Alternative Service Book

Last updated July 15, 2023

The Alternative Service Book 1980 (ASB) was the first complete prayer book produced by the Church of England since 1662. Its name derives from the fact that it was proposed not as a replacement for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) but merely as an alternative to it. In practice, it was so popular that the various printers had to produce several editions very quickly and churches which retained the BCP drew attention to this fact as something to be noted. The Prayer Book Society soon complained that it was becoming hard to find a church which used the old prayer book and that theological colleges were not introducing students to it. It has now been replaced by Common Worship .

Earlier attempts at reform

Preparatory work

Following the failure of the attempts to introduce a new prayer book through Parliament in the 1920s, liturgical reform had idled.^[1]

Some Anglo-Catholic parishes used the English Missal, a version of the BCP which included the prayers of the Latin Mass both in translation and in the original interspersed with prayers from the prayer book; most used either the BCP or the 1928 Prayer Book , which though it was never approved has continued in print until the present with the warning "The publication of this book does not directly or indirectly imply that it can be regarded as authorized for use in churches." As time passed and liturgical scholarship proceeded, it became clear that a new attempt should be made to provide orders of service for the church. In an attempt to break the deadlock, Dom Gregory Dix, in his book The Shape of the Liturgy published in 1945, proposed that his own thinking about the Eucharist, using what he called the "Four Action Shape", be the basis of a rite. He suggested that such a rite be produced by a number of bishops, too many for them to be victimised but not so many so as to suggest rebellion, who would allow such a rite to be used in their own dioceses but who would not protect parish clergy from legal challenge if they used it. Dix's ideas were very influential but no one took up the suggestion.

Alternative Services Series 1, 2, and 3

Only in 1955 did the church set up the Liturgical Commission and ten years later the Church Assembly passed the Prayer Book (Alternative and Other Services) Measure 1965. A series of books followed, most becoming authorised for use in 1966 or 1967: the Series 1 (formally "Alternative Services Series 1") communion book scarcely differed from the 1928 book (as was the case with its wedding service). Series 2, issued at the same time, put forward a form which followed the Dix formula: offertory, consecration, fraction, communion. This was a pattern which was to be widely influential in countries which had used the BCP.

Series 3 was less dependent on and, by implication, more reflective of criticism of Dix. It was also published as a collection of individual booklets for different services, between January 1973 (Holy Communion) and November 1977 (Marriage). The evidence for the offertory had been challenged from left and right by liturgical scholars such as Colin Buchanan and Ronald Jasper: it had been championed by the adherents of the Liturgical Movement but came to be regarded as suspect not only by evangelicals. In his Durham Essays and Addresses, Michael Ramsey had warned against a "shallow Pelagianism" which it seemed to betoken. E.L. Mascall asked "what can we offer at the Eucharist?". (Contrary views were expressed by people such as Donald Gray and Roger Arguile, partly on the ground that, following the writings of St Irenaeus, the goodness of the natural order and its relation to the Eucharist was an important element; the offertory brought the world into church). The fraction, or breaking of the bread, was criticised on the grounds that it was not nearly as significant as the consecration or administration; it was largely a practical act. Other services were less controversial and some scarcely surfaced, including the funeral service, which never went beyond the draft stage. The baptism service, allowing more responses from the godparents and being considerably less wordy than the BCP, became popular.

Birth of the book

In 1974, the Worship and Doctrine Measure, passed by the new General Synod allowed the production of a new book which was to contain everything that would be required of priest and congregation: daily Morning and Evening Prayer, Holy Communion, initiation services (Baptism and Confirmation), marriage, funeral services, the Ordinal, Sunday readings, a lectionary and a psalter. Once again, after a gap of nearly fifteen years, parishes which did not want to use the Book of Common Prayer had in their hands all the words, including readings ordered according to themes and with a two-year cycle.

Discussion in General Synod was lengthy. Hundreds of amendments to the initial proposals were debated on the floor of the chamber. Debate about the significance of the communion was taken up again. Since very many more parishes had, following the influence of the Parish Communion movement, already adopted the Eucharist as their main service, debates about it became even more pertinent.

The book was very variable in the degree to which it departed from the Book of Common Prayer . The Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer provided alternative canticles and all were now ecumenically approved translations, the so-called ICET texts (English Language Liturgical Consultation), but the form was conservative. In addition, a shorter order was provided for weekdays.

