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Protestant liturgy orEvangelical liturgy is a pattern for worship used (whether recommended or prescribed) by a Protestant congregation ordenomination on a regular basis. The termliturgy comes from Greek and means "public work". Liturgy is especially important in the Historical Protestant churches, both mainline and evangelical, while Baptist, Pentecostal, and nondenominational churches tend to be very flexible and in some cases have no liturgy at all. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday.[1][2]
Lutherans have retained and utilized much of the Roman Catholic mass since the early modifications byMartin Luther. The general order of the mass and many of the various aspects remain similar between the two traditions. Latin titles for the sections, psalms, and days have been widely retained, but more recent reforms have omitted this. Recently, Lutherans have adapted much of their revised mass to coincide with the reforms and language changes brought about by post-Vatican II changes.[3]
Protestant traditions vary in their liturgies or "orders of worship" (as they are commonly called). Other traditions in the west often called "Mainline" have benefited from theLiturgical Movement which flowered in the mid/late 20th century. Over the course of the past several decades, these Protestant traditions have developed remarkably similar patterns of liturgy, drawing from ancient sources as the paradigm for developing proper liturgical expressions. Of great importance to these traditions has been a recovery of a unified pattern of Word and Sacrament in Lord's Day liturgy.[4]
Many otherProtestant Christian traditions (such as the Pentecostal/Charismatics,Assembly of God, and Non-denominational churches), while often following a fixed "order of worship", tend to have liturgical practices that differ from that of the broader Christian tradition.[4]
The term "Divine Office" describes the practice of "marking thehours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer".[5]
InLutheranism, the offices were also combined into the two offices ofMatins andVespers, both of which are still maintained in modern Lutheran prayer books and hymnals. A common practice among Lutherans in America is to pray these offices mid-week during Advent and Lent. The office of Compline is also found in some Lutheran worship books and more typically used inmonasteries andseminaries (cf.The Brotherhood Prayer Book).
InAnglican churches, as with Lutheranism, the offices were combined into two offices:Morning Prayer andEvening Prayer, the latter sometimes known as Evensong. In more recent years, the Anglicans have added the offices of Noonday and Compline to Morning and Evening Prayer as part of theBook of Common Prayer. TheAnglican Breviary, containing 8 full offices, is not the official liturgy of the Anglican Church.
Protestant liturgy andritual families are primarily influenced by the theological development of the regions.[6]
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Different Christian traditions have employed different rites:
In the parts of North AmericanLutheranism that use it, the term "Divine Service" supplants more usual English-speaking Lutheran names for the Mass: "The Service" or "The Holy Communion." The term is acalque of theGerman wordGottesdienst (literally "God-service" or "service of God"), the standard German word for worship.[citation needed]
As in the English phrase "service of God," the genitive in "Gottesdienst" is arguably ambiguous. It can be read as an objectivegenitive (service rendered to God) or a subjective genitive (God's "service" to people). While the objective genitive isetymologically more plausible, Lutheran writers frequently highlight the ambiguity and emphasize the subjective genitive.[7] This is felt to reflect the belief, based on Lutheran doctrine regardingjustification, that the main actor in the Divine Service is God himself and not man, and that in the most important aspect of evangelical worship God is the subject and we are the objects: that the Word and Sacrament are gifts that God gives to his people in their worship.
Although the termMass was used by early Lutherans (theAugsburg Confession states that "we do not abolish the Mass but religiously keep and defend it"[8]) and Luther's two chief orders of worship are entitled "Formula Missae" and "Deutsche Messe"—such use has decreased in English usage except amongEvangelical Catholics and "High Church Lutherans". Also, Lutherans have historically used the terms "Gottesdienst" or "The Service" to distinguish their Service from theworship of otherprotestants, which has been viewed as focusing more on the faithful bringing praise and thanksgiving to God.[9]
Various forms of the liturgy are used byLutherans:
The origins of the liturgy are inJohn Calvin's Geneva, which became the model for allcontinental Reformed worship, and by the end of the sixteenth century a fixed liturgy was being used by all Reformed churches.[10]Dutch Reformed churches developed an order of worship in refugee churches in England and Germany which was ratified atsynods inDordrecht in 1574 and 1578. The form emphasizes self-examination between thewords of institution and communion consisting of accepting the misery of one's sin, assurance of mercy, and turning away those who are unrepentant.[11] Calvin did not insist on having explicit biblical precedents for every element of worship, but looked to theearly church as his model and retained whatever he considered edifying.[12] The liturgy was entirely in the vernacular, and the people were to participate in the prayers.[13]
At the time ofEnglish Reformation, theSarum Rite was in use along with the Roman Rite. Reformers in England wanted the Latin mass translated into the English language. Archbishop of CanterburyThomas Cranmer authored theExhortation and Litany in 1544. This was the earliest English-language service book of theChurch of England, and the only English-language service to be finished within the lifetime of KingHenry VIII.[14] In 1549, Cranmer produced a complete English-language liturgy. Cranmer was largely responsible for the first two editions of theBook of Common Prayer. The first edition was predominantly pre-Reformation in its outlook. The communion service, lectionary, and collects in the liturgy were translations based on the Sarum Rite[15] as practised inSalisbury Cathedral.
