A Book of Common Prayer

A magnificent and brilliantly written novel by one of our greatest living writers. Ms Didion uses words like no other writer and strikes every emotional chord in a unique and compelling way. She draws us into her characters' worlds and perspectives. The book is so cinenamatic, I don't know why it hasn't been adapted for the screen yet - it would be an amazing film

The still relatively new (2003) Reformed Episcopal Church (R.E.C.) Book of Common Prayer (ISBN 1-893293-00-9, measuring 9 in., i.e. 22 cm., at the covers, in the buckram-hardbound option) is as superb an edition, especially for Low Church use, choral or spoken, as any Book of Common Prayer (B.C.P.) edition ever published. It has returned to many elements of the traditional B.C.P. which in the past the Reformed Episcopal Church had altered or deleted, e.g., the priest's pronouncements of Absolution in the Holy Communion and in Morning and Evening Prayer, some of the articles in the 39 Articles of Religion, and so forth. The 2003 B.C.P. represents more normative Anglicanism than the R.E.C.'s prior Prayerbooks had done so.

The R.E.C.'s 2003 B.C.P., in its note "Concerning the Present Edition" (on prelim. p. xii) mentions that it "is based upon the [Church of England's] Book of Common Prayer [of] 1662, incorporating selected aspects of subsequent revisions, including the American [PECUSA's, i.e. Protestant Episcopal Church's] Book of Common Prayer [of] 1928 and the 1963 edition of the Book of Common Prayer according to the use of the Reformed Episcopal Church. The Lectionary is generally drawn from the altar edition of An Australian Prayer Book [of] 1978, augmented by the Sunday Psalms and Lessons from the 1945 [variant] edition of the Book of Common Prayer [of the] PECUSA [of] 1928. The Psalter is the American [usual variant of the] Coverdale version."

The structure and sequence of wording of the Eucharist, a matter of much interest to Scots, Americans, and Canadians, are those of the Church of England (in its 1552-1662 Prayerbooks), which prevail in the R.E.C.'s primary Eucharistic liturgy, rather than those of the more catholic-leaning, traditional, and indigenous "Scottish Liturgy" of the Episcopal Church of Scotland (preserving eucharistic options of the Church of England's 1549 B.C.P. options rather than those of 1552 onwards), as reflected in the Scottish-influenced 1928 U.S. and 1962 Canadian Prayerbooks, all displaying the ongoing influence, to some (albeit still limited) extent, of the 1549 (first) B.C.P.'s Eucharist.

However, the "Alternate Form" of the Holy Communion, the second form of the Eucharist found in the R.E.C. Prayer Book as revised for publication in 2003, provides a liturgy that conforms to that of the 1928 B.C.P. of the U.S.' Protestant Episcopal Church. This provides the same degree of rather more catholic-leaning order of the American liturgy, and thus, by extension to an important degree, of the "Scottish Liturgy", which, in numerous crucial ways, is more in the 1549 B.C.P. tradition rather than it is in that of 1552. Use of this "Alternate Form", if it become widespread, could lead to greater uniformity of the R.E.C.'s B.C.P. with the Prayer Books of the mainline North American denominations, i.e. the traditional 1928 U.S. and 1962 Canadian Books of Common Prayer.

The pride of place accorded within this 2003 B.C.P. of the R.E.C. to the more 1662 English B.C.P.-derived Holy Communion service, no doubt, brings to mind the R.E.C.'s Low Church/Evangelical outright CONDEMNATION (expressed on p. 623 in the 2003 R.E.C.'s B.C.P.) of the concept of the Real Presence in the Eucharist as Luther and others (e.g., the Eastern Orthodox Churches) rightly and literally conceive and teach it. This anti-catholic stance is found in the R.E.C.'s "Declaration of Principles". As the R.E.C. officially states it, "This Church condemns and rejects [among other] erroneous and strange doctrines, as contrary to God's Word ... [that] the Presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper is a presence in [i.e., within] the elements of bread and wine" themselves, reflecting, at best, the Receptionist understanding of Martin Bucer or even, at worst, the purely symbolic and memorial doctrinal attitude of Huldrych Zwingli during the Protestant Reformation concerning the Real Presence or a "Real Absence" (as a Confessional Lutheran pastor, formerly in Montréal, echoing some theologians of the past, sarcastically once put it about Anglican and other non-Lutheran Protestant Eucharistic doctrine). However, the willingness now of the R.E.C. to print an alternative Eucharistic liturgy that conforms in such an important regard to the 1928 (U.S.) and 1962 (Canadian) Books of Common Prayer (and, by extension, to the Scottish Episcopal Church's 1929 B.C.P.) eventually may alleviate some of the quasi-Zwinglian sting of the R.E.C.'s longstanding hostility to more catholic-minded (and hence theologically Lutheran-leaning) Anglican liturgical forms and norms.

