THE

ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS

MADE IN THE

BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER

IN THE YEARS 1886 1889 AND 1892

This little book has but one purpose: to give all the changes in resulting in the 1892 Book of Common Prayer and the years in which General Convention adopted them, likely intended for delegates to the 1892 General Convention.

There is a Table of Contents below which has links to the changes, in HTML, made in each section of the Book of Common Prayer. Or, you may download the book as PDF graphics.

PREFATORY NOTE.

    THE Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church provides that no alteration or addition shall be made in the Book of Common Prayer unless the same shall be proposed at one General Convention, and adopted at the subsequent  Convention.
    The revision of the Book of Common Prayer, brought to a conclusion in the General Convention of 1892, began in the Convention of 1880 with the introduction in the House of Deputies on the ninth day of the session, of the following resolution, offered by the Rev. William R. Huntington, D.D., a deputy from the Diocese of Massachusetts.

    “Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That a Joint Committee, to consist of seven Bishops, seven Presbyters, and seven Laymen, be appointed to consider, and report to the next General Convention, whether, in view of the fact that this Church is soon to enter upon the second century of its organized existence in this country, the changed conditions of the national life do not demand certain alterations in the Book of Common Prayer in the direction of liturgical enrichment and increased flexibility of use.”

    This resolution was placed on the Calendar, and was considered on the seventeenth day of the session, and adopted by the following vote: of the Clergy there were 43 Dioceses represented,— ayes, 33; nays, 9; divided, 1. Of the Laity there were 35 Dioceses represented,— ayes, 20; nays, 11; divided, 4. The House of Bishops concurred in the action of the House of Deputies on the eighteenth day of the session.
    The Joint Committee appointed under this resolution consisted of
    The Bishops of Connecticut, Easton, Pennsylvania, Western New York, Florida, Albany, and Central New York; the Rev. William R. Huntington, D.D., the Rev. E. A. Dalrymple, D. D:, the Rev. Daniel R. Goodwin, D.D., the Rev. Morgan Dix, D.D., the Rev. Edwin Harwood, D.D., the Rev. Joseph F. Garrison, D.D., the Rev. Francis Harison, D.D, ; Mr. Hamilton Fish, LL.D., Mr. Henry Coppée, LL.D., Mr. Hugh W. Sheffey, LL.D., Mr. E. T. Wilder, Mr. John W. Andrews, Mr. James M. Smith, LL.D., and Mr. Hill Burgwin.
    At the General Convention of 1883 the Committee presented the following Report: —

To the General Convention of the Protestant Church in the United States of America.

    The Joint Committee of twenty-one, appointed by the General Convention of 1880 to consider and to report, whether the changed conditions of the national life do not demand “certain alterations in the Book of Common Prayer, in the direction of liturgical enrichment and increased flexibility of use,” respectfully ask leave to report as follows: —
    In accordance with a resolution of the General Convention which recommends all committees appointed to sit during the recess to meet, for the purpose of organizing, immediately after the close of the session; the Committee came together on the evening of Wednesday, the twenty-seventh day of October, 1880, and was organized by the appointment of the Bishop of Connecticut as Chairman, and of Dr. Huntington of Massachusetts as Secretary. Later it was agreed that the official title of the Committee should be THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
    In addition to the first meeting for organization, three groups of sessions have been held during the recess,— one of them in January, 1881, another in October, 1882, and another in April, 1883. All of these were convened in the city of New York, and were very fully attended.
    In the death of the Rev. Dr. Dalrymple, of Maryland, which occurred in October, 1881, the Committee lost the services of an accomplished member, whose active participation in the work of the first meeting had given promise of much usefulness. His place has remained unfilled.
    Early in 1881 the work of review was distributed among three sub-committees; and, at the same time, the following resolutions were adopted:—

    (a) “Resolved, That this Committee asserts, at the outset, its conviction that no alteration should be made touching either statements or standards of doctrine in the Book of Common Prayer.
    (b) “Resolved, That this Committee, in all its suggestions and acts, be guided by those principles of liturgical construction and ritual use which have guided the compilation and amendments of the Book of Common Prayer, and have made it what it is.”

