The Western Rite, Part 1: Confession / Lord, Have Mercy / Glory to God in the Highest

During September of 2023 we will look at the Western Rite.

The Oxford Dictionary defines rite as: “a religious or other solemn ceremony or act. ‘the rite of communion.'”

A stricter definition used by liturgists is a rite is words that are spoken (or sung) in worship. Ceremony is actions or gestures used in worship.

The Western Rite isn’t a single rite, but more of a pattern of words and songs that many denominations and traditions follow. The Roman Catholic Mass, the Lutheran Divine Service or Gottesdienst, the Anglican / Episcopalian Eucharist are all variations of the Western Rite.

Some denominations / traditions consider the Confiteor / Confession a part of the service. Some consider it separate, with the service proper beginning with the Kyrie. This is why the opening / processional hymn is sometimes before the confession, sometimes after. Modern Roman Catholic usage sometimes combines the Confession with the Kyrie.

The confessional rite is based on the private prayers a priest would pray in preparation for the mass and while putting on vestments (Reed, p. 256). Among Lutherans, private confession was still used in the early years, and public rites of confession began to appear in the 1530s (Reed, p. 258). This is a relatively late addition to the Western Rite.

The invocation is the same phrase spoken at baptism–the words that connect us with God’s name. We approach our God as his people, baptized into his name, cleansed with Christ’s blood. The sign of the cross is also a reminder of baptism. “Receive the sign of the cross on the head and heart + to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.” The invocation also reminds us whose work we are here to do. We worship in God’s name.

This is how we approach our God. Like the father of the prodigal, our heavenly Father awaits us with open arms.

We hear God’s forgiveness proclaimed, again, because of the life and work of our Savior Jesus.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins to God, our Father, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness. (Hebrews 10:22)

Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:8)

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess to you all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended you, and justly deserved your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them, and sincerely repent of them, and I pray of your boundless mercy, and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.

Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office as a servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Source: Saxon Church Order of 1581, translation based on The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941. For German original, follow this link.

There are many forms of confession and absolution. We confess what we are. We confess what we have done. We know what we deserve and what we would get if we approached a holy God alone. We are not beating ourselves up–we are stating facts. Here is another fact: Jesus Christ suffered and died to bear our sin and take it away. We plead for God’s mercy for the sake of Christ.

In the ancient church, an introit was sung at this point. Introit means entrance. Most introits were short chants composed from psalms or other parts of Scripture, concluding with the Gloria Patri and then repeating the opening verse. Here is the introit for the first Sunday in Advent:

Antiphon:
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.*
O my God, I trust in you; Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.*
Let no one who waits on you be ashamed. (Psalm 25:1-3a)

Psalm:
Show me your ways, O Lord;*
          teach me your paths.
[For you are the God of my salvation;*
          on you I wait all the day.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,*
          for I wait for you.
Redeem Israel, O God,*
          out of all their troubles.] (Psalm 25:4-5, 21-22)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,*
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,*
is now and will be forever. Amen.

Antiphon:
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.*
O my God, I trust in you; Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.*
Let no one who waits on you be ashamed. (Psalm 25:1-3a)

Source: Sanctus, November 27, 2022. Psalm 25:5 and 21-22 are not part of the original Introit.

Martin Luther suggested a spiritual song or a psalm be sung in German instead of the introits (https://history.hanover.edu/texts/luthserv.html, also Luther Reed in The Lutheran Liturgy, p. 262). It is likely he reccommended this because the introits were fragments, and the thematic connection with the readings was sometimes unclear. Much earlier in church history, the practice of singing whole psalms as entrance hymns or as interludes between Scripture readings was widespread (Reed, p. 261) .

Some churches sing an entrance hymn here. Some sing it before the invocation.

The Kyrie originally had the form of a short litany. Here is Kyrie, Orbis Factor, one of nine Kyrie litanies used in Sarum which can be viewed at this link.

Maker of the world, King eternal,
have mercy on us.

Fount of boundless pity,
have mercy on us.

Drive away from us all that is harmful,
have mercy on us.

Christ, the Light of the world, giver of life,
have mercy on us.

