Book of Common Prayer

The Church has been liturgical as far back as we can trace it, and the English Book of Common Prayer has been a large part of the Protestant theological world for many centuries. We have several classic works on CD ROM that are searchable, easy to use, and will be very helpful to pastor and layman alike. All of these works are searchable except for Mayhew's The Teacher's Prayer Book.

• E. G. Cuthbert Atchley, History of the Use of Incense (1909), 519 pages by ebook format. He plumbs the depths of incense from Roman times through the church from earliest times to his day. Incredible research that includes many illustrations. 519 pages in ebook format. (table of contents)
• John Henry Blunt, The Annotated Book of Common Prayer (1895), covering the 1548 Holy Communion service and the 1549, 1552, 1662, and American prayer books. 218 pages in ebook format. (table of contents)
• William E. Cox, The Heart of the Prayer Book (1944), great discussion of various aspects of the BCP.163 pages in ebook format. (table of contents)
• Percy Dearmer, Everyman's History of the Prayer Book (1931). Great discussion of the history of liturgical worship in general as well as many parts of the BCP. 194 pages in ebook format. (table of contents)
• Percy Dearmer, The Parson's Handbook (1931). This is a great help for anyone but especially for ministers! 443 pages in ebook format. (table of contents)
• W. H. Frere, Some Principles of Liturgical Reform (1911, London). The work covers the dangers and need of revisions, the calendar, use of the Holy Scriptures, fasts, rubrics, Lord's Prayer and collects, Sunday morning service, Morning Prayer and Litany, Evening Service, Holy Communion, and occasional offices. 150 pages in ebook format. 150 pages in ebook format. (table of contents)
• W. H. Frere, Principles of Religious Ceremonial (1907), covering primitive, medieval, and later stages along with the rubrics, and much more regarding the Prayer Book. 262 pages in ebook format. (table of contents)
• Edward Myrick Goulburn, Dean of Norwich, 2 volumes: 1897, 1901, 896 pages in ebook format. Discusses in infinite detail The Collects of the Day: An Exposition Critical and Devotional of the Collects Appointed at the Communion. How is that for a title! Even the collects omitted from the 1549 BCP are discussed! This is a treasure of information for the minister or lay reader, and one can search this file in a blip to find what he needs! (table of contents)
• The Rev. James Haughton wrote The Holy Spirit and the Prayer Book in 1911, and was published in New York, and it is 310 pages in ebook format. This is a very unique work, and is searchable. He has an introductory chapter on the Holy Spirit, another on the Prayer Book and the Christian Year, a third called the Holy Spirit and the Prayer Book, and a long section on Trinity Season. (table of contents)
• A. L. Mayhew, The Teachers Prayer Book, 396 pages in ebook format. Unfortunately, this is in PDF graphics, which can be opened in Adobe Reader just fine, but cannot be searched. Thus there are no table of contents for it, but it appears to be an outstanding presentationg of every aspect of the BCP that one could want. (no table of contents)
• William Paret gave us a very practical book, especially for those who are new to the BCP: The Pastoral Use of the Prayer Book, 1904, 137 pages in ebook format. It is mainly designed for clerical studens, but also very helpful for anyone. (table of contents)
• J. C. Ryle, God's Book, the Bible (189?), is a delightful that can be printed for one's congregation. Ryle was such a wonderful, conservative Bishop in the Church of England. 39 pages in ebook format. Though this is not on the Prayer Book, yet the BCP is based on Holy Scripture, and thus our justification for including it. (table of contents)
• Rev. C. Ernest Smith, Readings and Prayers for a Communicant's Class (1897), 55 pages in ebook format. An excellent introduction to Holy Communion. (table of contents)
• Rev. H. Westall, The Case for Incense (1899), is a strong argument for using incense. 181 pages in ebook format. (table of contents)

The cost of this extended CD ROM is $45 plus postage. For ordering information, go here.