There is a horror movie coming out called Case #39. This story, Proposition #39, is much much much scarier.
Proposition 39 coming out of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops.
Propositio 39
LiturgyThe biblical and theological wealth of the Eastern liturgies is at the spiritual service of the universal Church. Nonetheless, it would be useful and important to renew the liturgical texts and celebrations, where necessary, so as to answer better the needs and expectations of the faithful. This renewal must be based on an ever deeper knowledge of tradition and be adapted to contemporary language and categories.
Renewal of the eastern Liturgies? Adapted? Contemporary language? What could possibly go wrong, right?
Have we learned nothing? NOTHING????
We screw this up and the Orthodox will never ever ever trust us.. Leave it alone.
October 25, 2010 at 2:05 pm
We are blessed to have a Marionite church in town and I have attended a few times. Unfortunately, there is a disconnect. The priest chants the ancient chants in Aramaic through much of it. Guess what happens at distribution? Yep, the dreadful caterwaulling of Shutte's Here I am. Imagine DaVinci painting the Mona Lisa and ending by spray-painting a Grucho Marx moustache on her.
October 25, 2010 at 3:01 pm
@ Giovanni: Yeah, I remember reading Belloc's reasoning as to why Islam was a Christian heresy. I don't recall finding it all that compelling. Belloc was a fairly insightful fellow, but I think you need to have a fairly 2-dimensional view to reduce Islam to a heresy. It would be very similar to calling Christianity a Jewish sect…kind of not.
As far as the Crusades and allegiances are concerned – and speaking of 2-dimensional – if you're trying to say that they were unequivocal goods, we could probably find some Constantinopolitans who would have some words for you.
October 26, 2010 at 12:58 am
@Der Wolfanwalt
I think you a right I am 2-dimensional I can only see things in terms of Good and Evil. I left my my taste for infinite shades of gray behind along with my early 20s, acne, and fear of girls.
October 26, 2010 at 1:25 am
As an Orthodox Christian, I can promise you that one of the biggest obstacles to union, and one of the biggest sources of distrust – far bigger than the Filioque and other historical disputes – is the decimation we have seen in the Latin Rite's liturgical life. In the Orthodox Church, we are especially serious about the connection between the norms of Liturgical worship and the Faith and practice of the Church. To be honest, even if all the theological problems were ironed out in committee, there is still a strong sense that, as long as Catholicism's worship remains so unhealthy, it would be criminal to enter into communion with a church where the sacraments are so often profaned by light-mindedness and a total lack of reverence.
I'm not saying that to be harsh on you Roman Catholics; I know that many of you are just as frustrated. We Orthodox know that many Catholics are frustrated with the state of affairs in Catholicism, and we feel great sympathy and solidarity with them.
Also, to Nzie (The Rosy Gardner) above: the Orthodox Liturgy has *never* included Old Testament readings. This is related to our sense of the symbolic structure and meaning of the Liturgy. The Antiphons are Old Testament psalmody, recalling the Prophets who foretold Christ. This leads into the first lesson, which represents the Apostolic preaching of Christ. This is followed by the Gospel, which gives the words of Christ Himself. This is different from most Western Liturgies, which did initially allow Old Testament readings during the Mass (though, the tiered structure even of the Latin readings had a similar symbolic meaning, reflected even in the development of the Sequence from the jubilus of the Alleluia). So, to change this would be an innovation that fundamentally alters the Eastern concept of the Eucharistic Liturgy, and not a genuine reform or restoration of some deficient liturgical principle. This is one good demonstration, of why Liturgy is usually best left well-enough alone.
What the Eastern Rite Eucharistic Liturgy lacks in Old Testament material, is made up for by lengthy Old Testament readings in the services of Vespers and Matins, which are still very well attended in many Orthodox Churches. Also, while Saints like David, Moses, Elijah, Habbakuk, etc., are listed on the Roman Martyrology, the Latin Rite does not have full and proper feasts for these Saints, unlike the Byzantine Rite. In other words, the Old Testament is very well represented in our liturgical life.
Okay, I've droned on for long enough…
October 26, 2010 at 6:05 am
@ Giovanni: Good and evil are most assuredly black and white. Human beings, however, tend to be fairly gray. I say that fully willing to retract if you can show me a human being in life who is fully one or the other, excluding Christ and Mary. I'm fairly confident that you'll fail to meet that challenge, because while there are most definitely numerous examples, say, of men who did great evil in their lives, they were not fully evil, by definition. Were such a phenomenon to arise, I think that it would be almost too comical to take seriously…you would have a cartoon villain on your hands, not a real human being.
Heck, the Church recognizes that grayness…its mandate is *built* on the shades. If everything was black and white, good and evil, in no degrees and no differentiations, then we would be angels and demons, and there would be no call for a redemptive sacrifice or a Church to distribute the attending graces. There would be no repentance, and I truly hope that I haven't been conned here but I think that there is such a beast as repentance, and I have a lot of very smart and very holy people on my side, there.
While we're on the subject of gray, I'll again point out to you the point I was actually making about the Crusades, which was that they had a good aim – although I would hazard that you and I would not agree on which aim was specifically good – but that they could never be called wholly good since bad things were done by Crusaders during the commission of their campaigns. I specifically alluded to the sack of Constantinople as one such evil, and I note with some measure of amusement that you side-stepped that particular point.
Unless, of course, you think that the schismatics had it coming to them as punishment for their heresy, and that the burning of the Second Rome was indeed an act of righteousness, which in a black-and-white world would, I hazard, be possible.
October 26, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Orthodox anonymous- you stated the problem very well!