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CHURCH AND POLITICS RES 2/2018   Churches are part of society and, as such, come always in touch with existing political issues. This applies even more so if and insofar as they are active in the social field. Churches can’t avoid the need to take a stand since government action affects them directly. Both majority and minority churches ...

SOCIAL CHANGES AND LITURGY
Cultural diversity, which was a feature of Christianity from its very beginning, has shaped not only lifestyle, but also liturgical expressions and rituals. This diversity has increasingly come into view in the 20th century, on the one hand through new communication possibilities, but, on the other, especially through ecumenical meetings. Thereby social changes in Eastern and Western Europe took opposite directions. The ‘free’ West experienced sweeping changes since the World War II, the ‘controlled’ East wanted to shield itself off under communism from any insinuation from the west. The liturgy of different Christian churches and their possible mutations quite often were, therefore, an indicator of social norms.

Cultural Differences at the Core of the Ecumenical Question
The roots of Christianity are to be found in a very specific cultural context, namely the Palestinian Judaism, but Christianity acquired relatively soon different forms through its missionary dissemination. The Syriac, Hellenistic and Latin languages and cultures have each shaped the nascent church in various ways. These differences exerted and still exert great influence upon the manner in which the experience and understanding of faith were dogmatically expressed. Early divisions within Christianity bear also these marks.