Liturgical Tradition Research Articles

Liturgical Prayer and the Theology of Mercy in Thomas Aquinas and Pope Francis

Thomas Aquinas’ theology of mercy is deeply marked by the liturgical tradition of the Order of Preachers, incorporating many explicit and implicit references to liturgical prayers in praise of God’s mercy. This article explores the liturgical context of Thomas Aquinas’ theology of mercy, demonstrating the influence of the Dominican liturgy on Thomas’ understanding and articulation of mercy and showing the subsequent influence of Thomas on Pope Francis’ theology of mercy.

Communal Formation at the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana

The Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University is a laboratory of sorts. It is a Lutheran academic chapel and retains Lutheran liturgical tradition and Lutheran staff. Just as Valparaiso U...

Apocryphal Tradition and Slavonic Pilgrimage Literature

Abstract Slavonic pilgrimage literature is an interesting example of the widespread knowledge of apocryphal literature not only through the written tradition, but also through the mediation of the Palestine liturgical tradition and oral legends. The collective memory of Slavia Orthodoxa was formed, therefore, not only on the basis of familiarity with the Holy Scriptures, but also through liturgical tradition and oral legends attested in a complex of “holy books” where the apocryphal and legendary motifs enrich and complete the understanding of sacred history characters and events.

Cantus and Cantus Firmi: Solving Puzzles in Three Fifteenth-Century Masses for the Annunciation

The Missae Ecce ancilla Domini by Du Fay, Regis, and Ockeghem together incorporate no fewer than eight different chants from the Annunciation liturgy into their complex polyphonic web, the antiphon Ecce ancilla Domini being common to all three. On what basis did these composers select these particular chants, and what can their choices tell us about the connections between these three mass settings, their origin in particular local liturgical traditions, and their intended function? Using these three masses as exemplars, this essay demonstrates how the Cantus database can assist scholars working on chant-based sacred polyphony in their quest to solve mysteries about not only the sources and functions of plainsong cantus firmi, but also about the polyphonic works themselves.

THE SYMBOLIC PROPERTIES OF LITURGICAL SINGING TRADITION: FROM THE CATEGORY OF SYMBOL TO THE NOETIC MEASUREMENT OF CULTURE

The purpose of the article is to reveal the symbolic properties of the liturgical singing tradition, which allows us to trace the main parameters of the category of a symbol and to identify the noetic dimensions of culture. Research methodology assumes the use of the following general scientific methods: typological – to identify key characteristics of the liturgical singing tradition; philosophical and aesthetic, musicological analytical, historical and cultural methods. The scientific novelty of this research consists in considering the musical side of the liturgical singing tradition as the main conductor in revealing its symbolic properties. Conclusions. The canonical verbal aspect of the liturgical order, like all its verbal elements, contributes to the interaction of the external-visual and inner-auditory sides, strengthens the «rational» direction of worship, while permeating with musical-auditory emanations and acquiring some symbolic ciphering – in the case of a direct connection with the singing presentation. Thus, the religious tradition of the temple can be considered as a stable model of the «philosophical style», which in turn represents a special spiritual phenomenon that characterizes human cognitive activity and its value-semantic results. The Orthodox liturgical and singing tradition appeals to memory in its sociocultural significance and makes the phenomenon of memory leading and especially noticeable, in particular, it allows us to notice what the phenomenon of memory is related to in musical creativity. In this regard, it is especially urgent to justify the meaning of memory as a cultural universal, to define the semantic function of the notion of memory in Orthodox worship, and also to relate the phenomenon of memory to the chronotopic approach to the history of culture, with the temporal-spatial dimension of culture.

Lazarus without limits: scripture, tradition and the cultural life of a text

ABSTRACT The ‘raising of Lazarus’ is integrally connected with ‘the harrowing of hell’ in those liturgical traditions which rightly value the linkage between the two for reflection on the scope and meaning of Christ’s saving work. To neglect one or the other turns ‘Holy Saturday’ into a liturgical and spiritual ‘blank’ instead of a time of appropriate ways of reflection in respect of the horrors and griefs of our times and what may lie beyond them. Extraordinarily, however, those whose engagement with the realities around them is via the ‘arts’, continue to focus on either or both of Lazarus and the ‘harrowing of hell’ and become the ‘theologians’ for our times.

