed the consecrated ele
ments with the words, " Take, eat,
this is My Body . . ."
5. He gave the command, " Do this in
remembrance of Me."
R 13
14 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
Now the first test of the value of a liturgy
must be, not its antiquity, nor the logical
sequence of its parts, nor the beauty of
its language, but its conformity to the
mind and the example of Jesus Christ.
Not, indeed, that the Scottish liturgy
need fear the appeal to antiquity or the
scrutiny of reason or the test of beauty.
But an order for celebrating the Eucharist
primitive, logical, and beautiful though
it might be would be little short of an
outrage if it ignored the example and
teaching of Him whose Sacrifice it pro
fessed to plead. I am well aware that
the brief accounts of the Evangelists and
S. Paul afford abundant scope for contro
versy ; but the plain sense of the narratives
seems to me to justify completely the
compilers of the earliest liturgies of the
Church in giving special prominence to
the elements of thanksgiving, blessing,
breaking, distribution, and memorial or
oblation. Let us consider, then, how these
actions of the first Eucharist are represented
in the Scottish liturgy, noting by way of
comparison their position in the more
familiar English rite.
Thanksgiving. " He gave thanks." The
words of our Lord s Thanksgiving, or
44 Eucharist," are not reported ; but we
should suppose that, while the Father s
goodness in creating the fruits of the
earth, which were the symbols of the
Sacrament, would be included, there would
be thanksgiving also for the Incarnation,
Main Features and their Counterparts 15
and in particular for the approaching
sacrifice of redemption shortly to be
crowned by the Resurrection and Ascension.
It is in this element of thanksgiving
that the English rite is so astonish
ingly meagre. There is, to be sure, the
Sursum Cor da " Lift up your hearts,"
" Let us give thanks unto our Lord
God," and the Preface " It is very meet,
right . . ." a noble thanksgiving for
creation ; but even this is torn from the
Consecration by the interposition of the
Prayer of Humble Access, so that the
Preface (which, as the name implies,
should be introductory to the Consecration
or Eucharistic Prayer) might be described
almost as a preface to nothing. The effect
of all this is to pitch the Consecration
Prayer in a minor key, as if the Church
were sadly commemorating the Cross
rather than rejoicing in thanksgiving for
the redemption of Christ. There is, of
course, in the English rite, thanksgiving
after communion ; but that is not the
point. What is required is thanksgiving
at the heart of the Service. Turn now
to the Scottish liturgy (of which some
parts are printed on pages 99-108), and you
see that the Sursum Corda, Preface, and
Consecration Prayer form one continuous
and uninterrupted whole, thanksgiving
being the dominant note throughout.
Moreover, the Prayer of Consecration itself,
following naturally after the Preface,
begins with a burst of thanksgiving " All
16 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
glory be to thee, Almighty God, our
heavenly Father." The Oblation continues
the strain " rendering unto thee most
hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits
procured unto us " ; while, after the
Invocation, the whole action is offered
to Almighty God as " our sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving " ; the Prayer
of Consecration ending, as it began, with
an ascription of praise " through Jesus
Christ our Lord : by whom, and with
whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
all honour and glory be unto thee, O
Father Almighty, world without end.
Amen." There is, surely, no question
that the Scottish liturgy represents, more
fully than the English, the mind of
our Lord, who " took bread and gave
thanks."
The Oblation. " In remembrance." An
ticipating for convenience the order of
the New Testament, we come next to
a prominent feature of the liturgy which
has entirely disappeared from the English
Prayer of Consecration. This is the
Oblation of the elements, or, as it is more
intelligently styled in Eastern liturgies, the
anamnesis, or memorial of the one Sacrifice
which is made in the Eucharist before
God. It is based on our Lord s descrip
tion of the rite, "Do this in remembrance
(anamnesis) of Me." (Cf. 1 Cor. xi. 26,
" Ye proclaim the Lord s death till He
come," i.e. before God as well as before
men.) In other words, having recited the
Main Features and their Counterparts 17
narrative of the Institution and the com
mand " do this," priest and people proceed
to "make the memorial" of the one Sacri
fice with the elements of bread and wine
solemnly offered to God for their divine
purpose. It is true that the meaning of
the term anamnesis in the Gospels has been
disputed ; but our Lord s language at the
institution is steeped in the Old Testament,
and there is no question, I think, that
in the Septuagint version of Lev. ii. 2,
the incense is a memorial "unto the Lord"
(as also in Lev. xxiv. 7), while the
offerings in Num. x. 10 are " a memorial
(anamnesis) before your God." l The word
"remembrance," therefore, means primarily
a memorial or remembrance before God.
Further, the words " This is My Blood of
the new covenant " refer back to Exod.
xxiv. 4-8, " Behold the blood of the cove
nant." The covenant is God s, and the
thought of sacrifice is clearly present. 2
If, then, the Eucharist is the pleading
before God of our Lord s perfect Sacrifice,
this truth should neither be ignored nor
obscured in the liturgy of the Church.
According to the Scottish rite the oblation
or anamnesis, as in the chief Eastern
liturgies, is made after the words of in
stitution, and runs as follows : " Wherefore,
1 The technical terms "oblation" (Lat.) and
"anamnesis" (Greek), though referring to the same
act, describe different aspects of the act.
2 See chap. vi. , pp. 56 ff. , and McNeile s 8. Matthew,
p. 382 f.
18 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
O Lord, and heavenly Father, according
to the institution of thy dearly beloved
Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, we thy
humble servants do celebrate and make
here before thy divine Majesty, with these
thy holy gifts, which we now offer
unto thee, the memorial thy Son hath
commanded us to make ; having in
remembrance his blessed passion, and
precious death, his mighty resurrection, and
glorious ascension ; rendering unto thee
most hearty thanks for the innumerable
benefits procured unto us by the same,
and looking for his coming again with
power and great glory." By this means
every Eucharist becomes definitely a re
presentation before God of the one Sacrifice ;
linked, so to speak, backward with the
redemptive acts of Christ ("having in
remembrance his blessed passion, and
precious death, his mighty resurrection,
and glorious ascension "), and forward
with the second Advent (1 Cor. xi. 26,
" till He come "), " looking for his coming
again with power and great glory."
English liturgical scholars are all but un
animous in maintaining that one of the
most unfortunate blunders of the revision
of the Prayer Book in 1552 was to remove
the Oblation from its proper place in the
Prayer of Consecration, and to employ
it as the first prayer of thanksgiving after
the Communion ; but, even if this were
restored to its old place in the Prayer
Book, it would have to be considerably
Main Features and their Counterparts 19
altered before it reached the rich fullness
of the Scottish form. 1
The Invocation. "He blessed. 5 The
formula of blessing which our Lord em
ployed is, at the best, a matter of vague
conjecture ; but that it was not the words
44 This is My Body," etc., is clear, for these
were the words with which He conveyed
to the Apostles the Sacrament of His Body
and Blood. That He used words in the
benediction of the bread and the cup is
beyond question on any reasonable inter
pretation of the term " blessed." If this
be so, then we should expect in any liturgy
which claims to follow the model of the first
Eucharist some form of words in which
God is prayed to bless His gifts of bread
and wine. Certainly in S. Paul s time the
cup of blessing was the cup which " we
bless " (1 Cor. x. 16). But in the English
Prayer of Consecration there is no trace
of any words of benediction on the elements,
for the petition, " Grant that we, receiving
these Thy gifts," etc., is not so much a
prayer of blessing in this sense as a
prayer for worthy reception. The Book of
Common Prayer possesses, indeed, a form
of blessing the water for the Sacrament of
Holy Baptism ; it has no specific words
for the hallowing of the bread and wine
in the Holy Eucharist. The fact is that,
according to the English rite, the emphasis
in consecration seems to be placed upon
1 The English Prayer of Oblation has no oblation
of the elements, only the oblation of ourselves.
20 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
the recital of the words "This is My
Body," etc., along with the imposition of
the priest s hands; the rubric about re-
consecration confirms this impression. 1 No
doubt this type of Consecration Prayer is
quite valid, and is accepted as such by
the Scottish Church, which authorizes the
English as well as the Scottish rite. It
tends, however, to create in the minds of
many the idea that consecration is effected
by the words of institution, a theory
which arose in the middle ages and is
widely prevalent in the Church of Rome
to-day, 2
Now, whatever may be said in support of
this theory, it is open to serious objection.
In the first place, these words on our Lord s
lips were words employed in distributing
the Holy Sacrament, not in consecrating
the symbols of it. In the second place, the
reasonable mode of blessing material things
is by prayer, not by an historical state
ment or extract from the New Testament.
If we desire the divine intervention, the
proper course is to pray definitely for it
" Ask and it shall be given you." This is
what is done in the Scottish liturgy. After
the narrative of the Institution is recited
as our justification in celebrating the
Eucharist, and when the redemptive acts
of God have been solemnly recalled before
God in the Oblation, a special petition is
made praying God to "send thy Holy
1 Procter and Frere, p. 495.
2 Fortescue, The Mass, pp. 406-07.
Main Features and their Counterparts 21
Spirit upon us and upon these thy gifts
and creatures of bread and wine, that,
being blessed and hallowed by his life-
giving power, they may become the body
and blood of thy most dearly beloved Son,
to the end that all who shall receive the
same may be sanctified both in body and
soul, and preserved unto everlasting life."
This is, we should say, the reasonable and
common-sense method of consecration ; it
is in close conformity to the first Eucharist
described in the Gospels ; it agrees with
the practice of S. Paul ; and it is adopted,
as we shall see, in the great liturgies of the
East, and in those of the orthodox Church
(Russia, Greece, etc.) of the present day.
The Roman Church follows a different
model, but it is believed by many scholars
that even the Roman rite contained in
its original form an explicit invocation
or formula of blessing the bread and
wine. 1
There remains but one thing more to
say on this point, and I set it down in
the cheerful hope of recovering the good
will of English readers who may feel some
what aggrieved at my rough strictures on
the English liturgy. The Book of Common
Prayer, in its first and best edition (1549),
itself contained an invocation in the Prayer
of Consecration ; and it was on this that the
Scottish form was originally based. You
have only to read it once to see that
the Scottish liturgy may also claim to be
1 Fortescue, The Mass, p. 402.
22 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
English. The words are these : " Hear us,
O merciful Father, we beseech Thee ; and
with Thy Holy Spirit and word vouchsafe
to bless and sanctify these Thy gifts, and
creatures of bread and wine, that they may
be unto us the Body and Blood of Thy
most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ."
In the Scottish liturgy the Invocation
follows ancient forms, as well as that of
1549, in appealing for the operation of
the Holy Spirit, because it is through the
agency of the Third Person of the Blessed
Trinity that the divine will is effected in
the Church. But the essential element in a
liturgical invocation is simply prayer ; the
explicit mention of the Spirit is not neces
sary, though a natural and valuable part of
the formula of blessing. 1 The raison d etre
of this feature of the liturgy is just this : if
we desire that the bread and wine of the
Eucharist should be, not simply bread
and wine, but the Body and Blood of
Christ, then we should ask God to accom
plish this result by the operation of the
Holy Spirit.
The two remaining actions of our Lord
the fraction, or solemn breaking of the
bread, and the distribution with appro
priate words require but brief mention.
The Fraction. " He brake." The frac
tion was so significant a feature of the rite
in Apostolic times that it gave its name to
1 In Serapion (A.D. 350) we find a prayer that the
Word (Logos) may <( make the Bread the Body of the
Word."
Main Features and their Counterparts 23
the Eucharist itself, which is called " the
Breaking of the Bread " in Acts ii. 42 ;
and in ancient liturgies it is assigned an
important place.
>4 He blessed and brake it." If the
breaking followed the consecration, as
the words of the Gospel suggest, ancient
liturgies are justified in placing this im
portant action after the consecration. In
the Coptic liturgy, however, a fraction
occurs exactly where it now stands in the
Scottish and English liturgies a natural
enough place, though not the most appro
priate at the word " brake " ; but it is
very unlikely that the English or Scottish
compilers were aware of this Egyptian
precedent.
The Distribution. " He gave it to them
and said, Take, eat . . ." Two liturgical
points may be noted here the words of
distribution and the communicant s Amen.
The Scottish liturgy employs only the first
half of the words of administration in the
English rite a practical advantage, especi
ally when there are many communicants.
Besides, at so solemn a moment as the
reception of Christ s Body and Blood, the
fewer the words said the better. In the
so-called Clementine liturgy of the fourth
century the forms are, as in most ancient
liturgies, extremely short, viz. " The Body
of Christ " and " The Blood of Christ the
chalice of life."
The co-operation of the communicant
is an important matter, and this is ensured
24 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
by the utterance of the Amen of assent,
a response which is very common in
ancient forms. It is a pity that com
municants are so seldom encouraged, even
in Scotland where it is enjoined, to
ratify the Church s benediction for them
by saying the Amen at its close.
Summary. The main features of the
Scottish liturgy have now been examined.
They all stand out distinctly in the narra
tive of the Institution. Thanksgiving is
the prominent note throughout, not thanks
giving at the close, but thanksgiving at the
centre of the Service ; and, in consecrating
the elements there are these three stages
(1) the recital of the words of institution
as the justification of the whole action ;
(2) the Oblation or anamnesis, the offering
before God of the Eucharist as the memorial
of the One Sacrifice ; (3) the Invocation, in
which God is asked to bless His gifts of
bread and wine, so that they may become
what our Lord intended them to be.
CHAPTER II
Other Features of the Liturgy
WE have so far treated the principal
features of the Scottish liturgy in
connection with our Lord s actions at the
first Eucharist. We now proceed to some
characteristics of the rite, which, though
not mentioned in the Gospel narratives,
are true to the spirit of our Lord s
teaching and peculiarly appropriate at
the Lord s service. The first of these is
Intercession.
The Great Intercession. This is the tech
nical term for that prayer which is prefaced
with the bidding " Let us pray for the
whole state of Christ s Church." In its
position, in its scope, and in its com
position, this intercession differs from the
corresponding prayer in the English liturgy ;
and there is sound reason as well as
ancient precedent for the differences which
are not accidental but purposeful. The
Eucharist is the supreme opportunity for
intercession ; for there we are not only
pleading the one Sacrifice, but are also
doing this "in remembrance," not simply
of His Death, but " of Me" of Me who
" am alive for evermore " as Priest and
25
26 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
Intercessor. 1 If this be so, the natural
place for the intercession is the central
part of the service, as close as may
be to that divine " remembrance " which
every Eucharist enacts. 2 Therefore, in
the Scottish rite intercession immediately
follows the Prayer of Consecration. It is
no doubt dangerous to introduce unneces
sarily questions of time into a service which
brings us face to face with the eternal ;
but there is here involved something more
than a mere matter of order or arrange
ment ; for intercession in this place is the
recognition and practice of the great truth,
too commonly forgotten, that Christ our
Lord is Priest as well as Victim, and with
His perfect intercession we would fain
mingle ours. This idea would account
for the fact that from the fourth century
the great intercession has been connected
with the consecration, and in many liturgies
occurs just after it, as in the Scottish rite.
The contents of the prayer in the Scottish
liturgy are the same as in the English with
two notable exceptions : prayer for the
departed, and the commemoration of saints.
