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Views from the Choir Loft

Mutuality vs. Male Headship within Marriage

Fr. David Friel · January 7, 2018

LENTY OF discussion has taken place within the Church over recent years on the topic of marriage. Some of this discussion was occasioned by the new English translation of the marriage ritual (published in 2016). Certainly much of the conversation has also been prompted by the 2014-2015 extraordinary synod on the family and Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Amoris laetitia (2016).

Recently, my research interests took me in the direction of marriage, also. I decided to study a host of liturgical rites for marriage throughout history in order to assess their approach to the relationship between husband and wife. In particular, I looked for evidence of rites that stress mutuality between spouses versus rites that stress the headship of the husband.

The result of my research is an article published in Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal (vol. 21, no. 3, 252-289; full article available here). Antiphon is the journal of the Society for Catholic Liturgy, which bills itself as a multidisciplinary association of Catholic scholars, teachers, pastors, and professionals (including architects, musicians, etc.) that promotes scholarly study and practical renewal of the Church’s liturgy in the Anglophone world.

The title of my article is Mutuality and Male Headship: Liturgical Evidence from Marriage Rituals throughout History. It begins with consideration of the marriage rituals of the Roman Empire and Judaism before proceeding to those of the Christian East and West.

Summarizing the findings of this research is quite difficult, on account of the number of rites consulted and the widely disparate approaches they take. Nevertheless, the following paragraph from the article’s conclusion helps to convey some of what I discovered in concise fashion:

Generalizing quite broadly, the earliest Christian rites could be characterized by their ability to accept differentiation of roles together with equality. The rites of the middle period tend to stress the differences of roles to the exclusion of equality. Finally, in the more modern rites, there is a propensity toward the rejection of role differentiation in the name of total equality.1

As I have noted elsewhere, the marriage rite has historically proven itself to be very adaptable. This exploration of so many marriage rituals revealed to me anew the great richness of the Church’s liturgical theology on marriage.

The same issue of Antiphon also features:

1. An important analysis of Magnum principium by Msgr. Maurizio Barba, S.L.D. (“The Motu Proprio Magnum Principium on the Edition of Liturgical Books in the Vernacular Languages”)

2. An interesting argument for restoring proper order to the Sacraments of Initiation by Joshua Madden, Ph.D. (“‘Circa Aetatem Discretionis’: A Proposal in Favor of Restored Order Confirmation”)

3. A scriptural-liturgical approach to St. John’s Apocalypse by Ian G. Coleman, M.A. (“The Rubrics of Revelation: A Liturgical Reading”)

Access the full articles by becoming a subscriber to Antiphon or by requesting single issues of the journal here.




NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   David M. Friel, “Mutuality and Male Headship: Liturgical Evidence from Marriage Rituals throughout History” Antiphon 21, no. 3 (2017): 287.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Antiphon Journal, Marriage Synod, Nuptial Mass Last Updated: January 22, 2021

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
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    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

But the revisers did not leave them altogether untouched. Saint Ambrose had to be “corrected.” The Iste confessor was greatly altered and the hymn for the Dedication of a Church, which no one ought to have touched, was in fact completely recast in a new meter.

— Father Joseph Connelly

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