Ressourcement or Aggiornamento? An Assessment of Modern Liturgical Reforms

AbstractThis article assesses the liturgical reforms attributed to Alexander Schmemann and New Skete monastery. A close examination of these reforms demonstrates that they were primarily pastoral attempts to continue the work inaugurated by the Moscow Council of 1917–18 (Schmemann), and to restore monastic stewardship of venerable liturgical traditions (New Skete). The author suggests that it would be more fruitful to approach the question of renewing tradition on the basis of the goals of liturgical renewal, which happen to be common to both the Catholic and Orthodox churches, namely liturgical theosis, or divinization of the people through liturgical events.

Responsoria Triduum Sacrum w polskich benedyktyńskich źródłach officium divinum w epoce przedtrydenckiej

Niniejszy artykuł prezentuje polskie przedtrydenckie księgi do sprawowania liturgii godzin pochodzące z klasztorów benedyktyńskich i zawarte w nich teksty responsoriów matutinum przeznaczone na kolejne dni Triduum Sacrum. Wymienione responsoria przedstawiono na tle innych europejskich źródeł oficjum, wykazując jednocześnie związki polskiej benedyktyńskiej tradycji liturgicznej ze zwyczajami kultywowanymi w różnych ośrodkach diecezjalnych i monastycznych Europy Zachodniej.

La Teología de la Cruz en las Liturgias Occidentales

In the last few decades special attention has been given to the so-called "theology of the cross". This theory is promoted primarily by protestants, who beginning with Luther, see in that expression the true theology in which God manifests Himself through appearances contrary to His proper nature; thus putting forth a theory which contradicts all other knowledge concerning God attained through his works. One of the recent authors who has most developed this aspect of Christian theology is J. Moltmann. Moltmann presents Christology basing it on the Cross and more concretely on the "forsaking of christ by God" on the Cross: not so much in the sense that this forsaking is a simple absence, silence or passiveness on the part of God, but that it is a positive and incomprehensible act of God Himself. As a consequence, the theology of the Cross would be for him (J. Moltmann) a hermeneutic principle relative to God Himself and not a simple expression of the mystique of suffering. The author, without denying the many positive aspects that this theology of the cross might have among protestants, attempts to point out that the liturgical tradition of the Church, in very close union with the Holy Scriptures, the Magistery of the Church, the teachings of the Popes, the councils and the teaching of the masters of the spiritual life, offers a wide perspective of the mystery of the Cross, allowing it its true dimension. It is understandable that protestants authors know little of the liturgical tradition of the Church, but what is not understandable is that catholic theologians overlook it. The liturgical tradition of the Church in the Orient as well as in the Occident coincides in this matter, although the author limits himself to an exposition of the theology of the Cross in the occidental liturgies. Among the many aspects studied by the author we find the Cross as related to the Redemption-Paschal mystery, as the antithesis of the tree of Paradise, as the triumph over Satan, as suffering, and as sacrifice; the author speaks about the sacraments, "dormire in cruce", the mystery of the Cross, protection, martyrdom-abnegation-ascetical struggle, the folly and glory of the Cross, and the cult of the Holy Cross. The author calls attention, as he has done in other publications, to the necessity of incorporating the liturgy into the teaching of Theology, because the liturgy is one of the most expressive instruments of the Faith of the Church, an instrument that is at the same time prayer and should have a major influence and efficacy in forging an authentic spiritual life. That is the reason why it can not be lightly affirmed, as some people do, that the Cross should be relegated to cemetaries or sacred buildings, or that the Cross should be considered only as a simple ornament or commercial object. The Cross is for the Church the focal point, the integral and essential element of the paschal mystery of Christ.