    Mindful of the rule of action laid down for them in the resolution under which they were appointed,— namely, that they were to consider the desirableness “of certain alterations in the Book of Common Prayer in the direction of liturgical enrichment and flexibility of use,” — the Committee also governed themselves by these two resolutions, believing that in no other way could they hope to reach any result that would or ought to be acceptable to this Church.
    Whether any such result has, in whole or in part, been reached, remains, of course, to be seen. The Committee only claim for themselves, that they have not spared time, labour, or study in prosecuting the work committed to them, nor have they failed to seek the guidance of the heavenly Wisdom.
    Their object has been to search for what seemed necessary or desirable in the way of additions among the rich stores of devotional forms, which are the common heritage of the Catholic Church, rather than to undertake new compositions of their own.
    Among the later sources which have thus been drawn upon, they feel bound to mention, especially, Canon Bright's Ancient Collects, and the Daily Service of our own lamented Hutton.
    It should be understood that no member of the Committee is, by his signature to this Report, committed unreservedly to every addition or change proposed; but each reserves to himself the privilege of taking such action in respect thereto in Convention as, upon debate and fuller consideration, he may think proper.
    Without further preface, then, and without entering into lengthened details which must all be gone over again in the discussions of the Convention, the Committee submit the following as the additions and changes which they respectfully propose for adoption. It will be seen that they are classified and arranged with references, for the sake of convenience, to the Book which is annexed as a schedule to this Report, and which the Committee venture to hope will not only serve the purpose just mentioned, but will also show (as their long list of alterations and additions, if reported alone, would not do) how little real change is pro­posed in the structure, arrangement, appearance, or even size, of our cherished Book of Common Prayer.
    The Committee recommend that the changes embodied in the following resolutions be approved, and made known to the various Dioceses, in order that they may be adopted hereafter, in the manner provided by the Constitution.

    As a part of their Report the Committee submitted thirty-three resolutions, embodying one hundred and ninety-six specified alterations or additions; and annexed to the Report, the Book of Common Prayer, in which were properly incorporated all the changes proposed by the Committee in their resolutions. This was called the “Book Annexed.”
    Of the changes proposed by the Committee, and others proposed in the Convention, those which were approved wore subsequently made known to the Convention of every Diocese, and came before the General Convention of 1886.
    These numbered one hundred and eighty-eight, and were embodied in thirty resolutions. The changes which were again approved, and so "adopted" in the Convention of 1886, will be found (as will those of the years 1889 and 1892) in the following pages. They are ninety-nine in number.
    The changes proposed in the Convention of 1886, subsequently notified to the Dioceses, and brought before the Convention of 1889 for final adoption, numbered eighteen, under as many different resolutions. All of these were favourably acted upon and adopted. In the Convention of 1889, fifty-two changes, under the same number of resolutions, were proposed, and having been duly made known to the Dioceses, came before the Convention of 1892; of these, forty-three were then finally adopted.
    The Convention of 1889 appointed a Joint Committee to prepare and present to the Convention of 1892, for its approval, a new edition of the Standard Book of Common Prayer. The Committee consisted of the Bishops of Albany, Iowa, and New York; the Rev. William R. Huntington, D.D., the Rev. Samuel Hart, D.D., the Rev. J. S. Kedney, D.D., Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, Mr. Joseph Packard, Jr., and Mr. Samuel Eliot. It presented a Report to the Convention of 1892, and with the publication, under its direction, of the Book of Common Prayer containing the alterations and additions adopted by the Conventions of 1886, 1889 and 1892, the work of revision, begun twelve years before, was completed.

ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS.

I. — THE INTRODUCTORY PORTION.

    1. The Table of Contents is conformed to the actual contents.

1886.
 

