Anglicans Online
News
Basics
Worldwide Anglicanism Anglican Dioceses and Parishes
Noted Recently News Archives Start Here The Anglican Communion Africa Australia BIPS Canada
Search, Archives Official Publications Anglicans Believe... In Full Communion England Europe Hong Kong Ireland
Resource directory   The Prayer Book Not in the Communion Japan New Zealand Nigeria Scotland
    The Bible B South Africa USA Wales WorldB
This page last updated 19 June 2022  

Liturgical Resources

BEYOND THE PRAYER BOOK there is a world of liturgy. There are alternative service books, alternative prayer books, daily prayers, meditations, and even Anglican prayer beads. If you are looking for the basic Book of Common Prayer, it has its own section.

Daily Prayer
General and Miscellaneous Resources
How to do it
Lectionary
Liturgical Texts and Service Books
Prayer Beads and Rosaries
Prayers
Psalms and the Psalter
Saints and Holy Days


Daily Prayer

The Anglican Breviary
The site is devoted to promoting the greater use of the Anglican Breviary. It is a single volume containing all eight daily offices - Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline - together with a complete Proper of the Season, Proper of the Saints, and Common of the Saints.

'Celebrating Common Prayer'
The Daily Office SSF is a prayer book for the use of the Society of Saint Francis, an Anglican religious community, which was first published in 1970. The Daily Office SSF came to be used in far more places and by far more people than had ever been envisaged and, in 1989, a revision of the text was authorised, in the light of increased liturgical knowledge, advances made in other parts of the Church and not least in the use of language. Early in 1990, the decision was made to publish the book in two very slightly differing versions; one edition is called Celebrating Common Prayer and is the non-Franciscan edition; it contains its own Calendar and its own supplement with a simple form of celebrating the Office. You can access the entire book here; it is on the Internet by permission of the Society of Saint Francis and the publisher.

'Celebrating Common Prayer' Ordo
Anyone who uses 'Celebrating Common Prayer' and who also wishes to follow the new Church of England Calendar will find these 1999 CCP ordo web pages most helpful. This was compiled by Stephen Carter.

Church of England Daily Prayer
The Daily Prayer volume is available online.

Common Worship: Daily Prayer
The Church of England services of Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer for the current day, the day before and the day after are available in full on this site.

Daily Office (from the US Episcopal Church 1979 Book of Common Prayer)
This marvellous resource, sponsored by Mission St Clare, includes morning and evening prayer, compline, and daily devotions. The site will eventually offer Spanish as well as English.

The Daily Office West
Smartphone-friendly version of the Daily Office, from the Diocese of Indianapolis.

The Daily Office of the [Roman] Catholic Church according to the Anglican Use
A guide to daily prayer using what this site calls an '"Anglican style" liturgy similar to the Book of Common Prayer as an ecclesiatically [sic] approved variant on the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church'.

Daily Prayer from the Scottish Episcopal Church

Morning and Evening Prayer podcast from the New Zealand Prayer Book
'By providing a recorded office of morning and evening prayer every day of the year, the Genesis Trust is expressing the vision of the CHURCH at prayer and with attention to the scriptures. While rooted in the liturgy of the Anglican Church, the Trust envisages the reach of its ministry crossing all denominational and geographic boundaries. In the spirit of the Prayer Book services, what is provided seeks to be a common meeting place for the entire spectrum of theological and ecclestiastical positions.'

Oremus
If you are used to using the abbreviated daily office do check out this site. It includes the daily office, an appointed reading, the psalm, a hymn, and the appropriate prayers from Anglican Cycle of Prayer. The prayers for the day are often taken from the Presbyterian "Book of Common Worship" and provide a refreshing slant. You can also arrange to have the daily office emailed to you.

Oriented Episcopalians
Episcopal churches in the United States where the celebrant and congregation face liturgical east.

The Saint Bede's Breviary
One of the finest electronic presentations of the daily office we know; available in desktop and mobile versions.

General and Miscellaneous Resources

The Ecclesiological Society
'The original Cambridge Camden Society was founded in 1839 at Cambridge. In 1845 it moved to London, and changed its name to the Ecclesiological Society. The Society had a major influence on the development of church architecture during the mid-nineteenth century, under the influence of its founders Benjamin Webb, John Mason Neale, and Alexander Beresford-Hope. Its famous journal, The Ecclesiologist, was published between 1841 and 1868, and combined scholarly articles with trenchant criticism'. The site has super links and resources.

