The 1928Book of Common Prayer[note 1] was the official primaryliturgical book of the U.S.-basedEpiscopal Church from 1928 to 1979. An edition in the same tradition as other versions of theBook of Common Prayer used by the churches within theAnglican Communion andAnglicanism generally, it contains both the forms of theEucharistic liturgy and theDaily Office, as well as additional publicliturgies and personal devotions. It was the third major revision of theBook of Common Prayer adopted by the Episcopal Church, succeeding the 1892 edition and being replaced by the1979Book of Common Prayer.
Following theEnglish Reformation and the separation of theChurch of England from theCatholic Church, theliturgies ofAnglicanism were transcribed into English. The first such production was the1549Book of Common Prayer, traditionally considered to be work ofThomas Cranmer, which replaced both themissals andbreviaries of Catholic usage.[1] Among these liturgies were theCommunion service andcanonical hours ofMatins andEvensong, with the addition of the Ordinal containing the form for the consecration of bishops, priests, anddeacons in 1550.[2] UnderEdward VI, the1552Book of Common Prayer incorporated more radicallyProtestant reforms,[3]: 11 a process that continued with1559 edition approved underElizabeth I.[4]
Prior to the consecration ofSamuel Seabury by theEpiscopal Church of Scotland as the first American Anglican bishop to not accept theEnglish Crown and the establishment of the independentEpiscopal Church after theAmerican Revolutionary War, the Church of England had operated in what would become the United States using the liturgies as defined in the1662Book of Common Prayer.[5]Pennsylvanian Episcopal priestsWilliam Smith andWilliam White created the first widely used American edition of the prayer book in 1786 as a "proposed" text based on the 1662 prayer book.[6][7] A further revision with a greater departure from the English 1662 edition was approved for regular usage by the newly-established Episcopal Church in 1789. Notably, theEucharistic prayers of this approved edition included a similarEpiclesis invoking theHoly Spirit as that present inEastern Christian rituals and the Episcopal Church of Scotland's liturgy.[3]: 12 Proposals to remove theNicene andAthanasian Creeds faced successful objections from both a caucus ofHigh ChurchVirginians and English bishops who had been consulted on the prayer book's production.[8] Revisions of the 1789Book of Common Prayer, known as "Standard Editions",[note 2] were promulgated by theGeneral Convention in 1793, 1822, 1832, 1838, 1845, and 1871 with notes regarding changes.[10]
The 1789 edition would be replaced in 1892 by a new edition of the prayer book considered a "conservative" revision of its predecessor.[11] The 1892Book of Common Prayer was the first American prayer book to have a standard edition made which further printings were to be compared against and inserted rubrical emphasis on offering Communion to all present.[12]: 71 [13] Among the alterations were several derived from edits in a draft liturgy produced by the Scottish Episcopal Church in 1889.[14]: 94 While the 1892 prayer book was not a complete revision, it indicated that the prayer book was changeable.[15]: 58
The pressure for additional revision after the adoption of the 1892 prayer book continued until the 1928General Convention adopted the 1928 prayer book.[16]: 92 This adoption came after a revision effort that began in 1913 with the creation of a commission following efforts by Clifon Macon in theDiocese of California during the preceding year. This commission—which included bishops, priests, and laymen—recommended several changes to the prayer book in their first report. These included alterations with doctrinal implications—such as the removal of a prayer that identified disastrous weather as divine punishment for sin—that were approved by the General Convention.[15]: 59–60
Under the leadership ofCortlandt Whitehead and, after his 1922 death,Charles L. Slattery, the commission presented book-length reports at four further General Conventions,[17][13]: 101 resulting in review and debate with varying outcomes. At the 1922 General Convention, the conservative view on revision dissipated; the revision process was completed at the 1925 convention. Final approval came in 1928.[15]: 60–61
Among the significant changes present in the 1928 prayer book included the excision of "extremeCalvinism", diminished emphasis on human sinfulness, and alteration of the matrimonial service such that the pledges were more similar between husband and wife.[12]: 64 [18]: 161–162 The 1928 prayer book began a general shift from the medieval patterns of theVisitation of the Sick, which had generally interpreted sickness as both incurable and as punishment, but the new prayer book did not entirely omit these earlier prayers.[19]: 207 Thethird Good Friday collect was altered to omit what was deemed an "unwarranted slur" against Jews that had been present since the 1549 prayer book.[13]: 111
