Unless stated otherwise, texts on this page are allowed for use within The Anglican Church of Canada as authorized by the General Synod.
Questions about publications and copyright can be directed to the General Synod’s publications email account.
Prayer books
The Book of Alternative Services (BAS)
Introduced in 1985, the BAS offers modernized liturgies and contemporary language, compared to the 1962 Book of Common Prayer. Despite its name “alternative,” the BAS has become the primary worship text of the Anglican Church of Canada. Portions of the BAS are also available in other languages on this page.
The Book of Common Prayer (BCP)
The BCP (1962) is a revision of the 1918 Canadian Book of Common Prayer. Moveable feast dates from 2021‑40 can be found here.
A Disciple’s Prayer Book
What began as a pastoral adaptation of the Book of Common Prayer is now a well-known, well-established resource in the Anglican Communion. A Disciple’s Prayer Book is popular among Indigenous Anglicans and commended for use by the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples.
Pray Without Ceasing
Pray Without Ceasing transforms the Daily Office from the BAS by incorporating Anglican, Lutheran and additional ecumenical sources into a more comprehensive format for Morning and Evening Prayer. The resource, divided into the seasons of the Church year, includes an updated Psalter for the BAS with inclusive language.
Inclusive Language Liturgical Psalter
This version has been emended from the BAS for contemporary use and is available in standard and pointed editions.
Bibles
There are more than 3,000 versions of the Bible known to exist, in over 2,000 languages. The versions approved for use in public worship in the Anglican Church of Canada are noted in this list (PDF, updated in 2011).
Hymnals
While hymnody from any source is welcome in Anglican worship, the following resources are texts which have been published, authored and/or translated by The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Sing A New Creation (2022)
A collection of 174 hymns and songs and 50 service music items, this resource is a supplement to Common Praise (1998). In addition to many traditional-looking hymns, Sing a New Creation includes: short songs, songs that can be taught and sung “paperlessly,” lead sheets, and songs from around the globe.
Psalms and Hymns in Cree
Download PDFs of the following resources by clicking their title.
- Psalms and Hymns (John Horden)
- Psalms and Hymns in the Language of Cree of the Diocese of Saskatchewan (J. A. Mackay)
- Hymns in the Cree Language (R. Faries) for Western Hudson’s Bay, Northern Manitoba, and Saskatchewan
Additional resources
A number of liturgical resources are supplemental to the BAS and BCP.
For the Calendar of the Church Year
The following texts are unrestricted to a specific time of year, and are generally considered for everyday use.
- Alternative Collects for Years A, B & C of the Revised Common Lectionary and Seasonal Prayers over the Gifts and after Communion
- For All the Saints accompanies the Calendar of Holy Persons in the BAS. It includes propers for memorials, commemorations, and saints’ days, along with biographical information and primary source readings. Additions since the latest edition of For All the Saints (2007) are as follows:
- February 26: Florence Li Tim-Oi
- April 5: Emily Ayckbowm
- April 5: Memorializing the Covenant, 1994
- June 21: National Indigenous Day of Prayer
- August 6: Memorializing the Apology, 1993
- Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, a devotional lectionary based on the Sunday three year cycle of The Revised Common Lectionary.
Listed below are texts for specific liturgical seasons, ordered from Advent to Reign of Christ.
- Advent Festival of Readings and Music from Occasional Celebrations
- Advent Wreath from Occasional Celebrations
- Christmas Festival of Readings and Music from Occasional Celebrations
- Thanksgiving Over the Water for the Baptism of the Lord
- Gathering Rites for the Paschal Cycle for the Paschal Season (Lent and Easter), a particularly important time in the liturgical calendar to focus on the process of initiation-into-Christ, as our communities reaffirm their own baptismal vocation and prepare to initiate new members into baptismal living in community.
- Easter Festival of Readings and Music from Occasional Celebrations
- Alternative Old Testament Readings for Eastertide
- Thanksgiving Over the Water for All Saints’ Day/Sunday
Offices, Celebrations and Supplementary Prayers
- Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage Between a Christian and a Person of Another Faith Tradition
- Deconsecration of a Sacred Space
- Ecumenically Agreed Liturgical Texts from the English Language Liturgical Consultation. Rites and prayers supplemental to the Book of Alternative Services.
- Family Prayers compiled and translated into syllabics for Moosonee Cree (J. A. MacKay)
- Occasional Celebrations, a collection of resources for certain pastoral and seasonal occasional services, including additional funeral rites, celebrations of new ministries, and home blessing rites.
- Pastoral Liturgies for Journeys of Gender Affirmation and Transition
- Prayers for Reconciliation with the Jewish Peoples
- Public Distribution of Holy Communion by Deacons and Lay People is a collection of guidelines and liturgies prepared by the Doctrine and Worship Committee of the Anglican Church of Canada. This resource provides a temporary solution to the growing need for weekly gathering around book and table, word and sacrament, when a priest is not available.
- Supplementary Eucharistic Prayers, Services of the Word, and Night Prayer is an addition to the BAS and contains additional rites for Sunday services.
BAS excerpts in additional languages
The following PDFs are available as excerpts from the BAS and from BAS supplementary resources.
The Diocese of Montreal has additional liturgical resources available in English and French.
Chinese liturgical texts were translated by Bishop Patrick Yu for use in the Anglican Church of Canada. Suggestions to help improve the flow of the prayers are welcome.
Ash Wednesday to Easter Vigil services
Burial Office
Holy Baptism
Holy Eucharist
Marriage with Holy Eucharist
Funeral Liturgy Form 1
The Proper of the Church Year
Prières universelles (Litanies)
L’ordination d’un évêque ou une évêque (The ordination of a bishop)
L’ordination des prêtres (The ordination of a priest)
L’ordination des diacres (The ordination of a deacon)
Le service de la Parole II (A Service of the Word, from Eucharistic Prayers, Services of the Word, and Night Prayer)