Book of Common Prayer (1928, United States)

Last updated

The 1928 Book of Common Prayer [note 1] was the official primary liturgical book of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church from 1928 to 1979. 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 was the third major revision of the Book of Common Prayer adopted by the Episcopal Church, succeeding the 1892 edition and being replaced by the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.

Contents

Background

Following the English Reformation and the separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church, the liturgies of Anglicanism were transcribed into English. The first such production was the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, traditionally considered to be work of Thomas Cranmer, which replaced both the missals and breviaries of Catholic usage. [1] Among these liturgies were the Communion service and canonical hours of Matins and Evensong, with the addition of the Ordinal containing the form for the consecration of bishops, priests, and deacons in 1550. [2] Under Edward VI, the 1552 Book of Common Prayer incorporated more radically Protestant reforms, [3] : 11  a process that continued with 1559 edition approved under Elizabeth I. [4]

American prayer books

Prior to the consecration of Samuel Seabury by the Episcopal Church of Scotland as the first American Anglican bishop to not accept the English Crown and the establishment of the independent Episcopal Church after the American Revolutionary War, the Church of England had operated in what would become the United States using the liturgies as defined in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. [5] Pennsylvanian Episcopal priests William Smith and William White created the first widely used American edition of the prayer book in 1786 as a "proposed" text based on the 1662 prayer book. [6] [7] A further revision with a greater departure from the English 1662 edition was approved for regular usage by the newly-established Episcopal Church in 1789. Notably, the Eucharistic prayers of this approved edition included a similar Epiclesis invoking the Holy Spirit as that present in Eastern Christian rituals and the Episcopal Church of Scotland's liturgy. [3] : 12  Proposals to remove the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds faced successful objections from both a caucus of High Church Virginians and English bishops who had been consulted on the prayer book's production. [8] Revisions of the 1789 Book of Common Prayer, known as "Standard Editions", [note 2] were promulgated by the General Convention in 1793, 1822, 1832, 1838, 1845, and 1871 with notes regarding changes. [10]

The 1789 edition would be replaced in 1892 by a new edition of the prayer book considered a "conservative" revision of its predecessor. [11] The 1892 Book of Common Prayer was the first American prayer book to have a standard edition made which further printings were to be compared against and inserted rubrical emphasis on offering Communion to all present. [12] : 71  [13] Among the alterations were several derived from edits in a draft liturgy produced by the Scottish Episcopal Church in 1889. [14] : 94  While the 1892 prayer book was not a complete revision, it indicated that the prayer book was changeable. [15] : 58 

Revision and introduction

The pressure for additional revision after the adoption of the 1892 prayer book continued until the 1928 General Convention adopted the 1928 prayer book. [16] : 92  This adoption came after a revision effort that began in 1913 with the creation of a commission following efforts by Clifon Macon in the Diocese of California during the preceding year. This commission—which included bishops, priests, and laymen—recommended several changes to the prayer book in their first report. These included alterations with doctrinal implications—such as the removal of a prayer that identified disastrous weather as divine punishment for sin—that were approved by the General Convention. [15] : 59–60 

Under the leadership of Cortlandt Whitehead and, after his 1922 death, Charles L. Slattery, the commission presented book-length reports at four further General Conventions, [17] [13] : 101  resulting in review and debate with varying outcomes. At the 1922 General Convention, the conservative view on revision dissipated; the revision process was completed at the 1925 convention. Final approval came in 1928. [15] : 60–61 

Among the significant changes present in the 1928 prayer book included the excision of "extreme Calvinism", diminished emphasis on human sinfulness, and alteration of the matrimonial service such that the pledges were more similar between husband and wife. [12] : 64  [18] : 161–162  The 1928 prayer book began a general shift from the medieval patterns of the Visitation of the Sick, which had generally interpreted sickness as both incurable and as punishment, but the new prayer book did not entirely omit these earlier prayers. [19] : 207  The third Good Friday collect was altered to omit what was deemed an "unwarranted slur" against Jews that had been present since the 1549 prayer book. [13] : 111 

