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Liturgy

January 01, 1970

"Liturgist" redirects here. For the academic discipline, see Liturgics.
For other uses, see Liturgy (disambiguation).

Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. Liturgy can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians.[1] As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembrance, supplication, or repentance. It forms a basis for establishing a relationship with God.

Liturgy in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Technically speaking, liturgy forms a subset of ritual. The word liturgy, sometimes equated in English as "service", refers to a formal ritual enacted by those who understand themselves to be participating in an action with the divine.

Benedictine Monks praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Etymology edit

The word liturgy (/lɪtərdʒi/), derived from the technical term in ancient Greek (Greek: λειτουργία), leitourgia, which means "work or service for the people" is a literal translation of the two affixes λήϊτος, "leitos", derived from the Attic form of λαός ("people, public"), and ἔργον, "ergon", meaning "work, service".

In origin, it signified the often expensive offerings wealthy Greeks made in service to the people, and thus to the polis and the state.[2] Through the leitourgia, the rich carried a financial burden and were correspondingly rewarded with honours and prestige. Specific leitourgia were assigned by the polis, the State, and during Rome's domination, the Roman Imperial authorities as "gifts" to the state and the people. Their performance became obligatory in the course of the 3rd century AD, as a form of taxation. The holder of a Hellenic leitourgia was not taxed a specific sum, but was assigned to subsidise a particular ritual, which could be performed with greater or lesser generosity or magnificence. The chief sphere remained that of civic religion, embodied in the festivals: M.I. Finley notes "in Demosthenes' day there were at least 97 liturgical appointments in Athens for the festivals, rising to 118 in a (quadrennial) Panathenaic year."[3] Groups of rich citizens were assigned to subsidise civic amenities and even warships. Eventually, under the Roman Empire, such obligations, known to Romans as munera, devolved into a competitive and ruinously expensive burden that was avoided when possible. Munera included a wide range of expenses having to do with civic infrastructure and amenities; festivals and games (ludi) and imperial obligations such as highway, bridge and aqueduct repair, supply of various raw materials, and feeding troops in transit.

Buddhism edit

Main article: Buddhist liturgy
 
Buddhist liturgy

Buddhist liturgy is a formalized service of veneration and worship performed within a Buddhist Sangha in nearly every traditional denomination and sect in the Buddhist world. It is often done one or more times a day and can vary among the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana sects.

The liturgy mainly consists of chanting or reciting a sutra or passages from a sutras, a mantra (especially in Vajrayana), and several gathas. Depending on what practice the practitioner wishes to undertake, it can be done at a temple or at home. The liturgy is almost always performed in front of an object or objects of veneration and accompanied by offerings of light, incense, water, and food.

Christianity edit

Main article: Christian liturgy
 
A bishop celebrating the Divine Liturgy in an Eastern Catholic Church in Prešov, Slovakia
 
Wedding ceremony inside the Kiuruvesi Church in Kiuruvesi, Finland

Frequently in Christianity, a distinction is made between "liturgical" and "non-liturgical" churches based on how elaborate or formal the worship; in this usage, churches whose services are unscripted or improvised are called "non-liturgical". Others object to this distinction, arguing that this terminology obscures the universality of public worship as a religious phenomenon.[4] Thus, even the open or waiting worship of Quakers is liturgical, since the waiting itself until the Holy Spirit moves individuals to speak is a prescribed form of Quaker worship, sometimes referred to as "the liturgy of silence".[5] Typically in Christianity, however, the term "the liturgy" normally refers to a standardised order of events observed during a religious service, be it a sacramental service or a service of public prayer; usually the former is the referent. In the ancient tradition, sacramental liturgy especially is the participation of the people in the work of God, which is primarily the saving work of Jesus Christ; in this liturgy, Christ continues the work of redemption.[6]

The term "liturgy" in Greek literally means to "work for the people", but a better translation is "public service" or "public work", as made clear from the origin of the term as described above. The early Christians adopted the word to describe their principal act of worship, the Sunday service (referred to by various terms, including Holy Eucharist, Holy Communion, Mass or Divine Liturgy), which they considered to be a sacrifice. This service, liturgy, or ministry (from the Latin "ministerium") is a duty for Christians as a priestly people by their baptism into Christ and participation in His high priestly ministry. It is also God's ministry or service to the worshippers. It is a reciprocal service. As such, many Christian churches designate one person who participates in the worship service as the liturgist. The liturgist may read announcements, scriptures, and calls to worship, while the minister preaches the sermon, offers prayers, and blesses sacraments. The liturgist may be either an ordained minister or a lay person. The entire congregation participates in and offers the liturgy to God.