Liturgy: Helping your worship be vital, transforming, and faithful
Created and maintained by Bosco Peters of Christ's College, Christchurch, New Zealand. The site 'has an online contemporary Anglican eucharistic ceremonial, reflections on Anglican collects linked to RCL, liturgical texts, and musings on spirituality and worship news.'

'Lift Up Your Hearts'
This Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada site has numerous links for for worship and spirituality.

Liturgica.com
'The development of liturgical worship and music in the Judeo-Christian traditions. Liturgical music and books can be purchased from the Liturgica Web Store. Books and religious music are available in a wide variety of categories, including Byzantine chant, Gregorian chant, Old Roman chant, Ambrosian chant, Gallican chant, Mozarabic chant, Celtic chant, Early Christianity and Christian worship, Jewish worship, the Eastern Orthodox Church and worship, and the Roman Catholic Church'. A well-done site and a pleasure to browse.

Taizé
At the web site of this renowned ecumenical centre you can access daily Bible texts.

The Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth
by Natalie Knödel: This 1995 academic paper on the 'Churching of Women' explores its history in eastern and western Christianity, its liturgical texts, and modern feminist perspectives on the rite.

The Warham Guild
A brief history, with bibliography. Originally published in 1987 by the Anglican Bibliopole.

The Worship Well
Based in the States, this is a new home for creative, fresh liturgical resources — texts, music, images, reflections in collaboration with Church Publishing Incorporated, the Office of Liturgy and Music, the Episcopal Church and the Visual Arts, and the All Saints Company (a San Francisco-based foundation affiliated with St Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church).

Worship Woodworks
This Kansas-based workshop makes wooden materials for use in the Godly Play children's worship curriculum.

How to do it

Directorium Anglicanum;
Being a Manual of Directions for the Right Celebration of the Holy Communion, For the Saying of Matins and Evensong, and for the Performance of Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, according to Ancient Uses of the Church of England

edited by John Purchas (1858, first edition). This seminal work of the nineteenth-century ritualist movement is now available online, replete with scans of its numerous engravings.

The Freeze Frame Mass
'How the Mysteries are celebrated at the church of the Ascension and St Agnes, Washington D.C., an ongoing commentary by a priest associate. The author is the Revd Richard Major, our sometime associate, who is also a correspondent for The Tablet. This series was begun to explain our elaborate ritual to parishioners and visitors alike'.

'A Guide to Solemn High Mass at the Church of the Advent, Boston, Massachusetts'
As it is celebrated at the Church of the Advent, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. See also below 'The Liturgical Customary of the Church of the Advent'.

A Julian Parish Missal
'An adaptation of the Customary of the Order of Julian of Norwich for use in Episcopal Parishes with the 1979 American BCP ?and Enriching Our Worship.'

Liturgical Customary of the Anglican Society: An American Use
The former liturgical customary of the Anglican Society, by FFE Blake, posted on its webpage for archival purposes.

The Liturgical Customary of Grace Church in Newark, New Jersey, USA

The Liturgical Customary of the Church of the Advent, Boston, Massachusetts
The 'Customary sets forth our ceremonial as it has evolved over the last thirty years. Our principal source texts are Ritual Notes, 11th ed. (ECR Lamburn), and The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described (Fortescue and O’Connell)'.

The Liturgy Planner Online
Complete online version of liturgical planning for every Sunday and Holy Day, children's liturgy, hymn suggestions. The web site is free to paid subscribers to The Liturgy Planner magazine and is otherwise US$59 per year.

Mass with a Beat 
'A laboratory of ideas of how to worship.' Based at Church of the Epiphany, Manhattan.

A Melanesian Use, together with Notes on the Ceremonial, etc
by John Manwaring Steward, Fifth Bishop of Melanesia. This interesting document was transcribed for web-publication by the Right Reverend Terry Brown, Bishop of Malaita in the Church of the Province of Melanesia.

The Parson's Handbook
AO staff member Peter Owen has digitized the first edition (1899) of The Parson's Handbook, Percy Dearmer's famous treatise on Anglican liturgical principles and practice.

Lectionary

'Breakthrough'
Prepared by Australian Anglican priest Brian McGowan, this is a study resource, updated weekly, particularly for use by small groups. It begins with the readings from the RCL (as used in the Anglican Church of Australia) and the life experience of the participants rather than academic resources. (Cross-listed under Resources for Australia.)

Common Worship almanac and lectionary
Our colleague Simon Kershaw has released the 2012 (the liturgical year beginning on Advent Sunday 2011, and ending on the eve of Advent Sunday 2012) version of his almanac files for iCal, Outlook, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and other calendar software.

