Which Book of Common Prayer to buy

That depends on what one is trying to do, but the premise of liturgical prayer is so that our worship, congregationally and in private, is decent and in order, for many common applications prayers which date back to the Church Fathers are used, or other established forms. The Lord’s Prayer represents this par excellence, being the precise prayer given to us by our Lord, and is a prototypical prayer overall, from which we get the Christian litany of the Eastern and Anglican forms (a list of petitions), the Western Collect, or bidding prayer, and the Husoyo, an elaborate bidding prayer used in the West Syriac Rite consisting of a Proemion, or preface, a Sedro, a Husoyo, which is the petition, an Etro, or prayer over incense, and a Qolo, the function of which escapes me, but if a Collect is a tram, trolley or streetcar, Husoye are intercity express trains, serving a similiar purpose but much longer, more complex, and sung and chanted in one of the eight modes. In the West Syriac Rite they replaced most of the Litanies and other bidding prayers.

But in all liturgies, the Lord’s Prayer holds a special place of honor. In the east, the Embolism (for thine is the power and the glory of the father and the son and the holy ghost, now and ever and unto the ages) is reserved to the celebrating priest or bishop, who sings it: everyone else stops at “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”)..

The most common type of personal prayer is the Arrow Prayer. Examples include Kyrie Eleison, O God Make Speed to Save Us, O Lord Make Haste to Help Us, the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner) and the Ave Maria, all of which, and other varieties, are commendable. I do not like the Roman Catholic Rosary however; a superior Marian devotion using the Ave Maria and a special Lestovka (the leather counter used by Russian Old Believers and Old Rite churches, and by some people like myself who prefer it to the Chotchki, or Prayer Rope, which replaced it in Russia and is the standard elsewhere), is the Rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov, a Russian hermit from the turn of the 19th century who could be thought of as a St. Francis or St. Dominic of the East, although really he was closer to St. Anthony and St. Theodore the Stylite in terms of his ascetic severity, hermetic isolation, and pastoral care.

 

Thanks for that. I have known some people who see the Lord's Prayer as just a formulaic prayer which Jesus taught to be said verbatim. But I have known some others who see it more as a pattern for prayer (like a clothing pattern is used to make a shirt, but the pattern itself would make a lousy shirt) which Jesus expected His followers to follow in their own 'freestyle' prayers (i.e.: acknowledge God, praise God, pray for Christ to return soon, pray for people that they might fulfill God's will on earth in their daily lives, ask God to meet your specific needs, on so on). I think it can be both, don't you agree?

 

Sure, yes, undoubtedly. But fervency can be fervently wrong, too. Part of the point of common prayer (and liturgy in general) is that our very acts of worship are biblical in content and nature.

 

So, to borrow from James 5:16... the uniform, theologically-fine-tuned "prayer of a righteous man availeth much," too?

I get your point, thanks.

 

This is from a high church or Anglo Catholic (or Orthodox) perspective seen as a reference to the invocation of the saints.

 

I would say it depends on where you live and which Anglican church is found there. I live in England and would recommend the purchase of the official edition published in 1662 and the proposed revised edition published in 1928. I also have a copy of the first edition from 1549. It is not, unfortunately, an actual copy from 1549 but part of a set I purchased that also included a copy of the KJV Bible and a history of the Book of Common Prayer. There is, I know, a proper name for such a reproduction but the word escapes my memory at the moment.

 

In the States we call that a “reprint” although in this case it would more likely be a fascimile or a new addition, since the original plates of the 1549 are doubtless long-lost. Did your 1549 have modernized spelling or did it contain text like this?

For reference purposes, here is the BCP website’s page on the 1549 BCP, which is well worth a read:

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1549/BCP_1549.htm

From my highest-of-high church perspective it would have contented me had Cranmer stopped there, as it seems wuite a nice liturgy all around. Dom Gregory Dix did get some blowback from Anglo Catholics for suggesting that it contained the kernel of what he alleged was a Zwinglian Eucharistic theology on the part of the author.

 

I was tempted to use the term 'facsimile', and I suspect that is correct. I think a more apt word may be 'reproduction' because, as you say, the original printer's plates will exist no more.

It is in the original English of the day. it has not been modernised.

Thank you for the Web site link. It is most helpful.

 

I too am searching for my first copy of a BCP. I don't have a lot of money (What with being a university student and training to become a lorry driver). I have found this copy on Amazon. Do you think this would be OK?

£8.46

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0521600936/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0521600936/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

My apologies if external links are not allowed on the forum. I just want to find a good copy to help further my journey with being a Christian.

 

I have that book and it saw much use when I was in the US Navy. Onboard a ship, space is at a premium and the little book fit in my locker or one of my drawers. It also fit in the pocket of the old Navy coveralls (they've since been updated). I've still got it on my desk and often read Morning Prayer from it. The one shortcoming may be whether or not the lectionary is current. But I say it doesn't much matter which lectionary you are using if you are diligently reading the Scriptures.

