The Book of Common Prayer is the source for information about the beliefs, worship, devotion, and history of the Episcopal Church, USA. The following article offers a guide to The Book of Common Prayer and explains how Episcopalians use the Book of Common Prayer to connect with God.
The Book of Common Prayer covers everything that is important to Episcopalians, including their worship services, prayers, Bible readings, faith, and the history of their church.
Services in the Episcopal Church
The Book of Common Prayer is a service manual; it contains main church services used by Episcopalians. The two Sunday services, Rite One in the language of the King James Bible and Rite Two in contemporary language are included, as well as special services for Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Easter, and other holy days.
Morning and evening prayer services are a part of the Book of Common Prayer. Called the Daily Office, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer combine scripture reading, prayer, and reflection. Most Episcopalians are familiar with these services, though they may not occur in their churches as often as the Sunday services.
A significant number of Episcopalians will pray Evening Prayer and Morning Prayer family or private devotion as well. Other services include the pastoral offices, services for supporting church members such as marriage, blessing a baby, or burying a loved one-and episcopal services- services for ordaining Episcopal ministers called priests or blessing a new church building.
Bible in the Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church, like all Protestant churches, emphasizes the importance of the Holy Scriptures. The Book of Common Prayer is full of Bible verses in the services and prayers. The book also includes the New Revised Standard Translation of the Psalms from the Old Testament, called the Psalter. Episcopalians read a psalm between their Old Testament and New Testament readings every Sunday.
The Book of Common Prayer also includes a Sunday lectionary — a selection of Bible passages shared weekly in Episcopal Sunday services — and a Daily Office lectionary, comprised of Bible passages that are designed to be read daily with Morning or Evening Prayer.
An Episcopalian will hear the majority of the Bible if he/she attends church every Sunday. He/she can read the majority of the Bible in two years if he/she follows the suggested readings for Morning or Evening Prayer.
Prayers in the Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church, USA uses seasonal prayers called collects to draw members together in worship. Collects represent themes such as Christmas, Lent, and the lives of the saints that are important to Episcopalians as they celebrate the church year.
The Book of Common Prayer includes collects in older King James Bible language as well as in contemporary language. Episcopalians may pray a collect individually or as a group outside a Sunday service for private devotion or to enhance a group activity.
An entire section of the Book of Common Prayer is devoted to prayers for individuals. Topics covered here include prayers for the world, church, national life, and family life. Episcopalians may offer these prayers for private devotion or to accompany a Bible study or other group gathering.
Episcopal Church History and Beliefs
Two sections of The Book of Common Prayer reflect Episcopalian identity. The Catechism describes the beliefs Episcopalians share. The Catechism’s question and answer format makes the beliefs of the Episcopal Church easy to understand for anyone, even if they have no familiarly with organized Christianity.
Historical Documents of the Church includes writings important to the history of the Episcopal Church, USA. Documents include an excerpt from the first Book of Common Prayer written in 1549 as well as the Articles of Religion, a statement of faith dating from the 19th century.
The Book of Common Prayers offers a wealth of information about the worship, devotion, history, and beliefs of the Episcopal Church. An Episcopalian or other interested person can open the book and read the order for a Sunday service as well as offer a prayer for individual reflection or a psalm from the Bible. One book, the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, offers a guide to the culture and beliefs of Episcopalians.
For practice using the Book of Common Prayer for private devotion, How to Lead Episcopal Morning Prayer may be of interest.
Source:
Episcopal Church, USA. The Book of Common Prayer. Church Hymnal Corporation, New York. 1979.
Melissa Roberts - A trained hospital chaplain, Melissa is a freelance writer, teacher, retreat leader, and spiritual director.
