A liturgical manual that discusses each service of the Church according to shape, theology, past practice, and varieties of local expression. The book contains helpful material not only for clergy and worship committees, but also for church musicians. (248 pp) Byron D. Stuhlman is a retired Episcopal priest who served parishes in Connecticut and Central New York. A graduate of Yale University (BA), General Theological Seminary (STB), and Duke University (PhD), he taught in the Department of Religion at Hamilton College and as an adjunct professor of liturgics at General Seminary and has written five books on the Book of Common Prayer. Prayer Book Rubrics EXPANDED By Byron D. Stuhlman Church Publishing Incorporated Copyright © 1987 Byron Stuhlman All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-89869-160-3 Contents Author's Introduction to the Second PrintingPrefaceIntroductionCHAPTER 1: Preliminary EssentialsCHAPTER 2: The Daily OfficeCHAPTER 3: The Proclamation of the Word of GodCHAPTER 4: Proper Liturgies for Special DaysCHAPTER 5: Holy BaptismCHAPTER 6: The Celebration of the Holy CommunionCHAPTER 7: The Pastoral OfficesCHAPTER 8: Episcopal ServicesAN AFTERWORD: An Appropriate StyleA Short List of ResourcesIndex CHAPTER 1 PreliminaryEssentials Before we turn our attention to directions and suggestions for particularservices, there are certain preliminary matters that we must consider: (1) thepattern of worship presupposed by The Book of Common Prayer and its theologicalbasis; (2) the participants in worship and their function and vesture; (3) thesetting of worship—"the house of the church"; (4) ceremonial action; (5) thelanguage of the liturgy; and (6) the use of music. The Pattern of Christian Worship The first matter to be considered is one that frequently escapes our attentionaltogether. The Book of Common Prayer is not a miscellaneous collection ofservices; it provides a pattern for our worship that sets forth the appropriateservice for each situation. If we do not understand this, our use of the PrayerBook will easily get off course. The first rubric of The Book of Common Prayer 1979 states: The Holy Eucharist, the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord's Day andother major feasts, and Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, as set forth in thisBook, are the regular services appointed for public worship in this Church. This rubric makes explicit what was implicit in all prior editions of The Bookof Common Prayer: that the Prayer Book prescribes a pattern of services forparochial worship— daily Morning and Evening Prayer and the Holy Eucharist onSundays and other major feasts for which propers are provided . A "regular"service in this sense is one which is regulated by the calendar of the churchyear and the lectionaries of the Prayer Book. Daily Morning and Evening Prayer is rooted in the tradition of the Church andultimately in its heritage from the Jewish synagogue. These services form thefirst major section of service material in the Prayer Book, The Daily Office .Also included in this section are two other parts of the Office which may beused as occasion requires—An Order of Service for Noonday and An Order forCompline, as well as a festive form of Evening Prayer—An Order of Worship forthe Evening, and informal Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families. TheGreat Litany, prescribed by earlier Prayer Books for use after Morning Prayer oncertain days, follows. The occasions for which the celebration of the Eucharist are prescribed aretheologically grounded. Sundays, "the first day of the week," when Christ"overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us theway of everlasting life" (Preface 2 of the Lord's Day, pages 345 and 377), arefor that reason "feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ." They and other feasts ofChrist are appropriately observed by the celebration of the Eucharist in whichthe "Risen Lord" is "known to us in the breaking of the Bread" (EucharisticPrayer C, page 372). The feasts of the saints are observed in the same waybecause ( Lesser Feasts and Fasts , page 56 ) ... the triumphs of the saints are a continuation and manifestation of thePaschal victory of Christ ... For the major feasts of the Calendar, the celebration of the Eucharist isprescribed; other feasts listed on the calendar are days of optionalcommemoration, along with the weekdays of Lent and Easter. Propers for theseoptional commemorations are found in the book of Lesser Feasts and Fasts . TheEucharist is not appropriate on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, days whichcommemorate Christ's death and burial. The propers in the Prayer Book for Various Occasions are not commemorations;they are provided for what have been known in the West as "votive celebrations,"celebrations related to a theme or intention rather than to the calendar. Theymay not replace the major feasts of the calendar, but may be used at othertimes. A daily celebration of the Euchari