Liturgical Theology

Paper Summary:

This paper examines liturgical theology - the meanings which believers associate with their worship traditions. The paper explains that the customs of worship among the Jews in the days of Jesus Christ were very formal and liturgical, whether in the temple sacrifices, the Sabbath services of the synagogue, or even in the domestic rites of the home about the family table. The writer believes that it is only natural that the forms and ideas of these Jewish liturgies, which nourished and blessed Jesus and His first disciples, should have been carried over into the worship of the Church. The writer then points out that all our knowledge of Christian liturgy is not Roman in origin but rather an amalgamation on various sources. In addition, the paper looks at how the worship of the medieval Church has been the object of much unfair criticism, on the one hand, and of unduly romantic enthusiasm on the other.

From the Paper:

"The worship of the medieval Church has been the object of much unfair criticism, on the one hand, and of unduly romantic enthusiasm on the other. Perhaps the most notable fact about it was that the services were conducted in a language not understood by the people, but only by those with a Latin education--for the most part, the clergy and the monks. Yet there were many of the parish clergy who had a very faulty knowledge of Latin, so that they could not even pronounce the ritual accurately. The preservation of the liturgy in Latin probably operated in the long run to the benefit of the Church. It saved both the integrity and the intelligibility of worship for the day when it could be safely translated into the vernacular."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Shepherd, Massey Jr. H. Liturgical Theology: TH 350 and 550 - The Worship of the Church. Greenwich, Connecticut: The Seabury Press, Inc., 1952.

More papers on Liturgical Theology:

• Analytical Essay # 113823 : "The Liturgical Spirituality of Dom Virgil Michel"
• Analytical Essay # 113860 : "St. Basil the Great"
• Dissertation or Thesis # 95160 : "Protestant Devotion to the Virgin Mary"

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