Letters to the Editor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
‘Episcopalian Swan Song’
In response to the excellent article by Jay Akasie, I’d like to expand upon his statement:
“[The Episcopal Church’s] once-magnificent Book of Common Prayer, largely unchanged since the days of Thomas Cranmer, was watered down in the mid-1970s to appease, among other special interest groups, radical feminists intent on omitting male references to God.” [Oped, “Episcopalian Swan Song,” February 20, 2008]. This is all too true; but it tells only half the story. Yes, the liturgy was watered down.
However, the original magnificent liturgy to which Mr. Akasie refers remains very much in use and is accessible to all Episcopalians.
The relatively recent radical changes in the church that Mr. Akasie mentions can all be traced to the prayer book revisions, which make all things permissible.
When the revisionists rewrote the scripture-based liturgy, they changed it to further their secular humanist movement.
When the Episcopal Church introduced the 1979 Prayer Book as its “official” liturgy – despite the negative reaction to its “trial use” by most of the laity — its governing body voted that the 1928 Book of Common Prayer remain in continued use along with the 1979 (and subsequent revisions).
The organization I chair, Episcopalians for Traditional Faith, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the use of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer within the Episcopal Church.
IRVING GRAEB
Chairman
Episcopalians for Traditional Faith
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