External links
- The Ornaments of the Rubric by J. T. Micklethwaite (1897)
- The Royal Commission and the Ornaments Rubric (1906)
- The Ornaments Rubric: Its History and Force by Louis Daniels
The "Ornaments Rubric" is found just before the beginning of Morning Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England. It runs as follows:
"THE Morning and Evening Prayer shall be used in the accustomed Place of the Church, Chapel, or Chancel; except it shall be otherwise determined by the Ordinary of the Place. And the Chancels shall remain as they have done in times past.
"And here is to be noted, that such Ornaments of the Church, and of the Ministers thereof, at all Times of their Ministration, shall be retained, and be in use, as were in this Church of England, by the Authority of Parliament, in the Second Year of the Reign of King Edward the Sixth."
The interpretation of the second paragraph was debated when it first appeared and became a major issue towards the end of the 19th century during the conflicts over what vestments and ceremonies were legal in the Church of England.
The rubric first appears in the Elizabethan Book of Common Prayer in 1559 and was retained in the later 1604 revision under James I. The second paragraph is essentially an extract from the penultimate section of the Elizabethan Act of Uniformity 1558 (1 Eliz. 1. c. 2) and breaks off in the middle of a sentence. The act itself provided that:
"... such ornaments of the Church and of the ministers thereof shall be retained and be in use as were in this Church of England by the authority of Parliament in the Second Year of the Reign of King Edward the Sixth shall be retained and be in use, until other order shall be therein taken by the Queen's Majesty with the advice of her commissioners appointed and authorized under the great Seal of England for ecclesiastical causes, or of the metropolitan of this realm; ..." [1]
Until June 1549 the Sarum Rite Mass (a version of the Roman Rite) was celebrated in Latin, with certain insertions in English. [n 1]
The ornaments of the ministers would have been the traditional Eucharistic vestments used in that Rite: albs, tunicles, dalmatics, copes, chasubles, maniples, mitres et cetera. The text of the 1549 Rite is quite explicit and reads for the ministration of the Holy Communion "the Priest shall put upon him...a white Albe plain, with a vestment or Cope. And where there be many Priests or Decons"..."shall have upon theim likewise"..."Albes, with tunicles." [2] The wording in the 1559 Prayer Book Preface to Morning Prayer, reads"...the minister at the time of the Communion, and at all other times in his ministration shall use such ornaments as were in use by authority of Parliament in the second year of the Reign of Edward the Sixth according to the Act of Parliament set forth in the beginning of thys book." The wording of the Rubric is an order, not an option.
The "second year" referred to in the Act of 1559 began on 28 January 1548, and the Act approving the introduction of the first Book of Common Prayer was approved by Parliament on 21 January 1549. While it has been argued that the Act legalizes the Roman Catholic vestments which were actually in use in the second year, most authorities accept that the Act refers to the vestments ordered in the first Edwardine Prayer Book of 1549 [n 2] even though they were only required as from June 1549. [3] However, such an argument ignores the fact that the Ornaments Rubric was inserted in the Prayer Book of 1559 (as once of the concessions to Catholic feelings in order to get the Act of Uniformity passed by the Lords) and refers to the ornaments of the churches and ministers as in use in 1548 or more specifically and restrictively ordered in 1549 (as some have argued)! [4]
If this was not the intent in 1559, the language should have been changed to explicate what vestments and ornaments were permissible, if not albs, tunicles, dalmatics, copes, chasubles, maniples, miters, et cetera which ones – gown and surplice only? The insertion of the Ornament Rubric, the addition of the Words of Administration at time of Communion (stating a belief in the Real Presence with a particular definition) from the First to the Second Prayer and the Adoption of the Prayer Book of 1552 suggests that the Queen, a moderate non-ideological Protestant, wanted the celebration of the Holy Communion to look like a Mass. [5] Also, if she had had her way the clergy would have been celibate since she detested married clergy.
