Clergy

Clergy (pronounced klur-jee)

The group or body of ordained persons in a religion, as distinguished from the laity (the non-ordained); applied especially within Christendom.

1175–1225: From the Middle English clerge & clergie from the Old French clergé (learned men) from the Late Latin clericātus (office of a priest) from clericalis & clēricus (one ordained for religious services), from the Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós) (of the clergy).  It’s from the Old French clergie (from clerc) in the sense of “learned men, skilled in the arts of erudition, writing and transcription” that the modern English clerk evolved, the meaning "pertaining to clerks and copyists" dating from 1798.  Clericalism sacerdotalism (power or influence of the clergy) is from 1849, very much in the spirit of the European revolutions of 1848; clericality (quality of being clerical) is from the 1650s.  Clergy, clergyman, clergywoman and (the very modern) clergy person are nouns and the adjectives adjectives clergylike, anticlergy and proclergy (all sometimes hyphenated) were in well-known during the centuries when church and secular forces contested control of British and European; the noun plural is clergies.

The legal doctrine benefit of clergy was formalised first in the 1510s and was the exemption of ecclesiastics from certain criminal processes before secular judges although in England it had been first recognized in 1274; over time it was gradually restricted being abolished finally in 1827.  Special deals for English clergy were nothing new.  The Rosetta Stone, the granodiorite stele created in Egypt in 196 BC and re-discovered in 1799 (which became the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs) included a degree granting tax-breaks to clergy, rights which in various jurisdictions persist to this day.

Clergyman was a familiar term from the thirteenth century but the more rare clergywoman was unknown until the 1670s and then just as a general descriptor of nuns.  It wasn’t until 1871 it could refer to a "woman pastor, woman of the clerical profession" but in between, it was used humorously (and disparagingly) about the domineering wife of a clergyman, an idea Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) used to great comic effect when writing of the bishop’s wife in the Chronicles of Barsetshire (1855-1867).  Clergess (member of a female religious order) was attested from the late fourteenth century; clergy-feme (clergyman's wife or woman) was first noted in the 1580s.

Church of England (and worldwide Anglican) clergy

A clergyman.  Cosmo Gordon Lang (1864–1945), Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942).

In the Anglican Church, there are in excess of two-dozen titles before one even reaches then levels of the right reverend and very reverend gentlemen but despite the extraordinary proliferation of styles and titles within the Anglican clergy, under canon law, there are but three types of ordained person: a bishop, a priest, and a deacon.  With very few exceptions, the people who hold other offices and titles will always be (1) a bishop, (2) a priest or (3) a deacon, with their other title(s) overlaid atop their primary appointment.  There doesn't seem to be any theological justification for all this ecclesiastical bureaucratization but as those who study organizational behavior have often noted, structures once established can quickly become established tradition and assume their own inertia.

Bishop

A member of the clergy who has been commissioned to oversee the work of a group of congregations and the priests & Deacons who serve them; that group of congregations is called a diocese.  Only a bishop may ordain persons to the order of deacon and priest; only a bishop may also ordain (also called a consecration) another bishop, but must do so in the company of other bishops and a bishop must have been previously have been ordained a priest.  In the Church of England, twenty-six bishops (The Lords Spiritual) sit by historic right in the House of Lords, the UK parliament’s upper house.

Priest

A member of the clergy who has been commissioned to preside at gatherings around the Lord’s Table (the Holy Communion) and to extend assurance of God’s forgiveness to those who truly repent of their sins.  A person who is a priest must previously have been ordained as a deacon, and continues to be a deacon throughout his or her life as a priest.  A few churches now use presbyter for this order.

Feminist Lindsay Lohan in habit with Smith & Wesson .500 Magnum in Machete (2010), makes a persuasive case for the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church.  In the Anglican communion, there are now even women bishops although some reactionary dioceses such as Sydney restrict women to the diaconate (ie deacons) where they may assist "real" priests although their exact role can vary between parishes.  The Sydney diocese, where there's still a hankering for popery, refuses to ordain women as priests and bishops.

