Nogmaals: de Liturgische Beweging voorbij. Enkele kritische kanttekeningen bij de historiografie van het zogenoemde tijdvak van de Liturgische Beweging

Abstract

This contribution is a short critical reflection on general developments in the field of liturgy and liturgical studies over a period that roughly coincides with the twentieth century. The authors link these critical notes to the Liturgical Movement, as a lens through which the period in question will be examined. It is precisely here that the first problem presents itself. It is high time that a critical balance be drawn up for the Liturgical Movement (which the authors regard as having run its course: we are beyond the Liturgical Movement now), but at the same time most practitioners of liturgical studies are allied with the Liturgical Movement: the Liturgical Movement’s discourse is accepted as a self-evident point of reference, and, even more, employed as the central benchmark. This contribution states that we have to regard it as an anachronism, unzeitgemäss, for a researcher to consider his or her own starting point as central, or even normative. The colourful ritual-liturgical reality in our time makes it clear that there can no longer be reference to any one central liturgical ritus, and that as a consequence the discourse of liturgical studies also is, and must be, radi-cally acentric. Our observations have the character of a balance and perspective. They look back, critically and as an evaluation, but they also look ahead; therefore this balance also implicitly suggests an agenda for further research. The authors discuss the following three points: a change in perspective, a new critical evaluation of the ‘era of the Liturgi-cal Movement’, and finally an alternative periodisation for the Movement on which the change of perspective is applied. A short epilogue responds to the critical commentary in five points.