Daily Lectionary
'When you provide an email address the site sends out the daily [ECUSA] lectionary starting the very next day'.

US Episcopal Church lectionary sites

From Satucket Software, A collection of Lectionary resources for the Episcopal Church. Updated every Sunday night. 'Full text of the Sunday Bible readings, following the Revised Common, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Anglican Church of Canada, and Church of England Lectionaries. The text is from the NRSV translation of the Bible (except for the Episcopal Psalm, which is from the US Book of Common Prayer) and is in RTF format, which is editable by nearly all word processors. Also includes the Daily Office lectionary and an optional graphic calendar-view feature.

Lectionary Texts for Reference and Reflection
A project of the Divinity Library, a division of the Jean and Alexander Heard Library of Vanderbilt University.

The Liturgical Spectrum
This bright and colourful illustrated essay from Full Homely Divinity explores the colour scheme of the liturgical year, and offers suggestions for each season and many individual feasts.

Prayer Works
1928 US BCP Sunday and Daily Lectionary Bible Readings (KJV / AV) with Psalms; online and in self-extracting ZIP format.

The Revised Common Lectionary
Part of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library online resources.

Scottish Episcopal Church Digital Calendar and Lectionary

The Text This Week
Provides a wide variety of scholarly commentary and study resources, as well as liturgical resources, indexed according to the Revised Common Lectionary Schedule.

When Will It be Read?
Ever get a great sermon idea while reading a Bible passage and then have to do Prayerbook gymnastics to figure out when you will be able to use it?
.

Liturgical Texts and Service Books

The Anámnesis of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ Containing the Liturgies of the Offertory, Consecration, and Holy Communion, Commonly Called the Mass
This liturgy used by the Anglo-Catholic socialist Society of the Catholic Commonwealth is now online with commentary by its author, Frederic Hastings Smyth.

An Anglican Gradual and Sacramentary
Read some background about David Allen White's nine-year labour of love and how you can share in it. This is an extraordinary undertaking by a talented person who gave perhaps an eighth of his life to it.

An Anglican Liturgical Library
Simon Kershaw's superb collection of liturgy online, orientated towards the Church of England, since he is.

Anglican Liturgy in DR Congo
The Congo Church Association has digitized this selection of English translations from the new 1998 Swahili Prayer Book of the Province de L'Église Anglicane du Congo. The 1998 BCP replaces a 1984 revision; files in RichText.

The Armed Forces Prayer Book
Charles Wohlers has digitized this brief adaptation of the Book of Common Prayer, likely produced for members of the U.S. Armed forces during the Korean War.

Book of Common Prayer (See our dedicated page.)

Book of Divine Worship
Available online in PDF and HTML formats.

Common Worship
In November 2000, the Church of England unveiled a new generation of liturgy that brought together many diverse styles, contributing to the vibrant worship of God across the nation. Known as 'Common Worship', the material is a mixture of old and new that offers much for the collective worship and life of the Church. The material replaced 'The Alternative Service Book 1980', which came to the end of its period of authorization on 31 December 2000. As texts are authorized and published, the Common Worship web site provides free access to all of the liturgical texts for people to read and download for their own use. The site now contains PDF files of the Common Worship books.

Common Worship in Other Languages
'Common Worship is currently being translated into some non-English languages for use in Church of England churches where there are multi-lingual congregations. Each translation of material from Common Worship has been approved by the House of Bishops before being made available.' Portions of CW are now available online in Chinese and French.

A Liturgy of Reconciliation in Memoriam Brother Roger of Taizé
This brief liturgy incorporates the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation in a service of ecumenical reconciliation.

Provisional Offices of the Mexican Episcopal Church or Church of Jesus (1895)
Charles Wohlers has digitized the English-language text of this Anglican liturgical document. 'This Prayer Book is particularly notable as it is not a simple translation of either the English or American Books of Common Prayer, but rather is an independent composition drawing heavily on the traditional Mozarabic liturgy of Spain.'

Sunday Services: A Contemporary Liturgical Resource
An attractive site, worth looking at for that reason alone. It is an online version of the Diocese of Sydney's Sunday Services publication, which is sometimes used in that diocese instead of A Prayer Book for Australia. Resources are PDF files designed to be used in PowerPoint presentations, print service sheets and overheads. The material is copyrighted, but the site deals with that.