On 30 April 1559, it was "glossed" (interpreted) by Dr Sandys, successively bishop of Worcester (1559), London (1570) and York (1575), [6] to mean that "we shall not be forced to use them, but that others in the mean time shall not convey them away, but that they may remain for the Queen." [7] Later in 1559, the Queen issued her Injunctions, one of which required the churchwardens to deliver to "our visitors" an inventory of "vestments, copes or other ornaments, plate, books and especially of grails, couchers, legends, processions, hymnals, manuals, portuals and such like, appertaining to their church." [8] The policy was to wean the Church from the outward trappings of the Catholic past by permission to use them until such time that the clergy, almost 100% Catholic, could be replaced by new men over time. Some parishes complied, others did not. Next year after learning many of the parishes were vandalizing their ornaments, she tried to reverse her policy somewhat. In 1566, the metropolitan (Archbishop Parker) issued his "advertisements" ordering the use of the surplice and in cathedrals and collegiate churches the cope. [9] The Canons of 1604, passed with strict conformity to legal procedures and legally binding with minor modifications till well into the 20th century, enforced this same line. [10]
It wasn't until the end of the century that the last of the ornaments had disappeared from churches. However, by this time a large section of the new clergy had re-discovered the English church’s Catholic heritage by emphasising the role of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and re-examining the early Church Fathers instead of Reformers. [11] The result of which was to strengthen their resolve not to give into Puritan demands. The strong Catholic substrate in the Prayer Book was intact, but not the ornaments associated with it. The issue about these would re-surface in the mid-19th century in the Ritualist Movement.
For about one hundred years, starting in the middle of the 19th century, the legal interpretation of the rubric was disputed. [12] Anglo-Catholics pointed to it to justify their restoration of the traditional Eucharistic vestments of western Christianity in the Anglican Communion, whereas Evangelicals insisted that further order was taken in the Injunctions of 1559, the "Advertisements" of 1566, and the Canons of 1604 and therefore the only legal vestments were choir habit together with the cope in Cathedrals and collegiate churches. [13] The use of the disputed vestments became undoubtedly legal in the Church of England with the passing of the 1969 Canons, but these stated that no particular doctrinal significance was attached to them. [14]
Notes
References
The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The first prayer book, published in 1549 in the reign of King Edward VI of England, was a product of the English Reformation following the break with Rome. The 1549 work was the first prayer book to include the complete forms of service for daily and Sunday worship in English. It contains Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, the Litany, Holy Communion, and occasional services in full: the orders for Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, "prayers to be said with the sick", and a funeral service. It also sets out in full the "propers" : the introits, collects, and epistle and gospel readings for the Sunday service of Holy Communion. Old Testament and New Testament readings for daily prayer are specified in tabular format, as are the Psalms and canticles, mostly biblical, to be said or sung between the readings.
A surplice is a liturgical vestment of Western Christianity. The surplice is in the form of a tunic of white linen or cotton fabric, reaching to the knees, with wide or moderately wide sleeves.
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics, Lutherans, and Anglicans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; among the Reformed (Calvinist) Churches this was a point of controversy in the Protestant Reformation and sometimes since, in particular during the ritualist controversies in the Church of England in the 19th century.
The chasuble is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Eastern Orthodox Churches and in the Eastern Catholic Churches, the equivalent vestment is the phelonion.
The dalmatic is a long, wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, United Methodist, and some other churches. When used, it is the proper vestment of a deacon at Mass, Holy Communion or other services such as baptism or marriage held in the context of a Eucharistic service. Although infrequent, it may also be worn by bishops above the alb and below the chasuble, and is then referred to as pontifical dalmatic.
The maniple is a liturgical vestment used primarily within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and occasionally by some Anglo-Catholic and Lutheran clergy. It is an embroidered band of silk or like fabric that hangs from the left forearm, worn over the alb. It is used only during Mass, and it is always of the same liturgical colour as other Mass vestments.
A cope is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour.
The Elizabethan Religious Settlement is the name given to the religious and political arrangements made for England during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The settlement, implemented from 1559 to 1563, marked the end of the English Reformation. It permanently shaped the Church of England's doctrine and liturgy, laying the foundation for the unique identity of Anglicanism.
A Papal Mass is the Solemn Pontifical High Mass celebrated by the Pope. It is celebrated on such occasions as a papal coronation, an ex cathedra pronouncement, the canonization of a saint, on Easter or Christmas or other major feast days.
