Many Christians tend to think of the spiritual life as something entirely opposed to physical reality. This can translate into Christian practice today in the form of plain churches and simple services, especially among Protestant denominations.
In contrast, apostolic Christianity is incarnational and sacramental, incorporating many physical things into worship: not just in the art and music accompanying the liturgy, but in the very liturgy itself we make use of fire and water, bread and oil, gestures and postures. Are these merely relics of a more religious era, or does the Church recognize there is something fundamental to our human nature that needs such signs and symbols?
This Tuesday, Fr. David Anderson will explore the meaning of the “stuff” of our Christian practice in order to restore a sacramental vision in our secular age.
About the Instructor
Father David Anderson is a priest of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Chicago and has served as a parish priest for 37 years. He is also a published translator of patristic texts and Byzantine liturgical texts. For over 40 years, he has presented many classes on liturgy and the Church Fathers throughout the country, but especially in northern California. He is presently the Byzantine-rite chaplain at Wyoming Catholic College.