Biddings and collects used in the Good Friday service (BCP, pp. 277-280). It includes biddings for the church throughout the world, for all nations and peoples of the earth, for those who suffer in body or mind, and for those who have not received the gospel of Christ. The biddings of the solemn collects may be read by a deacon or other person appointed. After a period of silence, each bidding is concluded by the celebrant with a collect. The biddings may be adapted at the discretion of the celebrant. The Altar Book provides musical settings for the biddings.
The solemn collects are derived from the most ancient western form of the prayers of the people. The biddings date from the third or fourth century, and the collects date from the fifth century. The ancient solemn collects appear in the Gelasian and Gregorian sacramentaries. The practice of kneeling for the bidding and standing for the collect dates from the sixth century. The BCP states that the people may be directed to stand or kneel for the solemn collects. The 1549 BCP included two collects that were derived from the ancient solemn collects. The 1979 BCP is the first Prayer Book to restore the solemn collects to the Good Friday liturgy. .