 

Islam edit

Main articles: Salat, ṣalawāt, mawlid, and dhikr

Salāt ("prayer", Arabic: صلاة ṣalāh or gen: ṣalāt; pl. صلوات ṣalawāt) is the practice of physical and compulsory prayer in Islam as opposed to dua, which is the Arabic word for supplication. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Salat is preceded by ritual ablution and usually performed five times a day. It consists of the repetition of a unit called a rakʿah (pl. rakaʿāt) consisting of prescribed actions and words. The number of obligatory (fard) rakaʿāt varies from two to four according to the time of day or other circumstances (such as Friday congregational worship, which has two rakats). Prayer is obligatory for all Muslims except those who are prepubescent, menstruating, or in puerperium stage after childbirth.[7]

Judaism edit

Main article: Jewish liturgy

Jewish liturgy is the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book. In general, Jewish men are obligated to pray three times a day within specific time ranges (zmanim). while, according most modern Orthodox authorities, women are only required to pray once daily, as they are generally exempted from obligations that are time dependent. All public prayer requires a minyan, a quorum of 10 adults, to be present.

Traditionally, three prayer services are recited daily:

  1. Shacharit or Shaharit (שַחֲרִת), from the Hebrew shachar or shahar (שַחָר) "morning light",
  2. Mincha or Minha (מִנְחָה), the afternoon prayers named for the flour offering that accompanied sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem,
  3. Arvit (עַרְבִית) or Maariv (מַעֲרִיב), from "nightfall".

Additional prayers:

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "liturgy". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) - "2.a. A form of public worship, esp. in the Christian Church; a collection of formularies for the conduct of Divine service."
  2. ^ N. Lewis, "Leitourgia and related terms", Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 3 (1960:175–84) and 6 (1965:226–30).
  3. ^ Finley, The Ancient Economy 2nd ed., 1985:151.
  4. ^ Underhill, E., Worship (London: Bradford and Dickens, 1938), pp. 3–19.
  5. ^ Dandelion, P., The Liturgies of Quakerism, Liturgy, Worship and Society Series (Aldershot, England and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005).
  6. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church 1069 (London: Chapman, 1994).
  7. ^ Multicultural Handbook of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics, p. 43, Aruna Thaker, Arlene Barton, 2012

Further reading edit

  • Baldovin, John F., SJ (2008) Reforming the Liturgy: a Response to the Critics. The Liturgical Press
  • Bowker, John, ed. (1997) Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-213965-7.
  • Bugnini, Annibale, (1990) The Reform of the Liturgy 1948–1975. The Liturgical Press
  • Dix, Dom Gregory (1945) The Shape of the Liturgy
  • Donghi, Antonio, (2009) Words and Gestures in the Liturgy. The Liturgical Press
  • Johnson, Lawrence J., (2009) Worship in the Early Church: an Anthology of Historical Sources. The Liturgical Press
  • Jones, Cheslyn, Geoffrey Wainwright, and Edward Yarnold, eds. (1978) The Study of Liturgy. London: SPCK.
  • Marini, Piero, (2007) A Challenging Reform: Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal. The Liturgical Press
  • Scotland, N. A. D. (1989). Eucharistic Consecration in the First Four Centuries and Its Implications for Liturgical Reform, in series, Latimer Studies, 31. Latimer House. ISBN 0-946307-30-X
  • "What Do Quakers Believe?". Quaker Information Center, Philadelphia, PA, 2004.