The Gospel of Matthew on the Landscape of Antiquity

The Gospel of Matthew on the Landscape of Antiquity

The Blessing of Waters and Epiphany. The Eastern Liturgical Tradition, written by Nicholas Denysenko

The Blessing of Waters and Epiphany. The Eastern Liturgical Tradition, written by Nicholas Denysenko

Месяцесловы богослужебных четвероевангелий львовской печати (XVII – XVIII веков)

Textological research early printed Cyrillic tetragospel menologions (i.e. the “fixed year” of the liturgical calendar) has shown that they contain some textual variants and liturgical peculiarities inherited from manuscript tradition, as well as other unique elements that are characteristic only for specific local traditions. Research of four months (September – December), conducted on 76 early printed tetragospels (out of all 120), including all eight tetras issued in Lvov in XVI and XVIII century, proved the possibility of grouping them into several small groups on the above-mentioned textological and liturgical peculiarities. The article presents all the unique features characteristic only for all the Lvov tetragospels, as well as for one subgroup (consisting of two Gospels) that can be derived from them. The results of this research also shed some light on the processes of formation and development, and the mutual influences of various Cyrillic printing and liturgical traditions.

Forgetting the Heretic: the Emperor Heraclius in the Byzantine Liturgical Tradition

On the basis of the analysis of the Byzantine and Medieval Western liturgical books this article investigates the role Heraclius (610–641) and his dynasty played in the development of the Byzantine feast of the Exaltation of the True Cross, as well as the evolution of the image of this emperor in the Byzantine liturgical tradition. The paper suggests that the restoration of the Cross by Heraclius in Jerusalem strongly influenced the Byzantine liturgical practice of the Exaltation feast, and that some references to this act were made during the rule of the Heraclian dynasty, but were later eliminated from the liturgical books because for political and religious reasons. By contrast, the Western liturgical tradition of the Exaltation feast conserved a stage of the liturgy before these changes were made which represented (until Vatican II) an element of the heritage of the Monothelete period.

Chant, Liturgy, and the Inheritance of Rome: Essays in Honour of Joseph Dyer ed. by Daniel J. DiCenso and Rebecca Maloy

Reviewed by: Chant, Liturgy, and the Inheritance of Rome: Essays in Honour of Joseph Dyer ed. by Daniel J. DiCenso and Rebecca Maloy Uwe Michael Lang Daniel J. DiCenso and Rebecca Maloy, ed. Chant, Liturgy, and the Inheritance of Rome: Essays in Honour of Joseph Dyer Henry Bradshaw Society, Subsidia VIII Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2017 xxiv + 572 pages. Hardbound. £60.00. This substantial collection of scholarly essays honors Joseph Dyer, an eminent musicologist (and distinguished organist) whose publications on chant and musical practice are widely recognized as landmarks in the study of the history of Roman liturgy. Dyer's work is distinguished for placing the foundational musical traditions of early medieval Rome into their ritual and spatial contexts, for instance, in his seminal papers on the processions for Candlemas and the Major Litany (litaniae maiores). Following in the steps of Dyer's scholarship, this volume focuses on the city of Rome and highlights its wider impact on Western liturgy. A brief review cannot offer a complete appreciation of this impressive book, and I shall limit myself to those contributions that have caught my particular attention. The first and longest section, "Medieval Rome and Ancient Rites," offers studies on the ritual performance of the Mass and the Divine Office in their urban settings. Charles M. Atkinson illuminates the history of the Doxa en ipsisis Theo (Gloria in excelsis Deo) in the Roman Ordinary of the Mass sung in Greek, which had an enduring presence in the abbey of Saint Denis near Paris well into the twelfth century. The historical role of Old Saint [End Page 302] Peter's as an expression of papal authority in the late ancient and early medieval period are analyzed by Charles B. McClendon. The articles on specific aspects of the Roman liturgy exemplify the complexity of the extant sources that call for a multi-disciplinary inquiry, including architecture, topography and social history. The second section, "The Liturgies of Italy," considers Rome's interaction with, an influence on, other liturgical traditions on the Italian peninsula. The third section "Books, Sources, and Reform in the Wake of Rome," explores the adaptation and transformation of Roman liturgy and chant in the Carolingian reform. The final section, "Roman Foundations: Later Liturgical Developments," widens the scope and takes us beyond the city of Rome. Susan Boynton reads Cluniac identity as mirrored in liturgical practice: the important abbey understood itself as an anticipation of the heavenly Jerusalem. In a spirited essay, Christopher Page reflects on how liturgical chant brings Scripture to life and has a profound spiritual effect on singers and listeners alike. Though different in tone, William Mahrt complements Page by showing how Gregorian chants interpret their biblical text through a supple use of melodic tropes. The editors, Daniel J. DiCenso and Rebecca Maloy, are to be commended for their thorough labors. Individual articles contain illustrations, tables, and music examples. The volume is well provided with an index of chant incipits, an index of manuscripts, and a general index. The depth of the scholarly contributions assembled in tribute to Joseph Dyer appeals above all to specialists in musicology, but any researcher in the broad field of medieval history will gather precious insights into the varied and enduring legacy of the Roman liturgy. [End Page 303] Uwe Michael Lang St Mary's University Twickenham, London, UK Copyright © 2018 Society for Catholic Liturgy