Of course, in the Daily Office's services of Morning Prayer (Mattins) and of Evening Prayer (Evensong), whether found in relatively more Protestant or more pervasively Anglo-Catholic influenced Prayerbooks and Missals, the services are largely as the 1552 B.C.P. had finalised them. That is so despite whatever minor variants there are which one encounters in the Daily Office services from one of the various Anglican provinces' B.C.P. editions to others of them. The 1552 services prevail among both Anglican camps (of churchmanship) and so they do here in the case (ever more now than in previous R.E.C.'s B.C.P. editions) of the Reformed Episcopal Church.

Just to what extent the 2004 R.E.C.'s standard B.C.P., and the R.E.C.'s own variant of it in current English, regarding the Daily Office (of Mattins and Evensong) derive from the 1928 U.S. liturgical standard is something of which Robin G. Jordan discusses (with cavils about the R.E.C.'s B.C.P. that will leave most lay and even clerical readers fairly indifferent, overall), in his rather inadequately titled Internet article, "A Modern Language Version of the Reformed Episcopal Book of Common Prayer: Morning and Evening Prayer" on the WWW site, "Anglicans Ablaze".

The tables of readings in this B.C.P. are exceptionally well thought out, especially in providing better, and more uniformly, than most Anglican Prayerbooks tend to do for Psalm readings, rather as the 1929 Scottish B.C.P. had done along in its own way. However, the R.E.C.'s continuing exclusion of public lections from the books of the O.T.'s Apocrypha, even for weekday services (a failing which, on the other hand, the Scottish B.C.P. does not share) remains a regrettable defect. On the other hand, a praiseworthy feature of the R.E.C.'s 2003 B.C.P. is the presence of some auxiliary tables of readings and Psalms for occasions which are not part of the Church Calendar for the Christian Year, per se, but which many congregations, anyhow, may wish to celebrate publicly and of which the layman may desire also to avail himself in his private devotional life. Then there are, additionally, this Prayerbook's "Topical Selections of Psalms", on prelim. p. xv, and "Psalms and Lessons the Special Occasions" in church and national life (citing the running title at the tops of facing pages), on prelim. p. l-li.

Unlike, notably, the 1928 U.S. Prayerbook of the PECUSA, this B.C.P. of the R.E.C. provides (as an option) for the use of the Athanasian Creed, found on p. 36-38. At least the very presence of this Creed emphasises the significance of this great statement of Trinitarian faith in the life and in the teaching of the Church, much as the Church of England's 1662 B.C.P. (but even more notably and more emphatically) has done for so many centuries.

Traditional Tudor/Stuart Prayerbook English is used throughout in this Prayerbook. (For those who prefer current-day English, the R.E.C. makes separate provision elsewhere.) The book is exceptionally well printed and bound, the typography and layout of its pages easy on, and pleasing to, the eyes.

These factors and numerous others make the R.E.C.'s 2003 B.C.P. (which, despite other influences as well, now bases itself more essentially on the 1662 B.C.P. of the Church of England rather than on any former U.S. edition of the B.C.P., Reformed Episcopal or Protestant Episcopal) to be especially fine for use in one's personal devotions at home as well as for public worship.

It is rather a shame, however, that the R.E.C.'s B.C.P. did not provide for Compline and for the "Forms of Prayer To Be Used at Sea" which the 1962 Canadian B.C.P. so admirably provided for and perfected. (The 1929 Scottish B.C.P. also had made provision for Compline, in a service of somewhat greater length and complexity.)

To go into further comparisons, albeit the sheer excellence of this publication would warrant doing so, is not something desired to recount here. Certain details, such the minor changes of wording which have substituted for earlier ones, e.g., the way that occasional word substitutions have been made, within the context of Tudor/Stuart syntax, could be improved, as could other slight aspects of the book. Indeed, no edition of the B.C.P. (not even the very fine 1962 Canadian and 1929 Scottish Books of Common Prayer) is perfect. (See, on this and other Prayerbook matters, this same reviewer's comparative remarks about various Anglican Provinces' B.C.P. editions, within the context of an the store review of the 1929 Scottish Prayer Book.)

Rest assured, however, that the R.E.C.'s 2003 B.C.P. is a real step forward for the continuation of traditional worship in Anglicanism, whether especially in the "Continuing Church" movement, towards which the R.E.C., having forsaken its historic isolation, has oriented itself in recent years more sympathetically than in the past, or, as well, within the "official" Anglican Communion which remains, whether dubiously or wisely be the case, in communion with the Archiepiscopal See of Canterbury.

