Bidding-prayer
Encyclopedia
A Bidding-prayer is the formula of prayer
or exhortation to prayer said during worship in churches of the Anglican Communion
. It occurs during the liturgy of the word, prior to the sermon
. Such formulae are found in the ancient Greek
liturgies
, e.g. that of St. Chrysostom
, in the Gallican liturgy, and in the pre-Reformation
liturgies of England.
The form varies, but in all the characteristic feature is that the minister tells the people what to pray for (e.g., the 1662 Book of Common Prayer
bidding-prayer form begins, "Let us pray for Christ's holy Catholic Church," provides specifics, and then moves on to the next bidding). It is an informal intercessory
prayer, covering a wide variety of concerns such as the church, the state, the living and the dead, and public and private necessities. In England in the 16th century it took the form of a direction to the people what to remember in telling their beads
. In the course of time the word bid in the sense of pray became obsolete and was confused with bid in the sense of command (from O. Eng. beodan, to offer, present, and hence to announce, or command; cf. Ger. bieten, to offer, gebieten, to command), and the bidding-prayer came practically to mean the exhortation itself. A form of exhortation which preachers and ministers shall move the people to join with them in prayer is given in the 55th canon of the Church of England
(1603).
In contemporary usage, the term "bidding-prayer" has largely been replaced by "intercessory prayers" or "prayers of the people." In keeping with Anglican custom, these are still said according to one or more Prayer Book templates, but are generally designed in such a way that specific topical, seasonal, or cyclical petitions can be added. On occasion, the person leading the prayers will still introduce each petition with the phrase, "I bid your prayers for..."
A bidding prayer is offered at the beginning of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
observed at King's College
, Cambridge University, on Christmas Eve
; this prayer, whose text has remained largely unaltered since the Festival's inception in 1918, has been heard annually in radio broadcasts of the Festival since the 1930s.
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
or exhortation to prayer said during worship in churches of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. It occurs during the liturgy of the word, prior to the sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
. Such formulae are found in the ancient Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
liturgies
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
, e.g. that of St. Chrysostom
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
, in the Gallican liturgy, and in the pre-Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
liturgies of England.
The form varies, but in all the characteristic feature is that the minister tells the people what to pray for (e.g., the 1662 Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
bidding-prayer form begins, "Let us pray for Christ's holy Catholic Church," provides specifics, and then moves on to the next bidding). It is an informal intercessory
Intercession
Intercession is the act of interceding between two parties. In both Christian and Islamic religious usage, it is a prayer to God on behalf of others....
prayer, covering a wide variety of concerns such as the church, the state, the living and the dead, and public and private necessities. In England in the 16th century it took the form of a direction to the people what to remember in telling their beads
Anglican prayer beads
Anglican prayer beads, also known as the Anglican rosary or Christian prayer beads, is a loop of strung beads which Anglicans, as well as Christians of other denominations, use as a focus for prayer. This particular way of using prayer beads was developed in the mid-1980s by Episcopalians in the...
. In the course of time the word bid in the sense of pray became obsolete and was confused with bid in the sense of command (from O. Eng. beodan, to offer, present, and hence to announce, or command; cf. Ger. bieten, to offer, gebieten, to command), and the bidding-prayer came practically to mean the exhortation itself. A form of exhortation which preachers and ministers shall move the people to join with them in prayer is given in the 55th canon of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
(1603).
In contemporary usage, the term "bidding-prayer" has largely been replaced by "intercessory prayers" or "prayers of the people." In keeping with Anglican custom, these are still said according to one or more Prayer Book templates, but are generally designed in such a way that specific topical, seasonal, or cyclical petitions can be added. On occasion, the person leading the prayers will still introduce each petition with the phrase, "I bid your prayers for..."
A bidding prayer is offered at the beginning of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Nine Lessons and Carols
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a format for a service of Christian worship celebrating the birth of Jesus that is traditionally followed at Christmas...
observed at King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, Cambridge University, on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
; this prayer, whose text has remained largely unaltered since the Festival's inception in 1918, has been heard annually in radio broadcasts of the Festival since the 1930s.