Prayer for the Departed. That is certainly
a narrow view, both of prayer and of the
Church, which would limit intercession to
the " Church militant here in earth." The
whole state of Christ s Church is surely
within the scope of our intercession, the
Church in Paradise as well as the Church
on earth ; and therefore the words " mili-
1 Rev. i. 18 ; Heb. vii. 25. 2 See Appendix D.
Other Features of the Liturgy 27
tant here in earth " find no place in the
Scottish rite, which in this respect follows
the first Prayer Book of 1549. Prayer for
the departed was omitted, owing to German
influence, in the second Prayer Book of
1552 ; and in the last revision of 1661
the defect was only partially remedied by
the insertion of the commemoration, " We
bless thy holy Name for all thy servants
departed this life in thy faith and fear."
As the prayer now stands in the English
book, it may be charged with inconsist
ency; for, while the bidding restricts the
range of intercession to the Church militant,
the departed are included in the com
memoration at the end. The Scottish
liturgy avoids this inconsistency, and at
the same time widens both the scope of
prayer and the conception of the Church
by dropping the restrictive words in the
bidding, thus removing all doubt from
the primitive practice of prayer for the
departed. 1 So far as the actual language
of the petition is concerned, the Scottish
form differs but little from the English,
a reserve, not unnatural in view of our
ignorance of the state of the departed and
of the abuses that have gathered round the
practice, leaving to the silent intercession
of the people any further definition than
this, " And we also bless thy holy Name
for all thy servants, who, having finished
their course in faith, do now rest from
their labours."
1 See chap. vi.
28 The Scottish Liturgij, its Value and History
Commemoration of Saints. Prayer for
the departed is followed by a thanksgiving
for the saints in language that for beauty
and dignity is unsurpassed in any liturgy.
A lover of the English tongue might be
pardoned if he were to maintain that this
splendid sentence by itself justified the
existence of the Scottish rite. "And we
yield unto thee most high praise and
hearty thanks, for the wonderful grace
and virtue declared in all thy saints, who
have been the choice vessels of thy grace,
and the lights of the world in their several
generations : most humbly beseeching thee
to give us grace to follow the example of
their steadfastness in thy faith, and obedi
ence to thy holy commandments, that
at the day of the general resurrection, we,
and all they who are of the mystical
body of thy Son, may be set on his right
hand, and hear that his most joyful voice,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world."
The Communion of Saints is thus ex
plicitly recognized in the liturgy, prayer
and thanksgiving being the means to that
end. It was German influence in 1552
that led to the omission from the Prayer
Book of thanksgiving for the saints, an
element in public worship that is absent
in none of the great liturgies either of East
or West.
The Lord s Prayer fitly sums up the inter
cession, prefaced by the reverent bidding,
Other Features of the Liturgy 29
" As our Saviour Christ hath commanded
and taught us, we are bold to say " ; and
this brings to a close the central part of
the service which begins with the Sursum
Corda, reaches its climax in the Prayer
of Consecration, and concludes with the
Prayer for the whole state of Christ s
Church and the greatest of all intercessory
prayers that of our Lord. In the English
service the Lord s Prayer commences the
Post-Communion, in the same way as it
begins also the closing part of the service
at Baptism, at Confirmation, etc. There is
something to be said for this arrangement,
which is a product of the Reformation ;
but here in the Eucharist it ignores the
intercessory nature of the Lord s Prayer.
In ancient liturgies, almost without ex
ception, the Lord s Prayer is found as the
conclusion and summary of the Eucharistic
intercession, in many of them introduced
by a bidding such as that which is given in
the Scottish liturgy. The following is the
introduction to the Lord s Prayer in the
liturgy of S. Basil: "And enable us, O
Lord, with boldness and confidence to call
upon Thee, our heavenly Father, and say,
4 Our Father, etc."
" The People s Preparation" The logical
order of the central part of the service
relieves the Scottish liturgy of a defect in
the English which, to me at least, has
always appeared perhaps the most sense
less of all the changes that were made in
1552. This is the interruption of the
c
30 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
people s preparation for Communion by
the insertion of the Sursum Corda before
the Prayer of Humble Access. Originally,
in the English rite of 1548-49, the short In
vitation, Confession, Absolution, Comfort
able Words, and Prayer of Humble Access
formed for communicants a little service
of preparation, which took place after the
Consecration and immediately before Com
munion. Obviously, the various parts of
this act of devout preparation are fitted
into one another in orderly sequence ; and,
though there is little or no precedent for it
in the old liturgies, it is a most valuable
part of the service, thoroughly English in its
character, though traceable to German
influence ; and he would be a Philistine
indeed who would wish to cut it out of the
service. But those who mixed up this
penitential act of preparation with the
Sursum Corda were strangely blind to the
fitness of things ; for nothing could be
more unreasonable than to sound the call
to thanksgiving, " Lift up your hearts,"
etc., and then go back to the penitential
note, " We do not presume, ..." It is
like singing Alleluia on Ash Wednesday, or
playing the Wedding March at a funeral.
In the Scottish liturgy the communicants
preparation is made immediately before
Communion, and its penitential character
is unbroken throughout.
It is, however, a question whether the
whole of this section should not be trans
ferred, so as to continue the preparation
Other Features of the Liturgy 31
for Communion implied in the recitation
of the Ten Commandments or the Summary
of the Law. It seems both desirable and
natural to concentrate the mind on pre
paration for Communion at one point in
the service. If this change be deemed too
revolutionary, then " the People s Pre
paration " might be placed immediately
before the offertory. In either case the
effect would be that the act of Communion
w r ould follow directly the offering made
in the Canon, as is the case in almost
every known liturgy. Thus Thanksgiving,
Offering, Intercession and Communion
would be free from interruption of any
kind. This proposal is not so great a
break with the history of the Prayer Book
as it looks ; for originally " the People s
Preparation " was a little English devotion
inserted in 1548 into the Latin service
after the Priest s Communion, when its
private and personal character was un-
mistakeable. In its present place it seems
to break intrusively into the central act.
In later chapters x are discussed certain
minor features of the liturgy in their his
torical connection. Up to this point we
have considered only the central part of
the service, to which all else should be
strictly subordinate.
A Practical Difficulty. One practical ob
jection to this order requires a word of
explanation. The conjunction of the Great
Intercession with the Prayer of Consecra-
1 See pp. 04 ff.
32 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
tion makes a considerable strain on the
attention of the worshipper ; two long
prayers in succession are not easy to follow
with devout concentration. Considerable
help may be afforded if the celebrant is at
some pains to recite the prayers in an in
telligent and devotional manner. But there
is no reason why, at some future time, the
strain should not be relieved by the in
sertion of one or two Amens in one or both
of the prayers, to enlist the worshipper s
co-operation. It is high time that some
thing were done to remove from people s
minds the idea that an Amen means no
more than that a prayer is finished ; the
ancient response of assent might well be
used with something of the freedom that
obtains in the East. 1 To append Amen at
the end of the words of Institution, and at
the close of the Invocation as well as at
the conclusion of the whole prayer, would
make both for edification and devotion ;
the Prayer for the whole state of Christ s
Church might be similarly treated.
Summary. We have seen that Scripture
and sound reason support the order of the
Scottish liturgy. The note of thanksgiving
is first sounded in the Sursum Cor da and
the Preface, and is continued throughout
the Eucharistic Prayer by which the Con
secration is effected. This prayer follows
the model of the great liturgies of the
East, first narrating the words of institu
tion, and then, after making the oblation or
1 P. 39.
Other Features of the Liturgy 33
memorial, invoking the Holy Spirit to bless
the elements. Intercession follows in the
Prayer for the whole state of Christ s
Church, concluded by the Lord s Prayer,
the action culminating in Communion, pre
ceded by the communicants preparation.
CHAPTER III
The Scottish Liturgy compared with
Ancient Forms
*~7~^HE Value of Ancient Forms. Anti-
J. quity lends interest to an object of
art ; beauty alone gives it enduring value.
Few are attracted to the great cathedrals
of the Middle Ages solely by their age ;
it is their beauty of design and construc
tion that wins admiration. Now the litur-
gist, it seems to me, is an artist rather than
a scientist or a historian. He makes no
fetish of the liturgies of the past ; but he
would be something of a barbarian if he
were to ignore those great forms of worship
which, like the greatest churches and the
finest sculpture, are ancient, not modern.
The golden age of liturgical art lies between
the fourth and the twelfth centuries, the
best products being probably those of the
fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries. But,
while the liturgies of the past owe their
value to their merits rather than to their
age, yet the early date of a liturgy possesses
an importance for the Churchman far
beyond that which the architect attaches
to an ancient building. The earlier the
liturgy, the more likely is it to approximate
34
Compared with Ancient Forms 35
to the mind of the undivided and the
Apostolic Church, and the more free is it
likely to be from fanciful and unworthy
developments. It was to the early master
pieces of liturgical art that the various
compilers and revisers of the Scottish
liturgy looked for guidance, more especially
from the eighteenth century onwards. Not
that they were content to copy a feature
of antiquity here and there, still less to
devise a liturgy by sticking together bits
of old ones ; any fool could do that, and
we should not greatly admire the result of
his labour. The object of those who,
gradually, through a period of nearly three
hundred years, brought the Scottish liturgy
to its present form, was in the first instance
to provide a more scriptural, more fitting,
and more catholic mode of celebrating the
Eucharist without departing materially
from the language and framework of the
Book of Common Prayer. The second
edition (1552) of that book was inferior to
the first, just because German reformers
had persuaded Cranmer to break away
unnecessarily from the past ; and in the
later editions of 1559 and 1604 little was
done to remedy the errors, though some
improvements were made in 1661. Novel
ties, therefore, devoid of ancient precedent,
had been tried under German influence
and failed ; the only hope for improve
ment, in the judgement of the Scottish
compilers, lay in an attempt to regain
from the great liturgies of the past true
36 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
principles of liturgical composition, and
adapt these to the needs of the time and
country. What these principles were will
be most easily understood from a brief
account of some of the ancient rites
that formed the models of the Scottish
liturgy.
The Earliest Forms. It is not likely that
written liturgies existed before the end of
the third century, though certain liturgical
forms like the Sursum Corda (which is
quoted verbatim by S. Cyprian, A.D. 250)
are considerably earlier. It is certain,
however, that as early as the middle of
the second century the Eucharistic service
assumed a more or less fixed order or
arrangement, within which the prayers
and thanksgivings were in the main ex
temporaneous, possibly with fixed endings,
such as we find in S. Paul s prayers (e.g.
Eph. iii. 14-21), leading up to the Amen l
of the congregation.
Justin Martyr s description of the Service
(A.D. 140) took a form which may be
tabulated thus 2 :
I. Introductory.
(a) Scripture reading from the memoirs
of the Apostles or the writings of
the Prophets.
(b) Sermon based on the reading.
(c) Prayers. A fourth element, usual
here, is praise, in the form of
1 1 Cor. xiv. 16.
2 Apol. i. 65. Procter and Frere, pp. 507 and
432 f.
Compared with Ancient Forms 37
hymns or chants, which is men
tioned by Pliny (A.D. 112). 1
II. Eucharist proper.
(a) Offering of elements of bread and
of wine mixed with water.
(b) Prayer and thanksgiving (with
Amen by the people).
(c) Distribution of the Sacrament to
those present ; absent members
having the Sacrament carried to
them by the Deacons.
(d) Almsgiving; the position of which
is not stated.
The kiss of peace 2 (derived from " the
holy kiss " of the New Testament) is men
tioned in Apol. i. 65 as occurring " after
the prayers " i.e. before II. (a).
This general outline appears in all de
veloped liturgies from the fourth century ;
and it is followed also substantially both
in the English and Scottish rites.
Every known liturgy possesses the main
divisions noted above as I. and II., corre
sponding roughly to our Ante -Communion
and Communion services, and within these
appear the various elements mentioned by
Justin. But it is impossible to fill out this
skeleton of a liturgy till we reach the
fourth century. The liturgy of Apostolic
Constitutions, which belongs to this period,
1 There is no doubt that the four elements of
prayer, praise, lessons, and sermon are derived from
the worship of the Jewish Synagogue, which follows
this form to-day as it did in Apostolic times.
2 See Appendix C.
38 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
undoubtedly influenced the Scottish com
pilers, who spoke of it as the liturgy of
S. Clement ; but, as that of S. James is
somewhat more typical of the East, and
was as much, if not more, the model of
the Scottish rite, we may take it as a good
example of an early liturgy. The date of
the Greek text is uncertain, but its use by
the Syrian Jacobites suggests a date pre
vious to the Monophysite Schism in the fifth
century, if not earlier.
The Liturgy of S. James. The first part
of the service need not detain us ; it pro
ceeds on lines that never vary in any
liturgy, containing, like our Ante -Com
munion service, the elements of prayer,
praise, Scripture lessons and sermon, along
with the Nicene Creed, and a ceremonial
entry on the part of the officiating ministers
at the beginning.
The second part of the service the
Anaphora (offering) after a procession
with the elements, begins with the offertory
(offering of bread and wine), and then
proceeds to the Sursum Corda and Sanctus,
after which the Eucharistic Prayer is said.
This is a long prayer, broken up by a
number of Amens, which are said some
times by the deacon and sometimes by the
people ; and it commences with a thanks
giving for creation and redemption begin
ning thus: "Holy art Thou, King of the
ages, and Lord and Giver of all good ;
holy also is Thy only-begotten Son Jesus
Christ. . . ." This leads to the narrative
Compared with Ancient Forms 39
of the Institution, the words " This is My
Body " being said by the priest with a loud
voice. Then follows the anamnesis, which
commences in this way, " Remembering,
therefore, His life-giving sufferings, His
saving Cross and Death and Burial and
Resurrection and Ascension . . . and His
second glorious and fearful coming, with
glory to judge the living and the dead . . .
we offer this unbloody sacrifice. . _. ."
Next comes the Invocation (Epiclesis) or
blessing of the bread and wine, of which
the following are the principal words :
" Send forth upon us and upon these Thy
gifts Thy all-holy Spirit . . . that He may
hallow by His holy and good and glorious
Presence and make this bread the holy
Body of Christ (People, Amen) and this
cup the precious Blood of Christ (People,
Amen) ; that it may become to all who
receive the same for remission of sins and
for eternal life, for sanctification of soul
and body." *
Intercession for various classes of people,
including the saints and the departed gener
ally, follows, each clause beginning, " Re
member, O Lord," and this is summarized
by the Lord s Prayer. After the manual
acts Communion is given, and the service
ends with thanksgiving.
The earlier liturgy of Apostolic Constitu
tions (i.e. so-called Clementine) adopts
much the same general order, though
simpler, and in the Invocation less com-
1 Brightman, Liturgies, p. 53 f.
40 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
plete. It will be seen at once that the
Scottish liturgy follows this model in
the order of the parts, and occasionally
even in the language, the sequence being
(1) Sursum Cor da and Sanctus ; (2) Euchar-
istic Prayer, with its three parts (a) In
stitution, (b) Anamnesis, (c) Invocation 1 ;
(3) Intercession and the Lord s Prayer ;
(4) Communion ; (5) Thanksgiving Prayer
and dismissal.
