ARCHIMANDRITE ROBERT TAFT: A LIFE DEDICATED TO THE LITURGY

Archimandrite Robert Taft: a life dedicated to the liturgy

A round table “The liturgical heritage of archimandrite Robert Taft”

was held at the SFI. In Memoriam

February 01, 2019 

On January 30, a round table dedicated to the memory of Archimandrite Robert Taft (1932-2018) - a Catholic priest of the Eastern rite, an outstanding Christian scholar, one of the founders of modern liturgics, who has been a member of the SFI Board of Trustees since 2011, was held at the St. Philaret Institute.

“I hope that when I leave, I will have a Russian dirge, and maybe even an Irish tenor will sing“ Danny Boy ”over my grave in memory of my Irish background, which I am proud of and deeply grateful for, despite made a great journey eastward, ”wrote archimandrite Robert Taft . - What do I think about the other world? I never thought about it - which looks rather strange to a Catholic priest. But I firmly believe that the Lord is with me in the present and will be with me in the future. I see no reason to worry about this, for I am in His hands. ”

Archimandrite Robert Taft , who is called the creator of modern liturgics and the “teacher of many teachers,” departed to the Lord on November 2, 2018, on the day of memory of all the dead faithful in the Catholic Church.

“I am very happy to be in this meeting,” said the papal nuncio in Russia, Celestino Migliore, welcoming the participants of the round table in memory of Father Robert Taft at the St. Philaret Institute. - The papal institute, in which Father Robert served, was created in order to deepen and develop relations between the East and the West. Over the three years of my life in Russia, I felt very well how important this knowledge of each other is, so that both mutual understanding and cooperation are born. ”

Papal nuncio in Russia Celestino Migliore

The main work of a Jesuit scholar was devoted to the history of the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which is most often performed in the Orthodox Church. The scientific concept of this multi-volume research, Father Robert's approach to resolving liturgical problems and the significance of this work for liturgical science, was presented in the report “ Archimandrite Robert Taft , SJ: Life dedicated to liturgy”, priest Edward Farrugia, SJ, dean of the faculty of the Eastern Churches of the Pontifical Oriental Institute.

Priest Edward Farrudja, SJ, Dean of the Faculty of the Eastern Churches, Pontifical Oriental Institute

The research methodology proposed by Father Robert Taft in his writings on the Byzantine liturgical tradition makes an invaluable contribution to the development of liturgical science, said Zoya Dashevskaya , dean of the theological faculty of the SFI. The task of the liturgists, as Father Robert and his students saw it, is not archeology and not a study of the liturgical orders themselves, but an attempt to penetrate the experience of the prayers of people from different eras. Liturgical sources, considered outside the historical-cultural and theological context, tell little to the reader, and it is necessary to draw a lot of accompanying evidence in order to recreate the context of their formation and use. Father Robert’s holistic approach involves the use of philology, philosophy, theology, church and secular history. For the Taft method, the connection between the history of worship and the life of the Church today was of fundamental importance. Divine service was not for Taft only an "object of study." It is permeated with his keen interest in tradition, his love of prayer,

Dean of the Theological Faculty of the SFI Zoya Dashevskaya

The bibliography of the scientist includes more than 800 scientific papers and publications in the field of Eastern liturgics. Zoya Dashevskaya noted that, unfortunately, “there is no systematic work on translating the works of Father Robert into Russian”, and “the main Russian monographs and conceptual works remain unknown to the wide Russian reader.”

Taft's research played a big role in uniting Christians who inherit different liturgical traditions. Thus, thanks to his works, the Eucharistic communion between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Church was actually restored, and the Pope of Rome separated from it into the jurisdiction of the Pope of Rome. This was stated in the report “Recognition of the anaphora of Adday and Marie by the Holy See in 2001: Theological Contribution of Father Robert Taft” by priest Stefan Lipke, SJ, director of the St. Thomas Institute. In the anaphora of Addai and Marie used in the Assyrian church, there are no setting words (“this is My body”, “this is My blood”), which are always present in the text of both Catholic and Orthodox liturgy. Can such an anaphora be considered a Eucharistic prayer and, therefore, can the Assyrians take communion with the Catholics? Since “one should not“ read out ”the more ancient theological liturgy of more modern theological interpretations, but rather should turn to ad sources — sources, seeking in the ancient liturgies the early consciousness of the believing community,” Archimandrite Robert Taft showed that the Assyrian Church "stands in the tradition of the Last Supper and performs the real Eucharist just like all Catholic, Orthodox and Coptic churches."

Priest Stefan Lipke, SJ, Director of the St. Thomas Institute

Remaining an academic researcher whose scientific style was even called “Germanic,” Archimandrite Robert always had an ecclesiological perspective in mind, trying “to see evidence of epiphany and the existential presence of God in any liturgical source,” said SFI David , head of the department of theological disciplines and liturgics. Gzgzyan . The theses that Taft formulates in the article “What does the liturgy do?” (“What Does Liturgy Do?”) Show that he talks about the reality of the Church, about the very foundations of life in the New Testament. In recent years, the scholar was especially interested in the problem of people's participation in worship and the broader - ecclesiological - issue of the role of the laity in the life of the Church, therefore he called on his students to develop liturgical science in this direction.

Head of the Department of Theological Disciplines and Liturgies of the SFI David Gzgzyan

“It’s important for us to realize that the liturgical heritage of the West and the East can unite, to be alive,” the rector of the SFI priest George Kochetkov is sure , “and Father Robert Taft did a lot to breathe life into this heritage so that all Christians better understand each other friend not only at the level of theological schemes and constructions, but also at the level of prayer. We all want to have a single access to the throne of grace and to be one, coming before our Father in Heaven. ”

Round table "The liturgical heritage of Archimandrite Robert Taft . In Memoriam” was held at the St. Philaret Institute on January 30th. It was organized by the St. Filaret Institute and the Institute of St. Thomas.  Representatives of the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches took part in the round table.

Source: https://sfi.ru/sfi-today/article/arkhimandrit-robert-taft-zhizn-posviashchennaia-liturgii.html?fbclid=IwAR2zlmuiSois17nDhuDCndjVdyQkZAHuELbkorfivKax4jPRSUTMHBSBv8s