DOCSLIB.ORG

An Essay in Universal History

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
An Essay in Universal History AN ESSAY IN UNIVERSAL HISTORY From an Orthodox Christian Point of View VOLUME II: THE AGE OF REASON (1453 to 1789) PART 1: from 1453 to 1660 Vladimir Moss © Copyright Vladimir Moss, 2017: All Rights Reserved Romania has passed away, Romania is taken. Even if Romania has passed away, it will flower and bear fruit again. Pontic folk-song, on the Fall of Constantinople. The chief gift of nature… is freedom. Leonardo da Vinci. As free, and not using your liberty as a cloak of maliciousness, But as the servants of God. I Peter 2.16. The Tsar was the embodiment of the Russian people’s… readiness to submit the life of the state to the righteousness of God: therefore do the people submit themselves to the Tsar, because he submits to God. St. John Maximovich. The earthly fatherland with its Church is the threshold of the Heavenly Fatherland. Therefore love it fervently and be ready to lay down your life for it, so as to inherit eternal life there. St. John of Kronstadt, (1905). From plague, pestilence and famine, from bishops, priests and deacons, good Lord, deliver us! The Litany of John Bastwick (1630s). We are very apt all of us to call that faith, that perhaps may be but carnal imagination. Oliver Cromwell (1647). At different times, in different places, Emperor and Anarchist alike may find it convenient to appeal to Holy Writ. Sir Edmund Leech. Temporal and spiritual are two words brought into the world to make men see double, and mistake their lawful sovereign… A man cannot obey two masters… Seeing there are no men on earth whose bodies are spiritual, there can be no spiritual commonwealtsh among men that are yet in the flesh. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan. We still believe and maintain that our Kings derive not their title from the people, but from God; that to Him only they are accountable; that it belongs not to subjects either to create or censure, but to honour and obey their sovereign, who comes to be so by a fundamental hereditary right of succession, which no religion, no law, no fault or forfeiture can alter or diminish. Cambridge University to King Charles II (1681). What is more iniquitous than for a tsar to judge bishops, taking to himself a power which has not been given him by God?… This is apostasy from God. Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, Razzorenie. 2 3 INTRODUCTION 6 I. THE SHAKING OF THE FOUNDATIONS (1453-1660) 10 1. RENAISSANCE HUMANISM 11 2. THE ITALIAN CITY-STATES AND MACHIAVELLI 18 3. LIBERTY AND MONARCHISM 28 4. SPAIN, THE JEWS AND THE MUSLIMS 36 5. THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION 42 6. THE REFORMERS ON CHURCH AND STATE 51 7. THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE 62 8. THE SPANISH AMERICAS 69 9. THE COUNTER-REFORMATION 75 10. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND 78 11. ELIZABETH I, THE VIRGIN QUEEN 85 12. JACOBEAN ENGLAND 98 13. FRANCIS BACON AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 105 14. THE DUTCH REVOLUTION AND THE RISE OF CAPITALISM 113 15. THE NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES 120 16. BODIN, RICHELIEU AND THE THIRTY YEARS’ WAR 125 17. THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA AND INTERNATIONAL LAW 131 18. THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION: (1) KING VERSUS PARLIAMENT 139 19. THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION: (2) RIVAL IDEOLOGIES 151 20. THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION: (3) THE KILLING OF THE KING 160 21. THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION: (4) CROMWELL’S PROTECTORATE 165 22. HOBBES’ LEVIATHAN 175 II. THE MUSCOVITE AUTOCRACY (1453-1660) 183 23. MOSCOW THE THIRD ROME: (1) IVAN III 184 24. JUDAIZERS, NON-POSSESSORS AND THE GREAT PRINCE 193 25. MOSCOW THE THIRD ROME: (2) IVAN IV, “THE TERRIBLE” 203 4 26. CHURCH AND STATE IN MUSCOVY 227 27. MOSCOW THE THIRD ROME: (3) TSAR THEODORE 234 28. THE GREEKS UNDER THE OTTOMAN YOKE 239 29. THE SERBS UNDER THE OTTOMAN YOKE 245 30. THE UNIA OF BREST-LITOVSK 251 31. THE TIME OF TROUBLES 257 32. THE FIRST ROMANOV TSAR 272 33. UKRAINE: JEWS, COSSACKS AND MUSCOVITES 285 34. THE SCHISM OF THE OLD RITUALISTS 294 5 INTRODUCTION This book represents the second volume of my series, An Essay in Universal History. The first volume, subtitled: The Age of Faith, ended with the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. This brought to an end the medieval world, which was characterized, on the one hand, by the Christian Faith in its traditional, hierarchical forms, and on the other, by monarchical modes of political government that continued to draw inspiration and legitimacy from the Church. In the modern world that was about to begin, both Christianity and monarchism were on the retreat – although the retreat was accompanied by some notable and prolonged counter-attacks. The Orthodox religio-political outlook