The Roman Liturgy. The chief Western
liturgy, that of Rome, from which the
English liturgy is derived, is less natural
in the order of its parts. Like the Eastern
liturgies, it falls into two main divisions,
called the Ordinary and the Canon of the
Mass. The first contains the usual elements
of prayer, praise, Scripture lessons and
sermon, and now (though not originally)
includes also the Sursum Cor da and Preface.
The second begins the Consecration Prayer
with intercession for the living, and then
proceeds to the Consecration, making two
petitions for the divine intervention, one
before and the other after the words of
Institution, but omitting the usual definite
petition for the blessing of the bread and
wine by the Holy Spirit. Intercession is
then resumed, this time for the dead ; and
the prayer ends with a strange petition
which has somehow got into the wrong
1 The Egyptian rite has two invocations, one before
and one after words of Institution. All other Eastern
rites have one, after words of Institution. See Bishop
of Moray s Article, E. It. E., vol. vii., p. 410.
Compared with Ancient Forms 41
place, having been originally, it would
appear, a prayer for blessing the fruits of
the earth. 1 All scholars believe that the
Roman form has undergone at some period
serious dislocation ; and, as it stands, it
is marred by difficult Latin expressions and
by a sequence which even the Roman
Catholic writer Mgr. Fortescue finds it
difficult to explain. 2 This liturgist has no
doubt that at one time the Roman liturgy,
like the liturgies of the East, possessed an
explicit Invocation ; but in its present
form, like the English liturgy, it is devoid
of this, the most natural feature in the
Eucharistic Prayer. It may be added that
it was not till the Middle Ages that the
theory, now current in the Church of Rome,
arose, according to which the declaration
" This is My Body," etc., is the means of
consecration. And it is probable that the
absence of a direct invocation originated
the theory, which is no longer held by
some Roman Catholic scholars.
Differences between the Western and
Eastern Forms. 3 The main differences be
tween these types of liturgy are these :
1. The Western has many parts of the
service that vary with the Christian seasons
and holy days, e.g. collects, epistles and
gospels, prefaces, etc. ; while in the Eastern
forms no variable parts are found, except
the Scripture lessons. The Eastern Church
1 Duchesne, Christian Worship, pp. 182-83.
2 The Mans, p. 333 f.
8 See Appendix B.
42 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
secures variety by employing a different
complete Anaphora of the same type at
certain times.
2. The Western liturgy is much shorter
than the Eastern, the brief variable collect
being a special and beautiful feature of it.
In these two respects both the English
and Scottish forms resemble the Western
type.
3. The Eucharistic Prayer in the chief
Western rite the Roman is confused ;
and possesses, in addition to certain minor
inconsistencies, these defects ; (a) thanks
giving is less evident than in the Eastern
form ; (b) the commemoration of Christ s
redemptive acts is more meagre ; (c) the
intercession is broken up, part coming
before and part after the consecration ;
(d) there is no clearly-expressed invocation
or petition for the blessing of the elements.
In these respects the English rite may be
said to follow the Roman rather than the
Eastern type, while the Scottish adopts
the more natural order of the East.
The Gallican Liturgy. Exception has
been taken to the Scottish liturgy on the
ground that, being originally a Western
rite, its development should have pro
ceeded on Eastern and not on Western
lines, and that in its present form it is
something of a hybrid. Critics of this
type, to whom the Roman liturgy is the
one norm for the West, forget that the
Roman liturgy itself is ultimately Eastern
in its origin, and that at one time it prob-
Compared with Ancient Forms 43
ably possessed even the distinctive Eastern
feature of an express invocation. It has
been already shown that the Roman rite
has developed on lines which have left its
canon illogical and confused. While the
Roman liturgy lost by its departure from
Eastern forms, the Scottish liturgy gained
both in orderliness and beauty by a return
to the ancient forms of the East.
As for the mingling of Eastern and
Western elements in the same liturgy, that
is no novelty ; for, in the Hispano-Gallican
or Mozarabic rites there are to be found,
side by side, Western elements, such as
collects, variable prayers, prefaces, etc., and
an Eastern form of consecration. This
group of liturgies was current in Gaul till
the eighth century, when the rite was sup
pressed by Roman authority save in Toledo
and Salamanca, where it is still used, though
in a highly Romanized form. Cranmer,
certainly, was acquainted with this rite, of
which there are clear traces in the short
prayers preceding the blessing of the water
at Baptism in the Book of Common Prayer ;
and it is possible that his knowledge of that
type of liturgy encouraged him to intro
duce the Invocation into the Consecration
Prayer of 1549. It cannot, however, be
proved that the Gallican rite directly in
fluenced either the present Scottish or the
English liturgies, though it was the liturgy
of the Celtic Church in the British Isles,
and fragments of it survive in the Stowe
Missal, the Bangor Antiphonary, etc. But
44 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
it is of special interest to Scottish people
as an example of a marked fusion of Western
and Eastern elements. The following is
a translation of a Gallican Invocation of
the sixth century : " We humbly pray
that Thou wouldest deign to receive and
bless and sanctify this Sacrifice, that it
may become to us a true Eucharist in Thy
Name and in the Name of Thy Son and
Holy Spirit, changed into the Body and
Blood of our Lord God, Jesus Christ." l
Summary. We have seen that the
Eastern type of liturgy differs considerably
from the Western, and that the differences
in the Consecration Prayer are of real
consequence. Between the two stands the
Gallican rite, now all but extinct, combining,
not unlike the Scottish liturgy, the special
features of both.
1 Duchesne, Christian Worship, p. 217-
CHAPTER IV
History of the Scottish Liturgy
i
LAUD S LITURGY AND THE WORK OF
THE NONJURORS
THE Scottish liturgy has been criticized
in some quarters as the product of
certain pedantic Nonjurors of the eighteenth
century who, with scissors and paste, cut
off, in Philistine fashion, the marks of the
Reformation from the English liturgy, and
then stuck upon it foreign elements from
the East, handing down to posterity a form
of service smacking of the lamp rather
than a living expression of Anglican worship.
Nothing could be further from the truth
than criticism of this kind. The Scottish
liturgy appeared a century before the
Nonjurors ; and in its first form, that of
1637, it already possessed the Eastern
feature which has distinguished it through
out the centuries, namely, an Invocation
of the Holy Spirit on the elements, deriving
this, not from the East, but from the
English Prayer Book of 1549.
" Laud s Liturgy " (as the Prayer Book of
1637 was popularly called) owed to the
n 45
46 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
great archbishop no more than his super
vision and co-operation. It was the work
of two Scottish bishops, Maxwell of Ross,
and Wedderburn of Dunblane, aided by
Wren, Dean of Windsor, and afterwards
Bishop of Norwich, a scholar who has left
his mark on the Prayer Book of 1661.
Had it been judged upon its merits, Laud s
liturgy would have met with a different
reception from that which befell it in the
city of Edinburgh on the Sixteenth Sunday
after Trinity, 1637. But these were the
days when the royal prerogative was ever
obtruding itself into spiritual affairs, and
the Scottish people saw in the introduction
of a service book by royal authority a fresh
outrage on their liberty. A riot signalized
its first appearance in the High Church of
S. Giles s Cathedral, Edinburgh, and the
book was thereupon summarily withdrawn.
The liturgy never had a chance ; and, even
if it had received a fair trial, there were
few in Scotland at the time gifted with the
taste to appreciate it. It lay on the shelf
for nearly a quarter of a century ; but in
1661 its merits were recognized in England,
and it affected in a variety of ways the
service book which is now in use through
out the Anglican Communion.
In Scotland it remained in total obscurity
until the eighteenth century, when the
Nonjurors determined to use the liturgy
contained in it at the administration of
Holy Communion.
Features of Laud s Liturgy. In the
History of the Scottish Liturgy 47
order of its parts it is identical with the
English rite with this notable exception
that the Prayer of Consecration follows, as
it should, the Sursum Corda and Preface,
the Prayer of Humble Access occurring
after the Consecration, and immediately
before Communion. It is mainly in the
Prayer of Consecration that the difference
between the English and the Scottish rites
appears, the latter going back to the Prayer
Book of 1549 for the following elements
arranged in this order (1) Invocation of
the Holy Spirit, (2) the words of institu
tion, (3) the oblation of the elements,
which concludes with the offering " of
ourselves, our souls, and bodies," etc. It
will be noticed that this arrangement is not
the order prescribed in the liturgies of the
East, nor in the present Scottish liturgy, in
which the invocation is the climax of the
act of consecration and comes last. The
invocation was placed before the words of
institution in 1549, probably, as Dr Bright-
man suggests, 1 in order to combine the
two theories of consecration without giving
undue prominence to the Eastern. Other
improvements on the English rite of the
time were these (1) The fine rubric, still
retained in the present Scottish liturgy,
which orders for the Holy Table not only
44 a fair white linen cloth," but also " other
decent furniture meet for the High Mys
teries there to be celebrated," and directs
that the Table shall " stand at the upper-
1 The English Rite, p. cvi.
48 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
most part of the chancel or church."
(2) The more definite offertory rubric,
" The presbyter shall then offer up and
place the bread and wine upon the Lord s
Table." (3) The commemoration of the
departed and of the saints in the Prayer
for the Church Militant. (4) The omission
of the second half of the English words of
administration at the Communion. From
this brief sketch it will be seen that Laud s
liturgy was a revision of the English rite
in a Catholic direction ; but it is only fair
to add that an endeavour was also made
by its compilers to meet the prejudices of
the time, notably in two respects, namely,
the substitution of the word " presbyter "
for " priest," and the retention of the words
" militant here in earth " in the Prayer
for the whole state of Christ s Church.
The word presbyter, for " priest," was,
however, in effect a challenge to people
who had been taught to see in the " elder "
of Presbyterianism the abolition of the
priest. They were not likely to be pleased
at finding their favourite word quietly
carried into a liturgy, which thus testified
to the fact that presbyter was but priest
writ large. The term " presbyter " is still
retained in the Scottish liturgy ; it is simply
the Greek form for the second order of the
ministry, and is now to be found in the
margin of the Revised Version of the New
Testament as an alternative to the more
vague and misleading word " elder." l
1 Acts xx. 17.
History of the Scottish Liturgy 49
II
THE NONJURORS
It was not till the early part of
the eighteenth century that the discarded
liturgy of 1637 came to its own, when the
Non jurors, a party who were keen advo
cates of catholic tradition in religion and
of the Stuart cause in politics, turned to
it for a fuller expression of primitive
practice than they found in the Book
of Common Prayer. These were at first
divided into two groups, one favouring,
the other opposing certain practices, de
scribed in these days as " usages," of which
the most important were these : (1) The
oblation, (2) the invocation, (3) prayer for
the departed, and (4) the mixing of the
chalice with water. In course of time
these " usages " became the general practice
of the Scottish Church, though not without
a struggle, details of which will be found
in Bishop Dowden s work. 1 The liturgy
of 1637 already contained the first two of
the "usages " : the third was partially ex
pressed in it, and the fourth could be
practised by any bishop or priest on his
own initiative. " Laud s " liturgy thus
provided practically all that the Non jurors
required ; but there was one obstacle to
its employment, and that was the expense
involved in printing the complete Prayer
Book, or even the whole of the Com
munion service.
1 Annotated Scottish Communion Office, pp. 59 f.
50 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
The " Wee Bookies." To overcome this
difficulty there was published in 1724 the
first of the " wee bookies," as they were
called, a reprint of the central part of
the Communion Office beginning with the
Offertory. With a Prayer Book for the
first part of the service, and a " wee
bookie " of a dozen pages for the second,
nothing more was needed for the wor
shipper. In those days, when the dis
established Church w r as incapable of legis
lating for itself, bishops and priests were
free to do pretty much as they pleased, and
the " wee bookies " were introduced with
little difficulty in several dioceses, the fact
that they were associated with King
Charles I. being a point in their favour.
But in 1731 the Scottish bishops formally
recognized the Scottish as well as the
English rite in public worship, and this
step led to the widespread adoption of
the former, especially in the Dioceses of
Aberdeen, Brechin, Moray, and St. Andrews.
" The Natural Order." The second stage
in the development of the Communion
Office was almost inevitable, and, like the
first, was due to individual initiative.
Excellent as was the rite of 1637, its defects
were obvious ; and with a few strokes of
the pen they could be to a great extent
remedied. Accordingly, in 1724, we find
" wee bookies " in which a bishop had
written in the margin certain numerals, by
means of which he altered the order of the
service, and was able to say the Prayer of
History of the Scottish Liturgy 51
Consecration in a more logical and primitive
form. This went on till 1735, when there
appeared anonymously a " wee bookie "
with these words on the title-page " All
the parts of this office are ranked in the
natural order." Thus the Scottish liturgy
reached the stage when the order of the
parts took the form that they now have,
though there were still considerable changes
to be made, especially in the language of
the invocation.
Communion Office of 1764. Bishop
Rattray s work on the liturgies of S. James
and S. Clement, published in 1744, led to
the publication, under the direction of the
Scottish bishops in 1764, of a text which
became the recognized Communion Office
until 1911. In this form " Laud s liturgy "
is discernible only to the observant student ;
for not only is the order of the parts ad
justed to the form of ancient liturgies, but
the language of the invocation also is con
siderably changed. The Invocation of 1764
runs as follows : " And we most humbly
beseech Thee, O merciful Father, to hear
us, and of Thy almighty goodness vouch
safe to bless and sanctify with Thy word
and Holy Spirit these Thy gifts and crea
tures of bread and wine, that they may
become the Body and Blood of Thy most
dearly beloved Son." Whence did Bishop
Falconer, who was the leading spirit in
this revision, derive this form ? Bishop
Dowden says that he followed the liturgy
of S. Clement (the form in Apostolic Con-
52 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
stitutions), but not far enough. No doubt
this liturgy influenced the text of 1764,
but of verbal resemblance in the invocation
there is hardly a trace. 1 It seems to me
that Falconer, despairing of the attempt
to force into English words the Greek of
any liturgy, simply endeavoured to express
in the most direct manner possible the
principle of the normal liturgical invoca
tion. He was right in eschewing the
dangerous expedient of translation, but he
was wrong in interpreting his models. By
stopping short at the words " that they
may become," etc., he omitted what all
ancient liturgies are careful to express, the
purpose of the consecration. Thus the
liturgy was exposed to two charges (1) it
was without ancient precedent, and (2) it
was popish, in appearing to countenance
the doctrine of transubstantiation ; the
latter was, of course, a silly charge, but it
was at the same time one with which the
prejudiced might and did make some play
in view of the abrupt ending of the form.
Summary. From the Nonjuring move
ment, then, the liturgy (as derived from
" Laud s ") gained and preserved these
definite advantages (1) an arrangement of
the central part of the service modelled on
the great liturgies of the East; (2) a
1 The form reads, "Send down Thy Holy Spirit
upon this Sacrifice,, that He may make this bread the
Body of Thy Christ, and this cup the Blood of Thy
Christ, to the end that those who have received thereof
may be confirmed in piety, receive remission of
sins. . .
