2013-03-13
NOT the1662 BCP and NOT the 1662 Psalter
Although some changes are necessary in presenting the printed page in an app, (remembering, of course, that provision must be made for American users, although I don't know why they would want to use the 1662 BCP rather than their own 1928 edition) there are a number of omissions and outright errors in the text of this app. Aside from minor errors such as spelling and punctuation, there are major errors and omissions which are inexplicable in an app purporting to offer the 1662 Offices and Psalter.
1. The first instance of the Lord’s Prayer in Morning and Evening Prayer is incorrect. It is not 1662, U.S. 1928, or Canada 1962.
2. The translation of the Venite is not 1662.
12. The creator of the app, although not the 1662 BCP, gives a rubric allowing the omission of the Venite on certain days.
3. The psalms are indeed Coverdale, but are the form in the Book of Psalms in the Bible, which includes such words as ‘selah’ that are omitted in the 1662 BCP Psalter.
4. The cantillation mark (the :) in the canticles and Psalms is treated as a colon, with no space before it; this is tedious when trying to read fluently.
5. The Proper Psalms for certain feasts are not given when they are appointed.
6. The form for the announcement of the Lessons is incorrect.
7. None of the alternate Lessons from the Lectionary are given.
8. Although the Athanasian Creed is mentioned in the rubric, it is not given on the days it is to be said.
9. The correct Collect of the Day does not appear in the First Evensong for Sundays and feasts, nor do the correct Lessons for the First Evensong of the feast.
10. The texts of several of the prayers ending the Offices differ from the 1662 versions; these errors are egregious.
11. The Prayer for Parliament is not printed, although two other prayers from the Prayers and Thanksgivings have been added.
12. The names of the weekdays in Lent are mostly incorrect; Wednesday to Saturday after the First Sunday in Lent should be called the SECOND Wednesday in Lent, etc., not the first.
13. The Litany is not provided, although, as it is appointed to be said after the third Collect at Morning Prayer on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, it would be more useful than the Prayers at Mid-day taken from the 1962 Canadian BCP.
14. The Collect of the Day (permissible in the Canadian BCP) is not given.
Whatever this app is purported to be, it is not the Office, Lectionary, Psalter, or Kalendar of the 1662 BCP; rather, it is the creation of someone who is not familiar with either the texts involved, or with the rules governing the proper praying of the Office.