Through Their Own Eyes: Liturgy as the Byzantines Saw It

by Robert F. Taft

Fr. Robert Taft, the leading scholar of Byzantine Liturgy, presents in vivid detail the actual experience of the Byzantine Church's liturgy throughout the centuries. In this examination, he offers the words of Byzantine commentators themselves on the details of Byzantine rituals, from the processional liturgies processing through the streets of Constantinople to the sometimes unruly and unseemly behavior of the people in attendance. Some of the material presented in these Distinguished Lecture acts as a corrective to the all-too-common myth of some "Golden Age" of Byzantine Liturgy which, "instead of being 'scrutinized,' has often been invented and exploited to justify decisions already made, or reduced to cliches in support of some vision or other of reality that will not stand up to a rereading of the sources."

Genres: Theology, History, Church History

192 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2006

About the author

Robert F. Taft SJ is an archimandrite of the Eastern Catholic Church and a prominent liturgical scholar.

Reviews

[Br. Thanasi (Thomas) Stama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating review of primary source material about the Greek Orthodox church centering on Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire. The author a Eastern Rite Roman Catholic gave three very interesting lectures at the Athenagoras Institute in Berkeley,CA (an Orthodox organization).

I particularly found stimulating in the 3rd lecture: The Meaning of All, that how he perceives the liturgy emote anamnesis. It reminded me of the three greetings Orthodox use based on time of year. Christ is born: Glorify Him. Christ is Risen: Truly He is Risen. Christ is amongst us: He is and ever shall.

They are all in the present tense.