The revised edition in 1552 sought to assert a more clearly Protestant liturgy after problems arose from conservative interpretation of the mass on the one hand, and a critique byMartin Bucer on the other. Successive revisions are based on this edition, though important alterations appeared in 1604 and 1662. The 1662 edition is still authoritative in the Church of England and has served as the basis for many of the Books of Common Prayer of nationalAnglican churches around the world. Those deriving from Scottish Episcopal descent, such as the Prayer Books of the American Episcopal Church, have a slightly different liturgical pedigree.
TheUnited Methodist liturgical tradition is based onThe Sunday Service of the Methodists, which was passed along to Methodists byJohn Wesley (an Anglican priest who led the early Methodist revival) who wrote that
there is no Liturgy in the world, either in ancient or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, rational piety, than the Common Prayer of the Church of England.[16]
When the Methodists in America were separated from theChurch of England, John Wesley himself provided a revised version of theBook of Common Prayer calledThe Sunday Service of the Methodists. Wesley'sSunday Service has shaped the official liturgies of the Methodists ever since. Worship, hymnology, devotional and liturgical practices in Methodism were also influenced byLutheran Pietism and, in turn, Methodist worship became influential in theHoliness movement.[17]
The United Methodist Church (the largest Methodist denomination) has officialliturgies for services ofHoly Communion,baptism,weddings,funerals,ordination,anointing of the sick for healing, anddaily office "praise and prayer" services. Along with these, there are also special services forholy days such asAll Saints Day,Ash Wednesday,Maundy Thursday,Good Friday, andEaster Vigil. All of these liturgies and services are contained inTheUnited Methodist Hymnal andThe United Methodist Book of Worship (1992).[18] In most cases, congregations also use other elements of liturgical worship, such as candles,vestments, paraments, banners, and liturgical art.
Because John Wesley advocated outdoorevangelism,revival services are a traditional worship practice of Methodism that are often held in local churches, as well as at outdoorcamp meetings,brush arbor revivals, and attent revivals.[19][20][21]
Theworship service in neo-charismatic and Pentecostal churches is seen as facilitating "the believers' encounter with God."[22][23] Certain churches in the Pentecostal tradition are more informal in their worship, while others, such as the Church of God, use a formal liturgy.[24] It is usually run by apastor and contains two main parts, the praise (Christian music) and thesermon, with periodically theLord's Supper.[25][26] During worship there is usually anursery for babies.[27] Children and young people receive an adapted education,Sunday school, often before the service of worship.[28]
While mostHoliness Pentecostal churches use the Methodist rite, other Pentecostal movements, such ascharismatic movement use a new conception ofpraise in worship, such as clapping and raising hands as a sign of worship, it also takes place in many non-charistmatic evangelical denominations.[29]
In the 1980s and 1990s,contemporary Christian music, including a wide variety of musical styles, such asChristian rock andChristian hip hop, appeared in thepraise.[30][31][32]
In addition to these separate denominational groupings, one needs to give attention to the large pockets of the Holiness movement that have remained within the United Methodist Church. The most influential of these would be the circles dominated by Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary (both in Wilmore, KY), but one could speak of other colleges, innumerable local campmeetings, the vestiges of various local Holiness associations, independent Holiness oriented missionary societies and the like that have had great impact within United Methodism. A similar pattern would exist in England with the role of Cliff College within Methodism in that context.
Some have claimed Pentecostals still have no liturgy of their own; however, this study clearly established that the Church of God has a liturgy that has been constantly developing throughout the past 125 years.
The 1911 Constitution and General Rules of the Pentecostal Holiness Church contains a rubric for celebrating the Lord's Supper. It directs the pastor, "at the close of the sermon or Scripture lesson, or at any time that may be deemed proper," to call the deacons to "gather round the table and kneel with the whole congregation" in preparation for the rite.
The service begins with the worship leader and worship team playing a high-energy song intended to signal the transition from this informal greeting time to the worship component of the service. ... After another three or four songs come the announcements and the collection or offering, which are both usually directed by the senior pastor of the congregation. The offering is followed by one or two more subdued worship songs, intended to prepare the worshipers for the sermon. Occasionally, however, the assistant pastor or lay leader within the congregation preaches instead. If it happens to be the first Sunday of the month, the congregation will celebrate communion, which usually follows the sermon, the senior pastor officiating with the assistance of lay leaders.
