Reformed Evangelical Synod of America

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

No mere book of prayers is perfect. Yet, The Book of Common Prayer is a precious treasure of the Western Church. By its intrinsic merits, as a book designed for the reverent and seemly worship of Almighty God, it has endeared itself to generation after generation of devoted Christians throughout the world – both members of the Anglican Communion and those outside its bounds.

Recently, a decision was made by this Synod to establish a common liturgical life among its affiliated congregations. Practical considerations indicated a need to adopt liturgical, spiritual, and textual forms that were familiar to most in Western Christendom, building upon the foundation of the Anglican liturgical tradition. At the same time, it was considered equally important to embrace many liturgical elements from other traditions (both of East and West) which were near and dear to the hearts of the faithful in the Synod.

Since electing to embark upon the revision process, the work has progressed through the research, draft, and comment stages, and the fruit of this work is herein offered humbly for use as a corpus of prayer to the entire Church. It has been the constant intention of the Revision Committee to prepare a revision of the Prayer Book that is in accordance with the spirit and intentions of the original architects of Christian liturgical life. We have aimed to set forth an order which God’s people may use with understanding, and which is agreeable with the doctrines found in Sacred Scripture and the usage of the primitive, catholic Church.

None of the changes offered in this edition of The Book of Common Prayer were proposed in order to alter the doctrine of Christianity, which have been faithfully handed down to us through Sacred Scripture, the Creeds, and the witness of the Church Fathers. Indeed, our desire in altering the existing Prayer Book texts has been to provide a clear witness to our faith in modern English, one that is rooted in the evangelical and liturgical heritage handed down to us from the earliest days of our Christian Faith.

When we accept the name of Christian and its responsibilities, we declare our fidelity to the faith “once for all delivered unto the saints.” It is in that faith that this edition of The Book of Common Prayer is offered, with the full hope that those who pray with it may become more completely what they are called to be: the People of God, a New Creation in Christ, which finds its joy in adoring of the Creator and Redeemer of all.

The Revision Committee
The Feast of Saint Mary
15 August 2009

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