    2. Under the general title Concerning the Service of the Church, the following paragraphs are prefixed to the Order how the Psalter is appointed to be read:

THE Order for Morning Prayer, the Litany, and the Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, are distinct Services, and may be used either separately or together; Provided, that no one of these Services be habitually disused.
    The Litany may be used either in place of the Prayers that follow the Prayer for the President of the United States in the Order for Morning Prayer, or in place of the Prayers that follow the Collect for Aid against Perils in the Order for Evening Prayer.
    On any day when Morning and Evening Prayer shall have been said or are to be said in Church, the Minister may, at any other Service for which no form is provided, use such devotions as he shall at his discretion select from this Book, subject to the direction of the Ordinary.
    For days of Fasting and Thanksgiving, appointed by the Civil or by the Ecclesiastical Authority, and for other special occasions for which no Service or Prayer hath been provided in this Book, the Bishop may set forth such Form or Forms as he shall think fit, in which case none other shall be used.

    3. In the Order how the Psalter is appointed to be read, are inserted a Table of Proper Psalms to be used on certain days, and a Table of Selections of Psalms which may be used on days for which Proper Psalms are not provided, as follows:

The “Table of Proper Psalms on Certain Days” and the “Table of Selections of Psalms” are not given here, but may be found in the 1892 BCP.

    4. The provision that the Minister may, under certain circumstances, appoint the Psalms to be used on special days of Fasting and Thanksgiving, is omitted; but it is still provided that he may, in his discretion, appoint the Lessons to be used on such days and also on occasions of Ecclesiastical Conventions and of Charitable Collections.

    5. The following paragraph is inserted with reference to Hymns and Anthems:

HYMNS set forth and allowed by the authority of this Church, and Anthems in the words of Holy Scripture or of the Book of Common Prayer, may be sung before and after any Office in this Book, and also before and after Sermons.

    6. The word Proper is inserted before the word Lessons in the heading of the Tables of Lessons for Sundays, for Holy-days, and for the forty days of Lent.

    7. After the first paragraph or RULES TO KNOW WHEN the MOVABLE FEASTS AND HOLY­DAYS begin, the following is inserted:—

But Note that the Full Moon, for the purposes of these Rules and Tables, is the Fourteenth Day of a Lunar Month, reckoned according to an ancient Ecclesiastical computation, and not the real or Astronomical Full Moon.
 

    8. In the Table of Feasts, the title The Apostle added to the name of St. Barnabas; and after the words St. James the Apostle, The Transfiguration of our Lord JESUS CHRIST is inserted. In the Calendar this Feast is assigned to the sixth day of August; and the proper lessons for the day are: Morning, Exodus xxxiv., v. 29, 2 Corinthians iii.; Evening, Malachi iv., v. 2, Matthew xvii. to v. 14. In consequence of the insertion of the Feast of The Transfiguration, certain changes have been made in the Calendar Lessons for July and August.

    9. In place of the Tables for finding the Dominical Letter, Easter Day, etc., the following new Tables are provided:

These Tables are not given here, but may be found in the 1892 BCP starting with the “Table to Find the Dominical or Sunday Letter”.

II.-THE ORDER FOR DAILY MORNING PRAYER.

    1. In place of the first rubrics in the Order, for Daily Morning Prayer, the following are substituted:

¶ The Minister shall always begin the Morning Prayer by reading one or more of the following Sentences of Scripture.

¶ On any day not a Sunday, he may omit the Exhortation following, saying instead thereof, Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God, and may end the Morning Prayer with the Collect for Grace and 2 Cor. xiii. 14.

¶ On any day when the Holy Communion is immediately to follow, the Minister may, at his discretion, pass at once from the Sentences to the Lord's Prayer, first pronouncing, The Lord be with you. Answer. And with thy spirit. Minister. Let us pray.

