Prayer Book Society of Canada

The Prayer Book Society of Canada is an organization within the Anglican Church of Canada which "promotes the understanding and use of the Book of Common Prayer as a spiritual system of nurture for life in Christ" (PBSC website). The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) used in Canada was originally composed in 1962, and is a national expression of a tradition of Christian worship stemming from the original BCP published by the Church of England in 1549. The original 1549 BCP was itself a revision of the medieval forms of worship in use within the English Church prior to the Reformation. The BCP simplified older forms, and made the Bible itself the standard of all Christian worship.

The BCP contains in one volume what previously had been contained in many separate tomes: The Daily Offices (which are the Church's daily Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer), the Liturgy of the Holy Communion, the Ordinal (services for the ordinations of bishops, priests, and deacons), as well as many other services of the Church, such as the Penitential Rite (used on Ash Wednesday), and the Baptism services.

In the face of new liturgical developments, including the discoveries of ancient texts, documents and practices in the 1970s, which brought about the use of the "Book of Alternative Services" (BAS) in Canada, thousands of Canadian Anglicans banded together to form a Society to preserve the traditions of Common Prayer in parishes across Canada. The Society is made up of clergy and laity within the Anglican Church of Canada, and is governed by a National Council made up of representatives from many dioceses in the Anglican Church of Canada. There are also local "Branches" and "Institutes" of the Society in many Canadian Dioceses.

The Prayer Book Society of Canada has sister organizations in Great Britain (under the patronage of Charles, Prince of Wales), The United States, and Australia, which share a common mandate and purpose. Prayer Book Societies around the world represent a broad spectrum of theological perspectives within Anglicanism. Members share a common desire to preserve the theological, liturgical and devotional tradition of Common Prayer within world-wide Anglicanism.

The Prayer Book Society of Canada is still one of the largest independent organizations within the Anglican Church of Canada. It has extended beyond its stated mandate to lobby in favour of general social conservatism in the Anglican Church, opposing practices such as the blessing of same-sex unions, and becoming one of three constituent organisations within Anglican Essentials Canada. This political aspect of the Society's work has led to the foundation of Propitiation, a group of gay and lesbian Prayer Book Anglicans.

External links

* [http://www.prayerbook.ca Prayer Book Society of Canada] Official website. Includes [http://www.prayerbook.ca/bcp.html online edition] of the "Book of Common Prayer" (Canada 1962 Edition).
* [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Canada/French1962.htm The Book of Common Prayer] in Canadian French.
* [http://www.lectionarycentral.com Lectionary Central] A website for the study and use of the traditional Western Eucharistic lectionary preserved in the Book of Common Prayer.