Deacon

A member of the clergy who has been commissioned to proclaim the Gospel, assist at the Holy Communion, and to call the church, by word and example, to its ministry of service and healing.

Archbishop

A bishop who presides over several dioceses in a large region, a position which includes some supervisory responsibilities over both dioceses and bishops in that region.  In the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the (nominal and spiritual) head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Archdeacon

A member of the clergy appointed to assist the bishop in certain administrative and pastoral duties in a diocese.  An archdeacon may administer a district comprising a group of parishes which is usually known as an Archdeaconry.  Despite the name, there is now no direct connection with the order of deacon, and an archdeacon is generally one of the priests of a diocese.  The position and title normally expires upon resignation or retirement, although certain retired archdeacons in good standing with their bishop often retain the title.

Aspirant

A person who has indicated to the bishop that he or she hopes to be ordained and is in the preliminary interview process.  Once the bishop has formally accepted their candidacy, the person is called a postulant.

Bishop-elect

A person chosen to become a bishop, but not yet consecrated; the word elect simply means chosen.  Anglican bishops are selected by a variety of means: some are elected by the clergy and laity of the diocese where they will serve, but some are selected by a specially-constituted committee (often called an Electoral College).  In England, historically, bishops were personal appointments by the monarch; now the sovereign appoints on the recommendation of the prime minister.  This process has not been without the odd hiccup.  Once, Lord Salisbury (1903; UK prime minister for thirteen years variously 1885-1902), as was the usual practice, received from the Archbishop of Canterbury the name of the two clergymen he had considered for appointment to a vacant bishopric.  Unfortunately, the spellings of the two names were similar and the prime-minister inadvertently sent to the palace the wrong name.  After the gentleman was enthroned he was informed of the error and remarked: "Oh, I daresay he will do just as well".     

Canon

Canon is an honorary title conferred upon a member of the clergy (and some lay persons) for faithful and valuable service to the church.  The standard joke in church circles is it's hard to find men of sufficient calibre to fulfil the role and once appointed, they should never be fired.

Chaplain

A member of the clergy whose employment is not in a parish or congregation, but who undertakes pastoral care and organizes worship services within a non-religious organization such as a school, hospital or the military.  There are a few special appointments where a chaplain may be a spiritual advisor and personal assistant to a bishop or a monarch.

Coadjutor

A bishop who has been appointed to assist a diocesan bishop.  Generally, a Coadjutor automatically becomes Diocesan in his or her own right, upon the retirement or resignation of the person currently in that office.

Commissary

A person appointed to exercise the administrative functions of a bishop, when the actual bishop is away from the diocese or otherwise indisposed.  A commissary may not perform any of the spiritual functions of a bishop, such as ordinations and the appointment is inherently temporary, the role expiring immediately upon the bishop’s return.

Curate

A deacon or a priest who functions as an assistant or subordinate to the Incumbent of a parish.  The word curate refers to the cure or care of souls, and while the word does suggest a primary and senior responsibility (indeed, in a French-speaking Roman Catholic Church the senior priest of a parish is called a curé), in the Anglican Church, a curate is always an assistant.

Dean

The most common meaning of this word in Anglicanism is “a priest who is the Incumbent of a cathedral, and the most senior priest of a diocese (under the bishop)”.  This title is not to be confused with academic deans and there are other Anglican officials with dean in their titles (such as Regional or District Dean) and their most familiar role is as the administrative heads of cathedrals.

Diocesan

A bishop in charge of a Diocese and it’s correct to say either the Diocesan or the diocesan bishop when referring to this office.  The Diocesan may also be referred to as the Ordinary.

Honorary (somethings)

An Honorary Assistant or Honorary Curate (and a few other variants) indicates an ordained person who functions as one of the clergy in a parish, but does so on a voluntary basis.  He or she may have other employment, or be retired from full-time paid ministry, but will preach, preside, or do pastoral care in the parish without receiving a living wage for it. The position is almost always official, formally designated as such by licence or certificate from the Bishop.  In this, honorary appointments in the church essentially mirror academic practice.

Father

Father is not actually a title, simply a form of address, a kind of courtesy title.