and civilization that we have called Christian Romanity largely disappeared from its Mediterranean homeland: while its religious centre, formally speaking, remained in Constantinople, in the Ecumenical Patriarchate, its political centre moved north, to Moscow, “the Third Rome”. From there, in what most Europeans considered to be a barbaric outpost on the edge of civilization, the Orthodox Christian heritage of the Mediterranean world was preserved in its original purity. And so the main theme of this second volume in my history is the struggle between Russia and the waves of new ideas that assaulted it from the West until 1789 – Humanism and Rationalism, Protestantism and Catholicism, Freemasonry and Democratism... The struggle between Russia and the West was foreordained in the very date of her birth: the period between the baptism of Russia under St. Vladimir in 988 and the death of his son, Yaroslav the Wise, in 1054 corresponds almost exactly to the decline and fall of Western Orthodox civilization, culminating in the great schism between Old Rome and Constantinople in 1054. Thus Orthodox Russia came into being just as the Orthodox West was dying; she appears to have been called by Divine Providence to take the place of the West in the scheme of Universal History, and to defend the whole of Orthodox Christendom against the western heresies. The first major turning-point in modern western history was the Renaissance-Reformation, which placed man at the centre of the universe and man’s reason as the ultimate criterion of truth. It purported to free men from the fetters of medieval scholasticism, to bring the light of reason to bear on every aspect of human life, even the revelations of religion. It sought to raise the common man to that potential that he would supposedly be capable of achieving if he were not enslaved to the tyranny of popes and kings. However, the early modern period was not a revolutionary movement in the sense that it overthrew tradition in toto and in principle. On the contrary, in order to correct what it saw as the distortions of the Middle Ages, it appealed to the authority of the still more ancient past - the past of pagan Greece and Rome, and of the early, pre-Constantinian Church. And as late as the English revolution of the mid-seventeenth century both Catholics and Protestants, both Divine right monarchists and anti-monarchist republicans, appealed sincerely and passionately to Holy Scripture. In other words, the 6 early modern age was still a believing age, a Christian age, albeit an heretical one. And in Muscovite Russia there still existed one of the great and right- believing Christian kingdoms. The Enlightenment, however, the second major turning-point in post- Orthodox western history, went a decisive step further. No authority, whether pagan or patristic, scholastic or scriptural, was held sacred or immune from the ravages of unfettered reason. In the face of the assault of this new “enlightened” religion Orthodox Russia faltered, but did not fall: if, from the time of Peter the Great, the noble class became largely westernized, absorbing the new ideas through a cluster of Masonic lodges, the common people remained faithful to Orthodoxy and worthy of the mercy of God. The book ends with the creation of the first state founded on Enlightenment principles, America, bringing us to the eve of the third major turning-point of post-Orthodox western history, the French revolution of 1789. The period under discussion (1453-1789) was an epoch of greatly increasing complexity and variety in European culture. The dominant ideas of medieval Europe had been basically two: Catholicism and Feudalism, as in the earlier period there had been two: Orthodoxy and Autocracy. But any list of the dominant ideas of early modern Europe must include, in addition to these, the various ideas of economic, social, political and religious freedom, together with perhaps the most revolutionary idea of all – the all-sufficiency of scientific method for the finding of truth. This extreme cultural richness and diversity explains in part why the West, under the influence of these new libertarian ideas, did not move immediately to more democratic forms of government, but even evolved despotic governments more powerful than any seen in medieval times, such as the England of Elizabeth I, the Spain of Philip II or the France of Louis XIV. The reason for this was, as K.N. Leontiev has explained, that cultural diversity and richness require a strong autocratic power to hold them together and give them form, as it were. “As long as there are estates, as long as provinces are not similar, as long as education is different in various levels of society, as long as claims are not identical, as long as tribes and religions are not levelled in a general indifferentism, a more or less centralized power is a necessity.”1 Archbishop Averky of Syracuse has emphasized the dual character of the modern quest for freedom – both Christian protest and antichristian rebellion.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Just As the Priests Have Their Wives”: Priests and Concubines in England, 1375-1549
