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Thomas the Apostle may be celebrated on 21 December instead of 3 July
Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus (meaning "Twin") was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for disbelieving Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in John 20:28. He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel. He is also believed to have crossed the largest area, which includes the Parthian Empire and India. [5]
"The Incredulity of St Thomas" by Caravaggio
Apostle
Born 1st century AD
Galilee
Died 21 December 72
Mylapore, India [1] [2]
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Assyrian Church of the East
Eastern Orthodox Church
Anglican Communion
Lutheran Church
Respected and honored in Protestant Churches
Canonized Pre-Congregation
Feast July 3 (Roman Catholic Church's Latin, Syriac and Syro-Malabar components, but 21 December in the pre-1970 Roman Calendar) [3]
21 December (Episcopal Church USA)
26 Pashons (Coptic Orthodox Church)
Thomas Sunday (the 1st Sunday after Easter, October 6, and June 30 Synaxis of the Apostles) (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Attributes The Twin, placing his finger in the side of Christ, spear (means of martyrdom), square (his profession, a builder)
Patronage Architects, Builders, India, and others. [4]
1. Thomas in the Gospel of John
Thomas appears in some passages in the Gospel of John. In John 11:16, when Lazarus has just died, the disciples are resisting Jesus' decision to return to Judea, where Jesus' fellow Jews had previously tried to stone him. Jesus is determined, and Thomas says bravely: "Let us also go, that we might die with him" (NIV).
He also speaks at The Last Supper.[Jn. 14:5] Jesus assures his disciples that they know where he is going but Thomas protests that they don't know at all. Jesus replies to this and to Philip's requests with a detailed exposition of his relationship to God the Father.
Andrea del Verrocchio's sculpture showing the incredulity of St. Thomas.
In Thomas' best known appearance in the New Testament, [Jn. 20:24-29] he doubts the resurrection of Jesus and demands to touch Jesus' wounds before being convinced. Caravaggio's painting, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (illustration above), depicts this scene. This story is the origin of the term Doubting Thomas. After seeing Jesus alive (the Bible never states whether Thomas actually touched Christ's wounds), Thomas professed his faith in Jesus, exclaiming "My Lord and my God!" On this account he is also called Thomas the Believer. [6]
2. Name and identity
There is disagreement and uncertainty as to the identity of Saint Thomas. One recent theory is presented in the book The Jesus Family Tomb. The authors, Simcha Jacobovici and Pellegrino, identify him with two of those who were interred in the Talpiot Tomb, "Yehuda son of Yeshua."
2. 1. Twin and its renditions
•The Greek Didymus : in the Gospel of John.[11:16] [20:24] Thomas is more specifically identified as "Thomas, also called the Twin (Didymus)".
•The Aramaic Tau'ma: the name "Thomas" itself comes from the Aramaic word for twin: T'oma (תאומא). Thus the name convention Didymus Thomas thrice repeated in the Gospel of John is in fact a tautology that could potentially be interpreted as omitting the Twin's actual name and may suggest that "Thomas" is a mythical or fictional character.
2. 2. Other names
The Nag Hammadi "sayings" Gospel of Thomas begins: "These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded." Syrian tradition also states that the apostle's full name was Thomas. Some have seen in the Acts of Thomas (written in east Syria in the early 3rd century, or perhaps as early as the first half of the 2nd century) an identification of Saint Thomas with the apostle Judas brother of James, better known in English as Jude. However, the first sentence of the Acts follows the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in distinguishing the apostle Thomas and the apostle Judas son of James. Few texts identify Thomas' other twin, though in the Book of Thomas the Contender, part of the Nag Hammadi library, it is said to be Jesus himself: "Now, since it has been said that you are my twin and true companion, examine yourself…" [7] [8]
St. Thomas depicted in stone, St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church, Hyde Park, Chicago.
2. 3. Veneration as a saint
Thomas is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Church, and the Church of the East.
When the feast of Saint Thomas was inserted in the Roman calendar in the 9th century, it was assigned to 21 December, although the Martyrology of St Jerome had a mention of the Apostle on 3 July, the date to which the Roman celebration was transferred in 1969, so that it would no longer interfere with the major ferial days of Advent. [9] 3 July was the day on which his relics were translated from Mylapore, a place along the coast of the Marina Beach, Chennai in India to the city of Edessa in Mesopotamia. Roman Catholics who follow a pre-1970 calendar and many Anglicans (including members of the Episcopal Church as well as members of the Church of England who worship according to the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer [10] ) still celebrate his feast day on 21 December.
For the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Coptic Orthodox Church, he is remembered each year on Saint Thomas Sunday, which falls on the Sunday after Easter. In addition, the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches celebrate his feast day on October 6 (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, October 6 currently falls on October 19 of the modern Gregorian Calendar). He is also commemorated in common with all of the other apostles on June 30 (July 13), in a feast called the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles. He is also associated with the "Arabian" (or "Arapet") icon of the Theotokos (Mother of God), which is commemorated on September 6 (September 19).
3. Later history
3. 1. Thomas and the Assumption of Mary
St. Thomas receiving the Virgin Mary's girdle from heaven.
Main article: Dormition of the Theotokos
According to The Passing of Mary, a text attributed to Joseph of Arimathaea, [11] Thomas was the only witness of the Assumption of Mary into heaven. The other apostles were miraculously transported to Jerusalem to witness her death. Thomas was left in India, but after her burial he was transported to her tomb, where he witnessed her bodily assumption into heaven, from which she dropped her girdle. In an inversion of the story of Thomas' doubts, the other apostles are skeptical of Thomas' story until they see the empty tomb and the girdle. [12] Thomas' receipt of the girdle is commonly depicted in medieval and pre-Tridentine Renaissance art. [13] [14]
3. 2. Thomas and Syria
"Judas, who is also called Thomas" (Eusebius, H.E. 13.12) has a role in the legend of king Abgar of Edessa (Urfa), for having sent Thaddaeus to preach in Edessa after the Ascension (Eusebius, Historia ecclesiae 1.13; III.1; Ephrem the Syrian also recounts this legend.) In the 4th century the martyrium erected over his burial place brought pilgrims to Edessa. In the 380s, Egeria described her visit in a letter she sent to her community of nuns at home (Itineraria Egeriae):
"we arrived at Edessa in the Name of Christ our God, and, on our arrival, we straightway repaired to the church and memorial of saint Thomas. There, according to custom, prayers were made and the other things that were customary in the holy places were done; we read also some things concerning saint Thomas himself. The church there is very great, very beautiful and of new construction, well worthy to be the house of God, and as there was much that I desired to see, it was necessary for me to make a three days' stay there."
3. 3. Thomas and India
Main article: Christianity in India
St. Thomas is believed to have sailed to India in 52AD to spread the Christian faith among the Cochin Jews, the Jewish diaspora present in Kerala at the time. He landed at the ancient port of Muziris (which became extinct in 1341 AD due to a massive flood which realigned the coasts) near Kodungalloor. He then went to Palayoor (near present-day Guruvayoor), which was a Hindu priestly community at that time. He left Palayoor in AD 52 for the southern part of what is now Kerala State, where he established the Ezharappallikal, or "Seven and Half Churches". These churches are at Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam (Niranam St.Marys Orthodox Church , Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkayal (Paravoor), Palayoor (Chattukulangara) and Thiruvithancode Arappally - the half church. [15] [16]
"It was to a land of dark people he was sent, to clothe them by Baptism in white robes. His grateful dawn dispelled India's painful darkness. It was his mission to espouse India to the One-Begotten. The merchant is blessed for having so great a treasure. Edessa thus became the blessed city by possessing the greatest pearl India could yield. Thomas works miracles in India, and at Edessa Thomas is destined to baptize peoples perverse and steeped in darkness, and that in the land of India." - Hymns of St. Ephraem, edited by Lamy (Ephr. Hymni et Sermones, IV).
Eusebius of Caesarea [17] quotes Origen (died mid-3rd century) as having stated that Thomas was the apostle to the Parthians, but Thomas is better known as the missionary to India through the Acts of Thomas, perhaps written as late as ca 200. In Edessa, where his remains were venerated, the poet Ephrem the Syrian (died 373) wrote a hymn in which the Devil cries,
...Into what land shall I fly from the just?
