First the Archdeacon, or, in his absence, one appointed in his stead, or such other person as by ancient custom have the right so to do, shall present unto the Bishop (sitting in his chair near to the Holy Table) all them that shall receive the Order of Priesthood that day (each of them being decently habited) and say,
EVEREND Father in God, I present unto you these persons present, to be admitted to the Order of Priesthood.
And if any great Crime or impediment be objected, the Bishop shall surcease from ordering that person, until such time as the party accused shall be found clear of that crime.
Then the Bishop (commending such as shall be found meet to be ordered, to the prayers of the congregation) shall, with the Clergy and people present, say or sing the Litany, with the Prayers, as is before appointed in the Form of Ordering Deacons; save only, that, in the proper Suffrage there added, the word [Deacons] shall be omitted, and the word [Priests] inserted instead of it.
Then shall be sung or said the Service for the Communion, with the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, as followeth.
After this shall be read for the Gospel part of the ninth Chapter of Saint Matthew, as followeth.
Then the Bishop, sitting in his chair, shall say unto them as hereafter followeth.
E have heard, Brethren, as well in your private examination, as in the exhortation which was now made to you, and in the holy Lessons taken out of the Gospel, and the writings of the Apostles, of what dignity, and of how great importance this Office is, whereunto ye are
called. And now again we exhort you, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye have in remembrance, into how high a Dignity, and to how weighty an Office and Charge ye are called: that is to say, to be Messengers, Watchmen, and Stewards of the Lord; to teach, and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord's family; to seek for Christ's sheep that are
dispersed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever.
Have always therefore printed in your remembrance, how great a treasure is committed to your charge. For they are the sheep of Christ, which he bought with his death, and for whom he shed his blood. The Church and Congregation whom you must serve, is his Spouse, and his Body. And if it shall happen that the same Church, or any Member
thereof, do take any hurt or hindrance by reason of your negligence, ye know the greatness of the fault, and also the horrible punishment that will ensue. Wherefore consider with yourselves the end of the Ministry towards the children of God, towards the Spouse and Body of Christ; and see that ye never cease your labour, your care and diligence, until ye have done
all that lieth in you, according to your bounden duty, to bring all such as are or shall be committed to your charge, unto that agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and to that ripeness and perfectness of age in Christ, that there be no place left among you, either for error in religion, or for viciousness in life.
Forasmuch then as your Office is both of so great excellency, and of so great difficulty, ye see with how great care and study ye ought to apply yourselves, as well to show yourselves dutiful and thankful unto that Lord, who hath placed you in so high a dignity; as also to beware that neither you yourselves offend, nor be occasion that others offend.
Howbeit, ye cannot have a mind and will thereto of yourselves; for that will and ability is given of God alone: therefore ye ought, and have need, to pray earnestly for his Holy Spirit. And seeing that ye cannot by any other means compass the doing of so weighty a work, pertaining to the salvation of man, but with doctrine and exhortation taken out of the Holy
Scriptures, and with a life agreeable to the same; consider how studious ye ought to be in reading and learning the Scriptures, and in framing the manners both of yourselves, and of them that specially pertain unto you, according to the rule of the same Scriptures; and for this self-same cause, how ye ought to forsake and set aside, as much as ye may, all worldly
cares and studies.
We have good hope that ye have well weighed these things with yourselves, long before this time; and that ye have clearly determined, by God's grace, to give yourselves wholly to this Office, whereunto it hath pleased God to call you: so that, as much as lieth in you, ye will apply yourselves wholly to this one thing, and draw all your cares and
studies this way; and that ye will continually pray to God the Father, by the mediation of our only Saviour Jesus Christ, for the heavenly assistance of the Holy Ghost; that, by daily reading and weighing the Scriptures, ye may wax riper and stronger in your Ministry; and that ye may so endeavour yourselves, from time to time, to sanctify the lives of you and yours,
and to fashion them after the Rule and Doctrine of Christ, that ye may be wholesome and godly examples and patterns for the people to follow.
And now, that this present Congregation of Christ may also understand your minds and wills in these things, and that this your promise may the more move you to do your duties; ye shall answer plainly to these things, which we, in the Name of God, and of his Church, shall demand of you touching the same.
O you think in your heart, that you are truly called, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and according to the Canons of this Church, to the Order and Ministry of Priesthood?
Answer. I think it.
After this, the Congregation shall be desired, secretly in their prayers, to make their humble supplications to God for all these things; for the which prayers there shall be silence kept for a space.
