A Missing Link. The Extension of the Liturgical Form for the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper in one Edition of the Dutch Psalter of Dathenus in 1568

Activity: Talk or presentationTalk (lezing)

Description

In 1566 Petrus Dathenus translated parts of the Kirchenordnung 1563 of the Palatinate into Dutch. These liturgical forms became, together with his translation of the Genevan Psalter, an important Dutch Psalter, of which many editions appeared. One edition of this Psalter of 1568, with on the title page: “corrected by Dathenus himself”, contains an extension in the liturgical form for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This extension relates to the words of distribution of the bread and wine and the instruction regarding the thanksgiving (after the celebration). Dathenus adds an introduction to
the celebration and he interprets the distribution of the signs in his added
words of distribution. In his ‘new’ thanksgiving-instruction, Dathenus
indicates attention for the communion with Christ, the eschatological
perspective and a focus on a life of gratitude and sanctification. The
extension ends with an introduction to prayer, after which the form continues
with the existing text of 1566. The topics mentioned above were absent or only
briefly covered in the original form of 1566. The way in which this extension
came about, fits the pattern in which the original German text originated in
Heidelberg. Other liturgical forms were used there, such as that of Calvin, Micron
and the Lutheran forms of Württemberg and the Palatinate (Kirchenordnung
1556). For this extension Dathenus used the text of Micron (Christelijcke
Ordinancien 1554). He uses the format of Microns text, but he bends the content
to a more Melanchtonian / Calvinistic interpretation of the Lord’s Supper.
The discovery of this extension gives a new perspective on decisions from the
Dutch synods in the second half of the sixteenth century when it comes to the
liturgical form for the Lord’s Supper. The appearance of the edition of Gaspar Van der Heyden in 1580 shows that this 1568-edition was known by an influential minister who used this extension for his own editing of the form.
Period3 May 2023
Event titleTwelfth Annual REFORC Conference on Early Modern Christianity
Event typeConference
LocationLeuven, BelgiumShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational