Book of Common Prayer (1662)
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer is an authorised liturgical book of the Church of England and other Anglican bodies around the world. In continuous print and regular use for over 360 years, the 1662 prayer book is the basis for numerous other editions of the Book of Common Prayer and other liturgical texts. Noted for both its devotional and literary quality, the 1662 prayer book has influenced the English language, with its use alongside the King James Version of the Bible contributing to an increase in literacy from the 16th to the 20th century.
Cover page to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, as printed by John Baskerville for Cambridge in 1762
Compilers of the first Book of Common Prayer, including Cranmer
John Cosin, prominent Laudian during the Savoy Conference and notator of the Durham Book
King William III and Queen Mary II, the Calvinist monarchs who replaced James II during the Glorious Revolution
The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The 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 Rome. The work of 1549 was the first prayer book to include the complete forms of service for daily and Sunday worship in English. It contained Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, the Litany, and Holy Communion and also the occasional services in full: the orders for Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, "prayers to be said with the sick", and a funeral service. It also set out in full the "propers" : the introits, collects, and epistle and gospel readings for the Sunday service of Holy Communion. Old Testament and New Testament readings for daily prayer were specified in tabular format as were the Psalms and canticles, mostly biblical, that were provided to be said or sung between the readings.
A 1760 printing of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, printed by John Baskerville
Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556), editor and co-author of the first and second Books of Common Prayer
Cranmer's prayer book of 1552
Title page of the 1662 Prayer Book