Incumbent

A technical term for a member of the clergy who has primary administrative, pastoral, and liturgical responsibilities in a parish or congregation.  Despite its official nature, this term is seldom used in conversation, and is often unknown among ordinary church members, who will usually refer to their Incumbent as the Rector.

Lay Canon

A non-ordained person who is given the honorary title of Canon, usually as a form of recognition for their leadership in some aspect of the church’s life.

Metropolitan

An archbishop who presides over a region of the church which may include several dioceses, bishops, and even archbishops; second only to a Primate in authority and responsibility.  Some Metropolitans are also Primates, and are officially described as Primate and Metropolitan.

Ministry Developer

In congregations and districts where the traditional clergy tasks (preaching, pastoral care, presiding etc) are divided up and done on a voluntary basis by different individuals (some ordained, some laity), the team leader is often given the title Ministry Developer.  This person is most often ordained and seminary trained, but need not be, provided only that he or she is good at enabling teamwork and communicating a rich sense of the church’s mission.

Ordinand

A person in the process of being ordained; preparation having been accomplished, the title exists only on the day of ordination.  Before, during, and after the liturgy, the brand new deacon or priest is correctly called an ordinand.

Ordinary

In a diocese or jurisdiction where there are a number of bishops, one of them always holds primary authority, and is called the Diocesan or, in some jurisdictions, the Ordinary (always with an uppercase O).  The etymology of ordinary in this context is murky but may relate to this person’s responsibility for deciding who gets ordained.

In the Anglican Church of Canada, a bishop who directs Anglican chaplains in the armed forces is also called the Bishop Ordinary.  This person is not assigned to any particular diocese and the duties of a Bishop Ordinary cross many diocesan and even national boundaries.

Parson

This is now an almost colloquial term applied to a member of the Anglican clergy.  Historically, in England it was an official designation for a salaried priest in charge of a parish.  The word derives from the Latin persona from which also is derived the very generic “person.”

Pastor

Although not a formal title in the Anglican Communion, some clergy find it acceptable, because it’s more widely understood than Rector or Incumbent.  Pastor means shepherd, and is quite suitable to use for any priest who has pastoral responsibilities.

Postulant

A person who has been accepted by the bishop as a candidate for ordination and is in the process of being trained.

Prebendary

An honorary canon, a title used almost exclusively in the UK.  Historically, in England, a prebendary was a member of the clerical staff of a cathedral or collegiate church; a paid position whose income derived from specially allocated rents of land administered by that church, the properties generating such rents was called a prebend.  Although prebend-based income is now rare (some claim it’s extinct) the honorary title of prebendary is still England.

Precentor

A person, usually a member of the clergy, who is responsible for organizing the liturgy and music of a large church (such as a great cathedral).

Presbyter

Another word for priest, both from the Ancient Greek πρεσβυτερος (presbuteros) (church elder).  There are dense theological arguments surrounding these words and while all official Anglican documents and ordination liturgies use priest, there are some places in the church which use presbyter to refer to this order, the second of the three basic Anglican orders.

Priest-in-Charge

A person who has the responsibilities and duties of an Incumbent, but on a temporary basis, the appointment always at the discretion of the bishop.

Primate

A bishop who presides over the Anglican Church in a large region, or even in an entire country.  There will be many dioceses, bishops, and occasionally some archbishops under a primate’s supervision.  The person who holds a comparable position in Scotland is called Primus and, in the US, the equivalent position is the Presiding Bishop.

Provost

Provost has many meanings in English, used also to refer to military police or the principal of a university college.  When applied to a member of the Anglican clergy, the word refers to a priest who is the Incumbent of a cathedral church.  The more common word for this position is Dean, but in Scotland, Kenya and some smaller countries, the correct title is Provost.

Rector

A priest who has primary administrative, pastoral, and liturgical responsibilities in a parish or congregation; similar to and sometimes identical with an Incumbent.  Some heads of academic schools are also called Rector but such officials need not be ordained, or connected with the church.

