The Significance of Liturgical Language for Engaging Church People in Worship

Abstract

The multifaceted objective of meaningful participation of people in church prayer is considered in this article in relation to the used language. In the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, the issue of liturgical language was addressed in different ways. Despite the serious debates and suggestions at the 1917–1918 Great Moscow Council, this problem remains quite pressing today. In order to better approach and to evaluate existing solutions, it is recommended to refer not only to the history of the Russian Orthodox Church but also to the experience of other Slavic churches in the XX century that introduced their national languages in worship.

Keywords

• liturgical translations
• divine service in national languages
• history of liturgical translations
• participation in worship
• church slavonic language
• богослужебные переводы
• богослужение на национальных языках
• история богослужебных переводов
• участие в богослужении
• церковно-русский язык