Common Prayer, Book or, the liturgy or public form of prayer prescribed by the Church of England to be used in all churches and chapels, and which the clergy are to use under a certain penalty, The Book of Common Prayer is used also by the English speaking Episcopal churches in Scotland Ireland, America, and the colonies, as well as by some non-Episcopal bodies, with or without certain alterations, It dates from the reign of Edward VI.; was published in 1549, and again with some changes in 1552. Some slight alterations were made upon it when it was adopted in the reign of Elizabeth. In the reign of James I., and finally soon after the Restoration, it underwent new revisions .