    “JUST AS THE PRIESTS HAVE THEIR WIVES”: PRIESTS AND CONCUBINES IN ENGLAND, 1375-1549 Janelle Werner A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2009 Approved by: Advisor: Professor Judith M. Bennett Reader: Professor Stanley Chojnacki Reader: Professor Barbara J. Harris Reader: Cynthia B. Herrup Reader: Brett Whalen © 2009 Janelle Werner ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT JANELLE WERNER: “Just As the Priests Have Their Wives”: Priests and Concubines in England, 1375-1549 (Under the direction of Judith M. Bennett) This project – the first in-depth analysis of clerical concubinage in medieval England – examines cultural perceptions of clerical sexual misbehavior as well as the lived experiences of priests, concubines, and their children. Although much has been written on the imposition of priestly celibacy during the Gregorian Reform and on its rejection during the Reformation, the history of clerical concubinage between these two watersheds has remained largely unstudied. My analysis is based primarily on archival records from Hereford, a diocese in the West Midlands that incorporated both English- and Welsh-speaking parishes and combines the quantitative analysis of documentary evidence with a close reading of pastoral and popular literature. Drawing on an episcopal visitation from 1397, the act books of the consistory court, and bishops’ registers, I argue that clerical concubinage occurred as frequently in England as elsewhere in late medieval Europe and that priests and their concubines were, to some extent, socially and culturally accepted in late medieval England.
    [Show full text]
  • 35-Burial of the Dead
    REGARDING CHRISTIAN DEATH AND BURIAL The burial of a Christian is an occasion of both sorrow and joy—our sorrow in the face of death, and our joy in Jesus’ promise of the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. As the burial liturgy proclaims, “life is changed, not ended; and when our mortal body lies in death, there is prepared for us a dwelling place eternal in the heavens.” The Christian burial liturgy looks forward to eternal life rather than backward to past events. It does not primarily focus on the achievements or failures of the deceased; rather, it calls us to proclaim the Good News of Jesus and his triumph over death, even as we celebrate the life and witness of the deceased. The readings should always be drawn from the Bible, and the prayers and music from the Christian tradition. A wake preceding the service and a reception following the service are appropriate places for personal remembrances. Where possible, the burial liturgy is conducted in a church, and it is often celebrated within the context of the Eucharist. The Book of Common Prayer has always admonished Christians to be mindful of their mortality. It is therefore the duty of all Christians, as faithful stewards, to draw up a Last Will and Testament, making provision for the well-being of their families and not neglecting to leave bequests for the mission of the Church. In addition, it is important while in health to provide direction for one’s own funeral arrangements, place of burial, and the Scripture readings and hymns of the burial liturgy, and to make them known to the Priest.
    [Show full text]
  • A Catholic Funeral Planning Guide the Church of Christ Our Light
    1 A CATHOLIC FUNERAL PLANNING GUIDE THE CHURCH OF CHRIST OUR LIGHT PRINCETON / ZIMMERMAN 12/28/15 1 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................3 FUNERAL STIPEND GUIDELINES .....................................................................4 PARISH PRAYERS / VISITATION.......................................................................5 FUNERAL MASS / SERVICE ...............................................................................6 LUNCHEON………………………………………………………………………6 CREMATION ..........................................................................................................7 SCRIPTURE READINGS ....................................................... 8-9 & Yellow Inserts MUSIC…………………………………………………………………………9-10 PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL (PETITIONS) ..................................................11 GENERAL INFORMATION ................................................................................12 PLANNING THE FUNERAL LITURGY ...................................................... 13-14 LECTORS .............................................................................................................15 EULOGY ...............................................................................................................16 2 3 INTRODUCTION Dealing with death and grief over the loss of a loved one is very painful. During such an emotional time, it is hard to make decisions, and yet, there are necessary arrangements that must be made.
