A worship service is a gathering of people with the purpose of coming into contact with God , of having fellowship with him, of making sacrifices , of receiving sacraments or of fulfilling an imposed religious duty. It can take place in a specially designated space ( church , synagogue , mosque , pagoda , temple , Kingdom Hall, etc.), as well as in the home or outdoors.
The German word Gottesdienst corresponds to the Latin term cultus ( cultus , "worship") and primarily refers to religious celebrations in Christianity , but is also used for other religious communities that pray together, such as in Judaism and Islam .
A divine service often follows a rite that is predetermined by a traditional process or by determination by a spiritual authority, such as the liturgy of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches or the evangelical agenda . However, if the objective is set, spontaneous or poorly structured gatherings are also referred to as divine services.
In Judaism , what is commonly referred to as worship services are common prayers by Jews according to a given order. The German term worship is not really applicable, since the entire traditional (orthodox) Jewish life is a service to and before the one and only God, a worship service. The prayer book is called Seder Tefilah (Hebrew: 'order of prayer') or Siddur (Hebrew: 'order'), Machsor for the holidays .
With the destruction of the Jerusalem temple at the end of the Jewish War in 70, the character of the worship services in Judaism changed permanently. Instead of temple sacrifices and pilgrimages to Jerusalem, under the supervision of the priests and Levites , there is communal prayer, with the main prayer being the Schemone Esre, which was codified from the 9th century . The destroyed temple is being replaced by synagogues in the diaspora , both in the Roman Empire and in the Persian Empire .
The common prayers can take place in a synagogue or in a prayer room set up for this purpose, or at home. The order of prayer varies depending on the Jewish denomination and region. A distinction is made, for example, between orthodox and liberal , Ashkenazi and Sephardic , but also between German and Polish rites . In Orthodox Judaism , only adult men who keep and observe the Shabbat are traditionally counted in the prayer community, but women can also pray in a separate box or gallery. In the worship services of conservative and liberal reform communities , women are often on an equal footing with men; there are also female (reform) rabbis and chasanot .
Certain prayers require a quorum ( minyan ) of ten adult males who keep and observe the Shabbat . Boys come of age at thirteen, girls at twelve. In orthodox, exceptionally also in conservative and liberal communities, traditionally only men count as minyan. In most conservative and in all reform and reconstructionist congregations in North America and in many liberal congregations in Europe, women now count as minyan and observance and observance of the Shabbat is no longer required. Communities belonging to German progressive Judaism often forego a quorum entirely.
In all denominations and movements of Judaism, prayer congregations can be found on Shabbat and on the holidays on the evening before and in the morning, usually also for the evening out, on Yom Kippur , the day of atonement and the highest holiday in the Jewish annual cycle, also in the afternoon. In Orthodox and some conservative or liberal congregations, common prayers are also held three times a day on weekdays.
The communal prayers are divided into evening prayer ( Maariv ), morning prayer ( Shacharit ) and afternoon prayer ( Mincha ), on Shabbat and public holidays the Mussaf prayer is switched on in the morning , and on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the Neilah prayer as a conclusion in the late afternoon .
On Shabbat and on public holidays, in some congregations also on Mondays and Thursdays, the earlier Israeli market days, there is a reading from the Torah in the morning , on fasting days also in the afternoon, and in some congregations the Torah is read from the Simchat Torah the evening before Torah read.
Religious gatherings of the Christian community have existed from the beginning of Christianity. Various forms are already mentioned in the letters of Paul and in the Acts of the Apostles . An example of early Christian worship can be found in 1 Cor 14:26 EU : “When you come together, everyone has brought something with them: One sings a song, another interprets the holy scriptures . Another speaks in tongues of the Spirit , and another has an explanation. ”The term“ worship ”(Greek λειτουργία leitourgia ) is not used for these meetings of the congregation. When worship is spoken of in the New Testament , it is either about the temple worship of the Old Testament or about the invitation to understand all of life as worship ( Romans 12 : 1-2 EU ).
