Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/160

 156 COMMON PRAYER COMMON SCHOOLS ily and government of Great Britain were either entirely omitted or adapted to the new political relations of the country, and the so-called "state services" of the English prayer book were stricken out. The chief changes under the second head were the rejection of the Nicene and Athanasian creeds, and the omission of the words " He descended into Hell " from the apostles' creed. The convention of 1785 also recommended to the English church for consecration as bishops Dr. William White of Philadelphia and Dr. Samuel Provoost of New York. But before this act was consum- mated a copy of the " proposed book " reached England, and elicited from the archbishops of Canterbury and York an expression of disap- probation, not only at various verbal altera- tions that seemed uncalled for, but at the radi- cal changes made in the three ancient confessions of faith which had always been accepted by the church of England. Whether or not in consequence of this remonstrance, the Ameri- can Episcopal convention which met at Wil- mington, Del., in October, 1786, restored to the prayer book the Nicene creed, allowing it to be used as an alternative instead of the apostles' creed both in the communion and daily offices. The clause " He descended into Hell" was also restored to the apostles' creed, with the rubrical provision that "any churches may omit the words, ' He descended into Hell,' or may instead of them use the words, ' He went into the place of departed spirits,' which are considered as words of the same meaning in the creed." No change, however, was made in the resolution of the convention to discon- tinue the use of the Athanasian creed in divine service. These concessions having removed the scruples of the English prelates, Drs. White and Provoost were consecrated bishops of Penn- sylvania and New York in February, 1787. The general convention which met at Phila- delphia in September, 1789, undertook the final revision of the liturgy. A house of bishops was now for the first time organized as a distinct branch of the convention ; and although but two of the three members com- posing it, Bishops Seabury and White, were present, the influence which they exerted pre- vented any such radical alteration of the prayer book as was desired by a strong party in the house of clerical and lay deputies. The bishops were determined to hold the English prayer book as the basis of their work, and to avoid as far as they could all unnecessary changes ; and to their tenacity of purpose and ready coopera- tion is due the fact that in all their main fea- tures the liturgies of the Anglican church in the United States and the mother country are identical. Apart from the changes above no- ticed, the chief differences between the English and the American Book of Common Prayer, as the latter was settled by this and subsequent conventions, are the following : Many changes of words and phrases have been made with a view to the removal of what was obsolete, or in order to attain greater correctness of ex- pression. In morning prayer and evening prayer the Lord's prayer is directed to be said but once ; in both offices the versicles and re- sponses have been abridged ; and from evening prayer the Magnificat or song of the Virgin and the Nunc dimittis have been excluded. The lectionary, or lessons from the Bible, has been in part remodelled, the portions from the Apoc- rypha being omitted. A " Selection from the Psalms," instead of the portion of the Psalms appointed for the day, is allowed to be used at the discretion of the minister. The Gloria in excelsis, found only in the communion service in the English book, is allowed in morning and evening prayer as an alternative with the Gloria Patri; and the form of absolution pe- culiar to the communion service is similarly introduced into morning and evening prayer. The communion service, owing to the influem of Bishop Seabury, was borrowed from the Scottish office, although the order of the lish office is generally retained; the distin- guishing feature consisting in the incorporation into the prayer of consecration in the America book of the oblation and invocation according to the new Scottish office as revised in 1765. In the baptismal office the minister is permitted to dispense with the sign of the cross after sprinkling the candidate. In the office for the visitation of the sick the rubric directing the minister to advise sick persons to confess thei sins, and also the form of absolution, are strick- en out. The marriage service is considerably abridged, and the commination service for Wednesday is omitted. From the calendar all names of saints not commemorative of persons and facts of Scripture history hav( been excluded ; and services for the visil tion of prisoners, for the consecration of church or chapel, and for the institution of ministers have been added. Finally, to show their desire to adhere substantially to the English liturgy, the American revisers stat in the preface to their Book of Comm( Prayer that " this (American) church is far from intending to depart from the church of England in any essential point of doctrine discipline, or worship ; or further than 1( circumstances require." It is customary to in- clude in the English and the American Bool of Common Prayer the u Articles of Religion adopted by the churches of the Anglican com- munion; also metrical versions of the Psah and a collection of hymns to be used in divine service. These, however, are not properly portion of the book, the standard edition which ends with " The Psalter or Psalms David." The American prayer book came into general use on Oct. 1, 1790, and in il essential features has remained unchanged the present day. COMMON SCHOOLS. Under the general he* of EDUCATION will be found a condensed hi tory of instruction, public and private, so fa as there are data for such a history. Under