Queen: Pleased with new text

The Queen, as Head of the Church of England, formally gave her approval to Common Worship last month.

She said she was pleased that the new modern prayer-book also included the texts of the 17th century Book of Common Prayer as well.

It is the first time that the church has given equal weight to old and new styles of worship in one book. It very much reflects the Archbishop of Canterbury's thinking that both tradition and innovation are important elements in the future of the church.

Each parish is free to choose what combination of texts they think appropriate for their congregation, and many of the 800 parishes that have been testing out Common Worship have praised the extra flexibility.

But some traditionalists in the Church still strongly object to anyone using modern language services.

They feel that only the 17th century language can really express the true traditions of the church.