I stirred up Death the Apostles to slay, that by their death I might escape their blows.
But harder still am I now stricken: the Apostle I slew in India has overtaken me in Edessa; here and there he is all himself.
There went I, and there was he: here and there to my grief I find him. —quoted in Medlycott 1905, ch. ii.
St. Ephraem, the great doctor of the Syrian Church, writes in the forty-second of his "Carmina Nisibina" that the Apostle was put to death in India, and that his remains were subsequently buried in Edessa, brought there by an unnamed merchant. [18]
A Syrian ecclesiastical calendar of an early date confirms the above and gives the merchant a name. The entry reads: "3 July, St. Thomas who was pierced with a lance in India. His body is at Urhai [the ancient name of Edessa] having been brought there by the merchant Khabin. A great festival." It is only natural to expect that we should receive from Edessa first-hand evidence of the removal of the relics to that city; and we are not disappointed, for St. Ephraem, the great doctor of the Syrian Church, has left us ample details in his writings. [18]
A long public tradition in the church at Edessa honoring Thomas as the Apostle of India resulted in several surviving hymns that are attributed to Ephrem, copied in codices of the 8th and 9th centuries. References in the hymns preserve the tradition that Thomas' bones were brought from India to Edessa by a merchant, and that the relics worked miracles both in India and at Edessa. A pontiff assigned his feast day and a king and a queen erected his shrine. The Thomas traditions became embodied in Syriac liturgy, thus they were universally credited by the Christian community there. There is also a legend that Thomas had met the Biblical Magi on his way to India.
According to Eusebius' record, Thomas and Bartholomew were assigned to Parthia and India. [19] [20] The Didascalia (dating from the end of the 3rd century) states, “India and all countries condering it, even to the farthest seas...received the apostolic ordinances from Judas Thomas, who was a guide and ruler in the church which he built.”Moreover, there is a wealth of confirmatory information in the Syriac writings, liturgical books, and calendars of the Church of the East, not to mention the writings of the Fathers, the calendars, the sacramentaries, and the martyrologies of the Roman, Greek and Ethiopian churches. Since trade routes from the East were wide open at the time and were used by early missionaries, there are no circumstantial reasons why Thomas could not have visited India in the 1st century. And his visit is the most plausible explanation for the early appearance of the church there.
An early 3rd-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas connects the apostle's Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in the south. According to one of the legends in the Acts, Thomas was at first reluctant to accept this mission, but the Lord appeared to him in a night vision and said, “Fear not, Thomas. Go away to India and proclaim the Word, for my grace shall be with you.”But the Apostle still demurred, do the Lord overruled the stubborn disciple by ordering circumstances so compelling that he was forced to accompany an Indian merchant, Abbanes, to his native place in northwest India, where he found himself in the service of the Indo-Parthian king, Gondophares. The apostle's ministry resulted in many conversions throughout the kingdom, including the king and his brother.
Critical historians treated this legend as an idle tale and denied the historicity of King Gundaphorus until modern archeology established him as an important figure in North India in the latter half of the 1st century. many coins of his reign have turned up in Afghanistan, the Punjab, and the Indus Valley. Remains of some of his buildings , influenced by Greek architecture, indicate that he was a great builder. Interestingly enough, according to the legend, Thomas was a skilled carpenter and was bidden to build a palace for the king. However, the Apostle decided to teach the king a lesson by devoting the royal grant to acts of charity and thereby laying up treasure for the heavenly abode. Although little is known of the immediate growth of the church, Bar-Daisan (154-223) reports that in his time there were Christian tribes in North India which claimed to have been converted by Thomas and to have books and relics to prove it. But at least by the year of the establishment of the Second Persian Empire (226), there were bishops of the Church of the East in northwest India, Afghanistan and Baluchistan, with laymen and clergy alike engaging in missionary activity.
The Acts of Thomas identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by King Mahadwa, one of the rulers of a 1st-century dynasty in southern India. It is most significant that, aside from a small remnant of the Church of the East in Kurdistan, the only other church to maintain a distinctive identity is the Mar Thoma or “Church of Thomas” congregations along the Malabar Coast of Kerala State in southwest India. According to the most ancient tradition of this church, Thomas evangelized this area and then crossed to the Coromandel Coast of southeast India, where, after carrying out a second mission, he suffered martyrdom near Madras. Throughout the period under review, the church in India was under the jurisdiction of Edessa, which was then under the Mesopotamian patriarchate at Seleucia-Ctesiphon and later at Baghdad and Mosul. Historian Vincent A. Smith says, “It must be admitted that a personal visit of the Apostle Thomas to South India was easily feasible in the traditional belief that he came by way of Socotra, where an ancient Christian settlement undoubtedly existed. I am now satisfied that the Christian church of South India is extremely ancient... ”.
Although there was a lively trade between the Near East and India via Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf, the most direct route to India in the 1st century was via Alexandria and the Red Sea, taking advantage of the Monsoon winds, which could carry ships directly to and from the Malabar coast. The discovery of large hoards of Roman coins of 1st-century Caesars and the remains of Roman trading posts testify to the frequency of that trade. in addition, thriving Jewish colonies were to be found at the various trading centers, thereby furnishing obvious bases for the apostolic witness.
Piecing together the various traditions, one may conclude that Thomas left northwest India when invasion threatened and traveled by vessel to the Malabar coast, possibly visiting southeast Arabia and Socotra enroute and landing at the former flourishing port of Muziris on an island near Cochin (c. AD. 51-52). From there he is said to have preached the gospel throughout the Malabar coast, though the various churches he founded were located mainly on the Periyar River and its tributaries and along the coast, where there were Jewish colonies. He reputedly preached to all classes of people and had about seventeen thousand converts, including members of the four principal castes. Later, stone crosses were erected at the places where churches were founded, and they became pilgrimage centres. In accordance with apostolic custom, Thomas ordained teachers and leaders or elders, who were reported to be the earliest ministry of the Malabar church.
Thomas next proceeded overland to the Coromandel coast and ministered in what is now the Chennai (Madras) area, where a local king and many people were converted. One tradition related that he went from there to China via Malacca and, after spending some time there, returned to the Madras area (Breviary of the Mar Thoma Church in Malabar). Apparently his renewed ministry outraged the Brahmins, who were fearful lest Christianity undermined their social structure, based on the caste system. So according to the Syriac version of the Acts of Thomas, Masdai, the local king at Mylapore, after questioning the apostle condemned him to death about the year AD. 72. Anxious to avoid popular excitement, “for many had believed in our Lord, including some of the nobles,”the king ordered Thomas conducted to a nearby mountain, where, after being allowed to pray, he was then stoned and stabbed to death with a lance wielded by an angry Brahmin. A number of Christians were also persecuted at the same time; when they refused to apostatize, their property was confiscated, so some sixty-four families eventually fled to Malabar and joined that Christian community. [21]
3. 3. 1. Return of the relics
In 232 the relics of the Apostle Thomas are said to have been returned by an Indian king and brought back from India to the city of Edessa, Mesopotamia, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written. The Indian king is named as "Mazdai" in Syriac sources, "Misdeos" and "Misdeus" in Greek and Latin sources respectively, which has been connected to the "Bazdeo" on the Kushan coinage of Vasudeva I, the transition between "M" and "B" being a current one in Classical sources for Indian names. [22] The martyrologist Rabban Sliba dedicated a special day to both the Indian king, his family, and St Thomas:
"Coronatio Thomae apostoli et Misdeus rex Indiae, Johannes eus filius huisque mater Tertia" ("Coronation of Thomas the Apostle, and Misdeus king of India, together with his son Johannes (thought to be a latinization of Vizan) and his mother Tertia") Rabban Sliba [22]
After a short stay in the Greek island of Chios, on September 6, 1258, the relics were transported to the West, and now rest in Ortona, Italy.
Coin of Gondophares IV Sases (mid-1st century).