Te Alaa Hakatulou Iaho Katoa, Te Veisili Talatala Ma Te Hakatulou Mea Kanakana Ite Kaitapu
This document includes Morning and Evening Prayer, the Catechism, private prayers and a service of Preparation for Holy Communion (including a translation of the Anima Christi) in Sikaiana, a language spoken by an isolated population of about 700 people on Stewart Island in the eastern Solomon Islands. This is believed to be the first online text in Sikaiana.

Visual Liturgy
A software programme that assists English Anglicans in planning church services and preparing service sheets.

Prayer Beads and Rosaries

Anglican Prayer Beads
A readily accessible way for anyone on the web to experience praying using Anglican Prayer Beads. Not exactly the same as the tactile feel of turning over beads, but if you don't have them at hand …

The Anglican Rosary
An overview of the Anglican Rosary by a brother of the Society of St Francis in Australia.

Anglican Prayer Beads: A Rosary for Episcopalians
A solemnly life-professed nun (a Solitary of DeKoven) lives as a hermit, spending her time in prayer, study, and manual labour. Besides the normal domestic tasks involved in living in an old cabin-turned-hermitage, she also makes Anglican Prayer Beads.

Anglican Prayer Beads
The beads are hand made and are accompanied by a booklet. Find information here on what makes the beads Anglican, rhythm of the beads and other related topics.

Atelier Beads: Fine Rosaries and Jewelry
Baltimore, Maryland, USA. A reader wrote about a crucifix that Ann Madison made for him: 'Everything is handmade and to order: there's no sense of a factory at work, just a skilled and devout craftsman... I will deal with her again in a heartbeat.'

Full Circle Beads
'Full Circle Beads, Anglican Prayer Beads or Anglican Rosaries are made of natural materials: semiprecious stones, freshwater pearls, bone, wood.'

Prayers

Family Prayers for the Use of the Cree Indians (1881)
This collection of liturgical prayers for use in families was compiled and translated by Cree Anglican scholar J. A. Mackay (1838-1923). The syllabic text is presented as page-images.

Graces for use before meals
A quite comprehensive collection, including what is likely to be the shortest: Ta, Pa, Amen.

In the Courtyard
On this extensive website, author Margaret D. McGee shares her 'adventures along the spiritual path through prayers, meditations, and other writings that spring from her relationship with the (US) Episcopal Church'.

Leading Intercessions in Church
Some good suggestions from a Church of England priest.

The Lord's Prayer in Twenty-four Languages as Used in the Diocese of Melanesia among the Islands of the South Pacific
This brief liturgical document, published in 1926, provides a look at what is probably the most linguistically diverse province of the Anglican Communion.

The Lord's Prayer in 1395 languages and dialects
It's an extraordinary 1395 languages and dialects the last time we looked, but Mike Olteanu, the hardworking Rumanian one-time refugee who created and maintains the amazing Christus Rex web site, doesn't like to boast.

The Lord's Prayer in various Germanic languages
On this fascinating page, you can even compare any two texts.

Prayers of the People
General intercessions for each Sunday and major feast following the Revised Common Lectionary, The page is uploaded every Sunday with prayers for the following Sunday.

Proper Postcommunion Prayers for Sundays and Certain Holy Days
From Grace Church, Newark, USA. Substitutes for the US Episcopal Church's Rite II prayers, translated from the Missale Romanum (1970) by Bruce E. Ford.

Psalms and the Psalter

Chant the Psalm of the week
For those of you who can't see a note and know what to sing, this site was created by Jonathan Malton at St John the Evangelist in Kitchener, Ontario, to help you learn the chant. Midi organ plays all four parts individually or as you'll hear it.

Psalms of Life
'Collection of poems written in the form of modern psalms for use in worship and private prayer. Author is a retired Church of England vicar who has for some years been writing "psalms" for use in meetings and with small groups of people'.

Psalter from the US Episcopal Church Book of Common Prayer (1979)

The St Albans Psalter
This rarely-viewed 12th century manuscript is now available online. Images of the original Psalter are accompanied with commentary. Also available are complete transcriptions, translations, and essays. A BBC article is available here.

Saints and Holy Days

All Hallows and the Day of the Dead
Full Homely Divinity
has this collection of background information and resources for these holydays.

Biographies of Christian Saints
Written and/or compiled by James Kiefer, this invaluable Who's Who in Heaven is arranged chronologically

Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints
The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music of the General Convention of the US Episcopal Church has now released a PDF version of this liturgical resource.

This web site is independent. It is not official in any way. Our editorial staff is private and unaffiliated. Please contact editor@anglicansonline.org about information on this page. ©1997-2019 Society of Archbishop Justus