Look on those wounded by the craft of the devil;
have mercy on us.

You preserve those who believe in you, and you strengthen them,
have mercy on us.

Your Father, you, and the Spirit proceeding from both,
have mercy on us.

We know you to be one God, and three persons,
have mercy on us.

Be present with us, Counselor, that we may live in you,
have mercy on us.

Source: The Sarum Missal in English, Part II, Alcuin Club Collections, No. XI

Another Kyrie litany, taken from the fourth century Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, is in wide use today among Lutherans:

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For the peace from above,
and for our salvation,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For peace to the whole world,
for the well being of the Church of God,
and for the unity of all,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

For this holy house,
and for all who offer here their worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.

Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Amen.

From Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978.

The more basic three, six or ninefold Kyrie is a remnant of the earlier Kyrie litanies (Reed, p. 269).

Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The purpose of the Kyrie at the beginning of the service, long or short, is to cast all our cares and needs before the Lord. The common Kyrie above (“In peace let us pray to the Lord…”) has the repeated theme of peace. Jesus said, “My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). The Means of Grace, the gospel in Word and Sacrament that we are about to receive, are the only place we will find the peace we seek, because there alone we find Jesus, his Word, his forgivness, his restoration and peace.

The Gloria in Excelsis is the main song of praise in the Western Rite. It came from the Greek church as a song used in Morning Prayer / Matins as early as the second or third centuries. By the 500s it started to be used in the western church, first in the main service at Christmas, then at other high festivals, and then in regular usage.

It begins with the song of the Christmas angels:

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.

Many consider the first two lines to be an antiphon, and in modern practice, it is often used as a repeated refrain. Originally the officiant would chant the first line, “Gloria in excelsis Deo” (“Glory to God in the highest”) and the congregation would join in the rest, “et in terra pax…” (“and on earth peace…”). This is why the Gloria is sometimes referred to as “Et in terra…” (And on earth…”)

The song of the angels has a parallel structure to it. The ELLC’s translation brings it out very clearly. In the birth, life, and work of Christ, glory is given to God. Peace is given to people.

The first stanza of the song is directed to God the Father, and praises God for who he is:

Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

The second stanza is directed to God the Son, and praises him for both who he is and what he does. The second stanza also has the character of the Kyrie, “Have mercy on us.” “Receive our prayer.” Ancient songs and psalms sometimes put the central thought in the center of the song, and here is the center of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who bears our sin.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.

The third stanza brings the song to its highest point, again praising God for who he is. The third stanza is trinitarian, emphasizing that we worship one God, one Lord, who is Most High, revealed as “Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.”

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Gloria in Excelsis is very credal. It confesses truths about God, his attributes, and his works.

A rendering of the Latin text for Choir and Orchestra

Glory to God in the Highest from Marty Haugen’s Mass of Creation. English text, presented in a liturgical folk style.

The Gloria is often omitted during Advent and Lent. That tradition came about as a fast for the ears in preparation for the exuberance of Christmas and Easter.

Among Lutherans it may be replaced by the Canticle “Worthy is Christ” / Dignus est agnus during the Sundays of Easter.

Refrain:
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

1 Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
whose blood set us free to be people of God. [Refrain]

2 Power, riches, wisdom and strength,
and honor, blessing and glory are his. [Refrain]

3 Sing with all the people of God
and join in the hymn of all creation.

4 Blessing, honor, glory and might
be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen. [Refrain]

For the Lamb who was slain
has begun his reign. Alleluia. [Refrain]

The Gloria had this thought at the center: “Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us.” The canticle Worthy is Christ is taken from phrases in Revelation 5, 15 and 19, and praises Christ as the Lamb who was slain, who made us his people by his blood, and lives and reigns over his church.

About Celtic Prayers

The Celts

CelticCapital30 he Celts were a people and a culture, and they seem to have been in central Europe as early as 800 B.C. (Sometimes called the Hallstatt Culture.)

