The roman missal official liturgical book from which mass is celebrated not only permits it, the rubrics actually presuppose it, e. E ver since cardinal sarahs ad orientem endorsement, and subsequent slap down by voices in the holy see, there is debate on both sides favoring ad orientem celebration of the holy mass my goal here is show that both ad orientem and versus populum are part of the ancient roman rite and to show how the ciboriumbaldacchino is a determining factor in the architecture governing each. There is, however, one particular practice that i would like to highlight here, said bishop wall. Cardinal medina estevez on 10 april 2000 protocol no. While bishop slattery prefers ad orientem worship, he believes there is a deeper, more important element of prayer underlying the discussion. Livestreaming the absurdity of versus populum and the prayerfulness of ad orientem 10 hours ago fr hunwickes mutual enrichment. Turning the altar so the priest stood versus populum was an instance of such unprecedented.
Traditionally, the catholic church faced ad orientem. Offering the eucharistic prayer versus populum facing the people is more of an aberration to the sacred rite. The opposite orientation, whereby the priest faces in the same direction as. With versus populum as the practical norm for many catholics. The following guest post was written by a friend who is also a diocesan priest. I am creating this thread in order to discuss the relative importance of ad orientem worship in the liturgical reform of the reform, and what its. Sep 05, 2018 verus populum, the practice of the celebrant facing the people during the mass is a serious rupture in historical, traditional catholic worship. If ever there was a reductio ad absurdum for the versus populum stance. E ver since cardinal sarahs ad orientem endorsement, and subsequent slap down by voices in the holy see, there is debate on both sides favoring ad orientem celebration of the holy. Topics likely to be discussed include matters relating to orthodoxy as well as other religious confessions, politics, economics, social issues, current events or anything else which interests me. Versus populum latin for towards the people is the liturgical orientation in which the priest celebrates mass facing the people. This dicastery wishes to state that holy mass may be celebrated versus populum or versus apsidem.
Still the ad altare posture remains the forma typica and the versus populum. We have a rich liturgical patrimony, in both the latin rite and byzantine rite. Boise bishop bans ad orientem masses in new liturgical. Posted on november 18, 20 by admin november 18, 20. It is about exercising the option to celebrate the holy sacrifice of the mass facing toward the. I am reminded of another sunday morning where the son rose and it brings to light ever more the argument for ad orientem. Us bishop committed two grave errors in forbidding priests. Banning ad orientem six regrettable mistakes by the. Jan 17, 2014 eventually, the ad orientem orientation became prevalent, but the option to celebrate versus populum remained a permissible option. Its just a fact and remains a fact even if we prefer ad orientem as i and the author of that post do. The reform of the liturgical books after the second vatican council conceded to. I think that the versus populum altar was a matter of prudence on the part of msgr. Sep 05, 2018 its the very beginning of the introductory lecture in the influence of greek ideas and usages upon the christian church. In his book the spirit of the liturgy, pope benedict states emphasis mine.
The downloadpopes say mass ad orientem church militant. Bishop peter christensen of boise bans ad orientem posture. Regardless of the physical position or posture of the. Topics likely to be discussed include matters relating to orthodoxy as well as. Another strong point of the book is the documentation of how the second vatican council in no way required the repression of latin or a tearing out of altars or a versus populum celebration. The tradition of ad orientem worship is apostolic in origin.
Also, he probably didnt want to push ad orientem in front of the other cardinals a number of whom might have objected. Popular misconceptions about the catholic mass, part ii. Commentary on mass facing the altar ad orientem a general commentary on what canon law says about the validity of the ad orientem posture of the celebrant during mass. At the same time, following the directives of the roman missal is the only authority a priest needs to celebrate mass ad orientem. To my knowledge, such eastwardfacing masses were not nearly as plentiful or. He didnt know cardinal bergoglio very well and didnt want to push ad orientem at his first mass. The opposite orientation, whereby the priest faces in the same direction as the people thereby having his back to them, is called ad orientem towards the east. Uwe michael langs book turning towards the lord ignatius. In the ad orientem posture the priest faces the same direction as the. We must help our people to have a good understanding of what ad orientem worship is, its theological dimensions and the great benefit it can bring to our spiritual life. Commentary on mass facing the altar ad orientem a general commentary on.
