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Manual Acts
Glossary

Manual Acts

[…] required by the rubrics of the BCP during the words of institution in the eucharistic Prayer (e.g., p. 362-363). More extensive manual acts were required by earlier editions of the […]

Public Affairs
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Presiding Bishop offers prayer for Boston

April 15, 2013

  Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori calls for prayer following the explosions in Boston, MA, and offers the following prayer: Gracious God, you walk with us through the […]

Aaronic Blessing
Glossary

Aaronic Blessing

Prayer of blessing drawn from Nm 6:24-26. An optional blessing at the close of An Order of Worship for the Evening (BCP, p. 114). The form of committal in […]

Oratory
Glossary

Oratory

[…] worship other than a parish church or cathedral. The term is from Latin, “place of prayer.” It is a place of prayer set apart for the use of a particular […]

Laying on of Hands
Glossary

Laying on of Hands

[…] sacramental rites. It is an external sign of the bestowal of God's grace through the prayer or the ministry of the one laying on hands, whether for spiritual growth or […]

Orans Position
Glossary

Orans Position

The traditional posture of early Christian prayer involved one standing with the arms raised and extended like the letter “Y” with the palms uplifted. In the early church the entire […]

Impetrate
Glossary

Impetrate

To petition or beseech; to obtain by entreaty. Impetrative prayer asks God to accomplish what has been requested. Impetration relies on God's loving generosity and willingness to answer prayer. In […]

Requiem
Glossary

Requiem

A Mass or eucharist offered on behalf of the dead. It contains prayers appropriate to a funeral. If the Mass is immediately followed by burial it concludes with the prayer […]

Eastertide
Glossary

Eastertide

Another term for Easter season, the Great Fifty Days. As used in English-speaking churches, “tide” is an old word meaning a festival and its season.

Reception of the Body (At Time of Death)
Glossary

Reception of the Body (At Time of Death)

The BCP provides a form of prayers for use when the body is brought to the church prior to the burial service (pp. 466-467). The form includes prayers for the […]

Retreat
Glossary

Retreat

A period of time, in a “place apart” from daily life and work, which normally includes silence, reflection, and may include some form of still, meditative prayer which may be […]

Responsory
Glossary

Responsory

A prayer with responses. For example, Suffrages A and B in Morning Prayer each contain a series of versicles and responses (BCP, pp. 55, 97-98).

Contemplation
Glossary

Contemplation

[…] is the fruit of divine grace. It comes after a period of recollection and self-abandonment. Daily concerns vanish and exclusive attention is given to the mysteries of the Trinity, the […]

Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Glossary

Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi

A Latin phrase often used in the study of liturgy, it means “the rule of prayer the rule of belief.” The phrase describes the pervasive pastoral reality that habits of […]

Lorica (Celtic)
Glossary

Lorica (Celtic)

Prayer to be chanted while dressing or arming for battle. It is also known as a breastplate prayer. It is recited for protection while one prepares for physical or […]

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