The 1662 Book of Common Prayer: International Edition Hardcover – March 2, 2021

The easiest part of the review is the physical quality of the book. It is exceptional (and quite a bargain). Some reviewers have complained that the compact size won't lie flat. This is a well-bound, thick book of handy size, so it is true that it will not lie open flat by itself. However, I'm not sure why this would be a problem for a prayer book, barring some special circumstance. I find it an ideal size. The single ribbon should also be sufficient, but can easily be supplemented by ribbon inserts for Catholic editions of Liturgy of the Hours that slide into the spine or less formal expedients. In short, this is a perfectly designed prayerbook to be used as such, and its compact size makes it handy to have and use.I was aware of the Anglican Church, of course, but outside of an admiration for C.S. Lewis, I had never seen it as having anything to do with me. Its use aboard 19th Century English warships piqued enough curiosity for me to order one for historical reasons. (Thank you Patrick O'Brian and Jack Aubrey.)I was astonished to find a brilliant prayer.resource that provided a straightforward route that covered vast territories of scripture in its morning and evening offices. And that with a minimum of page-flipping. (Even those proficient with the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours will appreciate this.) I loved the original lectionary that simply plods through scripture without many seasonal distractions. (A seasonal lectionary is included too.) The language is like the King James version of the Bible and every psalm and prayer are gems if that appeals to you.The Book of Common Prayer is indeed a treasure if the English language. And Cranmer and other English reformers skillfully brought together an improbable union of Roman Catholic and Reformed thought and worship that any Christian may admire. Thank you to IVP for bringing out such a beautiful and useful edition of this classic.

In terms of the contents, the 1662 BCP is great in the way it structures and directs your prayer life, sorting the fitting scriptures, psalms and hymns. It's a great place to start from if you want to learn how to pray orderly and regularly. Even though I'm not a native speaker of English, the literary style is clear and comprehendible to me, even though it's old fashioned, in a beautiful way of course.in terms of the book itself, the pages are very thick and feel high quality, the binding is tough and durable. It could be a little bigger (its about 15x9 cm) in my opinion, but I'm just a fan of large books. It's still comfortable to read and maybe good for you if you love small, portable books. Overall very good value for the price!

Beautiful and well made. Love the prayers

I use this for part of my daily devotions. Very nicely made.

Transparency: I am not Episcopalian or even Anglo-Catholic, but Roman Catholic. That being said, I may be in the dark on some items and overlook important features to the Anglican/Episcopalian audience.Overall, I am interested in beautiful books and this is certainly a beautiful book. I admire its rich blue-green color and elegant type design. It is printed in two colors (red and black).This BCP has offered me a nice, pithy way of praying the psalms. I enjoy the elevated simplicity of Anglican liturgy which is a refreshing take and quite opposed to the Roman tendency to formalize, formalize, formalize—Perhaps to low church readers, this observation is laughable that the 1662 BCP would be called “simple.”To Anglicans of all types, this book may be a wonderful devotional tool.To Roman Catholics, this book is a very interesting peek into our Anglo cousins’ world. I personally believe this is a far more functional and dignified one-volume daily prayer format than our ‘Christian Prayer.’Of course, as an RC there were items in there that make me slightly cringe (Articles of Religion on Transubstantiation or the use of a service for communion rather than a Roman ‘mass’), these actually led me down a path of learning more about Anglo-Catholic and other varied Anglican interpretations of the Articles of Religion and the time of the Reformation.I don’t think any sensible person would regret such a purchase. Try it out and see it as a chance to learn and have some beautiful English in your home library or devotional materials.

It'd easily get 5 stars, but the typos.....I've attached 3 photos, and I've only had the book for 2 days. I'm sure there are more.

This is a beautiful piece of art, and smaller than you might think. It contains Coverdale's amazing translation of Psalms (the old psalter, based on Luther's and Tyndale's and Coverdale's original work). It is small enough to carry to church and open and use, but as with most small books, it does not lay down flat like a giant heavy 5 pound Bible. This is more of the kind of prayer book you might see on a Jane Austen film where she has a tiny book in her hands in church. It is absolutely beautiful for less than $25.

The Editorial Reviews and the other 5-star Customer Reviews for the "1662 Book of Common Prayer, International Edition" are spot-on, in my opinion. I recently obtained the excellent "New Cambridge Paragraph Bible with Apocrypha." It instantly became my first choice for worshipful bible reading. The "1662 Book of Common Prayer, International Edition" was mentioned in one of the customer reviews I read of that bible. After looking over the specs and the above mentioned reviews, I decided to give it a try. After putting it through the paces, I can honestly say that I am extremely impressed. Indeed, it has exceeded my expectations. I'm confident that my spiritual life will be greatly enriched by my use of the "1662 Book of Common Prayer, International Edition." I highly recommend it.