How to Use the Book of Common Prayer

"""If like me you struggle to navigate the Book of Common Prayer, help is at hand. Samuel Bray and Drew Nathaniel Keane have come to the rescue by providing us with this excellent guide."" -- Alistair Begg, senior pastor of Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio ""The Book of Common Prayer is the undisputed masterpiece of English liturgy that has stirred the souls of countless Anglicans (and others) across five centuries. This guide opens with a short history of the BCP and then expounds the significance of the components of the various services. Readers unfamiliar with the BCP will find it to be a treasure trove of public and private devotion to God, while those familiar with its use will be blessed by the careful explanation of the liturgical magnificence of Thomas Cranmer, the expert liturgist. This book will be a valuable resource for many."" -- Glenn N. Davies, former archbishop of Sydney ""I've been consistently blessed and also enlightened in reading and reflecting on the insights of this unique guidebook. It's much more than just a guide. Having been raised on prayer book worship, and then having led Anglican worship for fifty additional years, I am pretty well saturated with the prayers and poetry of the Book of Common Prayer, the unique book that nurtured Wesley, Whitefield, Newton, Stott, Packer, and millions more. Yet each chapter fed and refreshed me in my own walk with Christ. Reading Bray and Keane is like sitting with a wise, godly mentor who wants to open your mind and heart to new depths of worship."" -- John Yates, founding pastor of The Falls Church Anglican ""Samuel Bray and Drew Keane have put together a guide that will lead those unused to worship with the prayer book through the basics of the use of the Book of Common Prayer and beyond. The prayer book is presented here as a map through the Christian life in an Anglican key, with sections on daily prayer, the celebration of baptism, confirmation, and Communion, the shape of the liturgical year, the memorials of saints' days, and more. This lovely and straightforward book is remarkably precise and subtle in its theological formation of the one who gets hold of it and follows its trail into the heart of the liturgical life of the church."" -- Susannah Black Roberts, editor of Plough and of Breaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year ""The 1662 Book of Common Prayer, International Edition, is a beautiful book that stands well in the line of ancient, medieval, and Reformation-era breviaries. Given that evangelical Christians today are largely unfamiliar with praying the Divine Office, the BCP's riches are lost on many. This is why the Herculean work of Bray and Keane is such a blessing to the church. Now they have provided us with a brilliant handbook that teaches us both how to use the BCP and the rich theological meaning of every detail of the services. Their manual is itself a source of spiritual devotion that fills the soul while helping us to pray!"" -- Ian Clary, associate professor of historical theology at Colorado Christian University ""Engaging, accessible, and eminently readable, this book makes no assumption of any prior knowledge of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer—or even of liturgical worship. The authors explain clearly and concisely not only how but also why you should use Anglicanism's foundational liturgical text for both private and public devotions, as they interweave practical advice with theological rationale and historical background. Although written with the uninitiated in mind, this title's straightforward style belies a wealth of scholarship, and those who have known, loved, and used the Book of Common Prayer for years will undoubtedly also find much to learn in the pages of this book."" -- Prudence Dailey, former chairman of the Prayer Book Society, England ""This is a wonderfully clear and accessible guide, ably communicating the purpose of Christian liturgy, the rationale of the prayer book, and how it can be used most fruitfully. For any who are new to the Book of Common Prayer, this volume will serve to open a treasure to them; for those already familiar with it, it will deepen their understanding and appreciation."" -- Alastair Roberts, teaching fellow of the Davenant Institute and author of Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption Through Scripture"