Book Of Common Prayer
$12.99
The Book of Common Prayer is one of the most influential books in history. First published in the reign of Edward VI, in 1549, it was a product of the English Reformation following the break with Rome. For nearly five centuries, it has formed the order of worship for established Christianity in England. More listeners have heard these prayers, it is said, than the soliloquies of Shakespeare. As British imperial ambitions spread, the Book of Common Prayer became the primary instrument (at least as much as the King James Bible) of English culture, firstly in Ireland in 1551. When the Puritans fled to America in 1620 it was to escape the discipline imposed by of the Book of Common Prayer, yet the book came to embody official religion in America before and after Independence, and is still in use.
Today it is a global book: it was the first book printed in many languages, from north America to southern Africa, to the Indian sub-continent.
In this Very Short Introduction Brian Cummings tells the fascinating history of the Book of Common Prayer, and explains why it is easily misunderstood. Designed in the 1540s as a radical Protestant answer to Catholic “superstition,” within a century (during the English Civil Wars) radical Christians regarded the Book of Common Prayer as itself “superstitious” and even (paradoxically) “Papist.” Changing in meaning and context over time, the Book of Common Prayer has acted as a cultural symbol, affecting the everyday conduct of life as much as the spiritual, and dividing conformity from non-conformity, in social terms as well as religious, from birth to marriage to death.
in stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
SKU (ISBN): 9780198803928
ISBN10: 0198803923
Brian Cummings
Binding: Trade Paper
Published: November 2018
Very Short Introductions
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Related products
-
Finding Happiness Through Faith
$5.00Add to cartThe world is facing a phase of religious change. The paradox: while many long for spirituality, churches are becoming more and more empty as many individualize their faith experience. Yet we all long for community, and Christianity has a long history of joy-filled and vibrant communities of faith. Learning to fully comprehend and love the Christian faith is necessary if we want to know true joy and happiness.
-
Cross And The Beatitudes
$12.99Add to cartThis classic work from the pen of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen brings together Christ’s Sermon on the Mount with his Seven Last Words. From the Mount of the Beatitudes to the Hill of Calvary, Our Lord’s public ministry and statements centered on the themes of love and forgiveness, which are explored here with Archbishop Sheen’s characteristic insight and passion.
-
Whens God Gonna Show Up
$9.99Add to cartThis delightful book is written to entertain and inspire the faithful to see Jesus Christ in their everyday lives. When’s God Gonna Show Up? is a question asked by a four-year-old to his mother when their family was in church for Eucharistic Adoration. His mother is the author of this joyous book, and she writes of understanding God’s incredible love for us by trying to understand the information God has given to us.
When’s God Gonna Show Up? reinforces the fact that as children of God, we’ll spend our lives finding the path God has chosen for us and hearing God’s voice in silence and also in the voices of strangers and loved ones. This book of loving, heart-warming short stories is organized by liturgical season and cites related Scripture passages and includes questions for personal reflection or group discussion.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.