History of the Scottish Liturgy 53
form of consecration which through the
invocation placed the emphasis on prayer
rather than on the words of institution ;
(3) the recognition of prayer for the de
parted by the omission of " militant here
in earth " ; (4) the unity of the " people s
preparation " ; (5) the restoration of the
hymn Gloria in Excelsis to something more
like its original form by the insertion of the
clause " and to Thee, the Holy Ghost."
This was the rite which was employed in
1784 at the consecration of Bishop Seabury,
the first bishop of the American Church, in
Aberdeen ; and, when the time came for
the Church on the other side of the Atlantic
to compile a liturgy of its own, this edition
of the Scottish liturgy was taken as the
model of the Consecration Prayer which is
found at the Eucharist in the United States
to-day.
CHAPTER V
The Nineteenth Century and the Liturgy
of 1912
TOWARDS the close of the eighteenth
century the Church was slowly re
covering from the blows of disestablish
ment and legalized persecution. In 1792
the penal laws were repealed ; and,
though certain disabilities remained in
force against the clergy of the Scottish
Episcopal Church, the leaders were free to
devote themselves to the work of recon
struction and organization which was so
necessary during the first half of the nine
teenth century.
Lowered Status of the Liturgy. Through
out this period the Scottish liturgy was of
" primary authority " in the public worship
of the Church, though the English also was
formally recognized ; but by the canons of
1863 the position of the two rites was
reversed, the English being elevated to
the superior position and the Scottish re
ceiving little more than a bare toleration.
This reactionary step was due to a laudable
desire on the part of a section of the Scottish
Episcopal Church to demonstrate the
identity of episcopacy on both sides of the
54
Nineteenth Century and Liturgy 0/1912 55
Tweed. The development of travelling
facilities and the influx into Scotland of
large numbers of English and Irish Church
people rendered it necessary to leave no
doubt as to the communion of the Scottish
Episcopal Church with the sister Churches
of England and Ireland ; and to thrust
the Scottish liturgy into the background
appeared the speediest means to this end.
No one could object to the general aim of
the canon ; but nothing can be said for a
measure that degraded a liturgy which,
even in those days, had called forth the
highest praise from English Churchmen,
which had placed an indelible mark on
the Communion Office of the American
Church, and which bore striking resem
blances to the liturgies of the Holy Ortho
dox Church in the East. Those who
framed the canons of 1863, in seeking to
gain the sympathy of England, apparently
closed their eyes to the possible danger of
losing that of Scotland, and their action
certainly had the effect of lending some
colour to the sneer that episcopacy is an
exotic in Scotland, devoid of historic con
nection with the national spirit.
The deed, however, was done, and its
result was to silence the Scottish liturgy
for nearly forty years at synods, consecra
tions of bishops, ordinations, and the like,
to bar its introduction into settled con
gregations, and to render its adoption
by new congregations well-nigh impossible.
Those who chanced to meet American and
56 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
English visitors to Edinburgh at the begin
ning of the present century will remember
their astonishment and dismay when they
discovered that in the Scottish metropolis
the Scottish liturgy was the occasional
exception rather than the rule at the
Sunday Eucharist.
Bishop Dowden } s Work. It was an Irish
man, Dr Dowden, then Principal of the
Theological College of the Scottish Church,
who opened the eyes of Scottish Church
people to the value of the liturgical treasure
that had thus been relegated to a position
of harmless obscurity. In 1884 he pub
lished his great work under the title of
An Historical Account of the Scottish Com
munion Office and of the Communion Office
of the United States of America. Its purpose
was (1) to trace the origin and history of
the Scottish and American rites, (2) to
prove that the edition of 1764 was the
recognized text of the office, and (3) to
supply liturgical notes on the various parts
of the service, and in particular to show
the connection between the Consecration
Prayer of the Scottish liturgy and that of
ancient forms. Distinguished by a masterly
grasp of liturgical principles as well as by
an intimate and first-hand knowledge of
Scottish history, the volume marked a
turning-point in the fortunes of the liturgy.
English and American scholars were deeply
interested, and in Scotland no one with a
claim to intelligence could any longer treat
the Scottish Communion Office as the fad
Nineteenth Century and Liturgy of 1912 57
of a pedantic party in the Church. Indeed,
the book had only been in circulation a
few years when opinion throughout the
Church appeared to be ripe for the revision
of the liturgy and the abolition of the
obnoxious Canon of 1863. Unfortunately,
the northern dioceses were alarmed at
Bishop Dowden s criticism of the Invoca
tion (see pp. 51 f.), and voices were raised
against any attempt to tamper with a
formula which many believed to express
and guard the doctrine of the Real Presence.
The odium theologicum from the outset
prejudiced what was really a liturgical
question. In such conditions it was hope
less to press the question of revision ; and
when the General Synod met in 1890 it
left both the liturgy and its status un
touched. Bishop Dowden was a quarter
of a century before his time. Happily,
he lived to see the fruits of his labour
in the revision of 1912, which proceeded
on the lines that he had suggested in
1884.
The Present Liturgy. The chief problem
before the Revision Committee, appointed
by the Scottish bishops in 1909, was this
how to alter the form of invocation
so as to avoid the charge of watering
down sacramental doctrine, on the one
hand, and of retaining an abrupt and
bald expression of it on the other. Its
solution will be best understood if we
print the old and the new forms side
by side.
58 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
The Invocation.
1764.
And we most humbly
beseech Thee, O Merciful
Father., to hear us, and of
Thy almighty goodness
vouchsafe to bless and
sanctify with Thy Word
and Holy Spirit these Thy
gifts and creatures of
bread and wine, that they
may become the Body
and Blood of Thy most
dearly beloved Son.
1912.
And humbly praying
that it may be unto us
according to His word,
we Thine unworthy ser
vants beseech Thee, most
merciful Father, to hear
us, and to send Thy Holy
Spirit upon us and upon
these Thy gifts and crea
tures of bread and wine,
that, being blessed and
hallowed by His life-giving
power, they may become
the Body and Blood of
Thy most dearly beloved
Son, to the end that all
who shall receive the
same may be sanctified
both in body and soul,
arid preserved unto ever
lasting life.
At the outset a suggestion of the late
Dr Bright, the eminent historian and
liturgical scholar, in the Church Quarterly
Review as far back as 1890, commended
itself to the committee as a reasonable
starting-point for their deliberations. This,
which followed a dictum of St. Cyprian,
was to the effect that, in any alteration of
the form of invocation, the words employed
should express no more and no less than
that which our Lord intended the sacra
ment to be : the Prayer of Consecration
should, in fact, leave the doctrine of the
Real Presence, where the Church had left
it, undefined, and revision should proceed
Nineteenth Century and Liturgy of 1912 59
on liturgical and not on doctrinal lines.
Few would question the wisdom of this
counsel, and the committee approved of it
unanimously. There was less agreement
as to the next proposal, which was to insert
at the beginning of the invocation a state
ment embodying Dr Bright s suggestion ;
for it was urged that this meant the
introduction of the very doctrinal element
which the suggestion had been intended to
exclude. It was, however, carried by a
majority ; and appeared in this form,
" humbly praying that it may be unto us
according to His word," the substance of
the words being derived from the response
of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Annun
ciation. The next step was purely litur
gical, and gave little trouble to bring the
liturgy into closer agreement with many
ancient forms by making the invocation
include the communicants as well as the
elements. This was accomplished by the
introduction of a few words from the
liturgy of S. James " Send Thy Holy
Spirit upon us 1 and upon these Thy gifts and
creatures of bread and wine," an alteration
that withdrew the emphasis from the words
" bless and sanctify." It was, however,
felt desirable to retain these words of the
old form ; but this could be done only by
the introduction of a participial clause,
" being blessed and hallowed by His life-
1 The " upon us " is also a great feature of the
Byzantine rite (St. Basil and St. Chrysostom) and the
Armenian.
60 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
giving power," in which the word " power "
was unfortunately employed for the more
correct term, in the liturgy of S. James,
" presence."
The rest was easy ; the purpose of con
secration had to be expressed, if the invoca
tion was to escape the charge of abruptness
and resemble the form of ancient invoca
tions ; and so the words " to the end that
all . . ." were added. The term " be
come," from the old form of 1764, was
left unchanged, as the proposal in 1890
to alter this word to " become unto us "
or " be," or to render the idea by an active
verb " make " had aroused acute con
troversy, and in fact had destroyed the
revision movement of that date.
It will now be seen that the present
form possesses these distinct advantages
over that of 1764 : (1) there is an invoca
tion of the Holy Spirit on the communicants
as well as on the elements ; (2) the object
of consecration is expressed, as in all
ancient forms, " to the end that all who
shall receive the same may be sanctified
. . ." ; (3) the words of the old form are
substantially retained, so that the present
form is a true development and not a new
departure.
It cannot, however, be said that the
new form is free from blemish. It is
long, nearly twice as long as the old ;
it is obscure ; it is redundant, for there
are now three different petitions for com
municants in the Prayer of Consecration.
Nineteenth Century and Liturgy 0/1912 61
The form, therefore, lacks the simplicity
which distinguished that of 1764. If the
nonjuring revisers strove overmuch for
directness, those of 1912 erred in trans
ferring by a more or less literal transla
tion the language of a Greek liturgy into
an English form. The omission of two
phrases, viz., " humbly praying, . . ." and
" being . . . power," would certainly make
for clearness, though it must be acknow
ledged that the loss of the words " blessed
and hallowed " would be unfortunate. Be
that as it may, the form thus adopted
undoubtedly brought the invocation into
closer conformity with ancient models,
and at the same time met the objections
of those who regarded the old form as
deficient, both from the liturgical and
theological point of view.
Other Improvements. Little difficulty was
found in improving other parts of the
liturgy. A fuller and more scriptural
anamnesis or oblation was provided by
inserting an anticipation of the Second
Coming, " and looking for his coming
again with power and great glory." The
Offertory was made to include the offering
of bread and wine as well as the alms, the
words of Solomon, " Thine, O Lord, is the
greatness . . .," being prescribed after the
bread and wine are offered and set on the
holy table. The deacon s part in the
service was, as in the great liturgies of
the East, clearly indicated at the Epistle,
the Offertory, the bidding in the Prayer
62 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
for the whole state of Christ s Church, and
the address after Communion. New Pre
faces were also provided for the Epiphany,
the Purification, the Annunciation, feasts
of Apostles and Evangelists, All Saints
Day, the consecration of bishops, the
ordination of priests and deacons, and
for the dedication of a church. A useful
substitute for the Ten Commandments, or
summary of the law, was also permitted,
on weekdays, in the threefold Kyrie an
old Western feature of the first part of
the service ; and the post Communion
was enriched by the addition of three
beautiful collects from the Columban
Church, 1 and of collects for the various
seasons of the Christian year. Finally,
three most valuable additions were made,
one in the title, and the other two in
rubrics following the blessing. The first
of these was the adoption of the scientific
term " liturgy " for " Communion Office "
and " Eucharist " as an addition to " Holy
Communion " ; the second was the per
mission of the mixed chalice, one of the
four " usages " which was not formally
adopted in 1764 ; and the third was the
authorization of reservation " for the sick
and others who could not be present at the
celebration in church." Both the mixed
chalice and reservation were, it is true,
practices of long standing in Scotland ; but
it was important to sanction them formally
1 Two of these were from the Book of Deer, and
one a paraphrase of a verse of St Columba s Altus.
Nineteenth Century and Liturgy of 1912 63
in the liturgy of the Church. 1 The liturgy,
thus finally revised, was duly authorized
by the Primus, on behalf of the Scottish
bishops, on February 22, 1912 ; and in the
revised code of canons of the previous
year the legal restrictions imposed on its
use in 1863 were removed, careful regula
tions being framed to give reasonable
liberty for the introduction of the rite
into any congregation. The old edition
of 1764 was also sanctioned for use in
those congregations in which it had been
employed previous to 1911.
Summary. The present liturgy, which,
as we have seen, is an advance on that
of the Nonjurors in many ways, owes its
existence to two main causes the wide
spread feeling that the Invocation of 1764
was incomplete and abrupt, and the lowered
status of the liturgy which resulted from
the Anglicizing policy of the nineteenth
century. The revision of 1912, by ampli
fying the invocation, secured liberty and
equality for the Scottish rite ; and it has
been amply justified by results ; for the
liturgy has spread into congregations which
would have viewed the form of 1764 with
grave suspicion. There is now not a
cathedral in Scotland in which it is not
in regular use, and in the majority of
Scottish congregations it holds an hon
oured place and meets with increasing
appreciation.
1 See chap. vi.
CHAPTER VI
The Witness of the Liturgy
WHILE the general aim of the com
pilers was, as we have seen, to
enshrine the Eucharist in a more worthy
form than that provided in the Book of
Common Prayer, there were also, behind
the questions of liturgical fitness, certain
matters of faith and practice to which
they desired to give expression in the
worship of the Church. Of these the
chief were the four " usages," as they
were styled by the Non jurors ; and, if
we add reservation for the sick and the
absent, it may be said that the Scottish
liturgy, as compared with the English,
bears witness to five points which in the
English rite are not denied so much as
obscured. These are the Oblation or an
amnesis, the Invocation, Prayer for the
departed and Thanksgiving for the saints,
the mixed Chalice, and Reservation ; and
in these features the liturgy not only con
forms to ancient models, but also testifies
to certain truths which these liturgical
forms express. Thus, the Oblation is not
only a dramatic and impressive feature
of the rite ; it is also, and even more, a
64
The Witness of the Liturgy 65
means of exhibiting the Godward, or
sacrificial, aspect of the Holy Communion.
Again, the Invocation definitely expresses
the fact that, through the operation of
the Holy Spirit, the symbols of bread
and wine undergo a real though spiritual
change. Prayer for the departed and
the commemoration of saints witness to
the reality of the communion of saints ;
and Reservation is a means of testifying
to the unity of a congregation. The mixed
chalice is in a sense of less consequence,
being simply a primitive practice of the
Church ; but, if our Lord employed at the
first Eucharist the mixed cup, we cannot
treat this point as a matter of indifference.
The question, therefore, that now arises is
this : Is the Scottish liturgy justified in its
witness to the truths which these liturgical
features are intended to signify ? Let us
begin with that most difficult truth which
is enshrined in the anamnesis or Oblation.
Eucharistic Sacrifice. Is the sacrificial
aspect of the Holy Communion of such im
portance as to require the emphasis which
the anamnesis in the liturgy supplies ? It
is plain that the language used by our
Lord at the institution is sacrificial " the
Body given for you," " the Blood of the
new covenant," " eat," " drink " ; and the
setting of the Eucharist in the Sacrifice of
the Passover leads to the same conclusion.
So far there would probably be little or
no difference of opinion ; but the moment
the Eucharist is described as a sacrifice,
66 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
resentment and controversy are aroused.