    [Show full text]
  • A Guide to Funeral Planning
    St. John the Beloved Catholic Church McLean, Virginia INTRODUCTION On behalf of all your fellow parishioners, the priests and staff of Saint John the Beloved Church extend to your family our prayerful sympathy in this time of loss and grief. There are many people praying for you and with you. The hundreds of members of the St. John Prayer Chain are lifting you up in prayer. At Sunday Mass we all will be praying for your loved one and your family. On the first Saturday after All Souls Day we will be together and pray for all those who passed away in the previous year. You are not alone. When we gather for the Mass of Christian Burial at St. John the Beloved we also transcend time and join the faithful sinners and saints who have offered up the same prayers for their loved ones over the past twenty centuries. In the ancient tradition of the classic Requiem Mass, we can feel our prayers carried aloft by the angels with the Sacred Scriptures and monastic chants that have been used at the burial rites of Christians for far more than one thousand years. In the Sacred Liturgy we experience the consolation of praying with each other, with the whole Church, with all the saints and with Jesus Christ Himself and of having them pray for us. This tangible connection with the Communion of Saints, those who pray for us in heaven and even those who still need us to pray for them, can be a comfort and consolation for us as we mourn the loss of a loved one.
    [Show full text]
  • The Book of Common Prayer
    The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church Together with The Psalter or Psalms of David According to the use of The Episcopal Church Church Publishing Incorporated, New York Certificate I certify that this edition of The Book of Common Prayer has been compared with a certified copy of the Standard Book, as the Canon directs, and that it conforms thereto. Gregory Michael Howe Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer January, 2007 Table of Contents The Ratification of the Book of Common Prayer 8 The Preface 9 Concerning the Service of the Church 13 The Calendar of the Church Year 15 The Daily Office Daily Morning Prayer: Rite One 37 Daily Evening Prayer: Rite One 61 Daily Morning Prayer: Rite Two 75 Noonday Prayer 103 Order of Worship for the Evening 108 Daily Evening Prayer: Rite Two 115 Compline 127 Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families 137 Table of Suggested Canticles 144 The Great Litany 148 The Collects: Traditional Seasons of the Year 159 Holy Days 185 Common of Saints 195 Various Occasions 199 The Collects: Contemporary Seasons of the Year 211 Holy Days 237 Common of Saints 246 Various Occasions 251 Proper Liturgies for Special Days Ash Wednesday 264 Palm Sunday 270 Maundy Thursday 274 Good Friday 276 Holy Saturday 283 The Great Vigil of Easter 285 Holy Baptism 299 The Holy Eucharist An Exhortation 316 A Penitential Order: Rite One 319 The Holy Eucharist: Rite One 323 A Penitential Order: Rite Two 351 The Holy Eucharist: Rite Two 355 Prayers of the People
    [Show full text]
  • Of Danes and Giants: Popular Beliefs About the Past in Early Modern England1 Among the Popular Beliefs That One Is Likely To
    Daniel Woolf Of Danes and Giants: Popular Beliefs about the Past in Early Modern England1 Among the popular beliefs that one is likely to find in any society, whether it be a largely oral cu!ture of the sort studied in recent times by anthropologists, or a highly literate culture of the kind that predominates in the modem west, there is certain to be a large component which deals expressly with the past. A curiosity as to one's own origins, and the origins of one's material surroundings, is not the exclusive prerogative of literate societies, and still less of the educated elite in those societies; whether or not popular beliefs and traditions about the past actually reflect views held higher up the social ladder is thus in a certain sense-a non-question. It is more important to come to terms with what a given group, class or community believed about its own past, local or national, mythic, legendary or "historical," than it is to categorize these beliefs rigidly as either "popular" or "elite," though the cultural historian should properly remain aware at all times of their social context.2 The purpose of this essay is to offer a variety of examples illustrating several types of popular belief about the past, current in England between the end of the Middle Ages and the early eighteenth century. The word "popular" is here taken to mean "widely held" within a broad cross-section of society (even if only local society), a cross-section which generally included the middling and poorer elements of a community, but which might in some instances embrace members of an educated elite increasingly disposed to be crilical of "vulgar error.
