The Timelessness of Worship

This past Monday during our Oblate conference call our presenter talked about anamnesis - or a rememberance. I wish we had a transcript available of these conference calls, because I am terrible at taking notes, and my memory don't member good. It was a very good presentation, and we even got a link that covered some of what was presented. What follows are my thoughts on the subject.

So, first of all, for my readers who are not Oblates - the conference calls are a weekly "meeting" for us brother and sister Oblates, since we are spread all over. I do believe that we have members overseas as well as spread throughout the US. During these calls we have people present things for us to ponder; sometimes it is readings from the lives of certain saints, or explanations of the Rule of Saint Benedict, and sometimes it is something to do with our spiritual life. The calls always end with us praying Compline (evening prayers) according to the Western Rite.

I'm pretty terrible at attending these conference calls regularly, but every time I do, I take away something beneficial from them.

But anyway, on to this word anamnesis.

Webster defines anamnesis as: a recalling to mind (Webster).

Wikipedia says this: 

Anamnesis (from the Attic Greek word ἀνάμνησις, meaning "reminiscence" or "memorial sacrifice")[1] is a liturgical statement in Christianity in which the Church refers to the memorial character of the Eucharist or to the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus. It has its origin in Jesus' words at the Last Supper, "Do this in memory of me" ("τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν", (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25).[2][3]

In a wider sense, anamnesis is a key concept in the liturgical theology: in worship the faithful recall God's saving deeds.[4] This memorial aspect is not simply a passive process but one by which the Christian can actually enter into the Paschal mystery.[5](Wikipedia - Anamnesis(Christianity))

So we see that during the Liturgy we are recalling certain events - such as the Last Supper (the Eucharist). There are other events that we recall as well, such as certain events that happened throughout Church history (the finding of the True Cross, lives of saints, etc). We remember these things because they are worth remembering and they connect us in the present with the Church of the past.

There is a part of the Liturgy called the anamnesis, and it is a part of the Anaphora (offering up). OrthodoxWiki explains the anamnesis as "the recalling before God of the saving acts of Christ: 'Remembering this saving commandment and all those things which have come to pass for us: the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into heaven, the Sitting at the right hand, and the second and glorious Coming.'"(OrthodoxWiki - Anaphora)

Notice in this description that it mentions an event that has not happened yet, the second and glorious Coming.

So we see that this remembrance is not just for events that have happened previously, but will happen in the future as well.

Fr. Christopher Foley says (in the link we were provided with on Monday evening), and please excuse the long quote,

"We have been given an incredible legacy of beautiful services that celebrate the sanctification of time. Each year we journey through the cycle of the Church year in order to enter in to the reality of the events commemorated. The Greek word for symbol means just that - "to bring together." We remember these events in the present. There is a technical word in the Greek for this "remembrance" - anamnesis. This word denotes much more than recalling an event from the past, it is a remembrance that brings the event into the present. It is a participation in the event in the present. Many of the hymns for each feast and service begin with the word "Today..." This is the sanctification of the present day in order for us to participate in the reality of what we are commemorating. This is seen in our Divine Liturgy where we thank God for the "cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, and His second and glorious coming." We are "remembering" events from the past and the future at the same time. This sanctification can only happen in its fulness in the life of the Church - the gathered community with the priest around the altar upon which the Gospel, which is Christ, is present. Fr. Alexander Schmemann states, "We can only worship in time, yet it is worship that ultimately not only reveals the meaning of time, but truly 'renews' time itself. There is no worship without the participation of the body, without words and silence, light and darkness, movement and stillness - yet it is in and through worship that all these essential expressions of man in his relation to the world are given their ultimate 'term' of reference, revealed in their highest and deepest meaning." Our worship is our real participation in the future Kingdom. We begin every Divine Liturgy with the words. "Blessed is the Kingdom..." It is in and through our leitourgia, our liturgical work, that we enter into and experience this world as encounter, an encounter with Christ in the midst of "our time."'(Worship in the Church: the Sanctification of Time)

Here we see that this remembrance is transcending time. As noted, many of our hymns that commemorate past events start with "Today". During our services we are in a place out of time, or between time. The Eucharist that we celebrate today is the same Eucharist that was celebrated during the Last Supper, for we Orthodox believe that "the Lamb of God was sacrificed only once, for all time."(OrthodoxWiki - Eucharist) We are transcending time to partake of the same holy mystery today as they did way back when.

And, since there is only one sacrifice for all time, this means that we are transcending time to partake of the same holy mystery today as those in the future will do.

 

Another example of transcending time is that we Orthodox consider Sunday to be the Mystical 8th Day - while also being the first day of the week. 

"The Sabbath day (Gr. Σάββατο) is the seventh day, it is the day of rest in this world, the final day of the week. The next day, the Lord’s Day (Gr. Κυριακή), is symbolic of the first day of creation. It also symbolizes the last day of the Kingdom of God, the Eighth Day. In other words, the first day is also the eighth day. It is the day beyond the confines of this world, the day which stands for the life of the world to come, the day of the eternal rest of the Kingdom of God.

In both Jewish and Christian tradition, the number seven signifies completion and fullness, while the number eight signifies more than completion and fullness. Thus, for Orthodox Christians, the Lord’s Day is the day of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, the day of God’s judgment and victory predicted by the prophets. The Lord’s Day inaugurates the presence and the power of the kingdom to come, already within the life of this present world. That is why every week Christians gather together to worship and celebrate what the Lord has done for His people.

Fittingly, during the week after Pascha (Easter), called Bright Week, the Church celebrates Pascha for eight days. By tradition, babies are named on the eighth day after birth. And from ancient times, Christian baptismal fonts have been built with eight sides, indicating the newly baptized are entering the realm of the Eighth Day, the day of eternal rest (Heb. 4:1-11) in Christ’s Heavenly Kingdom."(St. John Orthodox Church - The SabbathDay, Sunday, and the Eighth Day)

Our worship transcends time, not just because we celebrate a sacrifice that was already made - but because Sunday, the Mystical 8th Day, is a time that is beyond this world. Our worship is timeless because we are connected to the past, present, and future. Our worship is timeless because it takes place on a day that doesn't normally exist.

Please pray for me, a sinner.