The concept of the mission of the Church in the Anglican tradition

This article examines the inherent social imagery in Martin Luther’s liturgical writings An Order of Mass and The German Mass from a practice theoretical and liturgical theological approach. How can the liturgical writings be apprehended as images both of and for social life in the specific communities where they are enacted as concrete liturgical practice? The article aims at presenting a thorough reading of the actual texts with emphasis on the social implications of the liturgical reflections and recommendations, and of material and performative specifications. The underlying thesis of the article is that the liturgical writings both embed, develop and sustain significant social images and comprise multiple reflections regarding the societal dimensions of partaking in liturgy.