Obv: King on horseback, corrupted Greek legend. Gondophares monogram
Rev: Zeus, making a benediction sign (Buddhist mudra). Kharoshthi inscription MAHARAJASA MAHATASA TRATARASA DEVAVRADASA GUDAPHARASA SASASA "Great king of kings, divine and saviour, Gondophares Sases", Buddhist trisula symbol.
Southern India had maritime trade with the West since ancient times. Egyptian trade with India and Roman trade with India flourished in the 1st century AD. In AD 47, the Hippalus wind was discovered and this led to direct voyage from Aden to the South Western coast in 40 days. Muziris (Kodungallur) and Nelcyndis or Nelkanda (near Kollam) in South India, are mentioned as flourishing ports, in the writings of Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79). Pliny has given an accurate description of the route to India, the country of Cerebothra (the Cheras). Pliny has referred to the flourishing trade in spices, pearls, diamonds and silk between Rome and Southern India in the early centuries of the Christian era. Though the Cheras controlled Kodungallur port, Southern India belonged to the Pandyan Kingdom, that had sent embassies to the court of Augustus Caesar.
According to Indian Christian tradition, St. Thomas landed in Kodungallur in AD 52, in the company of a Jewish merchant Abbanes (Hebban). There were Jewish colonies in Kodungallur since ancient times and Jews continue to reside in Kerala till today, tracing their ancient history.
According to tradition, at the beginning of the 3rd century, the body of Thomas appeared in Edessa, Mesopotamia, where they had been brought by a merchant coming from India (in that same period appeared the Acts of Thomas). They were kept in a shrine just outside the city, but, in August 394, they were transferred in the city, inside the church dedicated to the saint. In 441, the Magister militum per Orientem Anatolius donated to the church a silver coffin to host the relics. In 1144 the city was conquered by the Zengids and the shrine destroyed. [23]
In AD 522, Cosmas Indicopleustes (called the Alexandrian) visited the Malabar Coast. He is the first traveller who mentions Syrian Christians in Malabar, in his book Christian Topography. He mentions that in the town of "Kalliana" (Quilon or Kollam), there is a bishop consecrated in Persia. Metropolitan Mar Aprem writes, "Most church historians, who doubt the tradition of the doubting Thomas in India, will admit there was a church in India in the middle of the sixth century when Cosmas Indicopleustes visited India." [24]
There is a copper plate grant given to Iravi Korttan, a Christian of Kodungallur (Cranganore), by King Vira Raghava. The date is estimated to be around AD 744. In AD 822, two Nestorian Persian Bishops Mar Sapor and Mar Peroz came to Malabar, to occupy their seats in Kollam and Kodungallur, to look after the local Syrian Christians (also known as St. Thomas Christians).
Shrine of Saint Thomas in Meliapore, 18th century print.
Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller and author of Description of the World, popularly known as Il Milione, is reputed to have visited South India in 1288 and 1292. The first date has been rejected as he was in China at the time, but the second date is accepted by many historians. He is believed to have stopped in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where he documented the tomb of Adam, and Quilon (Kollam) on the western Malabar coast of India, where he met Syrian Christians and recorded their legends of St. Thomas and his miraculous tomb on the eastern Coromandel coast of the country. Il Milione, the book he dictated on his return to Europe, was on its publication condemned as a collection of impious and improbable traveller's tales but it became very popular reading in medieval Europe and inspired Spanish and Portuguese sailors to seek out the fabulous, and possibly Christian, India described in it.
Near Chennai (formerly Madras) in India stands a small hillock called St. Thomas Mount, where the Apostle is said to have been killed in AD 72 (exact year not established). Also to be found in Chennai is the Dioceses of Saint Thomas of Mylapore to which his mortal remains were transferred.
3. 4. Tomb of the Apostle
The Indian tradition, in which elements of the traditions of Malabar, Coromandel and the Persian Church intermingled firmly held that Thomas the Apostle died near the ancient town of Mylapore. His mortal remains were buried in the town and his burial place was situated in the right hand chapel of the Church or house known after his name. The Portuguese excavated it in 1523. A number of scholars who are said to have made an examination of the records stated that the Portuguese excavations were “ unreliable”. [25]
San Thome Basilica, Chennai, India, (as it stands now) is rumoured to be where the body of Thomas the Apostle was originally buried.
Beginning with the Acts of Thomas (c.200), in almost every century there are statements about the existence of his tomb in India. The location of the tomb, as given in the 7th century, is (Calamina or Qalimaya) and Myluph or Meilan (12th-14th centuries). From the end of 14th century onwards there are references to the tomb of the Apostle in Mylapore. [25]
Even before the Portuguese opened the tomb in Mylapore in the 16th century, it was believed to have been the tomb of Saint Thomas and was visited by both Christian and non Christian pilgrims and travelers. Three of the five complete MS copies of Mar Solomon of Basora’s (1222) “Book of the Bees” speak of Mahluph (Mylapore) ” a city in the land of the Indians” where “others say” St. Thomas was buried. [26]
The accounts of Marco Polo (1295), Odoric of Pordenone (Italian Franciscan, 1324,1325), Am’r son of Matthew (Christian Arab writer, 1340), Giovanni de' Marignolli (Papal legate in China, 1394), Nicholas de Conti (Italian merchant, 1425-1430) who visited Mylapore, mentions it as the burial place of the Apostle. [26]
4. St. Thomas Christians
Main articles: Saint Thomas Christians and Syrian Malabar Nasrani
Thomasine Christianity is found in the southern Indian state of Kerala.St Thomas is the founder of Indian Orthodox Church .These churches of Malabar trace their roots back to St. Thomas the Apostle who arrived along the Malabar Coast in the year AD 52. In the Syriac tradition, St. Thomas is referred to as Mar Thoma Sleeha which translate roughly as Lord/Saint Thomas the Apostle.
5. Historical references about Thomas
Many early Christian writings, which belong to centuries immediately following the first Ecumenical Council of 325, exist about Thomas' mission. [5]
•The Acts of Thomas, sometimes called by its full name The Acts of Judas Thomas: 2nd/3rd century (c. 180-230) [27] [28] Gist of the testimony: The Apostles cast lots as to where they should go, and to Thomas, twin brother of Jesus, fell India. Thomas was taken to king Gondophares the ruler of Indo-Parthian Kingdom as an architect and carpenter by Habban. The journey to India is described in detail. After a long residence in the court at Taxila he ordained leaders for the Church, and left in a chariot for the kingdom of Mazdei. According to the Acts of St. Thomas the Kingdom of Mazdai, in the Western India, Indus Valley, was ruled by King Misdeus. Parts of the Indus Valley,was then ruled by Persians called the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. Some Greeks Satraps, the descendents of Alexander the Great, were vassals to the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. [29] [30] The king Misdeus was infuriated when St.Thomas converted the Queen Tertia, son Juzanes, sister-in-law princess Mygdonia (a province of Mesopotamia) and her friend Markia. The King Misdeus led St. Thomas outside the city and ordered four soldiers to take him to the nearby hill where the soldiers speared St. Thomas and killed him. Syphorus was elected the first presbyter by the brethren after the death of St. Thomas while Juzanes the prince became the deacon. The names of the King Misdeus, Tertia, Juzanes, Syphorus, Markia and Mygdonia suggest Greek descent or Hellenised Persian descent [31] There, after performing many miracles, he dies a martyr.. [32] During the rule of Vasudeva I, the Kushan emperor, the bones of St. Thomas were transferred from the Indus Valley to Edessa. These are generally rejected by various Christian religions as either apocryphal or heretical. The two centuries that lapsed between the life of the apostle and recording this work, casts doubt on their authenticity.
•Clement of Alexandria: 3rd century (d.c. 235); Church represented: Alexandrian/Greek Biographical Note : Greek Theologian, b. Athens, 150. [5] Clement makes a passing reference to St. Thomas’ Apostolate in Parthia. This agrees with the testimony which Eusebius records about Pantaenus' visit to India. [5]
A 13th-century Armenian illumination, by Toros Roslin.
•Doctrine of the Apostles[citation needed] 3rd century; Church represented: Syrian [33] “After the death of the Apostles there were Guides and Rulers in the Churches…..They again at their deaths also committed and delivered to their disciples after them everything which they had received from the Apostles;…(also what) Judas Thomas (had written) from India”.
“India and all its own countries, and those bordering on it, even to the farther sea, received the Apostle’s hand of Priesthood from Judas Thomas, who was Guide and Ruler in the Church which he built and ministered there”. In what follows “the whole Persia of the Assyrians and Medes, and of the countries round about Babylon…. even to the borders of the Indians and even to the country of Gog and Magog” are said to have received the Apostles’ Hand of Priesthood from Aggaeus the disciple of Addaeus [34]
•Origen century : 3rd century (185-254?), quoted in Eusebius; Church represented: Alexandrian/ Greek Biographical. Christian Philosopher, b-Egypt, Origen taught with great acclaim in Alexandria and then in Caesarea. [35] He is the first known writer to record the casting of lots by the Apostles. Origen original work has been lost; but his statement about Parthia falling to Thomas has been preserved by Eusebius. “Origen, in the third chapter of his Commentary on Genesis, says that, according to tradition, Thomas’s allotted field of labour was Parthia”. [36]
•Eusebius of Caesarea: 4th century (died 340); Church Represented: Alexandrian/Greek Biographical [37] Quoting Origen, Eusebius says: “When the holy Apostles and disciples of our Saviour were scattered over all the world, Thomas, so the tradition has it, obtained as his portion Parthia….” [38]
•Ephrem: 4th century; Church Represented: Syrian Biographical [39] Many devotional hymns composed by St. Ephraem, bear witness to the Edessan Church’s strong conviction concerning St. Thomas’s Indian Apostolate. There the devil speaks of St. Thomas as “the Apostle I slew in India”. Also “The merchant brought the bones” to Edessa.
In another hymn eulogizing St. Thomas we read of “The bones the merchant hath brought”. “In his several journeyings to India, And thence on his return, All riches, which there he found, Dirt in his eyes he did repute when to thy sacred bones compared”. In yet another hymn Ephrem speaks of the mission of Thomas “The earth darkened with sacrifices’ fumes to illuminate”. “A land of people dark fell to thy lot”, “a tainted land Thomas has purified”; “India’s dark night” was “flooded with light” by Thomas. [40]
•Gregory of Nazianzus: 4th century(died 389); Church Represented: Alexandrian. Biographical Note: Gregory of Nazianzus was born AD 330, consecrated a bishop by his friend St. Basil in 372 his father, the Bishop of Nazianzus induced him to share his charge. In 379 the people of Constantinople called him to be their bishop. By the Orthodox Church he is emphatically called “the Theologian’. [41] “What? were not the Apostles strangers amidst the many nations and countries over which they spread themselves? … Peter indeed may have belonged to Judea; but what had Paul in common with the gentiles, Luke with Achaia, Andrew with Epirus, John with Ephesus, Thomas with India, Mark with Italy?” [42]
•Ambrose of Milan: 4th century (died 397); Church Represented: Western. Biographical Note: St. Ambrose was thoroughly acquainted with the Greek and Latin Classics, and had a good deal of information on India and Indians. He speaks of the Gymnosophists of India, the Indian Ocean, the river Ganges etc., a number of times. [43] “This admitted of the Apostles being sent without delay according to the saying of our Lord Jesus… Even those Kingdoms which were shut out by rugged mountains became accessible to them, as India to Thomas, Persia to Matthew..” [44]
•St. Jerome (342- 420). St. Jerome's testimony : “He (Christ) dwelt in all places: with Thomas in India, Peter at Rome, with Paul in Illyricum.” [5]
•St. Gaudentius (Bishop of Brescia, before 427). St. Gaudentius' testimony: “John at Sebastena, Thomas among the Indians, Andrew and Luke at the city of Patras are found to have closed their careers.” [5]
•St. Paulinus of Nola (died 431). St. Paulinus' testimony :“Parthia receives Mathew, India Thomas, Libya Thaddeus, and Phrygia Philip”. [5]
•St. Gregory of Tours (died 594) St. Gregory's testimony: “Thomas the Apostle, according to the narrative of his martyrdom is stated to have suffered in India. His holy remains (corpus), after a long interval of time, were removed to the city of Edessa in Syria and there interred. In that part of India where they first rested, stand a monastery and a church of striking dimensions, elaborately adorned and designed. This Theodore, who had been to the place, narrated to us.’ [5]
•St. Isidore of Seville in Spain (d. c. 630). St. Isidore's testimony: “This Thomas preached the Gospel of Christ to the Parthians, the Medes, the Persians, the Hyrcanians and the Bactrians, and to the Indians of the Oriental region and penetrating the innermost regions and sealing his preaching by his passion he died transfixed with a lance at Calamina (present Mylapore),a city of India, and there was buried with honour”. [5]
•St. Bede the Venerable (c. 673-735).St. Bede's testimony : “Peter receives Rome, Andrew Achaia; James Spain; Thomas India; John Asia" [5]
5. 1. Saint Thomas Cross
In the 16th century work Jornada, Antonio Gouvea writes of ornate crosses “known as Saint Thomas Cross or Persian Cross". These crosses date from the 6th century and are found in a number of churches in Kerala, Mylapore and Goa. [45] Jornada is the oldest known written document to refer to this type of cross as a St. Thomas Cross. [46] The original term used is “Cruz de San Thome” which literally translates as Cross of St. Thomas. [46] Gouvea also writes about the veneration of the Cross at Cranganore, referring to the cross as "Cross of Christians. [47]
6. Writings Attributed to Thomas
Russian Orthodox icon of St. Thomas the Apostle, with scroll, 18th century (Iconostasis of Transfiguration Church, Kizhi Monastery, Karelia, Russia).
"Let none read the gospel according to Thomas, for it is the work, not of one of the twelve apostles, but of one of Mani's three wicked disciples."
—Cyril of Jerusalem, Cathechesis V (4th century)
In the first two centuries of the Christian era, a number of writings were circulated, which claimed the authority of Thomas, some of them said, perhaps too loosely, to be espousing a Gnostic doctrine, as Cyril was suggesting. It is unclear now why Thomas was seen as an authority for doctrine, although this belief is documented in Gnostic groups as early as the Pistis Sophia (ca AD 250 - 300) which states that the "three witnesses" committing to writing "all of his words" are Thomas, along with Philip and Matthew. In that Gnostic work, Mary Magdalene (one of the disciples) says:
"Now at this time, my Lord, hear, so that I speak openly, for thou hast said to us 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear:' Concerning the word which thou didst say to Philip: 'Thou and Thomas and Matthew are the three to whom it has been given… to write every word of the Kingdom of the Light, and to bear witness to them'; hear now that I give the interpretation of these words. It is this which thy light-power once prophesied through Moses: 'Through two and three witnesses everything will be established. The three witnesses are Philip and Thomas and Matthew" (Pistis Sophia 1:43)
An early, non-Gnostic tradition may lie behind this statement, which also emphasizes the primacy of the Gospel of Matthew in its Aramaic form, over the other canonical three.
Besides the Acts of Thomas there was a widely circulated Infancy Gospel of Thomas probably written in the later 2nd century, and probably also in Syria, which relates the miraculous events and prodigies of Jesus' boyhood. This is the document which tells for the first time the familiar legend of the twelve sparrows which Jesus, at the age of five, fashioned from clay on the Sabbath day, which took wing and flew away. The earliest manuscript of this work is a 6th century one in Syriac. This gospel was first referred to by Irenaeus; Ron Cameron notes: "In his citation, Irenaeus first quotes a non-canonical story that circulated about the childhood of Jesus and then goes directly on to quote a passage from the infancy narrative of the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:49). Since the Infancy Gospel of Thomas records both of these stories, in relative close proximity to one another, it is possible that the apocryphal writing cited by Irenaeus is, in fact, what is now known as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Because of the complexities of the manuscript tradition, however, there is no certainty as to when the stories of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas began to be written down."