 

Odes to the Lion of Judah, a Magnificat?
.

 

You may well be able to find one in a charity shop for less than half the price. I found a couple of them in my 'local' Oxfam book shop for around £2.50 if I remember correctly.

 

There is no reason why it should not be. It is the Book of Common Prayer and I note the publisher is Cambridge University Press who are the BCP's publisher. I recommend you try A.B.E. Books. I use them all the time and have never had a problem with them. They are often cheaper than Amazon. Indeed they have this same BCP at £8.69 but no delivery fee! Like Amazon's marketplace books from A.B.E. Books sell books for third parties. This book is coming from Speedy Hen. I have had books from them, very reliable. Plus this is a new copy (books from A.B.E. books are often used).

 

Thanks Shane & PDL, and I also immerse myself in Scripture every single day Shane. I have to, for I am weak without it. My strength really does come from Scripture.

I'm going to have a browse now and get an order in before heading out for the day. Excited to get hold of a copy. I'd love a small enough version too so that I can carry it everywhere and have it to hand. My Bible is quite big or I'd carry that with me. My Rosary I wear and helps a lot when I'm out and anxiety and panic set in, thats when the powerful scriptures help me sort myself out and get rid of the devil away from me, "Casting down imaginations...bringing them into captivity, every thought". 2 Corinthians 10:5

Thanks again guys. I appreciate the help.

 

This helped me greatly at a time in my life when the enemy was bringing attacks of anxiety:

1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Php 4:6 for nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer, and by supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God;
Php 4:7 and the peace of God, that is surpassing all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

On one particular occasion I became very anxious for no good reason. I asked the Lord to take the anxiety from me, and He did... to the point where I began laughing with joy and relief! The adversary hasn't been able to do that to me ever since.

 

Thank you Rexlion, 2 new additions there for me to submit to memory and use in my Arsenal when the enemy attacks.

 

Looks like the one I grew up with

 

1662
1928
2019

 

Hello everybody, I hope you are all well and in good health.

I write with the hope that someone may be able to offer me some assistance.

I am a bit confused, I have purchased the copy I linked above, of the BCP, however, even after reading online and watching some videos on YouTube I am still none the wiser as to how to structure my reading. I don't know how to approach the book.

As it stands, I wake and read from my Bible, two chapters from the Old Testament and two chapters from the New Testament. I also read my daily devotional booklets and various bits of pieces. I feel like I am ready for more now. I am eager to get started but just don't know what to do. Is someone able to recommend a reading guide or something like that? Is there a specific way to approach this BCP?

I would be really grateful if someone could literally spell it out for me, as in, read a part of this section, read that section, choose something from that section etc etc or however it works?

I genuinely don't know how to approach it.

Is it as simple as read the whole contents of the Morning Prayer from start to finish, what then about a psalm?

Sorry if I seem a bit ignorant here, I'm still young in my journey and I am trying to come closer to God, I just require a little guidance if that is possible from somebody.

I appreciate any and all responses to this request.

Shaun

 

The Book of Common Prayer compiled into one volume what had been several books in the Roman tradition. It may be helpful to think of it then as a collection of books.

The material prior to Morning Prayer is instructional for ministers. Here you will find comments about ceremonial, a couple of tables of Bible readings: one of the Sunday and feast day propers and the other for weekdays. There is some instructional material about fasting and the order of precedent for celebrating feasts.

The next major division of the book is Morning and Evening Prayer, the Litany, and Prayers and Thanksgivings upon several occasions. This is going to be the bread and butter of daily prayer.

Then you have the collects, epistles, and Gospels proper to the Sundays of the church year and the 'Red-Letter' feasts. This is followed by the text for the Holy Communion service (or preceded by it in the most of the modern prayer books). We can think of this as another major division of the book.

Now, you come to the material for the life arc of the faithful. This section has the Baptismal services, the Catechism, the Order of Confirmation, the Wedding service, the Burial service, and the Thanksgiving of women after child-birth. Also, the Commination is awkwardly shoe-horned into this section.

After that comes the Psalter and Forms of Prayer to be used at Sea. The 1662 book lacks the Family Prayer section that is quite popular in the American books and has essentially served as a short form of Morning Prayer in many American households. However, the Forms of Prayer at Sea can be used in the same manner.

The last section of services is called the Ordinal. These are the services for making the ministers of the church. This is followed by prayers for the King or Queen on the anniversary of his or her coronation.

Then the Articles of Religion are printed and a Table of Kindred and Affinity (which was intended as a tool for ministers to determine whether a man and woman were too closely related to marry).

I'll make a separate post to walk you through a service of Morning Prayer.