By 275 B.C. Celtic influence had spread to what is now England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France and Spain. The reason we associate Celts with Ireland, Scotland and Wales is that is where Celtic identity remained after Europe was dominated by the Roman Empire. Celtic revivals of cultural identity have come and gone and come again in those countries. “Celt” is a broad word that covers different peoples in different places and times. When I speak of “Celtic Christians,” I mean Christians living in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

CelticCapital27 efore Christian missionaries came to the Ireland, the Irish Celts were polytheistic (many gods) and animistic (belief of spirits in everything, people, plants, animals, trees, etc.), which is the source of the idea that Druids (Celtic priests) worshiped trees. Christian missionaries came into Britain after Christianity was decreed a religio licita, a legal religion, and also the religion of the Roman Empire, with a peak of missionary activity in the fifth century.

Patrick

CelticCapital17 atrick is the first person we think of when Celtic Christianity is mentioned, mostly because he has his own holiday. But Patrick is much more than an excuse to drink green beer (yuck!) and eat corned beef and cabbage (delicious, but unknown to Patrick and to most of the Irish). He is rightly called “the Apostle to the Irish.” He grew up as a Christian in Roman Britain, but as a teenager, he was not serious about his faith. At age 17 he was kidnapped by Irish pirates (who were more like our image of Vikings than Captain Jack Sparrow) and taken to Ireland as a slave, where he remained for six years. He escaped and eventually returned home to western Britain where he studied the Christian faith more seriously and was ordained a priest. Legend says that he had a vision of a man urging him to return to Ireland to bring the gospel. There are accounts of Patrick baptizing thousands of people, ordaining priests and setting up Christian communities in Ireland. It seems that he worked with the culture, a hostile and barbaric culture, and transformed it into a Christian culture. Human sacrifices and the glory of battle was replaced with the sacrifice of Christ and the glory of rising above our broken nature by the power of Christ. Like Augustine, Patrick wrote his Confession in which he described his early life and his return and growth in the Christian faith.

CelticCapital5 rom the time of Patrick (d. ca. 460) until the Synod of Whitby in 664, the Celtic church was independent of the church of Rome but did not see itself as separate from it. This was also the golden age of Irish monasteries which were centers of faith and centers of learning, both sacred and secular. Missionaries were sent out, first back to Britain, Wales and Scotland, then to mainland Europe. Traveling monks established churches and monasteries. There was a difference between the Irish churches and the churches of Rome. The Irish calculated the date of Easter with a different formula—usually resulting in celebrating their Easter a week or two after Roman Easter. Irish monks had their own tonsure (either a wedge-shaped stripe was shaved over the top of the head from ear to ear, or the front of the head was shaved to a midline from ear to ear), while Roman monks had a coronal tonsure (like Friar Tuck with a wreath of hair around a bald dome). The Irish churches had their own rites with service outlines similar to the Roman mass and liturgies of hours, but with unique prayers. Celtic churches did have a veneration of saints, but it was mostly honor for deceased bishops and abbots, along with the biblical New Testament saints. Some of the prayers ask the saints, “Pray for us.” In pre-Whitby literature, Mary is mentioned as the mother of the Lord, but gets no special honor. After the Synod of Whitby, the Celtic churches in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and all their missions were ordered to calculate the date of Easter in the Roman manner, and to adopt the Roman tonsure and other worship practices. From that point, the Celtic church began to lose its distinctiveness from the church of Rome, although some unique practices and emphases continued.

Scholarship and Celtic Revivals

CelticCapital30 he mid-to-late 1800s was a time of tremendous scholarship, and because of that, it was a time of renewed interest in the early Celtic church. The Henry Bradshaw Society published scholarly editions of The Antiphonary of Bangor, The Lorrha-Stowe Missal, Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic Church and other resources. At the same time, Alexander Carmichael was collecting Christian prayers, poems and even some pagan spells from Gaelic speaking people in Scotland. He was interested in the prayer and poetry from the Celtic folk traditions, and his work is published in the volumes of Carmina Gadelica. Kuno Meyer also collected, translated and published much old Irish literature, sacred and secular.

