THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
on much like Luther: preface, Sanctus, prayer for a blessing on the reception, leading up to the words of institution, distribution, thanksgiving, the Nunc dimitiis or Song of Simeon, and the blessing. In 1525 he worked out an independent form of service, which was to be said, not sung. The communicants being assembled in the choir, the minister first prayed, turning toward them, that they might be well prepared. Then followed the reading of I Cor. xi. 20-29; the Gloria in excelsis, recited alternately in German by the men and women; the salutation and response " The Lord be with you," " And with thy spirit "; the reading of John vi. 47-63; the Apostles' Creed, also recited alternately; a short exhortation on the comfort and the solemnity of the feast; the Lord's Prayer, and another prayer for worthy reception; and the words of institution. For the communion, unleavened bread on wooden plates and wine in wooden cups was given to the communicants, seated, by appointed assistants; each broke off a morsel of the bread for himself and took the chalice in his hands. Then, after the recitation of Psalm cxiii. and a short thanksgiving, the minister dismissed the congregation with " Go in peace." This form, which expresses the Zwinglian conception of the Lord's Supper as a profession of faith and devotion on the part of the congregation, was retained with slight variations in the later Zurich liturgies until 1675. According to the form of CEcolampadius, there was a preparation consisting of confession and absolution, psalm-singing, a general prayer, and reading of the Gospel account of the Passion, after which a simple form of celebration followed, consisting of exhortation, the Lord's Prayer, words of institution, communion, thanksgiving, and blessing.
3. The Reformed Services: After Farel had abolished the Roman mass in Geneva, Calvin instituted an independent liturgy in his La manure de celebrer la cine. The Lord's Supper was to be celebrated once a year, after a sermon on its significance and a prayer for worthy reception. The service then continued with the reading of I Cor. xi. 25-29 and an exhortation, which contained a solemn excommunication of grievous sinners and enemies of church unity, urged all to examine their consciences carefully, and gave comfort to those who were weak in the faith or tempted to despair. In the conclusion of this, the ancient Sursum corda was paraphrased according to Calvin's dogmatic conceptions: " Let us lift up our hearts and minds thither where Jesus Christ is in the glory of his Father . . for our souls will be well disposed to be nourished and vivified by his substance, when they are thus raised above all things earthly, to reach heaven itself and enter into the kingdom of God, where he dwells." Then followed the communion, with the provision that the minister himself should first receive it, then give it to the deacon and then to the whole congregation, who were to approach the holy table. The formula of administration was the following (in French): " Take and eat the body of Jesus, which was delivered up to death for you. This is the cup of the New Testament in the blood of Jesus, which was shed for you." During the communion Psalm cxxxviii. was sung,
followed by a prayer of thanksgiving, the Song of Simeon, and the blessing. Calvin's type of service was followed by the scattered Reformed communities in Westphalia and on the Rhine. In Switzerland the Calvinistic and Zwinglian forms were combined and modified in such various ways that at least six different forms exist to-day. The order of service drawn up in 1550 by Johannes a Lasco (q.v.) for the Dutch refugees in England, the first complete order for the Calvinistic Reformed body, prescribes that on the day preceding the administration of the Lord's Supper, a sermon is to be delivered. At the time of the celebration, four cups and three pewter plates are to be set out on a table covered with a linen cloth. Another sermon is delivered, ending with an exhortation forbidding the approach of those who have not yet made their profession of faith and put themselves under Christian discipline or who have not given notice of their intention to receive. Then follow a prayer, the words of institution, and an exhortation to selfexamination, after which the minister reads I Cor. v. 7, 8. The communion has the character of a family meal. The minister, elders, and members of the congregation sit around the table, as far as there is room. The minister takes a piece of the bread which is in the larger plate and, with the words, " The bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ," divides it into small pieces on the other two plates, then handing it to those who sit near him with the words, " Take, eat, remember and believe that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was given up to death upon the wood of the cross for the forgiveness of all our sins." The plates are then passed to those who sit further off and the same proceeding is observed in the administration of the cup, with corresponding words. First the men and then the women take their places around the table in turn, while John vi. and xiii.xv. are read from the chancel. After the communion, the service closes with a word from the minister, thanksgiving, a psalm, and the blessing. The Dutch Reformed Church still maintains this order, in which is obvious the attempt to assimilate the celebration as much as possible to the brotherly fellowship at the table of the original institution. The Scotch Church also derives its form from the order of Johannes a Lasco, and, like the Reformed Church of France, gives a similar complexion to the celebration.
4. The Anglican Communion: In accordance with the general tendency of the English Reformation, a very large part of the Reformed service is taken more or less directly from the older liturgies, and even some parts which do not occur in the Roman mass have ancient precedent. Thus the prayer for the Church militant occupies the same position as the great intercession in the Gallican rite, and the recitation of the Ten Commandments, while probably due to the ethical tendency of the age, has been explained by some liturgical scholars as answering to the prophecy, or reading from the Old Testament, which in some other ancient liturgies preceded the epistle and Gospel. Several portions newly added were intended to emphasize the aspect of the service as a communion; thus the