Christian Liberals & Progressive People of Faith

but it went through an initial modification in England in the form of the Book of Common Prayer, which was written as a deliberate compromise between the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions after years of the two sides persecuting each other.

All Anglican/Episcopal churches use the forms in their country's version of the Book of Common Prayer, but they have a lot of leeway on the matter of how often to celebrate Communion (the less formal parishes have Morning Prayer three Sundays a month and Communion once a month; the more formal parishes have Communion every Sunday), whether to have the texts set to music, and if so, which music to use, and in general, how ritualistic to be. The fanciest services are put on by the so-called Anglo-Catholic wing. Except for the fact that everything is in English, they're almost like pre-Vatican II Catholics, lots of genuflecting, fancy vestments, incense, bells rung at certain times (hence the nickname "smells and bells&quot , chanting, side altars dedicated to the Virgin Mary and/or other saints, adoration of the consecrated Host, etc. Other Episcopal churches have gone all folk mass.

So if I attend an unfamiliar Episcopal church, I'll be assured of two things: they will use one of two versions (old language or modern language) of one of the Book of Common Prayer services, and in most places, they will be on the liberal end of their local spectrum. The rest is up for grabs.