LITURGY and DEATH: an Examination of the Pastoral and Theological Issues Relating to Funerals, with Special Reference to Selected Funerary Rites
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LITURGY AND DEATH: an examination of the pastoral and theological issues relating to funerals, with special reference to selected funerary rites The Revd Paul P J Sheppy Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds: The Department of Theology and Religious Studies September 1994 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. Abstract An abundance of anecdotal evidence suggests criticism of funeral services. In a society where religious pluralism, agnosticism and non-belief are increasing, funerals are probably the most common occasions upon which people without formal (or informal) religious belief meet the services of the Christian Church. There is a growing call for alternative funeral provision. This thesis offers a theological and ritual analysis of Christian funeral rites. It suggests that Christian funerals should be at least consistent with a theological anthropology, should relate the dead person to the death, descent and resurrection of Jesus, and should attend to the pastoral needs arising from the circumstance of each particular case. From such considerations it examines contemporary discussions about death, bereavement, and human existence. In response both to the current debate and to traditional Christian understandings, it proposes its own unitary theological anthropology using a language of zoetics. From such a view the life, death and resurrection of Jesus are presented as representative of all personhood. A review of social anthropology draws upon the work of van Gennep and describes how funerals act as rites of passage. The separating, transitional and incorporating phases of such rites are used in conjunction with the Paschal Mystery as a proposal for future Christian funerary liturgies. The establishment of a unitary anthropology, derived from the Hebrew concept of nephesh and rooted in a theology of Christ the Representative is combined with a universalist reading of the Paschal Mystery. Such a pastoral theology makes possible the celebration of Christian funeral rites for all who seek the Church's ministry. The historical development of Christian funeral rites is described and leads to a major review of the current liturgical provisions of a number of Christian churches in Britain. In the concluding part of the thesis general and specific proposals are offered, which seek to minister to the dual passage of death and bereavement. These are then tested against six fictional corpses whose funeral rites are described and analysed. A concluding section suggests future lines of enquiry arising from this research. i Table of Contents INTRODUCTION: A QUESTION OF LIFE AND DEATH 1 CHAPTER ONE: RITUAL BLUNDER 1 An introductory review 1 What are funerals supposed to do? 3 The gap between expectation and experience 6 Conclusion 18 PART ONE: DEATH AND THE HUMAN 19 CHAPTER TWO: MEDICINE AND THE LAW 19 What is death? A medical definition: failure and limitation 19 The arena of death: home and hospital 23 The medical and legal interface 26 Bland v Airedale NHS Trust 30 CHAPTER THREE: THE END OF LIFE 34 Lord Justice Hoffmann's dilemma 34 I think not, therefore I am not? 38 The future of the soul: bios and zoe 44 CHAPTER FOUR: DEATH IN THE COMMUNITY 49 The social nature of death 49 The psychology of bereavement: a critique of "back to normal" 52 Social anthropology and death: rites of passage 59 The ritual community of death: gathering for a funeral 67 CODA: THE AGENDA FOR FUNERALS 70 How concerns for the human shape the rites of death 70 PART TWO: DEATH AND GOD 72 CHAPTER FIVE: THE HUMAN IN CHRIST 73 Personal anthropology: nephesh, death and resurrection 74 Jesus as normative 78 Holy Saturday and the descent to the dead 79 Christ the Representative: the Paschal Mystery and human death 86 Conclusion 89 CHAPTER SIX: RITES OF PASSAGE 90 The liturgical agenda 91 The Paschal Mystery and van Gennep 92 Back to the funeral 97 Conclusion 98 PART THREE: DEATH AND LITURGY 99 CHAPTER SEVEN: PAST AND PRESENT 101 The historical beginnings of Christian funerals 101 Conclusion 118 CHAPTER EIGHT 120 Which liturgy? 