Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer{{ref|titl}} is the prayer book of the Church of England and also the name for similar books used in other churches in the Anglican Communion. It has been through many revisions over the last few centuries. It contains the order to be followed in church services. Within the United Kingdom, it can only be printed by one of the privileged presses, as it is under perpetual Crown Copyright.

Religious Influence

The Book of Common Prayer has had a great influence on a number of other denominations. While theologically different, the language and flow of the service of many other churches owes a great debt to the prayer book.

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John Wesley, an Anglican priest whose teachings are ascribed as the foundations of the Methodism said, "I believe there is no Liturgy in the world, either in ancient or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, rational piety than the Common Prayer of the Church of England." Presently, most Methodist services have a very similar service and theology to that of the Anglican church. The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992, ISBN 0687035724 ) uses the Book of Common Prayer as its primary model.

Related Topics:
John Wesley - Methodism - United Methodist

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In the 1960s, when Roman Catholicism adopted a vernacular mass, many translations of the English prayers followed the form of Cranmer's translation. Indeed, a number of theologians have suggested that the later English Alternative Service Book and 1979 American Book of Common Prayer borrowed from the Roman Catholic vernacular liturgy.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholicism - Vernacular - 1979

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