Good evening all. My question is; What is the St swithuns prayer book? Including its origins? Does anyone in this forum use this little book? God bless. David.
"William Beattie Monahan, was one of three Anglican priest brothers, all first brought up as Methodist ministers, like their father, in Ireland. Bridget's father held the living of St Swithun's with Old St Martin's, Worcester, from 1902 to 1948, and for a time his youngest brother (who eventually became Bishop of Monmouth) was his curate. The two brothers compiled the St Swithun's Prayer Book, and other classic Anglo-Catholic manuals of the time." There seems to be some intersection between this book and pilgrimage and devotions to Our Lady of Walsingham. The daughter of William Beattie Monahan made the pilgramage for many years and advocated prayer for Marian intercession within the Anglican church. It never seems to have caught on well in the US and has been out of print for many years. Used copies are rare, expensive, and typically in poor condition. St. Dunstan's and St. Augustine's had much broader followings in the US. I suspect they are all relatively similar Anglo-Catholic devotional manuals though. There will be some form for saying the Rosary, Angelus, maybe Salve Regina. Various dedications of self or causes to one thing or another are fairly common in these. A number of Roman Catholic saints will be brought into whatever Ordo Kalendar they use. Stations of the Course and an order for Private Confession are also common. If you are interested in that sort of thing, whichever one you can find will probably do.
I have a copy from my time as an Episcopalian / Anglo-Catholic and I still use it fairly regularly. I got it specifically for the devotions to Our Lady of Walsingham. It is a good general prayer book but as Shane R pointed out it leans to the Roman side a great deal. It is extremely similar to St. Augustine's with a greater emphasis on Mary. I prefer St. Augustine's for general use because it's more complete and has a larger variety of prayers. I mostly use St. Swithuns for Marian feast days and the like.