Want to Learn More about Anglican Collects? Check out These Resources

Blog Posts about the Collects

Here at Anglican Compass, we’ve got a series of reflections on the weekly Collects of the Christian Year. It’s called “Collect Reflections,” and you can read those posts here.

If you’d like to dive even deeper into the rich content and history of the Anglican Collects, then I suggest you start with my introductory post, “Announcing Collect Reflections: Reflecting on the Collects of the Christian Year,” as well as Greg Goebel’s post, “What is a Collect?”

Books about the Collects

Let’s say, however, that you’re ready to go beyond blog posts. What are some good books about the Collects?

First, make sure to check out To You All Hearts Are Open: Revitalizing the Church’s Pattern of Asking God by Scot McKnight. It’s a great guide to learning how to pray from both the Bible and the Collects!

I’d also like to share the following list of resources with you. These come at the recommendation of the Rev. Dr. Sudduth Rea Cummings, who used to teach at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and Trinity School For Ministry.

• Sunday Collects: Studies for The Christian Year, by J.H.B. Masterman (Bishop of Plymouth), 1916, SPCK [Not available via Amazon USA, this link takes you to Amazon Canada.]
• The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary, by Massey Hamilton Shepherd, Jr., 1950, Oxford University Press
• The Collects of Thomas Cranmer, by Paul F.M. Zahl and C. Frederick Barbee, 2006, Eerdmans
• The Book of English Collects, by John Wallace Suter, Jr., 1940, Harper and Bros.
• The Collect in Anglican Liturgy: Texts and Sources 1549-1989 (Alcuin Club Collection), Martin R. Dudley, Editor, 1994, Liturgical Press
• The Collect in the Churches of the Reformation (SCM Studies in the Worship and Liturgy Series), Bridget Nichols, Editor, 2012, Hymns Ancient and Modern

In addition to the books above, Dr. Cummings recommended the following two resources, which can be found online:

• The Use of Collects, an 1878 paper by. J. B. Powell
• Tract #84: The Collects [from “Tracts for the Times,” actually entitled: “Whether a Clergyman of the Church of England be now bound to have Morning and Evening Prayers daily in his Parish Church”]

Thanks again to Dr. Cummings for sending this list of resources along and giving me permission to share it.

What about you?

Do you know of any helpful resources about the Anglican Collects that should be on this list? Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll be happy to add them!

Note: some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, if you click on the link and make a purchase, then, at no extra cost to you, Anglican Compass receives a small commission. If you’re interested in these resources, buying them through the affiliate links is a way that you can support our work here at Anglican Compass!