The 1959 and 1962 editions of the Anglican Church of Canada's Book of Common Prayer.

The 1962 Book of Common Prayer[note 1] is an authorized liturgical book of the Canada-based Anglican Church of Canada.[2] The 1962 prayer book is often also considered the 1959 prayer book, in reference to the year the revision was first approved for an "indefinite period" of use beginning in 1960.[3]: 136  The 1962 edition follows from the same tradition of other versions of the Book of Common Prayer used by the churches within the Anglican Communion and Anglicanism generally. It contains both the Eucharistic liturgy and Daily Office, as well as additional public liturgies and personal devotions. The second major revision of the Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church of Canada, the 1962 Book of Common Prayer succeeded the 1918 edition, which itself had replaced the Church of England's 1662 prayer book.[4] While supplanted by the 1985 Book of Alternative Services as the Anglican Church of Canada's primary Sunday service book, the 1962 prayer book continues to see usage.[2][5]: 505 

Background

Following the English Reformation and the separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church, the liturgies of what became Anglicanism were transcribed into English. The first such production was the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, traditionally considered to be work of Thomas Cranmer, which replaced both the missals and breviaries of Catholic usage.[6] Among these liturgies were the Communion service and canonical hours of Matins and Evening Prayer, with the addition of the Ordinal containing the form for the consecration of bishops, priests, and deacons in 1550.[7] Under Edward VI, the 1552 Book of Common Prayer incorporated more radically Protestant reforms,[8]: 11  a process that continued with 1559 edition approved under Elizabeth I. The 1559 edition was for some time the second-most diffuse book in England, only behind the Bible, through an act of Parliament that mandated its presence in each parish church across the country.[9]

Prayer book in Canada

The first Church of England liturgy in what is now Canada was a 1578 Holy Communion celebrated by a "Maister Wolfall" on Kodlunarn Island, Frobisher Bay, present day Nunavut, during the voyage of Martin Frobisher to the Arctic.[10] This was most probably said according to the 1559 prayer book.[11]: 191 

The entirety of Canadian New France was seized from the Kingdom of France by Great Britain in 1763 following the Seven Years' War. The influence of Catholicism remained in this territory, with celebration according to the 1662 English prayer book often feature high church practices. The 1662 prayer book would remain the dominant liturgy until the first Canadian prayer book was published in the early Twentieth Century.[12]: 186 

First Canadian prayer book

In 1911, the General Synod of the Church of England in the Dominion of Canada determined that "adaption and enrichment" of the more than 300-year-old English prayer book pattern should be undertaken, following the 1908 Lambeth Conference that encouraged such efforts.[13]: 51 [14] This came after nearly a decade of efforts towards revision, including one that was rejected in 1902 in favor of a minor addition to the appendix of the 1662 prayer book and another popular effort in 1905 that failed after criticism from pro-1662 low churchmen, whose objections failed against the 1911.[12]: 186–187 

The 1918 prayer book[note 2] introduced a large number of new prayers and additional Scripture options relative to prior English and American prayer book revisions.[16]: xii–xiii  Imitating the Scottish Episcopal Church and U.S. Episcopal Church, there were several efforts to include an Epiclesis into the Anaphora of the Holy Communion office.[16]: 251  Ultimately, few alterations were made to the Eucharistic liturgy, which Tractarians had initially sought to replace. Among the few changes were rubrics acknowledging already common practices, providing the option to replace the Ten Commandments with the Summary of the Law and the dropping of longer Exhortations.[12]: 187  Other revisions included an enhancement of Matins to enable its usage as a standalone Sunday liturgy, the introduction of new prayers for illness reflecting medical advancements, and prayers for missionary efforts.[12]: 188 

The 1918 prayer book was introduced as the "authorized book of public worship" on Easter, 1922.[17]: vii  Nearly all copies of the 1918 prayer book were printed by Cambridge University Press.[15] The uniformity of practice between parishes with the 1918 prayer book and 1938 The Book of Common Praise was considered a positive through the 1940s, though the logistical challenges of Canada's expansive territory meant many would attend United Church of Canada services.[18]: 60, 65 