The Use of Sarum is the liturgical use of the Latin rites developed at Salisbury Cathedral and used from the late eleventh century until the English Reformation. It is largely identical to the Roman Rite, with about ten per cent of its material drawn from other sources. The cathedral's liturgy was widely respected during the late Middle Ages, and churches throughout the British Isles and parts of northwestern Europe adapted its customs for celebrations of the Eucharist and canonical hours. The Sarum Rite has a unique ecumenical position in influencing and being authorized for liturgical use by the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion.
A rochet is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican bishop in choir dress. It is unknown in the Eastern churches. The rochet in its Roman form is similar to a surplice, except that the sleeves are narrower. In its Anglican form, it is a descendant of the traditional albs worn by deacons and priests. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the rochet comes below the knee and its sleeves and hem are sometimes made of lace; in the Anglican tradition, the rochet comes down almost to the hem of the cassock and its sleeves are gathered at the wrist.
Choir dress is the traditional vesture of the clerics, seminarians and religious of Christian churches worn for public prayer and the administration of the sacraments except when celebrating or concelebrating the Eucharist. It differs from the vestments worn by the celebrants of the Eucharist, being normally made of fabrics such as wool, cotton or silk, as opposed to the fine brocades used in vestments. It may also be worn by lay assistants such as acolytes and choirs. It was abandoned by most of the Protestant churches that developed from the sixteenth-century Reformation.
The Book of Advertisements was a series of enactments concerning Anglican ecclesiastical matters, drawn up by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (1559-1575), with the help of Edmund Grindal, Robert Horne, Richard Cox, and Nicholas Bullingham. It was an attempt to address the vestments controversy.
Anglican eucharistic theology is diverse in thought and practice. Its sources include prayer book rubrics, writings on sacramental theology by Anglican divines, and the regulations and orientations of ecclesiastical provinces. The principal source material is the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), specifically its eucharistic prayers and Article XXVIII of the Thirty-Nine Articles. Article XXVIII comprises the foundational Anglican doctrinal statement about the Eucharist, although its interpretation varies among churches of the Anglican Communion and in different traditions of churchmanship such as Anglo-Catholicism and Evangelical Anglicanism.
The 1928 Book of Common Prayer, sometimes known as the Deposited Book, is a liturgical book which was proposed as a revised version of the Church of England's 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Opposing what they saw as an Anglo-Catholic revision that would align the Church of England with the Catholic Church—particularly through expanding the practice of the reserved sacrament—Protestant evangelicals and nonconformists in Parliament put up significant resistance, driving what became known as the Prayer Book Crisis.
The liturgical vestments of the Christian churches grew out of normal civil clothing, but the dress of church leaders began to be differentiated as early as the 4th century. By the end of the 13th century the forms used in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches had become established, while the Reformation led to changes in Protestant churches from the 16th century onward.
The 1549 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the original version of the Book of Common Prayer, variations of which are still in use as the official liturgical book of the Church of England and other Anglican churches. Written during the English Reformation, the prayer book was largely the work of Thomas Cranmer, who borrowed from a large number of other sources. Evidence of Cranmer's Protestant theology can be seen throughout the book; however, the services maintain the traditional forms and sacramental language inherited from medieval Catholic liturgies. Criticised by Protestants for being too traditional, it was replaced by the significantly revised 1552 Book of Common Prayer.
The 1552 Book of Common Prayer, also called the Second Prayer Book of Edward VI, was the second version of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and contained the official liturgy of the Church of England from November 1552 until July 1553. The first Book of Common Prayer was issued in 1549 as part of the English Reformation, but Protestants criticised it for being too similar to traditional Roman Catholic services. The 1552 prayer book was revised to be explicitly Reformed in its theology.
The Edwardine Ordinals are two ordinals primarily written by Thomas Cranmer as influenced by Martin Bucer and first published under Edward VI, the first in 1550 and the second in 1552, for the Church of England. Both liturgical books were intended to replace the ordination liturgies contained within medieval pontificals in use before the English Reformation.
The 1559 Book of Common Prayer, also called the Elizabethan prayer book, is the third edition of the Book of Common Prayer and the text that served as an official liturgical book of the Church of England throughout the Elizabethan era.
