The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English Reformation following the break with Rome. The work of 1549 was the first prayer book to include the complete forms of service for daily and Sunday worship in English. It contained Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, the Litany, and Holy Communion and also the occasional services in full: the orders for Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, ‘prayers to be said with the sick’, and a funeral service. It also set out in full the Epistle and Gospel readings for the Sunday Communion Service. The 1549 book was soon succeeded by a more reformed revision in 1552 under the same editorial hand, that of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.
It was used only for a few months, as after Edward VI’s death in 1553, his half-sister Mary I restored Roman Catholic worship. Mary died in 1558 and, in 1559, Elizabeth I reintroduced the 1552 book with modifications to make it acceptable to more traditionally minded worshippers and clergy.
In 1604, James I ordered some further changes, the most significant being the addition of the King James Bible’s translation of the Psalms to the Book of Common Prayer, making it the primary liturgical psalter of the Church of England. The section known as the “Articles of Religion” summarizing Anglican doctrine was also strengthened. Further attempts to revise the Book in the 17th century provoked controversy, which led to the formation of breakaway churches such as the Methodist and Baptist Churches.
In 1662, the Book of Common Prayer was revised again, with further minor changes made in the 18th and 19th centuries. The 1662 edition is still technically the current Prayer Book of the Church of England, although through acts of Parliament its use is no longer mandatory. The Book of Common Prayer has had a great influence on a number of other denominations in Britain, Ireland and elsewhere. The original book is one of the most influential works in the English language.
History and development
The Book of Common Prayer was first introduced in the spring of 1549 and was mandatory in all churches. It was markedly Protestant in tone, with a considerable divergence from Roman Catholic practice, notably in the placement and wording of the prayer of consecration, and in the order making provision for the communion of the people as well as the clergy in both kinds. The closing words of the traditional Latin Mass, “Ite missa est” (“Go; the dismissal is made”); were replaced with the words “The Lord be with you.” Matthew Parker described this book as agreeing “as nere as possible to the first Liturgy of king Edward”.
Of it, 7,000 copies were printed initially, of which some 600 remain in existence as of 2017. In 17th-century England, when the pressure for religious reform was resisted by Archbishop William Laud and the Crown, book burnings at universities and the homes of Puritans were common. The devotional writer and naval commander, Robert Boyle, was said to have owned at least four copies of the 1549 BCP, but all were lost in the fire at his house at Highgate in 1691. When the book was introduced, three bishops and over 300 clergy refused, which led to their deprivation.
The Prayer Book Rebellion in Devon and Cornwall in 1549 arose in part from the imposition of the prayer book. Provision was also made in the same Act for the clergy to use another liturgy, should they wish, provided that it was approved by Parliament. However, there is no evidence that any other liturgy apart from the Prayer Book was legally used during the lifetime of Edward VI. In his injunctions of July 1559, Elizabeth I called for a return to the use of the prayer book after its printing during her brother’s reign. The 1559 book was also brought to Scotland by John Knox; however, it was initially rejected by the Church of Scotland, although it was subsequently used as the basis for the Book of Common Order, first published in 1564.
A Welsh translation was published in 1567. During the reign of Mary I and Philip in 1555 the 1552 book was restored. The Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549 arose partly out of the imposition of the 1552 book, but was also motivated by economic and social iniquities in Devon and Cornwall. Further unauthorized Prayer Books were confiscated and their possessors harassed. A new attempt was made to enforce the book during St Paul’s Cross sermon on 14 November 1564, when John Jewel preached in its defence; immediately before his afternoon sermon, the English Prayer Book was publicly presented to him at his request. This “second issue” of the Prayer Book in 1564 used a copy from the 1559 translation by Elizabethan scholars, and was printed with the royal coat of arms for Parker, who had become archbishop earlier that year.
