C018 Amend Title II, Canon 3 to Retain a Printed Form of the Book of Common Prayer

Final Status: Took No Further Action

Resolved, That the General Convention amend Title II, Canon 3 as follows:

Amended text as it would appear if adopted and concurred.  Scroll below the line of asterisks (******) to see the version showing all deleted and added text.

Title II, Canon 3: Of the Standard Book of Common Prayer

Sec. 1. The copy of the Book of Common Prayer accepted by the General Convention of this Church, in the year of our Lord 1979, together with such alterations and additions approved in accordance with Article X of the Constitution, and authenticated by the signatures of the Presiding Officers and Secretaries of the two Houses of the General Convention, is hereby declared to be the Standard Book of Common Prayer of this Church.

Sec. 2. All copies of the Book of Common Prayer to be hereafter made and published shall conform to this Standard, and shall agree therewith in paging, and, as far as it is possible, in all other matters of typographical arrangement, except that the Rubrics may be printed either in red or black, and that page numbers shall be set against the several headings in the Table of Contents. The requirement of uniformity in paging shall apply to the entire book but shall not extend to editions smaller than those known as 32mo, or to editions noted for music.

Sec. 3. The Book of Common Prayer shall be available in both printed book and electronic form.

Sec. 4. In case any typographical inaccuracy shall be found in the Standard Book of Common Prayer, its correction may be ordered by a joint Resolution of any General Convention, and notice of such corrections shall be communicated by the Custodian to the Ecclesiastical Authority of each Diocese of this Church, and to actual publishers of the Book of Common Prayer.

Sec. 5. Folio copies of the Standard Book of Common Prayer, duly authenticated, as in the case of the Standard Book, shall be sent to the Ecclesiastical Authority of each Diocese in trust for the use thereof, and for reference and appeal in questions as to the authorized formularies of this Church.

Sec. 6. No print or electronic copy, translation, or edition of the Book of Common Prayer, or a part or parts thereof, shall be made, printed, published, or used as of authority in this Church, unless it contains the authorization of the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer, certifying that the Custodian or some person appointed by the Custodian has compared the said copy, translation, or edition with the said Standard Book of Common Prayer, or a certified copy thereof, and that it conforms thereto. The Custodian, or some person appointed by the Custodian, may exercise due discretion in reference to translations of the entire Standard Book or parts thereof, into other languages so that such translations reflect the idiomatic style and cultural context of those languages. And no copy, translation, or edition of the Book of Common Prayer, or a part or parts thereof, shall be made, printed, published electronically or in print, or used as of authority in this Church, or certified as aforesaid, which contains or is bound up with any alterations or additions thereto, or with any other matter, except the Holy Scriptures or the authorized Hymnal of this Church, or with material set forth in the Book of Occasional Services and The Proper for the Lesser Feasts and Fasts, as those books are authorized from time to time by the General Convention.

Sec.7.

a. Whenever the General Convention, pursuant to Article X of the Constitution, shall authorize for trial use a proposed revision of the Book of Common Prayer, or of a portion or portions thereof, the enabling Resolution shall specify the period of such trial use, the precise text thereof, and any special terms or conditions under which such trial use shall be carried out including translation.

b. It shall be the duty of the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer:

1. To arrange for the publication of such proposed revision;

2. To protect, by copyright, the authorized text of such revision, on behalf of the General Convention; which copyright shall be relinquished when such proposed revision or revisions shall have been adopted by the General Convention as an alteration of, or addition to, the Book of Common Prayer;

3. To certify that printed and electronic copies of such revision or revisions have been duly authorized by the General Convention, and that the printed text conforms to that approved by the General Convention.

c. During the said period of trial use and under the modifying conditions specified, only the material so authorized, and in the exact form in which it has been so authorized, shall be available as an alternative for the said Book of Common Prayer or the said portion or portions thereof; provided, however, that it shall be competent for the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies, jointly, on recommendation by a resolution duly adopted at a meeting of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music communicated to the said presiding officers in writing, to authorize variations and adjustments to, or substitutions for, or alterations in, any portion of the texts under trial, which seem desirable as a result of such trial use, and which do not change the substance of a rite.

d. In the event of the authorization of such variations, adjustments, substitutions, or alternatives, as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer to notify the Ecclesiastical Authority of every Diocese, and the Convocation of the Episcopal Churches in Europe, of such action, and to give notice thereof through the media of public information.

Sec 8. The appointment of the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer shall be made by nomination of the House of Bishops and confirmed by the House of Deputies at a meeting of the General Convention. The Custodian shall hold office until the second General Convention following the General Convention at which the Custodian was nominated and confirmed. A vacancy occurring in the office of Custodian when General Convention is not meeting may be filled until the next General Convention by appointment by the Presiding Bishop upon the confirmation of the Executive Council.

Sec. 9. It shall be the duty of the Ecclesiastical Authority of any Diocese in which any unauthorized edition of the Book of Common Prayer, or any part or parts thereof, shall be published or circulated, to give public notice that the said edition is not of authority in this Church.

