the 5th of

The four occasional forms of prayer, to be offices for used on the 5th of November, &c., were not Nov. &c. included in the Prayer Book of 1662, nor in the act of uniformity of Charles II. The religious commemoration of the 30th of January, the 29th of May, and the 5th of November, was sanctioned by several acts of parliament passed in the reign of Charles II.: and the offices for those three days, though never ratified by Parliament, were approved by Convocation in the year 1662. But the two former of these offices were altered at the beginning of the reign of James II., under the direction of Archbishop Sancroft; and that for the 5th of November received important additions, which were the work of Bishop Patrick, at the accession of William III.: and in neither case does the Convocation appear to have been consulted. The day of the sovereign's accession has been observed in the Church with special prayers and thanksgivings for nearly three centuries: but it has never been set apart by any act of Parliament or Convocation; and the service appointed for that day depends solely on the authority of the royal proclamation issued at the commencement of each reign'.

1 Clay's Book of Common Prayer illustrated, Pref. p. xv.

SECTION VIII.

CONSECRATIONS AND ORDINATIONS.

A

FTER the publication of the Book of Common Prayer in 1549, Cranmer and his colleagues prepared the Ordinal, or book of offices for the consecration of bishops and ordination of priests and deacons, which was published by authority of parliament, in 1550. This book remained without material alteration till 1662, when it was appended to the Prayer Book. The offices in this book are in many respects modelled upon the ancient formularies; but the only portion which requires particular notice on this account is the hymn called Veni, Creator Spiritus. This sublime composition, which is very inadequately represented by any English version or paraphrase, has generally been ascribed to St Ambrose. The original is here transcribed, as a good example of the ancient Christian hymnology: Veni, Creator Spiritus, Mentes tuorum visita: Imple superna gratia Quæ tu creasti pectora.

Qui Paraclitus diceris,
Donum Dei altissimi:
Fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
Et spiritalis unctio.

8

INDEX.