Blessing and Glory and Thanksgiving: The Growth of a Canadian Liturgy

A.J. Pell is rector of Christ Church in Hope, B.C., and lecturer in the
Anglican Studies Programme at Regent College in Vancouver.

At the core of Anglicanism is the worship tradition of the Book of
Common Prayer (BCP). Blessing and Glory and Thanksgiving chronicles the
story of the Canadian BCP—the revision of the English 1662 BCP that
produced the 1918 Canadian BCP, and the subsequent revision that
produced the 1962 BCP. The author focuses particularly on the
eucharistic rite’s evolution since its 1662 form.

At the heart of Blott’s story is that “there was only one revision:
1962 was a completion of the 1918 work.” As startling as this might
seem to most clergy (not to mention laity), Blott methodically makes his
point. From the first formal proposal for the BCP’s revision in 1896
to its 1962 final resolution, he ably relates the story of its key
characters and conflicts. His research is thorough; in chapters 12 and
13, for example, he gives details on the sources and history of almost
each word in the Eucharist of 1962.

Blessing and Glory and Thanksgiving fills a large gap in the history of
Anglican liturgy in Canada, and deserves a place on the bookshelves of
every priest and every parish.