The Rise and Fall of the Incomparable Liturgy: The Book of Common Prayer, 1559-1906

'The Peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and the love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.'

The Book of Common Prayer, with local variations, is still used in churches inside and outside the Anglican Communion in over 50 countries and in over 150 languages.

The Rise and Fall of the Incomparable Liturgy is the first study to trace the evolution and reception of the BCP, from the Elizabethan settlement of 1559 to the Royal Commission report of 1906, when work on a new prayer book was begun.

Written by a world authority, here is an illuminating and highly readable account of the ascent and decline of a world classic, which still informs our common language as well as much of the great literature of the past four centuries. It will appeal not only to students of liturgy but also to general readers interested in history, literature, theology and cultural studies.

Bryan D. Spinks is Professor of Liturgical Studies and Pastoral Theology, Yale Divinity School. He is a former consultant to the Church of England Liturgical Commission, president emeritus of the Church Service Society of the Church of Scotland, and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of Churchill College, Cambridge.