Second revision process

Efforts to revise the Holy Communion office were revived with the Church of England's Proposed 1928 prayer book that restored a 1549-like liturgy. The General Synod authorized the beginning of a new full prayer book revision in 1937. The revisers reported on the less controversial recommendations regarding baptism and a penitential office in 1943, both of which sought to distance the liturgies from the notion of being born into sinfulness.[12]: 189  A draft liturgy of the Eucharistic liturgy was produced in 1952, drawing criticism for its appending of the Summary of the Law directly to the Decalogue. The Draft Book of 1955 contained the same and introduced a new Anaphora.[19]: 98–99 

The final approval of the 1959 revision occurred at the 1962 General Synod in Kingston, Ontario. The resolution approving Canon XXVI that established the prayer book "as the authorized Book of Common Prayer" was moved by Reginald Soward and carried unanimously by both houses of the synod.[20] The approval coincided with the 300th anniversary of the 1662 English prayer book, which was commemorated by a prayer said by Primate Howard Clark.[21]

Contents

Besides the various offices and Psalter, the 1962 prayer book contains several other materials and documents. The preface, modified from that present in the 1918 edition, explains the development of the revisions and states all alterations from the 1662 prayer book would align "with the 27th Resolution of the Lambeth Conference of 1908 and the 78th Resolution of the Lambeth Conference of 1948."[note 3] It also states that the purpose of the prayer book is so that the members of the church "may become more truly what they already are: the People of God."[1]: vii 

Following the preface, the "Solemn Declaration 1893" is included. It contains the details of the Church of England in the Dominion of Canada's full communion with the Church of England and continuation of its liturgical practice.[1]: viii  A catechism is also provided, with minor amendments from that present in the 1662 prayer book, particularly in relation to the baptism of infants as entering them into a "household of faith."[5]: 505 

Psalms

The Imprecatory Psalms and Psalm verses regarding curses were deleted for the 1959 revision, attributed to an aversion to violent imagery emanating from the two world wars and the view that such passages were not useful for the worship of God.[12]: 191  The expungements were reversed for the 1985 Book of Alternative Services, which contains the full text of the Book of Psalms.[23] The Coverdale Psalter forms the basis of the 1962 prayer book, but with minor alterations for updated verbiage and verse numeration.[12]: 191 

Collects

The third collect for Good Friday, commonly known as the Good Friday prayer for the Jews, is explicitly removed by Canon XIV of the Canons of the General Synod.[24]: 71  Other collects within the 1962 prayer book remain largely similar to those within the 1662 edition, with Cranmerian language and cadence being removed in the Book of Alternative Services.[13]: 51 

Holy Communion

The 1962 prayer book's Holy Communion office, a development within the English prayer book recension, is not significantly different from that present in the 1918 prayer book.[25] However, where the 1918 prayer book had not received a new Anaphora, the 1962 edition's Prayer of Consecration is a uniquely Canadian form of the Epiclesis, intentionally distinct from that of the Proposed 1928 prayer book or 1929 Scottish Prayer Book.[12]: 192 

Daily Office

Rubrics for the 1962 prayer book Daily Office offer several optional omissions and inclusions across the various liturgies. Among these are rubrics to optionally open Morning Prayer with "O Lord, open thou our lips" from Psalm 51 and omit all that follows the Te Deum if Morning Prayer is immediately followed by Holy Communion. Additionally, there is no prohibition against saying extemporaneous prayers.[26] Lateral efforts encouraging the reincorporation of the 1962 prayer book into not only Holy Communion liturgies but also regular public Daily Office celebrations have been organized by Prayer Book Society of Canada.[27]

