
Worship is the first
job of the church, and the Episcopal church places a high priority on
liturgy and music. The Liturgy and Music Commission assists the Bishop in
liturgical matters in the diocese.
The Book of Common
Prayer orders all Episcopal liturgy and is easily downloadable in several formats.
The Holy
Eucharist is the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord's
Day and at other major feasts. The best basic resource for understanding
its forms and rituals is Howard Galley's The Ceremonies of the Eucharist,
available from Cowley Books.
Ordained persons -
Bishops, Priests and Deacons - are the normal leaders of public worship,
acting as Celebrant or Officiant as appropriate. Other liturgical roles
are:
Lectors or Lay Readers
Eucharistic Visitors / Ministers
Musicians
Acolytes
Vestments
Customs regarding the vesting of liturgical ministers vary widely
within the Episcopal Church, and there are a wide variety of vestments
used. The Episcopal Glossary prepared by St. Paul's Church, Augusta,
Georgia, contains both definitions
and pictures of liturgical vestments.
There are several exhaustive websites dealing with the history of vestments,
and liturgical paraments in general of which catholicliturgy.com
is perhaps the clearest.
Calendar
The Calendar
of the Church Year according to the Episcopal Church (with links to
the Lectionary for each feast day). James Kiefer has provided biographies
of many (if not all) Saints in calendar format at his invaluable Christian Biographies
site.
Lectionary
Readings at liturgies of the Episcopal Church are designated by the Lectionary. The Revised Common Lectionary
was approved for continued trial use in the Episcopal Church by the 2000
General Convention.
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