A FORM OF CONSECRATION or DEDICATION OF CHURCHES AND Chappels Together with What may be used in the Restauration OF RVINED CHVRCHES AND EXPIATION of CHURCHES Desecrated or Prophan'd Dublin Printed by John Crook Printerto the Kâ—â—â—â— Most Excellent Majesty and are to be soâ—â— by Sam. Dancer in Castle-street 1666 Imprimatur Haecformula Consecrationis c. Ja. Armachanus Mich. Dublin Can. A FORM OF CONSECRATION OR Dedication of Churches and Chappels according to the use of the Church of Ireland ¶ THe Patron or the chief of the Parish where a new Church is erected is to give timely notice to the Bishop of the Diocess and humbly to desire him to appoint a convenient time some Lords day or other great Festival of the Church for performance of the solemnity ¶ At the day appointed the Bishop with a convenient number of his Clergy of which the Dean or Archdeacon to be one and the Chancellor of the Diocess and his Register shall come between the hours of eight and ten in the morning and when they are neer the bell is to ring till they be entred into the Church appointed to be consecrated ¶ First the Bishop and his Clergy together with the Patron or his Deputy shall go round about the Coemitery or Church-yard which done the Bishop and his Clergy shall enter into the Church at the West door the Patron and people standing without while the Bishop and Priests do vest themselves in their respective Ecclesiastick habits ¶ When they are vested they shall kneel down in the body of the Church with their faces to the East and say together OUr Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy Name thy Kingdom come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil Amen ¶ Then the Bishop shall pray PRevent 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 glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ¶ Then rising up they shall go together to the West door and the Dean or Archdeacon on one hand and the Chancellour on the other shall bring the Patron to the threshold of the West door and present him to the Bishop who shall thus say to him SIr I am come hither at your desire I ask therefore for what intent you have desir'd my coming ¶ The Patron shall answer or some of the Clergy at his request and appointment shall answer for him HE hath or mutatis mutandis I have caused a house to be built for the service of God and the publick Ministeries of Religion and separated a burying place for my dead and his or my humble desire is that it may be set apart from all common and prophane uses and dedicated to the honour of God by your prayers and holy Ministeries according to the Word of God and the Laws and Customs of this Church ¶ Then shall the Bishop say WHiles it remained was it not thine own and before it is given to God was it not in thine own power but when once you give it to God it can never be recalled but is in his propriety for ever ¶ The Patron or his Deputy shall answer I humbly desire he will be graciously pleased to accept it and that it may remain his own for his service and his honour for ever ¶ Then shall the Patron kneel down and receive the Bishops blessing in the words following ¶ The Bishop laying his hand upon or lifting it over the Patrons head shall say THe Lord bless you and prosper you the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be merciful unto you Remember thy servant O God concerning this also accept his gift sanctifie his heart purifie his intentions reward his loving kindness and spare him according to the greatness of thy mercies Enrich him and his family with all blessings of thy Spirit and thy Providence for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen And now in the Name of God and to the honour of our Lord Jesus Christ let us perform this Ministery ¶ Then the Patron arising the Bishop shall call for the instrument of Donation which the Bishop receiving from the hands of the Patron shall deliver to the Register to be read publikely in that place ¶ Which being done all may enter into the Church Then shall the Bishop attended by his Clergy kneel in the body of the Church before the Chancel door at a convenient distance upon a footstep raised higher than the floor and shall say Let us pray I. BLessed be thou O Lord God Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever Thine O Lord is the greatness 1 Chron. 29. 10 c. and the power and the glory and the victory and the Majestie All that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine Thine is the Kingdom O Lord and thou art exalted as head above all Both riches and honour come of thee and thou reignest over all and in thine hand is power and might and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all Now therefore our God we thank thee and praise thy glorious Name that thou hast put it into the heart of thy servants to build a house for the honour of thy Name and the service of thy Majestie O Lord our God What are we and what is this people that from thy servants any thing should be given and offered unto thee by us All things come of thee and of thy own we give unto thee But we know also O God that thou triest the heart and hast pleasure in uprightness O Lord God of our Fathers God of mercy and Father of men and Angels keep this and all thankfulness and piety and devotion in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy servants for ever and prosper thou the works of our hands unto us O prosper thou our handy-work Confirm this thing which thou hast wrought in us from thy holy Temple which is in Jerusalem which is from above and is the Mother of us all And for ever be pleased to imploy us in thy service to strengthen us in all obedience to lead us in the way everlasting and to accept us in those Religious duties which we shall perform by thy Commandment and by the assistances of thy holy Spirit through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen II. O Almighty and Eternal God who by thy Immensity fillest all places both in heaven and earth and canst not be limited or circumscrib'd in any Thou art the most High and dwellest not as we do in houses made with hands for Heaven is thy Throne and the earth is thy foot-stool And what house can we build for
