Understanding Episcopal Liturgy | ST. PAUL'S SYRACUSE

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Understanding Episcopal Liturgy

Answers to your favorite questions about worship.

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One

What is the reason one of the worship leaders carries the big book with the gold cover into worship during the procession?

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Four

What is the reason the entire congregation shares wine from just one or two chalices during communion? Wouldn't it be better to pour it into tiny little cups the way they do at the church down the street?

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Two

What is the reason the priest wears a white stole for the Feast of the Transfiguration, but then wears a purple stole during Advent, and green or red stoles at other times?

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Five

What is the reason the priest or bishop is always the last person in the procession?

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Three

What is the reason the priest and other worship leaders wear robes during worship?

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Six

What is the reason the congregation is invited to stand for the Eucharistic Prayer?

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Seven

What is the reason we recite the Nicene Creed?

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Ten

What is the reason we have communion every Sunday?

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Eight

I have noticed the congregation stands during the procession at the beginning of worship, and then again during the procession out of the nave at the end of worship. What is the reason the congregation stands during these processions?

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Eleven

What is the reason the priest and other people bow as they approach the altar?

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Nine

What is the reason our Gospel lesson comes from Matthew almost every week?

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Twelve

Is it a problem if I don't say the right words or don't hold my hands the right way when I am receiving the communion bread?

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Thirteen

What is the reason the Gospel is read from the center of the Nave?

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Sixteen

People keep talking about 'The Nave'. What is The Nave?

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Fourteen

What is the reason we are using the traditional form of the Lord's Prayer?

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Seventeen

Why do we use unleavened bread for communion? Why do we use leavened bread for communion?

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Fifteen

Year C: What is the reason our Gospel lesson comes from Luke each week?

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Eighteen

Why do we use purple as the color for Advent?

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Nineteen

Why are some of our prayers called 'collects'?

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Twenty Two

What is the reason we are saying this new form of The Lord's Prayer?

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Twenty

Why do we sing this piece of music every week? Why is it called a canticle?

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Twenty Three

What is the reason our worship service is called a 'liturgy'?

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Twenty One

Why don't we applaud at the end of the organ postlude?

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Twenty Four

What is the reason we sing this hymn, called 'The Sanctus', during the Eucharistic Prayer?

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Twenty Five

I noticed there are places in the Book of Common Prayer

(p. 304) where we talk about being members of the holy catholic church...

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Twenty Eight

When the Eucharistic Minister offers the bread or the wine, they say words of institution, such as "The Bread of Heaven"...

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Twenty Six

Why don't we use the word 'Alleluia' in worship during Lent?

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Twenty Nine

Where do the Prayers of the People come from? It seems like they change every two or three weeks. Why?

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Twenty Seven

What is the reason the priest wears a purple stole and the altar is covered with a purple cloth during Lent?

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Thirty

What is the Easter Vigil?

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Thirty One

What is the reason for the large, single candle lit and placed in the center of the chancel during the Easter season?

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Thirty Four

When the Eucharistic Minister offers the bread or the wine, they say words of institution, such as "The Bread of Heaven"...

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Thirty Two

Why do we allow young children to participate in communion?

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Thirty Five

Why do we sing or say one of the Psalms each week during worship?

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Thirty Three

What is the reason the processions at the beginning, middle, and end of worship are led by a person carrying a processional cross?

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Thirty Six

What is The Deeper History of the Place Where We Meet

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Thirty Seven

Why is the hymn before the Gospel called 'The Gradual Hymn'?

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Forty

Who are the members of St. Paul's Church?

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Thirty Eight

What is 'The Anamnesis'?

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Forty One

What is the Collect for Purity? What happened to the Canticle we were singing each Sunday at the beginning of worship?

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Thirty Nine

What is the reason we have a prayer list at the back of the leaflet? Who are the people on this list? What should I do to add a name to the prayer list?

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Forty Two

Why is the second half of the worship service called 'The Great Thanksgiving'?

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Forty Three

Why do we use white as the color for the altar frontal for All Saints Day?

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Forty Six

Why do some people address our priest as 'Father Philip'?

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Forty Four

Do Episcopalians believe in the doctrine of transubstantiaiton?

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Forty Seven A

What is the reason the priest and eucharistic ministers make the sign of the cross near the end of the eucharistic prayer?

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Forty Five

Where do our Eucharistic Prayers come from?

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Forty Seven B

What is the reason people make the sign of the cross on their chest as they enter the worship space and at specific points during worship?

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Forty Eight

Why is the last Sunday in the church year called 'Christ the King Sunday'?

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Fifty One

Why don't we sing 'Amen' at the end of each hymn, as was common forty or fifty years ago?

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Forty Nine

Why does the priest put on that fancy, poncho-shaped robe at the beginning of the communion?

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Fifty Two

Why do we have periods of silence during worship?

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Fifty

What is the reason this day in our church calendar is called Pentecost?

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Fifty Three

What is the reason we say the confession almost every Sunday?

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Fifty Four

Why is the last Sunday in the church year called 'Christ the King Sunday'?

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Fifty Seven

Coming Soon...

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Fifty Five

Why does the priest put on that fancy, poncho-shaped robe at the beginning of the communion?

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Fifty Eight

Coming Soon...

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Fifty Six

Coming Soon...

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Fifty Nine

Coming Soon...

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