Different versions of The Book of Common Prayer on display at Bishop’s House

Publish Date: 24-Apr-2017

Bishop’s House opened its archives on 22 March 2017 to the public. The theme of this year’s the open day was “The Book of Common Prayer in the History of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui”. The Rt Revd Andrew Chan said in his opening speech “traces of the traditions and development of the Anglican church can be found in The Book of Common Prayer.”

The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Archives, located at Bishop’s House, have amassed a collection of many versions of The Book of Common Prayer. Some of the key displays were the versions published in 1549, 1604, 1611, 1627, and 1662; the first version published in Hong Kong in 1856; and the two Chinese versions translated by the Rt Revd John Burdon (the third diocesan bishop of Victoria) and the Rt Revd Samuel Schereschewsky (diocesan bishop of Shanghai), published in 1872 and 1879. Burdon and Schereschewsky’s versions were translated from The Book of Common Prayer published in England in 1662 and the translations were adjusted to fit the Chinese syntax. Other exhibits included Chinese versions published in different dialects in later years.

There were many other documents of historical significance on display that day, including the Hong Kong Letters Patent, A Dictionary of the Chinese Language by the Revd Robert Morrison and many other works by the early clergymen and missionaries.