The English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC) is a group of national associations of ecumenical
liturgists in the
English-speaking world. Their work has been concerned with developing and promoting common liturgical texts in English and sharing a common
lectionary
A lectionary () is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaism, Jewish worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evangeliary, ...
wherever possible. It is the successor body to the International Consultation on English Texts (ICET).
ICET was formed in 1969 and, after circulating drafts in 1971, 1972 and 1973, completed its work in 1975 by publishing the booklet ''Prayers We Have in Common'', its proposed English versions of liturgical texts that included the
Apostles' Creed, the
Nicene Creed, the
Athanasian Creed and the
Lord's Prayer. These texts were widely adopted by English-speaking Christians, with the exception of the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father"), for which, in most countries, a traditional text was kept. The other three texts were accepted in the official 1975 English translation of the
Roman Missal. In the United States the English translation of the Roman Missal was printed before the definitive 1975 ICEL text of the Nicene Creed was ready and therefore has in its place the 1973 draft. This differs in a few points from the final text; in one instance, the 1973 draft speaks of Christ becoming man after mentioning his birth, while the 1975 text does so after mentioning instead his incarnation.
The
Revised Common Lectionary was the product of a collaboration between the North American
Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) and the International English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC). After a nine-year trial period, it was released in 1994.
''Praying Together''
ELLC, in turn, published in 1988 ''Praying Together'', with revisions of the ICET texts. They have been accepted by many Churches. For instance, the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1998, the Methodist Church of Great Britain in 1999 and the
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
Church of Ireland in 2002 However, many of them introduced modifications, as can be seen in ''A Survey of Use and Variation''.
Contents include:
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Lord's Prayer
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Kyrie Eleison
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Gloria in Excelsis
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Nicene Creed
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Apostles' Creed
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Sursum Corda
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Sanctus and
Benedictus
*
Agnus Dei
*
Gloria Patri
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Te Deum Laudamus
*
Benedictus
*
Magnificat
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Nunc Dimittis
New Zealand
In 1984 the New Zealand
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Bishops permitted and encouraged the use of the ELLC version of the Lord's Prayer in all dioceses except
that of Christchurch. With the introduction of the Third Roman Missal, the ELLC version of the Lord's Prayer was not recognised and so had to be changed back to the traditional text. However, the ELLC version is still permitted to be used outside Mass.
See also
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Consultation on Common Texts
*
International Commission on English in the Liturgy
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Revised Common Lectionary
References
{{Reflist
External links
English Language Liturgical Consultation
Catholic liturgical rites
Anglican liturgy