It's wonderful that the 1928 Book of Common Prayer is back in print and available - hopefully to stay. It's remarkable that a book that is so widely loved and used has had a recent history of not being in print or readily available. Now, I can take it with me on my Kindle as well.

The 1928 Prayer Book is the American version of the Book of Common Prayer, descended from the first Prayer Book composed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1549. It is very close to the most classic form of the Prayer Book, the 1662 Prayer Book, which is still the official book for the Church of England and much of the Anglican Communion, as well as the theological standard for the new province, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). The 1928 Prayer Book is used by the continuing Anglican churches, the Reformed Episcopal Church, and many churches in the ACNA.

Not only is it good to see this Prayer Book back in print but to see it in a reasonably priced hardcover edition. So many churches and individuals I know who want a 1928 Prayer Book have had to resort to using beat up old versions that are in disrepair.

To traditional Anglicans, this reprinting of the Prayer Book is a Godsend. But what most people don't know is that the Book of Common Prayer is a profound and beautiful resource for the prayer and devotional life of any Christian. The Prayer Book expresses an orthodox and comprehensive theology and spirituality for all of life, and it helps the individual Christian order his life around prayer, the Bible, and the Church.

So many Christians I meet are floundering in their devotional life with the Lord or find that their prayer life is dull and dry. Using the Prayer Book has given a structure and words to the hearts of many Christians. There are Morning and Evening Prayer services that can be adapted for personal use, and the daily lectionary (system for reading Scripture on a daily basis) guides the Christian in knowing what to read each day. By following the Church year in the Prayer Book, all of time can be sanctified and lived in a more prayerful way.

There are also some short forms of Family Prayer if a family wants to use the prayers and keep things simple. In my home we use the Prayer Book each evening after meal to have a short Evening Prayer service, something that fewer and fewer families are doing. If you're Christian parents wanting to have a family devotional time, why not look into the Prayer Book?

There are also many wonderful, historic prayers for all occasions and situations. What intrigues me is how traditional weddings all use the words from the Book of Common Prayer "Order for Holy Matrimony" because of the beauty, depth, and godliness of the words. At funerals, too, the service from the Prayer Book is often used in part, for the same reasons.

Essentially, the Prayer Book is a comprehensive guide to the Christian life, especially if used with the Bible and in the life of the larger church.

While the Oxford edition of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer will be most welcome to Anglicans, many other Christians would benefit from picking up a copy, regardless of their church tradition.

Joan Didion uses a distinctively flat, affectless style and an unreliable narrator in "A Book of Common Prayer." She utilizes both to great effect to recount the mystery of Charlotte Douglas, an American expatriate in Boca Grande, the capital of a Central American country whose government is overthrown almost as regularly as clockwork.

Grace Tabor, the aforementioned unreliable narrator, is an anthropologist dying of pancreatic cancer. She is also married into the dysfunctional family dictatorship that runs the country. She has set herself the project of constructing a sort of anthropological case study of Charlotte Douglas. But Charlotte is a woman who seems to exist largely in a world of her own. She defies classification within the parameters of what is normal human behavior.

Charlotte has come to Boca Grande for reasons that she hardly seems to understand herself. Her daughter, Marin, is wanted by the FBI in a plane hijacking. She is currently married to a lawyer who represents political radicals. She has an ex-husband who is a) brilliant b) crazy c)Marin's father d) dying e) abusive f) sexually, psychologically, sadistically obsessed with Charlotte.

Tabor's attempt to tell Charlotte's "story" is full of ellipses, lacunas, and empirical facts of dubious provenance. Her own life is similarly full of holes and blind spots. As Tabor says, "I have not been the witness I wanted to be." Though it isn't for lack of trying.

As Boca Grande slouches towards its scheduled revolution, there are signs that forces darker and more ominous than the usual are at work behind the scenes.
Charlotte seems not just willing to die for no particular reason, but to be inviting the catastrophe.

Why?

Didion purposely leaves enough pieces out of the jigsaw puzzle to force the reader to speculate on the final picture. In "A Book of Common Prayer" people and nations have lost their moral compass; they drift more or less without direction inexorably towards the vortex of a whirlpool of violence and tragedy. The result is a disturbing, haunting novel that doesn't seek to solve a mystery but to present human nature itself as the ultimate mystery. A mystery that is, in the end, utterly unsolvable.

A finely wrought piece of fiction whose laconic, iconic, zombie-style has been much-imitated, "A Book of Common Prayer" is a good snapshot of our times. After I turned the final page, it left me so depressed I had to head for the fridge and the peanut butter ice cream. Sure signs of a good novel, indeed.

