Family Tree of the Prayer Book

NOTES ON THE FAMILY TREE OF THE PRAYER BOOK

1. — The Roman liturgy in the form in which we know it at present is unlike the other great liturgies of the Church, and stands very much by itself: the Canon seems to be in a state of dislocation. The earliest Christians in Italy may have used a Greek rite which is now lost.
2. — In varying degrees some other modern rites — the Ambrosian or Milanese, used in the north of Italy by over a million people, and the Mozarabic rite which still survives in certain Spanish churches — partake more or less of Gallican character, though with more or less Roman intermixture.
3. — Although Mediaeval non-Roman Western services belonged to the Roman family of liturgies, the ceremonies used with them, and the way they were carried out were as a rule Gallican (French, Spanish, English, etc.) and not Roman.
4. — Besides the Rites of Milan, etc., mentioned above, there are other Christians of the Roman obedience who do not use the Roman missal, viz., those of the older religious orders, Carthusian, Cistercian, Dominican, etc.
5. — The old Latin books of Sarum use were restored for a few years under Queen Mary, 1553-1558.
6. — These Orthodox Eastern liturgies are translated into many languages, and used all over Eastern Christendom: they seem in many respects more primitive in character than the Western rites.
7.—It will be seen from this table that the modern Scottish liturgy is more immediately connected with those of primitive times than any other Anglican service.

This diagram shows very roughly the origin and relationship of the Prayer Book services and of other service books used elsewhere. The thicker lines show a very close connection or immediate descent, the thinner lines a less close connection, or the descent of a part only.