The condition arises when a Daily Office user of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer comes upon the 2nd Sunday after Christmas. Technically, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) does not contain a specific entry for a collect for the “Second Sunday after Christmas.”
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In the 1662 BCP, if a second Sunday occurs between Christmas and Epiphany (which happens only in years when Christmas falls on a Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday), the rubric (instruction) directs that the service for The Circumcision of Christ (January 1st) be used.
The Collect Used
Because the 1662 BCP uses the Feast of the Circumcision for this day, the collect used is:
“Almighty God, who madest thy blessed Son to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit; that, our hearts, and all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts, we may in all things obey thy blessed will; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.“
Why is it different today?
If you are used to modern prayer books (like the 1979 US Episcopal BCP or the 1928 BCP used by Anglicans in the United States), you may be familiar with a specific “Second Sunday after Christmas” collect beginning with “Almighty God, who hast poured upon us the new light of thine incarnate Word…” This was actually a later addition to the Anglican tradition, appearing first in the 1928 Prayer Book to fill that occasional gap in the calendar, but it was never part of the original 1662 English BCP.
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The 2019 ACNA also includes a collect for the 2nd Sunday after Christmas, however, the text of the collect is altogether different…
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
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What the 1662 Book of Common Prayer Actually Prescribes
1. The 1662 BCP does not provide a unique collect specifically for the Second Sunday after Christmas.
- In the 1662 calendar and lectionary, there is no distinct collect titled “Second Sunday after Christmas Day.”
- Instead, the Prayer Book’s propers around Christmastide focus on Christmas Day, the subsequent festivals (St Stephen, St John, Holy Innocents), the Sunday after Christmas (First Sunday of Christmas), and then the Circumcision/Holy Name on January 1.
- The liturgical rubric in 1662 directs that the collect, Epistle, and Gospel of an Octave-day Holy-day can be used on the Sundays following if no other provision is made, and that the collect of a Holy-day continues during its octave (e.g., Christmas) through the week.
2. The Second Sunday after Christmas, when it occurs, would follow the normal pattern of using existing propers.
- Historically (from the 1552 Prayer Book through 1662), when there was no specific collect for this Sunday, the collect appointed for the Feast of the Circumcision (January 1) was to be used during the week, carrying through until the Epiphany if required.
- Some lectionary sources note that in practice today the calendar shows “Second Sunday after Christmas,” but this designation is part of modern liturgical reckoning, not a separate proper set in 1662.
Why There Isn’t a Distinct 1662 Collect for That Sunday
1. Historic Anglican liturgical practice didn’t need one.
- In the medieval Sarum and other Western rites, there were no special propers for a “Second Sunday after Christmas” either; the Christmas season was handled via Christmas Day and the octave until Epiphany.
- The 1552 BCP rubric continued that practice: propers for the feast point through the octave rather than creating additional new Sunday propers.
2. Thomas Cranmer’s pattern (1549/1552) endured in 1662.
- Cranmer’s reformed Prayer Books carefully structured propers so that the major feasts and their octaves provided prayer texts. There was rarely a need to compose new collects for every Sunday that might fall within an octave. The Circumcision collect (and the Christmas collect before it) served until epiphany arrived.
Later Developments (Post-1662)
1. Later prayer book revisions added a distinct collect.
- In the proposed 1928 English revision and in the American 1928 Book of Common Prayer, a specific collect for the Second Sunday after Christmas was included — drawn from ancient Latin sacramentaries (e.g., the Gregorian or Verona Sacramentary). The American version’s text begins “Almighty God, who hast poured upon us the new light of thy incarnate Word…”
- This represents a 20th-century liturgical enrichment rather than a carry-over from 1662. It was not part of the 1662 English BCP itself. The Anglican Expositor
2. Modern Anglican calendars now often treat this Sunday as a distinct observance.
- Contemporary liturgical calendars and resources (e.g., Anglican or Episcopal lectionaries) assign it a place as the “Second Sunday after Christmas,” with a collect attached — but this reflects later usage and revision, not the original 1662 provision.
Summary of Key Points
- 1662 BCP does not have a distinct collect specifically labeled for the Second Sunday after Christmas Day.
- The liturgical practice in 1662 uses the Christmas/Octave and the Circumcision propers through the relevant period, rather than creating a new one.
- A separate collect for this Sunday appears in 20th-century revisions (e.g., 1928 BCP editions), often drawn from ancient sacramentaries, but that’s not part of the original 1662 prayer book.