be honored with all their heart and all their strength and grant that these gifts may be received into the lot and right of God and of Religion and the Donours be continued for ever in the lot of thine inheritance that by thy grace accepting these gifts they may in all their other possessions be blessed and by the use of these gifts in the Ministeries of thy holy Religion they may be sanctified and by a Guard of Angels they may be preserved from all evil and by the perpetual presence of thy holy Spirit they may be lead into all good and accepted to pardon and preserved in peace and promoted in holiness and conducted certainly to life Eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ¶ Then the Bishop shall go to the North end of the H. Table and turning to the people shall say The Lord be with you Answer And with thy Spirit Let us pray I. O Most Glorious and Eternal God who makest all things by thy power and adornest all things with thy bounty and fillest all things with thy goodness and sanctifiest the hearts and gifts of thy servants by thy Spirit we worship and adore thy glories who fillest all the world by thy presence and sustainest it by thy Almightiness We love and magnifie thy mercies that thou hast been pleased to enable and admit thy servants to build an house to thee * That clause is to be omitted when the Bishop only dedicates any oblation and so are the other clauses which are inclosed in and out of thine own store to give gifts to thee who givest all that we possess We humbly pray thee by the Death and Passion by the Resurrection and Ascension and by the glorious Intercession of our Lord that thou wouldst vouchsafe to sanctifie this house and these gifts to thy service by the effusion of thy holiness from above Let the Sun of Righteousness for ever shine here and let the brightest illumination of the holy Spirit fill this place and fill all our hearts for ever with thy glorious presence That which we have blessed do thou bless that which we offer do thou accept that which we place here do thou visit graciously and for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen II. LEt this house be for the Religious uses of thy servants let it be the abode of Angels let it be the place of thy Name and for the glory of thy Grace and for the mention and honour and the memorial of the Lord Jesus Let no unclean thing ever enter here Drive from hence all sacrilegious hands all superstitious Rites all prophane persons all proud and unquiet Schismaticks all misbelieving Hereticks Let not the powers of darkness come hither nor the secret arrow ever smite any here Let no corrupt ayre and no corrupt communication no blood-shed and no unclean action ever pollute this place dedicated to thy holiness By the multitudes of thy mercies and propitiations to the visitors of this place coming with devotion and charity let there be peace and abundance of thy blessings Hear them that shall call upon thee sanctifie their Oblations let the good Word of God come upon them and dispense thy good things unto them Let the title of this Church abide until the second coming of Christ and let thy Holy Table stand prepar'd with the blessings of a Celestial Banquet Bless the gifts and the givers the dwellers and the dwelling and grant unto us here present and to all that shall come after us that by the participation of thy heavenly graces we may obtain Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen III. O Eternal God who art pleas'd to manifest thy presence amongst the sons of men by the special issues of thy favour and benediction make our bodies and souls to be Temples pure and holy apt for the entertainments of the Holy Jesus and for the inhabitation of thy holy Spirit Lord be pleas'd with the powers of thy grace to cast out all impure lusts all worldly affections all covetous desires from these thy Temples that they may be places of prayer and holy meditation of godly desires and chaste thoughts of pure intentions and great zeal to please thee that we also may become Sacrifices as well as Temples eaten up with the zeal of thy glory and even consumed with the fires of thy love that not one thought may be entertain'd by us but such as may be like perfume exhaling from the Altar of Incense and not a word may pass from us but may have the accent of Heaven in it and sound pleasantly in thy ears O dearest God fill every faculty of our souls with the impresses of Religion that we loving thee above all things in the world worshipping thee with frequent and humblest adorations continually feeding upon the apprehensions of thy Divine sweetness and living in a daily observation of thy Divine Commandments and delighted with the perpetual feast of a holy Conscience may by thy Spirit be seal'd up to the day of Redemption and the fruition of thy glories in thine everlasting Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord to whom with thee O Father of mercies Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and with thee O blessed and Eternal Spirit the Comforter all honour and power be ascribed from generation to generation for ever and ever Amen ¶ Then adde the Prayer of S. Clement GOd the beholder and discerner of all things the Lord Clement 1 epist ad Corinth in fine of Spirits and all flesh who hath chosen our Lord Jesus and us through him to be a peculiar people grant unto every soul that calleth upon his glorious and holy Name faith and fear peace and patience long-suffering and temperance with purity and wisdom to the well-pleasing of his Name through our High Priest and Ruler by whom unto him be glory and Majestie both now and to all ages evermore Amen ¶ Then the Bishop arising shall sit in his Chair at the South end of the H. Table and being covered shall cause the Chancellor to read the Instrument of Consecration and give command that it be entred into the Registry and an Act made of it in perpetuam rei memoriam A Duplicate of which Instrument attested under the Registers hand and seal of the Office is to remain with the Patron or Founder and the Original with the Bishop ¶ After which this Anathematism shall be read by him and his Clergy alternately all standing up ¶ The Anathematism KEep not thou silence O God hold not thy peace Ex Psalmis 79. 83. 129. and be not still O God 2. Let not thine Enemies make a tumult and they that hate thee lift up their head 3. Let them not come into thine inheritance to defile thy holy Temple lest they lay waste thy dwelling places and break down the carved work thereof with axes and hammers 4. Make their Nobles like Oreb and Zeeb yea all their princes like Zeba and Zalmunna 5. Who say let us take to
