Anglicanism has long held to the ancient principle of “lex orandi, lex credendi,” which means “the law of prayer is the law of belief.” Another way of stating this is “we pray what we believe.” For Anglicans, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) of the Church of England has been standard for worship. The Anglican Mission in America has affirmed its commitment to the 1662 BCP as such. At St. George’s, we use a contemporay English version of the 1662 BCP for our worship.

The BCP also contians The Daily Lectionary. The intention of the Lectionary is for us to read the Bible daily. The Lessons come from the Old Testament, the Epistles and the Gospels so that the whole Bible is read through each year (the Gospels are read twice through). Added to these lessons are daily lessons from the Psalms. The Psalms are to be read through in their entirety each month! For a Bible to read, I recommnd the English Standard Version.

If you haven’t figured out by now, this is a lot of Scripture reading! I think this goes to show how much Anglicanism is rooted in the Bible. Also, since it is the Book of “Common Prayer,” there is a communal aspect to our reading. While we each are reading the lessons on our own, since they are the same lessons, the Holy Spirit is speaking to us coporately as well. So let me encourage you to read the Sciprtures, following along with Lectionary of the BCP.