Dresden, Germany

The XX'th International Congress of Societas Liturgica was held August 8'th-13'th in 2005 at the “Haus der Kirche” in Dresden, Germany.

Worship as Transformation – To Heal a Broken World

Die verwandelnde und heilende Kraft der Liturgie in einer gebrochenen Welt

La liturgie, puissance de transformation “Pour guérir et sauver un monde déchiré”
Worship as Transformation: To Heal a Broken World

Christian worship is commonly conceived as existing primarily for the sake of those “on the inside,” the committed, regularly attending members of a local congregation. Yet this is not always the case. Sometimes worship has been deliberately constructed as a means of evangelism, as for example in the “seeker services” of independent evangelical churches, at other times, it has functioned as the entry point to the church for those intrigued by Christianity without being intentionally designed as “liturgy for outsiders.” And, in addition to the intention of the liturgy, many people today who are not part of a regular worshipping community nevertheless turn to Christian liturgical rites at important or critical moments in their own lives, or in the lives of the communities of which they are a part.

This Congress aims to address the ways in which worship can and does transform the lives of those who come into contact with it. This includes reconciling those who are divided, healing those who are sick or broken in body or spirit, and enabling those who mourn to overcome their grief and to come to terms with tragedy in their lives, as well as addressing the reconciliation of whole communities with one another and those in need of hope and healing.

Finding ourselves in Dresden, a city rising from the ashes of World War II and recovering spiritually and economically from communist rule, invites us to explore the theme of this Congress from a number of different angles in the plenary addresses. First we will look at the role that ritual has played in the transformation of the broken world that was Germany within the context of the last fifty years. We will also hear of political and social reconciliation in other parts of the world and the contributions of worship to the healing of nations.

Then we will explore the transformative power of worship from anthropological, ecumenical, sacramental and pastoral perspectives, inviting case studies to flow out of these varied and interdisciplinary approaches to allow for exploration of the theme in diverse ways. Through each of these trajectories the question of how Christian liturgists, faithful to the gospel and their own ecclesial traditions, can speak to culturally divided communities or to individuals within communities who have no familiarity with Christian ritual language and symbols will remain an important challenge to consider now and in the immediate future.

  • Amusan, Solomon: Universal Concept of Sacred Time: African Tradition. Universal Concept of Sacred Time: African Traditional Religion As a Case Study.
  • Bates, J. Barrington: The Easter Vigil for Children. One parish’s experience of fire, story, song, water, and the Holy Eucharist–in under an hour!
  • Buchanan, Colin: How far has the Church of Ireland been liturgically dependent upon the Church of England, and how far independent of it?
  • Carey, Dominic: Collect dedicated to John. A patristic vision of John the Apostle based on a literary analysis of Ve 1274.
  • Daly, Robert: Sacrifice Unveiled: New insights and avenues for research—especially of ecumenical and inter-religious implication—uncovered in writing Sacrifice Unveiled.
  • Deschler, Jean-Paul: Syrische Liturgie und Byzantinische Ikonen. Die Ikonen der Byzantinischen Kirche, die ein “Ableger” der Syrisch-Palästinischen Kirche ist, können als Widerschein oder Umschrift von syrischen liturgischen Texten angesehen werden.
  • Donnella, Joseph A.: The Danish West Indies, Inculturation & Implications of the inculturation process as it occurred in the Danish West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands) will be highlighted.
  • Drogsler, Matthias: Usbekistan? Afghanistan? Kasachstan!– Einblicke und erste Eindrücke als Missionar in einem Land Zentralasiens. Presentation of the very first experiences as missionary in the Archdiocese of Astana in Kazakhstan, in a Muslim and former soviet country in Central Asia.
  • Haldeman, Scott: How slippery is the same-sex union slope? Ritual and theological analysis of three weddings: heterodox, homodox and gender-neutral.
  • Haldeman, W. Scott: Liturgical Inculturation in a Postcolonial Key. Key elements of a postcolonial imagination are engaged to assess the current theory and practice of liturgical inculturation in the Roman Catholic Church and envision new directions for the future.
  • Hamnes, David Scott: The neue Sachlichkeit in Liturgy. A short overview of the impact of an important 20th century movement which focuses on historical, objective and idealised liturgical forms.
  • Hendriks, Joan: Alcheringa: Our Dreaming Place
  • Holeton, David: Towards a New Pontifical: a question of hands and oil
  • Howlett, Paul Harvey: Let us pray or let us kneel, sit or stand. Some observations on the locutionary and perlocutionary consequences of the introduction of prayer and silence in contemporary liturgy in England.
  • Jenneker, Bruce: Many Languages, One People. Exploring the challenge of worshipping together using the several mother-tongues of a diverse community.
  • Kirithukulangara, Peter: An Age-Old Celebration of Light for Christ’s Nativity
  • Knowles, Walter: Holy Week in Hippo. The week before Easter in a North African church in the early fifth century. What was the week like in a town that did not have to deal with the pressures of pilgrimage liturgies?
  • Kochuparampil, Fr Jose Mathew: Pastoral Plan in the Liturgical Year. A Pastoral Plan Consistent with Liturgical Year: A Presentation of the Celebration of Liturgical Year in Indian Syro-Malabar Archdiocese of Changanacherry.
  • Kubicki, Judith: Images of Church in Classic & Contemporary Hymnody. This presentation will examine images of church in classic hymnody, trace changes or alterations in the texts over time, and compare these images with those found in contemporary texts.
  • Kumar, Santhosh S.: Towards the Development of an Inculturated Eucharistic Liturgy for the Church of South India
  • Larson-Miller, Lizette: What’s the Matter with Tenebrae?
  • Manoharan, Ponniah: Intercultural Worship in Indian Context. An attempt of Intercultural Worship in Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, India – where I am teaching Worship and Preaching.
  • Maryianto, Ernest: Inculturating the Lent Season
  • Mathew, Rev. Dr. George: Liturgical Year of the Mar Thoma Church . The Mar Thoma church follows the West Syrian (Antiochian) liturgical tradition. The liturgical year unfolds the salvific act of God in Christ which begins with the incarnation of Jesus Christ and ends with the resurrection and glorious coming.
  • McGinnell, Kevin: A return to Babel? ….common texts in English.
  • Moolan, John: East Syrian Liturgical Year Evolution Division of seasons Theology
  • Rutherford, H Richard: The Archaeology of Baptism. The baptismal footprint in the archaeological record raises new questions about early Christian Initiation. By way of selected photos this short communication illustrates several such questions and invites a discussion of possible solutions.
  • Söderblom, Rebecca: The Catechumenate in the Church of Sweden. About the catechumenate in the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) as a way to Christian faith for adults in a secularized context. Description of its structure, four phases and liturgies.