There were two forms of the Holy Communion , Rite A and Rite B. Rite A allowed for the Confession to come at the beginning of the service, following Roman practice; it gave space for extempore prayers in the intercessions and introduced the rubric 'or other suitable words' which were to become normative in modern liturgical books, allowing as it did, a departure from the form set down. The prayer of Humble Access was removed to a place before the Offertory – styled 'the Preparation of the Gifts' and the Four Action Shape was thus given prominence. There were four Eucharistic prayers, a new departure, one of which derived from Cranmer's form, two from the earlier experiments and one from work done between two scholars, one Evangelical and one Catholic, during the progress of the debates; it owed much to a prayer from the Ordo Missae of the Roman Catholic Church. All were heavily dependent on scholarly acceptance of the primacy of a third-century work usually termed the Apostolic Tradition attributed to Hippolytus, and which had been critically edited and published early in the 20th century. Rite B retained a version of Elizabethan language and prayers from the BCP such as the Prayer for the Church Militant (for which an alternative was allowed), and the first Eucharistic Prayer. The word 'Offertory' (though without indication of any actions) survived after the Peace. The Prayer of Oblation, a shortened version of the first Prayer of Thanksgiving in the BCP, was added to conform to the modern pattern. However, Rite A (but not, oddly, Rite B) was permitted to be said following the order of the Book of Common Prayer, a concession to those who valued Cranmer's 1552 abbreviation of the eucharistic prayer and generally used by conservative evangelicals.

A new rite for Thanksgiving after Adoption preceded the revision of the Old 'Churching of Women' service. Baptism could now be incorporated into the main Sunday service, the result of other influences intended to bring it back into the mainstream of worship. The Baptism of those able to answer for themselves was much more prominent, a result of the influence of those who questioned infant baptism in a post-Christian society. The questions, however, now addressed to the godparents or the person baptised directly, no longer required the renunciation of the devil or 'the vain pomp and glory of the world' or 'the carnal desires of the flesh' but instead a turning to Christ, a repentance from sin and a renunciation of evil. Likewise the ancient Apostles Creed was replaced by three tritheistic questions, which were criticised (by, among others, John Habgood, sometime Archbishop of York) as being unknown to the credal discussions of the Church, Eastern or Western, modern or ancient.

The Marriage rite followed the 1928 book in no longer suggesting that men might be 'like brute beasts that have no understanding' and allowed readings and a sermon (which the BCP had not). It added words for the giving and receiving of the ring and made provision for a communion.

The Funeral service officially allowed the coffin into Church, though Church funerals – or in a crematorium – had not ceased with Cranmer. It no longer excluded suicides or the unbaptised: the rubric was simply omitted. The deceased was not to be addressed directly, as had been the case before the Reformation, but a form of committal was now included: the deceased was 'entrust[ed] to '[God's] merciful keeping'.

A two-year cycle of Readings was provided, to which thematic titles were given. These proved not very hardwearing – they did not always adequately reflect the readings and were considered too narrow in their scope; It was not long before priests, if not parishioners, noticed that in spite of the huge increase in the amount of Scripture heard – there were now three readings, Old Testament, New Testament and Gospel, much was missed out. When the reading aloud of the Bible at home and Scripture as the basis of Religious Education were the rule, this may not have mattered; people's general knowledge of the Bible was broader. Now that both had disappeared it did. Moreover, the readings jumped from book to book week by week following the themes. It was not therefore possible to follow the thought of a particular biblical writer, something that was noted by the Liturgical Commission and was corrected in the ASB's successor, Common Worship . The book was also the high point of Tractarian influence: apart from retaining something of the Four Action Shape of Gregory Dix, there were set lections for the Blessing of An Abbot, for Those Taking Vows and for Vocations to Religious Communities. These were to disappear in 2000. The same applied to the Saints who would no longer be distinguished as to whether they were Martyrs, Teachers or Confessors. There was a good range of Prefaces to the Eucharistic Prayers, including one for St. Michael and All Angels (for which festival there is now no such provision).

The Sunday Lectionary originated in the work of the Joint Liturgical Group, an English ecumenical grouping. The Weekday lectionary which, for the first time provided Eucharistic Readings for every day of the year, originated with the Weekday Missal of the Roman Catholic Church.