After which shall be sung or said by the Bishop (the persons to be ordained Priests all kneeling) Veni, Creator Spiritus; the Bishop beginning, and the Priests, and others that are present, answering by verses, as followeth.
OME, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
And lighten with celestial fire.
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
Who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.
Thy blessed unction from above,
Is comfort, life, and fire of love.
Enable with perpetual light
The dulness of our blinded sight.
Anoint and cheer our soiled face
With the abundance of thy grace.
Keep far our foes, give peace at home;
Where thou art guide, no ill can come.
Teach us to know the Father, Son,
And thee, of both, to be but One;
That, through the ages all along,
This may be our endless song:
Praise to thy eternal merit,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Or this:
OME, Holy Ghost, eternal God,
Proceeding from above,
Both from the Father and the Son,
The God of peace and love:
Visit our minds, into our hearts
Thy heavenly grace inspire;
That truth and godliness we may
Pursue with full desire.
Thou art the very Comforter
In grief and all distress;
The heav'nly gift of God most high,
No tongue can it express;
The fountain and the living sprint
Of Joy celestial
The fire so bright, the love so sweet,
The Unction spiritual.
Thou in thy gifts are manifold,
By them Christ's Church doth stand:
In faithful hearts thou writ'st thy law,
The finger of God's hand.
According to thy promise, Lord,
Thou givest speech with grace;
That thro' thy help God's praises may
Resound in every place.
O Holy Ghost, into our minds
Send down thy hev'nly light;
Kindle our hearts with fervent zeal,
To serve God day and night.
Our weakness strengthen and confirm,
(For, Lord, thou know'st us frail;)
That neither devil, world, nor flesh,
Against us may prevail.
Put back our enemy far from us,
And help us to obtain
Peace in our hearts with God and man,
(The best, the truest gain;)
And grant that thou being, O Lord,
Our leader and our guide,
We may escape the snares of sin,
And never from thee slide.
Such measures of thy powerful grace
Grant, Lord, to us, we pray;
That thou may'st be our Comforter
At the last dreadful day.
Of strife and of dissention
Dissolve, O Lord, the bands,
And knit the knots of peace and love
Throughout all Christian lands.
Grant us the grace that we may know
The Father of all might,
That we of his beloved Son
May gain the blissful sight;
And that we may with perfect faith
Ever acknowledge thee,
The Spirit of Father, and of Son,
One God in Persons Three.
To God the Father laud and praise,
And to his blessed Son,
And to the Holy Spirit of grace,
Co-equal Three in One.
And pray we, that our only Lord
Would please his Spirit to send
On all that shall profess his Name,
From hence to the world's end. Amen.
When this Prayer is done, the Bishop with the Priests present, shall lay their hands severally upon the head of every one that receiveth the Order of Priesthood; the receivers humbly kneeling, and the Bishop saying,
ECEIVE the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Priest in the Church of God, now committed unto thee by the Imposition of our hands. Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained. And be thou a faithful Dispenser
of the Word of God, and of his holy Sacraments; In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Then the Bishop shall deliver to every one of them kneeling the Bible into his hand, saying,
AKE thou Authority to preach the Word of God, and to minister the holy Sacraments in the Congregation, where thou shalt be lawfully appointed thereunto.
When this is done, the Nicene Creed shall be sung or said, and the Bishop shall go on in the Service of the Communion, which all they who receive Orders shall take together, and remain in the same place where hands were laid upon them, until such time as they have received the Communion.
The Communion being done, after the last Collect, and immediately before the Benediction, shall be said these Collects.
OST merciful Father, we beseech thee to send upon these thy servants thy heavenly blessing; that they may be clothed with righteousness, and that thy Word spoken by their mouths may have such success, that it may never be spoken in vain. Grant also, that we may have grace to hear and receive what they shall deliver out of thy most holy Word, or agreeable to the same, as the means of our salvation; that in all our words and deeds we may seek thy glory, and the increase of thy kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
REVENT us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
HE Peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord: And the Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always. Amen.
And if, on the same day, the Order of Deacons be given to some, and the Order of Priesthood to others; the Deacons shall be first presented, and then the Priests; and it shall suffice that the Litany be once said for both. The Collects shall both be used; first that for Deacons, then that for Priests. The Epistle shall be Ephes. iv. 7-13, as before in this Office. Immediately after which, they that are to be made Deacons, shall be examined and Ordained, as is above prescribed. Then one of them having read the Gospel, (which shall be either out of St. Matth. ix. 36-38, as before in this Office; or else St. Luke xii. 35-38, as before in the Form for the Ordering of Deacons,) they that are to be made Priests shall likewise be examined and Ordained, as is in this Office before appointed.