Glossary of Terms
Prayer Book for Soldiers and Sailors, A
This small volume of ninety-one pages was published by the Army and Navy Commission of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1941. It was sent as a gift to those serving in the army and navy as a “reminder that the Church follows you into the Service with deep interest.” It contained An Order of Worship, […]
Prayer Book Preface
The Preface printed in every edition of the American BCP is an abbreviated form of the Preface prepared for the Proposed BCP of 1786 by the Rev. Dr. William Smith, then rector at Chestertown, Maryland, and founder of Washington College in that town. The second and third paragraphs and a portion of the fourth are […]
Prayer Book Studies
A series of booklets issued by the Standing Liturgical Commission beginning in 1950 making proposals for the revision of the BCP. Prayer Book Studies 16 proposed the method adopted to produce the 1979 revision of the BCP. Prayer Book Studies 17-28 were drafts of services for that revision. In 1975-76 several unnumbered Studies containing additional […]
Prayer Desk
See Litany Desk; see Prie-Dieu.
Prayer, Principal Kinds of
The principal kinds of prayer include adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession, and petition. (see BCP, pp. 856-857, and individual entries for each of the principal kinds of prayer).
Prayers of the People
The BCP uses the title “Prayers of the People” for the oratio fidelium or general intercessions in the eucharist. Such prayers have a long and venerable history. Their existence was first mentioned by Justin Martyr about the year 150, and for centuries they formed a vital part of the Daily Office and eucharistic liturgy. In […]
Prayers We Have in Common
See International Consultation on English Texts (ICET) (1969).
Pre-Lenten Season
The observance of a period of a few weeks in preparation for Lent. Septuagesima Sunday was the first Sunday of the Pre-Lenten season. It was the third Sunday before Lent and the ninth Sunday before Easter. The name literally indicated seventy days before Easter. This was inaccurate since this Sunday fell sixty-four days before Easter. […]
Pre-Sanctified, Mass of the
Celebration of communion with previously consecrated eucharistic elements, in a eucharistic liturgy without a prayer of consecration. It makes possible eucharistic sharing on days of fasting when the eucharist is not celebrated. In the Byzantine Rite, the liturgy of the pre-sanctified is used on weekdays during Lent (usually on Wednesdays and Fridays) when the eucharist […]
Preacher
The one who preaches the sermon. In some Protestant churches, the term is used as a title for a member of the clergy. See Preaching.
Preaching
The event and act of proclaiming the Word of God through a sermon or homily. Preaching interprets the gospel tradition in light of faith and in the context of the liturgical and pastoral occasion of the service. The sermon draws together the life of the parish community, the life of the preacher, and the lives […]
Preaching Bands
See Preaching Tabs.
Preaching Gown
A long, flowing black garment that may be worn by the preacher with cassock and preaching tabs. It may have full, bell-shaped sleeves, and velvet bands.
Preaching Scarf
See Tippet.
Preaching Station
A location where worship services occur. These services may take place on a regular or an irregular basis. The place of meeting may or may not be set apart for church services on a permanent basis. Preaching stations are frequently located in areas of mission development. They may be served by one or more members […]
Preaching Tabs
White starched tabs that may be worn over the neck of the cassock, making an inverted “V” shape. They are also known as preaching bands. They may be worn by a preacher who is not the celebrant at the eucharist.
Prebend
A cathedral benefice, defined in English canon law as an endowment in land or pension in money, was given to a cathedral for maintenance of a secular priest or regular canon. Since the nineteenth century, incomes of prebends have been transferred to the Ecclesiastical Commission of the Church of England. The income is no longer […]
Prebendary
Unknown in America, a prebendary in the Church of England is basically an honorary title given to the holder of a prebend. The income of a prebend is now paid to the Ecclesiastical Commission for the benefit of all the clergy. Prior to the nineteenth century the income was paid to the prebendary.
Precedence, Rules of
The calendar of the church year provides rules of precedence concerning principal feasts, Sundays, holy days, days of special devotion, and days of optional observance (BCP, pp. 15-18). These rules determine which feast or observance has priority. The seven principal feasts (Easter Day, Ascension Day, the Day of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, All Saints' Day, Christmas […]
Precentor
1) The music director of a cathedral, monastic, or collegiate church. 2) The cantor or singer who introduces a chant. The term is from the Latin, “to sing before.”
Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.