Did you know? (Sunday, December 12, 2021)

The Collect for the Third Sunday of Advent is found on page 157 of our BCP. It has as its source the second oldest service book used in the western Church, known as the Gelasian sacramentary. Its original form underwent several transformations, a version of which Archbishop Cranmer included in the first Book of Common Prayer, but with slight changes, some of which have now been removed. The expressions “stir up your power” and “we are sorely hindered by our sins” in the Collect, recall Psalm 80:2 and Hebrews 12:1, respectively.