New Every Morning Anglican Fellowship
Track B — Presbyteral Formation
Pre-Test
A Curriculum of Liturgical Formation · The Continuing Anglican Tradition of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer
Candidate Information
Name: __________________________________________________
Parish: __________________________________________________
Date: __________________________________________________
Administering Priest: __________________________________________________
Instructions
Answer all questions as fully as you are able. For short-answer and application questions, write in complete sentences. There is no time limit. This assessment is not a pass/fail examination but a measure of your current knowledge; answer honestly and do not consult your notes. Your answers will be reviewed by your instructor and returned with comments.
1. What specific authority does a priest receive that a deacon does not, according to the words of ordination in the 1928 BCP Ordinal?
2. Explain the three positions of the celebrant at the altar and the theological significance of each.
3. The 1928 BCP Prayer of Consecration contains the phrase 'a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction.' What is the significance of these three words, and what does their absence from the 1979 BCP indicate?
4. Give the three forms of absolution found in the 1928 BCP, the context in which each is used, and state who may say each form.
5. A priest celebrates Holy Communion without a deacon. After the administration of Communion there is a significant amount of consecrated bread and wine remaining. Describe exactly what the priest does.
6. What is the Filioque clause, and why is it significant for Anglican-Orthodox dialogue?
7. Describe the 'harmony principle' as it applies to preaching from the 1928 BCP, and give a worked example using one Sunday's Collect, Epistle, and Gospel.
8. A vestry overrules a priest on a financial decision affecting the parish building. What are the respective canonical authorities of the priest and vestry, and what are the priest's options?
9. True or False: A deacon may preside at the Solemnization of Matrimony in an APCK parish if no priest is available.
□ True □ False
10. Explain the difference between a pontifical blessing (episcopal) and a presbyteral blessing, and state whether a priest may give the former.
11. What is the seal of confession, and what are its limits according to the Catholic Anglican tradition?
12. Summarise the Anglican claim to valid apostolic succession and state the basis of the Roman Catholic objection (Apostolicae Curae, 1896) and the Anglican reply.
13. What are the five sections of the Ordinal (the rites for Holy Orders in the 1928 BCP), and what is the essential sacramental act in each ordination?
14. A parishioner who was divorced and remarried outside the Church asks to receive Holy Communion. Describe the priest's canonical and pastoral obligations.
15. Write the Collect for the First Sunday in Advent from memory, or as close to it as you can manage.
Instructor Scoring Guide
The following answers and scoring notes are for the instructor's use only. Do not distribute this page to candidates. Score each response according to the criteria given; where a range of answers is acceptable, use professional judgement. Return completed assessments to candidates with written comments, not merely a numerical score. The purpose of this assessment is formative — to guide further study — not merely summative.
1. What specific authority does a priest receive that a deacon does not, according …
Answer: The words of ordination at the priesthood are: 'Receive the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a Priest in the Church of God: whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained.' The specific authority transmitted is the power to forgive and retain sins — the authority of absolution. This authority is not given at the diaconal ordination.
Scoring: Full credit requires quoting or accurately paraphrasing the ordination formula AND identifying the power of absolution as the specific addition.
2. Explain the three positions of the celebrant at the altar and the theological si…
Answer: Ad orientem (eastward, back to people): priest leads people toward God; altar as place of sacrifice; most consistent with the 1928 BCP's theology of the Eucharist as sacrifice. Versus populum (facing the people): post-Vatican II innovation; implies Eucharist as communal meal; not contemplated by the 1928 BCP. North End: the 'table position' of the 1552 BCP, a Protestant statement against the Sacrifice; vestigially present in the 1928 BCP rubric (p. 75) but inappropriate in an Anglo-Catholic parish with a fixed high altar.
Scoring: 2 points per position correctly described and theologically characterised. Total 6 points possible.
3. The 1928 BCP Prayer of Consecration contains the phrase 'a full, perfect, and su…
Answer: 'Full' (lacking nothing), 'perfect' (without defect), and 'sufficient' (needing no addition or repetition) together establish that Christ's sacrifice on Calvary is the one and only atonement — it cannot be supplemented or repeated. Their absence from the 1979 BCP was one of the principal liturgical grievances of the St. Louis Congress: the change was seen as a retreat from the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist as sacrifice.
