BCP '62

About This Site

WELCOME

This site makes the daily-office and communion services from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer available in a user-friendly, digital form. As the site assembles each service for you, there is no need to interpret rubrics, determine the liturgical day, or consult a table of lessons; simply visit and scroll.

If this is the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, where are the prayers for the monarchy?

In strictness, a "pure" 1662 text would have to contain prayers for our most gracious Sovereign Lord King Charles [II], our gracious Queen Catherine, Mary the Queen-Mother, and James, Duke of York—all of whom are of course long dead (and one of whom was driven out of England after ascending to the throne). As one would expect, contemporary editions of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer substitute prayers for the current members of the royal family. This site takes a different but analogous approach, substituting generic state prayers—adapted from the American prayerbook tradition—that can be used in republics as well as monarchies.

Has the 1662 text been adapted in any other way?

By default, this site will shorten the daily offices by skipping the general confession, ending on the third collect, and—a little more aggressively—jumping immediately from the second canticle to the Collect of the Day. The sole purpose of these shortenings is to make the offices less intimidating to beginners. Readers who want to restore the missing material can do so at any time by clicking on the Settings icon and unchecking a few boxes.

Why does the lectionary used here not match what I see in my copy of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer?

The main table of lessons printed in most modern copies of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer is a Victorian revision. This site uses the "authentic" 1662 lectionary—i.e., the one in use in England from 1662 through 1871.

How much of the Bible is covered in morning and evening prayer?

The original daily-office lectionary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, used here, covers the great bulk of the Bible. The following, however, are omitted: Genesis 10, 11:10-32, 36; Exodus 6:14-30, 25-31, 35-40; Leviticus 1-17, 21-25, 27; Numbers 1-10, 15, 18-19, 26, 28-29, 33-34; Deuteronomy 23; Joshua 11-22; 1 Chronicles; 2 Chronicles; Ezra 2, 8, 10; Nehemiah 3, 7, 11-12; Esther 10; Proverbs 30; Song of Solomon; Ezekiel 1, 4-5, 8-12, 15-17, 19-32, 35-48; Revelation 2-18, 19:17-21:27.