The 1984 ''Book of Common Prayer'' is a revised and authorised version of the ''

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

'' specifically for the use of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

Background

The first ''Book of Common Prayer'' in Welsh —— was published in 1567. A revised version based on the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' was published in 1664. Since then, the

used the prayer book of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, unmodified, until 1966. In 1944, the Church in Wales introduced a supplement to its

liturgical calendar The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obs ...

which gave commemorations to Welsh saints such as Asaph,

Cadoc Saint Cadoc or Cadog (; also Modern Welsh: Catawg or Catwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the Celtic church as a centre of learning, wher ...

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and

Illtud Illtud ( also spelled Illtyd, Eltut, and, in Latin, Hildutus), also known as Illtud Farchog or Illtud the Knight, is venerated as the abbot teacher of the divinity school, Bangor Illtyd, located in Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major) in Glamorg ...

, thus the beginning of the Church's assertion of its distinctive character and voice. A new Standing Liturgical Advisory Commission was established in 1951, whose proposals for a revised rite for the Holy Eucharist was authorised by the Bench of Bishops in 1966 for experimental use. The revision lasted from the 1950s to the publication of the 1984 prayer book.

Overview

The ''Book of Common Prayer for use in the Church in Wales'', which is written in traditional English and underwent a line-by-line revision process by the Governing Body of the Church in Wales between 1980 and 1984, was specifically designed to replace the 1662 English prayer book. Initially, it was intended to be published in single volume. However, the sheer exigencies of bringing together so many rites in bilingual format prohibited a one-volume format, the

propers The proper (Latin: ''proprium'') is a part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the liturgical year, or of a particular saint or significant event. The term is used in contrast to the ...

and the

psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters were ...

alone ran to 600 pages. The Prayer Book ended up releasing in a series of four volumes: the English-only volume I containing the Calendar, framework lectionary, Morning and Evening Prayer, Holy Eucharist, propers and psalter; a second volume containing the Calendar, the Eucharistic Rite and propers bilingually; a third volume containing the Calendar, lectionary, Morning and Evening Prayer, collects and psalter bilingually; and finally the bilingual volume II (), containing the Eucharistic Rite, Public and Private Baptism, Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child, the Catechism, Confirmation, Ordination, Matrimony, Blessing of a Civil Marriage, Ministry of Healing, Burial, and a table of Kindred and Affinity.

References

External links

The Book of Common Prayer 1984 Volume I
at Church in Wales official website
The Book of Common Prayer 1984 Volume II
at Church in Wales official website {{Portalbar, Books, Christianity, History, Wales 1984 non-fiction books Book of Common Prayer Church in Wales