Liturgical Revision in the Church of England 1984-2004: The Working of the Liturgical Commission

The liturgy of the Church of England is primarily located in The Book of Common Prayer (1662), but from the mid-20th century it has been enriched and supplemented by a range of authorized alternative services. Most of these were initially collected in The Alternative Service Book 1980 (ASB). From 1986 to 2005 there was a comprehensive revision and enlargement in the scope of alternative services. These, combined with the main elements of the 1662 tradition, are now published in Common Worship. The planning, drafting and processing of this work lay with the Liturgical Commission of the Church of England, and JLS 57 charts the separate but interlocking processes which this involved from the perspective of the Commission's Secretary and chronicler throughout the period 1984-2002.