As a result, there was a renewed interest in Celtic languages and attempts at revive their use and also much imitation the old literature from the 1880s to 1920s. There was also renewed interest in Celtic art. We seem to be in another Celtic revival. There are now many books on Celtic prayer and Celtic spirituality. Some of this seems to be a repristination movement—a desire to return to a simpler Christianity that is not separated from daily life with no conflict and more in tune with nature. But life for the early Celtic Christians was not always simple, peaceful or innocent. Read the loricas. The Celtic Christians of that time made long lists of things they wanted God’s protection from: the Red Plague, the Yellow Plague, marauders, thieves, nakedness, drought, famine. Read the penitential manuals (Celtic Spirituality, p. 227-245), and you will see that some of the Celtic Christians were doing shameful, wild and vulgar things they needed to confess and receive forgiveness for. They were Christian people, like us, who lived, worked, sweated and struggled through life, and they committed their cares to God in carefully worded, poetic prayers.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate
Unique Celtic Theological Emphases
Unique Celtic Style

CelticCapital14 t. Patrick’s Breastplate is a poetic prayer that is attributed to Patrick. Like the winding lines in Celtic art, the content of the prayer seems to wind back and forth with its repetition. Here are some characteristics in the Breastplate that are common in many Celtic Christian prayers:

The immanence or closeness of God. (“Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, …) In his Confession, Patrick rejects any kind of animism, polytheism or pantheism and confesses a biblical theology of God, very much like what is seen in the Nicene Creed (see The Creed in the Confession of St. Patrick and St. Patrick’s Creed). Yet he retains an emphasis of immanence or closeness to God, along with a sense of the presence of God in nature. God is not the same as his creation, but he is in it and with it (See Psalm 139).
The transcendence or other-ness of God. We see this in the appeals to God’s mighty strength. The Breastplate also calls him “the Creator of creation.” Other prayers refer to God as “high King of heaven.”
An understanding of prayer as tapping into God’s supernatural power. Some scholars see connections between the pagan Celtic charms and incantations and the Celtic Christian prayers for protection, yet the prayers for protection are completely in line with “Calling upon God’s name in the day of trouble” (Psalm 50:15) and “Putting on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10).
A delight in the Trinity because the doctrine is imponderable. There is a special Trinity affinity in the Celtic prayers with phrases like “through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness…”
A love of lists. A prayer for protection from danger may ask for protection from every angle, protection for every part of the body, or protection from every evil imaginable. A confession of sin may ask for forgiveness of sins committed in different places, with different things or by different parts of the body and deliverance from temptation from many sources.
A love of repetition. Repetition of the last line of a prayer is seen in many of the prayers of Carmina Gadelica and is seen in some of the old prayers, too. This seems to be done for emphasis, and to bring the prayer to a conclusion.

ther Celtic prayers:

The Carmina Gadelica (Songs of the Gaels, see Wikipedia) is a collection of Scottish Gaelic hymns and prayers collected in the mid 1800s. Volumes I and III contain Celtic Christian prayers. Volume II contains Celtic animistic spells and incantations. The initial capitals on this page are illustrations from The Carmina Gadelica.
The Antiphonary of Bangor (Wikipedia) is an Irish liturgical text containing prayers and antiphons for the liturgy of hours (the daily offices or services in the monasteries). It was written around A. D. 680, and seems to present pre-Whitby rites and practices.
The Lorrha-Stowe Missal (Wikipedia) is a post-Whitby book with materials for the performance of the Mass, probably written after A. D. 792. Even though it is post-Whitby, there are some prayers and practices that may be remnants of pre-Whitby rites.
Some scholars also see traces of the worship of early Celtic Christians in the Mozarabic Rite (Wikipedia) (2000 Years of Prayer, ed. Michael Counsell, p. 84).
The Book of Cerne (Wikipedia) is an illuminated manuscript, similar in artistic style to the Book of Kells, containing the Gospels, prayers, hymns, and other liturgical materials. It is really an Anglo-Saxon book, but it also shows Celtic / Irish influence in its art and texts.

