ONE BCP but in Three Editions in North America

Which one do you use?

To speak of The Book of Common Prayer in The Episcopal Church [TEC], and in much of the new Anglicanism in the U.S.A. since 2000 (e.g., ACN, AMIA, CANA etc.), is to refer to that relatively new (in terms of Anglican history) and experimental prayer book, that was authorized by the General Conventions of 1976 and 1979 and which, therefore, carries the date of 1979.

Before 1979, the same Episcopal Church (then known as The Protestant Episcopal Church of the U.S.A. [PECUSA]) called a very different prayer book by the title, The Book of Common Prayer.  This was dated 1928 because it was finally authorized by the General Convention of 1928.  However, this prayer book was not a new and experimental prayer book; but a gentle revision of The Book of Common Prayer that had been the official prayer book of PECUSA since 1892. And to complete the story of gentle revision, the 1892 edition of The BCP was itself a revision of the first edition of the American form of The BCP, dated 1789. So the editions of 1789, 1892 and 1928 are three of a kind, while the 1979 belongs to a wholly new genre.

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A Stronger Case for Religious Freedom: Comments on the Archbishop of Canterbury's Speech

by Roberta Bayer

The Press in England and the United States have given a great deal of attention to the now infamous lecture by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at the Royal Courts of Justice entitled Civil and Religious Law in England: a Religious Perspective, where he suggested that Muslim communities in Great Britian ought to be free to live under Shari'a Law. Although it has not been much noted in all the publicity, these comments were placed in the context of a larger argument about the growing insecurity of all religious communities, including Christian, living in this secular age. My remarks below develop this theme with reference to the unjust treatment some Christians experience under the civil law. Like the Archbishop, I am concerned that Western states, dominated by secular elites, are increasingly hostile to Christianity, and that the motives of legislators bear only a distant relation to an idea of justice, properly understood in the Christian tradition. I argue that it is necessary to remind elites that there is no justice outside service to God.

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Richard Hooker (d.1600), ON SALVATION AND THE CHURCH OF ROME

(original title “A Learned Discourse on Justification, Works, and how the Foundation of Faith is overthrown”)

Hooker is amongst the most important of Anglican theologians and his fame rests particularly with his book, Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, which is a massive defense of the Church of England and its Reformed Catholic Faith.

He also wrote other things and of these none is more important than his Tractate of 1586 which deals with these themes: What is the foundation or basis of Christianity? Does the Church of Rome hold to the true foundation? In what ways does the doctrine of justification believed, taught and confessed by the Church of England differ from the doctrine of the Church of Rome? What are the basic differences in mindset between the Puritan and the Anglican within the Church of England of the Elizabethan Settlement of 1559? Is it reasonable to suppose that the baptized English of earlier times who lived under Popery were actually saved by grace even though they were surrounded by superstition and error in the church?

This Tractate began its existence as several sermons preached in The Temple Church, London to barristers, who were mostly sympathetic to the Puritan calls for more reformation in a “Calvinistic” direction of the Established Church. Hooker was the Master (Rector) there and he eventually prepared for publication as one Discourse the texts of the sermons.

Hooker’s literary style is polished but difficult for many people today to appreciate and master, due to the long sentences and complex syntax. Therefore, in this booklet of 64 pages the Discourse has been carefully rendered into a simplified English and given a new title in order to make more accessible Hooker’s profound teaching to those who struggle with his difficult style.

There is a historical and theological introduction before the Text of the Tractate as a further help to the reader appreciate what Hooker had to say.

Cost $7.50 including shipping. During the Fall of 2007 anyone who pays the full price for one will get anther copy free. Send check to, The Prayer Book Society, P.O. Box 35220, Philadelphia, PA 19128-0220