The Episcopal Church authorized bishops to permit 1928 prayer book liturgies to be celebrated within their dioceses at the same 1979 General Convention that approved the 1979 prayer book. Usage under this provision required celebration according to the 1979 lectionary.[20] The 2000 General Convention revised these permissions, assigning the 1928 prayer book to the same category of permissions given to supplemental liturgies approved post-1979.[21][22] In 1991, theChurch of the Good Shepherd, an anglo-catholic Episcopal Church parish inRosemont, Pennsylvania, published theAnglican Service Book as a "traditional language adaptation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer." Besides offering the Rite I services of the 1979 prayer book, it offered traditional-language versions of the 1979 prayer book's contemporary-language prayers. The Psalter is that of the 1928 prayer book.[23]
The 1928 prayer book is organized with theDaily Offices, includingMorning andEvening Prayer, towards the front. The middle section of the book contains the Order for the Holy Communion with associatedcollects and Scriptural readings. The rear of the text is devoted to the Occasional Offices, including thosebaptism, matrimony, and burial.[24]: 97–98 Like other Books of Common Prayer and theKing James Bible, the 1928 prayer book does not capitalize pronouns when referring toGod.[25]: 14 Massey H. Shepherd–who played a significant role in creating the 1979 prayer book–said that theThirty-nine Articles as they appear in the 1928 prayer book "should be interpreted in light of the teaching of the entire Prayer Book. They are not a norm by which the rest of the Prayer Book must of necessity be judged and explained."[19]: 277
The penitential sentences prefacing the 1892 prayer book's Daily Offices were deleted in favor for seasonal emphasis. However, despite the popularity of the practice, rubrics forsermons were not inserted into the 1928 prayer book's Daily Offices, keeping with the 1892 and other earlier prayer books.[16]: 92, 176–177
The pattern for reading Scriptural lessons in the 1928 prayer book deviates significantly from Cranmer's lectionary, favoring weekday lessons to be read "in course". This arrangement sees books of the Bible read from beginning to end with some omissions. The 1928 prayer book's lessons were also designed to be relevant to the seasons of the liturgical calendar.[16]: 158–159
On October 5, 1943 a new daily lectionary was approved for use in the Daily Office.[26] It provided for alternate psalms in the daily readings.
The 1928 prayer book contains the form of the Holy Communion service–titled theOrder for the Administration of the Lord's Supper or the Holy Communion–before the collects, epistles, and gospels. A new rubric was inserted with the 1928 prayer book which permitted a deacon to celebrate the Communion office ending at the gospel when a priest was absent.[13]: 106 As in other prior English prayer books, the 1928 prayer book includes a rubric permitting sermons during the celebration of the Eucharist.[16]: 176–177
Due to growing opposition to theTen Commandments in the Communion service on the grounds that they had lost their relevancy and meaning in the modern world, permission was granted that significant portions might be omitted. The portions authorized for omission were printed inset from the rest of the commandments. The revising commission had unsuccessfully proposed that they be followed by "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye also love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also one another."[13]: 107–108
Unlike other English and American prayer book revisions which had introduced few new collects, the 1928 edition added 15 across various offices including the Holy Communion.[15]: 144 Despite there only being one formal fixedPostcommunion thanksgiving, changes between the1550 ordinal and the 1552 prayer book resulted in a longstanding tradition wherein the Commendatory Prayers were treated as "Postcommunions"; this tradition was formally authorized in the1928 proposed English prayer book and1929Scottish Prayer Book while a rubric in the 1928 American prayer book failed to completely prevent the practice.[15]: 215–217
The 1789 prayer book permitted a "hymn" after theConsecration, with the 1928 prayer book placing this after thePrayer of Humble Access and during theBreaking of Bread and the Communion. Despite the 1928 proposal to restore theAgnus Dei narrowly failing, the view of theAgnus Dei as a "hymn" allowed its singing.[15]: 217
Among the offices included within the 1928 prayer book are those forbaptism,confirmation, marriage, illness, and burial.[24]: 98 The burial office introduced a new collect that asks for a growth of both knowledge and love ofGod; this prayer was retained in the 1979 prayer book's Rite I form.[19]: 223–224 The 1928 prayer book also introduced severalprayers for the dead. This type of prayer—which had been absent since the 1552 prayer book—was inserted in the context of the post–World War I world, where memory of the dead was part of the public consciousness.[19]: 229
The Visitation of the Sick was significantly altered from its 1892 guise with the intent of removing "so gloomy, so medieval" theology that had prevented its regular use in ministry. The new office was intended to impart hope on the sick, with joyful psalms introduced. Abbreviated forms of the confession and absolution were similarly added.[13]: 115–116
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