Unorthodox Beauty: Russian Modernism and Its New Religious Aesthetic by Martha M. F. Kelly

Religion & Literature 202 two” (179). To accept Emerson’s politics without its metaphysical base is to undercut the source of its power. Noticeably in the last third of the book, once he has had the opportunity to establish Emerson’s first principle, Urbas becomes more open to consider postmodern interpretations as long as we read Emerson’s skepticism against his metaphysical background: “Emerson’s skeptical moments, in any case, were just that—moments” (164, italics in original). Only then can we properly assess something of a “relative shift” that occurs in Emerson’s writings: “it is difficult to imagine the early Emerson writing ‘Experience,’ ‘Montaigne,’ or ‘Fate’” (156, italics in original). But the shift is nevertheless “along the causal continuum of mind and world,” sliding “the cursor a few notches towards the objective end of the scale, laying greater stress on being and the pre-existing causal order” (168). Those of us who have benefitted greatly from Cavell’s work can find some relief when Urbas concludes we need both sides “To do justice to the full complexity of Emerson’s thought” (206). Questions remain about how individuals or societies align themselves with an impersonal Transcendental Cause and what might get in the way of proper alignment—questions that might require us to hold onto Cavell or Richard Poirier and others after all. But such questions are best asked with a careful consideration of the historical context that nourished Emerson ’s skepticism and optimism both. To the latter end Urbas offers his own important contribution to keep Emerson’s metaphysical and religious relevance alive. Tae Sung California Baptist University Unorthodox Beauty: Russian Modernism and Its New Religious Aesthetic Martha M. F. Kelly Northwestern University Press, 2016. xvi + 285 pp. $120 cloth, $39.95 paperback. In this book, Martha M. F. Kelly explores the ways in which Russian modernists appropriated Orthodox traditions to construct an aesthetics of transfiguration and new models of religious practice. She focuses on poetry , devoting separate chapters to Alexander Blok, Mikhail Kuzmin, Boris Pasternak, and Anna Akhmatova as well as one brief “excursus” each to Marina Tsvetaeva and Osip Mandelstam, respectively. These six poets all rose to prominence during the last two decades of Tsarist Russia, and they BOOK REVIEWS 203 remain canonical figures in what is commonly referred to as the Silver Age of Russian poetry (ca. 1890–1921). As Kelly notes, these poets were not religious artists in any conventional sense. Pasternak, for example, began to attend Russian Orthodox services regularly after World War II, and Kuzmin’s lifelong spiritual quest involved extensive reading of Eastern Christian texts, including hymns, service books, and devotional literature. Yet in their poetry and nonfiction both writers—no less than their contemporaries—depart substantially from the theology and ethics of the official Russian Orthodox Church. Despite their diverging styles and religious commitments, the poets that Kelly examines all shared with other modernist artists and thinkers a collective striving for new aesthetic forms that could unify flesh and spirit and effect a broad transformation of Russian society. This collective task had its origins in Russia’s reception of Friedrich Nietzsche and especially in the sophiology of religious philosopher Vladimir Solovyov, and its pursuit involved a widespread appropriation of Orthodox artistic and liturgical traditions for often radically unorthodox ends. Kelly concludes her study with an examination of Olga Sedakova, a contemporary writer who draws on Orthodox liturgy and modernist literary traditions in both her poetry and scholarship. In perhaps her most provocative thesis, Kelly argues that “Russian modernism was a religious movement of a unique kind” (5). In the first chapter, Kelly analyzes Blok’s early poetry, including his 1904 poem cycle Verses on the Most Beautiful Lady, a fundamental text in the transition from Solovyov’s fin-de-siècle figure of the Divine Sophia, with its focus on the Spirit, to a much broader “theurgic” or “sophianic task” in which modernist poets aimed to transfigure the material world. This sophianic task updated the Orthodox notion of theosis—that is, the deification of the body—through a new aesthetics responsive to the demands of modernity. In the case of Blok, Kelly reexamines his equivocal incarnations of Sophia in light of...