In the 2nd century there was a liturgical training for worship meetings. Justin the Martyr († 165), for example, described a Christian worship service with reading order , sermon , intercessory prayer and Eucharistic celebration . From this, special priestly offices developed over time , which ultimately led to a distinction between the community in clergy and lay people . The architecture of the worship service rooms in the Middle Ages reflects this separation; the chancel - separated from the rest of the church by a rood screen - was reserved for the clergy, while the other parishioners became more and more spectators and listeners of the worship service. With the Tridentine Mass , the form and course of the divine services with the Eucharist were integrated into a detailed rite. Late antiquity and early medieval special forms of church services ( station worship ) live on today in processions .
The Reformation tried to reverse this development. The Reformation Anabaptists and free church movements of modern times such as Baptists , Free Evangelical Congregations and many Pentecostal congregations completely abolished the divine divine service between clergy and lay people. The Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church also gave the laity an active place in the worship service. In the Orthodox churches this return to the early Christian worship has not yet been followed.
The number of participants in Sunday church services is decreasing in the Federal Republic of Germany and, according to the German Bishops' Conference (DBK), was only 3.98 million people in 2003, compared to 6.19 million in 1990. Statistically , a third was down in 2005 of those surveyed never go to church, another 30 percent only at Christmas, Easter or family celebrations. Only 17 percent said they were regular churchgoers, the proportion being higher in the west than in the east, higher among women than among men and by far the highest among those over 60. Internationally there are great cultural differences: in much of the United States as well as in some parts of Europe, e.g. In Poland and Italy, for example, attending Sunday services and making a donation to support the priests and church buildings and facilities is much more widespread and is practiced by more than half of the population.
Roman Catholic Church
In the Roman Catholic Church , the divine service, the Sacra liturgia ( Latin for "holy liturgy"), is understood as the priestly action of Jesus Christ, who is constantly present in his church and includes it in his work. In the liturgy of the church, Jesus Christ himself speaks from the biblical readings, brings about the salvation of people through sensible signs and, united with his community, performs the public worship (cult) of the one and triune God.
The direction of some forms of worship is reserved for a priest , such as the celebration of Holy Mass , the administration of the sacraments and certain blessings and ordinations. Laypeople take part in given roles, such as cantors , acolytes or lecturers . Consecration is not necessary to lead hourly prayer or divine services , but in most cases a special assignment is required. All the faithful are called to participate fully, consciously and actively in liturgical celebrations.
Forms of Roman Catholic worship are:
- the celebration of Holy Mass (also called Mass or Eucharist )
- the celebration of the sacraments : baptism , confirmation , sacrament of consecration , marriage , anointing of the sick , reconciliation
- Celebrating the consecration of persons (abbot and abbess consecration , virgin consecration ) or objects ( church consecration and altar consecration ). These always take place as part of a Holy Mass.
- the word worship or the word of God celebration
- the liturgy of the hours (also: liturgy of the day )
- Devotions (for example , devotions on the Way of the Cross , Marian devotions , exposure of the Holy of Holies , prayers and thanksgiving devotions )
- Funeral ceremonies
In his Reformation work, Martin Luther was primarily concerned with emphasizing the grace of God and the seriousness of Christian life. He assumed that the old church had been restored by the Reformation . For the divine service, this meant that Luther first tried to achieve the greatest possible continuity in the liturgy . Luther's first liturgical drafts therefore provided for a mass celebration that was almost unchanged compared to the Roman Catholic service : the so-called "swept (= cleaned) mass". Luther only erased those passages that made the performance of the Lord's Supper understood as a renewed sacrifice of Jesus Christ and introduced the German language. Further changes were made in later writings of Luther. Compared to the traditional mass celebrations, the greatest changes occurred in the Eucharistic prayer. Luther himself says about the service on the occasion of the inauguration of the Torgau Castle Church in 1543, "that our Lord speaks to us through his holy word and we in turn with him through prayer and hymns."
The Lutheran churches are based on this understanding and on the language of Martin Luther to this day, so that they speak of both “worship” and “ mass ”. Divine services in all their elements - scripture readings , prayers, sermons , chants , confessions - are generally only celebrated in the national languages; Exceptions only apply to the established liturgical chants - Gloria Patri , Kyrie , Gloria , Sanctus , Agnus Dei - which are sometimes intoned in their ancient church form and language, as well as to newer songs , which also follow certain fashion trends in linguistic terms and are therefore currently often has English texts. The divine service readings follow the pericope order .
