“It is the script for birth, for love, for death, for faith and for life itself.” That’s how one commentator describes The Book of Common Prayer.
For almost 500 years the Book of Common Prayer, originally written by Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, and first published in 1549 has become the standard liturgical text for the Anglican Church across the world.
Thomas Cranmer, father of the BCP
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury.
The separation of the English Church from the Roman Catholic Church, gave protestant reformers a green light for ecclesiastical change.
Cranmer’s was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the reformed Church of England.
Under King Edward he compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, a complete liturgy for the English Church.
After the accession of Roman Catholic Mary I in 1553, Cranmer was put on trial for treason and heresy. He was executed in Oxford in 1556.
The Book
Remarkably, the book was written in English. It was intended for everyone to be able to read.
Much of the text lives with us all today. The stately reminder of our mortality, “Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust”, comes from Cranmer’s work.
The BCP’s early history
The book was revised from its first appearance in 1549 until it became the standard text of the English Protestant Church in 1662.
It was abolished twice; once by the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I and by the Puritan parliament of the early 17th century who felt that its text was far too close to Rome for comfort.
After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, King, Charles II ordered his bishops, to revise and re-introduce the prayer book.
In print for nearly 500 years
The Book of Common Prayer is one of the most frequently reprinted works in the world.
It’s been carried around the world on waves of exploration, exile, mission and trade and helped to make English a global language.
The Prayer Book Society has been working enthusiastically for over 50 years to ensure the BCP remains at the heart of the worshipping life of the Church of England.
Every week parish churches across the country worship using the book. There will be a church not far from you using a script that was originally composed in 1549. And now new generations are discovering the beauty, depth and majesty of Cranmer’s masterpiece.