Further changes

The ASB survived until the turn of the Millennium. General Synod learned not to repeat the time-hungry debates through which it had been born, and had amended standing orders allowing for a much more expeditious means of liturgical revision. The Daily or Sunday offices had been superseded in many churches by less formal forms – the Services of the Word – which accommodated the desire of some Evangelicals, particularly those in the charismatic tradition, not to be bound very much by liturgical forms, and by the growing popularity of informal family services. Additional material had been provided for use by General Synod in such books as 'Patterns for Worship' and seasonal material in the book 'Lent, Holy Week and Easter' and, for the winter seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, in 'The Promise of his Glory'. Some parishes were using the Roman Catholic-derived Revised Common Lectionary, which allowed each Biblical writer to speak in his own voice and on a three-year cycle. The intention had been to replace the ASB and the time seemed ripe. The single, if somewhat bulky book that the ASB was, was replaced by a series of books, none of which include readings, and by software packages and online support. This was Common Worship .

Another notable change, observed during the life of the ASB, was that the text of the Lord's Prayer was originally printed in Rite A only in the modern English form, but later editions printed a more "traditional" version (but adapted to modern grammar - "Our Father, who art in heaven" rather than the BCP's "Our Father, which art in heaven") side by side.

Related Research Articles

Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the largest branches of Christianity, with around 110 million adherents worldwide as of 2001.

The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The first prayer book, published in 1549 in the reign of King Edward VI of England, 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 "propers" : the introits, collects, and epistle and gospel readings for the Sunday service of Holy Communion. Old Testament and New Testament readings for daily prayer were specified in tabular format as were the Psalms and canticles, mostly biblical, that were provided to be said or sung between the readings.

Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term Mass is commonly used in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Old Catholicism, and Independent Catholicism. The term is also used in some Lutheran churches, as well as in some Anglican churches, and on rare occasion by other Protestant churches.

The collect is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy.

<i>Common Worship</i> Series of services in the Church of England

Common Worship is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical Movement within the Church and is the successor to the Alternative Service Book (ASB) of 1980. Like the ASB, it is an alternative to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP), which remains officially the normative liturgy of the Church of England.

Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used by a Christian congregation or denomination on a regular basis. The term liturgy comes from Greek and means "public work". Within Christianity, liturgies descending from the same region, denomination, or culture are described as ritual families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lectionary</span> Book of approved scripture readings in Abrahamic religions

A lectionary is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christian or Jewish worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evangeliary, and an epistolary with the readings from the New Testament Epistles.

The Prayer Book Society of Canada or PBSC, founded in 1986, is an organization of Canadian Anglicans encompassing members who are affiliated with both the Anglican Church of Canada and other jurisdictions such as the Anglican Network in Canada and the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada. The Society promotes “the understanding and use of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) as a spiritual system of nurture for life in Christ” and upholds it as the standard of doctrine and worship for Canadian Anglicans. It primarily supports the use of the 1962 Canadian edition of the BCP, and aims to encourage greater awareness and wider use of it through the publication of liturgical resources in print and online, advocacy to and collaboration with like-minded organizations and the broader church, and the provision of financial aid to theological students and parishes.

The Directory for Public Worship is a liturgical manual produced by the Westminster Assembly in 1644 to replace the Book of Common Prayer. Approved by the Parliament of England in 1644 and the Parliament of Scotland in 1645, the Directory is part of the Westminster Standards, together with the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Form of Church Government.

In keeping with its prevailing self-identity as a via media or "middle path" of Western Christianity, Anglican sacramental theology expresses elements in keeping with its status as a church in the catholic tradition and a church of the Reformation. With respect to sacramental theology the Catholic tradition is perhaps most strongly asserted in the importance Anglicanism places on the sacraments as a means of grace, sanctification and forgiveness as expressed in the church's liturgy.

Anglican eucharistic theology is diverse in practice, reflecting the comprehensiveness of Anglicanism. Its sources include prayer book rubrics, writings on sacramental theology by Anglican divines, and the regulations and orientations of ecclesiastical provinces. The principal source material is the Book of Common Prayer, specifically its eucharistic prayers and Article XXVIII of the Thirty-Nine Articles. Article XXVIII comprises the foundational Anglican doctrinal statement about the Eucharist, although its interpretation varies among churches of the Anglican Communion and in different traditions of churchmanship such as Anglo-Catholicism and Evangelical Anglicanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liturgical book</span> Christian prayer book

A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services.

The liturgical books of the Roman Rite are the official books containing the words to be recited and the actions to be performed in the celebration of Catholic liturgy as done in Rome. The Roman Rite of the Latin or Western Church of the Catholic Church is the most widely celebrated of the scores of Catholic liturgical rites. The titles of some of these books contain the adjective "Roman", e.g. the "Roman Missal", to distinguish them from the liturgical books for the other rites of the Church.

