Mediator Dei

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Coat of arms of Pope Pius XII.

Mediator Dei (Latin: the mediator between God [and people] ) is an encyclical written by Pope Pius XII. promulgated on November 20, 1947. It determines the essence of the sacred liturgy as the official worship of the church in contrast to the personal piety of the individual. Mediator Dei was the first ever encyclical on the liturgy; it was followed in 1955 by the encyclical Musicae sacrae disciplina on church music .

Historical context

After the First World War , the liturgical movement emerged - especially in Germany . It wanted to lead to a better understanding of the liturgy and to "active participation" ( participatio actuosa ) in worship ( mystagogy ). In the middle of the Second World War , Pius XII. with the encyclical Mystici Corporis (1943) initiated a new phase in liturgical dealings, as he emphasized the supra-legal, spiritual character of the ecclesiastical community.

The liturgical movement was started by Dom Guéranger at the end of the 19th century . The work of Lambert Beauduin , Pius Parsch , Romano Guardini , Odo Casel , Josef Andreas Jungmann and other liturgists are partially or fully confirmed in the encyclical and incorporated into the church as a whole by the Pope. The liturgy was further renewed on the occasion of the Second Vatican Council in the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium of 1963.

The encyclical on St. liturgy

Let it be Christ himself who in every liturgical act (is) present at the same time as the Church (as) her divine founder. Christ is present in the most holy sacrifice of the altar, in the person of the priest who takes his place and above all among the Eucharistic figures. He is present in the sacraments through the power which he allows to flow to them as the instruments of sanctification. At last he is present in praise of God and supplication (MD, no. 227).

In detail, the encyclical Mediator Dei deals with the following subject areas:

  1. Nature, origin and development of the liturgy
  2. Eucharist and its cult
  3. Breviary and church year .

It then follows

  • the pastoral instructions,
  • the reference to the liturgical movement

as well as the warning against errors and exaggerations.

Mediator Dei's pastoral instructions deal with extra-liturgical devotions and the liturgical movement . This is where the encyclical u. a. on sacred art and church architecture in the section "Liturgical Spirit and Liturgical Apostolate". Contemporary art should also be taken into account in the church interior: “The modern images and designs that are more adapted to the object from which they are made must not be despised and rejected out of preconceived notions. Rather, avoid mere imitation of nature as well as exaggerated "symbolism" in a wise balance and take more into account the concerns of the Christian community than the special conception and personal attitude of the artist - then such modern art must necessarily open the way to something duly reverent Service in Church and Ordinance ”(MD, 178).

Aftermath

The encyclical on the liturgy, which (despite all warnings against exaggeration) is very constructive and encouraging, and also takes into account the situation of the "simple believers", became the theological and practical guideline of the liturgical constitution " Sacrosanctum Concilium " of the Second Vatican Council and initiated a series of liturgical reforms .

Remarks

  1. ↑ See in detail in Ralf van Bühren 2008, pp. 186–189.

literature

  • Ralf van Bühren : Art and Church in the 20th Century. The reception of the Second Vatican Council ( Council History , Series B: Investigations), Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2008, ISBN 978-3-506-76388-4 .
  • Bert Wendel: The liturgy encyclical "Mediator Dei" of November 20, 1947. On the liturgical-contemporary historical and theological significance of a teaching statement by Pope Pius XII. (1939–1958) on church services. Series: Theory and Research 814. Roderer, Regensburg 2004, ISBN 3-89783-438-3 .
  • Introduction to the liturgy , from Emil Joseph Lengeling ¨ Liturgy - dialogue between God and man. Edited by Klemens Richter. Altenberge 1988, ISBN 3-89375-003-7 .
  • Carl Andresen , Georg Denzler : dtv dictionary of church history , Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-423-03245-6 .
  • Rudolf Fischer-Wollpert: Do you know - Lexicon of religious and ideological questions. Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1982, ISBN 3-7917-0738-8 .

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