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Comments
I disagree. The liturgy is heaven on earth and as such is an objective reality of life in the Holy Trinity through the person of Jesus Christ.
You can either experience it objectively, or not experience it at all, instead experiencing a figment of your own imagination, or more likely, something boring and meaningless.
Today people think of the liturgy as a dead ritual where we come listen to Abouna sing some nice words and eat and drink Jesus' Body and Blood.
As for the rituals, it seems that such elaborate explanations for the rituals were not needed in the early church when they were far simpler. The purpose of these rites and rituals are to help us understand the service and illustrate its meanings and only needed straightforward debriefing as is seen in St. Cyril of Jerusalem's Chatachesis. Today everything has been over ritualized from the movement of one arm, to the direction I move my foot, to the way I place my hand on the floor. Its this over layering of rules and ritualization of customs through the years that give young deacons the impression that this one big custom rather than the Holy Tradition of God. For example why is it when someone doesn't use the 'lafayif' they get told they are breaking the tuqs. This was a roman custom that found its way into our church when we used to place the Body into our own mouths. Once the Priest began placing it there was no real reason to use them.
This is what I'm saying the liturgy should be practical, alive and dynamic in its expression and manifestation, not a custom that is set in stone without meaning (and often times meanings are invented for it). Fr. Tadros Malaty in his book on Tradition describes tradition as dynamic.
God Bless
Today people think of the liturgy as a dead ritual where we come listen to Abouna sing some nice words and eat and drink Jesus' Body and Blood.
As for the rituals, it seems that such elaborate explanations for the rituals were not needed in the early church when they were far simpler. The purpose of these rites and rituals are to help us understand the service and illustrate its meanings and only needed straightforward debriefing as is seen in St. Cyril of Jerusalem's Chatachesis. Today everything has been over ritualized from the movement of one arm, to the direction I move my foot, to the way I place my hand on the floor. Its this over layering of rules and ritualization of customs through the years that give young deacons the impression that this one big custom rather than the Holy Tradition of God. For example why is it when someone doesn't use the 'lafayif' they get told they are breaking the tuqs. This was a roman custom that found its way into our church when we used to place the Body into our own mouths. Once the Priest began placing it there was no real reason to use them.
This is what I'm saying the liturgy should be practical, alive and dynamic in its expression and manifestation, not a custom that is set in stone without meaning (and often times meanings are invented for it). Fr. Tadros Malaty in his book on Tradition describes tradition as dynamic.
God Bless
http://www.svots.edu/sites/default/files/basilsce.pdf
It talks about St Basil (one of the saints who we ascribe authorship of our anaphoras) and the connection of liturgy served on the altar (which fed the faithful) and leitorgia of the table (which fed the needy).