Liturgie katolickich Kościołów wschodnich wobec reformy liturgicznej Vaticanum II

Abstract

The liturgical reform, called for by the Second Vatican Council, was indeed a great turning point for the Latin Church. The conciliar constitution on the liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, directed that the coming reform should be governed by the principle of adaptation and in harmony with Tradition. A criticism that is often made of this key document is that the Council seems to have omitted the Oriental Churches from its considerations, but such a view would only be partially true. In truth the Oriental Catholic Churches have always played a key part in the life of the Church, this was expressed in Orientalem Ecclesiarum, a decree of the Council on the Catholic Oriental Churches. In that same document an invitation was made to them to initiate a reform of the Oriental Liturgies. This reform was to be directed, not so much by aggiornamento as in the West, but by an invitation to them to explore the historical roots of their liturgical practices and especially to identity some of the Latin influences that have entered into them. The reform proposed by the Council was welcomed and the invitation to take part in a reform and renewal of the Liturgy is still taking place in many communities of the Christian Catholic East.