Turning Points in Prayer Book History

About this book

Two leading scholars explore the story of the American Prayer Book's development through nine critical turning points. The Book of Common Prayer has a central place in the faith and practice of Anglicans around the world and, within the United States, in The Episcopal Church. In their exciting and comprehensive new work, Nathan Jennings and Matthew S.C. Olver offer a fresh and original argument: the American prayer book tradition is not merely a historical artifact but a living body of binding precedent -- similar to a constitutional tradition that actively governs liturgical interpretation and revision today. Drawing on the analogy of common law, Jennings and Olver identify nine decisive moments in prayer book history, from Thomas Cranmer's founding criteria for liturgical reform in 1549 to the contested marriage rites of the contemporary Episcopal Church, showing how each turning point set precedent that still bears upon decisions made in worship planning and General Convention alike. Unlike conventional prayer book histories that narrate events chronologically, Turning Points in Prayer Book History argues that tradition is something earned through active engagement, not merely inherited. Clergy, ordinands, and lay leaders who have vowed to uphold the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church will find here both the historical grounding and the theological framework to make those vows meaningful. Enriched by archival photographs of rare prayer books, discussion questions, and a liturgical glossary, this is an essential resource for seminary courses, book studies, and anyone navigating the current moment of prayer book revision.