    [Show full text]
  • Anglican Use and Custom Regarding Christian Burial
    AT THE COMMITTAL Anglican Use and Custom Regarding The coffin should be lowered fully into the grave at the begin- Christian Burial ning of the service at the graveside. Earth, not flowers, shall be cast on the coffin. LIFE AND DEATH CREMATION "Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that slept...." In cases of cremation, the ashes may be committed to the ground by the Parish priest. The chief emphasis of Christian Burial should be not upon death but on Life Eternal . "We praise and glorify God for At the cremation the following words, "Forasmuch . we the fulness of joy which he gives to all who put their trust in commit his body to be consumed by fire in sure and certain him." hope, etc." At the burial of the ashes, the following words- "Forasmuch .. .. we commit his ashes to their resting place in All life is a preparation for dying and for Eternity, and there is sure and certain hope, etc." therefore the need to be prepared both materially and spiritu- ally. The former includes making provision for one's family. ADDITIONAL CEREMONIES . the making of a Will in accordance with Christian princi- ples. The Burial Office of the Church is complete in itself. If the family desire the rites of any fraternal society to which the A part of our preparation for death as Christians is regular deceased belonged, it is recommended that such rites take worship, and the receiving of the Sacraments. Even when age place apart from the Burial Service of the Church, preferably or infirmity or illness come upon us, we can still participate in the evening before in the home, or funeral home.
    [Show full text]
  • The Christian Burial Lutheran & Anglican Ministries of the Bruce Peninsula
    The Christian Burial Lutheran & Anglican Ministries of the Bruce Peninsula (519) 534-2943 (h) (519) 534-3456 (o) www.laamb.ca Dear friends, The death of someone you love can be the most painful experience in life. Bewilderment, shock, anger, helplessness – many feelings accompany the knowledge that someone dear has disappeared from our lives. The community of the Lutheran and Anglican Ministries of the Bruce Peninsula wants to be supportive to those who have experienced the death of someone close. Funeral in the Church or at the Funeral Home Whether the deceased was faithful in church attendance or had wandered far from faith, the ministry of the church is available to the bereaved. It is encouraged and very appropriate that the funeral of active members take place in the church. It may be more appropriate for non members to gather at the funeral home. Planning the Service The pastor will meet with the family to plan the service. The Funeral Liturgy may be set within the service of Holy Communion, or may stand alone. When the Sacrament is celebrated, the service always takes place in the church. Family and friends will have the opportunity to suggest lessons and hymns to accompany the service. The deceased may also have indicated their preference. It is most appropriate for families to discuss these matters so that the wishes of the deceased are honoured as much as possible. There may be family members or friends who would like to serve as readers, or as an assisting minister, or as communion assistants at the funeral service.
    [Show full text]
  • Our Lady of the Assumption Guide to the Funeral Liturgy
    1 Our Lady of the Assumption Guide to the Funeral Liturgy Our Lady of the Assumption Parish 40 Canal Street Marshfield, MA 02050 (781) 834-6252 assumchrch@verizon.net 2 Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Guide for the Funeral Liturgy “Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended” Preface of Christian Death I, Roman Missal The community of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish shares in your grief as you suffer the loss of a loved one. We hope that you know that the prayers and support of the parish are with you at this difficult time. The death of a loved one can bring about many different feelings and emotions, from the shock and disbelief of sudden, unexpected death to relief when someone who has suffered for a long time is no longer suffering. The Church’s prayer in the Rite of Christian Burial focuses our attention on the mystery of the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the promise that we, too, and your loved one, are called to share in that gift of new and everlasting life. It is a time in which the Lord gives us comfort, healing and peace. In order to assist you in planning the Funeral, we would like to offer you some thoughts and guidelines. The Funeral Liturgy The normal context for the Rite of Christian Burial or Funeral Liturgy is within a Mass. Every Catholic per- son has a right to the Funeral Liturgy by the mere fact that they are baptized. The Funeral Liturgy is the prayer of the Church, the people of God, for the person who has died.