Now it must be confessed that, in his
treatment of this truth, the theologian is
less happy than the poet ; for, just as
people learn more about the atonement as
a fact from hymns like " Rock of Ages "
than from sermons, so are they more
attracted to the sacrificial view of the
Eucharist when they sing Dr Bright s
beautiful hymn, " And now, O Father,
mindful of the love," than when they
read a book like Bishop Gore s The Body
of Christ. " Pectus facit theologum "
("the heart makes the theologian"), and
the sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist is a
fact for the heart and the imagination rather
than a theory for the head. Yet reason
must be reconciled to it. What, then, is
the fundamental point which lies at the
basis of this truth ? It is, I think, just
this that the Eucharist is not merely
something to remind us of a past event,
but also, and more, something that we
present as a memorial before God, an anam
nesis, as our Lord described it by a word
derived from the Old Testament ; not
simply a reminder to us, but a memorial
which we show forth before God as our
supreme plea. That may appear a very
simple statement to some, too simple, per
haps, for others. Yet it seems to me the
root of the matter, for a sacrifice is just a
sacred action or rite directed to God. The
Eucharist has a Godward aspect as well as
a man ward. We might assume, even if it
The Witness of the Liturgy 67
were not implied in our Lord s word an
amnesis, that in celebrating the Eucharist
we perform an action which is directed or
offered to God ; for it is unthinkable that
the one divinely-ordered and distinctly
Christian service should be something
merely done by us, and directed to us and
to us alone. If the Eucharist is worship
at all, it is not secondarily, but primarily,
as such offered to God ; and that, I think,
is the fundamental fact which is implied
in the sacrifice of the Eucharist. Can we
go further, without departing from Scrip
ture and embarking on a perilous journey
of unprofitable speculation ? One further
step, at least, we may take. >c In remem
brance of Me " " for a memorial of Me.
It is not simply of Christ s death that the
Eucharist is the memorial, but of Himself,
who is " alive for evermore," and who, as
our High Priest, stands before God "the
Lamb that hath been slain from the founda
tion of the world." l The death which, in
S. Paul s words, we "proclaim till He
come " cannot be isolated from the Resur
rection and Ascension ; the one sacrifice
offered on earth is presented and pleaded
by the Great High Priest in heaven. The
memorial before God, therefore, is not
simply Christ s Death, but Christ Himself,
risen, ascended, and glorified through death.
The Eucharist is not the memorial of Good
Friday alone, but of Good Friday as illu
minated and completed on Ascension Day.
i Rev. xiii. 8.
68 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
The whole truth finds expression in Dr
Bright s familiar hymn :
" Look., Father, look oil His anointed face,,
And only look on us as found in Him ;
Look not on our misusings of Thy grace.
Our prayer so languid and our faith so dim :
For lo f between our sins and their reward
We set the Passion of Thy Son our Lord."
Now, if this be so, the further question
hardly arises, "Is the Eucharist a sub
stitute for, or a repetition of, the one
offering on the Cross ? " To speak of the
Eucharist as sacrificial in no way implies
that the one oblation, once offered on
Calvary and now pleaded by the Ascended
Christ, is incomplete. Language has, in
deed, been used which tends to encourage
this view, and language is always the
chief cause of theological difficulties. The
Eucharist cannot be a substitute for, or
a repetition of, the one Sacrifice ; it is
the means of employing the one Sacrifice
and of appropriating its priceless benefits.
Christ, alive for evermore in the Sacrifice
of Himself, is the justification of the
Eucharist ; and the Eucharist is the pre
sentation before God of that once offered
Sacrifice as an eternal fact. In these days
of suffering and death we are learning
afresh the true meaning of sacrifice, which
in the light of the Cross we can discover
even in the animal sacrifices of the old
covenant, the giving of life for others ;
and nowhere so much as at the Eucharist
are we in touch with those brave men and
The Witness of the Liturgy
women of all ages whose sacrifice of them
selves is in some degree a reflection of the
Sacrifice of Him who gave Himself for us.
The Presence in the Sacrament. In the
space at my disposal little can be said as
to the practical truth that it is signified in
the invocation. Certainly no definition or
theory of the Presence of Christ, still less
44 a moment of consecration," can be in
ferred from the invocation, nor indeed
from the words of any known liturgy.
What the invocation does emphasize is
the reality or fact of Christ s Presence ;
in it we pray that the bread and wine
may be, in the words of Justin Martyr,
44 no longer common bread and wine, but
Eucharist." The words of our Lord,
44 This is My Body," 44 This is My Blood,"
mean no more and no less than what they
say. No one would think of maintaining
that the Presence of Christ is asserted in
the Scottish rite and obscured in the
English. For the former it may, how
ever, be claimed that the reality of the
Divine Presence is more clearly expressed
in the prayer by which God is asked to
bless the symbols of bread and wine by
His Spirit, so that they may become the
Body and Blood of Christ for the primary
purpose of Communion.
Prayer for the Departed. If the union
between the Church on earth and the
Church in Paradise is a fact of revela
tion, then there should be some means of
expressing it in the liturgy.
70 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
Unfortunately, the seance of the spiritual
ists is, at the present time, too commonly
assumed to be the only mode of opening
communication between the living and
the departed, a poor enough substitute
even on natural grounds for the dignity
and the spirituality of prayer. We pray
for the departed, because, if we think of
them at all, we must do so ; our thought
of them shapes itself into a wish, and a
wish is a prayer, unspoken no doubt, but
a prayer all the same. Why not, therefore,
express this ineradicable instinct in the
worship of the Church ? Prayer for the
departed must, indeed, contain an element
of reserve ; for we have but little know
ledge of their condition and their needs,
but with this qualification there is no
essential difference between prayer for the
living and prayer for the departed. There
are no dead in Paradise ; only those that
are gloriously alive are there, living in the
presence of Christ, growing more and
more into His likeness ; and, therefore,
the departed in Christ are no more outside
the scope of our prayer than the living are
on earth. That is the principle that under
lies our Lord s words, " I am the God of
Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob ; He is
not the God of the dead but of the living."
Whether prayer for the departed was a
practice of the Jews in our Lord s day is a
disputed point l ; but there is no question as
to their belief in an intermediate state of
1 But see 2 Mace. xii. 45 (c. 120 B.C.).
The Witness of the Liturgy 71
consciousness and rest ; and, when S. Paul
prayed that Onesiphorus might receive
mercy in the last day, it seems clear that
the friend, of whom he speaks only in the
past tense, was in Paradise. 1 The inscrip
tions in the catacombs of Rome, from the
second century onwards, bear witness to
the naturalness and reserve with which
Christians in those early days spoke of the
departed in prayer. " Jesus, Lord, re
member our child " ; " God refresh thy
spirit " ; "In peace be thy Spirit " are
some of the epitaphs. 2 Evidence for such
intercession at the Eucharist goes back to
the fourth century ; but long before that
date it was the custom to offer the Euchar
ist for the departed, a practice which is
mentioned by Tertullian 3 (A.D. 190), and
which, if usual in his day, must be con
siderably nearer to Apostolic times than
the end of the second century. We need
not expect to find actual prayers for the
departed in the New Testament. What we
learn from the Gospels and the Epistles is
the assurance of an intermediate state after
death, a Paradise of consciousness and life
and progress ; and in that undoubted
truth lies the strongest justification of
prayer for the departed, of which S. Paul s
ejaculation for Onesiphorus is the natural
expression.
1 2 Tim. i. 18, v. 11).
2 Swete, The Holy Catholic Church, p. 226 ; Dictionary
of the Aptnttollc Church, i. 42(>.
3 " We make oblations for the departed " (Ue Cor. 3).
72 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
It is unfortunate that prayer for the
departed, even more than prayer for the
living, has been degraded by an unworthy
demand for results. To treat prayer as if
it were something of " a penny in the slot "
machine putting up a prayer, and there
and then taking out a result is at the least
an impertinence, not far removed from
blasphemy. We must leave the results of
our intercession to God as regards both the
living and the dead ; but to speak to Him
for the living and remain silent about the
departed is an inconsistency which is far
harder to justify than the practice of prayer
for the departed. The indefmiteness of
the Scottish remembrance, if it be a fault,
errs on the safe side ; a more explicit
prayer, composed by Bishop Dowden, is
given among the Additional Prayers in
the Scottish Prayer Book.
Thanksgiving "for the Saints. Thankful
commemoration of the heroes of the faith
is a duty, the value of which few, if any,
would question ; and nothing need be said
here in its favour. The Scottish com
memoration at some future time might be
strengthened and defined, not by a list of
the saints (which in ancient liturgies is
little more than a string of names), but by
the mention of classes, such as prophets,
Apostles, martyrs, introduced by the name
of the Mother of our Lord.
The Mixed Chalice. The mixed cup, as
we have seen, was not prescribed in the
liturgy of 1764 ; but in the authorized form
The Witness of the Liturgy 73
of 1912 a permissive rubric, derived from
Bishop Torry s Prayer Book, was inserted
to this effect, "It is customary to mix a
little pure water with the wine in the
eucharistic Cup." Evidence for the mixed
chalice at the Passover in our Lord s time
is of too minute a character to be set down ;
but full and accurate details of it will be
found in a pamphlet, published under the
direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
dealing with the question of fermented
wine. 1 A perusal of this scholarly paper
will convince any intelligent person that
our Lord must have used at the Eucharist
fermented wine mixed with water ; and,
therefore, we are not surprised, in the
description of the service given by Justin
Martyr, to find that " bread and wine and
water are presented " at the Eucharist.
In later times a symbolical significance
was attached to the mixed chalice, which
was compared with the blood and water
that came from the pierced side of our
Lord ; but symbolism of this kind is not
the justification of the mixed cup, which
owes its origin simply to the example of
our Lord.
Reservation. We have seen that reserva
tion was formally sanctioned in 1912, though
the practice was by no means a novelty at
that date. The rubric is as follows :
" According to long existing custom in the
Scottish Church, the Presbyter may reserve
so much of the Consecrated Gifts as may
1 S.P.C.K., 1917.
74 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
be required for the communion of the sick,
and others who could not be present at
the celebration in church." The practical
advantages of communicating the sick with
the reserved Sacrament are obvious and
need not be enumerated here.
But it should be noted that reservation,
as contemplated in the rubric, is not for
the sick alone, but for any " who could not
be present at the celebration in church."
The sick are usually the people who cannot
be present in church ; yet others, engaged
in necessary work or in household duties,
may be debarred no less than the sick from
the celebration in church, and the intention
of the new rubric is that these should be
given an opportunity of receiving their
Communion with the reserved Sacrament,
either by coming at a later time to receive
it in church, or by having it carried to
them in their homes. The rubric is care
fully framed to make the provision which
Justin Martyr mentions as customary in
the middle of the second century, "and to
those who are not present it is sent by the
hands of the deacons." l The inference
seems clear. Communion is a pledge of
the unity of the Christian assembly, and
no member of it should absolve himself
from participation in the Sacrament of
unity ; if he cannot be present at the holy
assembly, the Sacrament of that assembly
may be conveyed to him through the
deacons at another time. This, then, is
1 Apol. i. Go.
The Witness of the Liturgy 75
the spiritual principle that underlies reser
vation ; the sick or absent communicant
participates with his brethren in church in
the consecrated gifts. Reservation of the
Sacrament, therefore, is not merely a primi
tive practice, and a practical convenience ;
it is also an expression of the unity of a con
gregation, and, through that congregation,
of the unity of the church. It need hardly
be added that reservation for any other
purpose than communion is not contem
plated in the Scottish rubric ; and, though
the Sacrament should be reserved with all
befitting reverence, no encouragement is
lent to the Roman practice of reservation
for the purpose of worship, which is neither
primitive nor Scottish.
CHAPTER VII
The Influence of the Scottish Liturgy
THE influence which a liturgical rite
exercises outside its own sphere
may be justly regarded as some criterion
of its worth. It is, however, not surpris
ing that the Scottish liturgy should have
awakened little or no interest among Scot
tish Presbyterians, since they are as yet
only beginning to recognize the value of
set forms of worship. But, when the
great time comes for a reunion that will
give to Scotland one Church, at once
Catholic and National, the Scottish liturgy
may play an important part in shaping the
worship of the Scottish people at the Sacra
ment of unity. The liturgical scholarship
of the present Professor of Church History
in Glasgow University the Rev. Professor
Cooper and of ministers like the late Dr
MacLeod and Dr Sprott, is evidence, which
might be easily multiplied, of the growth
of interest in the principles of liturgical
w r orship in the Presbyterian Church of
Scotland.
In England. In my opinion English
appreciation of the Scottish liturgy at the
present time is far more impressive than
76
The Influence of the Scottish Liturgy 77
the facts which can be adduced to prove its
influence in the past ; and on that ground
I content myself with only a few words on
the historical aspect of the subject.
In 1661 the Scottish Prayer Book of 1637
was before the revisers of the Book of
Common Prayer ; and, though it failed to
affect the most important part of the
English liturgy, it left its mark on other
parts of the service. The rubrics referring
to the collection of the alms, and to the
presentation of the elements, the manual
acts at the Consecration, the doxology in
the Lord s Prayer, and the important addi
tion of the commemoration of the departed
in the Prayer for the Church Militant, all
owe their place in the present English
Communion Service to the ill-fated Scot
tish liturgy of 1637. In the eighteenth
century " Laud s Liturgy " was no doubt
known to the English as well as to the
Scottish Non jurors, though it cannot be
said to have materially affected that move
ment in England. It is not till the begin
ning of the nineteenth century that we find
any noteworthy signs in England of interest
in the Scottish form of 1764 ; but the testi
mony of Bishop Horsley as early as 1806
is so remarkable as to deserve quotation,
The Scottish Office is more conformable
to the primitive models, and, in my private
judgement, more edifying than that which
we now use." l From this time onwards
English interest in the Scottish form
1 Dnwden, Annot. Scott. Com. Off., p. 100.
F
78 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
grew steadily ; and, after the publication
of Bishop Dowden s book in 1884, spread
widely, so much so that in his standard
work on the Book of Common Prayer
the eminent liturgist, Dr Frere, could
describe it as " the best liturgy in use in
the Anglican Communion." l
It is, however, in the movement for the
revision of the Book of Common Prayer
that we observe most clearly the marked
impression which the Scottish liturgy has
produced in the Church of England. That
movement, which was started about the
same time as the proposals for the revision
of the Scottish liturgy, has resulted in an
extraordinary output of liturgical litera
ture ; and, among the publications that
have appeared during the last ten years
dealing with suggestions for the improve
ment of the English service book, there
are few that fail to testify to the value
of the Scottish form. I select three as
offering striking evidence of the influence
of the Scottish liturgy upon the Church
of England.
The first of these is entitled The Suffi
ciency and Defects of the English Communion
Office, by the Rev. A. G. Walpole Sayer,
B.D. (Cambridge Press, 1911). "It will
be seen," says this author, " that the desire
of this writer is to adopt the lines of the
Scottish Service " (p. 125). Referring to
the absence of thanksgiving in the English
rite, Mr Sayer advocates the adoption of
1 Procter and Frere, p. 151.
The Influence of the Scottish Liturgy 79
the Scottish and American introduction to
the Eucharistic prayer, " All glory be to
thee, Almighty God, our heavenly Father "
(p. 117) ; and, while agreeing that the in
vocation in the Prayer Book of 1549 would
be a valuable addition to the English Con
secration Prayer, he expresses his preference
for the Scottish order in these words : "If
and when the much-to-be-desired conform
ing of our Office to the Scottish model
is attained, some different method would
be required."
