Customer Reviews

Commentary on the American Prayer Book

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Many people who study the Bible are familiar with the ways that commentaries work - some are line by line, some are passage by passage; some commentaries focus on particular elements (historical, linguistic, etc.) and others try to be general in approach. Marion Hatchett's book, 'Commentary on the American Prayer Book', is a general commentary that will seem at home to such readers as are familiar with biblical commentaries, only the subject is in this case the 1979 Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church USA.

There are several Books of Common Prayer, around the world, and through history. They all trace their development back to the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England, whose formation began with the break with Rome during Henry VIII's reign, and continued until being more or less solidified in the 1662 version of the Book of Common Prayer. The American church, as with many provinces within and outside of the British Empire, found need to develop its own liturgies, owing much and holding true in many respects to the founding liturgy (which itself hearkens back to liturgies of the ancient and medieval church). Some of this history will be found in Hatchett's commentary, in the introduction, as well as scattered throughout the text and introduced as appropriate for the matter at hand.

This is a commentary on the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, the most recent full-scale revision of the BCP; however, it does not ignore its predecessors, and particularly highlights the 1928 BCP, both in terms of convergence and difference liturgically and theologically. There is a still a faithful core of Anglicans in America who use the 1928 BCP; this commentary is not specifically helpful for that text, but can give general guidance in some respects.

This commentary goes page by page and passage by passage. Nothing is too small or trivial - the commentary includes discussion of the title page, the certificate page, the table of contents, even the overall design format of the book. The most interesting sections will naturally be those commentaries on the liturgies most commonly performed - Eucharistic liturgies, Baptism, and various pastoral offices.

Hatchett's commentary on the section of the Psalter is a bit disappointing. He doesn't address the actual psalms at all - granted, this is not a theological or biblical commentary on the psalms, and such a book could fill volumes on its own. Still, it was disappointing to find this large section of the BCP addressed with only a few general pages of commentary.

Most sections are introduced with background information, historical/developmental in nature, prior to the actual commentaries. The commentary gives appropriate page numbers for the 1979 BCP. The overall structure of this text follows the table of contents of the 1979 BCP. For comparison/contrast purposes with other books from other provinces or times, the page numbers will not be useful, but the section headings will be sufficient to find the similar sections in other prayer books.

Hatchett does plead the case for some exclusions and decisions based on sheer length and size of the volume - weighing in at almost 700 pages as it is, it is already a formidable text. To prevent the need for it expanding to two volumes (and thus becoming prohibitive in cost), certain decisions were made, such as not including the text of the actual BCP. One assumes that the typical reader of this commentary will have her or his own BCP, just as the typical writer of a biblical commentary will assume the reader has a Bible. However, not all readers will have both the 1928 and 1979 books; I think there is a place in the church's publishing realm for a two-volume (or multi-volume) format of this text with the BCP texts integrated within the same pages.

While this text is a commentary on the Episcopal (official American version of Anglican) Book of Common Prayer, given the shared history of liturgical development shared by churches in the English-speaking world, worshipers of other denominations will find interesting and useful information contained herein also.

Anglicans rarely tire of discussing the liturgy, be they high, low, or broad church types. This book can sustain many a conversation, settling some questions, and raising others.

For American Episcopalians and others seriously interested in the 1976 Book of Common Prayer this work serves excellently as a reference handbook for looking up any part of the liturgy and its history. In addition the book reads eminently well. Any dedicated student of the Episcopal liturgy should find the book both a delight and indispensible.

Though I am no longer a part of an Anglican jurisdiction, the 1979 Book of Common Prayer is a part of the modern liturgical landscape of the Western Church, and as a result, happening across this book necessitated a purchase.

While the "Oxford Commentary on the American Prayer Book" (published for the 1928 BCP) is a far superior work, this book is a worthy addition to that volume on the bookshelf of any liturgist.

Hatchett clues into the history of the entire Christian Church, the Latin Church before the reformation, the vast expanse that is Anglicanisim, and even into the modern liturgical movement - using each section of history to show the sources and aims of the 1979 BCP.

Whatever your opinion of the 79 Prayer Book, Hatchett's volume will provide you with a worthy source of information on the liturgy and practice of the 79 Edition of the BCP, and will serve any serious liturgist well.

I can't really add too much to the previous review. Just suffice it to say that this is a treasure of a book for those who want to know the history of, and the whys and wherefores of the BCP of the Episcopal Church USA. Without reservation this is a 5-star book!

Since, after serving many years in Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran Church of America congregations, I have just taken a position in an Episcopalian congregation, I was casting about for a meaty but accessible reference about worship. Hatchett has done a great job. Any serious church worker or congregant needs this book at hand for constant, lucid and easy reference. At almost 700 pages one will certainly not want to read it in one sitting but the style and importance of the book will invite periodic forays into the text and ideas it contains.

Hatchett delivers a thorough commentary on the entire content of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of the Episcopal Church of the USA. His commentary on all sections of the BCP offers background and history of the content, language and theology behind the current version. This is extremely helpful and interesting, as when appropriate Hatchett shows the process of inclusion and revision of content from the first Prayer Book of the Church of England in 1549 down to the current version. Often he provides examples of original prayers or rites that have been altered. He discusses the reasons for such changes. Many times his historical explanations refer to the Judaic practices, the Apostolic Church, the early church and down through the ages. He often cites or references such documents as the "Apostolic Tradition" of Hippolytus and other early church "liturgies."

His writing is fluid and easily accessible by novices to the BCP and also robust enough to be appreciated by scholars and priests in the church. For priests, deacons or other leaders hoping for guidance or better understanding on the BCP, this is the place to find it. Hatchett seems to always find the right balance between not enough information and too much information for the diverse audiences of this book.

For anyone who takes the BCP seriously and values it, this is almost a necessary resource because of its usefulness. At the very least, it will help develop a greater appreciation for the BCP and those who have developed the past editions and the current 1979 edition.

I cannot imagine a reader being disappointed with this commentary.

I was skeptical about the 700 pages but I have been using it daily. As a new Episcopalian, this book explains the Book of Common Prayer as it is and how it got that way (history). I highly recommend it.