    [Show full text]
  • §1400 Order of Christian Funerals
    Book IV The Sanctifying Office of the Church Part I Sacramental Life §1400 ORDER OF CHRISTIAN FUNERALS §1401. RITUAL BOOKS APPROVED FOR USE WITH CHRISTIAN FUNERALS Commentary. With the approval of the revised ritual book, Order of Christian Funerals and its mandatory use in the Dioceses of the United States of America from 2 November 1989, the earlier English edition, Rite of Funerals (1970), may no longer be used. §1401.1. Policy. English Edition of the Order of Christian Funerals. The English translation of the Order of Christian Funerals, 1989 edition, approved for use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, shall be used with the rites of Christian funerals when English is used. §1401.2. Policy. English Edition of the Appendix Cremation. The English translation of the Appendix Cremation with Reflections on the Body, Cremation, and Catholic Funeral Rites by the Committee on the Liturgy, 1997 edition, approved for use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, shall be used with the rites of Christian funerals when English is used. Commentary. Ritual books printed after the Appendix Cremation was issued in 1997 contain the entire appendix and do not need the insert. §1401.3. Policy. Spanish Edition of the Ritual de Exequias Christianas. The Spanish translation of the Ritual de Exequias Christianas, 2001 edition, approved for use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, shall be used with the rites of Christian funerals when Spanish is used. Procedures 1. Pastoral ministers may make use of both vernacular translations when bilingual celebrations occur, making suitable adaptations as needed for good celebration.
    [Show full text]
  • Christian Burial Preparation
    CHRISTIAN BURIAL PREPARATION CONTENTS Concerning Christian Burial 4 When Death is Imminent 5 Call the Priest Last Rites Preparation Before Death 6 Legal/Financial Selecting a Mortuary or Cremation Society Choosing a Place for Burial Planning a Funeral 7 Definitions Vigil at the Mortuary Burial from the Church The Presence of the Body The Holy Eucharist for the Departed The Community of Faith If a Eulogy is Desired Flowers Memorial Gift Music Clergy Receptions 12 Scripture Lessons 13 3 Concerning Christian Burial Physical death will come to all of us, perhaps suddenly, perhaps following a long illness, perhaps at the end of the natural course of life; but it will come. As Christians, we need not be afraid of death, of talking about it or preparing for it. Throughout the Christian Year, we are reminded time and time again of the uncertainty of life and, at the same time the certainty of Christ’s power over the final enemy, death. During Advent, we recall the story of the Bridegroom who “Comes like a thief in the night,” having encour- aged us to be ready with lamps lit. On Ash Wednesday, we are signed with ashes on our foreheads with the words, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” As we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, we re- peat the words from St. Paul, “Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over Him… So also consider your- selves dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord,” Jesus tells His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you… that where I am you might be also.” To be a responsible, faithful Christian is to be ready, always prepared to live in Christ now and be ready for the life to come.
    [Show full text]
  • Guidelines to Rite of Christian Funeral
    GUIDELINES FOR THE ORDER OF CHRISTIAN FUNERALS At the center of the Catholic belief about death is the paschal mystery of Christ, that mystery which includes life here and hereafter and our own hope of resurrection. Therefore the actions of a Catholic community when one of its members dies must clearly as possible proclaim this central mystery. Particularly is this true when the community gathers to pray for the deceased and to support with its faith, hope, and love the grieving family and friends. These guidelines are intended to assist in the proclamation of this paschal mystery. TERMINOLOGY The Order of Christian Funerals (OCF), the revision and adaptation of the Rite of Funerals, uses "funeral rites" as a general designation of all the liturgical celebrations whereby the assembled community worships God, commends the dead to God's merciful love, and offers support and consolation to the grieving. The first of these rites is the "vigil" or wake service. The "funeral liturgy" is the central celebration, whether as a funeral Mass or a funeral service without Mass. The "rite of committal," usually at graveside, completes the funeral rites. A variety of terms have been used in recent years, particularly for the funeral Mass. However, "Mass of Christian Burial" gives more prominence to the rite which follows the Mass than to the Mass itself and "Mass of Resurrection" tends to overlook the mourners' natural grief. So too, every Mass is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. The recommended terminology is: the vigil, the funeral Mass or the funeral service, and the rite of committal.
    [Show full text]