Types of worship in Lutheran churches:
- Communion services based on the order of the Lutheran Mass
- Confession service before the Lutheran mass
- Preaching services
- Divine services on the day of penance and prayer with special penitential liturgy and confession
- Devotions such as Advent and Passion services during the week
- Liturgy of the Hours
- Church services in memory of the Holy Apostles and Evangelists , Remembrance Day of the Saints , Remembrance Day of the Augsburg Confession, etc. on the corresponding memorial days
- Occasional services (such as funerals , weddings)
- Sometimes newer forms of worship are also offered. Family services are widespread and are held regularly in many congregations, e.g. B. once a month.
The divine service in churches of the Reformed tradition in Germany is word-heavy, its essential component is the sermon . The liturgy is simple. The Lord's Supper is understood as a memorial meal . Bread and wine are referred to as “signs” of Jesus' devotion on the cross and “seals” of the redemption from sin and eternal death guaranteed by them. Under Zwingli's guidance, the Lord's Supper in Zurich was only celebrated at Christmas, Easter, Whitsun and Parish Fair. Based on this tradition, many congregations plan to celebrate the Lord's Supper only four to five times a year; The usual dates are for the first celebration in the church year Christmas, for the second Maundy Thursday, Good Friday or Easter, as well as for the further Pentecost and Thanksgiving; In some places there is also an invitation to the Lord's Supper in the confirmation services. The proclamation of the word is also at the center of the whole in the sacrament service .
The basic model of the Reformed liturgy is based on the Upper German preaching service . It begins with a Trinitarian vote (in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit) , a biblical vote (often Ps 124,8 LUT , hence also called Adjutorium) and greeting as well as a church song . This is followed by Psalm , which is sometimes sung as eröffnendes community song in a paraphrase, opening prayer with confession , Bible reading , preaching , confession , song, discontinuations , intercession prayer , Our Father , starting song and blessing. - The order between the vote / greeting and the song, between the sermon and the creed and between the starting song and the blessing is regulated differently in the different congregations.
The divine service readings in many congregations follow the pericope order . In addition, "Continua sermons" have also been in use since the Reformation, especially in the Lower Rhine communities. The sermons follow the continuous text of a biblical book. Finally, in other communities neither continuous readings nor pericopes can be observed as an established tradition.
Society of Friends (Quakers)
Quakers , like almost all Protestant denominations, start from the priesthood of all believers . While there were and female preachers among the early Quakers , there are currently pastors in the evangelical directions of Quakerism (especially in the United States and Africa), while there are in liberal directions in Quakerism (especially in the States and in Europe) there are usually no more preachers. In their devotions they want to open themselves to the presence of God. During a mostly one-hour, silent meditation , anyone who feels driven to do so can take the floor. Devotions by evangelical communities, on the other hand, have a specific sequence; in addition to meditation, they also include prayer, song and sermon.
Old Catholic Church
The old Catholic Church celebrates worship - apart from a few minor differences - in the form that corresponds to the regular form of the Roman rite . Since the national language has been used in the liturgy since 1885, the form of the German parish answers is usually older and was retained while other things were changed. These include the following answers:
- after the first two readings: "So much for the words of the first (second) reading." - "Thank God the Lord!"
- on the peace greeting: "The Lord's peace be with you always!" - "Peace with us all!"
- After preparing the gifts: "Pray, brothers and sisters, that our gifts will be accepted by God, the Almighty Father!" - "For his glory and for the salvation of the world."
- during the dialogue before the Eucharist : "Lift up your hearts!" - "We lift them up to the Lord!"
- according to the institution report: “Christ died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again! "
- before communion : “Lord, I am not worthy of you entering under my roof. Just speak one word and my soul will be healed. "
- on release: “Go in peace!” - “Praise and thanks be to our God!”
In the German Old Catholic Church washing hands and mixing the wine with water are optional when preparing gifts . The priest does a squat only after the Eucharist has finished . The peace greeting can follow the intercessions at the end of the word service . Acolytes are common in congregations with children and young people . What is understood by a high mass in the Roman Catholic Church is rather the exception in the Old Catholic Church, since the parishes are usually of a manageable size and the majority of them prefer simple forms.
