Catholic Liturgical Reform and Its Eastern Impact

If it isn't obvious, then let me make it so: I regard the liturgical reforms of Vatican II as little short of disastrous, and not only in their consequences but also in their very presuppositions. That is, of course, a view that is far from aboriginal to me. It comes from far more important figures, not least Joseph Ratzinger in his Milestones: Memoirs, 1927-1977 (and many other works of his) and Louis Bouyer in the recently translated Memoirs of Louis Bouyer: From Youth and Conversion to Vatican II, the Liturgical Reform, and After, about which I have been writing this week as you will have seen and continue to see.

I am also deeply indebted to Catherine Pickstock's far-reaching, singular, and largely unanswered critique in After Writing: On the Liturgical Consummation of Philosophy. In fact, I think her criticisms are far more searching than those advanced by just about anyone else and the fact that (to my limited knowledge) Western liturgists have failed to answer them only condemns them all the more in my eyes and renders their project an even greater failure than they themselves often realized.

Let me also plainly state that I have long regarded with little less than abject terror the prospect of some wise-ass in the East trying to do to the Byzantine (or Coptic, or Armenian, or West- or East-Syrian) liturgical tradition what was done to the Latin in the 1960s and 1970s in the name of "updating" or "reforming" or "modernizing." There is, to be sure, room for change in Eastern liturgies, as there always is, but if anyone takes the Novus Ordo reforms as a model then they deserve to be run out of town on a rail, excommunicated, and drawn and quartered for good measure.

But let me equally plainly state that I know my good friend Nick Denysenko to be a superlative scholar whose sober judgments about matters liturgical I have never once doubted, and very often greatly profited from--not least in, e.g., his recent book on Chrismation, which I have used with my graduate students to great effect. He is that rarest of creatures who is able to combine the best of scholarship with the best pastoral sensitivity, equally at home in front of the lecture podium as in front of the altar. So I fully expect that while I will not agree with everything in his next book, set for release in December, I will nonetheless find deeply considered arguments judiciously arrayed for the edification of all concerned: Nicholas Denysenko, Liturgical Reform After Vatican II: The Impact on Eastern Orthodoxy (Fortress Press, 2015), 240pp.

About this book we are told:

Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC) was the first document promulgated by the Second Vatican Council. The impact of this document was broad and ecumenical—the liturgical reforms approved by the Council reverberated throughout Christendom, impacting the order and experience of worship in Reformed and Orthodox Churches. Unrecognized in most studies, the Orthodox Churches were also active participants in the liturgical movement that gained momentum through the Catholic and Protestant Churches in the twentieth century. This study examines Orthodox liturgical reform after Vatican II through the lens of Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue. After establishing the retrieval of the priesthood of the laity and active liturgical participation as the rationales for liturgical reform, the study presents the history of liturgical reform through four models: the liturgical reforms of Alexander Schmemann; the alternative liturgical center in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR); the symposia on liturgical rebirth authorized by the Church of Greece; and the renewed liturgy of New Skete Monastery. Following a discussion of the main features of liturgical reform, catechesis, ars celebrandi and the role of the clergy, Denysenko concludes with suggestions for implementing liturgical reform in the challenges of postmodernity and in fidelity to the contributions of Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue.

I greatly look forward to reading this book over the Christmas break, to discussing it on here, and to interviewing Nick about it.

Holy Trinity Jordanville Publications

Holy Trinity Publications in Jordanville, New York, recently sent me a number of books both new and recent including How to Live a Holy Life by Metropolitan Gregory (Postnikov) of St. Petersburg (2005; 150pp.).

This is a small book, the size of one's hand, containing a series of very practical reflections on how to pray, how to work, how to deal with problems and people in life. The publisher further elaborates:

This pocket-sized book, originally published in Russian in 1904, is a short but comprehensive work offering guidance to the Christian on how to conduct himself through the course of the day. In a eminently straightforward manner the author describes how to conduct oneself in the morning, in relation to God, in common situations of life, in daily work, during meals, during the afternoon rest, in the evening, before sleep, and during sleeplessness. He concludes with a consideration of prayer and guidance and on how to spend Sundays. A biography of the author, Metropolitan Gregory (Postnikov) of St. Petersburg (1784-1860), concludes the work.

Published in 2011 is a book by Mikhail Chevalkov, Testament of Memory: A Siberian Life (xix+146pp.). This book, the publisher tells us, is a:

remarkably simple and yet profoundly deep narrative, this translation is an introduction to the remote world of the 19th-century Altai: a mountainous region of southern Siberia possessing unique flora and fauna and peaks rising to nearly 15,000 feet. Native Altai tribesman Mikhail Chelvalkov vividly describes the physical beauty of the region while chronicling many of the encounters that took place throughout his life as the population transformed from competing nomadic pagan tribes to a settled and harmonious Orthodox Christian culture. One of the first native disciples of the Russian Orthodox missionary priest Makarii Glukharev—who was made a saint in AD 2000—Chelvalkov’s testament provides invaluable insights for students of Christian mission, ethnography, geography, and botany.

Last year, Holy Trinity brought out the second edition of a book they first published in 1970 with a foreword from then-Archimandrite Kallistos Ware: Ignatius (Brianchaninov), The Arena: Guidelines for Spiritual and Monastic Life (xxiii+ 282pp.).
About this book we are told:

One of the most important and accessible texts of Eastern Orthodox Christian teaching on the spiritual life, this book draws upon the ascetic and mystical doctrine of the Greek Fathers and greats of the Orthodox Christian church. In an age alienated from spiritual culture and rooted in materialism, these teachings pose both a challenge and an invitation to those seeking heightened spirituality. This book is essential reading for anyone who desires a profound spiritual journey based upon an encounter with Christ as God.

And finally, published just last month is another small handbook originally written by St Innocent of Alaska:  Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven: An Introduction to Christian Life (xii + 82pp.). About this book we are told:

Originally published in the Aleut (Eskimo) language in 1833, this book is a simple yet challenging introduction to Christianity from one of the greatest teachers of the Russian Orthodox Church: sainted Russian Bishop and missionary Innocent Veniaminov. Timeless and universal, this updated edition—which includes a new section entitled "Points for Reflection" at the end of each chapter—discusses what it means to know God and have a relationship with Jesus. It will appeal to those seeking to understand their own faith more fully.