Bishop wall introduces regular ad orientem mass at gallup. Ad orientem can be misinterepreted as being a posture in which the priest is separated from the congregation and indiferent to it and versus populum can equally be misinterpreted as being about the cult of personality or of the priest talking to the congregation rather than to god. Offering the eucharistic prayer versus populum facing the people is more of an aberration to the. Pdf versus populum or ad orientem the direction of liturgical. Only very recently i found them online and downloaded three of them, but i didnt get around to rereading this. While it is perfectly acceptable and valid to have mass said versus populum, or toward the people, we do have to admit that such a practice is still relatively novel. But despite that fact, there are more than a few latin catholics who are wary of such a tradition, in addition to other traditions such as gregorian. The possibility of the versus populum, or facing the people posture was mentioned in a 1964 vatican instruction regarding the placement of altars. Ad orientem is commonly used today to describe a particular orientation of a priest in christian liturgy, facing the apse or wall behind the altar, with priest and people looking in the same direction, as opposed to the versus populum orientation, in which the priest faces the congregation. Celebration of mass ad orientem in a parish setting. Celebrating the mass ad orientem the roman catholic. In addition to these variants is the ability of the priest to celebrate the mass of paul vi versus populum by which he faces the congregation with the altar between them.
Pope francis celebrates mass in the sistine chapel ad orientem on january 12, 2014. It is impossible for any one, whether he be a student of history. Versus populum facing the people during advent we will be celebrating mass ad orientem towards the east or as most people wrongly say with the priests back to the people. Jul 24, 2019 there is, however, one particular practice that i would like to highlight here, said bishop wall. I recently inquired as to why so few priests offer the novus ordo mass ad orientem, despite numerous books. It is about exercising the option to celebrate the holy sacrifice of the mass facing toward the east ad orientem or toward god ad deum as distinct from toward the people versus populum. Although my preference is for masses said ad orientem, both ad orientem and versus populum are allowed, therefore both are important. Cardinal joseph ratzinger later pope benedict xvi in his book the spirit of the liturgy criticised the use of versus populum as. Allow me now to give a brief explanation of ad orientem or ad deum worship. Aug 10, 2016 while the general instruction of the roman missal assumes the celebration of mass ad orientem while making provisions for versus populum worship, it is obvious that most churches where the mass of paul vi is celebrated do so versus populum.
The point here is that traditional catholic theology never made. But despite that fact, there are more than a few latin catholics who are wary of such a tradition, in addition to other traditions such as gregorian chant, incense, and reception of communion kneeling and on the tongue. This also means, in turn, that versus populum worship is extremely new in the life of the church, and, while a valid liturgical option today, it still must be considered novel when it comes to the celebration of mass. This ancient practice causes much bewilderment in modern catholics. Only very recently i found them online and downloaded three of them, but i didnt get around to rereading this one yet. Nation vatican world commentary blogs features movies books travel radio resources. In addition to these variants is the ability of the priest to celebrate the mass of paul vi versus populum by which he faces the congregation with the. The point here is that traditional catholic theology. Ad orientem is commonly used today to describe a particular orientation of a priest in christian liturgy, facing the apse or reredos or wall behind the altar, with priest and people looking in the same direction, as opposed to the versus populum orientation in which the priest faces the congregation. Bishop peter christensen of boise bans ad orientem.
The current wealth of livestreaming opportunities has, however, brought with it a change for the better. But for many catholics in the west today, ad orientem worship is a rarity. As we have seen numerous books and articles in recent years convincingly argue for a. The role of the roman ciborium and roman architecture in the orientation of the mass in the latin rite. There has been a bit of conversation about ad orientem over the past few days, prompted by the publication of a book, and its presentation in rome. This is, by far, the best work on ad orientem worship available today.
Pacific benedict xvi books canon law clerical sexual abuse europe film homosexuality islam. Cardinal robert sarah has proposed that priest and people should face the same direction, liturgical east, at catholic mass. Ad orientem is the blog of an orthodox christian and is published under the spiritual patronage of st. To those not knowing, it means that at the mass the priest at the altar is oriented toward the people, versus, oriented toward the tabernacle at all times also known. This is opposed to the celebration of mass ad orientem in which he and the people face in the same direction. In this use, the phrase is not necessarily related to. Livestreaming the absurdity of versus populum and the.
