The English Proposed Prayer Book (1928)

Historical background

By 1900 the Church of England was divided over ritual: Anglo-Catholics used vestments and ceremonies beyond the 1662 rubrics, while Evangelicals sought legal discipline. A Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Discipline (1906) concluded that the law of public worship was “too narrow” and recommended revision. Work continued through the First World War. Under the Enabling Act of 1919, measures of the Church Assembly needed parliamentary approval. The Assembly approved a revised book in 1927.

What changed

The proposed book was an alternative, not a replacement, for 1662. It offered an alternative order of Holy Communion with a longer consecration prayer, including an epiclesis and the Prayer of Oblation following the institution narrative (similar to the Scottish and American tradition). It provided for perpetual reservation of the sacrament for communion of the sick, under conditions. It also offered alternative marriage vows without “obey,” new prayers and propers, permission to shorten services, and revisions to Baptism and Burial.

Notable and controversial

The House of Commons rejected the measure in December 1927, and a slightly revised version in June 1928, largely on Protestant fears about reservation and “Romanising” doctrine; MPs from Scotland and Northern Ireland and Nonconformists voted against. The bishops then declared that they would not regard the use of the book as a disciplinary offence during the “present emergency,” and it was widely used in parts. The crisis raised questions about establishment and led eventually to the Worship and Doctrine Measure 1974, which gave the Church control over its own worship. Its material later influenced Series 1 and the Common Worship services.