Open during the week

From James Hastings Nichols, Corporate Worship in the Reformed Tradition, p. 59.

The twentieth-century Protestant Church locked six days a week has no precedents in the Reformation.  All the Reformed churches of the sixteenth century conducted weekday services before and after working hours.  We have noted the Geneva schedule.  In Strassburg there was a weekday service of “morning prayer” with sermon in the parish churches at four or five o’clock in the morning.  The service consisted of the general confession, the reading of Scripture and an exhortation based upon it, a suitable pause for private prayers, closed by the minister with a collect and blessing.  For late risers there was also a daily sermon at eight o’clock in the cathedral.  The cathedral, again, was the scene for daily evening prayer with sermon.  In this fashion provision was made for virtually everyone to attend worship with Biblical sermon twice daily either in the cathedral or in parish churches.  Each series of services would follow its own systems of Bible readings , the Communion services on Sunday normally using the Gospels, the other services other portions of Scripture.

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