The General Intercessions or Universal Prayer or Prayers of the Faithful are a series of prayers which form part of the liturgy in the Anglican

Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

, Catholic, Lutheran

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

, Methodist

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 and other Western

Western Christianity

Western Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and groups historically derivative thereof, including the churches of the Anglican and Protestant traditions, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage...

 liturgical Churches.

Roman Rite

These prayers are said at the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word or Mass of the Catechumens (the older term). The General Instruction of the Roman Missal

General Instruction of the Roman Missal

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal —in the Latin original, Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani —is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church since 1969...

 states:

In the General Intercessions or the Prayer of the Faithful, the people respond in a certain way to the word of God which they have welcomed in faith and, exercising the office of their baptismal priesthood, offer prayers to God for the salvation of all. It is fitting that such a prayer be included, as a rule, in Masses celebrated wih a congregation, so that petitions will be offered for the holy Church, for civl authrities, for those weighed down by various needs, for all men and women, and for the salvation of the whole world.

The prayers are introduced by the celebrating priest, then a deacon or another member of the congregation or the prest himself proposes a number of intentions to pray for, and the people respond with a short invocation such as "Lord, hear our prayer". Finally, the priest says a concluding prayer.

New Testament

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was borne at the proper time."

History

The custom of offering such prayers, perhaps in line with Jewish tradition, is witnessed to by Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....

 and Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...

, and by the fourth century, the Roman Rite

Roman Rite

The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...

 had a set of nine Solemn Prayers of Intercession of the kind now preserved only in the Good Friday

Good Friday

Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...

 at the same point of Mass at which the ordinary General Intercessions are prayed.

The General Intercessions dropped out of use, leaving only the introductory greeting "Dominus vobiscum" and the invitation "Oremus" (followed by no particular prayer) that in the Tridentine Mass

Tridentine Mass

The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...

 the priest said when about to begin the Offertory. They were one of the elements that the Second Vatican Council referred to when decreeing in Sacrosanctum Concilium, 50: "Other parts which suffered loss through accidents of history are to be restored to the vigour they had in the days of the holy Fathers, as may seem useful or necessary".

In the Ambrosian Rite, the prayer of the faithful has been in vigour for some occasions also before the Second Vatican Council, with the Ambrosian chant for the offertory Dicamus omnes.

Liturgy of the Hours

Similar sets of prayers are said in the Liturgy of the Hours

Liturgy of the hours

The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...

 after the canticles of the Benedictus

Benedictus (Song of Zechariah)

The Benedictus , given in Gospel of , is one of the three canticles in the opening chapters of this Gospel. The Benedictus was the song of thanksgiving uttered by Zechariah on the occasion of the birth of his son, John the Baptist.The whole canticle naturally falls into two parts...

 and the Magnificat

Magnificat

The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...

 at Lauds and Vespers (Morning and Evening Prayer). Referred to as the Intercessions, they are similarly introduced by an introductory phrase, but end with the recitation of the Lord's Prayer

Lord's Prayer

The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...

before the person presiding over the celebration recites the concluding prayer.