The Liturgical Tradition of the Christian West
The western liturgical tradition that we follow at St. Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles congregation is the historic tradition of worship that developed in the western part of the Christian Church, centered in Rome. By the late Middle Ages, variants of this tradition were found throughout western Europe. The medieval liturgy in England was known as the “Sarum Rite”.
The tradition of the Episcopal Church in the United States, as a province of the Anglican Communion having the See of Canterbury in England as its center, has been shaped by these medieval rites, by the liturgical reforms of the 16th century in England that formed the Book of Common Prayer [BCP], by the Prayer Book of the Scottish Episcopal Church, by the Tractarian and Anglo-Catholic revivals within Anglicanism of the 19th century, and by various revisions of the Book of Common Prayer that have taken place in the American Church. The last revision in the Episcopal Church occurred in 1978, and currently there are various alternative “gender expansive language” texts that have authorized for trial use by the General Convention, some of which we utilize in our congregation, especially the Nicene Creed, in the form in which it is recited in the Eastern Orthodox Churches (without the filioque phrase).
Liturgy is the Church’s corporate worship, its common prayer. It is the structured and shared worship that Christians engage in when they are together – as Jesus said, ‘where two or three are gathered in my name.’ Liturgy is not utilitarian – it is not there simply to “recharge our batteries” or make us feel better, although it will often do this anyway. Liturgy is our common response of praise and thanksgiving to all that God has done, and is still doing, for us through Jesus in the power of the Spirit.
For many Anglicans and Episcopalians, liturgy often means the celebration of the sacraments – the signs and symbols, in ordinary things like the bread and wine of the Eucharist (also known as Mass, Holy Communion, Divine Liturgy), of what God is doing in Christ. We believe that through the Holy Spirit Jesus Christ is present and active in the sacraments. So we celebrate that God has made us members of the Church through Baptism by water and the Holy Spirit. Baptism is our entrance into the Church and to the Eucharistic Table.
The basic structure of the Eucharistic Liturgy or Mass is:
the Gathering of God’s People,
the Proclaiming and Receiving of the Word of God,
the Prayers of the People,
the Great Thanksgiving or Eucharist,
the Sending Out of God’s People into the world.
The Eucharistic Liturgy is simultaneously a memorial of Christ’s sacrifice, Jesus’ mysterious and unfathomable real presence, the making of the Church as the Body of Christ, and an entrance into the future Kingdom of God.
The weekly remembrance of Jesus’ Resurrection on Sunday, the first day of the week, is the central day of Christian worship. The cycle of Sundays throughout the year is set within the larger cycles of the liturgical seasons around Christmas and Easter and the commemorations of the Saints, the holy men and women which the Church sets before us so that we might be “encouraged by their examples, aided by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship” (Burial Service, Rite II). Year upon year, the journey through these cycles can deepen our understanding of Christ and our calling as his disciples. And this calling is not only for Sundays, as the liturgical pattern of the Church’s Daily Prayer reminds us, at morning and at evening every day.
Within the Anglican/Episcopalian tradition, there are different ways of celebrating the Church’s liturgy. Those of the “high-church” perspective tend to celebrate with more ritual, e.g., with incense, chanting, bells, etc, while those of the “low-church” perspective usually have simpler services with an emphasis on the Scriptures and preaching. These designations, however, only point to tendencies in worship. All Anglicans/Episcopalians emphasize the centrality and necessity of both Word and Sacraments.
Some might be tempted to think of liturgy as simply meaning "ritual" or ceremony. However, while liturgy does include ritual, it is something much deeper than mere ritualism or ceremonial, and it is more than just the communal expression of our personal feelings of devotion. Liturgy is not just a matter of taste, or churchmanship. Liturgy is central to Christianity and is an integral part of the Christian family's relationship with God.
The signs, symbols and sacred actions which form public prayer and worship spring from the language and events of God's own self-revelation. Anglicans' liturgical celebrations arise directly out of the mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ and are part of the very means by which they enter into that mystery.
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