Do We Really Need so Many Rituals in the Church?
Compared to
the contemporary worship of most Protestant churches and post-Vatican II Roman
Catholic churches, the worship of the Orthodox Church seems overly-formal,
complicated, and rigid in its rubrics. Why are there so many rituals in the
Orthodox Church? Why isn’t there more spontaneity, creativity, and freedom of
expression? Why is the Orthodox Sunday worship service—the Divine
Liturgy—essentially the same week after week, every year, for more than fifteen-hundred
years? Most Orthodox believers would respond, “Because it is our Tradition.”
However, do you know why it is our Tradition and why rituals are so important
to our Christian Faith?
The Need For Peace And Order
Actually, the Bible and the Church Fathers
rarely use the word “ritual” or “rite” when describing Judaic or Christian
religious ceremonial practices. The words more often used are “ordinances” and
“observances.” These words are more descriptive of what should be going on. For
many, “rites” are just a series of behaviors people customarily do without
knowing its meaning—perhaps there was once a reason for the behavior, but now
people just “go through the motions.”
An
“ordinance” is a decree that an activity be regulated (Hebrews 9:1)—kept to a
particular sequence or boundary. In regards to worship services, the Apostle
Paul stated, “all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians
14:40). The reason for this is given in a previous verse: “for God is a God not
of disorder but of peace” (v.33). In fact, St. Paul praises the church at
Colosse for how orderly (τάξιν) they are (Colossians 2:5). Being that
our present day Liturgy of St. Chystostom is based on the first century Liturgy
of St. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, the Orthodox Church has always
practiced a formal, orderly pattern to its worship.
However, the formality of worship really
goes back to Judaic practices starting 13 centuries before Christ with the
exodus of Israel from Egypt. God, through Moses, gave explicit details about a
very orderly and elaborate form of worship centered around the Tabernacle
or Temple. Why? Because God knows how easy it is for mankind to argue about
worship practice differences to the point of confusion (Acts 19:32), prejudice
(John 4:20), and violence (Genesis 4:3-8). It is not hard to look through the
history of mankind and find wars which were in part justified over disputed
religious beliefs and practices. Though inter-faith conflict will likely
continue (John 17:14), God wants to prevent intra-faith conflict within His
Church (John 17:22-23). Therefore, it is necessary the Church be unified in Her
worship practices. The Orthodox Church has kept the unity of the Faith in part
by preserving a precise formula in Her worship. In doing so, the Orthodox
Church has avoided a lot of dissension that has plagued other branches of
Christianity.
The Need For Attention and Remembrance
“Observance” denotes the need to pay
attention and to remember. Six times during the Divine Liturgy the priest or
deacon is giving the exhortation “Let us be attentive.” God doesn’t want us to
just show up at church and habitually say and do the rites while our minds are
occupied with work, grocery lists, or a recent argument with our spouse. Such
worship is not “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). God desires we focus on
what every word said and every gesture made alludes to within the Divine
Liturgy (and other worship services). This takes discipline on our part, but it
is through discipline we become righteous sons and daughters of our Father
(Hebrews 12:4-11). Observing the Divine Liturgy disciplines us to “fix our eyes
on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
It is only
by being attentive we will gain understanding (Proverbs 4:1, 20; 5:1; 7:24;
22:17), find God’s direction for us (Exodus 23:20-21), and enjoy His blessing
(Deuteronomy 7:12-13; 28:13). Attending to the teachings of the Church both
through Scripture (2 Peter 1:19) and Tradition (Hebrews 2:1) keeps us from
drifting into heresy. A good Biblical definition of observance, that we should
remind ourselves of as we enter a church, is: “Mortal, look closely and listen
attentively, and set your mind upon all that I [God] shall show you, for you
were brought here in order that I might show it to you” (Ezekiel 40:4; see also
Isaiah 28:23; 34:1).
The Bible is filled with exhortations to
not only attend but to also remember. We need to continually be reminded of:
who God is, how God has saved us, the miracles which attest to God’s love for
us, the commands God taught us, the saints of old who inspire us, and also remember
those that need charitable aide or divine intervention. The high point of the
Divine Liturgy is when we observe the sacrament of communion, which was
commanded by God to be done “in remembrance” of Christ (Luke 22:19; 1
Corinthians 11:24-25). Orthodox worship services, particularly in its litanies
and hymns, are specifically designed to help us remember.
