I don’t normally
include the Joint Liturgical Studies in this blog but this double
issue is exceptional.
To have two of the
leading actors in the Church of England liturgical reform provide an
account of both the process and the substance of the steps that took
us from the uniformity of the Book of Common Prayer to the
poly-formity (I want to say chaos) of Common Worship is invaluable.
The first hand
account allows us to set the personalities that influenced the
changes in appropriate relationship to the theology.
During the period of
change Dix’s shape of the Liturgy, that for many was the starting
point of reform, was largely discredited – but Buchanan and Lloyd
are helpful in reminding us that while Dix’s liturgical theories
might have lost favour that does not mean that the liturgies born out
of them should likewise be set aside. Liturgy is a living not a
theoretical thing.
I don’t if it was
just my own position reading between the lines, but I think overall I
was left with a sense that the authors are disappointed that the
Church of England did not make more of the opportunity of the era of
liturgical revision – held back by the timidity of Bishops and the
need for some Synodical compromise – especially in the case of the
tokenistic nature of the “responsive” Eucharistic prayers.
No comments:
Post a Comment