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Book Review: Eastern Eye View

October 11th, 2007 at 09:21am Albert McIlhenny

Through Their Own Eyes: Liturgy as the Byzantines Saw It – Robert F. Taft InterOrthodox Press (June 1, 2006) Topic: Liturgy & Sacraments; Eastern Christianity Summary: Lectures on the celebration of the Byzantine Liturgy during the Imperial period Rating:

There is a danger among those who seek to follow the faith and practice of the Church of an earlier period to romanticize the era one seeks to emulate. It is easy to assume that all was well with the Church then without realizing that great theology usually develops only from periods of great confusion. It is when the Church is severely tested that produces the likes of a St. Athanasius to defend orthodoxy. If the current times seem to pale in comparison, it is not that the Church in the past did not know heresy and scandal but that it responded to it with vigor.

This more realistic view comes fully into focus in a series of lectures by Robert F.Taft on the Eastern Liturgy as seen by the Byzantines themselves. Taft delivered these lectures as the 2005 Paul G. Manolis Distinguised Lecture Series at the Patriarch Athenagorus Orthodox Institute. The three lectures (together with the transcripts from the question and answer sessions that followed) have been published as Through Their Own Eyes and offers a challenge to those who imagine the Byzantine Church to be without turmoil during the period of its most profound liturgical expression.

The most important thing about this book is that Taft does not reduce history to a series of great men. He explores the source material to give a portrayal of how Byzantine Christians actually worshipped and did not necessarily equate it with the ideals of its most prominent theological minds. The results occasionally led to some controversy and in the preface it was mentioned that some were upset at accounts of the boorish behavior of some worshippers during the Byzantine Liturgy’s “golden age”.

The first two lectures concern popular participation in the liturgy. The first covers the introductory portions of the liturgy as well as the singing of the psalter. Also given in great detail is the processions that took place – often for miles – that included the bishop and even the imperial court. These became major events in the life of the faithful and reflected the merging of the faith and the empire in Byzantine thought.

The second lecture begins with the Scripture lessons and the homily. Taft reminds us that there were no pews – the congregation milled about often chatting among themselves or pushing forward to hear better. After a doxology at the end of the homily, the kiss of peace was exchanged – men with men and women with women. This raises the question of the relationship between the sexes and the role of women in the Church. There is no doubt that there were no women clergy but some women served as deaconesses since baptism was segregated by sex (a necessity since the one being baptized was not clothed). Women also could take a role in the many processions mentioned earlier.

Continuing with the liturgy, Taft then notes the clergy would then recited liturgical prayers aloud although how much could be heard by the congregation is debatable. The main prayer was, of course, the Anaphora (or Eucharistic prayer). The very holiness of this prayer is noted by the fact that it was the first prayer to begin to be said inaudibly. The Holy Communion then followed and the author gives an interesting account of how changes developed in the Byzantine Church as to how the Sacrament was received.

Taft’s uses the third lecture to tie together the diverse elements mentioned earlier to paint a picture of the Byzantine view of the world. The key concept here is one of taxis (order) that the true order of things mirrored in the cermonies of the Imperial Court and the services of the Church. Everything from the prayers to the use of icons reflected a deeper reality ordained by the Triune God. The soteriological and eschatalogical implications of this view are quite evident and gave rise to a rich Christian culture that has long been underappreciated by the West.

This collection of lectures make excellent reading and are an important contribution to understanding the development of the Eastern liturgy. Most notable is how the author counters the conventional view of the Eastern Church as static and without theological development. This might have been the case once the Muslim conquests had control over the once Christian East, but the most important theological contributions of the first millenium of the Church were largely from the East. If you want an excellent glimpse into the liturgical life of the Byzantine period, Through Their Own Eyes cannot be ignored.

Entry Filed under: Eastern Christianity, Essential Books, Liturgy & Sacraments, Taft, Robert F.