send faithful labourers into thy harvest and grant that all the people which from this place shall hear thy word may not receive it as the word of man but as the good word of God able to save their souls and let thy holy Spirit for ever be the Preacher and imprint thy word in their minds opening their hearts convincing their understandings over-ruling their wills and governing their affections that they may not be hearers of the Word onely but doers of good works that they by their holy lives adorning the Gospel of God and seeking for glory and honour and immortality may attain eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ¶ Then the Bishop and Clergy shall go towards the Chancel the doors of which being shut he shall stand there and with the Priests recite this Hymn alternately HYMN II. 1. O Pen to me the gates of righteousness I will go into them and praise the Lord. 2. This is the gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter 3. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner 4. This is the Lords doing and it is marvellous in our eyes 5. This is the day which the Lord hath made we will rejoyce and be glad in it 6. Save now I beseech thee O Lord O Lord I beseech send us now prosperity 7. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. 8. God is the Lord which hath shewed us light bind the sacrifice with chords even to the horns of the altar 9. O Lord open thou my lips and my lips shall shew forth thy praise 10. For thou desirest not sacrifice else would I give it thee but thou delightest not in burnt offerings 11. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise 12. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Sion build thou the walls in Jerusalem 13. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar 14. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me and to him that ordereth his conversation right I will shew the salvation of God Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen ¶ Then the doors being open'd the Bishop with his Clergy shall enter and ascend to the Communion Table and sitting in a chair on the South side of it shall appoint the Dean or Archdeacon to read this Lesson ¶ The Lesson at the Communion Table I Speak as to wise men judge what I say The cup of 1 Cor. 10. 15. blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the bloud of Christ The bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ For we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of Devils ye cannot be partakers of the Lords table and the table of Devils Do we provoke the Lord to jealousie Are we stronger then he Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat Heb. 13. 10. which serve the Tabernacle Wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctifie the people with his own blood suffered without the gate Let us go forth therefore unto him bearing his reproach For here we have no continuing city but we seek one to come By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name But to do good and to communicate forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased ¶ Then the Bishop arising from his chair shall kneel before the Altar or Communion Table and say ¶ Let us pray O Eternal God who in an infinite mercy to mankind didst send thy holy Son to be a sacrifice for our sins and the food of our souls the Author and finisher of our faith and the great Minister of eternal glory who also now sits at thy right hand and upon the heavenly altar perpetually presents to thee the Eternal Sacrifice and a never ceasing prayer be present with thy servants and accept us in the dedication of a Ministerial altar which we humbly have provided for the performance of this great Ministery and in imitation of Christs Eternal Priesthood according to our duty and his Commandment Grant that all the gifts which shall be presented on this table may be acceptable unto thee and become unto thy servants a savour of life unto life Grant that all who shall partake of this table may indeed hunger after the bread of life and thirst for the wine of elect souls and may feed upon Christ by faith and be nourished by a holy hope and grow up to an eternal charity Let no hand of any that shall betray thee be ever upon this table let no impure tongue ever taste of the holy body and blood which here shall be Sacramentally represented and exhibited But let all thy servants that come hither to receive these mysteries come with prepar'd hearts and with penitent souls and loving desires and indeed partake of the Lord Jesus and receive all the benefits of his passion Grant this for his sake who is the Priest and the Sacrifice the feeder and the food the Physician and the physick of our souls our most blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Amen ¶ Then the Bishop arising shall return to his Chair and sitting covered some persons by the Patrons appointment shall bring the Carpet the Communion cloth and napkins the Chalice Paten and the other Vessels Books and Vtensils for the Communion and humbly presenting them on their knees to God the Bishop shall receive them severally and deliver them to the Deacon to be laid orderly on the Communion Table excepting onely the Chalice and the Paten which two Priests shall when the Table is covered humbly on their knees lay upon it Then the Bishop returning to the Altar shall with reverence and solemnity his face being Eastward lay his hands upon the plate and say this prayer standing WHat are we O God and what is this people that we should be able to offer so willingly after this 1 Chron. 29. 14. sort For all things come of thee and of thine own we have given thee Accept the Oblation of thy servants who in the uprightness of their hearts have willingly offered these things and give unto them a perfect heart to keep thy Commandments thine Ordinances and thy Sacraments and be pleased to grant to them a greater ability an enlarged heart and an increasing love to serve thee with their souls and bodies with all their time and all their goods that thou maist