Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Commemoration of the First Book of Common Prayer

Sing to the Lord a new song; 
    sing to the Lord, all the whole earth.
Sing to the Lord and bless his Name;
    proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations
    and his wonders among all peoples.
        (Psalm 96.1-3)

Peter said to them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.' And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2.38-39,42)

V.    Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
R.   Govern and uphold them, now and always.
V.    Day by day we bless you;
R.   We praise your Name for ever.
 
Almighty and everliving God, whose servant Thomas Cranmer, with others, restored the language of the people in the prayers of your Church: Make us always thankful for this heritage; and help us so to pray in the Spirit and with the understanding, that we may worthily magnify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


From 'Lesser Feasts and Fasts':
'The First Book of Common Prayer came into use on the Day of Pentecost, June 9, 1549, in the second year of the reign of King Edward the Sixth. From it have descended all subsequent editions and revisions of the Book in the Churches of the Anglican Communion. Though prepared by a commission of learned bishops and priests, the format, substance, and style of the Prayer Book were primarily the work of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury . . . The originality of the Prayer Book, apart from the felicitous translations and paraphrases of the old Latin forms, lay in its simplification of the complicated liturgical usages of the medieval Church, so that it was suitable for use by the laity as well as by the clergy. The Book thus became both a manual of common worship for Anglicans and a primary resource for their personal spirituality.'

The service of Mattins (Daily Morning Prayer) from the 1549 Book of Common Prayer.



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