1889

    2. The following are substituted in place of the first three of the opening Sentences, the eleventh Sentence (St. Matt. iii. 2) being also omitted from its former place:

    3. The rubric following the Venite, is changed, so that it reads as follows:

¶ Then shall follow a Portion of the PSALMS, as they are appointed, or one of the Selections of Psalms. .And at the end of every Psalm, and likewise at the end of the Venite, Benedicite, Benedictus, Jubilate, may be, and at the end of the whole Portion or Selection from the Psalter, shall be sung or said the Gloria Patri:
 

    4. After the foregoing rubric, the Gloria Patri is printed, as follows:

GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
    As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
 

    5, After the Gloria Patri, the following rubric is inserted:

¶ At the end of the whole Portion of the Psalms or Selection from the Psalter, the Gloria in excelsis may be sung or said instead of the Gloria Patri.
 

    6. The printing of the Gloria in excelsis is omitted.

    7. For the second rubric after the Benedicite, the following is substituted:

¶ And after that shall be sung or said the Hymn following: but, Note, That; save on the Sundays in Advent, the latter portion thereof may be omitted.
 

    8. The Benedictus is inserted in full, as follows, a space being left after the first four verses.

Benedictus. St. Luke i. 68.

BLESSED be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited, and redeemed his people;
    And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us: in the house of his servant David;
    As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets: which have been since the world began;
    That we should be saved from our enemies: and from the hand of all that hate us.

    To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers: and to remember his holy covenant;
    To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham: that he would give us;
    That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies: might serve him without fear;
    In ho1iness and righteousness before him: all the days of our life.
    And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
    To give knowledge of salvation unto his people: for the remission of' their sins,
    Through the tender mercy of our God: whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us ;
    To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
 

    9. Before the Jubilate Deo the following rubric is inserted.

¶ Or this Psalm.
 

    10. The rubric before the Apostles' Creed is changed so that it reads as follows:

¶ Then shall be said the Apostles' Creed by the Minister and the People, standing. And any Churches may, instead of the words, He descended into hell, use the words, He went into the place of departed spirits, which are considered as words of the same meaning in the Creed.
 

    11. In the Apostles' Creed the word" again" is inserted in the latter part of the fifth article, so that it reads:

    The third day he rose again from the dead.
 

    12. A change is made in the rubric after the Prayer for the President of the United States, so that it reads as follows:

¶ The following Prayers shall be omitted here when the Litany is said, and may be omitted when the Holy Communion is immediately to follow.
 

13. In the Prayer for all Conditions of Men, after the words "in mind, body, or estate," the following is inserted:

    [* Especially those for whom our prayers are desired ; ]

    And a marginal note is added as follows:

    * This may be said when any desire the prayers of the Congregation.
 

    14. In the General Thanksgiving, after the words "to all men," the following is inserted:

    [* Particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed unto them. ]

    A marginal note is added as follows:

    * This may be said when any desire to return thanks for mercies vouchsafed to them.

III. — THE ORDER FOR DAILY EVENING PRAYER.

    1. The rubric immediately preceding the opening Sentences is changed so that it reads:

¶ The Minister shall begin the Evening Prayer by reading one or more of the following Sentences of Scripture; and then he shall say that which is written after them. But on days other than the Lord's Day, he may, at his discretion, pass at once from the Sentences to the Lord's Prayer.
 

1886.

    2. The following are substituted in place of the first three of the opening Sentences, the eleventh Sentence (St. Matt. iii. 2) being also omitted from its former place.

    3. The following is substituted for the rubric before the General Exhortation:

LET us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God.

¶ Or else he shall say as followeth.
 

    4. The word Amen is printed at the end of the Declaration of Absolution; and the rubric that immediately follows said Absolution is omitted.

    5. The rubric before the Lord's Prayer is changed so that it reads:

¶ Then the Minister shall kneel, and say the Lord's Prayer; the People still kneeling, and repeating it with him.
 

