Updating the Liturgy
One of the more hotly debated topics in the Orthodox Church over the last 20 or so years has been the need for reform of the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, with voices on both sides. When considering the idea of liturgical reform in our Church, I can’t help but think of the movie O Brother Where Art Thou (with George Clooney). Pappy O Daniel was the incumbent candidate in the Shreveport Louisiana mayoral election and at lunch he was asking for advice from his election committee. Their response was very similar to what we hear from many Orthodox today, “People like that reform, maybe we should get us some.”
And this statement nicely summarizes our modern approach to the issue of Liturgical Reform. Rather than basing liturgical reform on what would improve the purpose and intent of worship for today’s Orthodox Christian, we look for what changes the people want thus leading to subjective and haphazard changes.
The two most monumental works on the need for and suggested path towards Orthodox Liturgical Reform is Introduction to Liturgical Theology by Fr Alexander Schmemann and The Liturgy in Dialogue, Exploring & Renewing the Tradition by Fr Alkiviades Calivas…