The Eucharist in a Time of Change: An investigation into the Eucharist as practiced at The Church of the Ascension between 1975 and 2002. ANDREW DAVID KRUGER SUPERVISOR: PROF. PHILIPPE DENIS Thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Theology, in the School of Religion and Theology, University of KwaZulu-Natal. 2011 PIETERMARITZBURG Introduction: The title of this thesis is: “The Eucharist in a time of change : An investigation into the Eucharist as practiced at The Church of the Ascension (C of A) between 1975 and 2002.” The thesis question asks: “How the Eucharist developed at the ‘Church of the Asc ension’ between 1975 and 2002?” My research aims to uncover the developments in the Eucharist during this period of time. The three rectors - the first being charismatic, the second evangelical and the third Anglo -Catholic – who took up office during this time, afforded me the opportunity to investigate broad theological practices of the Eucharist within a tigh tly defined microcosm. The method of researching this microcosm will include the oral histories of the three rectors as well as four parishioners who worshiped at the ‘Church of the Ascension’ during the defined period. The scope, method and focus of this study seeks to elicit legitimate questions of theology, ecclesiology, politics, race, culture and gender . The title of the thesis includes the phrase, ‘time of change’. In the above paragraph I have already alluded to the significant change each Rector would have brought to the church with his particular theology. However the reality of change experienced at Church of the Ascension between 1975 and 2002 is broader than the styles of these th ree Rectors. 1975 was the year the Church of the Province of South ern Africa, now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, launched an experimental liturgy ( Liturgy 1975) for parish use. In 1989 this experimental liturgy was transformed and developed into the current Prayer Book of the Province ( An Anglican Prayer Book 1989). The little village of Hilton underwent significant infrastructural, economic, religious and population development during the prescribed period. These were the years of dramatic socio-political transformation in South Africa. During these years the system of apartheid was dismantled and the country became democratic as the ANC 1 replaced the white Nationalist Party. Thus this thesis will seek to recognise the practice of the Eucharist in the context of changes of leadership, as well as at liturgical, parochial and national levels. Can a micro-study possibly hope to produce anything more than anecdotal reflections? The thesis is structured in such a way that it would look like an hourglass if represented pictorially. In other words the thesis moves from very broad considerations to the micro-study, and from there seeks to offer broad comment based on the understandings gleaned in the micro - study. The broad aspects include an investigation of: the Anglican Eucharist – particularly as practiced in Southern Africa; the charismatic, evangelical and Anglo-Catholic theological movements; and the socio- political context in South Africa during the time of the study. The limited information from the micro-study is intended to throw light on the general phenomena mentioned above. This model is advantageous in that it allows for a focused and contained thesis with the potential to comment critically on the broad and far reaching issues under discussion. The next question relates to the validity of the oral history m ethodology. Traditionally oral history is understood as the “creation of historical data.” 1 More recently oral history has been seen as a provocative movement acknowledging that all history is a re -construction of the past, and as such, critical questions must be asked. 2 In this way, oral history is an attempt to offer a history ‘from below’ as opposed to ‘from above’ and has therefore been hailed by decision-makers, academics and cultural agents as a tool to bring about healing in post -apartheid South Africa. 3 1 Denis, Philippe. “Oral History in a Wounded Country.” In Orality, Literacy and Colonialism in Southern Africa . Ed. Jonathan Draper. Pietermaritzburg: Cluster Publications, 2003. pp 205 2 Ibid 3 Ibid. pp 209 2 Oral history is considered a generally valid methodology in academic circles, but are the oral histories that have been compiled from the three priests and the four parishioners reliable? Like all history, their stories are a re-construction of the past and are therefore incomplete and/or a distortion of what happened. Memory is a significantly nuanced aspect of the human psyche which makes ‘getting to the truth’ an extremely complicated exercise. The decision to interview the three priests is an understandable inclusion in my sample. The three priests are the ones who brought their theological worldview to bear on the worship of the Hilton