Anglican | Church of England, although the ‘Anglican Communion’ is the protestant church throughout the world. The Church of Ireland is a part of the Anglican Communion, for example. |
Antiphon | A short sentence sung before or after a psalm or canticle. There are particular ones for special seasons, e.g. Christmas and Easter. |
Canticles | These are sung at Matins (Te Deum, Jubilate, Benedicite), Eucharist (Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei) and Evensong (Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis). |
Collects | Special prayers for every week and season, said daily. |
Compline | A night prayer of monastic origin. |
Congregation | The 'audience' or participants in a church or cathedral service, not the priests or choir. |
Curate | Any priest who has ‘cure’ of souls in a particular place, normally a parish; a junior priest. |
Introit | A psalm or antiphon sung before the choir enters the cathedral, usually unaccompanied by the organ. |
Liturgy | This is the particular set of words, music, and actions used during services and other ceremonies. |
SATB | Acronym for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, ie a four-part choir. An eight-part choir would be SSAATTBB. |
Verger | An official in a cathedral who acts as an attendant during services and who often has other caretaking duties. |