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England is still the established prayer book of the Church of England, in the sense of its being used for services in Church of England churches. The Prayer Book notwithstanding, the Test and Corporation Acts required holders of public office to receive the sacrament in the Church of England. The 1662 Prayer Book (plus those parts of Canon Law that survived) was one of the fundamental laws of England, other being Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, Habeas Corpus, and the Bill of Rights 1689. The effect of the establishment of the 1689 Bill of Rights, following the Catholic-leaning reign of James II, on the Church of England was to establish the principle that membership in the established Church of England was voluntary; the requirement for uniformity of belief and worship would no longer apply. In the 1928, the Church of England authorized the wafer-bread, making administration easier.
Content
The Book of Common Prayer contains the liturgy of the Church of England in three parts:
- The Ordinal: Its sections provide rituals for the ordination of bishops, priests, and deacons.
- The Book of Common Prayer: Its sections contain the outlines of the Eucharist, daily and Sunday services, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, funerals, and various blessings.
- The Psalter: Its sections contain the Psalms divided into 60 portions for reading at Morning and Evening Prayer during each month.
The Book of Common Prayer introduced the Prayer of Humble Access:
We do not presume to come to this thy Table (O merciful Lord) trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We be not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the Flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his Blood, in these holy Mysteries, that we may continually dwell in him, and he in us, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his Body, and our souls washed through his most precious Blood. Amen.
Publication
The 1549 Book of Common Prayer was printed by Richard Grafton and Edward Whitchurch, who wished to be the officially recognized printers.[1] After 1556, the Stationers Company licensed publication of the prayer book although the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers continues to register Common Prayer as part of its heritage.[2]
The revised 1662 book was annexed to the Bill of Uniformity of 1662 whose long title was “An Act for the Uniformity of Public Prayers and Administrations of Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies and for establishing the Form of making ordaining and consecrating Bishops Priests and Deacons in the Church of England”. Penalties for failure to conform to its use are detailed within the Act. The provisions of the Act were resisted by the Puritans, who continued for some years to use the then-banned Book of Common Prayer until the Restoration.
Current use
The Book of Common Prayer is the common title for a number of prayer books of the Church of England and used throughout the Anglican Communion. It originated as a convenient term for the book of forms approved for use in the Church of England in 1548 and revised in 1552. The original 1549 Book continued in use until the introduction of a more radically revised book in 1552, which omitted what had been known as the Canon of the Mass and also omitted most of the ceremonial directions in the 1549 Communion service.
The Book remains, in law, the only authorised liturgy but it has been challenged by Rite A and Rite B, which many Anglican churches have adopted. In some churches, it has been edited and translated into modern English under something like the title Common Worship or A New Zealand Prayer Book.
This Book of Common Prayer has gone through many revisions over the years. The original was drafted in the time of Edward VI of England. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer is still technically the current Prayer Book, although its use today is minimal and highly liturgical. It consists of the liturgies for Morning and Evening Prayer; Baptism, Confirmations, Marriage, Ash Wednesday, Holy Communion, Prayers for the Sick and Funerals. In the 1960s, it was substantially replaced by An Alternative Service Book, published in 1980, developed and further adapted in 2000 as Common Worship. Common Worship is the current standard liturgy in most English Cathedrals and contains modernized versions of the services from the Book of Common Prayer. These, like the rest of the liturgy, follow the three-year lectionary in use for much of the Anglican Communion. The Order for Holy Communion, for example, draws on material from six different services in the Prayer Book. The Order for the Burial of the Dead draws on material from the prayer book funeral service as well as from the grave-side service in the 1928 Book. In addition to the Common Worship series published physically, digital editions are also available.
In many churches, the 1662 Book remains authorized but other books may be used under the Order of Service auspices. Some Cathedrals have their own minor variants from 1662, and individual churches are free to apply for a Bishop’s Permission. Many open Evangelical churches use Modern English versions of the book, with minor amendments. In the Royal Chapels of the Tower of London and St James’s Palace, bespoke Orders of Service are used.
Although theological changes divide Anglicans, the Book remains popular. Its phrasing and language still permeate many of the Church’s modern expressions. Many prayers and phrases from the Prayer Book have passed into everyday usage. The influence of the Book of Common Prayer on Law, literature, and the English language itself has been immense.