 

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Title II, Canon 3: Of the Standard Book of Common Prayer

Sec. 1. The copy of the Book of Common Prayer accepted by the General Convention of this Church, in the year of our Lord 1979, together with such alterations and additions approved in accordance with Article X of the Constitution, and authenticated by the signatures of the Presiding Officers and Secretaries of the two Houses of the General Convention, is hereby declared to be the Standard Book of Common Prayer of this Church.

Sec. 2. All copies of the Book of Common Prayer to be hereafter made and published shall conform to this Standard, and shall agree therewith in paging, and, as far as it is possible, in all other matters of typographical arrangement, except that the Rubrics may be printed either in red or black, and that page numbers shall be set against the several headings in the Table of Contents. The requirement of uniformity in paging shall apply to the entire book but shall not extend to editions smaller than those known as 32mo, or to editions noted for music.

Sec. 3. The Book of Common Prayer shall be available in both printed book and electronic form.

Sec. 3. Sec. 4. In case any typographical inaccuracy shall be found in the Standard Book of Common Prayer, its correction may be ordered by a joint Resolution of any General Convention, and notice of such corrections shall be communicated by the Custodian to the Ecclesiastical Authority of each Diocese of this Church, and to actual publishers of the Book of Common Prayer.

Sec. 4.  Sec. 5. Folio copies of the Standard Book of Common Prayer, duly authenticated, as in the case of the Standard Book, shall be sent to the Ecclesiastical Authority of each Diocese in trust for the use thereof, and for reference and appeal in questions as to the authorized formularies of this Church.

Sec.5. Sec. 6. No print or electronic copy, translation, or edition of the Book of Common Prayer, or a part or parts thereof, shall be made, printed, published, or used as of authority in this Church, unless it contains the authorization of the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer, certifying that the Custodian or some person appointed by the Custodian has compared the said copy, translation, or edition with the said Standard Book of Common Prayer, or a certified copy thereof, and that it conforms thereto. The Custodian, or some person appointed by the Custodian, may exercise due discretion in reference to translations of the entire Standard Book or parts thereof, into other languages so that such translations reflect the idiomatic style and cultural context of those languages. And no copy, translation, or edition of the Book of Common Prayer, or a part or parts thereof, shall be made, printed, published electronically or in print, or used as of authority in this Church, or certified as aforesaid, which contains or is bound up with any alterations or additions thereto, or with any other matter, except the Holy Scriptures or the authorized Hymnal of this Church, or with material set forth in the Book of Occasional Services and The Proper for the Lesser Feasts and Fasts, as those books are authorized from time to time by the General Convention.

Sec.6. Sec. 7.

a. Whenever the General Convention, pursuant to Article X of the Constitution, shall authorize for trial use a proposed revision of the Book of Common Prayer, or of a portion or portions thereof, the enabling Resolution shall specify the period of such trial use, the precise text thereof, and any special terms or conditions under which such trial use shall be carried out including translation.

b. It shall be the duty of the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer:

1. To arrange for the publication of such proposed revision;

2. To protect, by copyright, the authorized text of such revision, on behalf of the General Convention; which copyright shall be relinquished when such proposed revision or revisions shall have been adopted by the General Convention as an alteration of, or addition to, the Book of Common Prayer;

3. To certify that printed and electronic copies of such revision or revisions have been duly authorized by the General Convention, and that the printed text conforms to that approved by the General Convention.

c. During the said period of trial use and under the modifying conditions specified, only the material so authorized, and in the exact form in which it has been so authorized, shall be available as an alternative for the said Book of Common Prayer or the said portion or portions thereof; provided, however, that it shall be competent for the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies, jointly, on recommendation by a resolution duly adopted at a meeting of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music communicated to the said presiding officers in writing, to authorize variations and adjustments to, or substitutions for, or alterations in, any portion of the texts under trial, which seem desirable as a result of such trial use, and which do not change the substance of a rite.

d. In the event of the authorization of such variations, adjustments, substitutions, or alternatives, as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer to notify the Ecclesiastical Authority of every Diocese, and the Convocation of the Episcopal Churches in Europe, of such action, and to give notice thereof through the media of public information.

Sec.7. Sec. 8. The appointment of the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer shall be made by nomination of the House of Bishops and confirmed by the House of Deputies at a meeting of the General Convention. The Custodian shall hold office until the second General Convention following the General Convention at which the Custodian was nominated and confirmed. A vacancy occurring in the office of Custodian when General Convention is not meeting may be filled until the next General Convention by appointment by the Presiding Bishop upon the confirmation of the Executive Council.

Sec.8. Sec. 9.  It shall be the duty of the Ecclesiastical Authority of any Diocese in which any unauthorized edition of the Book of Common Prayer, or any part or parts thereof, shall be published or circulated, to give public notice that the said edition is not of authority in this Church.