lunamoth
Will to love
Katzpur said:Actually, Laurie, I do have one question: Where and how did the Book of Common Prayer originate?
The short answers are England and starting with the reform under King Henry the VIII (1549). It's gone through many revisions, the most recent being the 1979 version. Wiki has a summary of this (naturally) and here is history written in 1912 about the BCP (I've not read this book, just found it in my search).
More importantly is what the BCP is:
The Book of Common Prayer
Unique to Anglicanism, though, is the Book of Common Prayer, the collection of worship services that all worshipers in an Anglican church follow. Its called common prayer because we all pray it together, around the world. The first Book of Common Prayer was compiled in English by Thomas Cranmer in the 16th Century, and since then has undergone many revisions for different times and places. But its original purpose has remained the same: To provide in one place the core of the instructions and rites for Anglican Christians to worship together.
The present prayer book in the Episcopal Church was published in 1979. Many other worship resources and prayers exist to enrich our worship, but the Book of Common Prayer is the authority that governs our worship. The prayer book explains Christianity, describes the main beliefs of the Church, outlines the requirements for the sacraments, and in general serves as the main guidelines of the Episcopal life.
Thank you for your question!