Content and use of The Book of Common Prayer

Thomas Cranmer’s introduction to the first Book of Common Prayer (1549) underscores the purposes for which it was prepared: to restore the centrality of Scripture in worship, to provide an “order for prayer” consistent with early Christian worship, to simplify medieval practice and make the book easier to understand and use, and to establish unity of practice across the English Church (see the Book of Common Prayer 2019, page 794). Central to this project was worship in English, a language understood by the people (Articles of Religion 24). In the long run, this was a book that could be used not only by clergy or in the church building, but also in the home--especially the Daily Office. It provided a holistic spiritual system, a grammar for prayer, and a pattern for Christian practice. Finally, it offered a fundamental statement of Anglican theology.

Candidates will be expected to have read through the Book of Common Prayer 2019, observing not only what the prayers say, but also how the liturgies are to be conducted, according to the rubrics and "Additional Directions" to various rites.

Recommended Reading

The Book of Common Prayer: A Biography by Alan Jacobs

Areas of Liturgics

1. History of Christian Worship
2. Content and use of The Book of Common Prayer
3. Daily Office
4. Corporate and Private Prayer
5. Sacramental Theology
6. The Holy Eucharist
7. Baptism and Confirmation
8. Marriage and Children
9. Rites of Healing
10. Death and Burial
11. Sanctification of Time
12. Sanctification of Space
13. Liturgy and Music
14. Liturgy and Mission