Święcenia prezbiteratu w Kościołach syryjskich. Historia i struktura obrzędu

The Sacrament of Holy Orders belongs to one of the most essential mysteries given to us by Jesus Christ. Apostolic succession handed down to the Church is a guarantee of the continuity of tradition and proof of the authenticity of Christian worship focused on the continuously present Lord. Even if liturgical functions are common to the Church as a whole, different liturgical traditions elaborated their own understanding of the sacrament and related ministry. This paper is a reflection on the essence of the ministry of a presbyter in the liturgical space of the Syrian Churches. The author starts by presenting their understanding of the sacrament and its validity and next discusses the structure of the rites in both West and East Syrian traditions. The last part of the presentation contains a theological reflection concerning the main consecratory prayer of Ordination to the Presbyterate.

Літургійні традиції східного християнства і поширення візантійської культури

Літургійні традиції східного християнства і поширення візантійської культури

Święcenia prezbiteratu w Kościołach syryjskich. Historia i struktura obrzędu

The Sacrament of Holy Orders belongs to the most essential mysteries left by Jesus Christ. The Apostolic succession handed down to the Church is a guarantee of the continuity of the tradition and a proof of the authenticity of the Christian worship focused on the continuously present Lord. Even if the liturgical functions are common to the Church as a whole, the different liturgical traditions elaborated their own understanding of the sacrament and related ministry. This paper reflects on the essence of the Presbyterial ministry in the liturgical space of the Syriac Churches. The author starts from the presentation of the understanding of the sacrament and its validity and next discusses the structure of the rites in both West and East Syriac traditions. The last part of the presentation contains a theological reflection concerning the main consecratory prayer of the Ordination to the Presbyterate. Holy Orders; presbyterate; Syriac Churches; West-Syriac tradition; East-Syriac Tradition; priesthood Normal 0 21 false false false PL X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Standardowy; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri,sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Times New Roman; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

“The Rite at Cockrow” in Old Russian Tradition

The article deals with an office found in the Old Russian liturgical tradition under the curious title The Rite at Cockrow or The Cockrow Prayers. The article contains a survey of existing scholarly studies of this office, the first publication of its full text based on a 14th-century codex, State Historical Museum (Moscow), Synodal collection, 325, and an analysis of the structure of this office. The authors come to a conclusion that the basic structure of The Rite at Cockrow consists of some introductory prayer texts, a couple of triadika troparia, and a morning prayer (or two or three morning prayers). This basic structure was intended for a private devotion of a monk in his cell; a variation of this structure is still found in the printed editions of the Horologion under the title “When one wakes up...” The core text of The Rite at Cockrow could be expanded by additional prayers, elements of ecclesiastical offices (of matins, probably also of compline), and a specific combination of psalms and prayers intended for private reading while a monk proceeds from his cell to a church. The authors managed to find the direct prototypes of both the basic structure and the ordinances from The Rite at Cockrow in the Byzantine sources. One of such sources is the Hypotyposis of Nicetas Stethatos, which describes private ascetic daily practices of the Studite monks in Constantinople. The Rite at Cockrow was well accepted by the Old Russian practice, since some specific prayers and hymns from this rite are still used even today, being included into the ordo of “Morning Prayers” according to the late printed editions of Russian Molitvoslov (Prayer-Book) and Kanonnik (Book of [hymnographical] Canons).