CelticCapital15 he Book of Kells (Wikipedia) is probably the greatest treasure of the Irish church and of Celtic Christianity. It is an illuminated hand-copied Gospel book. The initials had pictures, winding vine designs, a full spectrum of color and gilding. It wasn’t a prayer book, but no discussion of Celtic Christianity would be complete without mentioning the Book of Kells. The Celtic Christians also left many carved stone crosses like the Rock of Cashel Cross (top) and Muiredach’s High Cross (above)

About the Mozarabic Rite

The People

“Mozarabic” is really a term historians use for Christians who lived in Spain under Muslim or Arab rule. It literally means “among the Arabs.” The people never would have called themselves “Mozarabs.”

The Rite

The Mozarabic Rite (sometimes called the Visigothic, Hispanic or Andalusian Rite) had its beginnings in the seventh century with the invasion of the Arabs from the south and the southern Spanish Christians being cut off from the rest of Europe. It was a complete rite tradition, that is, they developed liturgies and prayers for the church year independently of Rome–most probably because of their isolation under Arab rule. Mozarabic liturgy and prayer are similar to the Mass and prayers of the Roman rite, only the prayers (collects) seem to be a bit freer in form and a bit more substantial in meaning than the prayers from the Gregorian or Gelasian sacramentaries. There is a connection between the Mozarabic Christians and the Eastern Rite Christians (Greek/Eastern Orthodox). Some scholars also see some traces of the worship of early Celtic Christians in the Mozarabic Rite (2000 Years of Prayer, ed. Michael Counsell, p. 84).

Why So Much Mozarabic?

Since the Mozarabic Rite developed its own rites and prayers for each Sunday and the liturgies of the hours each day there are a lot of prayers from the Mozarabic tradition out there. Since A Collection of Prayers is about meaning in prayers and gathering prayers that are rich in meaning, the Mozarabic Rite has become a favorite source. The chief source for Mozarabic prayers is the book Mozarabic Collects based on the translation and arrangement from the Ancient Liturgy of the Spanish Church by the Rev. Charles R. Hale. When I found the book last year, I got the electronic text from the pdf, and began reworking the English text to preserve and emphasize meaning. The result was The New Mozarabic Collects: A Revision and Refreshing of ‘Mozarabic Collects’ by Charles R. Hale (Available for Kindle only).

There are other prayers that I find from time to time that are ascribed to the the following sources:

Mozarabic Rite or Mozarabic Liturgy (this would include everything related to the worship of Mozarabic Christians.)
Mozarabic Sacramentary (A Sacramentary is a book that would be on the altar containing all liturgy and prayers needed to conduct a service. The Mozarabic Collects would be from the Sacramentary)
Mozarabic Breviary (A Breviary is a small book of prayers, or a book containing shortnened Matins and Vespers devotions, along with daily readings, based on the Church Year.)
Mozarabic Psalter (A psalter is a book with the text of the psalms, along with antiphons and prayers said or chanted during liturgies of the hours.)

Mozarabic Chant

Gregorian chant seems to be very even and measured. Mozarabic chant shows the middle-eastern influence with twists and turns. In many ways it resembles chants from the Maronite / Syriac Christian tradition and Islamic chants. Here’s a selection of Mozarabic chants on YouTube:

Our collection of Mozarabic prayers can be read here: https://acollectionofprayers.wordpress.com/tag/mozarabic/

Anatomy of a Collect

A collect (pronounced KAHL-lekt) is an ancient prayer form that has a certain structure. The word collect comes from the Latin phrase ecclesia collecta, which means that it is a public prayer prayed by and for the assembled church. It is modeled after the Lord’s Prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer begins with an address to God:

Our Father,

…and then has an attributive phrase that says something about God:

who art in heaven,

This is followed by one or more petitions:

Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as
we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
But deliver us from evil:

…and it closes with a doxology:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

A collect also begins with an address, followed by an attributive phrase (some call this the basis for the petition that focuses on some characteristic of God) and a petition. It adds some result or benefit that is desired, followed by a termination which is also a doxology (word of praise). Classic collects are very brief and to the point (some use the word “terse”) in their choice of words, especially for the petitions.

Here is a collect from the Book of Common Prayer for the Second Sunday in Advent (in traditional English):

Merciful God, who sent thy messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

This has all the parts. We will use this color coding for identification:

Address, attributive phrase, petition, result, termination.

