The Book Of Common Prayer: 1662 Version (Everyman's Library CLASSICS) Hardcover – 27 May 1999

Like all Everyman titles, this is set in a very legible font and neatly bound. A Chronology covering the years 1485 to 1689 is useful towards understanding contemporary events and their impact.Diarmaid MacCulloch is an Oxford academic, expert on Cranmer and the rise of English Protestantism which saw the Book of Common Prayer take shape. His valuable & detailed Introduction makes clear that the Book of Common Prayer (together with Shakespeare's plays & the King James Bible) has played a key part in forming the English Language as we know it.That is a fact, although even the educated classes may not realise it, far less hoi polloi, 'the multitude whom no man can number' in our increasingly secular Britain, whose Sundays are spent in Shopping Centres, seldom setting foot in church.The Book of Common Prayer is a treasure upon which I am poorly qualified to add any substantive comment beyond saying that I regret not having acquired it sooner. Highly recommended.

Beautifully bound and printed. A joy to have.

Practicing Anglicans throughout the world are doubtless already aware of the this edition. It is compact, in a clear type and astonishingly cheap.But many others, students perhaps, may be interested in handling this book which they have often heard of but never seen.The book was written in England in the mid-sixteenth century, when the Protestant reformers were changing the language of public worship from Latin into English. It author, Archbishop Cranmer, wished to keep as close as possible to the existing forms of worship in the Catholic Church.But he also wished to shorten and simplify them to make them suitable for ordinary lay people. The number of services of public or common worship was cut down to two per day, mattins or morning service and evensong. The Psalter was to be chanted over the course of a month instead of a week. A communion service could be added to mattins.The Latin texts of the services were then faithfully translated from Latin into English, and Catholics nowadays are very familiar with them as they had their translation after Vatican II.The Book of Common Prayer or prayer in common was attacked from two sides. The Catholics wanted to retain the old services in their entirety in Latin. More extreme reformers wanted to ditch all traditional services and construct an entirely new kind of service. The English monarchs however insisted that the Book of Common Prayer and it alone could be used in churches. In the heyday of the British Empire Anglican Churches using the Book of Common Prayer were established all through the Empire and the Book of Common Prayer is used worldwide in the Anglican Communion.As a handbook of what you need to know about Anglican worship this book is indispensible.

This a wonderful book and it is lovely to have it again in this beautiful edition with Diarmaid MacCulloch's excellent introduction. Its beautiful language is still easy to understand and of immense benefit to us.

An excellent edition of this wonderful book. Bought it for a friend who is delighted with it

I bought this version of the Book of Common Prayer as a Confirmation present for my granddaughter . It was a special request .She was really pleased and very happy that I had been able to obtain this for her on this special occasion from Amazon.Thank you Amazon.

When you understand the history of this one little book and the changes it has wrought in so many aspects of our culture, its astonishing any Christian can fail to own it.

Excellent and efficient service.