Agnus Dei (liturgy) whose canons had forbidden the iconographic depiction of Christ as a lamb instead of a man. Based upon John the Baptist's reference in to Jesus ("Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world"), the text in Latin is: which means: The text used in the Roman Catholic and Episcopal Church (Rite Two) is: The following three versions are all found in the Church of England's "Common Worship" liturgical resources, and also in the Episcopal Church's liturgical resources: The version found in the Lutheran Service Book of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is: The General Instruction of
Agnus Dei (Barber) a slow succession of chords, repeating "dona nobis pacem" in homophony in very low register, modulates to distant keys such as C major and F major. After another silence, a kind of recapitulation begins with the soprano and tenor singing the melody in unison on "Agnus Dei ... dona nobis pacem", while alto and bass counter with "miserere nobis". In the final line, the alto broadens the beginning of the melody to a last "dona nobis pacem", marked "mf molto espr. sost." (medium strength, very expressive and sustained), while the other parts end on a very soft "miserere nobis", marked