Anglican Patrimony: Dismissal of the Catechumens

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The reason for this post is the matter of the Catechumenate and related liturgical forms in the Anglican Communion and the sad fact that some who should know better seem opposed to or are simply unaware of these forms, liturgies, and materials as well as those for Holy Baptism and Confirmation.  For the sake of illustration and brevity I will only quote an older Anglican form in English for the Dismissal of the Catechumens in the liturgies of Central Africa.

There are indeed a number of divergent forms for the Catechumenate, some of which draw on rituals and materials from the Orthodox East and others from the Latin West.  Some have been created entirely from language borrowed from the Prayer Books together with the Authorised Version of the Holy Bible. All of them have merit.

St Peter's Anglican, Likoma, Malawi

And all have been used at one time or another when missionary conditions required a form for the making of the new Christians from non-Christians. The transitional period of their instruction called the Catechumenate saw to their admission to a period of serious discernment and learning as well as taking the first formal steps toward Holy Baptism.  

Once they became Catechumens, they were no longer to be reckoned as heathen and would be given a Christian burial should sudden death come upon them and prevent them from completing the Catechumenate and receiving Holy Baptism.

The following Dismissal of the Catechumens comes from Anglican liturgies employed in the former Dioceses of Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia.  The Dismissal at the end of the Mass of the Catechumens (Liturgy of the Word) was to be used in its entirety on Sundays, but at other times a collect of dismissal would suffice.  These liturgies were Anglo-Catholic in spirit and form and were translated and adapted into many of the local languages of Central Africa:

 [DISMISSAL OF THE CATECHUMENS]

Priest. You Catechumens, pray to the Lord.

Catechumens. 

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Priest. You Christians, pray for the Catechumens.
People. Lord, have mercy upon them.

Priest. Make them to know thy truth.
People. Lord, have mercy upon them.

Priest. Reveal to them the Gospel of Righteousness.
People. Lord, have mercy upon them.

Priest. Grant them a new heart and a prepared spirit.
People. Lord, have mercy upon them.

Priest. Lead them into thy Holy Church.
People. Lord, have mercy upon them.

Priest. You Catechumens, worship the Lord.

Catechumens. 

Thou art our God; and we praise thee.

Thou art our God; and we praise thee.

Thou art our God; and we praise thee.

Priest. Let us pray.

Almighty God, who dost daily give to thy Church new Children; grant to these Catechumens that they truly increase in knowledge and in faith, till they are born again in Holy Baptism and made thy children by adoption and grace; through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.

Priest. You Catechumens, depart in peace.

[The Mass of the Faithful continues with the Creed.]