The Book of Common Prayer

Since the early days of the printing press the holy scriptures and the liturgies of the church have been put into the hands of the people of the Anglican Churches. The liturgies come directly from those of the earliest Christian Worship and are generally selections of biblical material aranged to form a holy drama which is transformative. The purposes of the Book of Common Prayer are to preserve and teach the apostolic faith; provide liturgies for worship of God; make it possible for all of us to be the actors in this holy drama, not spectators or listeners; use a language which is understandable to modern people; and to provide a means of gathering us into a community of faith.

The Book of Common Prayer contains the rites (forms) we use in our liturgies (the work of worshipping together) at home and in corporate worship. The biblical sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist are present in several forms. Daily Morning Prayer is intended for worship on weekdays, especially when a priest is not present.

There are special rites for special days of the cycle of the church year; such as Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter. Included are the rites for Holy Matrimony, Ministry to the Sick, and the Reconciliation of a Penitent. There are also Episcopal Rites (performed by a bishop), such as Ordination of Deacons, Priests, and Bishops, and the consecration of worship space.

Also included are the tables for the church year and the Lectionary of biblical readings to be used on any given day of the year. The Eucharistic Lectionary follows the church year but uses different readings (from different Gospels, for instance) to tell the same story on each Sunday on a three year cycle. This means that in three years, we have covered a major portion of the bible. The Daily Office Lectionary is based a cycle of two years. A Catechism is included, which contains teaching about the nature of the Christian Community, the use of Holy Scripture, the orders of ministry, and the responsibility of all of us to be a part of the community of faith. Finally, there are a number of historical papers which indicate a portion of the path that lead the Episcopal Church where we are today.

Follow the links below to the entire Book of Common Prayer in a user friendly format plus a topical index and links by page number.

Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer are fully interactive programs with hyperlinks to the Daily Office Lectionary, Prayers and Thanksgiving, and other helpful information. All references to the Psalter and other pages in The Book of Common Prayer are also hyperlinked.

For the most effective use of these interactive programs, use your back arrow to return to your previous location whenever possible. In Daily Office closing your top window will take you back to your previous position.

If you encounter an error or problem, please email me at brighteagle@mindspring.com. Be sure to include the letters BCP, without spaces, on the subject line otherwise your message may get lost in the spam.

Copies of the Book of Common Prayer program are avalible on CD for $10. Email the address above for more information.

Peace,
Sheena Lawrence