120 Anglican rites: introduction 121 The Church of England 122 Scotland, Wales and Ireland 153 The Scottish Episcopal Church 153 The Church of Ireland 157 The Church in Wales 158 The Church of the Province of New Zealand 170 The Roman Catholic Church 184 The Church of Scotland 206 The Baptist Union of Great Britain 216 The Methodist Conference 221 The United Reformed Church 224 Concluding Comments 227 PART FOUR: A DANCE OF DEATH 229 CHAPTER NINE: RITUAL STEPS 230 Issues and principles 230 General liturgical proposals 233 Liturgies of death and resurrection 238 Conclusion 258 CHAPTER TEN: LOOSE ENDS AND FAR HORIZONS 259 Six corpses in search of a funeral 259 Alice's funeral 260 Bill's funeral 262 Chris's funeral 265 Dot's funeral 267 Evangeline's funeral 269 Frank's funeral 270 Loose ends and far horizons : some conclusions 272 BIBLIOGRAPHY Frontispiece May the babe of Bethlehem be mine to tend, May the boy of Nazareth be mine for friend, May the man of Galilee my soul defend. Then, God, your holy angels send That I may see thee at the end. Bishop Leslie Lloyd-Rees ex-prison chaplain Prayer taught to a man in the condemned cell Timewatch BBC2, Wednesday 2 June 1993 The hour will come - it is here already - when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and all who hear it will live. John 5.25 Acknowledgements In submitting this thesis for examination, I acknowledge the contributions of the living and the dead. To undertake the task of theological research is to be indebted to the whole • community of those who throughout human history have considered the mighty ways of God. Some of these women and men find their way specifically into the references contained within this work; others cast their influence in less explicit but no less significant ways. I have conducted and attended the funerals of adults and children over many years: from all of them I have learnt. Chief among them was my mother, whose Anglo-Catholic faith sustained her in her final illness. Among the living, I have received encouragement and support from many quarters. My congregation has granted me the freedom to give myself adequate time for study. Dr Brian Haymes, President of the Bristol Baptist College, and Dr George Beasley-Murray, the former Principal of Spurgeon's College, have urged me on by word and example in the work of pastoral theology. My family have treated their part-time husband, father and student with cheerful tolerance in his bizarre and incessant curiosity about death and funerals. Within the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds I have gained both academic and personal stimulus and support. Dr Philip Mellor acted as interim supervisor for a period of nine months. His incisive critique of my work in its middle phase was invaluable and gave me the confidence to control an area of study which was entirely new to me. He has continued to show an interest in my research, and has invited me to join in equal discourse with a distinguished contributor in the field of death studies. However, my greatest thanks are reserved for Dr Al McFadyen. His patient, good-humoured supervision has made my studies a delight to me. His rigorous attention to details of content and style has always been constructively offered, and I have always returned home encouraged and inspired to tackle the next phase with enthusiasm and energy. Despite the best efforts of all these people, what is offered is partial. Much remains to be done, and any errors are mine. Nonetheless, I have written in the hope that what I have learnt may be a contribution to pastoral theology and liturgy both in academic debate and in the Church's ministry at the time of death. 1 Introduction: A Question of Life and Death Chapter One: Ritual Blunder An introductory review For more than a quarter of a century there has been a sense in Britain that funerals are frequently unsatisfactory both to mourners and to officiants. One of the first to observe and record this unease in detail was Geoffrey Gorer. In his book Death, Grief and Mourning in Contemporary Britain, he ascribed to death a taboo status similar to that previously accorded to pornography.' He described the decline in social semiotics (such as the black armband) associated with death and bereavement, and noted a decline in socially agreed beliefs and practices, which he saw as providing difficulties for the ritual nature and purposes of funerals.2 Along with the anecdotal evidence which journalists have reported in the newspapers and on television, there has been a significant increase in the work of psychiatrists and grief counsellors investigating how death affects the bereaved and how funerals assist or impede the process of mourning. The clinical and social phenomenologies of bereavement grief have been documented and analysed by a succession of practitioners in the fields.3 The minister of religion, who may not have read the theory, will nonetheless be aware of the general unease, in which (s)he will often share. Among her/his concerns will be the constraints upon the time permitted at a crematorium and the frequent lack of previous contact with the family. There may also be a feeling that it is the officiant who will most often be blamed where dissatisfaction is expressed. Perhaps the most common criticism is that the funeral was "anonymous" or "impersonal".