St Paul's Church first in Wales to join Prayer Book Society

St Paul’s Church, which has traditionally used the Church in Wales Book of Common Prayer for all its services, will also use of the Book of Common Prayer that is at the heart of Anglican worship.

The 125-year-old church, which has one of the few traditional Anglican four-part choirs left in North Wales, also plans to reinstate a quarterly service of Holy Communion in September.

Rector and area dean, the Reverend Samuel Erlandson, said: “St Paul’s has strongly held to the Church in Wales Book of Common Prayer and we have upheld its traditional values.

St Paul's Church, Craig-y-Don.

“We decided to join the PBS as we are keen to be part of a society which helps it flourish in this tradition within a wider community.”

The Church in Wales Book of Common Prayer, first published in 1984, is a traditional language Prayer Book. Many of the texts are those found in the Church of England’s 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The news has been welcomed by members of the congregation which has increased to more than 50 at the main services of the week. Their ages range from 11 months to the mid-90s, with a fifth made up of young people and families.

The Prayer Book Society has more than 120 member churches keen to ensure continuity in use of the 1662 Prayer Book for services.

The society was founded in 1972 amidst liturgical reform in the Church of England. It was feared that the 1662 Book of Common Prayer – despite its continued status as the Church of England’s official standard of teaching – would fall into disuse, being replaced by contemporary forms of worship.

Deeply rooted in the Bible, The Book of Common Prayer is the traditional service book of the Church of England and contains its official teaching.

Created in 1549 and then revised in 1552 by Thomas Cranmer, it was the handbook of the new English church which had just split from Rome.