In 1914 there was published A Revised
Liturgy (A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd.),
edited by B. W. Randolph, Canon of Ely,
with a preface by the Rev. J. H. Maude ;
and in this book the arrangement of the
Eucharistic Prayer in the Scottish liturgy
is regarded as the ideal. The editor incor
porates a number of Scottish features,
including several of the new proper pre
faces, the special prayers for the Christian
seasons, the introduction to the Lord s
Prayer, etc. ; and he speaks of the Scottish
form as " the beautiful liturgy now in use
in the Scottish Church " (p. 12).
In A Prayer Book Revised (A. R. Mow-
bray & Co. Ltd., 1913), with a preface by
Bishop Gore, the editor writes : "In
regard to the Communion Service, the
changes needed are mainly in the order
of the various parts ; but it is agreed by
all who have studied the subject that these
changes are needed urgently, and that the
present dislocation of the office is a real
80 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
source of weakness in all those churches
of our communion which have not the
advantage of using the Scottish or American
liturgies " (p. 11). In this book the Invo
cation is taken from the Scottish form of
1637, on the ground that it combines the
words of 1549 and 1552, while the sug
gested Prayer of Consecration opens with
the Scottish form of thanskgiving, "All
glory."
Whatever be the issue of the revision
movement in England and the wise man
will not look for sweeping changes it
is evident that the defects of the Eng
lish Communion Service are widely felt
throughout the Church of England, and
that some rearrangement of its parts is
long overdue. How far the changes will
go no one can tell ; but their direction
must almost inevitably be towards the
order of the Scottish liturgy.
In America. The influence of the liturgy
in America is no uncertain or indefinite
quality, but a matter of plain fact. It is
unnecessary to repeat here the romantic
story of the consecration of the first bishop
of the American Church in the obscure
chapel of S. Andrew, Aberdeen, in 1784,
at which the Scottish liturgy, in its non-
juring form, was employed. It was natural
enough that Dr Seabury, on his return to
Connecticut, should desire to see in the
new service book of the Church of the
United States the primitive features of the
liturgy which had been used at his con-
The Influence of the Scottish Liturgy 81
secration ; and for several years the Scot
tish form of 1764, with a few alterations,
was used throughout his diocese. On the
publication of a complete service book for
the Church in the United States, in 1790,
Bishop Seabury s Communion Office was
given up.
It is in the Eucharistic Prayer of the
American Communion Office that the in
fluence of the Scottish liturgy is most
clearly seen. The order of the parts is
exactly the same, viz. (1) Thanksgiving
for redemption and narrative of institution,
(2) oblation, and (3) invocation ; and the
prayer itself begins with the Scottish
thanksgiving, " All glory be to thee, Al
mighty God, our heavenly Father." The
invocation follows the Scottish form of
1764 (p. 41) down to " bread and wine,"
and then reads " that we, receiving them
according to Thy Son our Saviour Jesus
Christ s holy institution, in remembrance
of His Death and Passion, may be par
takers of His most blessed Body and
Blood," these words being taken from the
English Consecration Prayer. The rest of
the office bears closer resemblance to the
English than to the Scottish liturgy ; the
intercession is early in the service, and the
Prayer of Consecration late, Communion
following the latter immediately. " The
people s preparation " is made after the
offertory, but the Prayer of Humble Access
is separated from it and unfortunately
placed between the Preface and the Con-
82 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
secration Prayer, as in the English service.
The bidding to the intercession is a curious
compromise between the English and the
Scottish forms, " militant " being retained
and " here in earth " omitted. Not a
few American Churchmen regret that the
Scottish model was not more closely fol
lowed in the order of its parts. We, on
the other hand, cannot but marvel at the
courage of the compilers of the American
liturgy in taking its most characteristic and
beautiful features from the liturgy of a
Church which, at the time, was reduced
to " the shadow of a shade," and utterly
destitute of worldly prestige.
In Australia. From the Commonwealth
of Australia there has recently appeared a
testimony to the value of the liturgy, which
is so remarkable as to deserve quotation.
In the Moorhouse Lectures for 1915,
delivered at Melbourne by the Rev. John
Stephen Hart, M.A., B.Sc., Canon of
S. Paul s Cathedral, Melbourne, and pub
lished under the title of Spiritual Sacrifice
(Longmans & Co.), the author maintains
that the most rational interpretation of the
Atonement and of the Eucharist is Eastern
and not Western, and that worship in the
West, more especially in the Church of
Rome, is liturgically weak because based
on one-sided doctrinal principles. Whether
he is successful in his argument or not, his
conclusion is interesting and even arrest
ing ; for it amounts to this that Eastern
models of worship are far superior to those
The Influence of the Scottish Liturgy 83
of the West. This is what he says of the
Scottish liturgy :
" Wherever unbiassed and wide study
has been undertaken by our scholars, they
have seen that Rome is a blind guide, and
that it is the Eastern Church which knows
how to offer the Eucharist. This is espe
cially true of those Scottish divines, taught
themselves apparently by the Nonjurors,
whose devout learning is enshrined in the
liturgy of their Church, and less perfectly
in that of the United States. They turned
the beginning of the English Consecration
Prayer into an orthodox thanksgiving, and
as they had abandoned the Italian error
that the words of the institution are words
of consecration, they were able to make a
proper memorial and oblation with ele
ments still unconsecrated, though solemnly
identified as symbols with the Body and
Blood of Christ. The Consecration Prayer
followed this, as it always should ; and they
did not cease from prayer and oblation
until they had commended to God the
Church and all estates of men in it. In
comparison with the Scottish liturgy the
Roman Mass is as feeble and unsatisfying
to the devout worshipper as it is pernicious
and uncatholic in doctrine " (p. 199). We
need not feel obliged to subscribe to every
statement in this quotation ; it is printed
here as a remarkable testimony to the
value of the liturgy from one who has prob
ably never set foot on Scottish soil, and
who by the sheer merits of the Scottish
84 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
rite is driven to express his admiration of
it in the strongest terms.
India. In a volume entitled The Eucharist
in India, 1 six Prefaces are taken directly from
the Scottish liturgy, and the whole struc
ture of the service is based on the liturgy
of S. James, from which also the Scottish
rite derived its distinctive features. The
compilers of this Indian liturgy declare
that the Eastern order of the parts in
general is specially suited to the genius of
the Indian people, and commend the wisdom
of the Scottish Church in making the In
vocation the central point in the Consecra
tion Prayer.
In the Future. In 1884 Bishop Dowden,
referring to the possibility of intercom
munion between the holy Eastern and the
Anglican Churches, wrote as follows : "It
would then be no small matter that the
American and Scottish Churches possess
liturgies which, however bald and meagre
they may appear in comparison with the
copious and ornate rites of the East, would
yet be acknowledged by the bishops of the
Russian and Greek Church as manifestly
containing the essentials of the Eucharistie
service, and even their own ancient order
and arrangement of its most solemn parts." 2
These words are alive with a significance
to-day that was impossible thirty years ago.
Rumania and Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia
are far nearer to us in interest and sym-
1 (Long-mans, 1920.)
J Annotated Scottish Communion Office, p. 14.
The Influence of the Scottish Liturgy 85
pathy than they were then. By and by,
with fresh means of communication open
ing, they may be almost at our doors ; and
when the people of those countries begin
to study the forms of worship of this
country it will be in the Scottish liturgy
that they will find themselves most at
home.
CHAPTER VIII
Notes on the Text of the Liturgy
THE Title. "The Scottish Liturgy"
was adopted in 1912 instead of " The
Scottish Communion Office," as the liturgy
was commonly called previous to that
date. The term " liturgy " is derived from
a Greek word, leitourgia, signifying in
pre-Christian times a public or state service
of any kind ; in the Greek version of the
Old Testament and in the New Testament
the word is applied definitely to the service
or worship of God, and hence became
the natural term to describe the form in
which the chief act of divine worship, the
Eucharist, is enshrined. In the East the
usual title for the form of service employed
in celebrating the Eucharist is " the Divine
Liturgy."
Opening Rubric. The whole of the open
ing rubric is derived from the book of
1637, and exhibits the compilers care
for the external adjuncts of worship. The
altar is described as "The Holy Table,"
and this name is employed also in Eastern
liturgies, which give to the term " altar "
the meaning of the place where the Holy
Table stands. In 1 Cor. x. 18 and 21 the
86
Notes on the Text of the Liturgy 87
terms "altar" and "table" are inter
changeable. The Holy Table is to have
not only " a fair white linen cloth " upon
it, but also " other decent furniture, meet for
the high mysteries there to be celebrated."
It is to stand " at the uppermost part of
the chancel or church," a direction in
dicating Archbishop Laud s disapproval
of the Puritanical practice in England of
placing the table lengthwise " in the body
of the chancel or church." Nothing is
said about the position of the priest, except
that he is to stand " at the Holy Table."
The Priest, however, is called " Pres
byter " here and throughout the liturgy.
The Greek original of this word is trans
lated "elder" in the A.V., but R.V.
gives " Presbyter " in the margin, and this
term by a process of abbreviation becomes
first Prester, and then Priest. The func
tion of the Presbyters or Priests in Acts
xx. 28 is described as " feeding the flock
over which the Holy Ghost hath made
you overseers (bishops)." The Presbyter,
therefore, w r as sometimes known as
" bishop," but he was obviously subordinate
to the Apostles. The three orders of the
ministry in Apostolic times were Apostles,
Presbyters or Bishops, and Deacons. In
course of time the term bishop was applied
to the Apostolic office, the name Apostle
being confined to the Twelve, although
originally it included more than these. As
early as S. Ignatius, 112 A.D., the terms
Bishops, Priests, and Deacons mean three
88 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
distinct officials, but in some places the
words "bishop" and "presbyter" were for
a considerable time used to describe the
same person.
PART I
The Lord s Prayer and the following col
lect were, in the pre -reformation service,
part of the Priest s private preparation.
Hence the direction, "he shall say the
Lord s Prayer and the collect following,"
the Scottish liturgy here adding to the
English rubric the words "for due pre
paration." In this collect it is worth
noting the collocation of words with the
letter " s," which gives a certain grave
solemnity to the music of the language
that fits well with the thought.
The Ten Commandments. It is noticeable
that the rubric here speaks of " the spiritual
import of each commandment " as well
as the literal, a necessary reminder, since
the commandments are Jewish, and were
given a new and wider meaning by our
Lord. Their use in the liturgy is peculiar
to the Anglican Communion, and may be
said to testify to the national instinct for
duty. It has been held that the command
ments, being part of a chapter of the Old
Testament, correspond to the Old Testament
lesson, which, in some liturgies, is found
in addition to the Epistle and Gospel.
The response at the end of each command-
Notes on the Text of the Liturgy 89
ment has a curious history. In 1549 the
lesser litany, " Lord have mercy," etc.,
occurred here, each clause being repeated
three times. The Reformers of 1552 took
these nine Kyries, and with the addition
" incline our hearts ..." attached them
to each commandment, adding a slightly
different one to the tenth.
The Summary of the Law is that ac
cording to S. Mark, the earliest Gospel.
In 1764 the form, slightly changed to suit
its position, was from S. Matthew.
Kyries. An alternative to the command
ments and to the summary is provided
for weekdays, not being Great Festivals,
by the lesser litany, " Lord have mercy,
etc." In the Eastern liturgies a full
litany occurs here with the response
" Kyrie Eleison," and no doubt the Kyries
in this place are a relic of this original
litany, the petitions having been dropped
to shorten the service, and the response
alone surviving.
The Collect for the day is, in accordance
with ancient custom, introduced by the
greeting, " The Lord be with you," and the
reply, " and with thy Spirit."
The Epistle is read only by the priest
according to the English Prayer Book. The
Scottish liturgy, again following ancient
precedent, permits the deacon to do this,
and elsewhere assigns the deacon his
specific duties in the rite. Sitting is the
proper posture for the people during the
Epistle ; to kneel is to render somewhat
90 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
meaningless the attitude of kneeling at
prayer.
The Gospel, as enshrining the words and
deeds of our Lord, has always been speci
ally honoured in the liturgy. It is heard
standing, and is preceded and followed by
a short hymn of praise and thanksgiving.
Ultimately this custom goes back to the
ancient practice of interspersing Scripture
readings with psalms or canticles. " Glory
be to Thee, O Lord," occurs in many
liturgies, including the Roman. " Thanks
be to Thee, O Lord," was enjoined in
1637 after the Gospel. The additional
words, "for this Thy glorious Gospel,"
are purely Scottish and were suggested to
the Non-Jurors by similar language in the
Eastern liturgies.
The Nicene Creed was not introduced
into any liturgy before the fifth century.
In the earliest ages creeds were only used
at Baptism. The Nicene Creed is m one
respect a misnomer, for at Nicaea the
formula stopped at " I believe in the Holy
Ghost." The present form is probably
due to the Council of Constantinople,
381 A.D., though the " filioque " clause
(" and the Son ") was not introduced
until 589 A.D.
The Sermon is not obligatory, though in
primitive times it always occurred "after
the Scripture readings ; psychologically
the Eucharist is not the best time for
preaching.
Here the first or introductory part of
Notes on the Text of the Liturgy 91
the service ends. Catechumens, the ex
communicate, and non-Christians in early
times withdrew after prayer at this point,
a solemn warning being given that none
but the faithful that is, those in com
munion with the Church should be present
at the Holy Mysteries.
PART II. THE ANAPHORA
The Offertory is not the collection, but
a part of the service at which the offer
ing, both of the bread and wine and of
the alms of the people is made. The
Presbyter or Deacon announces the
offertory with the words, " Let us present
our offerings. . . ." This phrase is
derived from Bishop Rattray s office of
1744, but owes its origin to a similar
sentence said by the Deacon in the Liturgy
of Apostolic Constitutions. Among the
sentences that follow, several new ones
were added in 1912, e.g. Ps. xxvii. 7,
Ps. 1. 14, Ps. cxvi. 15, 16 ; Acts xx. 35 ;
and Gal. vi. 10.
In the rubrics the word " offering "
takes the place of the " oblations " of
1764, and the offering of bread and wine
comes before the words " Blessed be
Thou . . .," so that the complete offering
of the elements and the alms is made in
definite language as well as in symbolic
act. This change was made at the recent-
revision. Whether the sentence of Solomon
92 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
is the best means of accomplishing the
offertory is doubtful. Ancient liturgies
have a short prayer here. The rubric
suggests that the elements have been
prepared for offering at the beginning of
the service, and placed till now on the
credence table. The offering should be
made while the people stand, which seems
also the natural position till the end of the
" Sanctus," since this action is wholly
one of praise and thanksgiving.
The Canon, as the central part of the
service is called in the West, begins with
the Salutation, and proceeds to the Sursum
Cor da and the Preface, which leads straight
on to the Consecration. It would be well if
this were more clearly indicated by print
ing all the Proper Prefaces as footnotes.
The Sursum Corda is probably the oldest
known part of the service, being quoted
by S. Cyprian in 240 A.D.
The Preface takes up the "it is meet and
right" ... of the Sursum Corda, just
as later in the service the Consecration
prayer begins with the word " Glory "
carried on from the Sanctus. This is a
characteristic feature of the old liturgies,
the psychological effect of which is obvious.
