Please join in saying the words printed in bold type.

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The service is sung by the Choristers.

Order of Service

All stand as the choir and clergy enter

The choir sings the Introit

Conditor alme siderum,
Aeterna lux credentium,
Christe, redemptor omnium,
Exaudi preces supplicum.

Qui condolens interitu
Mortis perire saeculum,
Salvasti mundum languidum,
Donans reis remedium.

Vergente mundi vespere,
Uti sponsus de thalamo,
Egressus honestissima
Virginis matris clausula.

Cuius forti potentiae
Genu curvantur omnia;
Caelestia, terrestria
Nutu fatentur subdita.

Te, Sancte, fide quaesumus,
Venture iudex saeculi,
Conserva nos in tempore
Hostis a telo perfidi.

Sit, Christe, rex piissime,
Tibi Patrique gloria
Cum Spiritu Paraclito,
In sempiterna saecula. Amen.

Bounteous creator of the stars,
eternal light of all believers:
Christ, redeemer of all,
hear the prayers of your supplicants.

You who, grieving
with this age's deathly destruction,
have saved the feeble world,
giving succour to the accused.

As nightfall descends upon the world,
you have gone forth
like a bridegroom from the chamber,
most honoured offspring of a virgin mother.

To whose mighty power
all bend the knee,
in heaven and on earth,
subjected to your command.

We pray, holy, faithful one,
coming judge of this age,
that you might save us at that time
from the deceitful thrust of the enemy.

O Christ, king most holy,
to you with the Father
and the Holy Spirit be glory
for ever and ever. Amen.

Words: anonymous, 7th century
Music: plainsong

All remain standing as the officiant introduces a general Confession

Beloved, we are come together in the presence of Almighty God and of the whole company of heaven to offer unto him through our Lord Jesus Christ our worship and praise and thanksgiving; to make confession of our sins; to pray, as well for others as for ourselves, that we may know more truly the greatness of God's love and show forth in our lives the fruits of his grace; and to ask on behalf of all such things as their well-being doth require. Wherefore let us kneel and keep silence, and remember God's presence with us now.

All kneel or sit to say together

O God, our Father, we have sinned against thee in thought, word, and deed; we have not loved thee with all our heart; we have not loved our neighbour as ourselves. Have mercy upon us, we beseech thee; cleanse us from our sins; and help us to overcome our faults; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The officiant gives the Absolution

May the almighty and merciful Lord grant unto you pardon and remission of all your sins, time for amendment of life, and the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All say together the Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

All stand. The officiant and choir sing the Responses

O Lord, open thou our lips
and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

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.

Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's name be praised.

plainsong

All sit. The choir sings Psalm 80

Hear, O thou Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep : shew thyself also, thou that sittest upon the cherubims.
Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses : stir up thy strength, and come, and help us.
Turn us again, O God : shew the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole.
O Lord God of hosts : how long wilt thou be angry with thy people that prayeth?
Thou feedest them with the bread of tears : and givest them plenteousness of tears to drink.
Thou hast made us a very strife unto our neighbours : and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
Turn us again, thou God of hosts : shew the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole.
Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt : thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
Thou madest room for it : and when it had taken root it filled the land.
The hills were covered with the shadow of it : and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedar-trees.
She stretched out her branches unto the sea : and her boughs unto the river.
Why hast thou then broken down her hedge : that all they that go by pluck off her grapes?
The wild boar out of the wood doth root it up : and the wild beasts of the field devour it.
Turn thee again, thou God of hosts, look down from heaven : behold, and visit this vine;
and the place of the vineyard that thy right hand hath planted : and the branch that thou madest so strong for thyself.
It is burnt with fire, and cut down : and they shall perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand : and upon the son of man, whom thou madest so strong for thine own self.
And so will not we go back from thee : O let us live, and we shall call upon thy name.
Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts : shew the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole.

All stand

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.

plainsong

All sit for the first Lesson, Isaiah 66: 18–end

I know the works and the thoughts of those who sanctify themselves, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud—which draw the bow—to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring a grain-offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. And I will also take some of them as priests and as Levites, says the Lord.

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make,
shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your descendants and your name remain.
From new moon to new moon, and from sabbath to sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,

says the Lord.

And they shall go out and look at the dead bodies of the people who have rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.

All stand. The choir sings Magnificat

My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his hand-maiden.
For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

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.

plainsong, tone VIII

All sit for the second Lesson, Luke 13: 22–30

Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, 'Lord, will only a few be saved?' He said to them, 'Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, "Lord, open to us", then in reply he will say to you, "I do not know where you come from." Then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets." But he will say, "I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!" There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.'

All stand. The choir sings Nunc dimittis

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace : according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen : thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared : before the face of all people;
to be a light to lighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

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.

plainsong, tone I

All face east to say together the Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth:

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

All kneel or sit. The officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany, the Lord's Prayer, and the Responses

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us. 

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.

O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us.
And grant us thy salvation.

O Lord, save The Queen.
And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.

Endue thy ministers with righteousness.
And make thy chosen people joyful.

O Lord, save thy people.
And bless thine inheritance.

Give peace in our time, O Lord.
Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.

O God, make clean our hearts within us.
And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

The officiant sings the Collects; of the day, for peace, and for aid against all perils

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.

O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Lighten our darkness we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

plainsong

The officiant says the Prayers; for the Royal Family, and for the members of the Order of the Bath

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness, we humbly beseech thee to bless our most gracious Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth, Charles Prince of Wales, and all the Royal Family: endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly grace; prosper them with all happiness; and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God save our Gracious Sovereign, and all the Brotherhood of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.

All sit. The choir sings the Anthem

Veni Domine, et noli tardare.
Relaxa facinora plebi tuae, et revoca dispersos in terram tuam.
Excita Domine potentiam tuam, ut salvos nos facias,
Veni Domine, et noli tardare.

Come, Lord, and do not delay.
Come and free your people from their misdeeds, and bring back the dispersed to your land.
Raise up, Lord, your power and make us safe.
Come, Lord, and do not delay.

Music: from Drei Motetten Op 39 Felix Mendelssohn (1809–47)

All kneel or remain seated for the Intercessions, at the end of which all say

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.

All stand as the choir and clergy depart

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