Embodied Liturgy

C. Andrew Doyle

Description

In an age of online church, can a virtual Eucharist work?

Can the ‘reality’ of the Eucharist be maintained online?

Author C. Andrew Doyle, in a well-researched and thoughtful study of both virtual reality and liturgy, argues that the Eucharist is not a formulaic rehearsal of words and rituals but an embodied and lived experience. This requires a shared place and presence. While the church should not shy away from virtual ministry, we should be wary of using the technological realm for the celebration of the Eucharist, an act that is an outward and visible sign of our spiritual union with God and one another. It brings us closer to friend and stranger for the transformation of individuals into unity in Christ. The context of the ritual–with people, objects, words, and all sorts of nuance–creates intimacy with God and each other.

This unique book is especially timely and will be of interest to scholars, liturgists, and those interested in sacramental theology in the digital age.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Practice
• Christian Rituals
• Philosophie et théologie
• Virtual reality
• Eucharist

Informations

• Publié par: Church Publishing Incorporated
• Date de parution: 18 mai 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781640654365
• Langue: English

Extrait

Advance Praise for Embodied Liturgy
Bishop Andy Doyle has brought the full compass of contemporary thought to bear on the controverted question of virtual Eucharist. Here is a manuscript that does not imagine the answer will be simple or simplistic; rather it will demand a serious encounter with leading ideas in the philosophy of mind, in physics, in historical analysis of secularism, and in the rise of global economics. In these pages you will find detailed assessment of Rowan Williams, David Chalmers, John Polkinghorne, TF Torrance and Charles Taylor. This is a traditional argument for a traditional sacramental theology-but it is hardly done in traditional or old-fashioned terms This is a work conversant with critical race theory, with contemporary analyses of virtual economies and surveillance capitalism, and with current work on Christian doctrines of liturgy and mission. This is the generous intellectual landscape that is needed for the theological questions bearing down on the church in this time of pandemic.
-The Rev. Dr. Kate Sonderegger, William Meade Chair in Systematic Theology at Virginia Theological Seminary
Prefaced by an essay by William Franklin detailing the recovery of the Eucharist as the corporate expression of what it means to be limbs of Christ s risen body, Andrew Doyle goes on to draw out the implications of the Liturgy which locates the real presence of Christ, not only in the formal elements of the rite, but also in the gathered community of worshipers. Is an online virtual Eucharist a valid pastoral response in this time of COVID or, viewed as an embodied corporate action, does such a Eucharist violate the very nature of the sacrament? Bishop Doyle s thoughtful and closely reasoned reflections on this question are an important and timely contribution to this ongoing debate.
-The Most Rt. Rev. Frank T Griswold, XXV Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
The scope of the argument is breathtaking. With a theological depth, deep insight, and engaging with the true breath of what it means to be a person, Andy Doyle creates a compelling argument that presence and place are at the core of the celebration of the Eucharist. The exercise could not have been done better: this is a landmark text in Anglican Eucharistic Theology.
-The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, PhD, Dean of Virginia Theological Seminary
It is a gift to have a bishop-theologian in our church, and Bishop Doyle is just that. In this volume Doyle has made extensive and sound use of many theologians, authors and resources, marshaled to make a compelling case against a facile use of virtual reality technology and to offer an alternative vision of the continued centrality of the Eucharistic gathering as an alternative body politic in an increasingly excarnate Western social-imaginary. This book is not only immediately relevant, but will have a lasting impact on the church s perennial conversation concerning the nature and efficacy of the Christian sacraments.
-The Rev. Dr. Nathan Jennings, J. Milton Richardson Associate Professor of Liturgics and Anglican Studies at Seminary of the Southwest
Andy Doyle approaches the question of virtual Eucharist with the same dignity and care to which he calls any who would dare to engage in deeper conversation about this complex and at times emotionally charged topic. With a detailed historical introduction by fellow scholar-bishop William Franklin, this book is one that undoubtedly will be an important resource for years to come.
-The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church, and author of Love Is the Way: Holding On to Hope in Troubling Times
Bishop Doyle offers a careful analysis of virtual sacraments, grounded in a sophisticated reading of theology, history, and philosophy. Drawing on Christian sacramental theology and ecclesiology from the early church through to the present day, paired with his own, perceptive analysis, he builds his case about the nature of the incarnation, community, and eucharistic presence. Doyle s conclusion-that virtual Eucharist is inimical to both the nature of a sacrament and to the essence of the Christian community that celebrates them-should be heeded by all.
-James Turrell, Dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South, Scholar of the Liturgy
Bishop Doyle has written a very rich and stimulating text. The conversation about virtual reality will not go away. He has provided very thoughtful leadership to this question and has avoided giving trivial answers in a difficult pastoral moment. In particular, Bishop Doyle s work on liturgical language alone is a stimulating addition to any liturgical conversation. As to the liturgy, he avoids a defective eucharistic theology by reminding us that a true Eucharist is the feeding of an entire gathered assembly. The book Embodied Liturgy ensures that liturgy remains a step on the path, and does not become an idol in itself-whereby we betray its authentic meaning. Bishop Doyle s work will be an enduring contribution to liturgical theology.
-The Rev. Dr. Louis Weil, James F. Hodges and Harold and Rita Haynes Professor Emeritus of Liturgics EMBODIED
EMBODIED LITURGY
VIRTUAL REALITY AND LITURGICAL THEOLOGY IN CONVERSATION
C. ANDREW DOYLE
Copyright 2021 by C. Andrew Doyle
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Church Publishing 19 East 34th Street New York, NY 10016 www.churchpublishing.org
Cover design by Tiny Little Hammers Typeset by Rose Design
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Doyle, C. Andrew, author.
Title: Embodied liturgy : virtual reality and liturgical theology in conversation / C. Andrew Doyle.
Description: New York, NY : Church Publishing, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020057761 (print) | LCCN 2020057762 (ebook) | ISBN 9781640654358 (paperback) | ISBN 9781640654365 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Liturgical adaptation. | Lord s Supper--Episcopal Church. | Virtual reality--Religious aspects--Christianity. | Religious broadcasting--Christianity.
Classification: LCC BV178 .D69 2021 (print) | LCC BV178 (ebook) | DDC 264/.03--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057761
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057762
The Holy Eucharist is essentially the sacrament of unity, as great theologians like St. Augustine, St. Thomas, and John Calvin have always taught. But to make it the sacrament of unity requires a faith sufficient to go beyond words and formulas, beyond national and ecclesiastical habits. Ours is the responsibility and the duty to make the most of our prayer book Eucharist as a living, spiritual tradition. Thus it would attract far-flung and unsuspected loyalties, and the next one hundred and fifty years might witness its development into an increasingly effective instrument for the promotion of unity among all the churches of our sadly divided and distracted Christendom. May it not be the special vocation of our Church to make that contribution to the fulfilment of our Lord s great eucharistic petition that they all may be one ?
William Palmer Ladd, 1942 1
CONTENTS
Preface: Two Movements of the Past That Inform the Future The Rt. Rev. Dr. William Franklin
Introduction
1. LOCATING LITURGY
2. VIRTUAL REALITY AS A REAL LOCATION FOR LITURGY
3. IMPLICATIONS OF A CONSTRUCTED REALITY UPON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MEANING-MAKING LITURGY
4. LITURGICAL LANGUAGE WITHIN THE FRAME OF LANGUAGE-MAKING
5. THE LANGUAGE-MAKING CREATURE S LITURGY
6. LITURGICAL MEANING-MAKING AS NARRATIVE
7. CONSIDERING THE SOCIOLOGICAL LITURGICAL CONTEXT
8. WHO DOES THE VIRTUAL SPHERE BELONG TO?
9. LITURGICAL PROXIMITY AND METAPHYSICS
10. LITURGICAL PROXIMITY AND CHRISTOLOGY
11. VIRTUAL LITURGY AND THE INDIVIDUALIST SOCIETY
12. SACRAMENTAL ROOTEDNESS IN CREATION
13. THE AMPLIFIED HUMAN AND THE LITURGY
14. CIVITAS EUCHARISTICUS
CONCLUSION
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
About the Author
PREFACE
Two Movements of the Past That Inform the Future
The Rt. Rev. Dr. William Franklin 1
Bishop Doyle has given us much to think about. This is not the first time the church has confronted the challenge of liturgical revival and the act and meaning of the Eucharist.
As Bishop Doyle s book explains, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised anew the possibility of celebrating the Eucharist virtually at a time when it is unsafe for us to worship in person. A virtual Eucharist endangers the dignity of the human person by its reliance on isolated individuals rather than on our experiences in relationship to creation and one another. Bishop Doyle s book shows that the Eucharist is not a formulaic repetition of words and gestures but a lived experience that requires common place and presence. We should approach with caution the use of the digital realm for the celebration of the Eucharist, an act that is an outward and visible sign of our spiritual union with God and one another.
My contribution to this conversation is a review of two key nineteenth-century movements in liturgical revival: the Puseyites, who were part of the Oxford Movement; and the Liturgical Movement that was part of the Benedictine revival in the Roman Catholic Church. These are parallel movements that responded to the great social issues of their own age: industrialization and mechanization and the corresponding threats to health and safety, the depersonalization of work, isolation of individuals, emphasis on materialism and financial gain,