A114 Authorize for use Expansive Language Versions of Eucharistic Prayer C
Resolved, the House of ________________ concurring,
That the 81st General Convention authorize The Holy Eucharist: Rite II, Prayer C, (Expansive Language) in two versions: dialogic and fixed response, for use throughout this church, subject to consent of the Bishop or the Ecclesiastical authority; and be it further
Resolved, That the period of authorized use of these texts shall extend to the 82nd General Convention; and be it further
Resolved, That the Holy Eucharist: Rite II, Eucharistic Prayer C, (Expansive Language) – both versions – be provided to the church at no cost via electronic distribution; and be it further
Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music be directed to engage a dynamic equivalence translation of The Holy Eucharist: Rite II, Prayer C – both versions (Expansive Language) into the Spanish, French, and Kreyol languages; and be it further
Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music be directed to develop a process for evaluation of the ongoing use of The Holy Eucharist: Rite II, Prayer C (Expansive Language) – both versions - among the dioceses and congregations of this church.
Explanation
Resolution 2022-A015 stated that “The Holy Eucharist: Rite II, Eucharistic Prayer C, be referred to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) for possible revision...” This was a second referral, following GC79 in 2018. Resolution 2018-D078 had directed the SCLM to “engage a dynamic equivalence translation of The Holy Eucharist: Rite II, including Eucharistic Prayers A, B, and D, (Expansive Language) into the Spanish, French, and Haitian Creole [Kreyol] languages.”
The SCLM first would like to reemphasize, in concurrence with Resolution 2022-A068, that Eucharistic Prayer C (1979) is memorialized as a rite of the Episcopal Church in the Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Between 2018 and 2022, the SCLM crafted two new expansive language versions of Eucharistic Prayer C:
- A dialogic-response version that maintains the 1979 Prayer C responses by the assembly in the anaphora (e.g. “Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the bread.”)
- A fixed-response version that instead provides a consistent, antiphonal-style response: “Glory to God for ever and ever.”
Unchanged from 2022-A015 are the following distinguishing features:
The existence and proposal of a fixed-response version of Prayer C is to offer a version of the Eucharistic Prayer that both lends itself easily to being sung and/or set to music, while also providing a version intended for one who is worshipping without a physical liturgy at hand
Both versions also feature expansive language changes throughout the entire prayer, following the Guidelines for Expansive and Inclusive Language in liturgical creation, as adopted at GC80 as Resolution A060.
Both versions also restructure the anaphora to harmonize with the West Syrian structure of the other authorized Eucharistic prayers, in the form of the epiclesis following the words of institution, instead of prior (as in Alexandrian-structured 1979 Prayer C).
Furthermore, both versions now feature an epiclesis of the assembly, which was notably absent in the 1979 version of Prayer C.
The fixed-response version offers some further alternative language options throughout, compared to the dialogic-response version (ex. the fixed-response version’s “Pour out your Spirit upon the whole earth...” versus the dialogic-response version’s “God of our ancestors; Redeemer and Mother of Israel...”
The SCLM thoroughly reviewed both versions in the biennial period between GC80 and GC81. In addition to conversations and attempted new drafts, our task was to address the concerns shared by many in the Church over the phrase “you blessed us with memory, reason, and skill.” In short, the pastoral and expansive language concerns are thus: this phrase as it stands limits God and the availability of God’s blessing to all sorts of the human condition. In particular, the SCLM searched for an adaptation to this phrase that honors the experiences in creation of people with disabilities, those suffering from memory loss, and the like. The new phrasing, featured in both versions, now states “you blessed us with the capacity for memory, reason and skill.”
Taking into consideration the multiple triennia of various scholars and theologians who have contributed to the changes to both versions of Prayer C, as well as the current SCLM’s thorough vetting and review of the changes, we present these prayers now for approval by GC81 for trial use in the Episcopal Church.
The proposed revised texts for Rite II, Eucharistic Prayer C (Expanded Language) can be found as a supporting document to this resolution and are also available in the report to the 81st General Convention (otherwise known as the blue book report) of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music.
Support Document: