Abstract
As the world seems to get ever smaller and even the most exotic and furthest places can come into our living rooms, a greater realization grows of the different cultural and religious traditions that exist in our world and even within the Christian family. Christian communities once only known as exotic names to many Western Christians from history books are now our neighbours and friends, and may well have built or converted places of worship near us. It is very much the liturgical expression of these communities that we may well encounter and that enables us to grow in our appreciation and respect for them. This wonderful book studies these liturgical expressions then and now.
The book, made up of six chapters, has an excellent introduction and an extensive bibliography, which is wisely arranged according to rite.
In their introduction Alexopoulos and Johnson note the need for a one-volume contemporary study of the liturgies of the Christian East, one that would gather the many developments in liturgical scholarship over the last 50 years. ‘All of these Eastern Christian families have long-standing and rich liturgical traditions, called “rites.” A rite is a unique and integrated system of worship with its own rules and inner system conditioned by history, culture, theological outlook, and it embodies that tradition’s official expression of its Christian faith’ (p. xv). Grouping the seven extant rites into four ecclesial communities, the authors note the difficulties in naming the rites, and wisely the aim of the introduction is to provide a framework and a context for the study which follows. The introduction offers: ‘. . . brief sections on the methodology of the study of Eastern liturgical traditions, the phases of the evolution of liturgical rites, a discussion on the factors and forces in the development of these rites, and, not least, a description of each of the living rites themselves’ (p. xix). The section on methodology is welcome and suitable for any course, which introduces the study of Christian liturgy of any tradition. Favouring the approach of the comparative liturgiology of Anton Baumstark and developed by Juan Mateos, Robert Taft, Gabriele Winkler, Paul Bradshaw and others, they recognize that there is a need for the contribution that ritual studies can bring to the task in allowing us, ‘. . . to explore how people in a given time and place lived, experienced, and understood liturgy’ (p. xxi). The rest of the introduction presents the various phases in the evolution of the Eastern Christian liturgical rites, the forces and factors that influence their development, and their characteristics, and then goes onto treat each rite separately, presenting their history and development.
Chapter One treats Christian Initiation and Reconciliation
As the authors already noted in the Introduction, ‘When Eastern Christians talk about sacraments, they usually use the term “mysteries,” from the Greek word mysterion, and its equivalent in the other Eastern languages. They talk about participating in the sacramental life of the Church, not “receiving” the sacraments’ (p. xxv). As this chapter recalls, ‘The Rites of Initiation in the Christian East, generally speaking, have kept their original unity as one integral rite with three sacramental moments’ (p. 1). Unlike much of Western reflection on baptism as the cleansing from (original) sin, in the East the emphasis is on becoming a member of the Body of Christ. The pattern of Initiation largely remains that of the fourth- and fifth-century writers, and a series of charts guides the reader through the various steps of the ritual process, beginning with the making of catechumens. Attending to the texts used by the various rites offers an important insight into the theology of baptism in the various traditions, with a strong emphasis on the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan with its focus on adoption, new birth, and a new creation overshadowed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The rather complex matter of the anointings before and after baptism and their number are clearly explained along with the baptismal formulae.
‘While one must be careful not to romanticize the initiation rites of the Christian East, the fact remains—as is at least reflected in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches still today—that by keeping baptism, the postbaptismal rites associated with the Holy Spirit, and the reception of First Holy Communion together within a single, unitive, and integrated process of Christian initiation, including the retention of some elements of the prebaptismal catechumenate even for infants, the Christian East was able to avoid the problems associated with “confirmation” as a separate sacrament of strength and maturity for those at the “age of discretion” in the West’ (p. 36).
This chapter concludes with an examination on the practice of the sacrament of reconciliation among these churches.
Chapter Two offers a treatment of the Eucharistic Liturgies
This important section begins with noting that: ‘The eucharistic liturgies of the Churches of the Christian East are known by a variety of the different titles, each title emphasizing a particular liturgical understanding of the Mystery being celebrated’ (p. 59). Some focus on the sacrificial or offering dimension, others on the making holy of the gifts and the people. A major characteristic of each church is the eucharistic prayer they use in the celebration, and how they often give their name to the whole liturgy itself. After studying the title and number used, our authors turn their attention to the Preliminary Rites and the Liturgy of the Word. Obviously, the central section of the chapter looks in detail at the anaphora, and is followed by a section on communion and one on the liturgy of the presanctified. We as Western Christians would do well to remember that ‘. . . the Christian East demonstrates clearly, neither terms like “transubstantiation” nor practices like the reservation of the Eucharist are necessary in order to demonstrate a belief in or theology of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist’ (p. 130). This chapter concludes with a section of liturgical commentaries, an important witness to Eastern liturgical theology.
Chapter Three deals with the Liturgical Year and the Liturgy of the Hours
The organization of time is a characteristic of every liturgical family even when it is ignored, itself a choice and mode of dealing with time. In the East, as in many traditions of the West, time is organized in seasons and feasts and in the daily cycle of liturgical prayer; one comes to be called the ‘liturgical year’ and the other ‘the Liturgy of the Hours.’ These two elementary ways of organizing time are the ‘primary catechetical school of spirituality and prayer for the faithful’ (p. 211). Not only are Christians formed in the language of prayer and deepen their sense of what it is to be Christian, they hear the Word of God proclaimed in the liturgical celebrations, grow in the ways of faith, and celebrate their life in Christ. But as our authors note, this way of prayer and its formative rhythm is under severe challenge from the modern world and its many demands. This is especially true for small diaspora communities who may well be scattered over a large geographical distance, are few in number and may well have no clergy. It is a challenge that modern technology and its various modes can help address.
Chapter Four looks at Marriage and Holy Orders
It is perhaps with these two mysteries or sacraments that we most see the difference between East and West, both in terms of pastoral practice and theological understanding. Firstly, both celibate and married men can receive the sacrament of holy orders. There are some contemporary uses of Eastern sources, for the ordination of women as deacons, in some places in Egypt and Greece. As Johnson and Alexopoulos note, ‘With regard to marriage it is important to note as well that unlike the Christian West where it is generally understood that the bride and groom are ministers of marriage, the Christian East views marriage as confected by the words and actions of the priest, who functions, thus as the real minister of the rite’ (p. 213).
Marriage in the East is called the ‘crowning,’ or the ‘blessing’ of the crowns, this being the central ritual action of the service. ‘All traditions also envision the possibility of a second (or even third, in some cases) marriage, but that possibility is generally seen as a pastoral concession toward human frailty. [. . .] The couple is usually not crowned, and the prayers are highly penitential’ (p. 215).
Chapter Five explores the Anointing of the Sick and Christian Burial
Every human community, religious or not, has to answer fundamental questions about illness and death. Central to these realities is the meaning of life itself. Praying for the sick and anointing those who are ill are among the ways Eastern Christians care for those who are sick in their communities. The celebration of the anointing of the sick is one way but not the only means of praying for the sick. Even, ‘healing scrolls, expressing a marginal but popular liturgico-magical approach to illness and healing, are known to be used in the Armenian, Ethiopian, and even Greek traditions’ (p. 313). How Christians face the reality of death and deal with it are central to the faith they proclaim. While they are diverse and complex in their responses, reflecting the various cultural contexts in which they lived and live, central to the faith of the Christian East, is the ‘opportunity to proclaim the hope of the resurrection and preach a loving and forgiving God, who died on the cross and rose for the dead, granting life to all and promising life in the kingdom’ (p. 314). Rites take place in the home, the church, and the place of burial. ‘The funeral rites would be an excellent case study to examine the dynamic relationship between official liturgy and local culture in its expression of grief’ (p. 354). Most of these communities do not accept the practice of cremation and do not perform a service for those cremated.
Chapter Six is a concluding chapter with its focus on the ethos of Eastern Christian Worship and Liturgical Spirituality
As the volume shows, liturgy is at the very heart of each of these churches and the lives of their faithful. It is central to the formation of faith and identity, strengthening and comforting its members in the dark and difficult moments of their history, indeed not just in the past but in the present as well.
