June 2, 2026
Dear Friends in Christ,
On the Feast of the Ascension, I provided you with a portion of a new customary concerning the Eucharistic Prayers permitted for use in parishes on Sunday mornings. At that time, I understood that all of the expansive-language versions of the Book of Common Prayer anaphoras required the permission of the ecclesiastical authority for use in public worship. It has since come to my attention that this requirement applies to Prayer C, but not to Prayers A, B, and D, which were authorized for trial use by the 2018 General Convention without any provision requiring episcopal permission for their use by clergy within their congregations.
Accordingly, I am unable to prohibit the use of these prayers on Sunday mornings, though in my previous letter I had permitted their use only on weekdays.
Nevertheless, the underlying reason for the original prohibition remains unchanged: the desire that our Diocese pray together as one body using the memorialized 1979 Book of Common Prayer, thereby deepening our union in Christ. While the formal prohibition cannot stand, the pastoral concern that prompted it remains. Therefore, I exhort our clergy to refrain from the use of the expansive-language versions of the Book of Common Prayer as an act of gracious restraint, sacrificial love, and fellowship with their sisters and brothers in Christ.
All other provisions and prohibitions articulated in my Ascension letter remain in effect.
Faithfully yours in the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
+Robert Price
VIII Bishop of Dallas