The Lima Liturgy is a Christian ecumenical Eucharistic liturgy. It was written for the 1982 Plenary Session of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Lima, Peru and reflects the theological convergences of the meeting's Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM) document as expressed in liturgy. The liturgy was used again at the closing of a 1982 meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1983 during the Sixth Assembly of the WCC in Vancouver, Canada, in 1991 at the Seventh Assembly of the WCC in Canberra, Australia, and, albeit unofficially, in 1993 at the fifth world conference on Faith and Order in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Although the Eucharist has not been celebrated at WCC Assemblies after 1991 using the Lima or any other liturgy, the Lima Liturgy has been used in ecumenical events all over the world. For instance, many churches in North America use it on World Communion Sunday.

The 1549 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the original version of the Book of Common Prayer, variations of which are still in use as the official liturgical book of the Church of England and other Anglican churches. Written during the English Reformation, the prayer book was largely the work of Thomas Cranmer, who borrowed from a large number of other sources. Evidence of Cranmer's Protestant theology can be seen throughout the book; however, the services maintain the traditional forms and sacramental language inherited from medieval Catholic liturgies. Criticised by Protestants for being too traditional, it was replaced by the significantly revised 1552 Book of Common Prayer.

The 1979 Book of Common Prayer is the official primary liturgical book of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church. An edition in the same tradition as other versions of the Book of Common Prayer used by the churches within the Anglican Communion and Anglicanism generally, it contains both the forms of the Eucharistic liturgy and the Daily Office, as well as additional public liturgies and personal devotions. It is the fourth major revision of the Book of Common Prayer adopted by the Episcopal Church, and succeeded the 1928 edition. The 1979 Book of Common Prayer has been translated into multiple languages and is considered a representative production of the 20th-century Liturgical Movement.

The 1929 Scottish Prayer Book is an official liturgical book of the Scotland-based Scottish Episcopal Church. The 1929 edition follows from the same tradition of other versions of the Book of Common Prayer used by the churches within the Anglican Communion and Anglicanism generally, with the unique liturgical tradition of Scottish Anglicanism. It contains both the forms of the Eucharistic liturgy and Daily Office, as well as additional public liturgies and personal devotions. The second major revision of the Book of Common Prayer following the full independence of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the 1929 Scottish Prayer Book succeeded the 1912 edition and was intended to serve alongside the Church of England's 1662 prayer book.

<i>Book of Common Prayer</i> (1552) 2nd Anglican liturgical book

The 1552 Book of Common Prayer, also called the Second Prayer Book of Edward VI, was the second version of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and contained the official liturgy of the Church of England from November 1552 until July 1553. The first Book of Common Prayer was issued in 1549 as part of the English Reformation, but Protestants criticised it for being too similar to traditional Roman Catholic services. The 1552 prayer book was revised to be explicitly Reformed in its theology.

The 1962 Book of Common Prayer is an authorized liturgical book of the Canada-based Anglican Church of Canada. The 1962 prayer book is often also considered the 1959 prayer book, in reference to the year the revision was first approved for an "indefinite period" of use beginning in 1960. The 1962 edition follows from the same tradition of other versions of the Book of Common Prayer used by the churches within the Anglican Communion and Anglicanism generally. It contains both the Eucharistic liturgy and Daily Office, as well as additional public liturgies and personal devotions. The second major revision of the Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church of Canada, the 1962 Book of Common Prayer succeeded the 1918 edition, which itself had replaced the Church of England's 1662 prayer book. While supplanted by the 1985 Book of Alternative Services as the Anglican Church of Canada's primary Sunday service book, the 1962 prayer book continues to see usage.

<i>Book of Common Prayer</i> (1662) Anglican liturgical book

The 1662 Book of Common Prayer is an authorised liturgical book of the Church of England and other Anglican bodies around the world. In continuous print and regular use for over 360 years, the 1662 prayer book is the basis for numerous other editions of the Book of Common Prayer and other liturgical texts. Noted for both its devotional and literary quality, the 1662 prayer book has influenced the English language, with its use alongside the King James Version of the Bible contributing to an increase in literacy from the 16th to the 20th century.

References

↑ D.C. Somervell, The Reign of King George V, (1936) pp 403–8.online free

The Shape of the Liturgy Gregory Dix (Dacre 1945)
Durham Essays and Addresses Michael Ramsey (SPCK 1956)
The End of the Offertory Colin Buchanan (Grove 1978)
The Offering of the People Roger Arguile (Jubilee 1986)
Eucharist and Offering Kenneth Stevenson (Pueblo 1986)