Since the protestant reformations in the British Isles, special acts of worship have been appointed to mark great public events. During times of crisis and celebration or as annual commemorations, monarchs, governments, parliaments or the established churches ordered petitionary or thanksgiving prayers, services, or days of prayer for observance in all churches and communities within their kingdoms or in their capital cities. From the seventeenth century the practice spread to the overseas colonies, dominions and other areas of British control, either to mark their own regional events or to share in the British acts of worship. For centuries, these special acts of worship had considerable political and social as well as religious significance.

 

This website presents lists of these special acts of worship for the three kingdoms of England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland, for the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland (later Northern Ireland), and for large parts of the British empire. as it changed in extent and character. The main series consist of summary lists of the particular acts of special worship, observed once or for short periods. Another list provides information on the anniversary commemorations in each of the kingdoms, with periods of annual observance varying from a few years to several centuries. A list is also provided for occasions of special worship observed in the Jewish community.

 

These lists originate from research for the four volumes of National Prayers: Special Worship since the Reformation, an edition concerned principally with the British Isles and containing surveys, texts and commentaries, and for Providence, Prayer and Empire: Special Worship in the British World, 1783–1919. For fuller details of these and further studies, see the publications page.    

 

The lists are made available here for reference purposes, and to assist further research. Details for the dates and circumstances of each occasion of special worship, together with the texts of the orders and special services, will be found in each volume of National Prayers.