Liturgics, also called liturgical studies or liturgiology, is the
academic discipline
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
dedicated to the study of
liturgy (public worship rites, rituals, and practices). Liturgics scholars typically specialize in a single approach drawn from another scholarly field. The most common sub-disciplines are:
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
or
church history
__NOTOC__
Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception.
Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...
,
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, and
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
. Although liturgics scholars using these approaches apply the principles of their respective disciplines to their research, all liturgics scholars focus their work in the
ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...
behaviors of the members of faith communities.
See also
*
Ritology
Ritology, also called ritual studies or ritualistics, is the study of rites and rituals. The ritology focuses most directly on enactment and performance, that is, it gives priority to the acts and actions of people. A secondary focus is on the word ...
External links
North American Academy of Liturgy(official website)
Academic disciplines
Liturgists
Practical theology
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bg:Литургия
el:Λειτουργική