Canadian Anglican Church to remove prayer for conversion of Jews

The Anglican Church of Canada is close to removing a prayer for the conversion of the Jews from its official liturgy.

The church’s General Synod overwhelmingly approved its deletion during a recent meeting in Vancouver, The Canadian Jewish News reported.

The Canadian Rabbinic Caucus called the move “a milestone in Anglican-Jewish relations.”

According to the paper, the prayer will be replaced with one calling for “reconciliation with the Jews.” If ratified at the 2022 General Synod, the motion will go into effect and the church will no longer officially call for Jews to abandon their faith.

In a statement, the Anglican bishop of Quebec said the change would help the church “acknowledge and repent” its “participation in anti-Semitism” and help it to “stop singling out Jews as a target for our evangelistic efforts, and to assume a humble and reconciliatory stance with our Jewish elders in the faith,” CJN reported.