Autonomous Metropolia Issues Warning Concerning UK Liturgical Text

The Autonomous Orthodox Metropolia has issued a warning concerning a liturgical book out of Scotland known as “The Book of the Parochial Use,” a prayer book purportedly for laypeople under Vicar-Bishop James, Vicar for the Metropolitan for Great Britain. Sources close to the Metropolitan and other Bishops indicate great outrage at this, in particular the fact that this has been allowed– against Church rules and without permission from the Synod– since 2021. The condemnation was released last week on the Synod’s website with the following statement:

Statement Concerning Unapproved Liturgical Usages

It has come to our attention that a text known as “The Book of the Parochial Use”, printed in Scotland, is being put forth as in some way authorized for use in some churches or monasteries of our Metropolia. It must be emphasized that this text is not approved for use by any of our clergy, monastics, laity, or their respective churches, chapels, missions, or monasteries, at any location, in our Metropolia, due to the text containing numerous canonical and liturgical errors that are unacceptable to our Metropolia. As this text was never approved by our Metropolitan, or by the Synod of Bishops, and as it contains the aforementioned errors, it is considered prohibited for usage in our Metropolia. The Metropolitan and the Synod of Bishops will be making a further statement in the coming days.

According to initial review by the Bishops, various obvious errors and deviations from the pre-schism Western liturgical tradition show up in the text, not the least of which were the introduction of post-schism Roman Catholic saints and the abolition of fasting on Wednesdays. There were also structural problems with the text, not the least of which was that some texts, services, and prayers, are wholly lifted from the Anglican Book of Common prayer, which have been rejected by the Church.

Bishop Enoch of Apshawa, vicar to Metropolitan John and past contributor to NFTU, gave the following statement: “This is a dangerous and serious issue that transgresses the fundamental canonical and liturgical principles that our Church has stood for on these issues for decades. This is why the Metropolitan and other consulted Bishops have demanded a retraction of this work, or serious ecclesiastical repercussions will have to follow. I would not usually make such public comments about a brother Bishop, if this were not such a public scandal at this point; having received numerous complaints from our own people.”

NFTU has not yet reached out to Vicar-Bishop James for comment.