Worldwide Usage of the Revised Common Lectionary

The system of scripture readings in the Ordo Lectionum Missae of the Roman Catholic Church has become the basis of the liturgical reading of the scriptures on Sundays in a number of churches around the world.

In 1983, the North American Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) published the Common Lectionary (an ecumenical adaptation of the three-year Ordo Lectionum Missae) for study and trial use by its member churches. The lectionary was a result of four years of study and consultation on the ways in which the Roman lectionary was being used in several churches in North America. Though the Common Lectionary was at first of interest to churches in North America, it gained the attention of churches in other parts of the world, some of which were already studying and adapting the Roman order of readings.

In 1992, a revised ecumenical edition was published under the title Revised Common Lectionary. This revision was based upon the recommendations of churches and individuals that had used the Common Lectionary in worship over several intervening years.

The English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC) has judged that because of its ecumenical qualities and close adherence to the Roman Lectionary, the Revised Common Lectionary is the most promising ecumenical and international lectionary available at this time.

The following is a 1998 listing of those churches or ecclesial communities around the world that use (and in some cases have adapted) the Common Lectionary in its original (1983) or revised (1992) form. (Some information is also provided about churches using their own adaptation of the Roman Lectionary).

Australia
Uniting Church
Anglican Church
Lutheran Church (uses an adapted version of Roman Lectionary)

Canada
Anglican Church of Canada
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Presbyterian Church in Canada
United Church of Canada

Denmark
Church of Denmark (Lutheran)

Estonia
Lutheran Church in Estonia

Finland
Lutheran Church (under consideration)

France
L'Englise Evangelique Lutherienne (adapted Roman Lectionary)

Great Britain
Church of England
Church in Wales (Anglican) (used as an alternative lectionary)
Church of Scotland (Presbyterian)
Scottish Episcopal Church
United Reformed Church
Methodist Church
Churches Together in England (CTE) (recommend usage)

Ireland
Church of Ireland (Anglican) (used as an experimental alternative)

Japan
Anglican Church in Japan (uses adapted Roman Lectionary)

Korea
Presbyterian Church in Korea (and is used widely in Korean Protestantism generally)

Melanesia
Anglican Church

Netherlands
Old Catholic Church
Council of Churches in the Netherlands (in adapted form in parts of the Council's lectionary)

New Zealand
Anglican Church
Methodist Church
Presbyterian Church (also in cooperating parishes incorporating Anglican, Churches of Christ, Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches)

Papua New Guinea
Anglican Church (uses an early adaptation of the Roman lectionary by the Australian Anglican Church)

Polynesia
Anglican Church (The Anglican Diocese of Polynesia includes the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Marguesas Islands, Kiribati, Nuie, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Western and American Samoa)

Southern Africa
Anglican Church of the Province of Southern Africa (includes Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, St. Helena, Lesotho, Swaziland)
Methodist Church of Southern Africa
Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa (includes Zimbabwe)

Sweden
Church of Sweden (Lutheran)

United States
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Fellowship of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Christian Reformed Church in North America
Episcopal Church (provisional use)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Reformed Church in America
United Church of Christ
United Methodist Church

Venezuela
Presbyterian Church of Venezuela

*This document is adapted from Documentation No. VI (ELLC 8-99)