How do i become a liturgist?

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divadoc1

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I am a certified cantor, interested in one day being a music director…someone told me i need to become a liturgist and I want to know how to go about doing that! Any ideas?
 
divadoc1 said:
I am a certified cantor, interested in one day being a music director…someone told me i need to become a liturgist and I want to know how to go about doing that! Any ideas?
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The title of liturgist is a bit ambiguous. Technically the bishop is the chief liturgist of a diocese and the pastor of a parish. Also the term can apply to members of the academy who teach, write and do research on the CHurch’s liturgy. Loosely it has come to mean anyone who coordinates liturgy in the parish from someone who is hired for the job, to the music director, to a volunteer who read a few books on liturgy.

I have a degree in liturgical studies and I am on our diocesan liturgy commission and coordinate liturgy for our parish. I also teach and publish on the subject so you could say that I am a liturgist. I am not a musician but I have sung in choirs, directed a children’s choir and know quite a bit about liturgical music, but I would not say I could become a parish music director. The same would hold true for a music director who knows a bit about liturgy. Unfortunately I have come across music directors whose title is parish liturgist who in all actually know very little about liturgy or have even read the documents on liturgy (or are aware that there are documents). I also do know quite a number of music directors/liturgists who have earned their MA in liturgy and are very well qualified in the area of liturgy, knowing its history, development, documents, forms, ect. They know the councils that influenced changes in the liturgy. If you ask them about the letter to the Bishop of Gubbio they know what that means. If you speak about the reforms of Cluny or the anaphora of Adai and Mari they can tell you all about what makes it unique.

Being a liturgist is a lot of fun, but it is also hard work. There are a few graduate schools that offer graduate degrees in liturgy - CUA, Boston College, Mundeline, St. John’s Collegeville, and Notre Dame (GO IRISH - OK I am prejudiced since that is where I got my liturgy degree - their summer program is very affordable). Also if you want to be a liturgist be prepared to be criticized and be the butt of jokes.
 
Joannm said:
Also if you want to be a liturgist be prepared to be criticized and be the butt of jokes.
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Very true. There’s some very good liturgists, but as a whole, they’re quite clueless, disobedient and liturgically innovative (in a negative way). Speaking of jokes…

Q: What’s the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist?
A1: A terrorist can only ruin your day once.
A2: You can reason with a terrorist.

Q: What is the difference between a liturgist and an onion?
A: I won’t say it here…

Ok, ok. I’m done now.

By the way, Masters of Ceremony can also be classified as liturgists, but the title doesn’t have all the baggage, so I tend to use that title instead when I’m doing “liturgist type stuff.”
 
TheMc said:
Very true. There’s some very good liturgists, but as a whole, they’re quite clueless, disobedient and liturgically innovative (in a negative way). Speaking of jokes…

Q: What’s the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist?
A1: A terrorist can only ruin your day once.
A2: You can reason with a terrorist.

Q: What is the difference between a liturgist and an onion?
A: I won’t say it here…

Ok, ok. I’m done now.

By the way, Masters of Ceremony can also be classified as liturgists, but the title doesn’t have all the baggage, so I tend to use that title instead when I’m doing “liturgist type stuff.”
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I think you left out the best one:

Q. What is the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist?

A. You can negotiate with a terrorist.😃
 
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