A sentence, particularly in

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

services, is a short passage from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

that is recited in Christian liturgies. For example, with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

's currently authorized 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'', sentences are used at several points within different

rites Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, abbreviated as RITES Ltd, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, Government of India. It is an engineering consultancy corporation, specializing in the field ...

: prescribed sentences are to be recited before Morning and Evening Prayers, at least one sentence may be said or sung during the Holy Communion office

offertory The offertory (from Medieval Latin ''offertorium'' and Late Latin ''offerre'') is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar. A collection of alms (offerings) from the ...

, and sentences appear at multiple points during the burial service.

Description

Sentences are short passages taken from the

that are recited within Christian liturgies. "Opening sentences" sometimes appear in a

rite Rite may refer to: * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition Religion * Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations * Catho ...

to introduce it or provide commentary upon what is occurring within that act of worship. Sentences can also serves to ground an act of worship in a seasonal context.

History

Opening sentences were introduced to

liturgy within the Morning and Evening Prayers of the

's 1552 ''Book of Common Prayer''.

Penitential A penitential is a book or set of church rules concerning the Christian sacrament of penance, a "new manner of reconciliation with God" that was first developed by Celtic monks in Ireland in the sixth century AD. It consisted of a list of sins ...

in nature, the 1552 sentences preceded the confession of sin in both the Morning and Evening Prayers. Sentences came to have additional purposes in later revisions of the ''

Book of Common Prayer 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 Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 ...

''. During the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female person ...

, celebration of the 1559 prayer book's Holy Communion office included use of scriptural passages, both those specifically established as sentences and those unofficially selected for their seasonal or contextual relevance. Following the sentences at the offertory, organists were generally permitted to perform solo.

Lancelot Andrewes Lancelot Andrewes (155525 September 1626) was an English bishop and scholar, who held high positions in the Church of England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. During the latter's reign, Andrewes served successively as Bishop of Ch ...

introduced his "Peculiar Sentences" during the 16th century. These sentences were part of a broader

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originat ...

effort to restore oblationary language into the Holy Communion liturgy that had been deleted in the 1552 prayer book. The abortive 1637 ''Scottish Prayer Book'' was the first Anglican liturgical book to reintroduce oblationary language, utilizing six of Andrewes's "Peculiar Sentences". All 20 sentences present within the contemporary English prayer book had been targeted for removal within the 1637 prayer book, but ultimately

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 16 ...

successfully lobbied for the removal of only ten (including those from the

Book of Tobit The Book of Tobit () ''Tōbith'' or ''Tōbit'' ( and spellings are also attested) itself from he, טובי ''Tovi'' "my good"; Book of Tobias in the Vulgate from the Greek ''Tōbias'', itself from the Hebrew ''Tovyah'' "Jah, Yah is good", al ...

, part of the biblical apocrypha). The 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' prescribes sentences to be recited before Morning and Evening Prayers. During the Holy Communion office's

, at least one sentence may be said or sung. Within the burial service, three sentences preface the rite and others are provisioned for the committal.

References

{{Anglican liturgy, state=expanded Anglican liturgy Christian Bible Canonical hours Order of Mass