To my knowledge, this is the first time the ENTIRE 1979 BCP has been in large print. The text has been enlarged and the page edges chopped -- not much margin. I'd like to have seen it produced either spiral bound or another style to make it easier for the visually impaired who rely on magnifiers, etc. to use it. But I and many others are indeed thankful to have anything this complete in our hands for the first time!

My college professor Victor Strandberg assigned us this book in a 20th Century American Literature course back in 1995. Life changing is too modest to describe the import of discovering Joan Didion. She is simply the smartest, sharpest writer I have ever encountered. I only wish I spoke and lived like a character in her novels. Also love Democracy and Play It As It Lays, but Common Prayer is the best book I'll ever read (again and again and again).

The Book of Common Prayer (1979) is the latest, complete BCP used by the American branch of the Anglicans, the Episcopal church. There have been many books that have had the title 'Book of Common Prayer' since the first one appeared in 1549; it has been used continuously in one edition or another in the Anglican tradition since 1559; the 'main' edition remains the 1662 edition. The American church modified the Book of Common Prayer for its own use beginning shortly after the Revolutionary War -- this book is the successor of a long and worthy tradition.

A bishop in the Episcopal church once said to me, 'We don't have a theology that we have to believe -- what we have is the prayerbook.' Please forgive the absence of context for this phrase -- while he would say that this statement in isolation is an exaggeration, and I would agree, nonetheless his statement serves to highlight both the importance of and the strength of the Book of Common Prayer.

To be an Anglican (in the United States, read Episcopalian for the same in the context of this article), one does not have to subscribe to any particular systematic theological framework. One does not have to practice a particular brand of liturgical style. One does not have to have an approved politico-theological viewpoint. One can be a conservative, liberal or moderate; one can be high church, low church, or broad; one can be charismatic, evangelical, or mainline traditional -- one can be any number of things in a rich diversity of choices, and the Book of Common Prayer can still be the book upon which spirituality and worship is centred.

The Book of Common Prayer is not, in fact, a book that changed my life. It is a book that changes my life. Even though it is not the primary book of my own church, it continues to provide for spiritual insight and development; it continues to guide my worship and my theology. It continues to help me grow. The words are part of a liturgy now shared by Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and other liturgical churches, in different combination and priority.

Gerry Janzen, an Anglican professor at my seminary, said to me recently as we were lunching and having a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation (in a unique way that only Gerry Janzen is capable of doing) that he strives for that kind of memory and understanding that is so complete that one forgets what one has learned. He recounted to me his experience of working with his book on Job -- he had done a lot of research, development of ideas, writing, and organisation, and then set it aside for a time. When he picked up the topic later, he decided to begin by writing, and then go back to the research, other notes and writings he had done earlier. He was surprised to see, in comparing the work, that he had in fact duplicated much of the material -- he had internalised the information, incorporated it so well into his thinking and being, that it came forward without effort. It is this kind of relationship I feel I have developed with the Book of Common Prayer.

To be sure, there are pages of information that I don't know. I haven't memorised the historical documents; I still consult the calendars; I haven't learned all of the collects by heart. But it has become a part of me. When was asked to put together a liturgy for a houseblessing for Episcopalian friends, there were rooms that called for collects that had not been written -- I wrote new collects and inserted them into the liturgy.

'Can you do that?' the householder asked, worried about the flow and the approval of the priest doing the blessing.

'I trust Kurt to write collects -- his probably belong in the BCP,' the priest said in response, and I appreciated her vote of confidence. That was perhaps the first confirmation to me of this sense of incorporation of the book into my life.

From his first edition, Cranmer distinguished in his terminology the words minister and priest, and the two should not be viewed as interchangeable. A priest is a minister, but a minister need not be a priest. This become part of the early development of the idea of all people being ministers to each other, which is also a concept that has varying acceptance and fulfillment in actual practice over the history of Anglicanism.

One of my favourite prayers derives from this book, part of the English prayer book from the very first one in 1549:

Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication unto thee, and hast promised through thy well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his name, thou wilt be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be best for us, granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come, life everlasting. Amen.

This prayer, like many things in the BCP, has moved to a new location from the first edition, but nonetheless the spirit of the BCP shows a circuitous but continuous development from this first English Prayer Book to the current varieties. Likewise, other denominations have gleaned insights, prayers and structures from this and other versions of the BCP.

The current Book of Common Prayer is not copyrighted material. The purpose for leaving the BCP out of copyright is to permit free and easy duplication and incorporation into worship materials; however, it also serves the purpose (deliberately intended) of permitting people, Anglicans or not, to use portions of the BCP as inspiration and material for their own worship. The Book of Common Prayer is an Anglican gift to the world.