The best known in modern times of these documents is the "sayings" document that is being called the Gospel of Thomas, a noncanonical work which some scholars believe may actually predate the writing of the Biblical gospels themselves. [48] The opening line claims it is the work of "Didymos Judas Thomas" - who has been identified with Thomas. This work was discovered in a Coptic translation in 1945 at the Egyptian village of Nag Hammadi, near the site of the monastery of Chenoboskion. Once the Coptic text was published, scholars recognized that an earlier Greek translation had been published from fragments of papyrus found at Oxyrhynchus in the 1890s.
7. See also
•List of Patriarchs of the Church of the East
•Saint Thomas of Mylapur
•São Tomé
•Throne of St. Thomas
8. Further reading
•Glenn W. Most: Doubting Thomas. Cambridge, Mass., London: Harvard University Press, 2005 (a study in the reception of Thomas’ story in literature and art).
9. References
1."Saint Thomas (Christian Apostle) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/592851/Saint-Thomas. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
2."Saint Thomas the Apostle". D. C. Kandathil. http://cs.nyu.edu/kandathi/thomas.html. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
3."Liturgical Calendar: December'". Latin-mass-society.org. http://www.latin-mass-society.org/ordo/ordodec.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
4."Biography of St. Thomas the Apostle". St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. http://www.stapostle.org/index2.php?area=about&data=sthomasbio. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
5.^ "Early references about the Apostolate of Saint Thomas in India, Records about the Indian tradition, Saint Thomas Christians & Statements by Indian Statesmen". Nasrani Syrian Christians Network. 2007-02-16. http://nasrani.net/2007/02/16/references-about-the-apostolate-of-saint-thomas-in-india-records-of-indian-tradition-of-thomas-statements/. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
6.Faith and Character of Apostle Thomas by Dr. Mathew Vellanickal and many other articles in St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia
7.Turner, John D. The Book of Thomas(NHC II,7 138,7-138,12). Retrieved on September 10, 2006
8."L'évangile de Thomas" (in French). http://www3.sympatico.ca/jjosianelegrand/index_fichiers/Evangile_de_Thomas.htm.
9.Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vatricana 1969, p. 96
10."Propers for St. Thomas the Apostle". Commonprayer.org. http://www.commonprayer.org/calend/propers/s_thom.cfm. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
11.Robinson, J. Armitage (2003). Two Glastonbury Legends: King Arthur and St. Joseph of Arimathea, 1926. Kessinger Publishing, p. 33. ISBN 0766177386
12."The Passing of Mary". Ccel.org. 2005-06-01. http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-08/anf08-111.htm#P8673_2825546. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
13.dimus no. 17 (April 2008)St Thomas Receiving the Virgin Mary’s Girdle at her Assumption
14.In imitation of Saint Thomas Aquinas: art, patronage and liturgy within a Renaissance chapel
15.T.K. Joseph (1955). Six St. Thomases Of South India. University of California. p. 27.
16."Nasrani Syrian Christians". Kuzhippallil.com. http://kuzhippallil.com/nsc.html. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
17.' Historia Ecclesiastica, III.1.
18.^ MEDLYCOTT, India and the Apostle St. Thomas (London, 1905).
19.Ananthakrishnan G, (2006-12-26). "Thomas's visit under doubt". Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-926822,prtpage-1.cms. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
20."Thomas The Apostole". Stthoma.com. http://www.stthoma.com/. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
21."kuzhippallil Nasrani Syrian Christians". Kuzhippallil.com. http://kuzhippallil.com/nsc.html. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
22.^ Mario Bussagli, "L'Art du Gandhara", p255
23.J.B. Segal, Edessa 'the Blessed City, Gorgias Press LLC, 2005, ISBN 1-59333-059-6, pp. 174-176, 250.
24.Mar Aprem, The Chaldean Syrian Church of the East, (Date and place of publication not available.)
25.^ "Kerala Syrian Christian, Apostle in India, The tomb of the Apostle, Persian Church, Syond of Diamper - Coonan Cross Oath, Subsequent divisions and the Nasrani People". Nasrani Syrian Christians Network. 2007-02-16. http://nasrani.net/2007/02/13/kerala-syrian-christian-the-tomb-of-the-apostle-persian-church-syond-of-diamper-coonan-cross-oath-divisions/. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
26.^ "‘The Thomas Christians’ by Placid Podipara". Nasrani Syrian Christians Network. 2009-07-07. http://nasrani.net/2009/07/07/the-thomas-christians-by-placid-podipara/. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
27.Dr. Wright (Ed.), Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, London, 1871 (Syriac Text in Vol.1, English translation in Vol. II); Rev. Paul Bedjan, Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum, Vol. III, Leipsic-Paris, 1892.A. E. Medlycott, India and the Apostle Thomas, London 1905, Appendix, pp. 221 -225.
28.The Acts of Thomas
29.Chandragupta Maurya and his times By Radhakumud Mookerji P.28
30.Greek Satrap of Indus Valley. Books.google.co.in. 1966. ISBN 9788120804050. http://books.google.com/?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=greek+satraps&q=greek%20satrap%20. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
31."Acts of St.Thomas". Gnosis.org. http://www.gnosis.org/library/constom.htm#. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
32."Acts of Thomas". Earlychristianwritings.com. 2006-02-02. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/actsthomas.html. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
33.Cardinal Mai, Scriptorum Veterum Nova Collectio, Rome, 1838. W. Cureton, Ancient Syriac Documents, London, 1864: Latin Translation by A. Assemani; Vindobonae, 1856; Didascalia in Coptic, Ethiopic, and Arabic. Also see Medlycott, p. 33 ff.
34.(Cureton, pp. 32, 33, 34). 20th Century Discussions : Medlycott, pp 33-37 alias Menachery, STCEI, II, 20-21, Farquhar, p. 26 ff.
35.Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, 3.1; Patrologia Graeca, Migne Edn., 20.215; Patrologia Latina, Migne, 21.478.
36.Farquhar, p. 30. 20th Century Discussions : Perumalil, pp. 50,51.E. R. Hambye, “Saint Thomas and India”, The Clergy Monthly 16 (1952). Comes, S. J., “Did St. Thomas Really come to India?”, in Menachery (Ed.) STCEI, II. Farquhar, pp. 30,31,
37.Patrologia Graeca (Migne), 19-24., 20.215.
38.J.C. Panjikaran, Christianity in Malabar w.s.r.t. The St. Thomas Christians of the Syro-Malabar Rite, Orientalia Christiana, VI, 2 (23), Roma I, April 1926, p.99 esp. for reference to Pantaenus’ Indian visit.
39.Bickell, S. Ephraemi Syri, Caramina Nisibena, Lipsiae, 1866; Monsignor Lamy, S. Ephraemi Syri Hymni et Sermones, (Quarto 4 vols.); Breviary acc. to the Rite of the Church of Antioch of the Syrians, Mosul, 1886-96. Also See Medlycott, pp. 21-32. Alias Menachery (Ed.) STCEI, II, p. 18 ff.
40.20th Century Discussions : Medlycott, pp.21-32 alias Menachery (Ed.), STCEI, II, p. 18 ff.
41.Homil. XXXII,xi, Contra Arianos et de seipso. Migne, P.G. 36-228.
42.20th Century Discussions : Medlycott, pp, 42,43; Perumalil pp. 43,44.
43.Migne, P-L 140 1143. (Also see 17. 1131, 17.1133, for his Indian knowledge.)
44.20th Century Discussions : Medlycott, pp. 43, 44. Perumalil, pp. 44.45,Perumalil and Menachery (STCEI I, II), Migne Edns.; Wm. A. Jurgens, Faith of the Early Fathers:etc. History of Christianity-Source Materials by M. K. George, CLS, Madras, 1982 and the Handbook of Source Materials by Wm. G. Young.D. Ferroli, The Jesuits in Malabar, Vol. I. Bangalore, 1939, esp. notes and documents p. 71 ff.; W.S. Hunt, The Anglican Church in Travancore and Cochin, Kottayam, 1920, esp. p. 27, p.33 pp. 46-50; G.T. Mackenzie, i.c.s., “History of Christianity in Travancore”, in The Travancore State Manual, Vol-II, Edited by Nagam Aiya, Trivandrum 1906 pp. 135-233; Menachery, STCEI, I, II.
