History of Christian Worship

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History of Christian Worship

• Rev Dr Stephen Skuce
• s.skuce_at_cliffcollege.ac.uk

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• What is the common feature here?

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• The Apostolic Age
• Continuity, but growing discontinuity, with
  Judaism
• A Jesus (synagogue, temple feasts)
• B apostles, early Christians
• worship prayer in temple (Luke 2453 Acts
  246 31)
• teaching in temple (Acts 521,25,42)
• participation in temple rites (Acts 2126)
• teaching in synagogues (Acts 1314 141
  171-2,10,17 184,19 198)

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• C Adapted forms of worship
• 1. House meetings and common meals, probably
  including the Lords Supper (Acts 2 42-47
  206 1 Cor. 1126 161-2)
• 2. Elements Scripture reading, preaching,
  singing, prayer, fellowship

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• The Patristic Period
• private, small communities
• periodic persecutions and hence eschatological
  expectations
• developing traditions
• A lex orandi, lex credenda (the law of prayer
  is the law of faith) expressions of faith often
  preceded and informed doctrinal formulations for
  example praying to Christ (Acts 759-60 2 Cor.
  128-9), singing His praise (Eph. 519 Revel.
  58-10,13-14), baptizing into Christ (Romans 63
  Galatians 327), referring to Him as Lord
  (Romans 109 1 Cor. 123)
• canon of Scripture and creeds formulated (in
  response to heresies)
• growing sacramentalism
• conversion of Constantine, leading to public
  Christianity
• increased public role of clergy

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Codex Sinaiticus, written in Greek in the 4th
century
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• The Middle Ages
• A rise of priesthood, saints, Mariology
• B ascendancy of the Mass, decline of preaching
• C Is this a description of modern cathedral
  worship?
• D Development of Orthodox tradition

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• The Reformation
• Reformation of doctrine and worship
• Primacy of the Word of God and doctrine
• Translation of the Bible into the language of the
  people
• Reaction and over-reaction
• Rise of state churches (Catholic, Orthodox
  (earlier), Lutheran, Reformed) with regional
  liturgy

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• The Post-Reformation Period
• 1 Ascendancy of preaching, decline of worship
  and the Lords Supper
• 2 Differing views on worship
• Normative Principle whatever is not expressly
  forbidden in Scripture is allowable (Roman
  Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans)
• Regulative Principle whatever is not expressly
  allowed in Scripture is forbidden
  (Presbyterians, Reformed)

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• 3 The Enlightenment, rationalism, and
  theological liberalism
• 4 The rise of evangelicalism and free churches
• 5 The reformation of worship
• 6 Vatican II (Roman Catholic)
• Word of God, preaching
• mass in the vernacular
• Protestants errant brethren
• 7 Charismatic/Pentecostal worship
• 8 Alt.worship

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Orthodox
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Roman Catholic
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Methodist
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New Frontiers
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Quaker
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Wainwright and Tuckerfield (eds) Oxford History
of Christian Worship (Oxford OUP, 2005)

• Look for other works by Geoffrey Wainwright,
  James White, Susan White