Scoring: Full credit requires explanation of all three adjectives AND identification of the doctrinal stakes (the unrepeatable sacrifice). Half credit if only one or two elements are present.
4. Give the three forms of absolution found in the 1928 BCP, the context in which e…
Answer: Form 1 — Morning/Evening Prayer (p. 6): 'He pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent...' — declaratory, third person; priest only. Form 2 — Visitation of the Sick (p. 313): 'I absolve thee from all thy sins, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' — direct, first person; priest only; sacramental form for private confession. Form 3 — Customary omission (1928 BCP): The 1928 BCP provides no third form — the Absolution is simply omitted when no priest is present. The traditional APCK custom for a deacon is the Collect for Trinity 21: 'Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace' — a prayer for pardon, not a pronouncement. Lay readers omit entirely with no substitution (Canon 21.03). The Declaration of Forgiveness belongs to the 1979/2019 BCPs.
Scoring: 2 points per form correctly identified with context and minister. Total 6 points. Award full credit for Form 3 if the candidate correctly states: 1928 BCP omits with no substitute; Trinity 21 Collect is the traditional APCK custom; lay readers omit entirely (Canon 21.03). Deduct if candidate attributes the Declaration of Forgiveness to the 1928 BCP.
5. A priest celebrates Holy Communion without a deacon. After the administration of…
Answer: The priest must reverently consume all remaining consecrated elements himself — or call such other communicants as he shall then call unto him to assist (BCP p. 83). He may not reserve the surplus contrary to this rubric, pour it down the piscina, or leave it on the altar. The ablutions follow: the chalice and paten are rinsed with wine and water, which the priest consumes. Nothing of the consecrated Body and Blood of Christ may be treated carelessly.
Scoring: Full credit requires: consumption by the priest (mandatory), the option to call communicants, and the ablutions. Deduct significantly if the candidate suggests reservation or disposal down the piscina.
6. What is the Filioque clause, and why is it significant for Anglican-Orthodox dia…
Answer: The Filioque ('and the Son') is the Western addition to the Nicene Creed, stating that the Holy Spirit 'proceedeth from the Father AND THE SON.' The original Nicene text says only 'proceedeth from the Father.' The Eastern Orthodox Churches regard this addition as an illegitimate alteration of the Creed by the Western Church, made without an Ecumenical Council, and as a theological error about the procession of the Holy Spirit. It remains one of the main points of theological division between East and West.
Scoring: Full credit for: identifying the clause, its location in the Creed, and its significance in East-West division.
7. Describe the 'harmony principle' as it applies to preaching from the 1928 BCP, a…
Answer: The harmony principle (after Melville Scott) holds that the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel appointed for each Sunday form a single doctrinal and devotional whole: the Collect states the theme in prayer; the Epistle develops it in doctrine; the Gospel enacts it in narrative. Example: Advent 1 — Collect: 'cast away the works of darkness, put upon us the armour of light'; Epistle (Romans 13): 'put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ... the night is far spent'; Gospel (Matthew 21): the King enters Jerusalem. All three announce the same theme: the coming of the King and our moral preparation for him.
Scoring: Full credit for explaining the principle AND a correctly worked example with all three propers identified and their harmony explained. Half credit for principle alone without example.
8. A vestry overrules a priest on a financial decision affecting the parish buildin…
Answer: The vestry is the lay governing body of the parish in temporal (financial and property) matters; its authority in these matters is canonical and the priest does not have a unilateral veto. The priest has authority over spiritual matters — worship, doctrine, pastoral care. When a conflict arises: the priest should ensure the bishop is aware; he may appeal to the bishop if he believes the vestry is acting contrary to canonical provisions. He should not unilaterally override the vestry on temporal matters, nor should he threaten to leave. The canonical structure exists precisely to govern such conflicts.
Scoring: Full credit for: correct identification of the vestry's temporal authority; the priest's spiritual authority; the bishop's role in disputes. Half credit if the candidate treats either the priest or the vestry as having unlimited authority.
