Hagiography
Commemorations
- September 12 – Translation of Relics
- November 14 – Consecration
Rubrics
- Lesser Feast (Solemnity for the Society)
- Color: Seasonal
Proper Preface
Through Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep; in him you call faithful pastors and anoint them with your Holy Spirit, to feed your flock by Word and Sacrament, and to lead them in the way of everlasting life.
–Of a Pastor, BCP 157
The Lessons
Morning Prayer:
| First Lesson | Psalms | Second Lesson |
| Isa 6:1-8 | 71:17-23 | 1 Pet 5:1-11 |
Holy Communion
| Epistle | Gospel |
| Acts 20:28-32 | Matt. 9:35-38 |
The Collects
O God, our heavenly Father, you raised up your faithful servant Samuel Seabury to be a Bishop & pastor in your Church and to feed your flock: Give abundantly to all pastors the gifts of your Holy Spirit, that they may minister in your household as true servants of Christ and stewards of your divine mysteries; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
–Of a Pastor, BCP 638
Almighty God, who by thy divine providence hast appointed divers Orders of Ministers in thy Church, and by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy holy Apostles many excellent gifts: Give grace, we beseech thee, to all Bishops of thy Church, and more especially to those who serve in that branch of the same planted by thee in this land; that, following the example of thy servant Samuel Seabury, they may diligently preach thy Word, and duly administer the godly Discipline thereof, to the glory of thy Name, and the edification of thy Church; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–1963 Lesser Feasts & Fasts, 126
Bl. Seabury Prayer Cards
Other Prayers
Said after the General Thanksgiving in the Morning Prayer of the Feast:
Adapted from a Prayer issued by the Diocese of Connecticut for the Centennial of the Rt. Rev. Seabury’s Consecration, 1883.
Traditional
Almighty God, Who by Thy Holy Spirit hast appointed divers orders of ministers in Thy Church, we give unto Thee high praise and hearty thanks, that Thou didst put it into the hearts of our fathers and brethren to elect, on this day, to the work and ministry of a Bishop in Thy Church, Thy servant, to whom the charge of the Diocese of Connecticut was first committed; and that Thou didst so replenish him with the truth of Thy doctrine and endue him with innocency of life, that he was enabled, both by word and deed, faithfully to serve Thee in this office, to the glory of Thy name, and the edifying and well-governing of Thy Church. For this so great mercy, and for all the blessings which, in Thy good Providence, it brought to this portion of the flock of Christ, we offer unto Thee our unfeigned thanks, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.
Contemporary
A Service for the Translation of Relics (September 12th)
Morning Prayer or the Burial Office may be used.
The Nicene Creed is used in place of the Apostles’
| Lesson | Psalm |
| Wisd. 5:1-7 | 68 |
Oh God who magnified the memory of thy Bishop, Samuel Seabury; who on this day was translated and at St. James interred: grant us grace to follow his good example, that we, together with all thy Saints, may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom; through the merits of thy Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
–Adapted In Part From The Westminster Missal
Grant to such bodies as are there interred, that they with us, and we with them, may have our perfect consummation and bliss both in body and soul in thine everlasting Kingdom. Amen.
–Adapted From Bl. Lancelot Andrewes’ 1820 Form Of Consecration Of A Church Or Chapel.
Seabury’s Devotions for Communicants
Before Approaching the Altar
Blessed Jesus! Saviour of the world! who hast called me to the participation of these thy holy mysteries, accept my humble approach to thy sacred table, increase my faith, settle my devotion, fix my contemplation on thy powerful mercy; and while with my mouth I receive the sacred symbols of thy body and blood, may they be the means of heavenly nourishment to prepare my body and soul for that everlasting life which thou hast purchased by thy merits, and promised to bestow on all who believe in and depend on thee. Amen.
While Communing
O Gracious and merciful God, Thou supreme Being, Father, Word and Holy Ghost, look down from heaven, the throne of thy essential glory, upon me thy unworthy creature, with the eyes of thy covenanted mercy and compassion: O Lord my God, I disclaim all merit, I renounce all righteousness of my own, either inherent in my nature, or acquired by my own industry: And I fly for refuge, for pardon and sanctification, to the righteousness of thy Christ: For his sake, for the sake of the blessed Jesus, the Son of thy covenanted love, whom Thou hast set forth to be a propitiation for fallen man, and in whom alone Thou art well pleased, have mercy upon me, receive my prayers, pardon my infirmities, strengthen my weak resolutions, guide my steps to thy holy altar, and there feed me with the meat which perisheth not, but endureth to everlasting life. Amen.
After Communing
Blessed Jesus! Thou hast now blest me with the food of thy own merciful institution and, in humble faith of thy gracious promise, I have bowed myself at thy table, to receive the precious pledges of thy dying love; O may thy presence go with me from this happy participation of thy goodness, that when I return to the necessary labors and employments of this miserable world, I may be enabled by thy grace to obey thy commandments, and conducted by thy watchful care through all trials, till, according to thy divine wisdom, I have finished my course here with joy, that so I may depart out of this world in peace, and in a steadfast dependence on thy merits, O blessed Jesus, in whose prevailing words I shut up all my imperfect wishes, saying,
Our Father, &c. Amen.
Other Poems & Hymnes
Seabury's Mitre
Appropriate to be sung on November 14th, the Feast of the Consecration of Samuel Seabury, the First Bishop in the United States.
Text: A. Cleveland Coxe (1818-1896)
Tune: DRAYTON HALL, C.L. Walchesky
© 2014 C.L. Walchesky. Used by permission.
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