Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer
Encyclopedia
The Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer is responsible for the maintenance of the official text of the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...

 (BCP) used by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

The Book of Common Prayer according to the use of the Episcopal Church contains the liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

 used in its worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...

 services and for other religious gatherings. The (BCP) and its predecessors are descended from the prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...

 books used by the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

. There have been four versions of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Prayer Book that have been used. They are known by the year of issuance: 1789, 1892, 1928, and 1979. In 1784, in order to bring about the consecration of America's first bishop, Samuel Seabury of Connecticut, in Scotland, a "concordat was signed by Seabury and the Scottish bishops" who consecrated him pledging use of the Scottish Eucharistic Rite by the Episcopal Church then, thus "following Scottish structure" (with some of its liturgy derived from Eastern Orthodox) and circumventing the Church of England.+
After approval by the General Convention, the official text is controlled by the custodian. The first custodian was appointed by the 1868 General Convention
General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority in the Episcopal Church. General Convention...

 to keep the plates
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...

 and a copy of the Standard Book for the General Convention. The 1871 General Convention granted the custodian the responsibility for recording any alterations made by the General Convention in the BCP. The custodian is nominated by the House of Bishops
House of Bishops
The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.-Composition of Houses of Bishops:...

 and confirmed by the House of Deputies
House of Deputies
The House of Deputies is one of the legislative houses of the bicameral General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America...

, and serves until a successor is appointed.

List of Custodians

  • Benjamin Isaac Haight, 1868–1879
  • Francis Harrison
    Francis Harrison
    Francis Harrison may refer to:*Francis Burton Harrison , American statesman; U.S. Representative*Francis Capel Harrison, British Member of Parliament for Kennington, 1922–1923-See also:*Frances Harrison, British journalist...

    , 1880–1885
  • Samuel Hart, 1886–1917
  • Lucien Moore Robinson, 1917–1932
  • John Wallace Suter, 1932–1942;
  • John Wallace Suter, Jr., 1942–1962
  • Charles Mortimer Guilbert, 1963-1998.
  • Gregory M. Howe, 2000-

Source: The Episcopal Church website.
+ Source: Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, Documents of Witness, A History of the Episcopal Church 1982-1985 (CHC: 1994).
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