The Book of Common Prayer (BCP)
Official book of worship of the Episcopal Church. The BCP provides liturgical forms, prayers, and instructions so that all members and orders of the Episcopal Church may appropriately share in common worship. Anglican liturgical piety has been rooted in the Prayer Book tradition since the publication of the first English Prayer Book in 1549. The process of Prayer Book revision led to publication of editions of the BCP for the Episcopal Church in 1789, 1892, 1928, and 1979.
Book of Occasional Services, The (BOS)
Book of optional services and texts prepared by the Standing Liturgical Commission in response to a directive from the General Convention of 1976 to replace The Book of Offices (third edition, 1960). The services and texts of the BOS are available for "occasional" pastoral and liturgical needs of congregations.
Enriching Our Worship
A collection of supplemental liturgical materials prepared by the Standing Liturgical Commission (1997) and published by Church Publishing Incorporated. It includes resources and forms for Morning and Evening Prayer, Order of Worship for the Evening, the Great Litany, and the Holy Eucharist.
The Hymnal
The collection of hymns, tunes, and service music authorized for use in the Episcopal Church by General Convention. It is published by Church Publishing Incorporated, formerly Church Hymnal Corporation, a subsidiary of the Church Pension Fund. Hymnals have been authorized for the Episcopal Church by General Convention in 1789, 1826, 1871, 1892, 1916, 1940, and 1982. The Hymnal 1982 provides a major section of Service Music for the Daily Office, the Great Litany, Proper Liturgies for Special Days, Baptism, Eucharist, and Canticles; Hymns for the Daily Office, the Church Year, Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Burial of the Dead, Ordination, Consecration of a Church.
The Bible
Holy Scriptures of the OT and NT, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, containing all things necessary to salvation. The OT reveals God's mighty acts in creation, the deliverance of the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt, and the making of the old covenant with the chosen people. God's saving will for his people is made known in the OT through the gift of the Law in the Ten Commandments and through the witness of the prophets. The OT is also known as the "Hebrew Scriptures." The NT describes the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, whose coming was foretold in the OT. It also tells the story of the creation of the Christian church through the gift of the Holy Spirit and presents the new covenant, based on love, which is the new relationship with God given by Jesus Christ to all who believe in him. The additional books of the Apocrypha, written by people of the old covenant, are often included in the Bible. The translations of the Bible authorized for use in the worship of the Episcopal Church are the King James (Authorized Version), together with the Marginal Readings authorized for use by the General Convention of 1901, the English Revision of 1881, the American Revision of 1901, the Revised Standard Version of 1952, the Jerusalem Bible of 1966, the New English Bible with the Apocrypha of 1970, the 1976 Good News Bible (Today's English Version), the New American Bible (1970), the Revised Standard Version, an Ecumenical Edition, known as the "R.S.V. Common Bible" (1973), the New International Version (1978), the New Jerusalem Bible (1987), the Revised English Bible (1989), and the New Revised Standard Version Bible (1990).
Lectionary
An ordered system for reading the Holy Scriptures at the eucharist and the Daily Offices. It is usually presented in the form of a table of references for the psalms and readings for the various days of the liturgical year, although it may be a separate book containing the actual texts of the readings. The BCP contains two lectionaries: The eucharistic lectionary (BCP, pp. 887-931), and the Daily Office lectionary (BCP, pp. 933-1001). Lesser Feasts and Fasts contains a lectionary for weekdays in Advent, Christmastide, Lent, and Easter; and for lesser feasts during the church year. The Prayer Book lectionary is based on the lectionary developed in the Roman Catholic Church following Vatican Council II.