The 1962 Canadian Book of Common Prayer was likely the last revision to use traditional (Elizabethan) language. Like most revisions, its development took many years - over 20 years in this case.

Often the most controversial task in BCP revision involves the Eucharist, and that was indeed the case here. Work on the Eucharist began in 1949, and what is presented here is the first attempt of the revision committee, published in 1952. It consists almost entirely of the Communion service, with a very short introduction.

Reaction to it was largely negative, focussed primarily on the Prayer of Consecration. We include here also a typewritten response from clergy in the Diocese of Montreal, where it may be seen that the Prayer of Consecration was indeed a major concern - see item 14 in their response. They even took the trouble to rewrite and submit their own attempt at a Prayer of Consecration.

Eventually, after further revision, a Eucharist was produced much more along the lines of the English 1928 book.

We present here the 1952 draft Eucharist and the response from the Montreal clergy, both as PDF graphics. The draft Eucharist also has extractable text, although this has not been proofread and undoubtedly has some errors.