To Whom Does the Liturgy Belong?

Dear Reader,

I hope this finds you enjoying the first few days of a true and proper Fall. I have certainly been pleased to enjoy returning to the out of doors.

After a brief absence, I return to consider a question of fundamental importance: To whom does the liturgy belong? This is a live question indeed, especially in light of ongoing liturgical revision in various parts of the Church. To frame it a wee bit differently, who in the Church has the right to change the liturgy? Does the liturgy as a whole belong to an appointed body of clergy and scholars or does it belong to the laos (from which we get the word "laity")--the whole people of God?

Of course, I will argue that the liturgy belongs to the whole Church, all of the faithful, and not to a small and elite few. For good order, and due to the sad divisions of the Church, on a practical level the answer is closer to saying that the liturgy within a particular portion of the Church belongs to the faithful resident in that part of the Church. This is due in part to recognized "local variation" (e.g. We in the States pray for the President rather than the Queen.) and is not at all to suggest that one portion of the Church has the right to change the liturgy in a manner that would cut against orthodox belief. It follows then that in The Episcopal Church the liturgy does not belong to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (more on that in a moment), but to all of the faithful.

A bit of history regarding liturgical revision in The Episcopal Church is needed at this point. But first, let me clarify that I'm not opposed to revision, I simply think that revision out to be done "properly, as in the daytime" and in plain view of all concerned. Up through the 1928 revision of the Book of Common Prayer, every change was worked out, individually, in General Convention. This means that if one wanted to change one tiny prayer, the entire Convention would see it and take action. Of course, this means that revising a lot of material would take a long time--a frustration to those who want to do the revising, but perhaps a welcomed help to those who want to move more slowly.

For the making of the 1979 BCP, groups of clergy and scholars worked on various rites over a number of years and published these rites as Prayer Book Studies and eventually in 1971, 1973, and 1976, and 1977 service books that would be the basis for what we now know as the 1979 BCP. There were discussions to be sure throughout this process, but at the end of the day the 1976 and 1979 General Conventions would both vote to establish this text as the new Prayer book for The Episcopal Church (As it takes the concurring votes of two subsequent conventions to establish a BCP.). The thing to note here is that all each convention did was vote to accept the text as a whole, in toto, without occasion for sorting out all of the differences in the new Prayer Book. While this may not seem problematic after a few decades of Prayer Book Studies, there were significant changes at the 11th hour before the 1976 Draft Proposed BCP was printed (More on that another time--our theology of burial was changed right before the 1976 book was printed.). 

The point is that we now are contending with a system in which a small group makes sweeping changes at such a fast rate that the whole of the faithful hardly have time to attempt to digest them before a vote is called and a change has been made. For an example of this happening now, see Dean Kevin Martin's (Dean of St. Matthew's Cathedral, Diocese of Dallas) excellent post on the revision to Lesser Feasts and Fasts known as Holy Women, Holy Men. It may be found here.

What is the point? While it may seem that the point is to be discouraged, it certainly is not! Our prayer is Common to our life in part because we recognize that the Prayer Book, though it is authorized by General Convention, governs the highest and the lowest in the Church. Even bishops are ruled by the rubrics (directions and instructions which one must follow) in the Prayer Book. No one person and no one group is over the Book of Common Prayer--we all submit to it. The point is two-fold: 1.) Those in power must be open when engaging liturgical revision so that active discernment and debate may take place; 2.) All of us must remain engaged and aware of changes afoot in the Church. In their defense, the SCLM posted a blog about Holy Women, Holy Men in which all were invited to comment on different observances. The lack of traditionalist engagement was sad indeed. I too passed up the opportunity to engage the revision process.

We must pay attention to all proposed changes and hold fast to Catholic doctrine and practice, and we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines while any one group makes changes to the liturgical life of the Church. The liturgy belongs to the whole faithful of God, and we all must love and defend her.

Many Blessings,
David+