Regional bishop

A bishop in a large diocese who is one of several bishops, each having oversight over a specific geographic area of parishes and clergy within that diocese.  This person may be a coadjutor or a suffragan, or even the Diocesan.  Technically, regional bishops can function anywhere within the diocese, but they have a closer relationship with and more detailed knowledge of their particular district.

Regional Dean

A priest who has some pastoral and administrative oversight of a small group of parishes or congregations.  This position has less weight than that of an archdeacon, so there can be several regional deans in an archdeacon’s area of responsibility.  A regional dean is generally an Incumbent of one of the parishes in his or her Deanery.  The titles Rural Dean and District Dean refer to exactly the same function and of the three Rural Dean is probably the oldest but is falling from use as the worldwide trend of urbanisation continues.

Suffragan

A bishop who has been appointed to assist a diocesan bishop (the Ordinary).  In contrast to the position of Coadjutor, a Suffragan is not automatically the Diocesan’s successor.

Transitional Diaconate

A category of clergy who are ordained deacon in preparation for being ordained priest.  Clergy in the transitional diaconate tend to spend up to a year serving as deacons, after which ordination to the priesthood takes place following further review and inquiry.

Vicar

This has slightly different meanings in various parts of the Anglican world.  In England, a vicar is a salaried parish priest whereas in the US, they’re a priest responsible either for a mission or for an institutional chapel (a mission is a congregation that is either recently founded, or is not capable of being financially self-sustaining; a chapel is a place of worship in a hospital, or an airport, or a government building).  In many places the word vicar can be used for a priest who is acting in behalf of a senior official who is not present (similar to the English word, vicarious). 

Vocational Diaconate

A category of clergy ordained as deacons who intend to remain so for the rest of their lives, without being further ordained to the priesthood.  The role exists to provide for those who feel their vocation to be that of ministry and service, rather than presiding.

Breakaway

Breakaway (pronounced breyk-uh-wey)

(1) An act or instance of breaking away; secession; separation.

(2) A departure or break from routine or tradition.

(3) A person, thing or institution which breaks away.

(4) An object, used in theatrical productions as a prop, constructed easily to break or fall apart (also used to describe costumes designed quickly to be change and thus easily removed), especially upon impact; by extension, anything deliberately constructed of lightweight material or in such a way as to shatter or come apart easily, sometimes as a safety feature.

(5) In ice hockey, a sudden rush down the ice by a player or players in an attempt to score a goal, after breaking clear of defending opponents.

(6) In various codes of football, a run by an offensive player breaking through the defense for a long gain.

(7) In basketball, a term for the fast break.

(8) In rugby union, two forwards positioned at the side of the scrum (also called flankers).

(9) In Australian rural slang, an animal that breaks away from the herd or flock or a synonym for a stampede of a number of beasts.

(10) In Australian geographical slang, an eroding steep slope on the edge of a plateau; an escarpment; a channel of floodwater that has burst from its usual course; or the track or channel eroded by the water (archaic).

(11) Of, relating to, or being that which separates or secedes.

(12) In horse racing, a premature start.

(13) In bicycle racing, a individual or group of riders which has gone ahead of the peloton (the main group).

(14) In the entertainment industry, enjoying sudden & rapid popular success as a result of one role, release etc (archaic, now called “break-out”).

(15) In geopolitics, a sometimes used alternative descriptor for the renegade province of Taiwan. 

1885–1895: A noun & adjectival form based on the (verb) phrase “break away”.  Break was from the Middle English breken, from the Old English brecan (to break), from the Proto-West Germanic brekan, from the Proto-Germanic brekaną (to break), from the primitive Indo-European breg- (to break).  Away was from the Middle English away, awey, awei, oway, o wey & on way, from the Old English āweġ & onweġ (away), the original form being on weġ (on one's way; onward; on), the construct being a- (on) +‎ way (a road; direction).  It was cognate with the Scots awa & away (away), the Old Frisian aweg & awei (away), the Saterland Frisian wäch & wääge (away), the Dutch weg (away), the German weg (away), the Danish væk (away) and the Swedish i väg (away; off; along).