The Book of Common Prayer (1979) is the latest, complete BCP used by the American branch of the Anglicans, the Episcopal church. There have been many books that have had the title 'Book of Common Prayer' since the first one appeared in 1549; it has been used continuously in one edition or another in the Anglican tradition since 1559; the 'main' edition remains the 1662 edition. The American church modified the Book of Common Prayer for its own use beginning shortly after the Revolutionary War -- this book is the successor of a long and worthy tradition.

A bishop in the Episcopal church once said to me, 'We don't have a theology that we have to believe -- what we have is the prayerbook.' Please forgive the absence of context for this phrase -- while he would say that this statement in isolation is an exaggeration, and I would agree, nonetheless his statement serves to highlight both the importance of and the strength of the Book of Common Prayer.

To be an Anglican (in the United States, read Episcopalian for the same in the context of this article), one does not have to subscribe to any particular systematic theological framework. One does not have to practice a particular brand of liturgical style. One does not have to have an approved politico-theological viewpoint. One can be a conservative, liberal or moderate; one can be high church, low church, or broad; one can be charismatic, evangelical, or mainline traditional -- one can be any number of things in a rich diversity of choices, and the Book of Common Prayer can still be the book upon which spirituality and worship is centred.

The Book of Common Prayer is not, in fact, a book that changed my life. It is a book that changes my life. Even though it is not the primary book of my own church, it continues to provide for spiritual insight and development; it continues to guide my worship and my theology. It continues to help me grow. The words are part of a liturgy now shared by Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and other liturgical churches, in different combination and priority.

Gerry Janzen, an Anglican professor at my seminary, said to me recently as we were lunching and having a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation (in a unique way that only Gerry Janzen is capable of doing) that he strives for that kind of memory and understanding that is so complete that one forgets what one has learned. He recounted to me his experience of working with his book on Job -- he had done a lot of research, development of ideas, writing, and organisation, and then set it aside for a time. When he picked up the topic later, he decided to begin by writing, and then go back to the research, other notes and writings he had done earlier. He was surprised to see, in comparing the work, that he had in fact duplicated much of the material -- he had internalised the information, incorporated it so well into his thinking and being, that it came forward without effort. It is this kind of relationship I feel I have developed with the Book of Common Prayer.

To be sure, there are pages of information that I don't know. I haven't memorised the historical documents; I still consult the calendars; I haven't learned all of the collects by heart. But it has become a part of me. When was asked to put together a liturgy for a houseblessing for Episcopalian friends, there were rooms that called for collects that had not been written -- I wrote new collects and inserted them into the liturgy.

'Can you do that?' the householder asked, worried about the flow and the approval of the priest doing the blessing.

'I trust Kurt to write collects -- his probably belong in the BCP,' the priest said in response, and I appreciated her vote of confidence. That was perhaps the first confirmation to me of this sense of incorporation of the book into my life.

From his first edition, Cranmer distinguished in his terminology the words minister and priest, and the two should not be viewed as interchangeable. A priest is a minister, but a minister need not be a priest. This become part of the early development of the idea of all people being ministers to each other, which is also a concept that has varying acceptance and fulfillment in actual practice over the history of Anglicanism.

One of my favourite prayers derives from this book, part of the English prayer book from the very first one in 1549:

Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication unto thee, and hast promised through thy well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his name, thou wilt be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be best for us, granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come, life everlasting. Amen.

This prayer, like many things in the BCP, has moved to a new location from the first edition, but nonetheless the spirit of the BCP shows a circuitous but continuous development from this first English Prayer Book to the current varieties. Likewise, other denominations have gleaned insights, prayers and structures from this and other versions of the BCP.

The current Book of Common Prayer is not copyrighted material. The purpose for leaving the BCP out of copyright is to permit free and easy duplication and incorporation into worship materials; however, it also serves the purpose (deliberately intended) of permitting people, Anglicans or not, to use portions of the BCP as inspiration and material for their own worship. The Book of Common Prayer is an Anglican gift to the world.

This is the prayer book used by the American Episcopal Church and the language is rich, powerful, inspiring, forgiving and just plain beautiful. It is gorgeous in its simplicity. As Red Barber said in praising the BCP(and I am quoting from Bob Edwards' great book Fridays with Red) "the beauty and conciseness of the English language, the fact that everything the Episcopal Church stood for was right there between the two covers, and the inclusion of the entire book of Psalms"
Other Episcopalians will criticize me for "commonizing" their book but his review was right on the money.
Both Barber and former president Bush include the BCP in their list of "must read" books.
Its beauty is in its simplicity and grace.