45.Ancient Stone Crosses of Kerala- Saint Thomas Cross, Nazraney Sthambams and other Persian Crosses, NSC Network.
46.^ "Analogical review on Saint Thomas Cross- The symbol of Nasranis-Interpretation of the Inscriptions". Nasrani Syrian Christians Network. 2008-02-29. http://nasrani.net/2008/02/29/analogical-review-on-st-thomas-cross-the-symbol-of-nasranis. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
47."Analogical review on Saint Thomas Cross- The symbol of Nasranis-Interpretation of the Inscriptions". Nasrani.net. http://nasrani.net/2008/02/29/analogical-review-on-st-thomas-cross-the-symbol-of-nasranis. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
48.Lumpkin, Joseph B (2005-02). "The Tao of Thomas", by Joseph Lumpkin. ISBN 9780976099260. http://books.google.com/?id=0mzED5koPUAC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=scholars+believe+Gospel+of+Thomas+predates.
Morning Prayers and Readings:
Morning Prayer from
The Book of Common Prayer
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Saint Thomas, Apostle
The introduction to the service is used on Sundays, and may be used on any occasion. If the Introduction is not used, the service begins with the opening responses.
¶ Introduction
The minister may use a seasonal sentence before using one or more of the penitential sentences.
The minister introduces the service
Dearly beloved [brethren],
the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge
and confess our manifold sins and wickedness;
[and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before
the face of almighty God our heavenly Father;
but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent and
obedient heart;
to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same
by his infinite goodness and mercy.
And although we ought at all times humbly to acknowledge
our sins before God;
yet ought we most chiefly so to do,
when we assemble and meet together
to render thanks for the great benefits that we have
received at his hands,
to set forth his most worthy praise,
to hear his most holy word,
and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary,
as well for the body as the soul.]
Wherefore I pray and beseech you,
as many as are here present,
to accompany me with a pure heart, and humble voice,
unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying [after me]:
(or)
Beloved, we are come together in the presence of almighty God and of the whole company of heaven to offer unto him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship and praise and thanksgiving; to make confession of our sins; to pray, as well for others as for ourselves, that we may know more truly the greatness of God's love and shew forth in our lives the fruits of his grace; and to ask on behalf of all men such things as their well-being doth require.
Wherefore let us kneel in silence, and remember God's presence with us now.
All Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires
of our own hearts.
We have offended against thy holy laws.
We have left undone those things
which we ought to have done;
and we have done those things
which we ought not to have done;
and there is no health in us.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders.
Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults.
Restore thou them that are penitent;
according to thy promises declared unto mankind
in Christ Jesu our Lord.
And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of thy holy name.
Amen.
A priest says
Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who desireth not the death of a sinner,
but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live;
and hath given power, and commandment, to his ministers
to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent,
the absolution and remission of their sins:
he pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent
and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel.
Wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance,
and his Holy Spirit,
that those things may please him which we do at this present;
and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy;
so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
or other ministers may say
Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord,
to thy faithful people pardon and peace,
that they may be cleansed from all their sins,
and serve thee with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
All Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
¶ Morning Prayer
The introduction to the service is used on Sundays, and may be used on any occasion. If the Introduction is not used, the service begins with the opening responses.
These responses are used
O Lord, open thou our lips
All and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
O God, make speed to save us.
All O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
All as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
All The Lord's name be praised.
Venite, exultemus Domino
1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord :
let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving :
and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God :
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are all the corners of the earth :
and the strength of the hills is his also.
5 The sea is his, and he made it :
and his hands prepared the dry land.
6 O come, let us worship, and fall down :
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For he is the Lord our God :
and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
[8 Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts :
as in the provocation,
and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness;
9 When your fathers tempted me :
proved me, and saw my works.
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said :
It is a people that do err in their hearts,
for they have not known my ways.
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath :
that they should not enter into my rest.]
Psalm 95
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalmody
Psalm 92
1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord :
and to sing praises unto thy Name, O most Highest;
2 To tell of thy loving-kindness early in the morning :
and of thy truth in the night-season;
3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the lute :
upon a loud instrument, and upon the harp.
4 For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy works :
and I will rejoice in giving praise for the operations of thy hands.
5 O Lord, how glorious are thy works :
thy thoughts are very deep.
6 An unwise man doth not well consider this :
and a fool doth not understand it.
7 When the ungodly are green as the grass, and when all the workers of wickedness do flourish :
then shall they be destroyed for ever; but thou, Lord, art the most Highest for evermore.
8 For lo, thine enemies, O Lord, lo, thine enemies shall perish :
and all the workers of wickedness shall be destroyed.
9 But mine horn shall be exalted like the horn of an unicorn :
for I am anointed with fresh oil.
10 Mine eye also shall see his lust of mine enemies :
and mine ear shall hear his desire of the wicked that arise up against me.
11 The righteous shall flourish like a palm-tree :
and shall spread abroad like a cedar in Libanus.
12 Such as are planted in the house of the Lord :
shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.
13 They also shall bring forth more fruit in their age :
and shall be fat and well-liking.
14 That they may shew how true the Lord my strength is :
and that there is no unrighteousness in him.
Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord, O my soul; while I live will I praise the Lord :
yea, as long as I have any being, I will sing praises unto my God.
2 O put not your trust in princes, nor in any child of man :
for there is no help in them.
3 For when the breath of man goeth forth he shall turn again to his earth :
and then all his thoughts perish.
4 Blessed is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help :
and whose hope is in the Lord his God;
5 Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is :
who keepeth his promise for ever.
6 Who helpeth them to right that suffer wrong :
who feedeth the hungry.
7 The Lord looseth men out of prison :
the Lord giveth sight to the blind.
8 The Lord helpeth them that are fallen :
the Lord careth for the righteous.
9 The Lord careth for the strangers; he defendeth the fatherless and widow :
as for the way of the ungodly, he turneth it upside down.
10 The Lord thy God, O Sion, shall be King for evermore :
and throughout all generations.
At the end of each psalm these words are said or sung
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Old Testament Reading
First Reading: 2 Samuel 15.17-21
And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off.
And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.
Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile.
Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee.
And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.
Te Deum Laudamus
Either the Te Deum Laudamus (as follows) or Benedicite, omnia opera is said or sung.
We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein.
To thee cherubin and seraphin continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee:
the Father of an infinite majesty;
thine honourable, true and only Son;
also the Holy Ghost the Comforter.
Thou art the King of glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man,
thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death,
thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants,
whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people and bless thine heritage.
Govern them and lift them up for ever.
Day by day we magnify thee;
and we worship thy name, ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded.
New Testament Reading
Second Reading: John 11.1-16
Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.
His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
Benedictus
Either The Benedictus (as follows) or Jubilate Deo (Psalm 100) is said or sung.
1 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel :
for he hath visited, and redeemed his people;
2 And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us :
in the house of his servant David;
3 As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets :
which have been since the world began;
4 That we should be saved from our enemies :
and from the hands of all that hate us;
5 To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers :
and to remember his holy covenant;
6 To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham :
that he would give us,
7 That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies :
might serve him without fear,
8 In holiness and righteousness before him :
all the days of our life.
9 And thou, child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest :
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
10 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people :
for the remission of their sins;
11 Through the tender mercy of our God :
whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us;
12 To give light to them that sit in darkness,
and in the shadow of death :
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1.68-79
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
The Apostles' Creed
All I believe in God the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth:
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Prayers
The Lord be with you.
All And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
All Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
All Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.
All And grant us thy salvation.
O Lord, save the Queen.
All And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Endue thy ministers with righteousness.
All And make thy chosen people joyful.
O Lord, save thy people.
All And bless thine inheritance.
Give peace in our time, O Lord.
All Because there is none other that fighteth for us,
but only thou, O God.
O God, make clean our hearts within us.
All And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
Three Collects are said.
The Collect of the Day
Almighty and everliving God, who for the more confirmation of the faith didst suffer thy holy Apostle Thomas to be doubtful in thy Son’s resurrection; Grant us so perfectly, and without all doubt, to believe in thy Son Jesus Christ, that our faith in thy sight may never be reproved. Hear us, O Lord, through the same Jesus Christ, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore.