The phrase “break away”, in the sense "disengage oneself abruptly, escape" dates from the 1530s.  The late nineteenth century breakaway was used to describe physical objects, especially specifically engineered theatre props.  The use in sport was noted first in 1906 while the hyphenated break-away seems initially to have been used to describe those individuals associated with breakaway movements but a convention of use never emerged.  The use to describe splinter groups or anything schismatic began in the adjectival sense in the 1930s and was so joined by the noun and in that context the synonyms include breakup, separation, defection, dissension, disunion, division, parting, rift, rupture, schism, split, disaffiliation, & splinter group.

All Blacks vs the Barbarians, Cardiff Arms Park, 1973.

Rugby Union is noted, inter alia, for some inconsistencies in the names applied to positions.  The reasons for this are historical as the game’s origins lie in the early nineteenth century at a time when communication was slow and irregular between the parts of the British Empire (and the US) where it was played.  Nomenclature thus evolved in bubbles (as did some rules) and it seems that in Australia and New Zealand, the terminology could differ even between provinces.  Despite professionalism, some of the differences persist to this day which is why mysterious terms like “second five-eight” and “wing three quarter” still sometimes baffle neophyte audiences.  The breakaway is now more commonly called the “flanker” and there are blindside flankers (No 6) and openside flankers (No 7), the distinction being that the No 7 attaches (loosely) to the scrum on whichever side is further from the nearer touchline.  Breakaways are there to tackle the opposition and hopefully steal the ball and, although not tightly bound to the scrum, do contribute to its rigidity by applying lateral force.  The breakaways are the most obvious variation from the formation used in the breakaway (the split from rugby union dating from 1895) code of rugby league which otherwise uses the same positions and field placements, although, reflecting the later, more codified origin, the terminology tends to be more consistent between nations.

Breakaways: GAFCON and the Diocese of Southern Cross.

Belonging to a long tradition of splits, squabbles, schisms and general fissiparousness in Christianity and other faiths, congregations of Australia’s breakaway faction of the Anglican Church this week began meeting in suburban clubs and halls.  Modest though the surrounds might have been, the turbulent priests are not all that lonely in their walk, joining the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), an umbrella breakaway group dividing the Anglican Church in many countries.

GAFCON’s core objections are to the “revisionist interpretations” of the Bible by Anglican bishops, a slippery slide of “heresies” which have permitted the ordination of women, the blessing of same-sex marriages and a permissive attitude towards divorce.  Accordingly, the Diocese of Southern Cross was recently launched at a GAFCON conference in Canberra, the announcement made by its new bishop, Glenn Davies (b 1950; Archbishop of Sydney 2013-2021), the Anglican church’s former archbishop of Sydney.  In a statement which was a lament rather that a celebration, the bishop noted it was “…a sad day, in many ways”, adding that “…if the leadership would repent and turn back to the teachings of the bible, we wouldn’t need the Diocese of Southern Cross. I’d shut it down and come back.”  He denied procuring worshipers from other congregations, saying “I’m not luring people in, I’m not recruiting; I’m providing a safe haven and they can come to me.”

The way things used to be done.  St George's Anglican Church, Beenleigh, Queensland, Australia.

The Australian event is the latest expansion of a movement that is dividing the communion in many countries with rebel dioceses having already been formed in North America, South America, Africa and Europe and there are many who concede the schism has already evolved to the point where it must be acknowledged there are now two Anglican Churches in the US.  The nature of religiosity among Christians in Australia is however different from the US experience, both qualitatively and quantitatively.  Anglicanism was between white settlement in 1788 and the twenty-first century, at least nominally, most numerous denomination in Australia but the most recent census data revealed Anglican affiliation dropped more than any other religion in the past five years, from 3.1 to 2.5 million people, almost one in five and fewer than 10% of the population now self-identify as Anglican.  Of this declining sect of Christianity, many predict the breakaway Diocese of Southern Cross will grow but it’s unlikely to assume the critical mass such movements can attain in Africa and the Americas, simply because there simply aren’t enough folk who take religion that seriously.

The new way.  The first service of the Diocese of Southern Cross was held in a meeting room of the Beenleigh RSL (Returned Services League) & Golf Club.

