[gdc61]

i'm not Episcopal, what is the 1928 book of common prayer? anybody know? thanks

[Theodore R.]

I have heard of the Book of Common Prayer. It has the line about "man born of woman" having a "short time to live" and "full of misery," among other lines. The truth does hurt, doesn't it? I think the 1928 version is the most recent, but the book probably goes back to the founding of the Episcopalian, back perhaps to the days of that old reprobate Henry VIII.

[hellinahandcart]

The Book of Common Prayer contains the prayers, rites, and ceremonies performed in church, along with the Psalms of David. It was last revised in 1979 and many feel that it lost something in the translation, namely, the poetry of the 1928 version.

[AnAmericanMother]

The "'28 Book" was the standard Episcopal prayer book for almost 50 years. (Unlike many other Protestant denominations, Episcopalians follow the forms contained in the prayer book quite closely for almost all services.) The Book of Common Prayer is so called because it is used for prayer "in common" - i.e. in the body of believers. It contains the form of worship for Morning and Evening Prayer, Holy Communion, more specific services such as Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Unction of the Sick, and the Psalter (not King James but Cranmer's version). Later versions also contain family prayers and services for use in the home.

The first version was written by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1549, and it has been revised many times since. The American '28 book was the only major revision of the prayer book since the American Revolution, but it still did not make any changes in the basic form or import of the major services (Morning & Evening Prayer and Holy Communion). That's why the '79 book raised such an almighty stink - it "modernized" the language and made major structural and doctrinal changes in the major services.

Hope that answers your question!

[sweetliberty]

"what is the 1928 book of common prayer?"

The 1928 revision was very extensive - perhaps the most radical U. S. prayer book revision until that of 1979. Some of the many changes from the previous 1892 book included dropping liturgies of rather outdated theology, such as the Visitation of Prisoners; the three baptism rites were combined into one; and several changes were made to the Communion service, including further deemphasis of the Decalogue, and rearrangement of the Lord's Prayer and the Prayer of Humble Access back to the position they had in the Prayer Book of 1549.

1928 Book of Common Prayer