Other offices

The ordinal for the ordination and consecration for deacons, priests, and bishops is essentially identical to that present in the 1662 prayer book, keeping with the 1918 prayer book. A set of prayers were added for missionary work, and the kalendar added 26 missionaries.[12]: 190  Sermons at funeral offices are neither explicitly made an option nor prohibited, an allowance serving a pastoral need, particularly among charismatic communities.[27]

Translations and later revision

See also: Book of Alternative Services

The Diocese of The Arctic published a translation of the 1959 prayer book into Eastern Eskimo (Inuktitut) in 1960, with a revision issued in 1972.[28] Previous editions of the Book of Common Prayer had been translated into Inuktitut since 1881, initially under the missionary Edmund Peck and various times over the next century.[29] The 1962 prayer book has also been translated into French, Mohawk, and Cree.[30]

The effects of the Liturgical Movement had not been fully implemented by the Anglican Church of Canada until after the approval of the 1962 prayer book. While efforts prior to 1980 had produced a number of complete liturgies, they could not be compiled into a single text as extensive as a typical Book of Common Prayer. Among these was the text resulting from the 1967 General Assembly's desire to collect the "experimental liturgies and services now in use"; the 1969 Experiment and Liturgy also included explanations of principals of worship and experimentation.[31] In order to release the approved liturgies while enabling the Doctrine and Worship Committee to continue its work, the 1980 General Synod approved the publication of a text intended as an optional alternative to the 1962 prayer book.[32]: 370  The Anglican Church of Canada published the Book of Alternative Services in 1985.[2] Among the most notable deviations from the 1962 prayer book are emphases on inclusive language and participation of the laity.[33] The Book of Alternative Services also introduced a full set of liturgies for Holy Week.[32]: 370 

The production of new and revised liturgies has continued since 1980, with several new texts authorized for regular and experimental liturgies. In 2001, a set of three orders of the Daily Office for usage alongside the Book of Alternative Services that draw from the 1962 prayer book's pattern.[27] Additional liturgies presently approved for trial use include those for The Deconsecration of a Sacred Space, Preparation of Candidates and Community for the Celebration of Holy Baptism, and Liturgies for Journeys of Gender Transition and Affirmation.[34]

Associated texts

Hymnals

The 1938 edition of The Book of Common Praise of the Anglican Church of Canada.

The Book of Common Praise[note 4] is the name assigned to the standard authorized Anglican Church of Canada hymnal. The first edition of The Book of Common Praise, containing 795 hymns as well as 139 settings, was published in 1908 and known for its brown binding. It was followed by the blue-bound 1938 edition, initially containing 812 hymns, which was in use through the revision process of the 1962 prayer book. A revision of this edition was approved in 1963.[36] This edition is partially credited with the introduction prayers for the dead into the 1962 prayer book, as several hymns for the deceased are included despite a tradition of excluding such prayers emanating from the Reformation.[37]

An attempt at a union between the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada produced the 1971 The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada, identifiable by its red binding. In 1998, another edition of hymnal was published. Again bound in blue but now simply called Common Praise, this edition contains 769 hymns.[36]

Supplements

In order to assist in the execution of the rubrics in the conduct of parochial liturgies, brethren of the Society of St. John the Evangelist's Bracebridge, Ontario, location published Readiness and Decency in 1961, intended to match with the requirements of the 1959 prayer book. This work was a successor to an edition of Readiness and Decency prepared in 1946 for usage alongside the 1918 prayer book.[38] While certain rubrical flexibility exists for usage of the 1962 prayer book, the performance of the liturgy is to be within delineated rubrics, including in cases of ecumenical concelebration with other denominations.[39]

