Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-12

Revision OF the Book Of Common
Prayer. which YVES the first business tc
come before the General Convention
of the Episcopal Church yesterday. has
been under way since the 1918 meet
ing in New York
At that time a resolution was adopted
authorizing the appointment of Joint
commission OF bishops. priests and lay
men to undertake the present revision
In 1881. when the American Colonies
established their independence. the
American church was organized and
the prayer book of the English church
was then revised to meet the changed
political status of the Colonies. Afte!
that there was no revision of the
American Book of Common Prayer un-
til 1892 This then is the second re-
vision of the prayer book in the history
of the American church.
1t Is expected that the present re-
vision will be completed at this ses-
sion of the convention: upon which the
new standard prayer book will be issued
and all of the millions of copies of the
present prayer book, from the small
black bound books in use in the
churches to the daintily bound gold
clssped and In some cases iewaled
bound prayer books. will go out of use
American church operates the new
prayer book will be substituted. This
will include the relegation to the ar
ehives of the present standard prayer
book and its replicaS in use in the
various dioceses, the printing and bind
ing of which. at the time of the re-
vision in 1892, was financed by the
late j. Pierpont Morgan.
Morgan Finances Book.
Now with the 1923 revision on the
verge of completion. the present J. Pier
pont Morgan has authorized the prayer
book commission to have prepared at
his expense the new prayer book Of
1923. together with the replicas. one
for each of the ~ dioceses. and a
sufficient number in addition for pres
entstion to each of the 80 missionary
districts which may in the future be-
come dioceses of the church.
Mr.. Morgan's orders are that no ex-
pense shall be spared in making the
new standard prayer book the last
word in the printing arts of the age.
Sample pages of the new prayer book
prepared under these conditions, and
containing those parts Of the revision
which have already been approved. will
be placed on display in the d. A. r.
E1A1l WIJLlli1 q lew DAYS.
The general matter OF prayer book
revision has taken on worldwide in
tereSt because of the controversy in
Great Britain over the rejection by the
British Parliament of a proposed re-
vision Of the English prayer book-the
first general revision undertaken there
since 1862. Right Rev. Charles Louis
Slattery, D. D., Bishop of Massachu-
sets and chairman of the joint COM
mission on prayer book revision, dis
cussing today the American revision
said:
THE chief difference between the
English and the American revision of
the prayer book Is that the English
church is providing for the reservation
of the conSecrated bread and wine of
the holy communion, and the American
church in its book makes no such pro-
vision. At the General Convention in
1925 the House of Bishops adopted
measure allowing for reservation under
certain conditions, but 1t was defeated
in the House Of Clerical and Lay Depu-
ties. This defeat came from the same
groups which today in England are OPP
posing rubrics on reservation, namely,
the extreme low churchmen, who refuse
to allow any recognition of reservation
whatever, and the extreme high church.
men. who wish no limiting of their use
of reservation. Had there been no pro-
vision in the new English prayer book
for reservation the House of Commons
would certainly have adopted the So
called prayer book measure.
Church and State Linked.
Another difference is that the Eng
lish church, being still linked with the