Title: The Meaning of Christian Liturgy: Recent Developments in the Church of Sweden
Abstract: The Meaning of Christian Liturgy: Recent Developments in the Church of Sweden. Edited by Oloph Bexell with forward by Gordon Lathrop. (Grand Rapids, Michigan & Cambridge, UK: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2012, Pp. xii, 177. $18.00, paper.)With 6.5 million members, the Church of Sweden is the world's largest Lutheran body. Despite disestablishment in 2000 and lower attendance figures, 70% of Sweden's population still claims membership in the former state church. Underscoring its unique position within Protestantism, Nathan Soderblom, late archbishop of Uppsala, maintained that the Church of Sweden embodied evangelical catholicity, possessing a stronger and more faithful continuity with the institutions of the church of the Middle Ages than any other non-Roman section of Western Christendom (29). Soderblom's bold claim is supported by the church's maintenance of the historic episcopate and three-fold ministry, preservation of medieval church buildings, including pre-Reformation iconography, and rich liturgical heritage. The latter, in particular, is the focus of The Meaning of Christian Liturgy.The seven essays were written by ecclesiastical scholars Oloph Bexell and Sven-Erik Brodd, parish priests Torbjorn Axner and Karin Oljelund, liturgical officer Boel Hossjer Sundman, and retired archbishop Gunnar Weman, with forward by American liturgist Gordon Lathrop, in preparation for anticipated changes to the Swedish Service Book (den svenska kyrkohandboken), last issued in 1986. Although not so organized, the essays fit into three categories: history and liturgical development; theological and textual analysis of recent and current liturgies and practices; and use and adaptation of Sweden's church buildings, many dating to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Throughout, the authors display sympathy with the renewal brought by the Swedish High Church movement led by twentieth century theologian bishops Soderblom, Gustaf Aulen, and Yngve Brilioth, as well as in conversation with AngloCatholicism, and especially following the global and ecumenical revolution initiated by Vadean II.Bexell, Brodd, and Axner place Swedish liturgical practice in the context of Western Christianity, demonstrating that over the past century Sweden has undergone thorough process of liturgical evolution: from German-influenced conception of worship as the opportunity for biblical and doctrinal education toward more sacramental encounter with God. …
Publication Year: 2014
Publication Date: 2014-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
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