Customer Reviews

The Prayer Book Through the Ages

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This is the second edition of Reverend William Sydnor's history of the Book of Common Prayer. The author is a retired Episcopal priest who served for many years at the National Cathedral in Washington,D.C. The 156-page book is organized in 12 short chapters that read quickly. American Protestants of all denominations owe a substantial debt to the Anglican Church and, later, the American Episcopal Church for the rich spiritual heritage contained in the Book of Common Prayer. The Reverend William Sydnor guides the reader through the spiritual, political, and social changes in England and America that were the underlying reasons why new editions were needed for the Book of Common Prayer. Of particular interest to American readers will be Chapter 6, the first American Prayer Book of 1789. Since new American citizens did not want references to the British crown in their prayerbook, a new edition was needed. As a Presbyterian deacon, I came to appreciate our Anglican heritage of the Book of Common Prayer. It is recommended as a reference book for main-line Protestant denominations. Robert Hadley Sydnor

As an Episcopalian, I have heard numerous comments over the past 20 years about the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, the last version adopted by the Episcopal Church. This book clearly explains how the book came into existence in England in the 16th century, and was subsequently revised 7 times. It makes the reasons for the changes very clear, as it makes very clear the need for making changes. Anyone who has resisted the changes should at least try to understand why they were made. This is the place to learn those reasons.

I read this book as part of a seminary course in liturgics. The first seven chapters of this book are an amazing compilation of liturgical developments relating to the Book of Common Prayer used in Anglican worship, and are worth reading by anyone interested in learning how the Prayer Book has developed over the years. The author is very knowledgeable as to the historical minutiae of Prayer Book development from 1549 through 1979. However, once the author turns to the process and substance of Prayer Book revision in this country during the twentieth century, his lack of objectivity detracts from the narration and analysis of liturgical development in American Anglicanism. He repeatedly uses demeaning language to describe those who resisted further revision of the Prayer Book, while using colorful, supportive adjectives to describe reformers, and asserts rather than establishes through argument that Prayer Book revision should properly be continuous and democratic. The book takes on the nature of a polemic towards the end when the author includes a series of short chapters whose basic purpose is argumentation in favor of a dynamic liturgical structure in Anglicanism. The author even includes an appendix whose only apparent purpose is to mock those who seek to preserve the historic form of the Prayer Book in North America: for example, he snarkily opines that an organization which opposes further Prayer Book revision should prune its mailing list, "for one wonders if its claimed membership was all above ground." I do not even necessarily disagree with much of what the author argues, but the manner in which he made his arguments in the last half of the book was unpersuasive and, quite frankly, somewhat unbecoming a priest of the church.

This book brought the crafting of the Prayer Book painfully alive - Made me more fully appreciate the religious freedoms we enjoy in the US. I did not fully understand what non-separation of church and state could mean in the very real and often bloody events of those times. Yet underneath the politics, there is a very real core of spirituality that shines through.

This is the first edition title which is now out-of-print. Please see the new 1997 second edition, 156 pages, which has been retitled to "The Prayer Book Through the Ages" ISBN 0-08192-1509-0, paperback, Morehouse Publishing. There are 12 short chapters, each interesting and quickly read, that lead the reader from the first English Book of Common Prayer in 1549 to the latest edition of 1979. Protestants of all denominations owe a considerable debt to the Anglican Church for the Book of Common Prayer. The author is Reverend William Sydnor, a retired Episcopal priest, who served for several decades at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. He is well qualified to write this book and it has been carefully researched. Of particular interest will be Chapter VI, the first American Prayer Book in 1789. This was shortly after the American Revolution, so devout Episcopals who were new American citizens did not wish to associate the British Crown with their prayer book. I am a Presbyterian deacon, and this book helped me to realize how much other Protestant denominations owe to our Anglican forebearers, and why the various editions of the Book of Common Prayer were prepared. -- Robert H. Sydnor