Common Worship

Common Worship is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000.

Like the ASB, it is an alternative to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP), which remains officially the normative liturgy of the Church of England.

It was drafted by the Church of England's Liturgical Commission; the material was then either authorised by General Synod (sometimes with amendments) or simply commended for use by the House of Bishops.

Penitence becomes optional, as does the Creed; the Te Deum disappears almost completely, and a Gospel canticle—the Benedictus in the morning and the Magnificat in the evening—follows the reading(s); there is a wide range of intercessions; collects are provided for lesser festivals (unlike in the main book); and there is a psalter.

Common Worship is published in electronic, as well as paper form, with the intent that congregations can assemble their own orders of service and extend them with prayers and readings.