The ''Book of Common Prayer'' of 1928 was a proposed revised version of the 1662 ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

'' of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Overview

The proposed revision was approved in 1927 by the

Church Assembly The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church ...

but rejected by

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. Its authorisation was defeated in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

for a second time on 14 June 1928. In order to reduce conflict with traditionalists, it was decided that the form of service to be used would be determined by the incumbent and the parochial church council, with the older 1662 forms of services continuing to be available alongside the 1928 forms. Since the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 required measures affecting the ''Book of Common Prayer'' to be approved by Parliament before receiving royal assent, the measure authorising its use, together with an annexed copy (a "Deposited Book"), was submitted to Parliament. The House of Lords approved the ''Book'' by a large majority, but the corresponding resolution in the House of Commons was defeated by 33 votes on 15 December 1927. The

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(later Viscount Brentford), and Rosslyn Mitchell "reached and inflamed all the latent Protestant prejudices in the House" and argued strongly against it, largely in opposition to the

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practice of the "

reserved sacrament During the Mass of the Faithful, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered to have been changed into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The manner in which this occurs is referred to by the term transu ...

" which the ''Book'' would have legalised in the Church of England, albeit in a limited fashion and for the specific purpose of communion of the sick only. Felixstowe StAndrew plaque

The prayer book was submitted again the following year and defeated a second time in the Commons on 14 June 1928. In 1966, with some changes, many services from the 1928 book were authorised as legal for public worship as the First Series of Alternative Services, and subsequently continued in use through authorisation by inclusion in the ''

Alternative Service Book The ''Alternative Service Book 1980'' (''ASB'') was the first complete prayer book produced by the Church of England since 1662. Its name derives from the fact that it was proposed not as a replacement for the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' (B ...

'' and its successor, '' Common Worship''.

Overview

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Further reading