The Preface ends with the hymn of Creation,
the Sanctus "Holy, Holy, Holy" . . .,
which is found in nearly all liturgies. The
whole of the Preface is a thanksgiving,
and it is mistaken reverence to utter the
Sanctus in a low tone, though a bow
of adoration is suitable. The Benedictus
Notes on the Text of the Liturgy 93
("blessed is He that cometh . . ."),
should, if it be sung, follow the Sanctus
in accordance with old precedent ; it is
not prescribed in the Scottish liturgy,
which thus links the " Glory be " of the
Preface directly with the " All glory be "
of the Consecration Prayer.
Proper Preface. " Proper " is a tech
nical term (Latin, proprium), meaning
special, i.e. for a particular occasion. In
addition to the five Proper Prefaces of the
English Prayer Book, the Scottish liturgy
gives seven others, all of them so good
that they have been adopted elsewhere,
e.g. in the proposed liturgy of the Indian
Church. They were composed by Bishop
Dowden, and after consideration accepted
by the Scottish bishops in 1911.
Prayer of Consecration. The rubric dates
from 1637, the position of the Priest being
prescribed as "at such a part of the Holy
Table as he may with the most ease and
decency use both his hands."
Little need be said here on the struc
ture of this prayer, which is described on
pp. 13 ff. But it should be observed that
while the emphasis of the Prayer falls
on the oblation or anamnesis and the
Invocation, something of the Western
attachment to the words of institution
is retained by the imposition of hands at
" This is My Body," " This is My Blood."
Nevertheless the prayer is constructed on
the principle that the narrative of the
institution is the reason for " making
94 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
the memorial," while the presence of the
Invocation shews that the consecration
of the elements is effected by prayer, and
not by a formula. At the same time, it
must be remembered that Eastern liturgies
assign due importance to the words of
institution. The Invocation would, in
my judgement, be greatly improved if it
were shortened by omitting the following
clauses :
(i) " humbly praying that it may be
unto us according to his will " a
useless petition here, and one framed
out of words drawn from a wholly
different context.
(ii) " being blessed and hallowed by his
life-giving power" a clause that
hinders the flow of the sentence.
If retained. " power " should be
changed to "presence." Further,
the last two paragraphs of the
prayer might be abbreviated by
omitting all from " beseeching thec
that all we . . ." down to " dwell
in us and we in him."
Prayer for the Church. The Deacon may
say the bidding. An Amen inserted after
the petitions for the living, and after those
for the dead, would lessen the strain which
is caused by the sequence of two long
prayers, especially if Amen were added
also after the Invocation, and perhaps
after the narrative of the Institution
(see p. 32) ; there is abundant precedent
Notes on the Text of the Liturgy 95
for this in ancient liturgies. The fine old
word " indifferently " has been changed
to the journalistic " impartially," a doubtful
gain. " Living " for " lively " is more
justifiable.
The Lord s Prayer is found in most
liturgies as completing and summarizing
the Intercession, and concluding the Canon.
"The People s Part" (see pp. 29 f.) is
a distinctly Reformation product, and in
cludes, besides the Conf ., Abs., Comf . words,
(1) The Invitation, in which the words
"with faith" were added, from the
English Prayer Book, in 1912. In
the liturgy of 1637 these words
did not appear, and consequently
were absent from the Scottish liturgy
of 1764.
(2) The Collect of Humble Access, a
title which is first found in the
liturgy of 1637, differs from the
English form by adding " holy " to
Table, and changing "sacred" to
" most sacred," and " precious "
to " most precious."
The Communion " in both kinds," that
is, in both species, is enjoined, excluding
the Roman practice of communion in one
kind, which was introduced into the Roman
Church from a mistaken idea of reverence
in the Middle Ages and authoritatively
sanctioned by the Council of Constance
1415 A.D.
" Into their hands," i.e. excluding the
96 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
mediaeval practice (according to which
the Priest placed the Sacrament in the
mouth of the communicant), and thus
enlisting the communicant s active co
operation, which is also emphasized by his
Amen on reception. The words of ad
ministration are according to the first
English Prayer Book of 1549 ; in 1764
" soul " preceded " body," the order of
the words being reversed in 1912. No
words of administration were prescribed
in the Sarum service for the people, but
the formula in the Scottish liturgy is sub
stantially the same as that used for the
communion of the priest in the present
Roman service and in the Sarum Manual.
In 1764 the words of administration were
described as " this benediction " ; this
was omitted in 1912, as the words are not
strictly a benediction.
Reconsecration. The Scottish liturgy re
quires (i) that if more bread and wine has
to be consecrated, the form used must be
the whole prayer to the end of the Invoca
tion, thus insisting with emphasis that
prayer is a necessary act in consecration ;
(ii) that consecration must be "in both
kinds," whereas in the English Prayer
Book it may be " in one kind." We
might defend the English practice of
using only the words of institution by
saying that the prayer, having been said
once, need not be repeated, but the practice
hardly admits of reasonable defence, and
consecration in one kind would find few
Notes on the Text of the Liturgy 97
supporters in any part of the Church,
ancient or modern.
The Address after Communion appears
first in 1764, and is based on similar ad
dresses spoken by the Deacon in Eastern
liturgies. Its opening words are a trans
lation from a short exhortation in the
fourth century liturgy of the Apostolic
Constitutions.
The Collect of Thanksgiving is slightly
different from that in the English Prayer
Book. In 1549, when it was composed,
it was preceded by the salutation. " Thy
mystical body " of 1549 was altered in
1661 to "The mystical body of Thy
Son," and the Scottish liturgy in 1764
substituted " commanded " for " pre
pared," an anti-Calvinistic touch which
w r as omitted in 1912.
Gloria in Excelsis in the Prayer Book of
1549 stood at the beginning of the service
after the Kyries. The Scottish differs as
follows from the English, by adhering to
the oldest copy of that hymn, which is found
in Codex Alexandrinus of the fifth century :
(i) "Glory be to God in the Highest";
(ii) the ascription of praise is to the three
Persons of the Blessed Trinity, " and to
Thee, O God, the only begotten Son,
Jesu Christ, and to Thee, O God, the Holy
Ghost." A similar form is found in the
Stowe Missal of the Celtic Church, (iii) one
repetition of " Thou that takest away the
sins of the world " is omitted.
The Peace before the blessing is the only
98 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
relic we have of the old " Pax " or " Kiss
of Peace " (p. Ill) ; it would be as well to
print this so that it does not appear as if
it were an integral part of the Blessing.
The Blessing is in a sense an anticlimax,
for the blessing in the Eucharist is the
Body and Blood of our Lord.
For the two concluding rubrics, see
pp. 72 f.
Appendix new Collects.
" O Almighty God, well-spring of
life . . ." From Book of Deer.
tfc O Lord Jesus Christ, before whose
judgement scat . . .," paraphrase
of a verse of St Columba s poem,
Altus.
41 O Lord our God, thou Saviour . . .,"
a free translation from Book of
Deer.
Prayers for Festivals and Seasons were
composed by Bishop Dowden, and adopted
by the Scottish bishops in 1911, and are
a valuable means of introducing the festival
note immediately before the Blessing.
APPENDIX A
Outline of the Scottish Liturgy
With the Principal Parts of the Anaphora
(THE DIVISIONS AND TITLES ARK THE AUTHOR S)
I. PRO-ANAPHORA
(A) Lord s Prayer, Collect for Purity, and
Ten Commandments, with Kyries, or
Summary of the Law (S. Mark xii.
29 f.) ; or on weekdays, not being great
festivals, Threefold Kyrie alone.
(B) Collect for the day, preceded by f.
"The Lord be with you," and E?.
" And with thy spirit." " Let us pray."
(C) Epistle and Gospel, the latter preceded
by " Glory be to thee, O Lord," and
followed by "Thanks be to thee, O
Lord, for this thy glorious Gospel."
Nicene Creed.
(D) Sermon. " If there be a Sermon it
followeth here."
II. ANAPHORA
(A) Offertory, preceded by " Let us present
our offerings to the Lord with rever
ence and godly fear." Offertory
sentences and collection of " the
devotions of the people."
99
100 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
And the Presbyter shall then offer up, and place the bread
and wine prepared for the Sacrament upon the Lord s
Table ; and shall say,
Blessed be thou, O Lord God, for ever
and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness,
and the glory, and the victory, and the
majesty : for all that is in the heaven and
in the earth is thine : thine is the kingdom,
O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above
all : both riches and honour come of thee,
and of thine own do we give unto thee.
A men.
(B) Sursum Cor da.
Then shall the Presbyter say,
THE Lord be with you.
Answer. And with thy spirit.
Presbyter. Lift up your hearts.
Answer. We lift them up unto the Lord.
Presbyter. Let us give thanks unto our
Lord God.
Answer. It is meet and right so to do.
(C) Preface and Sanctus (as in B.C.P.).
Presbyter.
IT is very meet, right, and our bounden
duty, etc.
(D) Prayer of Consecration.
Then the Presbyter, standing at such a part of the Holy
Table as he may with the most ease and decency use
both his hands, shall say the prayer of consecration,
as followeth :
Outline of the Scottish Liturgy 101
ALL glory be to thee, Almighty God,
our heavenly Father, for that thou of
thy tender mercy didst give thine only Son
Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the cross
for our redemption ; who, by his own
oblation of himself once offered, made a
full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, obla
tion, and satisfaction, for the sins of the
whole world, and did institute, and in his
holy Gospel command us to continue a per
petual memorial of that his precious death
and sacrifice until his coming again. For, in
the night that he was be
trayed, (a) he took bread ; and () Here the
when he had given thanks, &&&
(b) he brake it, and gave it *"
to hlS disciples, Saying, Take, break the bread:
eat, (c) this is my body, which (c)Andhereto
is given for you: Do this ?" V E
in remembrance of me. Like- br arf -
wise after supper (d) he took (d) Here he is
the cup; and when he had &J&&3?
given thanks, he gave it to
them, saying, Drink ye all of this, for
(e) this is my blood of the new MAnd j^ r eto
testament, which is shed for la v his hand
i 1 upon every ves-
you and for many for the re- sei (be it chalice
mission of sins : Do this as
oft as ye shall drink it in re- &* be
membrance of me.
Wherefore, O Lord, and heavenly
Father, according to the in- TheObiation.
stitution of thy dearly beloved Son our
Saviour Jesus Christ, we thy humble
servants do celebrate and make here
102 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
before thy divine Majesty, with these thy
holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee,
the memorial thy Son hath commanded us
to make ; having in remembrance his
blessed passion, and precious death, his
mighty resurrection, and glorious ascension;
rendering unto thce most hearty thanks for
the innumerable benefits procured unto us
by the same, and looking for his coming
again with power and great glory.
And, humbly praying that it may be
The unto us according to his word,
invocation. we thine unworthy servants
beseech Thee, most merciful Father, to
hear us, and to send thy Holy Spirit upon
us and upon these thy gifts and creatures
of bread and wine, that, being blessed and
hallowed by his life-giving power, they
may become the body and blood of thy
most dearly beloved Son, to the end that
all who shall receive the same may be
sanctified both in body and soul, and pre
served unto everlasting life.
And we earnestly desire thy fatherly
goodness, mercifully to accept this our
sacrifice for praise and thanksgiving, most
humbly beseeching thee to grant, that by
the merits and death of thy Son Jesus
Christ, and through faith in his blood,
we and all thy whole Church may obtain
remission of our sins, and all other benefits
of his passion. And here we humbly offer
and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves,
our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable,
holy, and living sacrifice unto thee, beseech-
Outline of the Scottish Liturgy 103
ing thee that all we who shall be partakers
of his holy Communion, may worthily
receive the most, precious body and blood
of thy Son Jesus Christ, and be fulfilled
with thy grace and heavenly benediction,
and made one body with him, that he may
dwell in us and we in him. And although
we be unworthy, through our manifold
sins, to offer unto thee any sacrifice ; yet
we beseech thee to accept this our bounden
duty and service, not weighing our merits,
but pardoning our offences, through Jesus
Christ our Lord : by whom, and with
whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all
honour and glory be unto thee, O Father
Almighty, world without end. Amen.
Then shall the Presbyter or Deacon say,
Let us pray for the whole state of
Christ s Church.
(E) The Great Intercession.
Let us pray for the whole state of
Christ s Church.
The Presbyter.
A LMIGHTY and everliving God, who
JL\. by thy holy Apostle hast taught us
to make prayers and supplications, and
to give thanks for all men ; We humbly
beseech thee most mercifully to receive
these our prayers, which we offer unto
thy divine Majesty ; beseeching thee to
inspire continually the universal Church
with the spirit of truth, unity, and con
cord ; and grant that all they that do con-
101 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
fess thy holy Name, may agree in the
truth of thy holy word, and live in unity
and godly love. We beseech thee also to
save and defend all Christian Kings,
Princes, and Governors, and especially
thy servant GEORGE our King, that
under him we may be godly and quietly
governed : and grant unto his whole
council, and to all who are put in authority
under him, that they may truly and
impartially minister justice, to the punish
ment of wickedness and vice, and to the
maintenance of thy true religion and virtue.
Give grace, O heavenly Father, to all
Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, that they
may both by their life and doctrine set
forth thy true and living word, and rightly
and duly administer thy holy sacraments :
and to all thy people give "thy heavenly
grace, that with meek heart, and due
reverence, they may hear and receive thy
holy word, truly serving thee in holiness
and righteousness all the days of their
life. And we commend especially to thy
merciful goodness the congregation which
is here assembled in thy Name, to cele
brate the commemoration of the most
precious death and sacrifice of thy Son
our Saviour Jesus Christ. And we most
humbly beseech thee of thy goodness, O
Lord, to comfort and succour all those
who in this transitory life are in trouble,
sorrow, need, sickness, or any other
adversity. And we also bless thy holy
Name for all thy servants, who, having
Outline of the Scottish Liturgy 105
finished their course in faith, do now rest
from their labours. And we yield unto thee
most high praise and hearty thanks, for
the wonderful grace and virtue declared
in all thy saints, who have been the choice
vessels of thy grace, and the lights of the
world in their several generations : most
humbly beseeching thee to give us grace to
follow the example of their steadfastness
in thy faith, and obedience to thy holy
commandments, that at the day of the
general resurrection, we, and all they
who are of the mystical body of thy Son,
may be set on his right hand, and hear
that his most joyful voice, Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Grant this, O Father, for
Jesus Christ s sake, our only Mediator and
Advocate. Amen.
Then shall the Presbyter say,
As our Saviour Christ hath commanded
and taught us, we are bold to say,
(F) Lord s Prayer.
o
Presbyter and People.
UR Father .
(G) "People s Preparation" Short Invita
tion, Confession, Absolution, Comfort
able Words, Prayer of Humble Access
(as in Book of Common Prayer).
106 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
(H) Communion, with words of adminis
tration :
THE body of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which was given for thee, preserve
thy body and soul unto everlasting life.
Here the person receiving shall say, Amen.
THE blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which was shed for thee, preserve
thy body and soul unto everlasting life.
Here the person receiving shall say, Amen.
If the consecrated bread or wine be all spent before all
have communicated, the Presbyter is to consecrate
more in both kinds according to the form before
prescribed, beginning at the words, All glory be to
thee, &C., and ending with the words, preserved
unto everlasting life. And the people shall say.
