What is "The Book of Common Prayer"?

The Book of Common Prayer, or “BCP”, as we often call it, has been called the “glue” which binds together the Anglican Communion and its members. The first Book of Common Prayer was produced by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1549, and revised by him in 1552 (further revisions occurred in 1559 and 1662; the latter revision is still used as the official Prayer Book of the Church of England, and is considered a literary classic among scholars). The book was intended to facilitate worship in English rather than Latin and to bring the rites of the church together into one book for use by both clergy and laypersons. Each national church in the Anglican Communion has its own adaptation of the BCP. The American version, used by most churches in ECUSA, was last revised in 1979 (some Episcopal churches prefer to use the 1928 version).  In the BCP, you will find the orders of service for the various rites of the church, the Daily Office, prayers for use within the context of the liturgy and prayers for use in home devotions, the Lectionary (i.e., the Scriptural readings to be used in corporate worship, organized so as to carry the congregation through the entire Bible in a three-year period), the Psalter (Psalms), the Calendar of the Church Year, The Outline of the Faith (Catechism) and various historical documents. Every Episcopal home should have one, as it is a great resource for personal and family devotions.