All Amen.
The Collect for Peace
O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord,
in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life,
whose service is perfect freedom;
defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies;
that we, surely trusting in thy defence,
may not fear the power of any adversaries;
through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
The Collect for Grace
O Lord, our heavenly Father,
almighty and everlasting God,
who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day;
defend us in the same with thy mighty power;
and grant that this day we fall into no sin,
neither run into any kind of danger,
but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance,
to do always that is righteous in thy sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
The order for the end of the service may include:
¶ hymns or anthems
¶ a sermon
¶ further prayers (which may include prayers from here)
This prayer may be used to conclude the service
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost,
be with us all evermore.
All Amen.
© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2004
All of the official Common Worship publications
**************************************************************
Evening Prayers and Readings:
Evening Prayer from
The Book of Common Prayer
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Saint Thomas, Apostle
The introduction to the service is used on Sundays, and may be used on any occasion. If the Introduction is not used, the service begins with the opening responses.
¶ Introduction
The minister may use a seasonal sentence before using one or more of the penitential sentences.
The minister introduces the service
Dearly beloved [brethren],
the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge
and confess our manifold sins and wickedness;
[and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before
the face of almighty God our heavenly Father;
but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent and
obedient heart;
to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same
by his infinite goodness and mercy.
And although we ought at all times humbly to acknowledge
our sins before God;
yet ought we most chiefly so to do,
when we assemble and meet together
to render thanks for the great benefits that we have
received at his hands,
to set forth his most worthy praise,
to hear his most holy word,
and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary,
as well for the body as the soul.]
Wherefore I pray and beseech you,
as many as are here present,
to accompany me with a pure heart, and humble voice,
unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying [after me]:
(or)
Beloved, we are come together in the presence of almighty God and of the whole company of heaven to offer unto him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship and praise and thanksgiving; to make confession of our sins; to pray, as well for others as for ourselves, that we may know more truly the greatness of God's love and shew forth in our lives the fruits of his grace; and to ask on behalf of all men such things as their well-being doth require.
Wherefore let us kneel in silence, and remember God's presence with us now.
All Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires
of our own hearts.
We have offended against thy holy laws.
We have left undone those things
which we ought to have done;
and we have done those things
which we ought not to have done;
and there is no health in us.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders.
Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults.
Restore thou them that are penitent;
according to thy promises declared unto mankind
in Christ Jesu our Lord.
And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life,
to the glory of thy holy name.
Amen.
A priest says
Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who desireth not the death of a sinner,
but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live;
and hath given power, and commandment, to his ministers
to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent,
the absolution and remission of their sins:
he pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent
and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel.
Wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance,
and his Holy Spirit,
that those things may please him which we do at this present;
and that the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and holy;
so that at the last we may come to his eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
or other ministers may say
Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord,
to thy faithful people pardon and peace,
that they may be cleansed from all their sins,
and serve thee with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
All Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
¶ Evening Prayer
The introduction to the service is used on Sundays, and may be used on any occasion. If the Introduction is not used, the service begins with the opening responses.
These responses are used
O Lord, open thou our lips
All and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
O God, make speed to save us.
All O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
All as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
All The Lord's name be praised.
Psalmody
Psalm 139
1 O Lord, thou hast searched me out, and known me :
thou knowest my down-sitting, and mine up-rising; thou understandest my thoughts long before.
2 Thou art about my path, and about my bed :
and spiest out all my ways.
3 For lo, there is not a word in my tongue :
but thou, O Lord, knowest it altogether.
4 Thou hast fashioned me behind and before :
and laid thine hand upon me.
5 Such knowledge is too wonderful and excellent for me :
I cannot attain unto it.
6 Whither shall I go then from thy Spirit :
or whither shall I go then from thy presence?
7 If I climb up into heaven, thou art there :
if I go down to hell, thou art there also.
8 If I take the wings of the morning :
and remain in the uttermost parts of the sea;
9 Even there also shall thy hand lead me :
and thy right hand shall hold me.
10 If I say, Peradventure the darkness shall cover me :
then shall my night be turned to day.
11 Yea, the darkness is no darkness with thee, but the night is as clear as the day :
the darkness and light to thee are both alike.
12 For my reins are thine :
thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
13 I will give thanks unto thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made :
marvellous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well.
14 My bones are not hid from thee :
though I be made secretly, and fashioned beneath in the earth.
15 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect :
and in thy book were all my members written;
16 Which day by day were fashioned :
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How dear are thy counsels unto me, O God :
O how great is the sum of them!
18 If I tell them, they are more in number than the sand :
when I wake up I am present with thee.
19 Wilt thou not slay the wicked, O God :
depart from me, ye blood-thirsty men.
20 For they speak unrighteously against thee :
and thine enemies take thy Name in vain.
21 Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee :
and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22 Yea, I hate them right sore :
even as though they were mine enemies.
23 Try me, O God, and seek the ground of my heart :
prove me, and examine my thoughts.
24 Look well if there be any way of wickedness in me :
and lead me in the way everlasting.
At the end of each psalm these words are said or sung
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Old Testament Reading
First Reading: Job 42.1-6
Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Magnificat
Either the Magnificat (as follows) or Cantate Domino (Psalm 98) is said or sung.
1 My soul doth magnify the Lord :
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
2 For he hath regarded :
the lowliness of his handmaiden.
3 For behold, from henceforth :
all generations shall call me blessed.
4 For he that is mighty hath magnified me :
and holy is his Name.
5 And his mercy is on them that fear him :
throughout all generations.
6 He hath shewed strength with his arm :
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
7 He hath put down the mighty from their seat :
and hath exalted the humble and meek.
8 He hath filled the hungry with good things :
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
9 He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel :
as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.
Luke 1.46-55
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
New Testament Reading
Second Reading: 1 Peter 1.3-12
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
Nunc dimittis
Either the Nunc dimittis (as follows) or Deus misereatur (Psalm 67) is said or sung.
1 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace :
according to thy word.
2 For mine eyes have seen :
thy salvation;
3 Which thou hast prepared :
before the face of all people;
4 To be a light to lighten the Gentiles :
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Luke 2.29-32
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
The Apostles' Creed
All I believe in God the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth:
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Prayers
The Lord be with you.
All And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
All Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
All Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.
All And grant us thy salvation.
O Lord, save the Queen.
All And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Endue thy ministers with righteousness.
All And make thy chosen people joyful.
O Lord, save thy people.
All And bless thine inheritance.
Give peace in our time, O Lord.
All Because there is none other that fighteth for us,
but only thou, O God.
O God, make clean our hearts within us.
All And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
Three Collects are said.
The Collect of the Day
Almighty and everliving God, who for the more confirmation of the faith didst suffer thy holy Apostle Thomas to be doubtful in thy Son’s resurrection; Grant us so perfectly, and without all doubt, to believe in thy Son Jesus Christ, that our faith in thy sight may never be reproved. Hear us, O Lord, through the same Jesus Christ, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore.
All Amen.
The Collect for Peace
O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels,
and all just works do proceed;
give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give;
that both, our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments,
and also that, by thee,
we being defended from the fear of our enemies
may pass our time in rest and quietness;
through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
All Amen.
The Collect for Aid against all Perils
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord;
and by thy great mercy defend us
from all perils and dangers of this night;
for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
All Amen.
The order for the end of the service may include:
¶ hymns or anthems
¶ a sermon
¶ further prayers (which may include prayers from here)
This prayer may be used to conclude the service
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost,
be with us all evermore.
All Amen.
© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2004
All of the official Common Worship publications are
**************************************************************
Night Prayers and Readings:
An Order for Night Prayer
(Compline) in Traditional Language
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Saint Thomas, Apostle
Note
The ancient office of Compline derives its name from a Latin word meaning 'completion' (completorium). It is above all a service of quietness and reflection before rest at the end of the day. It is most effective when the ending is indeed an ending, without additions, conversation or noise. If there is an address, or business to be done, it should come first. If the service is in church, those present depart in silence; if at home, they go quietly to bed.
