The Bishops came together again from 7-12 January, 2008 for our annual retreat at the Ibru Anglican Retreat Centre at Agbarha-Otor. We were particularly pleased to have our brother Bishops from our outreaches to CANA (in the USA), and the Province of Congo with us. It afforded us the opportunity for further reflection on OUR LITURGICAL HERITAGE. We had as our chief resource person Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies (Anglican Communion) and we spent quality time rediscovering the Biblical foundations of our liturgy. We came to the conclusion that we do indeed have a rich and strongly biblical heritage which must be rediscovered, cherished, and guarded by all true Anglicans. Our Liturgy is a dramatization of The Bible and should therefore be held sacred without casual departures at the discretion of individuals. Our liturgy promotes fellowship, teaching, mission, and relevant spirituality. All of us ”“ Bishops, Clergy and Laity have a great role to play in this regard. We must take time to prepare prayerfully so that the liturgy does not become a cold and lifeless aspect of our worship life, but a vibrant, inspiring and liberating encounter with our self-revealing God. Our liturgy enables us to respond to God’s self-disclosure. As Anglicans, we are encouraged to live godly lives in the Church and in society. Our members in public office should go with a sense of mission as those who have been inspired by this encounter with the living God.
[blockquote]We had as our chief resource person Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies (Anglican Communion) and we spent quality time rediscovering the Biblical foundations of our liturgy.[/blockquote]
IMHO, this is the most significant sentence in the letter. I had been under the impression that Gomez was a “communion conservative.” He was at one time (still is?) a central figure in ACI. Either the lines are not so clearly drawn as some imagine, or some “communion conservatives” (Gomez and Venables) seem to have changed camps recently.
Speaking at the Nigerian Bishop’s Retreat does not commit Archbishop Gomez to supporting every Nigerian policy. For all we know, he could have been there precisely to suggest that the Liturgy is an expression of our unity in Christ, which should be expressed in visible communion. We should not take the Nigerian spin on his presence for granted. For example, given what I know about West Indian liturgy and theology (I have attended a Eucharist celebrated by +Gomez when he was Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago), I doubt that his presentation was as uniformly Protestant in tone as the Communique and Pastoral Letter might suggest.
That said, I think it is clear that +Gomez is one of the few Primates trying hard to hold the FedCon and ComCon factions together without aligning clearly with either. That’s why he was the logical choice to chair the Covenant drafting committee.
I do have one question:
What exactly is meant by the liturgy being a “dramatization of the Bible”? Liturgical studies just happens to be my field, but that particular phrase is a new one for me. Frankly, “dramatization of the Bible” brings up images of Passion plays and Christmas pageants instead of either the office of daily prayer or the celebration of the Paschal mystery in the Eucharist.
Kevin
Dale Rye,
Your take on Gomez’s presence is as good as anyone’s, apart from specific comments from Gomez. In light of recent very public statements exacerbating differences between conservative Anglicans, it is significant both that Akinola invited Gomez, and that he was there. Make what you will of it.
# 3, In his book ” The Lamb’s Supper, Mass As Heaven On Earth” Catholic teacher and author Scott Hahn writes our earthly liturgy allows us to share in the heavenly liturgy shown in Revelations. As one site wrote ( Scripture Catholic) “for they are one and the same liturgical action of Jesus Christ our High Priest.”
If memory serves this view is not unique to contemporary authors but was shared by early Church Fathers. I happily stand corrected should I be wrong. It has always been held in Catholicism and I believe by Anglo-Catholicism that the sacrifice of the Mass is the one and same sacrifice made on Calvary but in a different form. Perhaps either of these is what the Apb means.
Kevin,
May I suggest you start with the [i]sursum corda[/i] in the Eucharist?
As #6, alluded, the Eucharistic Prayer is at heart a drama. Partly it dramatizes the Last Supper; more profoundly, the Eucharist is a “mystery play” in which we are invited to present “in illo tempore” (at the beginning) and “in presentia Christi.”
Paula #5, this notion is intriguing. Chapters 4-5 and 7 of Revelation (no “s”) show that the language of heaven is worship and praise. If we think of the Eucharist, including the evocation of the communion of saints in the Great Thanksgiving, as the “wedding” of heaven and earth in worship, then this is drama indeed. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!”
Bob. There is a reason one should never proofread one’s own work. Thanks for catching that error.
When I came to realize that during Mass the veil between heaven and earth was torn away no matter for how brief a time it was one of those knock your socks of moments. We truly are members of the Communion of Saints, both earthly saints and heavenly ones.
I’m not questioning the aspects of drama in the Eucharist or the connection between the liturgy in heaven and the liturgy on earth. My question was about the particular phrase “dramatization of the Bible.”
Something tells me that this makes more sense in the evangelical leaning of the Church of Nigeria.
Of course, there’s also the question of how much Scripture was determined by the liturgical activity of the early church. Christians were celebrating the Lord’s Supper before there were any Gospels or even any letters from Paul.
Somehow, my comment on this post appears in after the post on the Nigerian Bishops’ Communique. Beats me how that happened.