thumb|Worship at a [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Byzantine Catholic altar]]

thumb|An altar is a stone or wooden table used for the celebration of the Eucharist in some Christian worship rites.

In Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is ("to worship") which means to bow down to God or kings. Worship in the New Testament usually means expressions of praise or thanksgiving, as the appropriate human response to the magnificent glory of God.

Throughout most of Christianity's history, corporate Christian worship has been liturgical, characterized by prayers and hymns, with texts rooted in, or closely related to, the Bible (Scripture), particularly the Psalter, and centered on the altar (or table) and the Eucharist; this form of sacramental and ceremonial worship is still practiced by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches, as well as Methodism to a lesser extent. Baptist and Methodist services of worship may include extemporaneous prayer, the sharing of prayer requests, praise reports, and testimonies, as well as altar calls. Among certain Christian denominations, such as those of traditional Anabaptism, the observance of various ordinances rooted in Scripture occurs during Christian worship, such as feetwashing, anointing with oil, and the wearing of headcoverings by women.

Present day

thumb|A congregation during a Christian service of worship, with women observing the ordinance of [[Christian head covering|headcovering (Brazil)]]

Current Christian worship practices are diverse in modern Christianity, with a range of customs and theological views. Three broad groupings can be identified, and whilst some elements are universal, style and content varies greatly due to the history and differing emphases of the various branches of Christianity.

In many Christian traditions, regular public worship is complemented by worship in private and small groups, such as meditation, prayer and study. Singing often forms an important part of Christian worship.

Common elements

While differing considerably in form, the following items characterise the worship of virtually all Christian churches.

  • Meeting on Sunday (Sabbath in Christianity; Sabbath in seventh-day churches is an exception)
  • Bible reading The liturgy, normally led by a priest who wears vestments (a form of sacred clothing), includes the ritual usage of sacred liturgical vessels, incense, candles, and holy water, and may include ritual acts of bowing, prostration, kneeling, kissing sacred images and relics, and crossing oneself. In the Catholic Church there is a diversity of ancient liturgical rites: the Roman Rite (including both the Tridentine Mass and the ordinary-form Roman Rite) the Byzantine Rite, the Ge'ez Rite, and the Antiochene Rite to name several of the more prominent examples. The Lutheran Churches have the Western Rite (based on the Formula Missae) and the Byzantine Rite.

Within the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, the charismatic movement has had much less influence, although modern Christian hymnody is found in some parishes, owing a large part to a movement known as the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Worship practices in the Eastern Churches have largely remained traditional.

Reformed traditions

In the Reformed tradition (historically inclusive of the Continental Reformed, Anglican, Presbyterian and Congregationalist traditions), corporate worship is shaped by the legacy of the Reformation. Worship in such a context also generally features spoken prayer, Scripture readings, congregational singing of hymns, and a sermon. Some liturgy is normally used but may not be described as such. The Lord's Supper, or Communion, is celebrated less frequently (intervals vary from once a week to once a month according to the denomination or local church). Vestments may include the alb or the Geneva gown.

Baptist and Methodist traditions

Baptist and Methodist services including the singing of hymns and prayer, as well as the sermon (on which emphasis is placed). Baptist and Methodist services of worship may include extemporaneous prayer, the sharing of prayer requests, praise reports, testimonies, and altar calls. Baptisms and Holy Communion, as well as footwashing, are celebrated often once monthly to once a quarter.

Outside of worship on the Lord's Day (Sunday morning service and Sunday evening service), Baptists and Methodists often hold revival services, tent revivals, and camp meetings. These services, for Methodists, are aimed at preaching the New Birth and entire sanctification, as well as energizing believers and calling backsliders to repentance. Lovefeasts are observed by a number of Methodist congregations, usually once every quarter.

Charismatic tradition

alt=A contemporary worship team leads the congregation in praise and worship|thumb|A contemporary worship team leads the congregation in praise and worship.

In Charismatic Christianity (including pentecostalism, the charismatic movement, neo-charismatic movement and certain parts of nondenominational Christianity), worship is viewed like an act of adoration of God, with a more informal conception. Some gatherings take place in auditoriums with few religious signs. There is no dress style.

Since the beginning of charismatic movement of the 1960s there have been significant changes to Christian worship practices of many denominations. A new music-centered approach to worship, known as contemporary worship, is now commonplace. This replaces the traditional order of worship based around liturgy or a "hymn-prayer sandwich" with extended periods of congregational singing sometimes referred to as "block worship". The worship has two parts; one in the beginning with music and the second part with sermon and Lord's Supper.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Contemporary worship music settled in many evangelical churches. This music is written in the style of popular music, Christian rock or folk music and therefore differs considerably from traditional hymns. It is frequently played on a range of instruments that would not have previously been used in churches such as guitars (including electric) and drum kits.

Types of Christian worship

Services of worship on the Lord's Day (Sundays) are a part of mainstream Christian traditions, especially those following Sunday Sabbatarianism (First-day Sabbatarianism). The Eucharist may be celebrated at some or all of these; ranging from daily to once a week to once a month or once a quarter. Saturday Sabbatarians (Seventh-day Sabbatarians) have their main weekly services on Saturday rather than Sunday. On the Lord's Day, a number of denominations (following the historic Reformed, Methodist and Baptist views of Sunday Sabbatarianism) have a service of worship in the morning and one in the evening.

Sacraments, ordinances, holy mysteries

thumb|Some clergy may wear [[vestments such as the alb (pictured) when celebrating rites such as baptism.]]

  • Common to all historic churches:
  • Baptism
  • Eucharist, Communion, Lord's Supper
  • Sacraments/Holy Mysteries Common to the East, to Lutheranism, and to Roman Catholicism:
  • Confession
  • Sacraments/Holy Mysteries Common to the East and to Roman Catholicism:
  • Chrismation (Eastern) / Confirmation (Western)
  • Marriage
  • Ordination
  • Anointing of the Sick (Unction)

Lutherans see baptism, the Eucharist, and confession and absolution as sacraments. Lutherans recognize and practice marriage, confirmation, ordination, and the anointing of the sick as rites (though Lutherans teach that as they do not forgive sins, they are therefore are not sacraments in the strict sense).

  • Ordinances of Conservative Anabaptism (Dunkard Brethren Church, Conservative Mennonite fellowships, Beachy Amish fellowships, and the Apostolic Christian Church):
  • Baptism
  • Feetwashing
  • Communion
  • Holy kiss
  • Headcovering (veiling)
  • Marriage
  • Anointing of the sick

In the Dunkard Brethren Church (part of Conservative Anabaptism), feetwashing, communion and the holy kiss occur during the lovefeast. In addition to other Conservative Anabaptist denominations that observe the lovefeast, the lovefeast is observed by the Moravian Church and the Methodist Churches.

See also

  • Alternative worship
  • Church service
  • Contemporary worship
  • Devotional literature
  • Magnificat
  • Service of worship
  • Theological aesthetics

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Lang, Bernhard (1997), Sacred Games: A History of Christian Worship, New Haven: Yale University Press,
  • Stevens, James H. S. (2002), Worship In The Spirit – Charismatic Worship In The Church of England, Paternoster, .
  • Ward, Pete (2005), Selling Worship – How What We Sing Has Changed The Church, Paternoster,
  • Warner, Rob (2007), Reinventing English Evangelicalism 1966–2001 – A Theological And Sociological Study, Paternoster, . Chapter 2 includes a study of changing worship styles.
  • Lupia, John N., (1995) "Censer," The New Grove's Dictionary of Art (Macmillan Publishers, London)

de:Lobpreis und Anbetung