This major reference work describes the publishing history of the Books of Common Prayer that have appeared in the 450 years since the first prayer book was published in 1549. English and American editions are recorded, as well as translations into over 200 languages and dialects for use by missionaries and immigrant communities.

Published on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the Book of Common Prayer.

This is a survey of the history of the 'Book of Common Prayer', and its descendants throughout the world. The guide shows how a classic text for worship and devotion has become the progenitor of an entire family of religious resources that have had an influence far beyond their use in Anglican churches.

Bibliographers have been notoriously 'hesitant to deal with liturgies', and this volume bridges an important gap with its authoritative examination of how the Book of Common Prayer came into being. The first edition of 1549, the first Grafton edition of 1552 and the first quarto edition of 1559 are now correctly identified, while Peter W. M. Blayney shows that the first two editions of 1559 were probably finished on the same day. Through relentless scrutiny of the evidence, he reveals that the contents of the 1549 version continued to evolve both during and after the printing of the first edition, and that changes were still being made to the Elizabethan revision weeks after the Act of Uniformity was passed. His bold reconstruction is transformative for the early Anglican liturgy, and thus for the wider history of the Church of England. This major, revisionist work is a remarkable book about a remarkable book.

'In the midst of life we are in death.' The words of the Book of Common Prayer have permeated deep into the English language all over the world. For nearly 500 years, and for countless people, it has provided a background fanfare for a marriage or a funeral march at a burial. Yet this familiarity also hides a violent and controversial history. When it was first produced the Book of Common Prayer provoked riots and rebellion, and it was banned before being translated into a host of global languages and adopted as the basis for worship in the USA and elsewhere to the present day. This edition presents the work in three different states: the first edition of 1549, which brought the Reformation into people's homes; the Elizabethan prayer book of 1559, familiar to Shakespeare and Milton; and the edition of 1662, which embodies the religious temper of the nation down to modern times. 'magnificent edition' Diarmaid MacCulloch,London Review of Books 'superb edition...excellent notes and introduction' Rowan Williams, Times Literary Supplement ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Book of Common Prayer is a remarkable book, a sacred book in more than one sense. It is primarily a liturgical text, meant to be used in corporate worship, and at the same time a literary landmark, a cultural icon, and a focus of identity for Anglican Christianity. This brief, accessible account of the Prayer Book, as it is often called, describes the contents of the classical version of the text, with special emphasis on the services for which it has been used most frequently since it was issued in 1662. Charles Hefling also examines the historical and theological context of the Prayer Book's origins, the changes it has undergone, the controversies it has touched off, and its reception in England, Scotland, and America. Readers are introduced to the political as well as the spiritual influence of the Book of Common Prayer, and to its enduring place in English-speaking religion.

This edition is a reprint of the 1662 version, with appendices taken from the 1549 copy, in order to proclaim the value of this work once more and to recognise it for what it is - a liturgical and literary masterpiece.