However, there is nothing preventing a priest from offering the novus ordo ad orientem. Arguments for ad orientem in the anglosaxon church the arguments for the. I get downvoted whenever i point out that versus populum, was not an invention of vatican ii, but was practiced since the beginning of christianity. Pros of versus populum given the heat associated with the discussion of ad orientem and versus populum, i think there is a need for clear discussion about each of them. Versus populum facing the people during advent we will be celebrating mass ad orientem towards the east or as most people wrongly say with the priests back to the. My goal here is show that both ad orientem and versus populum are part of the ancient roman rite and to show how the. Ad orientem is latin for toward the east and this was a subject brought up by our pastor yesterday at mass. Often do we hear the pros of ad orientem, from pope emeritus, cardinal sarah etc.
The bishop of boise told priests last month that the ordinary form of the mass should not be celebrated in the ad orientem. This may seem cold and disengaged compared to the comfortable and more interactive norm many are used to. Which is why the church has not issued a definitive declaration and why the matter is one of prudential judgement for the. I believe it is pastoral to offer masses both ad orientem and versus populum, so that, together, we can all be exposed to the varied riches of the church and her prayerful history.
As we can see, ad orientem worship is not something just for eastern catholics, but for all. Celebrating mass ad orientem towards the east or as most people wrongly say with the priests back to the people is an ancient practice that causes much bewilderment in modern catholics. Permission was explicitly given to priests to celebrate versus populum instead of ad orientem if they wished much as priests may choose the penitential rite or whether to have a communal exchange. Boise bishop bans ad orientem posture in ordinary form. Sacerdos, ad populum conversus, extendens et iungens manus, subdit.
Without descending onto the old mass v new mass battlefield, lang underscores the spiritual dimension of celebrations ad orientem versus. He provides as well the rubrical evidence for ad orientem celebrations. Very seldom do we hear clear reasoning about the pros of versus populum. To those not knowing, it means that at the mass the priest at the altar is oriented toward the people, versus, oriented toward the tabernacle at all times also known as ad orientem. While there is a strong argument for having the liturgy of the word versus populum there is similarly a strong, even overwhelming argument in favor of versus deum celebration of the eucharistic liturgy. The bishop of boise told priests last month that mass in the diocese should not be celebrated in the ad orientem. The liturgical history of catholicism, both the latin rite and the eastern rites, is one of nearly two thousand years of priests offering the holy sacrifice facing the altar, also considered the liturgical east. Jan 12, 2014 i think that the versus populum altar was a matter of prudence on the part of msgr. Jul 25, 2016 ever since cardinal sarahs ad orientem endorsement, and subsequent slap down by voices in the holy see, there is debate on both sides favoring ad orientem celebration of the holy mass.
I reordered the book where this quotation appears by interlibrary loan to double. As we have seen numerous books and articles in recent years convincingly argue for a return to ad orientem worship, it is unfortunate to see how few priests have actually returned to the traditional orientation. Bishop wall introduces regular ad orientem mass at. If the old mass were suddenly to be celebrated versus populum, in the manner in which the novus ordo generally is, it would be totally undermined by this one change. Bishop mandates an ad orientem mass at cathedral, encourages. Us bishop committed two grave errors in forbidding priests to say mass ad orientem. Jul 22, 2019 i believe it is pastoral to offer masses both ad orientem and versus populum, so that, together, we can all be exposed to the varied riches of the church and her prayerful history. Boise bishop bans ad orientem posture in ordinary form masses. Eventually, the ad orientem orientation became prevalent, but the option to celebrate versus populum remained a permissible option. Apr 01, 2020 the bishop of boise told priests last month that mass in the diocese should not be celebrated in the ad orientem. This was the question that i recently posed to several priests.
The point of facing east is to emphasize the essential character of. Its been a very long time since i borrowed any of hatchs books from a library. When pope boniface viii celebrated holy mass in ad 0 at old saint peters basilica versus populum, he was celebrating mass ad deum to. With versus populum as the practical norm for many catholics perhaps the only option of which most are aware, it may seem that the ad orientem arrangement requires a priest to face backwards or to turn his back on the assembly. Versus populum is the liturgical orientation in which the priest celebrates mass facing the.
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