Influenced by Walter Frere's 1911 Some Principles of Liturgical Reform, the 1962 prayer book includes the names of an increased number of post-Reformation individuals. However, whether all these individuals should be referred to as "saints" and how they should be liturgically celebrated were not described. The publication of For All the Saints by the Anglican Church of Canada following the introduction of the Book of Alternative Services would enumerate the celebration of Anglican saints. Further supplemental offices were provided within Archbishop Harold Sexton’s 1964 The Canadian Book of Occasional Offices.[40]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The full title provided in the 1962 edition, following prayer book tradition, is The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of The Church According to the Use of The Anglican Church of Canada Together with The Psalter as it is Appointed to be Said or Sung in Church and the Form and Manner of Making Ordaining and Consecrating of Bishops Priests and Deacons.[1]
  2. ^ The full title provided in the 1918 edition is The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of The Church According to the Use of The Church of England in the Dominion in Canada Together with The Psalter as it is Appointed to be Said or Sung in Church and the Form and Manner of Making Ordaining and Consecrating of Bishops Priests and Deacons.[15]
  3. ^ The mentioned resolution from 1948, divided into two sections that called for "a bond of unity throughout the whole Anglican Communion" by ensuring "revisions of the Book shall be in accordance with the doctrine and accepted liturgical worship of the Anglican Communion" and a celebration of the 1549 prayer book's anniversary would be observed in 1949.[22]
  4. ^ In its 1938 edition, following the 1955 renaming of the Anglican Church of Canada, is officially titled The Book of Common Praise, Being the Hymn Book of The Anglican Church of Canada Compiled by a Committee of the General Synod.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b c The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of The Church According to the Use of The Anglican Church of Canada Together with The Psalter as it is Appointed to be Said or Sung in Church and the Form and Manner of Making Ordaining and Consecrating of Bishops Priests and Deacons (PDF). Anglican Book Centre. 1962. Retrieved 22 February 2022 – via anglican.ca.
  2. ^ a b c "Authorized liturgical texts". Anglican Church of Canada. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  3. ^ Wigan, Bernard, ed. (1964). The Liturgy in English (2nd ed.). London: Oxford University Press.
  4. ^ Wohlers, Charles. "The Book of Common Prayer: Anglican Church of Canada". Archbishop Justus Society. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b Turrell, James F. (2006). "Catechisms". In Hefling, Charles; Shattuck, Cynthia (eds.). The Oxford Guide to The Book of Common Prayer: A Worldwide Survey. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-529762-1.
  6. ^ James Wood (15 October 2012). "God Talk: The Book of Common Prayer at three hundred and fifty". The New Yorker. New York City. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  7. ^ Wohlers, Charles. "The Book of Common Prayer-1549". Society of Archbishop Justus. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  8. ^ Black, Vicki K. (2005). Welcome to the Book of Common Prayer. Harrisburg, PA: Moorehouse Publishing, Church Publishing, The Episcopal Church.
  9. ^ Maltby, Judith (1976). "Introduction". In John E. Booty (ed.). The Book of Common Prayer 1559: The Elizabethan Prayer Book (2005 ed.). Charlottesville, VA, and London: University of Virginia Press for Folger Shakespeare Library. p. viii.
  10. ^ Bridgeman, Charles Thorley; Morehouse, Clifford P. (1898). A History of the Parish of Trinity Church in the City of New York: To the close of the rectorship of Dr. Inglis, A.D. 1783. Putnam. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  11. ^ Buchanan, Colin O., ed. (1968). Modern Anglican Liturgies 1958-1968. London: Oxford University Press.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Blott, William R. (2006). "British North America and Canada". In Hefling, Charles; Shattuck, Cynthia (eds.). The Oxford Guide to The Book of Common Prayer: A Worldwide Survey. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-529762-1.
  13. ^ a b Gray, Donald (2010). "The Anglican Collect". In Nichols, Bridget (ed.). The Collect in the Churches of the Reformation. SCM Studies in Worship and Liturgy. London: SCM Press. ISBN 9780334042075. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  14. ^ "The Lambeth Conference: Resolutions Archive from 1908" (PDF). Anglican Communion Office. 2005. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  15. ^ a b Wohlers, Charles. "The 1918 Canadian Book of Common Prayer". Archbishop Justus Society. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  16. ^ a b Armitage, W.J (1922). The Story of the Canadian Revision of the Prayer Book (PDF). Toronto: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 22 February 2022 – via Archbishop Justus Society.
