What’s the Difference Between the 1979 and 2019 Book of Common Prayer?
In the United States, there are two versions of the Book of Common Prayer you’ll encounter more than any other. There is the 1979 edition, used mainly by The Episcopal Church, and the 2019 edition used mainly by the Anglican Church in North America parishes (although many ACNA parishes used it for the province’s first nine years).
What is the main difference between the 1979 and the 2019 versions of the Book of Common Prayer? Which should I buy?
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How We Got Each Prayer Book
So, there’s plenty to say here! Let me start by noting that:
- This Rookie Anglican Guide to the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is an overview of the Book of Common Prayer tradition.
- I also wrote a Rookie Anglican Guide to the 2019 Book of Common Prayer.
If you read those two posts, you’ll have a decent idea of the history of these two Prayer Books, along with some similarities and differences. If you want an exhaustive comparison/contrast between the 1979 and 2019 Prayer Books, see Drew Nathaniel Keane’s here.
You might also be interested in this appreciative review of the 2019 BCP written by an Episcopalian (who uses the 1979 BCP).
You should also know that you can browse the content of each BCP for free online:
- Here’s the content of the 1979 BCP available for free online.
- Here’s the content of the 2019 BCP available for free online.
Key Differences Between the 1979 and 2019
The 1979 BCP is still the official Prayer Book of the Episcopal Church (TEC) in the USA. The 2019 BCP is now the official Prayer Book of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), which is more theologically conservative than TEC and broke away from TEC for various reasons related to theology, sexuality, etc. (If you’d like an overview of recent Anglican history told from a conservative perspective, check out the “Anglican Reality Check” timeline from GAFCON here).
Now, in my opinion, the 1979 Book of Common Prayer is still a great resource. It’s the first Prayer Book I ever used. My local ACNA church still uses it for Holy Communion services. It’s got both modern (Rite II) and traditional (Rite I) language options, a bunch of useful “Prayers and Thanksgivings,” and its Daily Office Lectionary follows the liturgical seasons (instead of the civil calendar), which I really like.
However, for various reasons associated with the history of the modern “liturgical renewal” movement, the 1979 BCP does represent a bit of a development *away* from the “classic” Prayer Book tradition of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, which is still the official Prayer Book in the Church of England, and the BCP from which all other BCPs around the globe descended.
(You can browse the 1662 BCP for free online here. There’s also a fantastic “International Edition” of the 1662 BCP!)
The ACNA’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer is a deliberate attempt to take the 1979 BCP and *return* to the tradition of the 1662 BCP, while remaining a modern, comprehensive, and relatively easy-to-use resource. Read the Preface to the 2019 BCP, written by Archbishops Foley Beach and Robert Duncan, for a taste of the ACNA’s understanding of the 2019 BCP’s position within the Prayer Book tradition.
Which Edition Should You Purchase?
As I say in my Rookie Anglican Guide to the BCP, in general, my advice is:
- Buy the BCP that your local church uses (if applicable). The Book of *Common* Prayer is, after all, designed to be used in community with others!
- Buy the BCP that you will actually *use*.
If you’re just going to be using the Prayer Book on your own, then take a look at the Daily Office sections for Morning and Evening Prayer in both BCPs (including the Daily Office Lectionaries at the back, the assigned daily Scripture reading plans), and go with the one that you see yourself actually using more often.
How to Do Morning Prayer in the ACNA’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer
Where Do I Start? Whether you’re a Rookie Anglican or just “Angli-curious,” perhaps you’ve heard of this new Book of Common Prayer 2019 (BCP 2019) and are asking yourself, “What is this thing?” or “How do I use it?” Learning how to use the BCP is a little like learning to drive a car. It…
The Standard of Prayer Book Worship (Jerusalem Declaration 6)
We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.