9. True or False: A deacon may preside at the Solemnization of Matrimony in an APCK…
Answer: False (in normal circumstances)
Scoring: In the canonical tradition of the Catholic Anglican Church, marriage is solemnized by a priest. The APCK's own canons govern this specifically. A deacon may assist but not preside. Full credit for 'False' with explanation; half credit for 'False' alone. Note: some jurisdictions permit deacons to preside at civil marriages but not sacramental ones — accept nuanced answers that acknowledge this distinction.
10. Explain the difference between a pontifical blessing (episcopal) and a presbyter…
Answer: A pontifical blessing is given by a bishop: it traditionally uses the solemn triple form with three Signs of the Cross over the people and the full Trinitarian formula. A presbyteral blessing is the priest's simpler form: 'The peace of God... and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you and remain with you always.' A priest may not give the pontifical (episcopal) form — that is reserved to the bishop by his order.
Scoring: Full credit for distinguishing the two forms and correctly stating that the priest may not give the episcopal form.
11. What is the seal of confession, and what are its limits according to the Catholi…
Answer: The seal of confession is the absolute inviolable obligation of the confessor not to reveal anything disclosed in sacramental confession — under any circumstances, including legal compulsion, threat of imprisonment, or any other pressure. In the Catholic Anglican tradition the seal has no limits: nothing disclosed in a valid sacramental confession may ever be revealed by the priest. This is not a canonical nicety but a theological necessity: if the seal can be broken, the sacrament cannot function.
Scoring: Full credit for 'absolute' / 'inviolable' with no exceptions accepted. Deduct for any suggestion that the seal may be broken in extreme circumstances.
12. Summarise the Anglican claim to valid apostolic succession and state the basis o…
Answer: Anglican claim: the historic episcopate has been maintained without break from the Apostles through the medieval Church, the Reformation, and into the present. The English line passes through Archbishop Parker's consecration (1559); the American line through Seabury (Aberdeen, 1784); the APCK line through Denver (1978). Roman objection (Apostolicae Curae): defective form (the Edwardine ordinal did not specify the order being conferred) and defective intention (the reformers intended to abolish the sacrifice of the Mass). Anglican reply (Saepius Officio): the matter (laying on of hands) and form (prayer for the Holy Ghost) are both present; the intention to ordain is clear; the Roman argument is circular (it assumes the invalidity it is seeking to prove).
Scoring: Award up to 3 points: 1 for the Anglican claim; 1 for the Roman objection accurately stated; 1 for the Anglican reply.
13. What are the five sections of the Ordinal (the rites for Holy Orders in the 1928…
Answer: The Ordinal contains: The Form of Making Deacons; The Form of Ordering Priests; The Form of Consecrating Bishops. (Three rites, not five.) The essential sacramental act in each is the laying on of hands by the bishop with the appropriate prayer for the gift of the Holy Ghost — 'Receive the Holy Ghost for the Office and Work of a [Deacon/Priest] in the Church of God.' For a bishop, the laying on of hands is by at least three bishops.
Scoring: Note: the question says 'five sections' but there are three. Award full credit if the candidate correctly identifies three rites and notes the discrepancy, or if they correctly list three. Award the essential act correctly.
14. A parishioner who was divorced and remarried outside the Church asks to receive …
Answer: The priest must first ascertain the canonical status of the previous marriage and the current union. If the previous marriage was contracted validly and dissolved only by civil divorce (with no Church annulment), the person is canonically in an irregular situation and the priest has an obligation to counsel them before admitting them to Communion. The priest should consult the bishop. He may not simply admit the person to Communion without inquiry, nor may he refuse without inquiry. The pastoral response involves compassion, instruction, and referral to the bishop for direction.
Scoring: Full credit for: the obligation to inquire; the canonical issue; the bishop's role; the pastoral tone. Deduct for either automatic admission or automatic refusal without process.
15. Write the Collect for the First Sunday in Advent from memory, or as close to it …
Answer: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
Scoring: Award up to 5 points: 1 for the opening petition; 1 for 'cast away... armour of light'; 1 for the Christological clause; 1 for the eschatological clause; 1 for the doxology. Accept accurate paraphrase for partial credit. This question tests whether the priest actually knows his liturgical texts.
© 2026 · The Reverend P. A. Ternahan, M.A. Hum., Editor · The Continuing Anglican Tradition of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer · For use in the Continuing Anglican tradition of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer