A Manual
for
Acolytes
The Duties of the Server At Liturgical Celebrations
DENNIS G. MICHNO
With illustrations by Richard E. Mayberry
Appendix A of this book contains “A Form for the Commissioning of Servers at the Altar” from The Book of Occasional Services, published by The Church Hymnal Corporation, and used by permission of The Church Pension Fund.
Copyright © 1981 Dennis G. Michno
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
Morehouse Publishing
Editorial Office 871 Ethan Allen Highway Ridgefield, CT 06877
Corporate Office P.O. Box 1321 Harrisburg, PA 17105
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 80-81096
Printed in the United States of America
Sixth Printing, 1995
To the Glory of God
and in memory of
Harold Louis Wright, Bishop
Robert Lewis Meaney, Priest
&
Robert Morgan Gilday
They served, and serve, in love, with faithfulness and loyalty.
Acknowledgements
My thanks to the Rev. R. DeWitt Mallary, Jr., and the Rev. Charles W. Scott for their patience and helpful suggestions; to Judith de Posz for intensive proofreading and special work on the glossary; to John Hoppe for encouragement and ideas; and to Evelyn P. Mallary, whose gentle push and fervent prayers helped bring this manual to light.
DGM
Table of Contents
Part One: An Introduction to Serving
Chapter 1 How To Use This Manual
Chapter 2 The Server’s Prayers
Chapter 3 General Instructions
Chapter 4 The Vesting of Servers
Chapter 5 The Lighting of Candles
Chapter 6 The Extinguishing of Candles
Chapter 7 Before the Eucharist
Chapter 8 An Outline of the Eucharist
Chapter 9 Basic Instructions and Duties of the Server at the Eucharist
Part Three: Specific Duties at the Eucharist
Chapter 10 When There Is More Than One Server
Chapter 14 The Daily Offices: Morning or Evening Prayer
Chapter 15 An Order of Worship for the Evening
Chapter 16 Holy Baptism; Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage; Burial of the Dead
Chapter 18 Proper Liturgies for Special Days
Appendix A: A Form for the Commissioning of Servers at the Altar
Preface
“THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED”
The Book of Common Prayer states, At all celebrations of the Liturgy, it is fitting that the principal celebrant, whether bishop or priest, be assisted by other priests, and by deacons and lay persons. (BCP, 322 & 354)
When serving at the altar, one is doing just this: actively assisting the celebrant in the worship of God. This is an important ministry and should be approached with dignity, humility, and care. The server should be well acquainted with the responsibilities and perform the duties with diligence. Sloppiness is to be avoided; stiff or artificial movement is to be avoided; careless or unseemly behavior is to be avoided. In all things, the server must be aware that the purpose in assisting at the altar is “that God may be glorified.”
This manual is designed to describe those duties expected of you as a server. Server means one who assists—the terms acolyte, crucifer, and thurifer (as used in this manual) apply to specific responsibilities. No manual can be complete, inasmuch as the custom or use of each parish church varies. However, there are basic directions that apply, governed either by the rubrics of The Book of Common Prayer or by tradition. In all things, the specific manner in which one serves and the ceremonial used is determined by the parish priest or the person appointed for this purpose. Most of what will be expected of you can be found in this manual. Also, there may be ceremonies or duties described here that are not part of your parish liturgical life. These are listed as “optional variants” in the main chapter on serving (Chapter 9), and identified by “in some places …” in other parts of the manual. Again, your priest will instruct