Following the publication of Common Worship on the Church of England website, the Archbishops' Council has added the full text of The Book of Common Prayer to the worship pages of the site here.

The project to make all the Church of England's official liturgy available online has now been completed, with the support of The Prayer Book Society.

The Revd Peter Moger, the Church of England's National Worship Development Officer and Secretary to the Liturgical Commission, said: "The Book of Common Prayer has fed the hearts and minds of generations of Anglicans. This development - which will make access to Prayer Book texts so much easier - is to be applauded."

Prudence Dailey, Chairman of The Prayer Book Society, said: "The Prayer Book Society is delighted that we have been able to assist in having the full text of the Book of Common Prayer made available online on the Church of England website. As well as making the BCP more widely accessible, this endeavour underlines its continued relevance in the present age."

The 1662 Book of Common Prayer is a permanent feature of the Church of England's worship. It is loved by many for the beauty of its language and its services are widely used. It is also the foundation of a tradition of common prayer and a key source of the Church of England's doctrine.

The services which it contains - especially Morning and Evening Prayer and Holy Communion - are still used (with minor modifications or additions) in many churches throughout the country.

Notes

A podcast featuring the Revd Paul Thomas, a member of the Liturgical Commission and Deputy Chairman of the Prayer Book Society, is available here.

The Prayer Book Society exists to promote and preserve the use of the Book of Common Prayer (1662).

The first official liturgical text in English appeared in 1544 and the first complete Book of Common Prayer in 1549. The book went through several revisions until 1662, since when the wording of its services has remained largely unchanged.

The Book of Common Prayer has served as a model and inspiration for worship throughout the rest of the Anglican Communion. It is also one of the three 'historic formularies' of the Church of England, in which its doctrine is to be found (the other two - the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion and the Ordinal - are customarily published in the same volume). It cannot be altered or abandoned without the approval of Parliament.

The following services from The Book of Common Prayer also appear in Common Worship, presented as they are commonly used today and in a more contemporary layout: Morning and Evening Prayer, The Litany, Holy Communion.