Modlitwa wspólnoty: historyczny rozwój prawosławnej tradycji liturgicznej

Abstract

The liturgical services of the Orthodox Church are one of the most important elements in the spiritual life of each of its members. They are understood as both communal prayer, complemented by individual prayer, and specific rites and religious ceremonies. Services considered in a comprehensive manner can be defined as liturgical tradition. This book demonstrates the historical development of the Orthodox liturgical tradition through the lens of the formation process of the Typikon. The author also answers questions concerning the trends and manner of that development. The main problem, which is analysed in every chapter of the book, centres around the question: were the changes in the liturgical tradition a result of evolution or revolution? Despite the vast number of the primary literary resources and academic research available, the answer to this question is far from simple. The difficulty is hidden in the richness of the Orthodox liturgical tradition, which has developed over the ages simultaneously in several spiritual centres. For this reason, the author analyses the specific stages in the development of the Orthodox liturgical tradition. This book outlines the Byzantine, Antiochian, Syrian, Alexandrian and Slavic rites, as well as the liturgical practices of the Holy Mountain Athos. The vast breadth of the materials reviewed in this book does not leave room for an adequate analysis of the Western liturgical tradition, which is not discussed in this book. Although certain descriptions of elements of the Western practice appear several times, they are not organized, or even more so, analysed, but are merely examples of the influences that this rite has had on the development of the liturgical tradition in the East. The following topics are presented this book: 1. The Old Testament tradition of prayer with specific consideration of the elements which have been preserved in the Christian tradition. 2. The liturgical practice of the Church in the first four centuries. After showing historical sources, the book then present the people involved in leading services, the places and times of prayer and the various liturgical services. The second part of the chapter demonstrates the development of liturgical practice in both the cathedral and monastic forms. 3. The formation of the full liturgical cycles in two centres: Palestine and Constantinople. This chapter also presents the development of the liturgical cyclesand the services held therein with an emphasis on outlining the development of the Divine Liturgy. As in the previous chapter, the analysis takes into consideration the development of hymnography and systematization of the service texts. 4. The period in which the first complete „Typikons” appeared and the completion of the formation of the cycle of services. This chapter presents the following: the Studite liturgical practice, the monastic Founder’s Typikons and the development of the neo-Palestinian tradition. 5. The liturgical practice preserved in the first printed „Typikons” and its further development including two main currents – the Greek and Slavic. The analysis conducted in this book of the development of the Orthodox liturgical tradition proves that it unceasingly continues, taking into consideration tradition up to date and the outright idealistic pursuit to reconstruct its oldest and original stages. In this manner, after years of oblivion, the tradition of the Great Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified was revived and restored in the so called neo-Palestinian synthesis. In the same way, the cathedral practice of Constantinople, which has not been practiced for ages, can be shown to have been preserved in contemporary practices of prayer, saving the elaborate customs related to the entrance into the Temple, the system of entrances and other liturgical ceremonies for future generations. The author describes the development of the Orthodox liturgical tradition as evolution and enrichment, but without setting out a uniform trend. This book presents the Orthodox liturgical tradition as living, incessantly developing, and preserving the consistency and continuity of the practice of prayer based on the example and teaching of Our Saviour Jesus Christ.