Gift PREFATORY NOTE. THE Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church provides that no alteration or addition shall be made in the Book of Common Prayer unless the same shall be proposed in one General Convention, and adopted at the subsequent Convention. The revision of the Book of Common Prayer, brought to a conclusion in the General Convention of 1892, began in the Convention of 1880 with the introduction in the House of Deputies on the ninth day of the session, of the following resolution, offered by the Rev. William R. Huntington, D.D., a deputy from the Diocese of Massachusetts. "Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That a Joint Committee, to consist of seven Bishops, seven Presbyters, and seven Laymen, be appointed to consider, and report to the next General Convention, whether, in view of the fact that this Church is soon to enter upon the second century of its organized existence in this country, the changed conditions of the national life do not demand certain alterations in the Book of Common Prayer in the direction of liturgical enrichment and increased flexibility of use." This resolution was placed on the Calendar, and was considered on the seventeenth day of the session, and adopted by the following vote: of the Clergy there were 43 Dioceses represented,— ayes, 33; nays, 9; divided, 1. Of the Laity there were 35 Dioceses represented,― ayes, 20; nays, 11; divided, 4. The House of Bishops concurred in the action of the House of Deputies on the eighteenth day of the session. The Joint Committee appointed under this resolution consisted of The Bishops of Connecticut, Easton, Pennsylvania, Western New York, Florida, Albany, and Central New York; the Rev. William R. Huntington, D.D., the Rev. E. A. Dalrymple, D. D., the Rev. Daniel R. Goodwin, D.D., the Rev. Morgan Dix, D.D., the Rev. Edwin Harwood, D.D., the Rev. Joseph F. Garrison, D.D., the Rev. Francis Harison, D.D, ; Mr. Hamilton Fish, LL.D., Mr. Henry Coppée, LL.D., Mr. Hugh W. Sheffey, LL.D., Mr. E. T. Wilder, Mr. John W. Andrews, Mr. James M. Smith, LL.D., and Mr. Hill Burgwin. At the General Convention of 1883 the Committee presented the following Report: To the General Convention of the Protestant Church in the United States of America. The Joint Committee of twenty-one, appointed by the General Convention of 1880 to consider and to report, whether the changed conditions of the national life do not demand "certain alterations in the Book of Common Prayer, in the direction of liturgical enrichment and increased flexibility of use," respectfully ask leave to report as follows: — In accordance with a resolution of the General Convention which recommends all committees appointed to sit during the recess to meet, for the purpose of organizing, immediately after the close of the session; the Committee came together on the evening of Wednesday, the twenty-seventh day of October, 1880, and was organized by the appointment of the Bishop of Connecticut as Chairman, and of Dr. Huntington of Massachusetts as Secretary. Later it was agreed that the official title of the Committee should be THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. In addition to the first meeting for organization, three groups of sessions have been held during the recess,— one of them in January, 1881, another in October, 1882, and another in April, 1883. All of these were convened in the city of New York, and were very fully attended. In the death of the Rev. Dr. Dalrymple, of Maryland, which occurred in October, 1881, the Committee lost the services of an accomplished member, whose active participation in the work of the first meeting had given promise of much usefulness. His place has remained unfilled. Early in 1881 the work of review was distributed among three sub-committees; and, at the same time, the following resolutions were adopted: (a) "Resolved, That this Committee asserts, at the outset, its conviction that no alteration should be made touching either statements or standards of doctrine in the Book of Common Prayer. (b) “Resolved, That this Committee, in all its suggestions and acts, be guided by those principles of liturgical construction and ritual use which have guided the compilation and amendments of the Book of Common Prayer, and have made it what it is." Mindful of the rule of action laid down for them in the resolution under which they were appointed,-namely, that they were to consider the desirableness "of certain alterations in the Book of Common Prayer in the direction of liturgical enrichment and flexibility of use," the Committee also governed themselves by these two resolutions, believing that in no other way could they hope to reach any result that would or ought to be acceptable to this Church. Whether any such result has, in whole or in part, been reached, remains, of course, to be seen. The Committee only claim for themselves, that they have not spared time, labour, or study in prosecuting the work committed to them, nor have they failed to seek the guidance of the heavenly Wisdom. Their object has been to search for what seemed necessary or desirable in the way of additions among the rich stores of devotional forms, which are the common heritage of the Catholic Church, rather than to undertake new compositions of their own. |