Book of Common Order

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Book of Common Order. Published (1564) as the Church of Scotland's regulations for public worship. Its predecessor, brought from Geneva by John Knox (1559), possibly originated among English refugees in Frankfurt. Because a metrical psalter was added (1564), it was known as the ‘Psalm-book’. A Gaelic version was published (1567). Often revised since 1867, the Book's 1940 version, incorporating insights of the modern liturgical movement, was perhaps the most progressive liturgy until the second Vatican Council (1961–5). Newer versions have appeared (1979 and 1994) affirming the centrality of the eucharist as the principal Sunday service.

Revd Dr William M. Marshall

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