Explanation

Throughout the history of the Episcopal Church, translations from the Standard Book of Common Prayer into languages other than English have been literal translations on the formal equivalence model. It is widely appreciated that a degree of idiomatic freedom in the direction of dynamic equivalence results in more useful, just, and beautiful translations of the BCP. Our current official texts in French and Spanish are more than 30 years old and do not reflect current liturgical usage in French and Spanish. Creole is the language of prayer in the Diocese of Haiti, the largest diocese in the Episcopal Church; there is no Standard Creole text of the BCP. A new Spanish translation would be beneficial in the United States and the Hispanophone dioceses in Latin America and the Caribbean. Further, a newly translated French text would be used widely throughout Francophone Africa and Oceana as well as in Europe. This proposal represents a major opportunity for enculturation and evangelism for our multicultural, multilingual Church. The budget allocation would allow three subcommittees of three persons each, holding face-to-face meetings twice a year, as well as online meetings, plus a manager for the whole project. In addition, each subcommittee will contract the services of a professional translator. A full description and a detailed methodology of Resolution A070 may be found in the report "Plan for Prayer Book Revision" which is part of the report of the Subcommittee on Revision of The Book of Common Prayer, within the report to the 79th General Convention of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music. The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music's report, known as a "blue book" report, is available on the General Convention website (www.generalconvention.org).