The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer is the first comprehensive guide to the history and usage of the original Book of Common Prayer and its variations. Expert contributors from around the world and from every major denomination offer an unparalleled view of The Book of Common Prayer and its influence. The Oxford Guide to Common Prayer is more than simply a history: it describes how Anglican churches at all points of the compass have developed their own Prayer Books and adapted the time-honored Anglican liturgies to their diverse local cultures. The Guide examines how the same texts - Daily Prayers, the Eucharist, Marriage and Funerals, and many others - in dozens of editions now in use throughout the world, both resemble and differ from one another. A brief look at "electronic Prayer Books" also offers a unique and exciting modern perspective. The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer offers a fascinating journey through the history and development of a classic of world literature from its origins in the 16th century to the modern day. Oxford is pleased to offer The Book of Common Prayer in a variety of formats and prices to match readers' needs and budgets - perfect for study or gift-giving. Visit our website to order your copy today. * A comprehensive survey of the rich history of the original Book of Common Prayer and all of its varied descendents. * Explains, characterizes, and illustrates the dozens of Prayer Book versions in current use throughout the world. * Lays out a path that will enable any reader, Anglican or not, to learn why the BCP is a classic of liturgy and literature.

In 1879, the late medieval poem now known as The Lay Folks' Mass Book - a guide to the Mass -- was edited for the Early English Text Society by Canon Thomas Frederick Simmons. It remains the standard edition of what, to modern tastes, can seem a simple work of conventional Middle English devotion. Yet, as this book shows, the poem had a remarkable afterlife. The authors demonstrate how Simmons' interest in and presentation of the text was related profoundly to contemporary concerns and heated debates about worship in the Church of England, at a time when Anglian clergymen could be imprisoned for their ritual practices. Simmons, educated at Oxford during the height of the Oxford Movement, was recognised by contemporaries as a leading authority on liturgy, a topic that troubled prime ministers as well as archbishops, and the authors bring out the ways in which Simmons himself used his medievalist researches as the basis for what was to be the most important attempt at Prayer Book revision between the Reformation and the twentieth century.

Anglicanism arguably originated in 1534 when Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, which transferred papal power over the Church of England to the king. Today, approximately 550 dioceses are located around the world, not only in England, but also everywhere that the British Empire's area of influence extended. With a membership estimated at around 80 million members the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism covers the history of Anglicanism through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, concepts and institutions, rituals and liturgy, events and national communities. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Anglicanism.

Anglicanism arguably originated in 1534 when Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, which transferred papal power over the Church of England to the king. Today, approximately 550 dioceses are located around the world, not only in England, but also everywhere that the British Empire's area of influence extended. With an estimated total membership of about 75 million, Anglicanism is one of the largest and most varied Christian denominations. With such a long history and widespread flock, it is not easy to keep track of the variations of a religious community that has not ceased adapting since its inception. Hundreds of entries on significant persons and events, concepts and institutions, rituals and liturgy, and national communities, make this an invaluable reference for religious historians, theologians, and researchers. Also included are an introduction, a chronology that traces the church's evolution over time, and a bibliography.

‘The Peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and the love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ The Book of Common Prayer, with local variations, is still used in churches inside and outside the Anglican Communion in over 50 countries and in over 150 languages. The Rise and Fall of the Incomparable Liturgy is the first study to trace the evolution and reception of the BCP, from the Elizabethan settlement of 1559 to the Royal Commission report of 1906, when work on a new prayer book was begun. Written by a world authority, here is an illuminating and highly readable account of the ascent and decline of a world classic, which still informs our common language as well as much of the great literature of the past four centuries. It will appeal not only to students of liturgy but also to general readers interested in history, literature, theology and cultural studies.

'No better way could have been found to mark the end of the long unchallenged reign of Cranmer's Prayer Book than Dr Cuming's superb charting of its history.' Journal of Theological Studies

This book focuses on Anglican Confirmation in theology, liturgy, and practice from 1820 to 1945. This was a period of great change in the ways Anglicans approached Confirmation. The Tractarian movement transformed the Communion, and its ideas were carried overseas with the missionary movement. The study examines the development of a two-stage theology and its reception. It analyses the wave of liturgical revision expressed in England in the 1928 Prayer Book. It explores the episcopal changes in practice from the eighteenth-century paradigm to a new way of confirming. The revolution of the time has left a legacy that still informs practice, while doubts about theology and its liturgical application have left an existential crisis. The author reflects on how the current situation in various provinces has its roots in this period and the diffusion of ideas in the Communion. The book offers a fresh systematic examination of the neglected ecclesial practice of Confirmation, providing a more holistic view and clarifying developments to help us better understand the present. It will be of particular interest to scholars of Christian theology, liturgy, ecclesiology, and church history.