A collect may omit one of these and still be considered a collect. The collect for the First Sunday in Advent in the Book of Common Prayer has no attributive phrase.

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Some collects, especially the longer prayers in rites found in agendas (liturgy books), are extended collects. An extended collect sometimes has longer phrases, or sometimes has more than one attributive phrase, petition or result. Look at this extended collect by Veit Dietrich:

Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank you that you have sown the good seed of your holy Word in our hearts. By your Holy Spirit cause this seed to grow and bring forth fruit, and defend us from the enemy, that he may not sow weeds there. Keep us from worldly security, help us in all temptations and give us at last eternal salvation; through your beloved Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

See how the attributive phrase that says something about our heavenly Father becomes a petition of thanks by itself, “…we thank you that you have sown the good seed of your holy Word in our hearts.” And then there are several petitions alternating with two results.

The termination is a reminder of Jesus’ invitation for us to bring all things to the Father in his name (John 15:16). “Through Jesus Christ our Lord” is a simple or short termination. The full termination is also a confession of faith in the Triune God. “….through (your Son,) Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.” Some scholars believe that this full trinitarian termination was added shortly after the Council of Nicea in A. D. 325 as an added confession that we pray to and confess the one true God who reveals himself to us in Scripture as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

St. Paul used a form, very much like a collect, in the first chapter of his letter to the Ephesians. Look at the attributive phrases (…who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing…), the phrases that express desired results (…to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.)

To read classic collects, click here: https://acollectionofprayers.wordpress.com/tag/collect/

To read extended collects, click here: https://acollectionofprayers.wordpress.com/tag/extended-collect/

See Luther D. Reed in The Lutheran Liturgy, p. 279-287, and Fred Precht in Lutheran Worship, History and Practice, p. 411-412.

About the Pomeranian Agenda

Pomerania

Pomerania was a territory in Germany that occupied what is now northwestern Poland along the coast. It was one of the first German territories after Saxony to receive the Reformation due to the efforts of Dr. Johannes Bugenhagen, an associate of Martin Luther.

Dr. Johannes Bugenhagen

Lucas_Cranach_(I)_-_Johannes_Bugenhagen[1]

Bugenhagen was not only a missionary and defender of the faith, he was also a skilled liturgist. In bringing the Reformation to Pomerania, he made a translation or an adaptation of Luther’s translation of the Bible into middle-low German, and also prepared a church agenda, which was published under the auspices of Duke Bogislav X (d. 1523), Duke Barnimus IX and Duke Philippus I in the year 1535. (See part of the article in Wikipedia.) In our time, an agenda is a book of services for use in the church. Then, an agenda contained those services, along with setting a standard for good practices within the church–a combination of a pastoral theology textbook and a church constitution.

Sources

Some of the prayers appear to be by Martin Luther with a few prayers enlarged and expanded from Luther’s prayers. Some prayers are modified slightly from the gospel collects of Veit Dietrich. The rest of the agenda is likely the work of Johannes Bugenhagen.

Characteristics

The prayers in the Pomeranian Agenda are theological and pastoral: theological because they speak and breathe the Scriptures and teach the truth of God and the grace of Christ; pastoral because they speak to the needs of people, their doubts and fears, and assures them with the hope that is in Christ alone.

The edition these prayers were taken from Die pommersche Kirchen-Ordnung und Agenda: nebst den Legibus praepositorum, statutis synodicis und der Vistitations-Ordnung von 1736. Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche in Pommern, ed. C. A. Koch, 1854. It is a later edition, but the prefaces and forewords indicate that efforts were made to be faithful to the earliest editions.

All the prayers from the Pomeranian Agenda can be downloaded as a pdf. Prayers from the Pomeranian Agenda

The Pomeranian Agenda also had music. Although it is sung in English in this recording, this setting of the Nunc Dimittis is from the Pomeranian Agenda (p. 385-386):

NuncDimittis from Book of Hymns (WELS, 1920)

Certain passages of this melody bear a strong resemblance to the Kyrie and Gloria from Missa di Angelis.