THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
I. Fundamental Principles.
LITURGICS.*
Christian Use of the Term (§ 5).
Importance and Delimitation of II. Historical Development.
Liturgy (§1). Theory of Liturgy (§ 2). Relation of Liturgy to Doctrine
(§3). Exemplification by the Lutheran
Liturgy (§4).
Service in Temple and Synagogue (§ 1).
Development of the Christian Service (§ 2).
Medieval Elaborations (§ 3).
After the Reformation (§ 4).
1. Fundamental Principles: Proclamation of the Gospel, prayer, and the administration of the Sacraments belong to the essence of the Church and of public worship as well. If the body of Christ is to be truly edified, the officiating ministers and every
member of the congregation must be i. Impor- quickened continually by the Spirit of tance and God. The precise manner, however,
Delimita- in which the principal elements of dition of vine service are combined into a
Liturgy, harmonious whole is of less vital importance. Nevertheless, side by side with ecclesiastical wisdom and orthodox belief, a certain sense of the value of constant types and modes of confessional expression is a factor of moment, which, in its turn, reflects a common need that finds its support in the force of historic tradition. Thus arises the liturgy, or the form of worship in ecclesiastical communities. In a restrictive sense, the idea denotes the composite aggregate of the permanent elements of worship outside the sermon; that is, the parts which, in harmony with the principles of religious logic, are comprised in the official Church manual, or liturgy proper. By an extension of the liturgical idea, the entire order of public worship, including the sermon, is thus designated. In the latter case, however, only the relative position of the sermon, and not its content, is considered, the theme and style of the sermon being independent of fixed definition (see Homiletics; Preaching). Equally outside the realm of liturgies is the fact that the communion is celebrated according to Christ's institution; but the questions as to whether the words of institution shall be recited, whether a formula of distribution shall be employed, and whether an altar or a table shall be used, are distinctly liturgic. Indeed, it was only through the liturgy that the consecration itself became an integral element of the divine service. At the same time, in virtue of its peculiar solemnity, the Lord's Supper (q.v.; see also Eucharist; Mass) became the central point of liturgic arrangement, so that the term " liturgy " found its principal application in connection with the celebration of the Eucharist.
The result of a liturgy was reached neither by
divine revelation nor by canonical enactment.
The worship of the early Church re-
2. Theory veals an exuberance of spiritual life of Liturgy, and a great diversity of spiritual gifts,
but in so amorphous a state that Paul found himself obliged to urge uniformity in worship (I Cor. xiv.). Though Paul by no means established a working principle for the regulation of public
* This article should be read in connection with the articles Mass (for the Roman Catholic development), Agenda, Eucharist, and Lord's Supper (for the Protestant side).
III. Liturgical Formulas. Amen (§ 1). The Doxologies (§ 2). Alleluia (§ 3). Hosanna (§ 4). Kyrie Eleison (§ 5). Pax vobiscum, Dominus vobiscum (§6).
worship, the liturgical tendency was inherent in the factor of historic conservatism which began to exert itself from the very first, as is shown, for instance by the custom, derived from the synagogue custom (see below, II., § 1), of congregational response to the prayers of thanksgiving. The tendency to create some permanent order, the significance of which should reach beyond the local and transient, implanted itself with formative and regulative power in the administrative organism of the spiritual life. Nevertheless, this process never gained the character of a law; nor were liturgical elaborations so abstract that spontaneously personal elements could not find a place in the official prayers. It is obvious that the composers of particular liturgical forms must remain in the background. But notwithstanding all this, each liturgy is characteristic of the ecclesiastical community to which it appertains; nor must it be forgotten that the phraseology of the sermon has a decided influence upon liturgical expression. Moreover, this festal robe of ceremonial practise, woven by custom, receives its interwoven warp and woof of symbolism and artistic ornament. This is not to be adjudged worldly or unevangelical; since here, too, is discerned rather a vital impulse, proceeding from the divine cosmic dispensation and influencing advantageously the domain of spiritual benefits. The same tendency, in a narrower sense, has given artistic adornment to such liturgical objects as the altar, the pulpit, and the sacred vessels, and has employed special colors in a symbolic scheme to emphasize the proper nature of the festival seasons (see Paramenta ; Symbolism). A redundancy of these subsidiary devices, to the repression of what is essential to worship, is, however, reprehensible. The Reformation rightly returned to simplicity in this respect, the Reformed Church more decidedly than the German, though even Luther, for all his unrestrained appreciation of the artistic and symbolic, contrived to observe the requisite bounds. See Worship.
In considering the relation between the liturgy of the Church and its doctrine, it is clear that modifications of doctrine can not remain without influence upon the liturgy, as is attested 3. Relation by the history of worship at every of Liturgy turn. The more the comprehension to Doctrine, of the salvation wrought by the death of Christ recedes into the background, the shallower becomes the substance of the Eucharistic prayers. The more strictly the Reformation returned to the Scriptures and to Christ's purpose in the institution of the Eucharist, the more distinctly was this reflected in the revision of Evangelical liturgies. On the other hand, if the true character of an ecclesiastical community is to be