    6. Immediately after the words “Answer, The Lord's Name be praised,” the Gloria in excelsis is printed in full; preceded by the following rubric, in place of the present rubric:

¶ Then shall follow a Portion of the PSALMS, as they are appointed, or one of the Selections, as they are set forth by this Church. And at the end of every Psalm, and likewise at the end of the Magnificat, Cantate Domino, Bonum est confiteri, Nunc dimittis, Deus misereatur, Benedic anima mea, may be sung or said the Gloria Patri; and at the end of the whole Portion or Selection of Psalms for the day, shall be sung or said the Gloria Patri, or else the Gloria in excelsis, as followeth.
 

    7. Immediately before the Cantate Domino, the following is inserted:

¶ After which shall be sung or said the Hymn called Magnificat, as followeth.

Magnificat. St. Luke i. 46.

MY soul doth magnify the Lord: and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
    For he hath regarded: the lowliness of his hand­maiden.
    For behold, from henceforth: all generations shall call me blessed.
    For he that is mighty hath magnified me ; and holy is his Name.
    And his mercy is on them that fear him : through­out all generations.
    He hath showed strength with his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
    He hath put down. the mighty from their seat: and hath exalted the humble and meek.
    He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
    He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

¶ Or this Psalm, except when it is read in the ordinary course of the Psalms, on the nineteenth day of the month.
 

    8. Immediately after the first rubric following the Bonum est confiteri, the following is inserted :

¶ And after that shall be sung or said the Hymn called Nunc dimittis, as followeth.

Nunc dimittis. St. Luke ii. 29.

LORD, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word.
    For mine eyes have seen: thy salvation,
    Which thou hast prepared : before the face of all people;
    To be a light to lighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
 

    9. For the rubric before the Deus misereatur, the following is substituted:

¶ Or else this Psalm ; except it be on the twelfth day of the month.
 

    10. Immediately after the Benedic anima mea, the following is inserted:

¶ Then shall be said the Apostles' Creed, by the Minister and the People, standing. And any Churches may, instead of the words, He descended into hell, use the words, He went into the place of departed spirits, which are considered as words of the same meaning in the Creed.
 

    11. The word “again” is inserted in the Creed, so that the latter part of the fifth article reads:

   The third day he rose again from the dead.
 

    12. After the response “And grant us thy salvation,” the following versicles and responses are inserted:

    Minister. O Lord, save the State.
    Answer. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
    Minister. Endue thy Ministers with righteousness.
    Answer. And make thy chosen people joyful.
    Minister. O Lord, save thy people.
    Answer. And bless thine inheritance.
    Minister. Give peace in our time, O Lord.
    Answer. For it is thou, Lord, only, that makest us dwell in safety.
 

    13. The following Collect, rubrics, and Prayer take the place of the Collect and the Prayer which immediately follow The Collect for Peace:

A Collect for Aid Against Perils.

LIGHTEN our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

¶ In places where it may be convenient, here followeth the Anthem.

¶ The Minister may here end the Evening Prayer with such Prayer, or Prayers, taken out of this Book, as he shall think fit.

A Prayer for The President of the United States, and all in Civil Authority.

ALMIGHTY God, whose kingdom is everlasting and power infinite; Have mercy upon this whole land; and so rule the hearts of thy servants THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, The Governor of this State, and all others in authority, that they, knowing whose ministers they are, may above all things seek thy honour and glory; and that we and all the People, duly considering whose authority they bear, may faithfully and obediently honour them, in thee, and for thee, according to thy blessed Word and ordinance; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever, one God, world without end. Amen.
 

    14. The Prayer for All Conditions of Men and the General Thanksgiving, wherever they occur, are printed with the bracketed clause and marginal note, as heretofore provided in Morning Prayer.

IV. — THE LITANY.

    1. The following Suffrage is inserted after that for Bishops, Priests, and Deacons:

    That it may please thee to send forth labourers into thy harvest;
    We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
 

    2. The words Here endeth the Litany are omitted.