Use and replacement

Post-1979 usage

Copies of the 1928 prayer book inside an Anglican Catholic Church parish Copies of the 1928 U.S. Book of Common Prayer.jpg
Copies of the 1928 prayer book inside an Anglican Catholic Church parish

The Episcopal Church authorized bishops to permit 1928 prayer book liturgies to be celebrated within their dioceses at the same 1979 General Convention that approved the 1979 prayer book. Usage under this provision required celebration according to the 1979 lectionary. [20] The 2000 General Convention revised these permissions, assigning the 1928 prayer book to the same category of permissions given to supplemental liturgies approved post-1979. [21] [22] In 1991, the Church of the Good Shepherd, an anglo-catholic Episcopal Church parish in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, published the Anglican Service Book as a "traditional language adaptation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer." Besides offering the Rite I services of the 1979 prayer book, offered traditional-language versions of the 1979 prayer book's contemporary-language prayers. The Psalter is that of the 1928 prayer book. [23]

Contents

The 1928 prayer book is organized with the Daily Offices, including Morning and Evening Prayer, towards the front. The middle section of the book contains the Order for the Holy Communion with associated collects and Scriptural readings. The rear of the text is devoted to the Occasional Offices, including those baptism, matrimony, and burial. [24] : 97–98  Like other Books of Common Prayer and the King James Bible, the 1928 prayer book does not capitalize pronouns when referring to God. [25] : 14  Massey H. Shepherd–who played a significant role in creating the 1979 prayer book–said that the Thirty-nine Articles as they appear in the 1928 prayer book "should be interpreted in light of the teaching of the entire Prayer Book. They are not a norm by which the rest of the Prayer Book must of necessity be judged and explained." [19] : 277 

Daily Office

The penitential sentences prefacing the 1892 prayer book's Daily Offices were deleted in favor for seasonal emphasis. However, despite the popularity of the practice, rubrics for sermons were not inserted into the 1928 prayer book's Daily Offices, keeping with the 1892 and other earlier prayer books. [16] : 92, 176–177 

The pattern for reading Scriptural lessons in the 1928 prayer book deviates significantly from Cranmer's lectionary, favoring weekday lessons to be read "in course". This arrangement sees books of the Bible read from beginning to end with some omissions. The 1928 prayer book's lessons were also designed to be relevant to the seasons of the liturgical calendar. [16] : 158–159 

Holy Communion

The 1928 prayer book contains the form of the Holy Communion service–titled the Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper or the Holy Communion–before the collects, epistles, and gospels. A new rubric was inserted with the 1928 prayer book which permitted a deacon to celebrate the Communion office ending at the gospel when a priest was absent. [13] : 106  As in other prior English prayer books, the 1928 prayer book includes a rubric permitting sermons during the celebration of the Eucharist. [16] : 176–177 

Due to growing opposition to the Ten Commandments in the Communion service on the grounds that they had lost their relevancy and meaning in the modern world, permission was granted that significant portions might be omitted. The portions authorized for omission were printed inset from the rest of the commandments. The revising commission had unsuccessfully proposed that they be followed by "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye also love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also one another." [13] : 107–108 

Unlike other English and American prayer book revisions which had introduced few new collects, the 1928 edition added 15 across various offices including the Holy Communion. [15] : 144  Despite there only being one formal fixed Postcommunion thanksgiving, changes between the 1550 ordinal and the 1552 prayer book resulted in a longstanding tradition wherein the Commendatory Prayers were treated as "Postcommunions"; this tradition was formally authorized in the 1928 proposed English prayer book and 1929 Scottish Prayer Book while a rubric in the 1928 American prayer book failed to completely prevent the practice. [15] : 215–217 

The 1789 prayer book permitted a "hymn" after the Consecration, with the 1928 prayer book placing this after the Prayer of Humble Access and during the Breaking of Bread and the Communion. Despite the 1928 proposal to restore the Agnus Dei narrowly failing, the view of the Agnus Dei as a "hymn" allowed its singing. [15] : 217 

Occasional Offices

Among the offices included within the 1928 prayer book are those for baptism, confirmation, marriage, illness, and burial. [24] : 98  The burial office introduced a new collect that asks for a growth of both knowledge and love of God; this prayer was retained in the 1979 prayer book's Rite I form. [19] : 223–224  The 1928 prayer book also introduced several prayers for the dead. This type of prayer—which had been absent since the 1552 prayer book—was inserted in the context of the post–World War I world, where memory of the dead was part of the public consciousness. [19] : 229 

