Does anyone know of a good source for this history of orders of worship or comparative orders of worhip?
This is an amazing question and I think I've listened to a podcast where they talked about this. I'm going to dig through and see what I can find. And follow this thread to see what others post.
Thanks for this most excellent question!
Here are some resources from my neck of the woods.
Thanks - I'm looking specifically for the reformed tradition of orders of worship as opposed to a full liturgy. This will give me some solid starting points.
Hi MJ--you probably already have this resource but I'm just putting it out there:
https://www.logos.com/product/5774/the-complete-library-of-christian-worship
Not sure if it addresses your specific question in the detail you'd like, but it might be worth a search or two.
You might want to check out this book:
Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Past and Present
Some excerpts from the section titled "A Historical Survey" to whet your appetite:
"It might appear that all the components of liturgy had been covered: word, prayer, sacraments. The Calvinist Reformed paradigm for worship, however, included one more element, based on the teaching of Acts 2:42: 'They continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and the fellowship and the breaking of the bread and the prayers.' That fourth element was fellowship, and those four aspects of worship together—preaching the word, fellowship, the Supper, and prayers—were regarded as necessary components of the right worship gathering, not a specific order of service."
"Calvin’s Genevan Service of the Word and Sacrament
(Order of 1562, with three psalms) Liturgy of the Word Psalm Invocation Confession of Sin Psalm Minister’s Extempore Prayer for Illumination-Sealing Biblical Text and Sermon-Exposition Liturgy of the Table Confession of Faith (Apostles’ Creed) Decalogue (sung) Scripture (1 Cor. 11:23–29) and Exhortation Distribution (men and then women file up in order, a lector reads aloud from the Gospel of John chap. 13 and following) Thanksgiving Song of Simeon Benediction"
"Early-seventeenth-century Dutch and German Reformed immigrants arrived in America with orders of worship that were more recognizably related to sixteenth-century Reformed liturgies. Puritan ideas about worship, however, affected Reformed churches in the Netherlands and Germany in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, through the Pietist movement. Later waves of Dutch and German immigrants, including pastors, brought with them worship practices consistent with this Pietist view. Because of changing practices in Europe, and under the influence of Congregationalists and Presbyterians in America, Dutch and German Reformed worship in the American colonies was also stripped over time of liturgical elements or fixed prayers, and focused on the reading of Scripture and preaching."
That whole "A Historical Survey" section is 280 pages and has lots of "For Further Reading" sections with good references.
Here's the Table of Contents of that "A Historical Survey" section:
Also check this out:
https://www.amazon.com/Reformation-Worship-Liturgies-Past-Present/dp/1948130211
Just recommended on Feedbear by Maxim Farocanag:
https://feedback.faithlife.com/boards/logos-book-requests/posts/reformation-worship-liturgies-from-the-past-for-the-present
I picked this up a few days ago and am reading it. It is very much what I was looking for. It reminded me that I have a 55 year old copy of Liturgies of the Western Church by Bard Thompson stashed away somewhere. It is apparently still a primary resource, reprinted recently.
It reminded me that I have a 55 year old copy of Liturgies of the Western Church by Bard Thompson stashed away somewhere. It is apparently still a primary resource, reprinted recently.
Looks like it's high time to get that into Logos. It's available in Kindle edition. I've just created a suggestion for it on the feedback board:
https://feedback.faithlife.com/boards/logos-book-requests/posts/liturgies-of-the-western-church
This one is also helpful but according to me :
The order of worship can vary depending on the denomination, tradition, or community. However, a typical order of worship in a Christian church service might include the following elements:
It is worth mentioning that not all the elements are present in all denominations and also the order may change in different churches.
Hi MJ--you probably already have this resource but I'm just putting it out there: https://www.logos.com/product/5774/the-complete-library-of-christian-worship
I concur. Webber speaks of this subject from "within the camp"