The Need For Growth and Transformation
Some may argue it is easier to lose one’s
attention within Orthodox services because they are so repetitive. It is
believed contemporary services draw one’s attention better because they change
from week to week and are therefore more stimulating. First, it should be noted
that Orthodox services are not completely repetitive—the readings, the
homilies, and a few of the hymns do change every week. Second, repetition is
good for us: it is how we learn. Besides being an assembly by which we give God
His due—praise and thanksgiving—Orthodox worship services are also classrooms
of instruction about how to rightly believe and behave.
Part of the reason why the worship of the
Orthodox Church is so ritualistic is because a lot of information is being
condensed within a ninety minute service. You can spend decades going to Divine
Liturgies every Sunday and still not plumb all the rich, symbolic depths of
meaning found in that ceremony. The Divine Liturgy is unchanging because its
formula works to help us grow in knowledge and virtue to become
Christ-like—which is the purpose of our lives (Colossians 1:28-29; 2 Peter
3:18). Even if our attentions occasionally wander (which they shouldn’t!),
something of the service is still absorbed within our spirit to bless our
souls. Repetition is transformational. After a while, the Divine Liturgy
becomes more than an ordinance or an observance; it becomes something
intimately a part of out lives—like the beating of our hearts (and no one
complains when are hearts keep the same life-giving rhythm!).
The contemporary worship services of
non-Orthodox churches can be very entertaining. The electronically amplified
instruments, the emotional praise choruses, the dramatic preaching, the
multimedia presentations, can all make for an enjoyable service. However,
watching TV, going to a movie, or being at a music concert can also be
pleasurable. Yet how much do we actually remember from these events? How much
of it helps us to grow towards maturity in the Faith (Hebrew 5:12-6:1)? We must
ask ourselves whether worship was meant by God to be entertaining. Shouldn’t
worship be something different than what the world produces? Shouldn’t worship
be something that reverences God rather than regales the congregation?
The Need For Costly Worship
“Liturgy” means “work of the people.” God
desires that we love Him with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might (Deuteronomy
6:5, emphasis added). Participating in the Divine Liturgy is not a physically
comfortable experience: there is standing, kneeling, and prostrations. One
doesn’t (or shouldn’t!) just passively watch a performance at an Orthodox
church service. The laity is invited to be involved throughout the service in
reverencing icons, joining in the singing of the hymns, reciting the Nicene
Creed, and adding their hearts or voices to the prayers. It you are not a
little tired when the Divine Liturgy is finished then you haven’t fully been
worshiping God.
Though worship can be a joyful celebration
(Psalm 100:1-2), Scripture makes it clear that God desires worship to also be
costly. The first recorded act of worship was the story of Cain and Abel, the
sons of Adam and Eve, when God accepts Abel’s sacrifice but rejects Cain’s
(Genesis 4:3-7). God explained that not just any offering will do, but only the
best of what we have to give will receive His approval. The animals sacrificed
to God had to be without defect and therefore they were the most valuable of
the herd (Leviticus 1:3). The Divine Liturgy was refined over the early
centuries to make it the best worship service we can offer to God. It has
stayed the same since then because no Orthodox theologian has figured out how
to make it any better than St. Chrystostom’s fourth century version.
In summary, Orthodox worship services are
ritualistic because: (1) God desires that our services be orderly as a
reflection of Himself. (2) Our Lord desires a set pattern of worship to
maintain unity and avoid dissension. (3) The services require we discipline
ourselves to attend, remember, and participate; so that we might be perfected
in the Faith. (4) Worship was meant to be costly—requiring the best that we
have to honor God with. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that
cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable
worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire”
(Hebrews 12:28-29).
“It behooves us to do all things in order,
which the Lord has commanded us to perform at stated times. He has commanded
offerings and service to be performed. And these things are not to be performed
thoughtlessly or irregularly, but at the appointed times and hours.” — St. Clement of Rome, 96AD
Source: http://pemptousia.com/2016/11/why-all-the-rituals/