The Visitation of the Sick was significantly altered from its 1892 guise with the intent of removing "so gloomy, so medieval" theology that had prevented its regular use in ministry. The new office was intended to impart hope on the sick, with joyful psalms introduced. Abbreviated forms of the confession and absolution were similarly added. [13] : 115–116 

Notes

  1. ↑ The official full name of the text is The Book of Common Prayer; and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church According to the use of The Protestant Episcopal Church Together with The Psalter or Psalms of David, following titling conventions extant from the initial period of prayer book production.
  2. ↑ Not to be confused with the standard editions by which Episcopal prayer books are compared for certification, which are currently defined by Canon 3, Title II of the Constitutions and Canons of the Episcopal Church. [9]

Related Research Articles

Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition which 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.

<i>Book of Common Prayer</i> Prayer book used in most Anglican churches

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass (liturgy)</span> Type of worship service within many Christian denominations

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.

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">Roman Rite</span> Most widespread liturgical rite in the Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Rite is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the sui iuris particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs rites such as the Roman Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours as well as the manner in which sacraments and blessings are performed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin liturgical rites</span> Category of Catholic rites of public worship

Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, is a large family of liturgical rites and uses of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church sui iuris of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once dominated. Its language is now known as Ecclesiastical Latin. The most used rite is the Roman Rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eucharist in Anglicanism</span>

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.

The Calendar of the Church Year is the liturgical calendar found in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and in Lesser Feasts and Fasts, with additions made at recent General Conventions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Church (United States)</span> Anglican denomination in the United States

The Episcopal Church (TEC), based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is Michael Bruce Curry, the first African American bishop to serve in that position.

<i>Book of Common Prayer</i> (1928, England) Proposed Anglican liturgical book

The 1928 Book of Common Prayer, sometimes known as the Deposited Book, is a liturgical book which was proposed as a revised version of the Church of England's 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Opposing what they saw as an Anglo-Catholic revision that would align the Church of England with the Catholic Church—particularly through expanding the practice of the reserved sacrament—Protestant evangelicals and nonconformists in Parliament put up significant resistance, driving what became known as the Prayer Book Crisis.

Order of Mass is an outline of a Mass celebration, describing how and in what order liturgical texts and rituals are employed to constitute a Mass.

<i>Book of Common Prayer</i> (1979) American Anglican prayer book

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.

<i>Scottish Prayer Book</i> (1929) Liturgical book of the Scottish Episcopal Church

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> (1962) Liturgical book of the Anglican Church of Canada

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.

Anglican liturgy usually refers to liturgies according the Book of Common Prayer and its derivatives. It may also refer to the following liturgies and liturgical books used by churches and groups in the Anglican Christian tradition:

<i>Book of Common Prayer</i> (1604) Anglican liturgical book

The 1604 Book of Common Prayer, often called the Jacobean prayer book or the Hampton Court Book, is the fourth version of the Book of Common Prayer as used by the Church of England. It was introduced during the early English reign of James I as a product of the Hampton Court Conference, a summit between episcopalian, Puritan, and Presbyterian factions. A modest revision of the 1559 prayer book, the Jacobean prayer book became the basis of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, a still-authorized liturgical book within the Church of England and global Anglicanism.

An ordinal, in a modern context, is a liturgical book that contains the rites and prayers for the ordination and consecration to the Holy Orders of deacons, priests, and bishops in multiple Christian denominations, especially the Edwardine Ordinals within Anglicanism. The term "ordinal" has been applied to the prayers and ceremonies for ordinations in the Catholic Church, where the pontificals of the Latin liturgical rites typically compile them along with other liturgies exclusive to bishops. In medieval liturgies, ordinals supplied instruction on how to use the various books necessary to celebrate a liturgy and added rubrical direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwardine Ordinals</span> Two 16th-century Church of England liturgical books

The Edwardine Ordinals are two ordinals primarily written by Thomas Cranmer as influenced by Martin Bucer and first published under Edward VI, the first in 1550 and the second in 1552, for the Church of England. Both liturgical books were intended to replace the ordination liturgies contained within medieval pontificals in use before the English Reformation.