parish, and therefore a thorough understanding of their theology is vitally important. The basis for the selection of the four parishioners requires more comment. Partly, the selection of interviewees was made for me because the number of people who have been parishioners from 1975 i s significantly limited. Interviewing parishioners who have experienced the Eucharistic practice of all three priests is important for a sense of continuity to develop. This method afforded the opportunity to track the personal development of parishioners and the development of the Eucharist from the perspective of the ‘people in the pews’. Of those who met this criterion, I sought to interview an equal number of men and women. In other words, the major bias of the sample is beyond my control in that I have a significantly limited sample to choose from in the first place. The reader may rightly enquire as to why I have chosen to focus on a ‘white’ church in the South African context. Surely I should be seeking out interviews with black South Africans who c elebrated the Eucharist during apartheid? John de Gruchy asserts that: 3 The sacraments rightly understood and practiced within the worship life of the Church play a central role in shaping Christian community and its witness to God’s reconciliation. 4 If this is true, then how is it possible that the majority of white Christians happily celebrated the Eucharist, week in and week out, during the apartheid years, and many never even conceived of the need for reconciliation in South Africa? There has to be some ‘disconnect’ here and it is precisely by studying a white parish that one can hope t o identify the ‘disconnect’ and make helpful suggestions for future liturgical reforms. The reality is that all South Africans were ‘damaged’ by apartheid and are in need of healing; victim, perpetrator and passive perpetrator. The congregation at Hilton would fit primarily into the latter category and their story needs to be told and heard. To return to the research question for this thesis: “How has the Eucharist developed at the Church of the Ascension between 1975 and 2002?” the various categories, pertaining to the Eucharist – including language, physical elements, role of the lay person, shape of the service, role of the priest, and contextual relevance – will form the basis from which to document the development of the Eucharist in each of the three time periods. Once these developments have been documented, I shall offer an integrated analysis in the final chapter. 4 De Gruchy, John. Reconciliation, Restoring Justice . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. pp. 96 4 1. The Anglican Eucharist There was a worshipping church in England from as early as the third and fourth centuries of the Common Era. This Church was significantly influenced by the arrival of St. Augustine in 590 CE and became aligned with Western Christianity as a result of Augustine’s mission 5. However, the practice of the Eucharist varied widely until the English Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England. I will begin this chapter by exploring the very early origins of the Eucharist by reviewing the Jewish roots of the meal and the New Testament sources. Then I will document the movement from the Sarum Use, or the liturgy used at Salisbury, which was Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s principal text for the first English Prayer Book of 1549. The ‘Act of Uniformity’ ensured that this liturgy was used in all the English Churches. 6 As the upheavals of the reformation racked England there were a number of successive prayer books produced until finally the Book of Common Prayer 1662 came to take pride of place. As the upheavals of the Reformation subsided, the English people sought a peaceful life and self -possessed worship. The next major change to the Eucharist came on the heels of the Liturgical renewal of the Twentieth Century. Here I will consider the writings of Gregory Dix 7 who helped to reform the practice of the Eucharist, and Gabriel Hebert 8 who assisted the Church to acknowledge the Eucharist as the primary service of worship. These two Anglican liturgists were highly influential. 5 Chatfield, Adrian. Something In Common. Nottingham: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1998. pp. 12 6 Kelly, Leonard. ‘Anglicanism Lectures’. Lectures given at the College of t he Transfiguration, Grahamstown: 2011 7 Dix, Gregory. The Shape of the Liturgy. Westminster: Dacre Press, 1947. 8 Hebert, Gabriel. Liturgy and Society. London: Butler and Tanner Limited, 1935. 5 1.1 Eucharistic Origins 1.1.1 Jewish Synagogue Service It has been said that Christian worship has been shaped by the tradition of the Synagogue and the tradition of the Upper Room 9. The Synagogue service came into being during the Babylonian exile and Diaspora which prevented Jewish people from offering sacrifices at the Jerusalem Temple.