Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Liturgical Conference in Germany: The Priesthood and the Eucharistic Sacrifice

Readers who have been looking for a reason to visit Germany will be interested to learn of the following liturgical conference which will take place in Germany this December.




The conference will be on the theme, The Priesthood and the Eucharistic Sacrifice, taking place from December 2-4, 2010.

The liturgies will be celebrated in accordance with the liturgical books of the usus antiquior and the schedule begins with two conferences for priests, "The Identity of the Priest" by Bishop Vitus Huonder of the diocese of Chur, Switzerland and "The Parish Priest and Vocational Work" by Dr. Thomas Stübinger of the seminary of the Diocese of Eichstätt.

Following this will be the liturgical conference proper, which will begin with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for the intention of vocations to the priesthood, followed by a Solemn Pontifical Mass celebrated in the Church of St. Gertrud by the Bishop Huonder. Music will be provided by the Schola Rodensis of the parish church of St. Franziskus of Heerlen, the Netherlands.

Dr. Helmut Hoping of Frieburg -- whom I had the pleasure to meet at a liturgical conference in Budapest in 2008 -- will deliver a paper on "Rediscovering the Sacrificial Nature of the Holy Eucharist."

Another paper which caught my attention is "The High Priesthood of Melchisedech and of Jesus Christ – The Mystery of Sacrifice in the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testament" which will be delivered by Prof. Erik Mørstad of Oslo, Norway.

The Anglican Bishop of Fulham, the Right Rev. John C. Broadhurst, will present a paper on "The Apostolic Constitution ‘Anglicanorum coetibus’ – A Road to Rome."

Father Sven Conrad, FSSP, who will be no stranger to NLM readers, will speak on "The Mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Comments on the Catholic Understanding of Liturgy with Regard to Gregorian Music."

Dr. Robert Spaemann will deliver a paper on "The Conference of Fontgombault and the Question of “the Reform of a Reform” of Roman Rite."

Other papers and presentations will include:

"The Liturgical View of the Sacrifice of the Mass. Continuity and Change." by Dr. Gero Weishaupt

"The Understanding of the Priesthood and the Eucharistic Sacrifice by the Old Orientals, Orthodox, Lutherans, and Anglicans" will also be discussed with the participation of four speakers: the Very Rev Mor Julius Hanna Aydin, a bishop of the Syrian-Orthodox Church; Father Dositheos Anagnostopoulos, Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne, Director of the Press Office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople; Dr. Karl-Hinrich Manzke of the Evangelical Lutheran Church; and the Rt. Rev. Stephen George Platten, Anglican Bishop of Wakefield. This will in turn be followed by a discussion, "What separates us and what do we have in common?"

The conference will conclude with a Solemn Pontifical Mass, again in the Church of St. Gertrud, celebrated by Bishop Klaus Dick, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cologne, with a concluding address by the same.

Needless to say, it looks like a very interesting and worthwhile liturgical conference.

The NLM is intending to provide a report on the conference.

More recent articles:

For more articles, see the NLM archives: