OFFICE FOR SENDING FORTH A MISSIONARY. The Bishop, or some other principal dignitary, shall be seated in front of the High Altar. Then shall some official appointed for that purpose present the candidate to him, saying, Right Reverend [or Rev.] Father, I present unto thee this person, N., who desires mission and benediction for the work of an Evangelist. Bishop. Let the Mandate of his appointment be read. of The Mandate. The Chapter. S. Luke x. After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come. Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers I, N.,by Divine permission Bishop are few: pray ye therefore the LORD having duly examined of the harvest, that He would send N. N., who is desirous of devoting forth labourers into His harvest. himself to missionary labour, and Go your ways: behold, I send you having satisfied myself of his sound-forth as lambs among wolves. Carry ness in doctrine, godliness of life, neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: sufficiency of knowledge, and zeal and salute no man by the way. in the work of the ministry, hereby And into whatsoever house ye enter, appoint him and authorize him to labour for the furtherance of the Gospel in, and give him mission to minister the Word therein. In the Name, &c. (Signed) A. B., Bishop of first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give; for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to Then shall the Bishop address the house. And into whatsoever city candidate as follows: N., dost thou, in the sight of GOD and of this congregation, accept this appointment to labour in Candidate. I do. ? ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you : and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of GOD is come nigh unto you. Bishop. Dost thou promise stead- V. But Thou, &c. Ř. Thanks, fastness, faithfulness, charity, and &c. . The harvest truly is plenzeal for souls therein ? teous. Ry. But the labourers are Candidate. I do so promise, the few. Y. Glory, &c. Ry. As it was, LORD being my helper. &c. V. Pray ye therefore the LORD Bishop. GOD, Who hath given of the harvest. Ry. That He will thee a good will, grant thee all send forth labourers into His hargrace and power to fulfil the same, vest. and to persevere unto the end. Ry. Amen. LORD, have mercy, &c. Our FATHER, &c. . I will patiently abide alway. Ry. And will praise Theo more and more. V. My mouth shall daily speak of Thy righteousness and salvation. R. For I know no end thereof. V. I will go forth in the strength of the LORD GOD. Ry. And will make mention of Thy rightcousness only. y. Thou, LORD, hast taught me from my youth up Ry. Therefore will I tell of Thy wondrous works. Forsake me not, O LORD, in my old age, when I am grayheaded. Ry. Until I have showed Thy strength unto this generation, and Thy power unto all them that are yet for to come. LORD, hear, &c. Ry. And until now. let, &c. . Let us pray. 586. Almighty GOD, Who didst send Thine Only-begotten Son into the world for the redemption of mankind, and that the Gospel of His kingdom might be made known unto men through the preaching of His Apostles; send, we pray Thee, Thy HOLY SPIRIT upon this Thy servant whom Thou hast called to labour in Thy vineyard. Anoint him to preach the Gospel to the poor, send him to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the LORD. And grant that he may follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness. Through. 587. O LORD JESU CHRIST, Who shalt judge the quick and the dead at Thine appearing and Thy kingdom; grant that this Thy servant N. may preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine; watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and make full proof of his ministry, that he may obtain the crown of righteousness which Thou the righteous Judge shalt give him in that day. Who livest. 588. O GOD the HOLY GHOST, Who art the Giver of all good gifts, mercifully bestow upon this Thy servant the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and true godliness, and the spirit of Thy holy fear, that in faith and love he may hold fast the form of sound words which has been committed unto him, and giving attendance to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine, may be an example to believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity, so that coming again with abundant fruit from the harvest of souls, he may be counted with them who having turned many to righteousness, shine as the stars for ever and ever. Who, with the FATHER, and the Son, livest. Then shall the Bishop say to the candidate, Receive thou mission and au thority in the Name of the LORD to go forth into the place to do the work of an Evangelist. now committed to thy charge, there The LORD Himself be a lantern unto thy feet, and a light unto thy paths, Himself go before thee and be thy rereward, stablish and comfort thy heart in all trouble and perplexity, and guarding thee from all peril of body and soul, preserve thy going out and coming in. And the peace of GOD, &c. U FORM OF DEGRADATION FROM HOLY ORDERS. No deprivation of any person in Holy In the Name, &c. Forasmuch as N [Bishop, Priest, or Deacon] hath grievously offended against the law of GOD and the ordinances of the Holy Catholic Church, by open and notorious sin, whereof he hath been fully convicted [by his own confession, or by open trial], we therefore, by the counsel and with the assent of the [Diocesan or Provincial] Synod, have met here in the presence of GOD and this congregation, to depose him from the office he has misused, to take from him the trust which he hath violated, to deprive him of the privileges he hath forfeited; and that publicly, that others may be warned in time neither to receive his ministrations nor to follow his example. And that ye may know that this our act is justly and rightly done, the sentence shall now be read in your hearing. Here the Bishop's Secretary, the Ant. Thou shalt be no priest to Me. Ps. 50, vv. 14-23. Offer unto 73. Truly God is loving, &c. seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy GOD. The Chapter. Malachi ii. 1-9. And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto My Name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that My covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared Me, and was afraid before My Name. The law of truth was in his mouth, aud iniquity was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept My ways, but have been partial in the law. ✈. But Thou, O LORD, have mercy upon us. Ry. Thanks be to GOD. . The LORD be with you. Ry. And with thy spirit. R. Let us pray. LORD, have mercy, &c. . O LORD, to us belongeth confusion of face. Ry. For we have sinned against Thee. V. We have sinued, we have done amiss. R7. And have dealt wickedly. . Arise, O GOD, maintain Thine own cause. Ry. Remember how the foolish man blasphemeth Thee daily. . Deliver us, O LORD, from the evil man. Ry. And preserve us from the wicked man. V. Break Thou the power of the ungodly and malicious. Ry. Take away his ungodliness and Thou shalt find none. V. Turn us again, O LORD GOD of hosts. R. Show the light of Thy countenance, and we shall be whole. . O LORD, hear our prayer. Ry. And let our cry come unto Thee. 589. O LORD GOD, Who by Thy Prophet hast said, Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD; Who slewest Nadab and Abihu when they offered strange fire unto Thee; and sentest the sword upon the house of Eli, taking the priesthood from it for the guilt of Hophni and Phinehas; mercifully look upon Thy Church, and impute not unto her the sins of her rebellious children, but raise up in her faithful priests, who shall do according to that which is in Thine heart and in Thy mind; build them a sure house, and cause them to walk before Thine Anointed forever. Through the same our LORD JESUS CHRIST Who. O Almighty GOD, Who into the place of the traitor Judas didst choose Thy faithful servant Matthias to be of the number of the twelve Apostles; grant that Thy Church, being alway preserved from false Apostles, may be ordered and guided by faithful and true pastors; through JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen. [Then shall the deponend (if present), dressed in his ecclesiastical garb, be caused to kneel before the Bishop seated in front of the Altar, who shall say, N., because thou hast violated GOD's law, and profaned His holy things, hast put no difference between the holy and profane, neither showed it between the unclean and the clean, so that GOD is profaned among us; know that thou shalt bear thine iniquity and not come near unto Him, to do the office of a priest unto Him, nor come near to any of His holy things in His holy place, but shalt bear thy shame, and the abominations thou hast committed. If the deponend be a Bishop, then shall the pastoral staff be put into his hands and taken from him again, the Officiant saying, Because thou hast been a hire. ling, and not a shepherd; because the diseased hast thou not strengthened, neither hast thou healed that which was sick, neither hast thou bound up that which was broken, neither hast thou brought again that which was driven away, neither hast thou sought that which was lost, but hast ruled with force and with cruelty; therefore the LORD refuses His flock at thine hand, and causes thee to cease from feeding the flock, and we, in token thereof, take from thee the pastoral staff, and the office of a Bishop in His Church. In the Name, &c. minister at the altar of GOD. In Church the power of binding and the Name, &c. If a Deacon, the Book of the Gospels is put into his hands, and withdrawn, with the words, Because thou hast not obeyed the Gospel of CHRIST, whereof the dispensation was committed unto thee, we take from thee the office of Deacon, and the authority to read that Gospel in the Church. In the Name, &c. Then shall the surplice be taken away, with these words: Because, after escaping the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, thou hast been again entangled therein and overcome, defiling thy garments, we take from thee the white robe, the token of the righteousness of Saints, and therewith all right of ministration in the Church, that others may be warned, and thyself moved to repentance, that thou mayest be washed again from thy sins in the Blood of the Lamb. In the Name, &c. Here note that the deponend shall be degraded successively from each Office in the ministry to which he has attained, beginning with the highest.] [But if the deponend be absent, the Bishop shall proceed as under: Because N. hath violated GOD's law, and profaned His holy things, hath put no difference between the holy and profane, neither showed it between the unclean and the clean, so that GOD is profaned among us; he shall bear his iniquity, and not come near unto GOD, to do the office of a priest unto Him, nor come near to any of His holy things in His holy place, but shall bear his shame, and the abominations he hath committed. Whereas our LORD JESUS CHRIST hath left to the ministers of His loosing, and hath declared of His own mouth that whoso will not hear the Church shall be unto us as a heathen man and a publican, and by His Apostle hath taught us to withdraw from every brother that walketh disorderly, and to put away from us wicked persons; we, by His authority committed to us, hereby deprive N. of all privileges and powers in the ministry of the Church, and depose him from his office of In the Name, &c.] Then, addressing the people, he shall add, Forasmuch as N. is now deposed and thrust out from being a minister unto the LORD, we call on you, brethren, to bear witness unto the fact, and to keep yourselves and others from receiving any ministrations of the Church at his hands, lest ye be partakers of his evil deeds, but to have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. As we do now erase and blot out his name from the register of the clergy of this Church (Here shall the Bishop draw a pen through the name of the deposed clerk on the roll presented to him by an official), in token that if he repent not and amend, GOD will blot out his name out of the Book of Life. Amen. But as GOD, Who hath taken this unfruitful branch away from His Vine, is able to purge it, that it may bring forth much fruit, and to graff it in again; let us pray to Him that He will, of His great mercy, vouchsafe conversion and amendment to our sinful brother, and restore him whole to the Church. Then, all kneeling, shall be said the prayers following ; LORD, have mercy, &c. . I said, LORD, be merciful unto me. R7. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee. y. Turn |