Liturgical Renewal as a Way to Christian Unity ed. by James F. Puglisi (review)

Book Reviews LITURGICAL RENEWALASA WAY TO CHRISTIAN UNITY edited by James F. Puglisi. Collegeville, MN: A Pueblo Book Liturgical Press, 2005. Liturgical Renewal as a Way to Christian Unity is more than a book on spiritual ecumenism; it is also a text on ecumenical spirituality. Linking liturgy and unity, it addresses the question of reception: reception of a liturgical renewal initiated by the Second Vatican Council within the Roman Catholic Church, which informs and forms the faith, life, and mission of churches and ecclesial communities beyond Catholic borders. Contributors to this volume come primarily from the Christian West; one is from the East. Catholics are more numerous than Protestants, who represent the Classical Reformation:—Anglican, Disciples of Christ, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed and Waldensian. Disappointingly, there is no contributor from the Radical Reformation or from Orthodoxy. Occasional reference to the 2001 Vatican Instruction, Liturgiam authenticam , does not divert the essayists’ focus on Vatican II’s aggiornamento as it impacts worship and unity. Nor does their attention on worship in one tradition lose sight of the wider Tradition of Christian liturgy. Leitmotifs throughout are two axioms which ground both liturgy and ecumenism : liturgy is prima theology and lex orandi lex credendi.What editor , Dr. James Puglisi, states in the introduction about the ecumenical nature of liturgical theology is echoed in each essay: the prayer of Christians makes for the unity of Christians. Be it ad intra Christian worship and its recent revision as an ecumenicalwayforward (Drs.ThomasBest,ErmannoGenre,DonaldGray,David Holeton, Gordon Lathrop, Geoffrey Wainwright); or neuralgic points in liturgical renewal such as gender inequality and the reception of common liturgical texts (Drs.Teresa Berger, HoraceAllen); be it ad extra liturgical milestones marking the ecumenical journey, such as those achieved by John Paul II and by ecumenical dialogue (Drs. Giulio Viviani, Robert Taft), the writings in this volume draw on scripture and tradition to build the historical and theological foundations for a pastoral construct of liturgy as fundamentally an ecclesial reality. Diverse in content and process, the authors share a singular referent. Ecclesiology is at the heart of Christian worship; ecclesiology is the marrow of Christianity unity. The Jurist 67 (2007) 535–556 535 536 the jurist To such an ecclesiological end, the book undergoes critique regarding its limited scope. Had a broader cast of the Christian oikoumene been included , the publication would enjoy greater appeal in more churches. A welcome inclusion would have been reflection on credal faith confessed in the worship of non-credal churches. Similarly, considering the eclecticallyecumenicalattractionamongRomanCatholicsandmainlineProtes tants of mega-church worship today, a voice heralding its liturgy would have been timely. Likewise, further teasing out of issues currently plaguing liturgical and ecumenical settings would have been appreciated. One example concerns the language Christians use for the trinitarian baptismal formula, which Professor Berger addresses with a sensitivity that understands its ecumenical implications (pp. 81–82). Not addressed in this book is the practice of churches now inviting the unbaptized to the eucharist . Another example comes from Dr. Best regarding anomalies in sacramental practice (pp. 106, 115).While making the point on mandates of believer’s baptism in some traditions, he alludes to another regarding eucharist in others. Just how open the eucharistic table ought to be is itself an open question. Needing further study is the divergence between the eucharist approached liturgically as the locus of Christian communion and ecumenically as the focus of Christian separation. Liturgical Renewal as a Way to Christian Unity is a resource that belongs on the shelves in many libraries. Its theological and historical depth ensures its value in academic settings among professors and students. Its pastoral coverage provides its merit in ecclesial settings among clergy, pastors, church leaders, catechists, and catechumens. Each of these settings has an ecumenical component or is by nature ecumenical. Included in the volume is some critical apparatus. A list of contributors identifies the editor and essayists, all prominent workers in both liturgical and ecumenical fields.An informative introduction by the editor readily engages the reader in each essay’s topic. Unfortunately, the ordering of the essays in the volume does not follow that of the introduction. Navigating the reader through ecumenical and liturgical meta-languages is a...