Upcoming: the Caeremoniale Anglicanum Catholicum

THE BIG NEWS

It is the mission of the Laus Deo Center to achieve continuity and commonality of worship in the Christian Church.

It is within the Tridentine Mass that we find one of the most venerable, sacred, and honored Eucharistic liturgies in history. It was formally codified by Pope Pius V in 1570, and was the liturgy of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church until 1962. However, the shape of this Mass was likely already in place by the 4th century.

In creating the first Book of Common Prayer, Archbishop Cranmer relied heavily on the Sarum Mass, which was the local expression of the Tridentine Mass. All Anglicans and Episcopalians are the spiritual heirs of this liturgical tradition, which contains beautiful ritual and purpose.

It is not surprising, then, that Episcopal churches across the nation use forms of the Tridentine Mass. Some celebrate the full Mass, others use the Knott Missal, which is simply the Tridentine Mass translated to english. Some even use the ‘American Missal’.

However, there are those that realize that staying in a common use of worship with other parishes and dioceses is paramount. To this end, they use the approved 1979 Book of Common Prayer, in the context of Tridentine ceremonial. In this form, we find the aforementioned continuity and commonality of worship.

Caeremoniale Anglicanum Catholicum

To assist in the promulgation and celebration of this noble Mass, we are working to create a guide to celebrating it for clergy and other ministers. This Caeremoniale Anglicanum Catholicum will include instruction for celebrating the three traditional forms: Low Mass, Sung Mass, and High Mass. It is in complete obedience to the 1979 BCP, and does NOT constitute a special form of service under Title II Canon 4.

We have made substantial progress on the Low Mass ceremonial, and hope to release the first version in the next few months. The Sung Mass will quickly follow.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

For the successful completion of this project, we are in need of liturgists, clergy, and worship leaders to proofread, edit, and review the texts. If you are interested, please send us an email using the form at the bottom of this page. Whether you want to devote thirty minutes or many hours to the project, your help would be invaluable.

Laus Deo Semper!