The structure of the Eucharistic celebration in the Christian Catholic Church in Switzerland is as follows:
- The mass is preceded by prayers in preparation (Psalm 24.27 EU ; 122 EU with each closing oration ), followed by the entrance (with versicle ) and confiteor, including absolution.
- The creed does not follow the homily but the intercession.
- The Nicano-Constantinopolitanum is exclusively used as a creed .
- The peace greeting is exchanged before the preparation of the gifts.
- In memories, the names of those for whom special prayer is given are read out as an intercessory memorial in front of the verses “Pray, brothers and sisters” - “Orate, fratres”.
- The Lord's Prayer follows the breaking of bread.
The structure of the celebration of Mass in the Christian Catholic Church shows a number of parallels to the Ambrosian rite , while the reading of the noun defunctorum / offerentium in the Western Church can only be found today in the Toledo rite . A prayer for gifts is not provided. The anamnetic acclamation after the institution report is declaratory and therefore not addressed to Christ himself:
"We proclaim the Lord's death and we praise his resurrection until he comes in glory."
"Grant us this, merciful, holy God, that we may praise and praise you through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord."
After the dismissal call , the blessing will be given.
Free church congregations often do not have a formalized liturgy. It comes about by agreement. Exceptions are e.g. B. the Methodist churches and the Moravian Brethren . In many congregations, a relaxed greeting and an information section is followed by a longer time of worship , which is characterized by many songs , readings of biblical texts and freely formulated prayers . Musically, it is not only the organ that takes center stage, but also other keyboard and rhythm instruments . Personal experience reports, so-called “testimonials” , are also common. Many congregations have choirs , singing groups or music bands that help shape the weekly church service. The sermon is the focus. Intercession and blessings conclude the service. In charismatic churches, glossolalia (prayer in tongues) and prophecy also belong to the elements of worship. The Lord's Supper is celebrated regularly - in some free churches weekly ( Brethren congregations ), in some quarterly ( Advent congregations ), in others mostly monthly. In some free churches, however, meals are occasionally held at home. A children's church service is usually offered in parallel for children .
The worship services of some free churches also include regular prayer meetings (such as so-called worship services ). In some free church congregations, the Bible studies also have a divine service character. In some of the younger free churches, such as Willow Creek (USA), Hillsong (Australia) or International Christian Fellowship (Europe), church services are consistently celebrated with the possibilities of current event culture (music, light, sound, video projection). The tradition of the main weekly service borrows heavily from the culture of worship services.
The Friday prayer (Arabic: ṣalāt al-ǧumʿa) is compulsory for adolescent and adult male Muslims and is performed collectively in the mosque. Compared to the ritual prayers that take place on other days, it is expanded to include a sermon ( Chuṭba ). In traditional Islamic communities, there is a separate women's section in the mosque for women to take part in Friday prayers, which is usually not or only with difficulty for men to see.
Since the Puranas , an additional yoga emerged in Hinduism: the bhakti , the loving devotion to a personal God, became the most important element of religiosity for many Hindus. The most popular form of worship is worshiping God in a picture or emblem as part of a puja , the traditional worship ceremony that often takes place in the home. The believer can choose in which of the many forms he wants to worship the divine, although family traditions play a role here. Pujas can basically be performed by anyone. A formal, public puja follows a strict rite, which is mostly based on the Samhitas (belongs to the Vedas ), Agamas, Tantras , and ritual manuals. The procedure of a puja varies according to school type and region. There are also Yajnas, fire ceremonies for the worship of ancestors and ancient Indian gods, which are reserved only for Brahmins and are carried out, for example, at a Hindu wedding .
There is also the possibility of worship in the temple. The beginning and the end are open, each temple develops its own process. The central aspect of Hindu worship is darshan , the mutual sight of believers and God. Usually the visit to the temple is connected with an offering.
Different forms of worship
- Funeral service
- Mountain mass
- Traditional service
- Consecration service
- Eucharistic adoration
- Family service
- Field fair
- Guest service
- Healing service
- Hubertus fair
- Jazz service
- Youth service
- Cantata service
- Children's service
- Worship service
- Motorcycle service
- Easter night
- Rock fair
- Blessing service
- Forest service
- Thomas Fair
- Prayer meeting
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