External links edit

Library resources about
Liturgy
  • Catholic Encyclopedia article
  • Jewish Encyclopedia: Liturgy
  • Contemporary Christian Liturgy Website History, theory, practice
  • Work of the People
  • Eastern Orthodox Christian Liturgy Website Liturgy

January 01, 1970
liturgy, liturgist, redirects, here, academic, discipline, liturgics, other, uses, disambiguation, customary, public, ritual, worship, performed, religious, group, also, used, refer, specifically, public, worship, christians, religious, phenomenon, liturgy, re. Liturgist redirects here For the academic discipline see Liturgics For other uses see Liturgy disambiguation Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group Liturgy can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians 1 As a religious phenomenon liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise thanksgiving remembrance supplication or repentance It forms a basis for establishing a relationship with God Liturgy in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Technically speaking liturgy forms a subset of ritual The word liturgy sometimes equated in English as service refers to a formal ritual enacted by those who understand themselves to be participating in an action with the divine Benedictine Monks praying the Liturgy of the Hours Contents 1 Etymology 2 Buddhism 3 Christianity 4 Islam 5 Judaism 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksEtymology editThe word liturgy l ɪ t e r dʒ i derived from the technical term in ancient Greek Greek leitoyrgia leitourgia which means work or service for the people is a literal translation of the two affixes lhitos leitos derived from the Attic form of laos people public and ἔrgon ergon meaning work service In origin it signified the often expensive offerings wealthy Greeks made in service to the people and thus to the polis and the state 2 Through the leitourgia the rich carried a financial burden and were correspondingly rewarded with honours and prestige Specific leitourgia were assigned by the polis the State and during Rome s domination the Roman Imperial authorities as gifts to the state and the people Their performance became obligatory in the course of the 3rd century AD as a form of taxation The holder of a Hellenic leitourgia was not taxed a specific sum but was assigned to subsidise a particular ritual which could be performed with greater or lesser generosity or magnificence The chief sphere remained that of civic religion embodied in the festivals M I Finley notes in Demosthenes day there were at least 97 liturgical appointments in Athens for the festivals rising to 118 in a quadrennial Panathenaic year 3 Groups of rich citizens were assigned to subsidise civic amenities and even warships Eventually under the Roman Empire such obligations known to Romans as munera devolved into a competitive and ruinously expensive burden that was avoided when possible Munera included a wide range of expenses having to do with civic infrastructure and amenities festivals and games ludi and imperial obligations such as highway bridge and aqueduct repair supply of various raw materials and feeding troops in transit Buddhism editMain article Buddhist liturgy nbsp Buddhist liturgy Buddhist liturgy is a formalized service of veneration and worship performed within a Buddhist Sangha in nearly every traditional denomination and sect in the Buddhist world It is often done one or more times a day and can vary among the Theravada Mahayana and Vajrayana sects The liturgy mainly consists of chanting or reciting a sutra or passages from a sutras a mantra especially in Vajrayana and several gathas Depending on what practice the practitioner wishes to undertake it can be done at a temple or at home The liturgy is almost always performed in front of an object or objects of veneration and accompanied by offerings of light incense water and food Christianity editMain article Christian liturgy nbsp A bishop celebrating the Divine Liturgy in an Eastern Catholic Church in Presov Slovakia nbsp Wedding ceremony inside the Kiuruvesi Church in Kiuruvesi Finland Frequently in Christianity a distinction is made between liturgical and non liturgical churches based on how elaborate or formal the worship in this usage churches whose services are unscripted or improvised are called non liturgical Others object to this distinction arguing that this terminology obscures the universality of public worship as a religious phenomenon 4 Thus even the open or waiting worship of Quakers is liturgical since the waiting itself until the Holy Spirit moves individuals to speak is a prescribed form of Quaker worship sometimes referred to as the liturgy of silence 5 Typically in Christianity however the term the liturgy normally refers to a standardised order of events observed during a religious service be it a sacramental service or a service of public prayer usually the former is the referent In the ancient tradition sacramental liturgy especially is the participation of the people in the work of God which is primarily the saving work of Jesus Christ in this liturgy Christ continues the work of redemption 6 The term liturgy in Greek literally means to work for the people but a better translation is public service or public work as made clear from the origin of the term as described above The early Christians adopted the word to describe their principal act of worship the Sunday