  17. ^ Matheson, Samuel (1922). "Foreword". The Story of the Canadian Revision of the Prayer Book (PDF). Toronto: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 22 February 2022 – via Archbishop Justus Society.
  18. ^ Carrington, Philip (1948). "The Church of England in Canada and Newfoundland". In Wand, J.W.C. (ed.). The Anglican Communion: A Survey. London: Oxford University Press.
  19. ^ Blott, William R. (1979). "The Influence of the "Memorandum" of the Most Rev. Philip Carrington, Archbishop of Quebec, in Revising the Liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer 1959 Canada". Wilfrid Laurier University. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Canon XXVI - Book of Common Prayer (Handbook, p.148)". General Synod Archives. Kingston, ONT: Anglican Church of Canada. 1962. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Committee on the Revision of the Book of Common Prayer (see p.337)". General Synod Archives. Kingston, ONT: Anglican Church of Canada. 1962. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  22. ^ "The Lambeth Conference: Resolutions Archive from 1948" (PDF). Anglican Communion Office. 2005. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  23. ^ Dow, Chris. "Should They be Wiped Out of the Book of the Living? Restoring the Omitted Portions of the Imprecatory Psalms". Prayer Book Society of Canada. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  24. ^ Handbook of the General Synod of The Anglican Church of Canada, Governance Manual (PDF) (19th ed.). Anglican Church of Canada. 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  25. ^ Peer, David (2020). "The Development of the Book of Common Prayer" (PDF). Anglican Church of Canada. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  26. ^ Burton, Anthony (8 August 1995). "Some Observations on the Daily Offices: A Paper Delivered at Okenagan University, August 8, 1995". Retrieved 23 March 2022 – via Prayer Book Society of Canada.
  27. ^ a b c James, Aaron (2013). "The Daily Offices and the Pattern of Common Prayer". Ottawa: Prayer Book Society of Canada. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  28. ^ "Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies according to the use of The Anglican Church of Canada translated into the Eastern Arctic Eskimo Tongue" (2nd ed.). Diocese of The Arctic. 1972 – via mammana.org.
  29. ^ "Portions of the Book of Common Prayer, with Hymns and Addresses in Eskimo". Archbishop Justus Society. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  30. ^ "About the Prayer Book". Prayer Book Society of Canada. 22 March 2022.
  31. ^ Leggett, Richard Geoffrey (2020). "Common Prayer: A View from North of the 49th Parallel" (PDF). Anglican Theological Review. 95 (3): 467.
  32. ^ a b Hill, John W.B. (2006). "The Anglican Church of Canada". In Hefling, Charles; Shattuck, Cynthia (eds.). The Oxford Guide to The Book of Common Prayer: A Worldwide Survey. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-529762-1.
  33. ^ Leggett, Richard (15 July 2016). "Lost in the Forest, Part III". Liturgy Canada. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  34. ^ "Texts for trial use and feedback". Anglican Church of Canada. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  35. ^ The Book of Common Praise, Being the Hymn Book of The Anglican Church of Canada Compiled by a Committee of the General Synod (1963 ed.). Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, Anglican Church of Canada. 1938.
  36. ^ a b "Hymn Books of the Anglican Church of Canada". Anglican Church of Canada. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  37. ^ Gibson, Paul (Spring 1999). "Theology for the People: Why we publish hymn books" (PDF). Ministry Matters. 6 (2): 14–15 – via Anglican Church of Canada.
  38. ^ "Liturgical Resources". Prayer Book Society of Canada. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  39. ^ National Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada (Spring 2003). "Guidelines for Common Worship for Lutherans and Anglicans in Canada". Anglican Church of Canada. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  40. ^ Holeton, David R. (2007). "Foreword". In Reynolds, Stephen (ed.). For All the Saints: Prayers and Readings for Saints’ Days (PDF) (Revised ed.). Anglican Book Centre, Anglican Church of Canada. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-55126-502-5.
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