References

  1. ↑ James Wood (October 15, 2012). "God Talk: The Book of Common Prayer at three hundred and fifty". The New Yorker . New York City. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  2. ↑ "The Book of Common Prayer-1549". Society of Archbishop Justus. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Black, Vicki K. (2005). Welcome to the Book of Common Prayer. Harrisburg, PA: Moorehouse Publishing, Church Publishing, The Episcopal Church.
  4. ↑ Maltby, Judith (1976). "Introduction". In John E. Booty (ed.). The Book of Common Prayer 1559: The Elizabethan Prayer Book (2005 ed.). Charlottesville, VA, and London: University of Virginia Press for Folger Shakespeare Library. p. viii.
  5. ↑ "History of the Church in the United States of America". The Episcopal Church. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  6. ↑ "1786 Proposed U.S. Book of Common Prayer". Society of Archbishop Justus. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  7. ↑ "White, William". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  8. ↑ Cummings, Brian (2018). The Book of Common Prayer: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 93.
  9. ↑ The Archives of the Episcopal Church, ed. (2006). Constitution & Canons, Together with the Rules of Order For the government of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America Otherwise Known as The Episcopal Church (PDF). Church Publishing Incorporated, The Episcopal Church. p. 59. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  10. ↑ "1789 U.S. Book of Common Prayer". Society of Archbishop Justus. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  11. ↑ "The 1892 U.S. Book of Common Prayer". Society of Archbishop Justus. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  12. 1 2 Suter, John Wallace; Cleveland, George Julius (1949). The American Book of Common Prayer: Its Origin and Development. New York City: Oxford University Press.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chorley, E. Clowes (1929). "Chapter VI. The Prayer Book of 1892 & Chapter VII. The New Prayer Book: Revision". The New American Prayer Book: Its History and Contents. New York City: Macmillan Company. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022.
  14. ↑ The Standing Liturgical Commission of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States (1953). IV. The Eucharistic Liturgy (PDF). Prayer Book Studies. New York City: The Church Pension Fund. Retrieved June 21, 2022– via Society of Archbishop Justus.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Parsons, Edward Lambe; Jones, Bayard Hale (1937). The American Prayer Book: Its Origins and Principles. New York City: Charles Scribner's Sons.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Price, Charles P.; Weil, Louis (1979). Liturgy for Living. The Church's Teaching Series. New York City: Seabury Press.
  17. ↑ Episcopal Church (1925). Joint Commission on the Book of common prayer : Fourth report of the Joint Commission on the Book of common prayer. Internet Archive. New York : Macmillan.
  18. ↑ Jacobs, Alan (2013). The Book of Common Prayer: A Biography. Lives of Great Religious Books. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Mitchell, Leonel L. (1985). Prayer Shapes Believing: A Theological Commentary on The Book of Common Prayer. Wilton, CT: Morehouse Publishing.
  20. ↑ 1979 General Convention of the Episcopal Church. "Resolution 1979-A121: Declare Guidelines for Worship From the 1928 Prayer Book". Acts of Convention. Denver: The Archives of the Episcopal Church. Retrieved June 25, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ "FAQ". Task Force on Liturgical and Prayer Book Revision, The Episcopal Church. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  22. ↑ 2000 General Convention of the Episcopal Church (2000). "Resolution 2000-B042: Reaffirm the Resolution on Supplemental Liturgical Materials". Acts of Convention. Denver: The Archives of the Episcopal Church. Retrieved June 25, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ↑ The Anglican Service Book: A Traditional Language Adaptation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer together with The Psalter or Psalms of David and Additional Devotions. Rosemont, PA: Church of the Good Shepherd. 1991. ISBN   0-9629955-0-9. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022.
  24. 1 2 Shepherd, Jr., Massey H. (1952). The Worship of the Church. The Church's Teaching. Greenwich, CT: Seabury Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ↑ Standing Liturgical Commission of the Episcopal Church (1973). Prayers, Thanksgivings, and Litanies. New York City: Church Hymnal Corporation.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.