Liturgy

A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions. The word, sometimes rendered by its English translation "service", may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Catholic Mass, or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat^[1] and Jewish services. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy is a communal response to the sacred through activity reflecting praise, thanksgiving, supplication, or repentance. Ritualization may be associated with life events such as birth, coming of age, marriage and death. It thus forms the basis for establishing a relationship with a divine agency, as well as with other participants in the liturgy. Methods of dress, preparation of food, application of cosmetics or other hygienic practices are all considered liturgical activities.

Contents 1 Christianity 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External links

[edit] Christianity

Main article: Christian liturgy.

Frequently in Christianity a distinction is made between "liturgical" and "non-liturgical" churches based on the elaboration and/or antiquity of the worship, but this obscures the universality of public worship as a religious phenomenon.^[2] 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."^[3] Typically in Christianity, however, the term "the liturgy" normally refers to a standardized order of events observed during a religious service, be it a sacramental service or a service of public prayer.

[edit] See also

• Book of Common Prayer
• Divine Liturgy
• Divine Service (disambiguation)
• Eucharist
• Mass
• Roman Rite
• Sacrament
• Holy Spirit

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• 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
• "What Do Quakers Believe?". Quaker Information Center, Philadelphia, PA, 2004.

[edit] External links

• 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
• Yejeonhak Baeumteo: Online Community for Liturgical Resources (Korean)
• Dictionary of Catholic Liturgy
• Liturgie-Kontor "Maria Magdalena" (Texte zu Gottesdiensten im Kirchenjahr)
• 15th century liturgy for the deceased, written in Gothic Textualis script, Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries