Litpub(00)23 / Hsbc(2000)52 Final Version

LITPUB(00)23 / HSBC(2000)52 – FINAL VERSION

LITURGICAL PUBLISHING GROUP

TRANSLATION OF COMMON WORSHIP SERVICES

INTO EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

On 29 June the Reverend Jonathan Goodall (Chaplain to the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe), David Hebblethwaite (Secretary of the Liturgical Commission) and Dr Colin Podmore (Secretary of the Liturgical Publishing Group) met to discuss translation of Common Worship services into European languages.

We noted that paragraph 1 (2) of Canon B 42 (as amended by Amending Canon no.23) provides that ‘in the provinces of Canterbury and York outside England authorised forms of service may be said or sung in the vernacular’. Under the Diocese in Europe Measure 1980, the Diocese in Europe is deemed to be a diocese in the Province of Canterbury for the purposes of the Canon Law. This provision therefore applies to the Diocese in Europe.

Paragraph 3 of the Canon provides that the Standing Committee of the House of Bishops may approve translations of services, but this is only with a view to their use within England. Translations used outside of England under paragraph 1 (2) of the Canon do not require such approval.

However, a translation used in the Diocese in Europe in the vernacular of one country would require the approval of the Standing Committee of the House in order for it to be used in another country within the Diocese where the language concerned was not the vernacular – or in England. A need for this might arise in the case of the baptism of a child of a mixed marriage.

The copyright in Common Worship services is vested in the Archbishops’ Council, and permission is required (and may be refused) for publication of translations of that material (though not for the making of the translation in itself).

The Diocese in Europe wishes to gain the maximum official status for translations of Common Worship material that it undertakes. It would like such translations to be available for use in England and in ‘third countries’ where the language concerned is not the vernacular, and it would like some at least of the translations to be published.

It is also in the interest of the Church of England as a whole that there should be a single official translation into Continental European languages, and that such translations should be of as high a quality as possible.

In order that such translations might be usable at bilingual services at which both English and another language are used and where significant numbers of those present are familiar with only one of those languages, the Diocese hopes to publish the services in bilingual booklets, with the English and foreign language texts on facing pages.

While the Group would probably not wish to approve the publication of an English-only ‘diocesan rite’, for instance for Holy Communion, by an English diocese (since this would tend to stifle the diversity and adaptation to local needs which Common Worship encourages), it is considered that the particular needs of those attending bilingual services justify the publication of bilingual diocesan editions of Holy Communion and other services from the main volume by the Diocese in Europe.

It has therefore been decided that the Liturgical Publishing Group should give approval in principle for the publication – by or on behalf of the Diocese in Europe, electronically and/or in print, in monolingual or bilingual editions – of translations of such Common Worship services into such Continental European languages as the Diocese may from time to time specify.

Since these will be regarded as the official translations, the copyright in them will be held by the Archbishops’s Council, and the Group will not give permission for the publication of rival translations into Continental European Languages. (The question of whether other publishers should be permitted to publish the official translations in ‘added value’ publications which complemented the official publications will need to be addressed on a case by case basis.)

In order that these are recognized as official translations, the Diocese in Europe will be permitted to reproduce the typography of the official publications and to make use of the Common Worship cross. One possibility is that these publications (in printed or electronic form) may be published by Church House Publishing.

The Diocese will commission the translations and that they will be submitted to the Standing Committee of the House of Bishops for approval – in accordance with the detailed practical arrangements set out below – so that they may be used in ‘third countries’ and also in England.

Since these will be regarded as the official translations, the Standing Committee will not give approval to rival translations into Continental European languages.

A selection from the original English material will need to be made by the Diocese in Europe. The Secretary of the Liturgical Commission will be available to offer informal advice. Once the selection has been made, it will be submitted to the Secretary of the Liturgical Commission for approval. In commenting and giving approval, the Secretary of the Commission will draw in the Commission and/or individual members as necessary.

The work of translation should be undertaken by a native speaker of the language concerned who is familiar with liturgical language in the country or countries concerned.

The work should be overseen on behalf of the Diocese by a person or persons approved by the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe and resident in the country concerned.

In the case of material which is common to the liturgy of the Church of England and that of ecumenical partners in the language regions concerned, the original vernacular translations used in those churches should normally be used, except where this conflicts with the doctrine and practice of the Church of England.

When the translation is complete and the Bishop has approved it, it will be sent to the Secretary of the Liturgical Commission, with the name of the translator and the person or persons approved by the Bishop who have overseen the translation. If (after any consultation which he deems necessary) the Chairman of the Commission is satisfied with the translation, he will submit it to the Standing Committee of the House of Bishops for approval as the official translation of the service concerned into the language concerned.

Once the translation has been approved, it will be published on the internet, so that it is available to all who may require it. As these will be official translations, they will appear in the Common Worship area of the Church of England web site. It would be for the Diocese to commission publication of the material in print (possibly by Church House Publishing) where this is thought to be both desirable and feasible.

This paper has been approved by the Liturgical Publishing Group and, on 6 December 2000, by the Standing Committee of the House of Bishops.

It is envisaged that comparable arrangements would apply, mutatis mutandis, in the case of applications for the approval of translations (for use in England) into languages other than the vernacular languages of the Diocese in Europe and also for their publication.

Secretary7 December 2000