Editing Book of Common Prayer (section)

{{short description|Prayer book used in most Anglican churches}}
{{About||the novel|A Book of Common Prayer{{!}}''A Book of Common Prayer''|other uses}}
{{redirect|Common Prayer|the band|Common Prayer (band)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Book of Common Prayer 1760.jpg|thumb|A 1760 printing of the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'']], printed by [[John Baskerville]]]]
{{Anglicanism}}
The '''''Book of Common Prayer''''' ('''BCP''') is the name given to a number of related [[prayer book]]s used in the [[Anglican Communion]] and by other [[Christianity|Christian]] churches historically related to Anglicanism. The [[Book of Common Prayer (1549)|first prayer book]], published in 1549 in the reign of King [[Edward VI of England]], was a product of the [[English Reformation]] following the break with [[Catholic Church|Rome]]. The 1549 work was the first prayer book to include the complete forms of service for daily and Sunday worship in English. It contains [[Morning Prayer (Anglican)|Morning Prayer]], [[Evening Prayer (Anglican)|Evening Prayer]], the [[Litany]], [[Holy Communion]], and occasional services in full: the orders for [[Baptism]], [[Confirmation]], [[Marriage]], "[[Anointing of the Sick|prayers to be said with the sick]]", and a [[funeral]] service. It also sets out in full the "[[propers]]" (the parts of the service that vary weekly or daily throughout the Church's Year): the [[introit]]s, [[collect]]s, and [[epistle]] and [[gospel]] readings for the Sunday service of Holy Communion. [[Old Testament]] and [[New Testament]] readings for daily prayer are specified in tabular format, as are the [[Psalms]] and [[canticles]], mostly biblical, to be said or sung between the readings.{{sfn|Careless|2003| p=26}}

The 1549 book was soon succeeded by a [[Book of Common Prayer (1552)|1552 revision]] that was more [[Reformation|Reformed]] but from the same editorial hand, that of [[Thomas Cranmer]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]. It was used only for a few months, as after Edward VI's death in 1553, his half-sister [[Mary I]] restored Roman Catholic worship. Mary died in 1558 and, in 1559, [[Elizabeth I]]'s first Parliament authorised the [[Book of Common Prayer (1559)|1559 prayer book]], which effectively reintroduced the 1552 book with modifications to make it acceptable to more traditionally minded worshippers and clergy.

In 1604, [[James VI and I|James I]] ordered some further changes, the most significant being the addition to the [[Catechism]] of a section on the [[Sacrament]]s; this resulted in the [[Book of Common Prayer (1604)|1604 ''Book of Common Prayer'']]. Following the tumultuous events surrounding the [[English Civil War]], when the Prayer Book was again abolished, another revision was published as the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 prayer book]].{{sfn|Church of England|1662}} That edition remains the official prayer book of the [[Church of England]], although throughout the later 20th century, alternative forms that were technically supplements largely displaced the ''Book of Common Prayer'' for the main Sunday worship of most English [[Parish (Church of England)|parish]] churches.

Various permutations of the ''Book of Common Prayer'' with local variations are used in churches within and exterior to the [[Anglican Communion]] in over 50 countries and over 150 different languages.{{sfn|Careless|2003| p=23}} In many of these churches, the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 prayer book]] remains authoritative even if other books or patterns have replaced it in regular worship.

Traditional English-language [[Lutheran]],{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} [[Methodist]], and [[Presbyterian]] prayer books have borrowed from the ''Book of Common Prayer,'' and the marriage and burial rites have found their way into those of other denominations and into the English language. Like the [[King James Version]] of the [[Bible]] and the works of [[Shakespeare]], many words and phrases from the ''Book of Common Prayer'' have entered common parlance.