I Serve at God's Altar: The Ministry of Acolytes

Dedication

In loving memory of the Reverend Larry Jackson, my first acolyte master, and in grateful thanksgiving for the life

and ministry of the Reverend Robert Fain, my current one. —Roger

In thanksgiving for all the acolytes at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wilton, Connecticut. —Sharon

Copyright © 2018 by Roger A. Speer Jr. and Sharon Ely Pearson

Illustrations © 2018 Roger A. Speer Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. Permission to duplicate pages within the appendix is granted for local church or school use.

Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Passages marked NIV are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Church Publishing

19 East 34th Street

New York, NY 10016

www.churchpublishing.org

Cover art by Roger A. Speer Jr.

Cover design by Jennifer Kopec, 2Pug Design

Typeset by Rose Design

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Speer, Roger A., Jr., author.

Title: I serve at God’s altar : the ministry of acolytes / Roger A. Speer Jr., Sharon Ely Pearson.

Description: New York : Church Publishing, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018028366 (print) | LCCN 2018036307 (ebook) | ISBN 9781640651241 (ebook) | ISBN 9781640651234 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Acolytes--Episcopal Church.

Classification: LCC BX5948 (ebook) | LCC BX5948 .S64 2018 (print) | DDC 264/.03--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018028366

Printed in the United States of America

Conten

ts

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONEA New Order

CHAPTER TWOWhy We Serve

CHAPTER THREEHow We Worship

CHAPTER FOURAn Instructed Eucharist in Word and Image

CHAPTER FIVEArtifacts and Memorials

CHAPTER SIXMovements and Standards

CHAPTER SEVENBuilding an Order

CHAPTER EIGHTAn Acolyte’s Way of Life

APPENDIX

Making This Work

The Ministry of the Acolyte

Crafting Your Way of Life

Crafting Your Program Mission Statement

Mapping Out Your Choreography

Administrative Helps

A Sample Acolyte Retreat

A Guided Eucharist

A Visual Tour Guide

The Choreography of Processions

Church Manners for Acolytes

Your Preworship Checklist

Movements and Standards

Censing and Bell Ringing

The Holy Eucharist (Poster)

Debriefing Your Service

Commissioning Service

An Order of Worship Game

Acolyte Prayers

Introductio

n

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH, as it continues today, the ministers of the church are those who have been baptized: laypersons, bishops, priests, and deacons. Some within the order of the laity are called to undertake ministries that are just as integral to worship as those who are ordained. These liturgical ministers are not roles in the theatrical sense because the liturgy is not a stage production, but a work of the people. All the ministers (lay or ordained) serve the worshiping assembly, and in so doing, they serve God. In serving at God’s altar, we also serve God’s people.

Despite the changing landscape of our churches’ membership, one worship-based ministry that continues but gets little attention is that of the acolyte. Whether they are second graders or adults, the ministry of an acolyte could be one of the formational experiences individuals have in the Episcopal Church. Whether it is a typical Sunday Eucharist, a marriage, baptism, funeral, or other worship service, an acolyte’s work and presence is a gift to God.

A LITTLE HISTORY

The word acolyte is derived from the Greek word akolouthos, meaning companion, follower, attendant, or helper. This ministry has its roots in the Hebrew Scriptures, where the prophet Samuel is seen assisting Eli, the Levite priest, and Elisha is seen assisting Elijah the Prophet. In the early church, we might think of those who carried the light into the dark catacombs, leading others who gathered to worship as the first Christian acolytes.

Mentioned as a minor order (a transitory step leading to a major order such as deacon, priest, or bishop) beginning in the third century, acolytes assisted deacons at the preparation of the table. The first written historical record of the term acolyte appears in a letter from Pope Cornelius to the bishop of Antioch in 251 CE. In his letter, the pope lists the clergy of Rome, which included forty-two acolytes.¹ According to the ancient discipline of the Roman Church, the order of acolyte was conferred as the candidate approached adolescence, about the age of twenty, as the decree of Pope Siricius (385) to Himerius, bishop of Tarragonia in Spain, was written. In ancient ecclesiastic Rome, there was no solemn ordination of acolytes. At communion time in any ordinary Mass, the candidate approached the pope, or in his absence, one of the bishops of the pontifical court. At an earlier moment of the Mass, the acolyte had been vested with a stole and chasuble. Holding in his arms a linen bag carrying the consecrated hosts, he prostrated himself (lay facedown on the ground) while the pontiff pronounced over him a simple blessing before he carried fragments of the bread consecrated at the papal Mass to other churches.