‘While the Eastern Christian traditions are not identical with one another, and each has its own emphasis defined by its history, culture, and theological approach, all share in what we would call a common liturgical ethos and spirituality, a certain common denominator that unites these traditions in spite of their different liturgical traditions, history and culture. This liturgical ethos and spirituality is now tested as all Eastern Christian Churches have communities in the Western world, forced out of their homelands because of financial hardship, persecution, genocide’ (p. 356). There are excellent sections in this chapter on faith, hymnology, the scriptural nature of Eastern Christianity, the centrality of the Cross, the role of monasticism and its perspective, liturgical space, posture and the role of icons. The most interesting section for this reader is a brief but dense section on the sacramental understanding of the world. ‘Participation in the Eucharist is central to the sacramental understanding of Eastern Christians and fundamental in their understanding of salvation. Sacramental life is the process though which a Christian grows in the mystery of God and allows himself or herself to be assumed by that mystery that can be approached only by faith, and eucharistic participation is the apex of this process’ (p. 374).
Not only is this volume an excellent introduction to the liturgies of the Christian East, it also offers a window into their long and at times troubles histories, not just those of the Greek East but also those further afield. So many of them in this last century have had to leave their homelands and find refuge far away from these historical places of Christian life and witness. The book is also a challenge to Western theologies of the sacraments, so long in thrall to systematic theology for any kind of theological understanding of these realities, allied with a shameful neglect of any reflection on the actual practice of the sacraments. Indeed any kind of reflection on the pastoral practice of the sacraments has become part of catechetics, not the mystagogy that is part of the sacramental process of the East, and lasts a lifetime, becoming rather a model of instruction and preparation for the reception of the individual sacraments which are rarely presented as linked to each other, and is in many places still strongly linked to education and presented exclusively as rites of passage.
The authors are realistic in also treating the various challenges that Eastern Christians face in this postmodern world. Chief among these is the difficult issue of identity for the Eastern Christian or the relationship between religion and nation. Does a particular church only serve those of its traditional homeland, or does it include those who marry into this nation, or indeed all the world? This is particularly acute in diaspora communities, where there is a relationship between the ‘insider’ born into this tradition and ethnic identity and the ‘outsider’ who becomes interested in this community and may well want to join it. Nationalism has been the real danger in this relationship, particularly in Eastern Europe. An antidote to this is a recovery of a missionary identity and developing an outward preaching of the gospel. The second challenge that our authors see facing these churches is an urgent need to promote the study of their liturgies, not only for knowledge but also for uncovering a rich and unknown theological expression and a powerful ritual. It will also give lie to the perception that these liturgies are timeless and unchanging: ‘The knowledge of the history of one’s liturgical tradition contributes greatly to the recognition and preservation of the authenticity of a rite, the study and unpacking of an unchanging core and the articulation of that unchanging core in diverse ways that reflect the tradition and authenticity of each rite’ (p. 385). For those communities in union with Rome, this has also accelerated the process of de-Latinization of their liturgies following on from the change of policy with the Second Vatican Council. The third challenge that Eastern Christian Churches face is a need to engage with Western culture and the postmodern world that we all inhabit. As many of them emerge from a world that can be defined as premodern, they now face a multicultural world(s) with a deep suspicion of any normative narrative. How can one be rooted in an identity and allow for otherness in all its complexities and contradictions? Not a challenge that only faces the East! ‘If Eastern Christianity is to remain relevant and contribute to the making of our modern world and offer their unique Eastern Christian witness as an option, they need to learn the “language” of the other, understand the other, and engage with the other, without fear of losing their identity’ (p. 387).
In short, a wonderful and thought provoking read, not just for liturgists or those interested in the Christian East, but for all those serious about growing in their theological understanding and wishing to learn about other ways of being Christian. ‘It is through the celebration of and participation in the mysteries that the faithful become part of salvation history and are included in the Divine Economy and Christ is made present and active in every aspect of their lives’ (p. 372).