Amen.
Wfien all have communicated, he that celebrateth shall go
to the Lord s Table, and cover with a fair linen cloth
that which remaineth of the consecrated elements.
Then the Presbyter or Deacon, turning to the people,
shall say,
III
Post- Communion.
HAVING now received the precious
body and blood of Christ, let us give
thanks to our Lord God, who hath graci
ously vouchsafed to admit us to the par
ticipation of his holy mysteries ; and let
us beg of him grace to perform our vows,
and to persevere in our good resolutions ;
and that being made holy, we may obtain
everlasting life, through the merits of the
Outline of the Scottish Liturgy 107
all-sufficient sacrifice of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.
This exhortation may be omitted except on Sundays and
the Great Festivals.
Then the Presbyter shall say this collect of thanksgiving
asfolloweth :
A LMIGHTY and everliving God, we
2\ heartily thank thec ... (as in Book
of Common Prayer).
Then shall be said or sung Gloria in excelsis asfolloweth :
GLORY be to God in the highest, and
in earth peace, good will towards
men. We praise thee, we bless thee, we
worship thee, we glorify thee, we give
thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord
God, heavenly King, God the Father
Almighty ; and to thee, O God, the only
begotten Son Jesu Christ ; and to thee,
O God, the Holy Ghost.
O Lord, the only begotten Son Jesu
Christ ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son
of the Father, who takest away the sins of
the world, have mercy upon us. Thou
that takest away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at
the right hand of God the Father, have
mercy upon us.
For thou only art holy, thou only art
the Lord, thou only, O Christ, with the
Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory
of God the Father. Amen.
108 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
Then the Presbyter, or Bishop, if he be present, shall
let them depart, with this Blessing.
HE peace of God ... (as in Book of
Common Prayer).
T
It is customary to mix a little pure water with the wine
in the eucharistic Cup.
According to long existing custom in the Scottish Church,
the Presbyter may reserve so much of the Consecrated
Gifts as may be required for the communion of the
sick, and others who could not be present at the
celebration in church.
APPENDIX B
The Principal Liturgical Rites
OLD liturgies may be grouped under
the following heads (details are
omitted) :
I. EASTERN
1. Syrian, (a) Liturgy of Apostolic Con
stitutions (so-called liturgy of S.
Clement).
(b) Liturgy of Jerusalem, i.e. S. James
in Greek (now used only once a year)
and S. James in Syriac.
2. Byzantine rite, i.e. liturgies of S. Basil
and S. Chrysostom, used by Orthodox
Church in Greek, Slavonic, Rumanian,
and other languages.
3. The Armenian rite, used by Armenians
in their own language.
4. The Egyptian rite, i.e. liturgy of S. Mark
in Greek (no longer used), S. Mark in
Coptic (used by the Copts), Ethiopic
liturgy (used in Abyssinia).
II. WESTERN
1. Roman rite, used by the Church of
Rome. The Sarum, York, and Here
ford uses are local variations of this,
H 109
110 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
and from these the English rite is
derived.
2. Galilean rite, now represented only by
the Ambrosian at Milan and the
Mozarabic at Toledo.
It will be seen that the Scottish liturgy
is modelled on I., and especially on 1 (a),
(&), though its origin from the Book of
Common Prayer gives it a place in II. 1
also.
APPENDIX C
The Pax or Kiss of Peace
IT is somewhat surprising that at the
present time, when so many are con
scious of the need of a fuller expression of
brotherhood within the Church, no definite
proposal should have been made to revive
in the liturgy the Kiss of Peace or Pax, a
feature which is found in all liturgies, and
which is mentioned by Justin Martyr as
customary at the Eucharist in the first half
of the second century. No one with a
sense of humour would think of suggesting
the restoration of the literal Kiss, which
even in the East has come to be represented
only by a symbolical act. But the essential
principle might be expressed by some such
words as these which are taken from the
Byzantine rite of the ninth century.
Priest. Peace be to all.
People. And to thy spirit.
Priest or Deacon. Let us love one another.
(And this might perhaps be added.)
Priest. We being many are one body.
People. And every one members one of
another.
The usual position of the Pax in ancient
liturgies (as in Justin) is at the beginning
ill
112 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
of the central part of the service, before
the Sursum Corda. This significant ex
pression of mutual charity has disappeared
from the English and Scottish rite, though
a relic of it remains in " The Peace of
God," before the Blessing ; but it is re
quired in our own day, even more than in
Apostolic times when " the holy kiss " was
a natural svmbol of Christian fellowship.
APPENDIX D
Intercession in the Liturgy
THE earliest form of intercession at the
Eucharist was " the prayers of the
faithful," intercessory prayers in which
the baptized joined after the catechumens
and others unqualified to receive Holy
Communion had withdrawn from the
church. Justin Martyr (A.D. 140) speaks
of " hearty prayers in common " being said
before the offertory, and these could not
well have been " common " unless there
had been some sort of response. All the
Eastern rites have a litany in this place,
called Synapte, chanted by the deacon, the
response being " Lord, have mercy." There
is nothing corresponding to this feature in
the Scottish or English liturgy ; but a relic
of it survives in the use of the litany,
especially at the consecration of bishops,
where it is appointed to be sung or said
before the central part of the Eucharistic
service. In the Roman liturgy " the
prayers of the faithful " have disappeared ;
but after the Gospel there is the bidding
" Let us pray," only no prayers follow.
Another mode of intercession developed
in the fourth century round the t; diptychs,"
the two tablets from which the names of
persons, living and departed, for whom
113
114 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
prayer was invited, were read. By a rubric
added to the Scottish Prayer Book in 1912,
permission is given to ask the prayers of
the congregation for the sick or others
before the Prayer for the whole State
of Christ s Church, though unfortunately
this rubric, by an oversight, is not printed
in the liturgy itself.
The Great Intercession, which we find
in liturgies towards the close of the fourth
century, was not introduced as a substitute
for the prayers of the faithful and the
reading of the names : all three methods
of intercession are employed in ancient
forms. The Great Intercession, though
its usual place is after the consecration,
is found in some rites earlier in the
service. The reader is referred for full
information on this subject to the Bishop
of Moray s learned article on Intercession
(liturgical) in the Encyclopaedia of Religion
and Ethics, vol. vii.
APPENDIX E
Questions for Study Circles and Classes
1. The Apostles would follow our Lord s
practice at the Institution when they cele
brated the Eucharist. Consider how this is
done in the English and Scottish liturgies.
Cf. 1 Cor. xi. 23 ff .
2. How is the Scottish liturgy built up t
What is the common-sense reason for the
arrangement of its parts? How does it
differ from the English liturgy, and why ?
3. How are Intercession and Thanksgiving
provided for in the liturgy? How should
these be brought into touch with modern
needs ?
4. What is the central part of the service ?
Why is it that so few appreciate this ? How
would you make this more intelligible ?
5. What would be the loss or gain if the
following changes were made :
(i) Transpose the Gloria in Excelsis to a
place before the Collect for the day ?
(ii) Remove Confession, Absolution, Com
fortable Words and Prayer of Humble
Access, and place after the Ten
Commandments ?
115
116 The Scottish Liturgy, its Value and History
(iii) Place Amen after Words of Institution,
Invocation, and the petitions for the
living and the dead ?
II
1. Examine the outline of any ancient
hturgy and study its value (i) spiritually,
(n) psychologically.
2. Apply to the Scottish liturgy S. Paul s
principles of worship from 1 Cor xiv 15
26, 40.
3. Discuss and compare the two theories
Consecration ; how may they be combined ?
4. Study the oblation or anamnesis in the
Scottish liturgy, and bring out its significance.
5. Consider the Invocation in the Scottish
liturgy. What corresponds to it in the
English ?
Ill
1. "Liturgical composition is an art that
must meet modern needs." Discuss this
2. Consider the place of (i) the Great
Intercession, (ii) the Lord s Prayer in the
Scottish liturgy.
3. " The romance of the Scottish liturgy "
Consider this from History.
4. Take the American Communion Service
and compare it with the Scottish liturgy.
5. Discuss the commemoration of the de
parted and of the Saints in the liturgy.
Questions for Study Circles and Classes 117
IV
1. What is the value of (i) the Deacon s
biddings ; (ii) The Salutation ; (iii) Proper
Preface ; (iv) the Mixed Chalice ?
2. Consider the value of Sacramental Re
servation.
3. Set forth the advantages and disad
vantages of the English liturgy as compared
with the Scottish.
4. How was Eucharistic worship offered in
the second century ? Compare it with the
Scottish liturgy.
1. Examine the Proper Prefaces and Prayers
for Festivals added in 1912, and estimate their
value.
2. Consider how the Scottish liturgy effects
the purpose of the Eucharist. How would
you improve it ?
3. In what ways do you think external
adjuncts and ceremonies add to the dignity
of the Eucharist ?
4. Select and consider Eastern influences in
the Scottish liturgy.
BOOKS FOR STUDY
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. The standard
works are Procter and Frere s New History of the
Book of Common Prayer ; and Brightman s The
English Rite. Beginners will find Dearmer s
Everyman a History of the Prayer Book (Mowbrays,
2*. ; cloth, 2s. 6d.), the S.P.C.K. Commentary on
the Prayer Book, and Maude s History of the Book
of Common Prayer useful. Bishop Dowden s
Workmanship of the Prayer Book and Further
Studies are valuable.
THE SCOTTISH LITURGY. Bishop Dowden s
Annotated Scottish Communion Office is the standard
work, a new edition of which (1921) has been
published by the Oxford Press. Historical
details will be found in the writings of Bishop
Mitchell, and of Stephen, Grub, Lawson, and
others. Eeles Traditional Ceremonial and Customs
connected with the Scottish Liturgy contains much
interesting matter.
ANCIENT LITURGIES. A good introduction is
Srawley s Early History of the Liturgy ; more
interesting is Fortescue s The Mass, covering much
the same ground from the Roman Catholic point
of view. The valuable works of the Bishop of
Moray Recent Discoveries illustrating Early Church
Worship, and Ancient ( hurch Orders should be
studied, as well as the same author s learned
articles on Intercession and Invocation (liturgical)
in the Encyclopedia of Iteliyion and Ethics.
119
INDEX
Administration, words of,
13, 23, 106
Alexandrinus, Codex, 97
Almsgiving, 37, 61, 99
Amen, communicants , 23,
24
American Liturgy, 53, 79,
80-2
Anamnesis, 5, 16, 17, 24, 64,
66; in 1764, 58; in 191 2,
101 ; in S. James, 39
Anaphora, 5, 38 sq., 99sqq.
Apostolic Constitutions, lit.
of, 23, 37, 39, 50, 51, 97,
109
Australia, 82-4
B
Bidding, 25, 28, 82, 94
Blessing, 98, 108, 112
Breaking of Bread (see
Fraction)
Bright, Dr W., 58-9, 66, 68
Brightman, Dr F. E., 47
Byzantine Rite, 29, 59, 109
Clementine liturgy (see Ap.
Const.)
Columban Church, 62
; Communion, 39, 74, 75
Consecration by prayer, 20,
j 93, 96 ; Roman theory of,
20
1 Coptic liturgy, 23
! Cranmer, Archbishop, 35, 43
| Cyprian, S., 36
D
Deacon in the liturgy, 87,
38, 61, 113
Deer, Book of, 98
Departed, prayer for, 26-7,
49, 64, 65, 69-72, 105
Distribution, words of, 23 ;
106
Dowden, Bishop, 1, 49, 51,
56-7, 77, 84, 93, 98
! Duchesne, 44
E
Eastern liturgies, 21, 38-40,
41, 43, 44, 109
C English rite, defects of, 1,
14-30, 64, 78
Canon of the Mass, 5, 40, 92 Eucharist, institution of, 5,
Chalice, mixed, 49, 62, 64, 13 sqq., 20
65, 72-3 Eucharistic Prayer, 5, 32,
Church, prayer for, 25 sqq. j 38, 42 ; Sacrifice, 64-9
121
122
Index
Falconer, Bishop, 51
Fortescue, Mgr., 20, 21, 41
Fraction, 22-3
Frere, Dr W. H., 78
G
Gallican Liturgy, 42-4
German influence, 27, 28,
30, 35
Gloria in Excelsis, 97
Gore, Bishop C., 66, 79
Gospel, 90, 99
H
Hart, J. H., 82
Horsley, Bishop, 77
" Laud s Liturgy " 6, 45-
52,77
Liturgy, 6, 62, 86 ; families,
109-10 ; models, 35 ; Ap.
Const. (8. Clem.), 39;
Byzantine, 59, 109; S.
James, 38 : Coptic, 23 ;
Gall., 42: Roman, 40.
Lord s Prayer, 28-9, 33, 39,
95, 105
M
Maclean, Dr A. J., Bishop
of Moray, 2, 40, 114, 119
M Neile, Dr, 17
Maude, J. H., 79
Maxwell, Bishop, 46
Memorial (see. Anamnesis)
Mozarabic (see Gallican)
N
India, 84
Intercession, 25 sqq., 40, j XT .
113-4 ; in Ap. Coast., 40 ; i Nicene Creed 90
in S. James, 39
Invocation, 5, 19-22, 24, 39, !
41, 42, 44, 47, 49, 61, 57,
58 sqq., 64, 65, 69, 81 ; in j
1549, 21 ; in 1637, 47 ; in I
1764, 58 ; in 1912, 58 -61, l
94 Oblation, 6, 16-9, 20, 24, 49,
64 sqq. (see Ananmesis)
Nonjurors, the, 6, 45, 46,
49-53, 63, 64, 77
O
Justin Martyr, 36, 37, 74, i
111,113
Kiss of Peace (we Paxi
Kyrie, 88, 89
Offertory, 6, 61, 99
Pax, 37,97, 111-12
Pliny, 37
Prayer of Humble Access,
30, 81, 105
Preface, 15, 40, 47, 92, 100
Index
123
Preparation, People s, 29,
105
Presbyter, 48, 87
Proper Prefaces, 62, 93
R
Randolph, Dr B. W., 79
Rattray, Bishop, 51
Real Presence, 69
Reconsecration, 96
Reservation, 64, 65, 73-5
Revision of 1764, 51-3 ; of
1890,57; of 1912, 57 sqq.
Roman rite, the, 21, 40 sqq.,
83-4, 109-10
Rubrics, 47, 62
S. Basil, 29, 109
S. Clement (see Ap. Const.)
S. James, liturgy of, 38
sqq., 51, 59-60, 109
Saints, Commem. of, 28, 48,
64, 65, 72
Sanctus, 38, 92
Sarum, Missal and Manual,
10, 109
Sayer, A. G. W., 78
Seabury, Bishop, 53, 80
Serapion, 22
Sermon, 90
Sursum Corda, 6, 15, 29, 30,
32, 36, 38, 40, 47, 92, 100,
112
Swete, Dr, 71
Tertullian, 71
Thanksgiving, 14-6, 79-80,
97
Torry, Bishop, 73
U
Usages, the, 6, 49, 62, 64
W
" Wee bookies," 6, 50
Western liturgies, 42-4,
109-10
CAVEN LIBRARY
KNOX COLLEGE
TORONTO
