Got Fathers?
I was wondering the other day:
Which churches publicly celebrate the Church Fathers in their liturgical life? By this I mean, which ones commemorate them liturgically or perhaps in some other fashion I am unaware of?
I know for a fact Catholics, Orthodox, and Anglicans do, but otherwise my knowledge is somewhat sketchy. Do Lutherans? What about Presbyterians?
It seems most folks who read the Church Fathers as evangelicals end up Catholic, Orthodox, or Anglican at some point. Part of this could be that, in addition to having a theology similar to the Fathers, these churches celebrate the Fathers regularly and appreciate them, not just treating them as historical proofs for apologetical purposes, but actually integrating them into the church’s prayer life. I know when I became Anglican in 2000, I was very impressed that I could go to church on a certain date and celebrate the life of a Church Father whose writing I read just days earlier. In some senses, this meant more than any official Anglican theology, although that played a role. Part of it could be that appreciating the Church Fathers was purely extracurricular (and often questioned) in the church I attended before becoming Anglican, and I was glad to be in a church that recognized the contributions of Christians who lived before the last few hundred years.
Related to this, a blessed Feast of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist to all of you.
[P.S. I am back online after a hiatus of sorts. I haven't had internet access for about 2 weeks outside of at work, which is part of the reason for my break, but back in the beginning of August I basically decided to take a blog hiatus of sorts, to get refreshed mentally. I think blogging, podcasting, etc, can take a great deal of energy, and a month or two off is what I needed.]
David Bennett
Jennifer
asimplesinner
Fr. J.
Chad Toney
Jorge Flores
Jonathan B
carmelbennett
nicenehobbit
Jason S
jaybird68
papaz
August 30, 2006 at 12:15 pm
In short, yes we do observe the fathers in the course of the liturgical cycle. However, the calendar is different from the Roman calendar in that some feasts have been removed, and like the Anglicans, some people are commemorated that I think may be a bit “iffy”.
We have weekday Eucharists locally in which the sermon itself is generally replaced with a bit of redings from the Fathers or a piece hagiography about them. I usually use the Anglican missal (which is more Roman than the Romans) as my starting point for this. On Sundays, if a particular saint’s feast falls on that day, I try and incorporate it into the homily.
Also, when doing the daily office, I try to bring in readings from the Fathers as often as possible. Of course, this is simply a reflection of personal piety, and not church wide practice.
As I am sure Derek can attest, there are many Lutherans who view the a focus on the Fathers as being “too Catholic”
I once preached a series of sermons during Lenten Vespers about a “Lutheran” view of walking with the saints. Luther suggested that the saints be seen as the ultimate examples of those who have lived the Christian life and may be imitated as such. He did warn against excessive focus on the saints that could detract from Christ. I think he was really pushing the notion of moderation, which is odd given his own tendencies for going to absurd extremes.
Anyway, I hope this helps answer your question. I think that coming to common ground on issues like this will bring all communions closer together, as we see that we are standing on the shoulders of a common and collective past.
August 30, 2006 at 12:46 pm
LP,
Thanks for your response. I thought “you know, I should know whether Lutherans observe the Fathers liturgically, but strangely, I don’t!” lol. I am glad to see that many Lutherans do.
David
August 30, 2006 at 2:25 pm
For United Methodists, generally no. Our liturgical calendar is based on the RCS and we observe a few special days other than Christmas and Easter (All Saints’ and Ascension of the Lord) but no celebration of the Church Fathers that I’m aware of.
In fact many smaller UM Churches pretty much ignore the church calendar and the lectionary because I suspect, as LutherPunk said, these things seem “too Catholic”.
Good point from LP about ‘common ground’ though. We all worship the same LORD, don’t we?
August 31, 2006 at 2:48 pm
Amen to the common ground comments. I am glad to see Lutherans observe the fathers too. Yes, we worship the same God.
Art,
I have noticed that too. I grew up UM and I never knew the UMC had a lectionary until I was in grad school. I also found out that the UMC has a saints calendar, that includes John Calvin of all people (I wonder what Wesley would think of that?). However, I don’t think it is in common use. I know that the church I grew up in would probably raise up in revolt if a lectionary was used and the saints days observed.
August 31, 2006 at 7:26 pm
here is the link to the new Lutheran claendar as put forth in the ELW:
http://www.renewingworship.org/ELW/content/PDF/ChurchYear_asm_20060119.pdf
Careful, it is a 115 page pdf document.
August 31, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Let’s try again:
ELW Calendar