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Christian traditions
Evolution is a characteristic of the effect of time on the society and it is evidenced in basically every aspect of civilization. Christian worship has not been left out as the tradition undergone various changes over the course of time. Worship in the early church is highly different from the middle and the modern church. The early church was a minority movement characterized by a hostile religious environment (Duchesne, and McClure, 23). The church could not conduct peaceful open air meetings or public Christian worship that normally characterizes the modern church. This is considered as the primary reason as to why the New Testament is limited in providing detailed directives regarding the order and leadership of worship (Duchesne, and McClure, 77).
The early church usually met in the homes of the members for worship and instruction. There were no public churches and the synagogues were primarily used for Judaism worship. This is particularly evidenced in the book of acts in instances such as the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper. Christian worship in the early church was also characterized by the singing of hymns, recitation of psalms, prayer, thanksgiving and instruction. However, there is no specific order in which the above followed. The gospel of Luke and the book if revelation contain preserves of some of the hymns used during times of worship by the early church. The worship roles are also different from worship in the Old Testament. The New Testament fails to clearly indicate on who is to officiate hymns, instruction, thanksgiving or any part of the worship, however, the old testament clearly indicates that this was done by the Levites and the priests (Jan Pelikan, 103).
Christian worship in the early middle ages was mostly experienced in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern orthodox and the Anglican churches. These churches practiced what is now referred to as traditional forms of worship that are mainly characterized by liturgical services held in great monumental buildings known as cathedrals. The worship services were characterized by what is primarily referred to as the sacramental tradition. The worship services are very formal with each of the aspects of the service designated to particular individuals. The worship services are centered on the vocal thanksgiving, praise, appreciation of the demise and revivification of Christ through the presentation of bread and wine as the Holy Communion. Worship was primarily recognized as taking part in the demise and revivification of Christ. The structure of the services is primarily formal characterized by ordered steps in accordance to a Liturgy mainly depicted by activities such as choral music, prayers, recitations, hymns, the reading of Holy Scripture and instruction by the serving priest. The priests primarily lead the service and offer some variety of instruction or sermon wearing sacred clothing known as vestments (Haarsma and Loren, 89).
The modern church has faced intense evolution because of the effect of time. The church is now over two thousand years old and with this comes a lot of changes. The division of churches into various denominations has led the modern church to concentrate primarily on “winning new souls” as part of the fulfillment of the great commission and in the process adding to their flock. In order to perform this fete, most of these churches have borrowed a lot from the society so as to attract them. There are many churches nowadays that have divided the worship service into the main church and the youth service. The latter is specifically designed to cater for the needs and tastes of the youth. These services are characterized by contemporary aspects of worship that include the inclusion of rock and hip-hop music in the worship services. Language has also evolved in the Christian worship service to include informal ones so as to serve the local community (Stevens, 45).
Works cited
Duchesne, L, and M L. McClure. Christian Worship: Its Origin and Evolution. a Study of the Latin Liturgy Up to the Time of Charlemagne. London: Society for promoting Christian knowledge, 1904. Print.
Haarsma, Deborah B, and Loren D. Haarsma. Origins: Christian Perspectives on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design. Grand Rapids, Mich: Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2011. Print.
Jan Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: The growth of medieval theology (600-1300). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.
Stevens, James. Worship In The Spirit – Charismatic Worship In The Church of England. New York: Paternoster. 2002. Print.
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