Ordained and Baptized Ministries Through the Lens of Liturgical Singing

Abstract

After decades of ecumenical dialogue, the understanding of the relationship between the ministries of the baptized and the ordained continues to be a dividing matter between churches and traditions. This paper suggests that liturgical singing, in which individual and communal song with specific roles become a single and unified liturgical action, offers a model aiming to contribute to the bridging of this persistent divide.

Liturgical theologians have in recent times begun to analyse the fabric of liturgical artistic activities and the complex relationship between the different ministries involved. Here, the dialogue with neurobiological research has helped theology to better understand the roles and functions of the single voice and the group of voices woven into the liturgical texture. This paper proposes that a better understanding of the functioning and the aesthetic nature of liturgical singing puts a new hermeutical tool at the service of the ecumenical dialogue on ministry.