Between the fifth and ninth centuries, the Ordines Romani, a series of ancient directions to the clergy, described acolyte duties that included leading processions preceding the pope as well as carrying candles to accompany the reader of the Gospel to ensure that he had enough light to read the text. In Gaul about the year 500, the candidate for acolyte was first instructed by the bishop in the duties of his office, and then a candlestick, with a candle extinguished, was placed in his hand by the archdeacon, as a sign that the lights of the church would be in his care; moreover, an empty cruet was given to him, symbolic of his office of presenting wine and water at the altar for the holy sacrifice. A short blessing followed. Acolytes were unknown outside Rome and North Africa until the tenth century, when they were introduced throughout the Western Church.

The Council of Trent (1545–63) defined the order and hoped to reactivate it on the pastoral level, but it became only a preparatory rite, or minor order, leading to the priesthood. The history of acolytes becomes confused as churches in Europe broke away from the Church of Rome, including when England’s Henry VIII split the English Church in 1531, forming the Anglican Church of England. After the Reformation, many of these duties were taken over by lay clerks; in the late Middle Ages, when candles began to appear upon altars, they lighted the altar candles.

Eventually lay servers (sacristans) performed these duties as part of their training for the priesthood. Later in the nineteenth century, the clerks were suppressed and their duties were largely taken over by lay acolytes and sacristans or altar guilds, who did not serve at the altar but behind the scenes in helping to prepare the vessels and other paraphernalia for worship. During the Oxford movement in the 1830s, the Anglican Church, including the Episcopal Church, slowly returned to more traditional practices, and the ministry of acolytes began to appear again in non-Roman churches. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that girls and women were admitted to this all male ministry in the Episcopal Church. It should also be noted that it wasn’t until January 1973 that Pope Paul VI decreed that the office of acolyte should no longer be called a minor order and that it should be open to laymen (in the Roman Catholic Church).

WHO ARE THE ACOLYTES TODAY?

Acolytes come in all shapes and sizes, and many churches encourage young people to take on these roles. Howard Galley wrote in 1989: From the beginning, and for centuries afterward, the liturgical ministry of acolytes was an adult ministry. Today in contrast, it is largely a ministry of children and adolescents.² He then went on to question the tendency to restrict this ministry to young people alone, desiring that this ministry be encouraged for lay adults as well. We acknowledge this is a ministry for all ages; eucharistic ministers often serve as acolytes today and it would behoove those trained in that role to also be trained in acolyte ministry.

In preparing this book, we conducted a survey to learn more about the ministry of acolytes in our (Episcopal) congregations. Is there an average age? How are they trained? What roles do they take in worship?

We learned that there is a universal role of acolytes in Episcopal liturgy as well as diverse practices. Large congregations have a cadre of teams who serve; small congregations have a handful of adults with a couple of children. Fifty percent of those who responded to our survey have between five and ten acolytes involved in worship services. Ninety percent of acolytes serve as crucifers and torchbearers, light and extinguish candles, assist the clergy at the altar, offer the lavabo bowl, carry alms basins, and carry the Gospel Book in procession. Other roles include serving as a thurifer, boat bearer, or banner bearer, and ringing the Sanctus bells.

Acolytes often take the role of the bishop’s chaplain during episcopal visitations. Other roles in much smaller numbers include refilling chalices, packing communion kits, carrying flags, and closing the altar rail. Reflecting the diversity of the vestments (and piety) worn in our churches, 66 percent of acolytes wear albs and cinctures, while the remaining 34 percent wear cassock and cotta. Most acolytes began their ministry when they were between ten and twelve years old.

Today, we see acolytes dressed in robes of red or white, quietly carrying torches, crosses, alms basins, and cruets. A vital part of worship, they blend into the background, helping our liturgies flow smoothly. We may see them hold the altar book open before the presider at the Eucharist or bear the Gospel Book in procession and at the proclamation; they may carry the vessels to the Lord’s Table, wash the presider’s hands (lavabo), bring additional vessels to the altar after the consecration of the bread and wine, or clear the altar after communion. When carrying a processional cross, they are known as the crucifer; called a thurifer when swinging the incense pot.

It would seem the ancient tradition is still alive and well in our churches today.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

We offer a simplified theology of how God is met in worship and how that affects the acolyte’s discernment for ministry as well as a way of life. We also explore how to form empowered acolytes that bond together, grow together, and support each other—a model of Christian service and community. And yes, the practical stuff such as how to light the candles and carry the cross are included in our tips for training and mentoring, along with an extensive glossary and appendix that is full of illustrated handouts.

We have designed this