Anglican Studies Program
BV 2315
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ANGLICAN LITURGY
WINTER QUARTER 2015
“Was ever another command so obeyed? For century after century, spreading slowly to every continent and country and among every race on earth, [the Eucharist has been celebrated], in every conceivable human circumstance, for every conceivable human need from infancy and before it to extreme old age and after it, from the pinnacle of earthly greatness to the refuge of fugitives in the caves and dens of the earth. Men have found no better thing than this to do for kings at their crowning and for criminals going to the scaffold; for armies in triumph or for a bride and bridegroom in a little country church; for the proclamation of a dogma or for a good crop of wheat; for the wisdom of the Parliament of a mighty nation or for a sick old woman afraid to die; for a schoolboy sitting an examination or for Columbus setting out to discover America; for the famine of whole provinces or for the soul of a dead lover; in thankfulness because my father did not die of pneumonia; for a village headman much tempted to return to fetich because the yams had failed; because the Turk was at the gates of Vienna; for the repentance of Margaret; for the settlement of a strike; for a son for a barren woman; for Captain so-and-so wounded and prisoner of war; while the lions roared in the nearby amphitheatre; on the beach at Dunkirk; while the hiss of scythes in the thick June grass came faintly through the windows of the church; tremulously, by an old monk on the fiftieth anniversary of his vows; furtively, by an exiled bishop who had hewn timber all day in a prison camp near Murmansk; gorgeously, for the canonisation of S. Joan of Arc—one could fill many pages with the reasons why men have done this, and not tell a hundredth part of them. And best of all, week by week and month by month, on a hundred thousand successive Sundays, faithfully, unfailingly, across all the parishes of Christendom, the pastors have done this just to make the plebs sancta Dei —the holy common people of God.
Dom Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy 1945
“Mr Dean,” someone once asked Dean Inge of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, “are you interested in liturgy?”
“No,” Inge replied, “and neither do I collect postage stamps.”
Unknown source
INSTRUCTOR
The Very Reverend Peter Eaton, MA
Dean, Saint John’s Cathedral, Denver, Colorado
Phone: (303) 831-7115 x 7721
E-mail: peter@sjcathedral.org
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course argues that Anglican liturgy finds its surest footing and clearest expression when it is understood within the broad sweep of what we know as the sacramental, liturgical traditions of East and West. It is a tradition that makes claims in liturgy as well as in theology to be both catholic and reformed. The sacramental nature of Anglican worship is deeply related to the commitment of Anglicanism to a pervasive theology of the incarnation. From the time of Cranmer, Anglicans have also been attentive to the fundamental understanding of liturgy to be both a public act and a collaborative enterprise between the clergy and the laity. Since the emergence of the Anglican tradition after the Reformation, Anglican worship has continued a steady course of reform, inculturation, and new expression. At every stage we shall keep in mind the heart of the Church’s life, which is the celebration of the Paschal Mystery.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION
GOALS OF THE COURSE
COURSE OUTCOMES
Students who complete the requirements of this course will:
I have intentionally listed in both the bibliography and in the reading assignments some texts that duplicate each other, at least in the data they provide. Their interpretations of that data may be very different. You are welcome to use the books that are easiest to hand with respect to data (e.g. early liturgical texts can be found in a number of books, as well as on online sites). Some secondary studies are, of course, better than others, though I have not included anything in the bibliographies or reading assignments that is poor (obviously!). You will develop a sense of the reliability of some scholars over others as you do your work.
Relax. You will not read all these during this course, but all these books are important, and as in all theological disciplines, the more you read, particularly of foundational texts, the better grasp of the theological enterprise you will have. There are no short-cuts, and part of the goal of this course is to shape your sensibilities so that during the rest of your life, you will know where to go for reliable theological reflection on liturgy. When you read, never forget that there are often jewels in the footnotes. Some of these books may well be out of print. If Amazon does not help you, you may spend a great deal of money at www.bookfinder.com.
In the interest of making sources easily available, especially to those who may not be near libraries, I am attaching four files of sources in the history of the Eucharist from a colleague's course in another theological school. Please use these files as you need to and as they are helpful. They are not in themselves required reading, but they may contain some of the texts that I have listed in the syllabus as required. In any case they will be illuminating if you have time to look at some of them during the quarter.
Please only use these for your personal work; please do not forward them on to others.
Our work in this course includes attention to both historical overviews and close, textual analyses of original sources. Your grade for the course will be evaluated according to the following formula:
Weekly postings = 40%
Four seminar papers and peer reviews = 40%
Triduum Project = 20%
On alternating weeks this quarter, we will work together on an activity I am calling exegetical discussion. These exegetical discussions will give us a chance to practice close reading of small selections of liturgical texts in conversation with one another while applying the related theological framing readings on the topic.
For each discussion, you will be given some framing readings from our texts for the course and other pertinent resources. Related to these readings, I will also select 2-3 exegetical texts -- small passages from liturgical texts of our tradition for us to read closely. I expect everyone to read all of the framing readings and all of the exegetical texts. Then, each student will choose ONE of these exegetical texts upon which to post a reflection. These close reading reflections should be somewhere between 250 and 400 words. For each text, please begin with identifying it. Some of the questions you might ask as you comment on the texts are these:
There will be other questions that will occur to you from your reading. You will not be able to comment on everything. Choose your points and make them clearly and effectively.
After you have posted your close reading reflection, you will be able to see the reflections posted by others. Each student will be asked to substantially engage the conversation at least 2 more times throughout the week, with at least one of these posts extending the conversation around one of the exegetical texts you did not choose for your initial close reading reflection. You will also be expected to monitor any interactions with your initial reflection and respond appropriately. For more details on what I expect regarding substantial engagement and extending the conversation, see Beyond The Thread. Please give this a close read because these are the guidelines I will use when assessing your participation in the conversation.
In terms of mechanics, we will use hashtags to identify each exegetical text and posts related to it. So, every post made in the discussion will require a hashtag (e.g. #martyr) to allow us to aggregate and filter discussion posts around one of the texts. You can use the search feature at the top of the discussion thread in Canvas to filter all posts out except those with a particular tag. I also encourage you to post questions and insights that integrate or bridge these exegetical texts. In these cases, simply include all of the relevant hashtags in your post so that it will surface when filtering on either of the texts you are engaging.
Peer Review points will be included in your exegetical paper grade as the last criteria in the rubric.
Date | Day | Details | |
Jan 09, 2015 | Fri | Laying the Theological Foundation | due by 06:59AM |
Jan 10, 2015 | Sat | Getting to Know Each Other | due by 06:59AM |
Jan 11, 2015 | Sun | Theological Foundation Continued | due by 06:59AM |
Jan 13, 2015 | Tue | Defining Our Terms | due by 06:59AM |
Jan 16, 2015 | Fri | Peer Review: Defining Our Terms | due by 06:59AM |
Jan 20, 2015 | Tue | History of Liturgy: The Beginnings | due by 06:59AM |
Jan 23, 2015 | Fri | The Beginnings Continued | due by 06:59AM |
Feb 03, 2015 | Tue | Baptism: Origins and Early Development | due by 06:59AM |
Feb 17, 2015 | Tue | The Eucharist: On the night he was betrayed… | due by 06:59AM |
Mar 03, 2015 | Tue | The Daily Office: Pray without Ceasing | due by 06:59AM |