West, Fritz. The comparative liturgy of Anton Baumstark. Cambridge, England: Grove Books, 1995

Nevile, Donald C.

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The comparative liturgy of Anton Baumstark

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ConsensusVolume 24Issue 2 Essays on Liturgy and Worship Article 1711-1-1998The comparative liturgy of Anton BaumstarkDonald C. NevileFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationNevile, Donald C. (1998) "The comparative liturgy of Anton Baumstark," Consensus: Vol. 24 : Iss. 2 , Article 17.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol24/iss2/17128 ConsensusI was also bothered at times by some sloppy inter-gospel harmonizations.If you appreciate, but do not currently have access to, the kind of cross-fertilization that a thoughtful pericope study group provides, then this bookwill serve as a decent substitute. In it you will find yourself in dialogue with twoguys who will help you to begin your wrestling with some of Jesus’ hardestsayings.Henry LangknechtEmmanuel CollegeToronto, OntarioThe Comparative Liturgy of Anton BaumstarkFritz WestCambridge, CJK: Grove Books Limited, 199546 pages, £ 3.50 paperback monographWhy a monograph on this obscure, Roman Catholic lay theologian, whospent most of his career teaching secondary school, never held down anacademic appointment, was an active member of the Nazi party, and onlyauthored one major book in his entire life? Simply because AntonBaumstark (1872-1948) invented the discipline of comparative liturgy. This,in fact, is the title of his only book, published in French in 1934, but nottranslated into English until 1953. Unless you have access to a specializedlibrary, you are unlikely to see a copy of Baumstark’s Comparative Liturgy,long out of print. This monograph by Fritz West is likely the closest you willcome to Baumstark.Baumstark lived and worked in the narrow Roman Catholic world of theturn of the century, in the shadow of Vatican 1, when “LITURGY” meant “THEROMAN LITURGY”. He was the first to identify the historical as well as thetheological dimension of liturgical study. He spoke and wrote against theprevailing euro-centric and Roman-centric view of liturgy and church history.He was the first modern scholar to espouse a comparative view of liturgy andliturgies.Baumstark based his theories and research on parallel comparativestudies in the fields of language, biology, zoology, paleontology, and othernew sciences. These fields were developing an organic model ofdevelopment, in which both social and genetic factors of evolution wereconsidered. In this process, the researcher assumed an original archetype,from which subsequent types evolved and grew.Book Reviews 129In the field of liturgy, Baunnstark is best known for his “laws” of liturgicalevolution. These remain useful tools in the field even up to the present (28).1 . The new and vigorous in liturgy always overcomes and displaces theold;2. The old and primitive, however, always asserts itself at special timesand solemn festivals.In addition to these two fundamental principles, four corollaries are asserted:1 . The older a text is, the less it is influenced by the Bible;2. The more recent a text is, the more symmetrical it is;3. The later it is, the more liturgical prose becomes charged withdoctrinal elements;4. Actions merely utilitarian in nature may receive a symbolic meaning.These fundamental principles were used by Baumstark and his studentsto analyze, dissect, and reconstruct liturgical history from the fragments oftexts, gestures, and rubrics preserved in liturgical documents of the earlychurch, east and west. His success was in liberating the historical study ofliturgy from its Roman and Euro-centric perspective. However, thisunreflective perspective was replaced by a developmental “moralism” whichglorified the old and the ur-text over anything newer or more recentlydeveloped. In most respects, this comparative method turned out to be onlya dream and an illusion.Fritz West, a minister in the United Church of Christ, and an independentliturgical scholar, offers a lively and concise summary of Baumstark’s life andwork. As we look back today, we can see his work and ideas as seminal andimportant: he brought a comparative perspective to liturgy, and introduceda sense of relativity and pluralism to liturgical studies. However, his work isflawed by his idealist, utopian theories, and his students have been careful todistance themselves from their master. Today one would questionBaumstark’s use of the concept of laws in nature as applicable to cultural“artifacts” such as liturgy. And his categorization of disparate but similarliturgical “events” to draw the conclusion of organic relatedness isfundamentally flawed.Nevertheless, Baumstark needs to be remembered. For he shows ushow much our thought today is focussed along comparative lines in everydiscipline, liturgical studies included. For if Baumstark’s comparativetheories are totally discounted, then what are we left with? Chaos, randomepisodes and events, bland and value-free pluralism? Does it matter?In spite of the fact that this small volume is marred by consistently130 Consensusinaccurate numbering of footnotes, Fritz West is to be thanked for thistestimony to the life and work of Anton Baumstark. Grove Books areavailable through the Anglican Book Centre, 600 Jarvis Street, Toronto M4Y2J6.Don NevilleCalgary, AlbertaWorship and Evangelism in Pre-ChristendomAlan KreiderCambridge, GK: Grove Books Limited, 199545 pages, £ 3.95 paperback monographWhat a timely topic for a book! And what a wonderful little monograph!Anyone who is currently interested in the decline of the church, and who isfamiliar with the demise of “Christendom”, will find this book useful. In thispost-Christendom era, this is a topic of intense interest: the phenomenalgrowth of the church before the Peace of Constantine.“About one thing at least, there is no dispute: the pre-Christendomchurch was growing” (5). But why? Alan Kreider, Research Fellow in Historyat Regent Park College, Oxford, gives us his theory. It was not because ofevangelism, or prayer, or public preaching, nor because of trendy, attractive,“seeker-sensitive” worship — for pagans were simply not admitted to“public” worship after the time of the Neronian persecutions. It was worship— but worship which followed a catechumenate, and which expected life-changing behaviour from those who participated. “1 believe that worship, towhich pagans were denied admission, was all-important to the spread of thechurch. It was important, not because it was attractive, but because its ritesand practices — whether by design or intuition — made a difference in thelives and communities of the worshippers” (10). Christians at that time wereout of joint with their culture, and so was their worship. Yet, the churchworshipped and grew!What made the faith of these “resident aliens” {paroikoi) so appealing?Kreider names eight factors of the Christian faith which appealed to thepagans of the day:1 . The fidelity of the martyrs;2. The ethical living of the faithful;3. Their care for the troubled and the ill in society;

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