 The breakaway GAFCON is not a new formation.  The culmination of the internal stresses visible in the Anglican communion since the 1968 Lambeth Conference, GAFCOM coalesced over three conferences held between 2008-2018, convened by conservative Anglican bishops and leaders concerned about the establishment’s positions on issues such as the ordination of women, secularism, HIV/AIDS , the matter of gay clergy and marriage equality.  Provocatively held one month prior to the 2008 Lambeth Conference, GAFCON made clear it existed because of heresy, the revisionist "false gospel" which since the 1960s had become part of Anglican orthodoxy, claiming it denied the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and promoted a corrosive cultural relativism which accepted a "variety of sexual preferences and immoral behavior as a universal human right".  These matters had been debated by the factions for years but it was the consecration of the confessed (and non-celibate) homosexual Vicky Gene Robinson (b 1947; Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire 2004-2013) as a bishop by the Episcopal Church in the US which induced the conservative faction be explore an institutional formation, either to “march through the institution” or form a separate church, depending on how the numbers fell.

As things turned out in 2008, it seemed clear a takeover wasn’t (yet) a practical proposition but that GAFCON would continue as a concept.  What was decided was to create in North America, where the threat seemed greatest, a kind of parallel church, an ecclesiastical structure which would cater for conservative Anglicans, a mechanism possible the communiqué asserted because the Archbishop of Canterbury is not a pope and his recognition of an institution is not required to secure a presence within the Anglican Communion.  In a nice touch, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer was called "a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer”.  Lambeth Palace, predictably, while noting the breakaway’s position was fraught with theological and structural difficulties, otherwise did nothing.  Schisms sometimes flourish, sometimes fade away, sometimes are re-absorbed by the establishment and sometimes cause wars.  With the Lambeth Conference having just concluded, attention will now turn to at least three of those options.

The word “breakaway” can be used of used of Hollywood starlets who wish to break away from the innocent persona of their youth (left), chocolate bars with a wafer centre (a la the Kit Kat) (centre) and devices designed to break away from their connection at a certain stress point (right).

Manifold

Manifold (pronounced man-uh-fohld)

(1) Of many kinds; numerous and varied:

(2) Having numerous different parts, elements, features, forms, etc.

(3) A copy or facsimile, as of something written, such as is made by manifolding (obsolete except in historic reference).

(4) Any thin, inexpensive paper for making carbon copies on a typewriter (archaic).

(5) In internal combustion engines, the part (1) of the exhaust system attached directly to the exhaust ports and (2) of the induction system attached directly to the inlet ports.

(6) In mathematics, a topological space that locally looks like the ordinary Euclidean space.

(7) The third stomach of a ruminant animal (an omasum) (US (mostly south of the Mason-Dixon Line)), usually in the plural.

(8) In computer graphics, a polygon-mesh representing the continuous closed surface of a solid object.

Pre 1000: From the Middle English adjective manifold (many times, in multiplied number or quantity), from the West Saxon & Old English manigfeald & manigfealde (monigfald was the Anglian variant) (various, varied in appearance, complicated; numerous, abundant), the construct being manig (many) + feald (fold).  From the Proto-Germanic managafalþaz came the common Germanic compound (the Middle High German manecvalt (manifold), the Icelandic margfaldr (multiple), the Old Frisian manichfald, the Middle Dutch menichvout & menigvoudig (various), the Danish mangefold (multiple), the German mannigfalt, the Swedish mångfalt (diversity) and the Gothic managfalþs), it’s thought perhaps a loan-translation of the Latin multiplex (multiply; having many forms) and the Old English also had a verbal form, manigfealdian (to multiply, abound, increase, extend), the meaning later extended to (the now obsolete) “make multiple copies of by a single operation”.  The adverb manigfealdlice (in various ways, manifoldly), was derived from the adjective.

The noun manifold was applied to the mechanical device (“a pipe or chamber, usually of cast metal, with several outlets”) from the mid-1850s and was a short-form (from engineer’s slang) of “manifold pipe” which had been in use since 1845 which originally was applied to the types of musical instruments mentioned in the Old Testament.  The familiar use to describe the components which are part of an internal combustion engine’s intake & exhaust systems dates from 1904 and applied initially to the pipe between a carburetor and the combustion chambers; the existence of exhaust manifolds was noted the following year.