St Samson of Dol and the Earliest History of Brittany, Cornwall and Wales ed. by Lynette Olson

Reviewed by: St Samson of Dol and the Earliest History of Brittany, Cornwall and Wales ed. by Lynette Olson Stephen Joyce Olson, Lynette, ed., St Samson of Dol and the Earliest History of Brittany, Cornwall and Wales (Studies in Celtic History, 37), Woodbridge, Boydell Press, 2017; hardback; pp. vii, 219; 1 b/w map; R.R.P. £60.00; ISBN 9781783272181. Editor Lynette Olson has collated eight articles based on a colloquium held in 2013 in Sydney on the potentially earliest surviving insular life, that of the significant British monastic and episcopal figure, St Samson of Dol. The Vita Prima Samsonis, dated variously from c. 600 to c. 850 in a Breton context, narrates the life of Samson (d. c. 565), active in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul in the sixth century. The articles, from a range of impressive contributors, investigate questions of dating, ascetic networks, literary contexts, peregrinatio, and commemoration. In a useful introduction, Olson lays out the issues encountered when approaching the Vita Prima Samsonis (VIS). Setting out its unique geographic and chronological landscapes, and the problems marrying them with a satisfactory date of composition, Olson points to the need for contextualizing the work. She raises important questions that are subsequently dealt with by the other contributors. Richard Sowerby tackles the unusual emphasis on Samson's genealogy in the VIS. In examining the narratives stressing Samson's active involvement in extending family control over monastic houses, Sowerby proposes the VIS as an exemplar for spiritual against covetous family networks. In doing so, he advocates that the VIS is based on an earlier original composed in late sixth- or early seventh-century Cornwall, countering detractors of Samson's aristocratic family as it moved from the secular to the religious life. Joseph-Claude Poulin follows up on Sowerby's use of family networks to attempt a dating of the VIS in its current form. His article, in French with an introduction in English, identifies two distinct perspectives in the text. This, combined with an analysis of formal borrowings, leads Poulin to conclude that the VIS was written toward the end of the eighth century in Brittany, but was based on an older version. The theme of formal borrowing is taken up by Caroline Betts in the next chapter. In it, she examines the notable narrative similarities between the VIS and the Gallican life of Bishop Paternus of Avranches (d. c. 564), a neighbouring contemporary of Samson. The Vita Paterni was written by Venantius Fortunatus(d. c. 600) in the last decades of the sixth century. She concludes that the borrowings from the Vita Paterni are integral to the VIS, and must belong to the older lost version in the context of some form of territorial contestation. Subsequently, Ian Wood examines Samson as representative of a British form of peregrinatio, one that precedes the more well-known Irish model as represented by Columbanus (d. c. 615). He argues that Columbanus followed an established British tradition, but that this was subsequently overshadowed by a reading that privileged the Irish. This notion of privileging the Irish is touched upon by Constant Mews in his chapter comparing the literary and liturgical settings of the VIS with a defence of Gallican and Irish liturgical traditions known as the Ratio de cursus, perhaps [End Page 190] written by a devotee of Columbanus in North Italy. Mews notes that while the VIS records the beginnings of a British mission to Europe without acknowledging the British apostle to Ireland, Patrick, the Ratio celebrates an Irish-inspired monastic network in Europe that includes Patrick, inferring distinct contexts in the seventh and eighth centuries respectively. Jonathan Wooding follows up with an examination of the VIS as witness to monasticism. Noting that the main concerns of the VIS are monastic rather than episcopal, he tracks the narrative that reflects Samson as distant from the monastic communities he lived in and as a reluctant abbot, a narrative that propels Samson into the requisite role of pastoral leadership. Wooding argues that the ascetic progression from monastic communities to the solitary life is integral to becoming both a bishop and a peregrinus in the VIS. Finally, Karen Jankulak examines the lack of a cult dedicated...