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Two short prayers by the twelfth-century Durham monk, one to the Virgin Mary and another to St Nicholas.
Reginald of Durham (?-?1190) tells us that the Virgin Mary appeared to St Godric and made him learn a prayer so that he could say it ‘whenever he was fearful of being overcome by pain, sorrow, or temptation.’ She promised her immediate help. The second stanza is found in ‘Flowers of History’ by Roger of Wendover (?-1236).
A Prayer for the Sunday after Whit Sunday.
This prayer was set as the Collect for Trinity Sunday, one week after Pentecost or Whit Sunday, in the Sarum Use, the English service book of the Middle Ages. During the Reformation, it was translated for the Book of Common Prayer, first published in 1549, without significant alteration.
A short prayer from the Sarum Missal, for the night before Christmas.
This prayer was appointed in the Sarum Missal, the service book of the English Church in the Middle Ages, for Christmas Eve. It is followed here by the Sequence for the day, a poem dating back to the tenth century. This translation into Church English was made by Frederick E. Warren, Canon of Ely, in 1911.
A prayer recited frequently during Great Lent in the Greek and Russian churches.
The Prayer of St Ephraim is recited with great frequency during the forty days of Lent, prior to Easter, in the Greek and Russian tradition, accompanied by deep prostrations. The translation below follows the Greek text, which differs very slightly from the Russian.
A short prayer from the Sarum Missal, for the anniversary of the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This prayer was appointed in the Sarum Missal, the service book of the English Church in the Middle Ages, for the Feast of the Assumption, which remembers the day on which the Virgin Mary died. The Eastern churches call this day the Dormition or Falling-Asleep of Mary. Tradition says that Mary died a natural death, surrounded by the Apostles, but three days later her body was nowhere to be found.
A short prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, for use at morning and evening.
Although much of the Book of Common Prayer was simply a translation of the mediaeval Latin service books, this prayer, from the start of Morning and Evening Prayer, was newly added in 1552. Commentators are quick to observe that it was no less than St Basil the Great (330-379) who declared that all prayer should begin with some acknowledgement of our shortcomings.
A short declaration of faith, from the early years of the Western churches.
The Apostles’ Creed dates back to the middle of the fifth century. It was a development of the Old Roman Creed, which was dubbed ‘the Apostles’ Creed’ by Ambrose of Milan, and probably emerged in Gaul. It was not unknown in the East, but it became widely used in the West through the efforts of Emperor Charlemagne in the eighth century.