The Book of Common Prayer (1979) is the latest, complete BCP used by the American branch of the Anglicans, the Episcopal church. There have been many books that have had the title 'Book of Common Prayer' since the first one appeared in 1549; it has been used continuously in one edition or another in the Anglican tradition since 1559; the 'main' edition remains the 1662 edition. The American church modified the Book of Common Prayer for its own use beginning shortly after the Revolutionary War -- this book is the successor of a long and worthy tradition.

A bishop in the Episcopal church once said to me, 'We don't have a theology that we have to believe -- what we have is the prayerbook.' Please forgive the absence of context for this phrase -- while he would say that this statement in isolation is an exaggeration, and I would agree, nonetheless his statement serves to highlight both the importance of and the strength of the Book of Common Prayer.

To be an Anglican (in the United States, read Episcopalian for the same in the context of this article), one does not have to subscribe to any particular systematic theological framework. One does not have to practice a particular brand of liturgical style. One does not have to have an approved politico-theological viewpoint. One can be a conservative, liberal or moderate; one can be high church, low church, or broad; one can be charismatic, evangelical, or mainline traditional -- one can be any number of things in a rich diversity of choices, and the Book of Common Prayer can still be the book upon which spirituality and worship is centred.

The Book of Common Prayer is not, in fact, a book that changed my life. It is a book that changes my life. Even though it is not the primary book of my own church, it continues to provide for spiritual insight and development; it continues to guide my worship and my theology. It continues to help me grow. The words are part of a liturgy now shared by Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and other liturgical churches, in different combination and priority.

Gerry Janzen, an Anglican professor at my seminary, said to me recently as we were lunching and having a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation (in a unique way that only Gerry Janzen is capable of doing) that he strives for that kind of memory and understanding that is so complete that one forgets what one has learned. He recounted to me his experience of working with his book on Job -- he had done a lot of research, development of ideas, writing, and organisation, and then set it aside for a time. When he picked up the topic later, he decided to begin by writing, and then go back to the research, other notes and writings he had done earlier. He was surprised to see, in comparing the work, that he had in fact duplicated much of the material -- he had internalised the information, incorporated it so well into his thinking and being, that it came forward without effort. It is this kind of relationship I feel I have developed with the Book of Common Prayer.

To be sure, there are pages of information that I don't know. I haven't memorised the historical documents; I still consult the calendars; I haven't learned all of the collects by heart. But it has become a part of me. When was asked to put together a liturgy for a houseblessing for Episcopalian friends, there were rooms that called for collects that had not been written -- I wrote new collects and inserted them into the liturgy.

'Can you do that?' the householder asked, worried about the flow and the approval of the priest doing the blessing.

'I trust Kurt to write collects -- his probably belong in the BCP,' the priest said in response, and I appreciated her vote of confidence. That was perhaps the first confirmation to me of this sense of incorporation of the book into my life.

From his first edition, Cranmer distinguished in his terminology the words minister and priest, and the two should not be viewed as interchangeable. A priest is a minister, but a minister need not be a priest. This become part of the early development of the idea of all people being ministers to each other, which is also a concept that has varying acceptance and fulfillment in actual practice over the history of Anglicanism.

One of my favourite prayers derives from this book, part of the English prayer book from the very first one in 1549:

Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication unto thee, and hast promised through thy well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his name, thou wilt be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be best for us, granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come, life everlasting. Amen.

This prayer, like many things in the BCP, has moved to a new location from the first edition, but nonetheless the spirit of the BCP shows a circuitous but continuous development from this first English Prayer Book to the current varieties. Likewise, other denominations have gleaned insights, prayers and structures from this and other versions of the BCP.

The current Book of Common Prayer is not copyrighted material. The purpose for leaving the BCP out of copyright is to permit free and easy duplication and incorporation into worship materials; however, it also serves the purpose (deliberately intended) of permitting people, Anglicans or not, to use portions of the BCP as inspiration and material for their own worship. The Book of Common Prayer is an Anglican gift to the world.

The Book of Common Prayer (1979) is the latest, complete BCP used by the American branch of the Anglicans, the Episcopal church. There have been many books that have had the title 'Book of Common Prayer' since the first one appeared in 1549; it has been used continuously in one edition or another in the Anglican tradition since 1559; the 'main' edition remains the 1662 edition. The American church modified the Book of Common Prayer for its own use beginning shortly after the Revolutionary War -- this book is the successor of a long and worthy tradition.

A bishop in the Episcopal church once said to me, 'We don't have a theology that we have to believe -- what we have is the prayerbook.' Please forgive the absence of context for this phrase -- while he would say that this statement in isolation is an exaggeration, and I would agree, nonetheless his statement serves to highlight both the importance of and the strength of the Book of Common Prayer.

To be an Anglican (in the United States, read Episcopalian for the same in the context of this article), one does not have to subscribe to any particular systematic theological framework. One does not have to practice a particular brand of liturgical style. One does not have to have an approved politico-theological viewpoint. One can be a conservative, liberal or moderate; one can be high church, low church, or broad; one can be charismatic, evangelical, or mainline traditional -- one can be any number of things in a rich diversity of choices, and the Book of Common Prayer can still be the book upon which spirituality and worship is centred.

The Book of Common Prayer is not, in fact, a book that changed my life. It is a book that changes my life. Even though it is not the primary book of my own church, it continues to provide for spiritual insight and development; it continues to guide my worship and my theology. It continues to help me grow. The words are part of a liturgy now shared by Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and other liturgical churches, in different combination and priority.

Gerry Janzen, an Anglican professor at my seminary, said to me recently as we were lunching and having a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation (in a unique way that only Gerry Janzen is capable of doing) that he strives for that kind of memory and understanding that is so complete that one forgets what one has learned. He recounted to me his experience of working with his book on Job -- he had done a lot of research, development of ideas, writing, and organisation, and then set it aside for a time. When he picked up the topic later, he decided to begin by writing, and then go back to the research, other notes and writings he had done earlier. He was surprised to see, in comparing the work, that he had in fact duplicated much of the material -- he had internalised the information, incorporated it so well into his thinking and being, that it came forward without effort. It is this kind of relationship I feel I have developed with the Book of Common Prayer.

To be sure, there are pages of information that I don't know. I haven't memorised the historical documents; I still consult the calendars; I haven't learned all of the collects by heart. But it has become a part of me. When was asked to put together a liturgy for a houseblessing for Episcopalian friends, there were rooms that called for collects that had not been written -- I wrote new collects and inserted them into the liturgy.

'Can you do that?' the householder asked, worried about the flow and the approval of the priest doing the blessing.

'I trust Kurt to write collects -- his probably belong in the BCP,' the priest said in response, and I appreciated her vote of confidence. That was perhaps the first confirmation to me of this sense of incorporation of the book into my life.

From his first edition, Cranmer distinguished in his terminology the words minister and priest, and the two should not be viewed as interchangeable. A priest is a minister, but a minister need not be a priest. This become part of the early development of the idea of all people being ministers to each other, which is also a concept that has varying acceptance and fulfillment in actual practice over the history of Anglicanism.

One of my favourite prayers derives from this book, part of the English prayer book from the very first one in 1549:

Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication unto thee, and hast promised through thy well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his name, thou wilt be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be best for us, granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come, life everlasting. Amen.

This prayer, like many things in the BCP, has moved to a new location from the first edition, but nonetheless the spirit of the BCP shows a circuitous but continuous development from this first English Prayer Book to the current varieties. Likewise, other denominations have gleaned insights, prayers and structures from this and other versions of the BCP.

The current Book of Common Prayer is not copyrighted material. The purpose for leaving the BCP out of copyright is to permit free and easy duplication and incorporation into worship materials; however, it also serves the purpose (deliberately intended) of permitting people, Anglicans or not, to use portions of the BCP as inspiration and material for their own worship. The Book of Common Prayer is an Anglican gift to the world.

This is the prayer book used by the American Episcopal Church and the language is rich, powerful, inspiring, forgiving and just plain beautiful. It is gorgeous in its simplicity. As Red Barber said in praising the BCP(and I am quoting from Bob Edwards' great book Fridays with Red) "the beauty and conciseness of the English language, the fact that everything the Episcopal Church stood for was right there between the two covers, and the inclusion of the entire book of Psalms"
Other Episcopalians will criticize me for "commonizing" their book but his review was right on the money.
Both Barber and former president Bush include the BCP in their list of "must read" books.
Its beauty is in its simplicity and grace.

This is a complete and unabridged version of the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer. It differs from the pew version only in size and the color of its binding (black with gold cross).
The advantages of this volume are its size and inexpensiveness.
This BCP's compact size makes it easy to drop into a briefcase, desk drawer, backpack or duffle bag - making it perfect for daily devotions when away from home. Legibility is not affected by the size. If you have no problem reading the full-size version, you should have no problem with this one.
"Inexpensive" in this case does not mean "cheap." The imitation leather binding is well-done and handsome. The paper is the familiar thin "onion-skin Bible" paper. The pages are not gold-edged.
A presentation page and pages to record baptism, confirmation and marriage represent the only "frills" in this book. Because of this plainness, you might want to pass this one by if you're looking for a presentation or gift BCP.
On the other hand, if you want a BCP that you can use every day, travels well, and is easy to carry or pack, this book's for you.

