Our Liturgical Traditions

Paper given at an in-service course on 'New Forms of Worship and Praise' for ministers at Carberry Tower, 3rd May 1989. The image of the 'layers' of Scotch Broth given to suggest the rich variety of Scottish worship over the centuries. Some features are explored. There is the legal (quoting from Cox's Practice and Procedure), the status of the Book of Common Order. Then the different books, when the Westminster Directory and successive Common Orders are compared. Worship has always been 'evangelical' but in the sense of worship reflecting the evangel, making the Word more eloquent. Discussed is the Calendar, daily public worship, the importance of the Word in worship and sacrament and in prayer. Worship has also always been liturgical; Common Order and its status at the Reformation and after. Worship has also been always catholic; the relationship of the Reformed orders with classic liturgy; the real presence; the form of absolution; other examples given.