"Evangelist" in Anglican Passion

[Digitonomy]

I was reading through an Anglican church bulletin from Palm Sunday, which included the “script” for the reading of the Passion. Instead of “Narrator,” the role was listed as “Evangelist.”

Is this a common official role in Anglican liturgy, or just during the Passion, or is this just a peculiarity of this church?

 

[paperwight66]

It surely just means ‘What the Evangelist (Mark, Matthew, whatever) wrote.’ It’s as if the Gospel writer is standing there telling us out loud, reading his own words.

 

[Digitonomy]

It surely just means ‘What the Evangelist (Mark, Matthew, whatever) wrote.’ It’s as if the Gospel writer is standing there telling us out loud, reading his own words.

I suppose that’s possible. Seems strange, since St. John wrote all the lines, not just those saying “Evangelist.”

 

[GKC]

Just to confuse the point, in my parish (Anglo-Catholic and traditional flavored), it was “Commentator”.

GKC

 

[7_Sorrows]

Just to confuse the point, in my parish (Anglo-Catholic and traditional flavored), it was “Commentator”.

GKC

Interesting.

 

[Mystophilus]

I was reading through an Anglican church bulletin from Palm Sunday, which included the “script” for the reading of the Passion. Instead of “Narrator,” the role was listed as “Evangelist.”

Is this a common official role in Anglican liturgy, or just during the Passion, or is this just a peculiarity of this church?

Well, “evangelist” does mean “giver of good news”, and is thus sometimes used for the person who reads the Gospel during the service, but I am not sure how official it is.

 

[Contarini]

I suppose that’s possible. Seems strange, since St. John wrote all the lines, not just those saying “Evangelist.”

But the Evangelist is the narrator. Thus, in a dramatic reading of a Gospel the narrator is properly called the Evangelist.

This is how Bach labeled the part in his musical settings. I don’t know if that’s a direct influence or not. I suspect it’s just traditional Catholic usage, which you guys have, for some reason (having to do no doubt with sounding “up-to-date”) have dropped. Wouldn’t be the only instance where Anglicans are liturgically more traditional than post-Vatican-II Catholics.

Edwin