Benediction

Definition and Meaning

The benediction (Korean chukdo, 祝禱) is the part of a worship service in which, at its close, the minister faces the congregation and either prays for God's blessing or pronounces it. The Korean term combines two characters that both mean "to pray" or "to invoke." In the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church, the term gangbok (降福), meaning "to bestow blessing," is more commonly used. As the congregation leaves worship and returns to daily life, the benediction asks that God's grace and protection go with them.

Biblical and Historical Background

Two passages are commonly cited as the basis for the benediction.

• Numbers 6:24–26: The words God gave to Aaron and his sons for blessing the people of Israel, known as the "Aaronic blessing."
• 2 Corinthians 13:14: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all" (KJV). Because it names the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together, it is also called the "Trinitarian benediction." It is the form most widely used in Korean Protestantism. In the New Korean Revised Version, the verse is numbered 13:13, whereas some English Bibles, including the KJV, number it 13:14.

The tradition of closing worship with a blessing has continued throughout church history. After the Reformation, Protestant worship also adopted the practice of ending services with the Aaronic blessing or with a blessing drawn from the Pauline epistles.

Practice in Korean Churches

The benediction normally comes at the very end of the service, after the final hymn. The pastor raises both hands and pronounces the benediction, while the congregation receives it with heads bowed and eyes closed. The service then concludes with a postlude (instrumental music played after worship) or a doxology (a short hymn giving glory to God).

Who Gives the Benediction

Most Korean Protestant denominations, including Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, and Full Gospel churches, regard the benediction as a duty reserved for an ordained pastor. Accordingly, when a service without a pastor is led by an evangelist (jeondosa), a licentiate, or an elder, the common practice is to close by reciting the Lord's Prayer together instead of giving a benediction. In the Anglican and Catholic churches, the priest bestows the blessing. Some, however, point out that Scripture does not explicitly require that the benediction be reserved for pastors. This view treats the question of who gives the benediction as a matter of church order rather than doctrine.

"Be with You" and "We Pray"

The wording that concludes the benediction has long been debated within the Korean church.

• "Be with you" (isseuljieoda, declarative form): This view regards the benediction as the pastor proclaiming blessing upon the congregation in God's name. Its proponents note that it follows the wording of the biblical text directly.
• "We humbly pray" (chugwonhaomnaida, petitionary form): This view holds that the pastor stands together with the congregation in asking God for blessing.

The general assemblies of some Presbyterian denominations are reported to have resolved that the declarative form "be with you" should be used. In congregational practice, however, petitionary expressions such as "we humbly pray" and "we pray that [God's grace] may be with you" also remain in use.