A Short History of the Book of Common Prayer

by William Reed Huntington

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Christian, History, Nonfiction, Christianity, Religion

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

1838-1909

Reviews

[Walter Plymale]

The Book of Common Prayer is a cornerstone of English culture. For centuries Anglicans, and their descendants in America have conducted services according to the Book of Common Prayer. From a Catholic perspective, the Book of Common Prayer forms an essential component of the Anglican Patrimony. A Short History of the Book of Common Prayer by the Rev. William Reed Huntington is actual two books in one. The first part is a concise history of the Book of Common Prayer. This portion is fantastic and helps us understand the development of the services and rites practiced by the Church of England, and later, the Protestant Episcopal Church. Episcopalians especially will benefit from this section, as it provides a history of the Episcopal Church’s tension with using a monarchist prayer book. The second portion of A Short History of the Book of Common Prayer is a polemic against opponents of prayer book reform in the late 1880s. This portion is interesting, but considering the that the Episcopal Church does not even use traditional Liturgy at all these days (in fact, some Episcopalians have abandoned orthodox Christianity in general) makes this portion obsolete. I recommend the first half of the book. Unless you really care about 1880s Episcopal Church politics, skip the second portion and use that time to pray Mattins or Evensong from the Book of Common Prayer.

[Bcoghill Coghill]

A bit too dated to really be informative. It is of its time.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro]

History

This is a history on book of common prayer, book that we would found in the older church or denomination for the guideline to our prayer on several occasions.