The contextualisation of Christian Eucharistic worship in Pakistan

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research paper is an attempt to explore contextual dynamics in the Christian Eucharistic liturgy of Pakistan. The debate about the adoption of indigenous elements in Christian worship is linked to the history of Christian missions in the Indian subcontinent. As a result of this debate, some intentional and unintentional inculturation has been made, especially in the Protestant Churches. However, the production of Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy) after Vatican II enabled local Catholic clergymen to adopt cultural elements, so that worship rituals may appear natural to the worshipers. For the research semi-structured qualitative interviews were used as a method and eight theologians from both Protestant and Catholic Churches were interviewed. This research concludes that because of the deep influence of western churches on the Pakistani church, local theologians are not able to fully contextualise Christian worship in the context of Pakistan. Consequently, contextualisation is mostly limited to the use of local language in Catholic Churches; however, Protestant Churches are more open to localise their liturgy.