A Rationale or Practical Exposition of the Book of Common Prayer by the Right Reverend Father in God, Anthony Sparrow D.D . . . . To which are prefix'd the Lives of the Compilers of the Liturgy; and an Historical Account of its Several Reviews by the Reverend Mr. Samuel Downes Leather bound - 1722

London: Printed by J. Bettenham, for Charles Rivington, 1722. Seventh edition (Rationale), Second edition (Lives). Leather Bound. Very Good. 5 x 7 1/2 inches. 8vo. Engraved frontispiece + combined title page in red and black + 5 leaf preface + title page (Lives) + 1 leaf (contents) + ccx + 12 page index + title (Rationale) + 4 leaves preface and contents + 317 numbered pages (including two additional separate titles for included works) + 11 page table and index. A few spots and closed tear to title page, otherwise generally very clean. Bound in full paneled calf which is bumped and rubbed. Both hinges professionally repaired with Japanese tissue, spine with five raised and gilt bands, and chipping losses to head and tail. ESTCT130846. A very good copy of this early description of the compilation of the English BCP, biographies of the compilers, and commentary on the BCP. Sparrow (1612-1685) was an English Anglican priest and bishop of Norwich and Exeter. He was also an adherent of "Laudianism," an early seventeenth-century reform movement within the Church of England promulgated by Archbishop William Laud and his supporters, which rejected the predestination upheld by the previously dominant Calvinism in favor of free will. It is probably best known for its impact on the Anglican High Church movement and its emphasis on liturgical ceremony and clerical hierarchy.