Common Worship
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| Common Worship | |
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 Gareth Hughes · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source | |
| Name | Common Worship |
| Caption | Front cover of the principal edition |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Church House Publishing |
| Pub date | 2000–2008 |
| Edition | Principal and supplementary volumes |
| Genre | Liturgical rites |
Common Worship Common Worship is the principal series of liturgical books authorised for public worship by the Church of England in the early 21st century. It provides rites, prayers, lectionaries and pastoral services intended to succeed older formularies and to serve parishes across dioceses such as Canterbury, York, London, and Durham. Developed amidst debates involving institutions like the General Synod of the Church of England, the collection addresses pastoral needs across contexts from cathedral communities such as Canterbury Cathedral to parish churches such as St Martin-in-the-Fields.
History and Development
The genesis of Common Worship traces to liturgical renewal movements emerging after the Second Vatican Council and influenced by developments in the Anglican Communion and the Church of England’s own commissions. Early work drew on scholarship from figures associated with the Liturgical Movement and committees convened within the General Synod of the Church of England, alongside copyright arrangements with publishers such as Church House Publishing. Trials and experimental liturgies were tested in diocesan pilot schemes in places like Coventry and Chester before formal measures were debated at sessions of the General Synod in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first principal volumes were authorised following votes that reflected tensions similar to those in debates over the Book of Common Prayer and subsequent books such as the Alternative Service Book 1980.
Structure and Contents
Common Worship comprises multiple volumes including principal services, additional services, and pastoral resources published by entities tied to the Church of England. Core sections include orders for the Eucharist, morning and evening prayer, baptismal rites, marriage, funerals, and penitential services. The collection integrates material from historic sources like the Book of Common Prayer while providing modern-language texts influenced by liturgists who contributed to texts used in dioceses such as Exeter and Manchester. Supplementary material addresses prayers for special occasions, seasonal collects, and lectionary choices related to the three-year cycle used widely alongside calendars maintained by cathedrals such as Westminster Abbey. The editorial apparatus reflects consultation with committees involving scholars from institutions such as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Durham.
Liturgical Calendars and Services
The calendars included in the series align with the pastoral diversity of the Church of England and incorporate commemorations recognised by bodies like the Lambeth Conference and national observances in England. Services are presented for major seasons—Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter—and for feast days associated with figures such as Thomas Cranmer, Augustine of Canterbury, and Elizabeth I of England. The lectionary offers a three-year cycle of readings drawn from ecumenical concords similar to those used by churches engaged with the World Council of Churches and by Anglican provinces across the Anglican Communion. Daily offices and weekday eucharistic orders facilitate worship in parish settings from rural benefices in Norfolk to urban ministries in Bristol.
Usage and Adoption
Adoption of the series occurred through episcopal and synodal processes at diocesan synods and through practical implementation in parish worship. Cathedral chapters in sees such as St Albans and Canterbury made local decisions about incorporation alongside retained usage of older texts including the Book of Common Prayer 1662. The collection’s flexibility allowed chaplaincies in institutions such as Oxford University and hospitals in cities like Birmingham to adapt services for campus and institutional contexts. Internationally, provinces of the Anglican Communion observed the project with interest, while churches in Scotland and Wales continued to use distinct authorised formularies.
Theology and Liturgical Principles
The theology underpinning the series reflects Anglican commitments to scripture, tradition and reason as articulated in formularies maintained by the Church of England. Eucharistic theology in the orders balances sacramental language rooted in the Reformation with pastoral formulations resonant with contemporary theological dialogue involving theologians at seminaries such as Westcott House and Ridley Hall. Language choices and rubrics were influenced by ecumenical conversations involving representatives from the Roman Catholic Church and the Methodist Church of Great Britain at informal levels, and by scholarly engagement with patristic sources such as Augustine of Hippo. Pastoral theology evident in rites for marriage, funerals and baptism reflects shifts in societal patterns of family and community noted in research institutions like the Church of England Research and Statistics Unit.
Reception and Revisions
Reception has been mixed: some dioceses and cathedrals praised the collection’s pastoral utility and literary quality, while traditionalist advocates emphasised retention of the Book of Common Prayer’s language and forms. Debates in ecclesiastical media and among clergy associations such as the Society of Mary and the Church Society mirrored earlier controversies surrounding liturgical reform. Subsequent minor revisions and supplementary resources were issued in response to feedback from synods and parish trials, and ongoing liturgical development continues to involve academic centres like the Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies and advisory groups convened by the Archbishops' Council.