Of manifold sins and wickedness: Lindsay Lohan smoking and smoldering.

 Among those first translating the Bible into English, manifold was a popular word and few phrases more concisely encapsulate the Church’s view of us than “manifold sins and wickedness”.  In the Book of Common Prayer (1549). the Church of England helpfully provided a general confession for those who knew they were wicked sinners (and of presumably greater significance knew that God knew) but had neither the time nor desire to list them all.  Once uttered, it invited God’s forgiveness.  The Book of Common Prayer became controversial within the more liberal factions of the Anglican communion because its more exacting demands were thought to be uninviting to a society which was changing while the Church was not.  However, despite many revisions (including some regionally exclusive to parts of the old colonial empire), sins and wickedness remain manifold in most editions. 

The General Confession from the Book of Common Prayer (1662 edition)

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all men: We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, by thought, word and deed, against thy Divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us.

We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is grievous unto us; the burden of them is intolerable.

Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the honour and glory of thy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The Duesenberg manifolds

1935 Duesenberg Supercharged J (SJ) dual cowl phaeton with coachwork by LaGrande, the lines made more rakish still by the use of a Rollston V-shaped windshield.

The Duesenberg Model J was admired for it power, exclusivity, speed and coachwork but one aspect which always draws the eye of nerds is the exhaust manifold.  The look most associated with the marquee is that with four flexible pipes emerging from the right side of the bodywork, a motif used not only by Duesenberg’s corporate stablemates Cord and Auburn but also, if less extravagantly, by Mercedes-Benz where it was a feature of many of the supercharged cars of the 1920s and 1930s.

1935 Duesenberg Model J Special Speedster (SSJ)

The official factory designation was always “Model J” and their documents referred to the supercharged cars as the “Supercharged J” but the latter is known universally as the SJ.  The public imagination was further stimulated in 1935 when a short wheelbase version of the SJ was announced.  The factory referred to it as the “Special Speedster” but people preferred SSJ although it was a rare sight as only two were produced before Duesenberg finally succumbed to the effects of the Great Depression.

Of manifold shapes and weaknesses

The original manifolds used with the Model J were a variety of eight-port (8-into-1 in motorcycle parlance) units made from monel (a high-strength alloy of nickel, and copper, blended with carbon, iron & manganese) which engineers called “sewer pipes” (in modern parlance they’re known also as “dump pipes”).  In terms of fluid dynamics they were efficient but, cast in one piece they were prone to cracking as the torsional forces to which they were subject tended to find the weakest points so they were redesigned as two-piece units (4-into-1) which better distributed the loadings.  This improved durability though the propensity for the cast monel to crack wasn’t wholly eliminated and the the eight-pipe design made difficult the installation of the vertically installed supercharger hardware, added to which the heat-soak from the manifold was undesirable so the system was redesigned to used siamesed ports which fed the distinctive four external exhausts.

Memel 8-into-1 "sewer-pipe" manifold on 1934 Duesenberg SJ with the centrally-mounted supercharger fitted between cylinders 4 & 5 (left), the two piece (2 x 4-into-2) monel sewer-pipe manifolds in 1934 Duesenberg J (centre) and 8-into-1 sewer-pipe emerging through the engine-compartment right-side panel (right).  The use of the apple-green color for engine components was a signature feature of the brand.

The externally-routed pipe-work is regarded as one of the most charismatic features of the big Duesenbergs and still it’s associated by many with the presence of a supercharger but some of the SJs used the monel manifolds and, for the most flamboyant, the factory anyway offered the look as a retro-fit option for US$1000 (at a time when a new Ford V8 could be purchased for US$505).  Because of the fragility of the monel pipes and the fashion for the external ducting, only a handful of supercharged cars with the original manifolds are thought to survive.  To those who make a fetish of intricacy, the monel sewer-pipe manifolds are thought the most photogenic of all.