My first Joan Didion fiction. The story is told by a friend of Charlotte. Charlotte's daughter is missing having joined revolutionary forces in a fictional Caribbean country. Charlotte seems to be in stupor while searching for her daughter. Charlotte is harassed by her ex-husband. Didion's writing doesn't follow a chronological frame. As a result, I felt as lost as Charlotte in a foreign country. Her writing style took an adjustment on my part, but I look forward to re-reading this work or reading other novels by Ms. Didion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As with all of Ms. Didion's books, I take my time with them, to truly cherish her writing style. I am a huge fan of her use of characterization, as well as her use of grammer. (Besides this book, I regularly recommend Play It As It Lays and Miami, two other great books by Ms. Didion.) Everytime I think of this book, I think of how the brave narrator, in the course of the developments of the novel, regrets, with the last line in the book, the opening statement she made in the book's lead. One of the all-time best books I've ever read, you have got to give this book a read, too.

Arguably, this is one of a handful of great modern american novels from the last quarter of the 20th century. from its remarkable opening chapter, it weaves a hypnotic spell, with didion's characteristic romanticizing of despair and existential angst. this is a novel of sentences. sentences to be savored, and read aloud. sentences without one extraneous word; as balanced as poetry, and utterly perfect from the first syllable to the last. didion remains one of the few writers who can comment on a scene by way of description. the details she focusses upon serve to illustrate her vision in a manner only a small handful of authors can manage. it is the mark of a master, and this is, without question, her masterpiece. it is didion's reportage and essays that have made her reputation, but this very challenging and utterly flawless novel is the equal to her non fiction prose. it is not a novel for the casual reader. however, for any student of delusion, and any admirer of serious literature of the highest order, a book of common prayer is an essential text.

I have just finished reading "A Book of Common Prayer" by Joan Didion for the third, perhaps fourth, time. This book reminds me of a story by Vladimir Nabokov in which a woman dies without either her husband or her lover realizing she was sick. That reminds me of Charlotte: a woman who only existed in the perceptions of others and seems to have no existence of her own or at least not an existence she can explicate.

I bought this hardcover version of the BCP for when I was traveling abroad in Europe so I wouldn't accidently ruin or lose my leather bound copy with all of the confirmation and baptism records and best of all -- the Presiding Bishop signature page! Yeah, i'm a church geek.

This edition is durable and easily fits in a backpack or cargo pants pocket and while the print is somewhat small -- I would say that these smaller editions are geared more towards "veterans" of the BCP and not newcomers.

The only criticism I have is that the gold-colored bookmarker is easily frayed and is hopeless to repair. I only wish a more durable bookmarker came with this edition since I bought it for a "heavier use". Other than that it is a splendid book in all editions and a little bookmarker certainly won't distract me from uniting in prayer with my brothers and sisters in the faith!

Nice enough cover, nice Bible-ish paper, and a handy size, to be sure. The only problem is that the smaller, more convenient size results in text that that is also much smaller, and thus pretty hard to see. This is especially true if you're into the bifocal phase of your life. If you are familiar with the BCP, you are also no doubt aware the directions throughout any editon are a bit smaller in size (and italicized), so in this edition those bits are smaller yet, and thus really hard to deal with compared to the pew editions.

The description provided ("A treasured resource for traditional Anglicans...") describes the 1928 edition of the BCP, not the current 1979 edition. It's been reused by someone at the store unfamiliar with the profound differences between the two books.

The only dissatisfaction is that there is no place to tab to the index, which is needed in a book which you cannot turn pages on, my main complaint with kindle. Old school, I like to hold a book in my hands.

For clarification, this book is a hardcover. It's not leather or bonded leather. I had figured this out from shopping around before purchasing it here, and bought it anyway. It has a thin hardcover which is wrapped with imitation leather. That said, it is still a very nice book and certainly the best value of them all. I'm keeping mine and I like it.

Latest revision of the Common Book of Prayer for the Episcopal Church, USA, is just another attempt to take the church to the left. I prefer the 1948 with all of its pseudo Elizabethan language.

The book is of a very convienent size to take with you, wherever your journey may take you at any given time.

For those who need larger print, or who have family or friends who do, this Book of Common Prayer is perfect.

The cover is very nice and sturdy. The page numbers match, which is obviously necessary to follow along in church. The print is much larger than the small print in the pew books and I used it at church last week and it was great to finally be able to SEE what others were seeing in the small print in the pew books! .

It is a bit heavy, but there is no way around that and it is not so heavy as to be unmanageable for me.

If you have someone who could benefit from the Book of Common Prayer in large print, I think they would enjoy and appreciate this book.