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 COMMON" PRAYER 155 A further attempt in the reign of William III. to revise it proved unsuccessful, and the prayer book of 1662 remained unaltered till 1872, when a new lectionary or course of lessons from the Scriptures was introduced, which is made optional till 1879. In the new lection- ary many chapters from the Apocrypha are omitted. Previous to 1859 it was customary to include in modern editions of the Book of Common Prayer four services for special days of the year, known as "state services," which, however, properly formed no part of the book. Three of these services, being forms of prayer for the 5th of November, in commemoration of the disco very of the gunpowder plot of 1605; the 30th of January, the anniversary of the execu- tion of Charles I. ; and the 29th of May, the birth- day of Charles II. and the anniversary of the restoration of the royal family, were in the year above mentioned abolished by act of parlia- ment. The fourth, a form of prayer for the accession of the reigning sovereign, has been retained. For many years after the reforma- tion no attempt was made to introduce a uni- form system of worship in Scotland, although Knox's " Book of Common Order " was very generally used. In deference to the wishes of James I. the general assembly in 1616 decided in favor of a uniform order of liturgy; but nothing was done in the matter till after the accession of Charles I., who was very desirous of having the English prayer book adopted by the church of Scotland. The Scottish bishops, however, preferred to frame a liturgy of their own, and eventually an episcopal committee was appointed to carry this design into execu- tion. The committee after several years' labor, in which they were aided by suggestions from Archbishop Laud, completed their prayer book in 1636, and in 1637 it was imposed upon the church of Scotland by letters patent and the authority of the bishops, without having been submitted to the general assembly. It was modelled after the English prayer book of the time, with a number of slight variations ; but the communion office rather followed the form in the first book of Edward VI. The book en- countered vehement opposition, and was al- most immediately suppressed. From that time until the close of the 18th century the Scottish Episcopal church and its liturgy remained in comparative obscurity, being for many years under the operation of penal laws. The prayer book was several times revised, notably in 1765, and is now in most respects identical with that of the church of England. The communion office, however, retains many fea- tures peculiar to the first book of Edward VI. ; and certain ancient usages, such as the sign of the cross at confirmation, the mixture of water with wine at the eucharist, and the dis- missal previous to the consecration of the ele- ments of those not intending to communi- cate, are still enjoined by rubric. Until the 'disestablishment of the Irish Episcopal church on Jan. 1, 1871, its prayer book was identi- cal with that of the church of England, ex- cept that it contained a few additional ser- vices, such as a form for the visitation of prisoners, a form of consecration or dedica- tion of churches and chapels, and a prayer for the lord lieutenant. One of the declarations prefixed to the constitution of the disestablished church enjoins the use of the Book of Common Prayer, "subject to such alterations only as may be made therein from time to time by the lawful authority of the church." In the first synod, which met in April, 1871, a number of attempts to alter the liturgy and formularies failed of success, and the subject of revision was referred to the bishops and to a mixed committee of clergy and laymen, who were directed to report in the succeeding year. The synod of 1872 declared the word priest to be synonymous with presbyter, and authorized the shortening of the services on week days and the dividing of them. It also approved of a recommendation for the omission of the rubric on ornaments. Propositions to remove the damnatory clauses from the Athanasian creed, and to allow deacons to pronounce absolution, were defeated, which was declared to be equiv- alent to a withdrawal of those subjects from further consideration by the synod. The com- mittee was then reappointed and directed to report in 1873. Previous to the American war of independence members of the church of England in the British North American colonies were under the episcopal supervision of the bishop of London, and used the English Book of Common Prayer. Immediately upon the acknowledgment by Great Britain of the political independence of the United States, measures were taken to establish an American Episcopal church, and to compile a service book for its use. The initiatory step was taken by Connecticut, where in March, 1783, a convention of Episcopal clergy recommended Dr. Samuel Seabury to the English bishops for consecration to the episcopate. Owing to certain technical legal difficulties, this could not at once be effect- ed, and Dr. Seabury went by advice to Scotland, where on Nov. 14, 1784, he was consecrated at Aberdeen by the bishops of the Scottish. Episcopal church. Meanwhile a convention, participated in by Episcopalians from various states, had met in New York in October, 1784, and adopted a series of articles, one of which provided " That the said (American) church shall maintain the doctrines of the gospel as now held by the church of England; and shall adhere to the liturgy of the said church, as far as shall be consistent with the American revolution, and the constitutions of the respective states." Pursuant to the recommendations of this body, another convention assembled in Philadelphia in September, 1785, which put forth a volume known as "the proposed book," embodying many important variations from the English Book of Common Prayer. These were of two kinds, political and doctrinal. Under the for- mer head all passages referring to the royal fam-