The ACNA Book of Common Prayer (2019)

Historical background

The Anglican Church in North America was formed in 2009 by Anglicans who had left the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, largely over disputes about biblical authority and sexuality. Its member congregations used a range of books, chiefly the 1928 and 1979 American books and the 1662. Its constitution names the 1662 book as a standard for doctrine and worship, and the church set out to produce a common Prayer Book. The Liturgy Task Force released trial rites from 2013 onward, and the completed book was approved in 2019 and published by Anglican Liturgy Press.

What changed

The book is in contemporary language and keeps much of the structure of 1979 (Eucharist as the principal Sunday service, Holy Week services, a public baptismal rite), while restoring material from 1662 and 1928: the Decalogue and Summary of the Law, the Prayer of Humble Access, a more Reformation-shaped theology in places, and prominence for the Thirty-Nine Articles and other “foundational documents.” It offers two Communion orders: the Anglican Standard Text and a Renewed Ancient Text. It includes a new Psalter (the “New Coverdale Psalter”), a daily lectionary that, like 1662, reads through most of the Bible in a year, and family prayer.

Traditional language options

Although the book itself is in contemporary language, the ACNA authorizes traditional-language forms. The ACNA provides traditional-language (“thee” and “thou”) versions of the Daily Office and Holy Communion alongside the 2019 text, and its constitution continues to recognize the 1662 book as a standard.

Notable and controversial

The book was a significant act of unity for a young church,. Debate continues over the balance between its Reformed and catholic elements (for example in its eucharistic prayers and the Renewed Ancient Text), its use of contemporary language, and the place of the 1662 book as the standard. Its free online publication made it unusually accessible.