Module Level
8 (Undergraduate)
Time Allowance
Lectures: 24 hours Tutorials: 3 hours; Tutorial Assignments (three 600 to 800 word reflection papers): 8 hours
Assessment
Tutorials: 30% Continuous Assessment: 20% End of semester examination: 50%
Module Aims
This course will introduce students to the liturgy of the Christian Church. Beginning with the scriptural foundations of Christian liturgy, the course will explore its historical development and theological grounding. Particular attention will be paid to the ritual nature of liturgical celebration, the role of public prayer in the life of the Church and an introduction to the Sacraments of Christian Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
Indicative Syllabus
Getting started: Expectations, Outlines and Assessments
Defining liturgy, worship and ritual?
Language, symbol and ritual communication.
Rites of passage and liturgical celebration
The origins and development of Christian liturgy. What is a Rite?
From Jerusalem to Rome: The growth of a Rite.
The Age of Constantine
Medieval Christianity and its celebrations
Crisis, Division and Reform: The Reformations
The liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Reading the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
The Sacraments of Christian Initiation
Liturgy in Space and Time
The cult of the saints
Contemporary Concerns and liturgical developments
Bibliography
- — Ferrone, Rita, Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Mahwah: Paulist Press, 2007.
- — Ramshaw, Gail, Christian Worship, 100,000 Sundays of Symbols and Rituals, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009.
- — Day, Juliette, Reading the Liturgy : An exploration of texts in Christian Worship,(London: T&T Clark, 2014).
- — Mitchell, Nathan, Meeting Mystery (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006).