For further Notes, see here.
Preparation
The Lord almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
All Amen.
[Brethren,] be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
whom resist, steadfast in the faith.
1 Peter 5.8,9
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us.
All Thanks be to God.
Our help is in the name of the Lord
All who hath made heaven and earth.
A period of silence for reflection on the past day may follow.
The following or other suitable words of penitence may be used
All We confess to God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost,
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
through our own grievous fault.
Wherefore we pray God to have mercy upon us.
Almighty God, have mercy upon us,
forgive us all our sins and deliver us from all evil,
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness,
and bring us to life everlasting;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
A priest may say
May the almighty and merciful Lord
grant unto you pardon and remission of all your sins,
time for amendment of life,
and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit.
All Amen.
O God, make speed to save us.
All O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
All as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
All The Lord's name be praised.
The following or another suitable hymn may be sung
Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world we pray,
That with thy wonted favour thou
Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.
From all ill dreams defend our eyes,
From nightly fears and fantasies;
Tread underfoot our ghostly foe,
That no pollution we may know.
O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.
The Word of God
Psalmody
One or more of the following psalms may be used
Psalm 4
1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness :
thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble;
have mercy upon me, and hearken unto my prayer.
2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye blaspheme mine honour :
and have such pleasure in vanity, and seek after leasing?
3 Know this also, that the Lord hath chosen to himself
the man that is godly :
when I call upon the Lord, he will hear me.
4 Stand in awe, and sin not :
commune with your own heart, and in your chamber, and be still.
5 Offer the sacrifice of righteousness :
and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There be many that say :
Who will shew us any good?
7 Lord, lift thou up :
the light of thy countenance upon us.
8 Thou hast put gladness in my heart :
since the time that their corn, and wine, and oil increased.
9 I will lay me down in peace, and take my rest :
for it is thou, Lord, only, that makest me dwell in safety.
Psalm 31.1-6
1 In thee, O Lord, have I put my trust :
let me never be put to confusion, deliver me in thy righteousness.
2 Bow down thine ear to me :
make haste to deliver me.
3 And be thou my strong rock, and house of defence :
that thou mayest save me.
4 For thou art my strong rock, and my castle :
be thou also my guide, and lead me for thy name's sake.
5 Draw me out of the net, that they have laid privily for me :
for thou art my strength.
6 Into thy hands I commend my spirit :
for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.
Psalm 91
1 Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the Most High :
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say unto the Lord, Thou art my hope, and my stronghold :
my God, in him will I trust.
3 For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunter :
and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall defend thee under his wings,
and thou shalt be safe under his feathers :
his faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night :
nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 For the pestilence that walketh in darkness :
nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy right hand :
but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Yea, with thine eyes shalt thou behold :
and see the reward of the ungodly.
9 For thou, Lord, art my hope :
thou hast set thine house of defence very high.
10 There shall no evil happen unto thee :
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee :
to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee in their hands :
that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder :
the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him :
I will set him up, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will hear him :
yea, I am with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and bring him to honour.
16 With long life will I satisfy him :
and shew him my salvation.
Psalm 134
1 Behold now, praise the Lord :
all ye servants of the Lord;
2 Ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord :
even in the courts of the house of our God.
3 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary :
and praise the Lord.
4 The Lord that made heaven and earth :
give thee blessing out of Sion.
At the end of the psalmody, the following is said or sung
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Scripture Reading
One of the following short lessons or another suitable passage is read
Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not, O Lord our God.
Jeremiah 14.9
(or)
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11.28-30
(or)
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13.20,21
All Thanks be to God.
The following responsory may be said
Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
All Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
For thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.
All I commend my spirit.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
All Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
Keep me as the apple of an eye.
All Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.
Gospel Canticle
The Nunc dimittis (The Song of Simeon) is said or sung
All Preserve us, O Lord, while waking,
and guard us while sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ,
and asleep we may rest in peace.
1 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace :
according to thy word.
2 For mine eyes have seen :
thy salvation;
3 Which thou hast prepared :
before the face of all people;
4 To be a light to lighten the Gentiles :
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Luke 2.29-32
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
All Preserve us, O Lord, while waking,
and guard us while sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ,
and asleep we may rest in peace.
Prayers
Lord, have mercy upon us.
All Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
All Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Blessed art thou, Lord God of our fathers:
All to be praised and glorified above all for ever.
Let us bless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost:
All let us praise him and magnify him for ever.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven:
All to be praised and glorified above all for ever.
The almighty and most merciful Lord guard us and give us his blessing.
All Amen.
[Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us;
All that thy people may rejoice in thee?
O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us;
All and grant us thy salvation.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin;
All O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, hear our prayer;
All and let our cry come unto thee.]
Let us pray.
One or more of the following Collects is said
Visit, we beseech thee, O Lord, this place,
and drive from it all the snares of the enemy;
let thy holy angels dwell herein to preserve us in peace;
and may thy blessing be upon us evermore;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord;
and by thy great mercy defend us
from all perils and dangers of this night;
for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
All Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God,
who at this evening hour didst rest in the sepulchre,
and didst thereby sanctify the grave
to be a bed of hope to thy people:
make us so to abound in sorrow for our sins,
which were the cause of thy passion,
that when our bodies lie in the dust,
our souls may live with thee;
who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost,
one God, world without end.
All Amen.
Look down, O Lord, from thy heavenly throne,
illuminate the darkness of this night with thy celestial brightness,
and from the sons of light banish the deeds of darkness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
Be present, O merciful God,
and protect us through the silent hours of this night,
so that we who are wearied
by the changes and chances of this fleeting world,
may repose upon thy eternal changelessness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All Amen.
The Conclusion
We will lay us down in peace and take our rest.
All For it is thou, Lord, only that makest us dwell in safety.
Abide with us, O Lord,
All for it is toward evening and the day is far spent.
As the watchmen look for the morning,
All so do we look for thee, O Christ.
[Come with the dawning of the day
All and make thyself known in the breaking of bread.]
The Lord be with you
All and with thy spirit.
Let us bless the Lord.
All Thanks be to God.
The almighty and merciful Lord,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost,
bless us and preserve us.
All Amen.
© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000-2004
All of the official Common Worship
**************************************************************
The Book of Common Prayer Daily Office Lectionary
Book of Common Prayer Daily Office Lectionary
December 21
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Dec 21
Dec 22 >>
4 Advent
Ps. 66, 67; Ps. 116, 117; Isa. 11:10-16; Rev. 20:11-21:8; Luke 1:5-25
Psalm 66
How Awesome Are Your Deeds
To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
66:1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
4 All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will perform my vows to you,
14 that which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on [1] my tongue. [2]
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
Psalm 67
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2 that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
6 The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Psalm 116
I Love the Lord
116:1 I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I believed, even when [3] I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my alarm,
“All mankind are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117
The Lord's Faithfulness Endures Forever
117:1 Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
Isaiah 11:10-16
10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, [4] from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
12 He will raise a signal for the nations
and will assemble the banished of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
and together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites shall obey them.
15 And the Lord will utterly destroy [5]
the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching breath, [6]
and strike it into seven channels,
and he will lead people across in sandals.
16 And there will be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant that remains of his people,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.
Revelation 20:11-21:8
Judgment Before the Great White Throne
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
The New Heaven and the New Earth
21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place [7] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, [8] and God himself will be with them as their God. [9] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Luke 1:5-25
Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, [10] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Footnotes
[1] 66:17 Hebrew under
[2] 66:17 Or and he was exalted with my tongue
[3] 116:10 Or believed, indeed; Septuagint believed, therefore
[4] 11:11 Probably Nubia
[5] 11:15 Hebrew devote to destruction
[6] 11:15 Or wind
[7] 21:3 Or tabernacle
[8] 21:3 Some manuscripts peoples
[9] 21:3 Some manuscripts omit as their God
[10] 1:5 Greek Zacharias
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotation information. Purchase an ESV. Comments? webmaster@gnpcb.org. Audio problems? Update Flash or try MP3s. Audio read by David Cochran Heath. Copyright© Crossway Bibles.
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