Divine Worship: The Blog

Preamble  ·  Part I  ·  Part III  ·  Part IV  ·  Part V After waiting nearly a decade for the introduction of  Divine Worship: Daily Office (North American Edition) (DW:DO:NAE), I think it’s important to be completely clear about what it is and what it is not. DW:DO:NAE is a new prayer book promulgated by Bishop Steven Lopes for use in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter (OCSP). It now serves as the official divine office of the OCSP, fulfilling the obligations of those required to pray the office and allowing clergy and laity alike to pray with and for the Church. In this sense, it is functionally equivalent to the Roman Breviary, the Liturgy of the Hours, and various other Catholic offices. Unlike those examples, however, DW:DO:NAE is not a fully complete office book in and of itself: a Bible is also required to provide the daily lessons at Morning and Evening Prayer. DW:DO:NAE is prescribed specifically for use in the OCSP, and is not authorized by the Ordinariates

Preamble  · Part II  · Part III  · Part IV  ·  Part V Over the next few posts I will endeavor to thoroughly review the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter’s new divine office book, beginning with a short history of the events leading up to its publication in November 2020. My copy of the rather clunkily-named  Divine Worship: Daily Office (North American Edition) (DW:DO:NAE) arrived about two weeks ago, and since then I have used it to pray Mattins and Evensong every day without fail. Overall, I have genuinely enjoyed using the book; however, that is frankly due more to the nature of the traditional Anglican offices than to any innate property of this publication. Unfortunately, while entirely usable in its current form, DW:DO:NAE is considerably more expensive, of lower quality, and more complicated than alternatives like the Cambridge 1662 Book of Common Prayer  (BCP) or the  Anglican Parishes Association 1928 BCP . It is my hope that this review, when completed, will e

I have recently acquired a Romish prayer book called Divine Worship: Daily Office (North American Edition)  (Newman House Press, 2020; Second Printing, 2021). It purports to convey certain honourable Anglican traditions into Papistry; a not ignoble goal, if happily realized. At the moment I am employing my newfound possession to pray daily Mattins and Evensong, and have done so quite religiously for a week or more. In that time I have formed certain strong opinions regarding it, which I shall share with you in the near future.     I am even now plotting my exhausting review of this long-awaited tome, but wish to urge my gentle congregation in the interim to first read, mark, learn and inwardly digest a composition by my very great friend, the celebrated wordsmith and prelate Thomas Cranmer. I trust that you will find this exercise extremely fruitful, and indeed it should be considered prerequisite for understanding those things that are to come. Concerning the Service of the Church An