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1/ January 30th is coming, and it will be the first January 30th since the 1662 International Edition was published. Some users will turn to their calendar and be appalled that it does not list Charles, King & Martyr. (Others may be pleased!) What's going on?

2/ When it was published, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer included state services, as well as the commemoration of King Charles I. In the 19th century, the English state services were removed, as was the commemoration of King Charles.

3/ Because the International Edition is meant for use in all polities, not just England, it follows the custom from the last 150 years of not printing the state services or the commemoration of King Charles. This is consistent with having state prayers that work in all nations.

4/ And just as different nations have different rulers, they may also have different martyrs who are important in their own history. That's why the appendix of additional prayers includes prayers "For the Feast of a National Martyr" and "For a Day of National Commemoration."

5/ Those prayers are on page 713. The prayer for the feast of a national martyr is--you guessed it--the prayer traditionally used in commemorating King Charles (though with a blank to fill in the name). The prayer for a day of national commemoration is from the Ghana BCP 1960.

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More from @1662IE

Jan 16

This year Epiphany is short, which means it's almost time for the 'Gesimas. These three Sundays prepare you for Lent, and have been observed since the time of Gregory the Great. Wonder what the 'Gesimas are? Here are two paragraphs from How to Use the Book of Common Prayer:

Just as the Nativity Cycle began with a season of preparation (Advent), the Easter Cycle begins with a season of preparation, the forty days of Lent. But first there is preparation for the preparation!

This is the pre-Lent season called the ‘Gesimas, pronounced JEZ-i-muhs. This odd name comes from the titles of three Sundays: Septuagesima (Latin for “seventieth”), Sexagesima (“sixtieth”), and Quinquagesima (“fiftieth”).

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The old Book of Common Prayer lectionaries are incredibly rich, and by comparison the late-modern ones sometimes seem thinned out. The readings for today, the Circumcision of Christ, offer an illustration. A thread:

There are six proper readings for this day, two from the Old Testament and four from the New. These readings have many themes, all related to the sign of the covenant in the Old Testament.

The trend in 20th-century lectionaries was to deemphasize the circumcision in favor of Jesus's naming. The 1662 lectionary retains the scriptural emphasis on circumcision, &, as you will see, it offers an incomparably richer theological & ethical starting point for the new year.

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Jun 5, 2023

What do Christians read on Trinity Sunday? The answers from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer are strikingly different than what you may be used to--they may surprise you.

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Feb 7, 2023

This coming Sunday is Sexagesima. Here's a thread on the logic of the propers in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer: Just as with the preceding Sunday, the epistle and gospel are not about the same theme, but they are a well-chosen pair of lessons about how to think about Lent.

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Jan 24, 2023

This Sunday will be the last one after the Epiphany. But what comes after that in the Book of Common Prayer? Do you know that it's the 'Gesimas? (You pronounce it with a soft g, "Jehz-ih-muhs.") Here's a liturgical look ahead--

The church year began with the Nativity cycle (Advent-Christmas-Epiphany). The second cycle is Gesimatide-Lent-Easter-Ascension-Whitsunday. As Robert Crouse put it, “the first cycle is about God’s coming among us in Jesus Christ, the second is about his work for our salvation.”

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Jan 23, 2023

Next Sunday is the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, the final Sunday before Gesimatide. Here's a thread on the readings for this Sunday in the 1662 lectionary:

The epistle is the final reading in the Romans 12 and 13 sequence that started with Epiphany 1. It is a central text about the Christian’s relationship to civil authorities. At first glance that might seem oddly chosen for Epiphany.

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