service referred to by various terms including Holy Eucharist Holy Communion Mass or Divine Liturgy which they considered to be a sacrifice This service liturgy or ministry from the Latin ministerium is a duty for Christians as a priestly people by their baptism into Christ and participation in His high priestly ministry It is also God s ministry or service to the worshippers It is a reciprocal service As such many Christian churches designate one person who participates in the worship service as the liturgist The liturgist may read announcements scriptures and calls to worship while the minister preaches the sermon offers prayers and blesses sacraments The liturgist may be either an ordained minister or a lay person The entire congregation participates in and offers the liturgy to God nbsp Islam editMain articles Salat ṣalawat mawlid and dhikr Salat prayer Arabic صلاة ṣalah or gen ṣalat pl صلوات ṣalawat is the practice of physical and compulsory prayer in Islam as opposed to dua which is the Arabic word for supplication Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Islam Salat is preceded by ritual ablution and usually performed five times a day It consists of the repetition of a unit called a rakʿah pl rakaʿat consisting of prescribed actions and words The number of obligatory fard rakaʿat varies from two to four according to the time of day or other circumstances such as Friday congregational worship which has two rakats Prayer is obligatory for all Muslims except those who are prepubescent menstruating or in puerperium stage after childbirth 7 Judaism editMain article Jewish liturgy Jewish liturgy is the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism These prayers often with instructions and commentary are found in the siddur the traditional Jewish prayer book In general Jewish men are obligated to pray three times a day within specific time ranges zmanim while according most modern Orthodox authorities women are only required to pray once daily as they are generally exempted from obligations that are time dependent All public prayer requires a minyan a quorum of 10 adults to be present Traditionally three prayer services are recited daily Shacharit or Shaharit ש ח ר ת from the Hebrew shachar or shahar ש ח ר morning light Mincha or Minha מ נ ח ה the afternoon prayers named for the flour offering that accompanied sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem Arvit ע ר ב ית or Maariv מ ע ר יב from nightfall Additional prayers Musaf מו ס ף additional is traditionally recited on Shabbat major Jewish holidays including Chol HaMoed and Rosh Chodesh A fifth prayer service Ne ila נ ע יל ה closing is recited only on Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement See also editBook of Common Prayer The Book of Common Worship of 1993 Liturgical book Catholic liturgy Divine Liturgy Divine Service Eastern Orthodoxy Divine Service Lutheran Eastern Catholic liturgy Kesh temple hymn Liturgy to Nintud Sumerian clay tablet written as early as 2600 BC Liturgical year Protestant liturgy Sacrament Seokjeon Daeje SiddurReferences edit liturgy Oxford English Dictionary Online ed Oxford University Press Subscription or participating institution membership required 2 a A form of public worship esp in the Christian Church a collection of formularies for the conduct of Divine service N Lewis Leitourgia and related terms Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies 3 1960 175 84 and 6 1965 226 30 Finley The Ancient Economy 2nd ed 1985 151 Underhill E Worship London Bradford and Dickens 1938 pp 3 19 Dandelion P The Liturgies of Quakerism Liturgy Worship and Society Series Aldershot England and Burlington VT Ashgate 2005 Catechism of the Catholic Church 1069 London Chapman 1994 Multicultural Handbook of Food Nutrition and Dietetics p 43 Aruna Thaker Arlene Barton 2012Further reading editBaldovin John F SJ 2008 Reforming the Liturgy a Response to the Critics The Liturgical Press Bowker John ed 1997 Oxford Dictionary of World Religions Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 213965 7 Bugnini Annibale 1990 The Reform of the Liturgy 1948 1975 The Liturgical Press Dix Dom Gregory 1945 The Shape of the Liturgy Donghi Antonio 2009 Words and Gestures in the Liturgy The Liturgical Press Johnson Lawrence J 2009 Worship in the Early Church an Anthology of Historical Sources The Liturgical Press Jones Cheslyn Geoffrey Wainwright and Edward Yarnold eds 1978 The Study of Liturgy London SPCK Marini Piero 2007 A Challenging Reform Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal The Liturgical Press Scotland N A D 1989 Eucharistic Consecration in the First Four Centuries and Its Implications for Liturgical Reform in series Latimer Studies 31 Latimer House ISBN 0 946307 30 X What Do Quakers Believe Quaker Information Center Philadelphia PA 2004 External links editLibrary resources about Liturgy Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Catholic Encyclopedia article Orthodox Tradition and the Liturgy Jewish Encyclopedia Liturgy Contemporary Christian Liturgy Website History theory practice The Indult Tridentine Rite of Mass Work of the People Eastern Orthodox Christian Liturgy Website Liturgy A Brief Exposition of the Divine Service Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Liturgy amp oldid 1219384723, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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