Practical Theology Seminar 1 - RETA6012

• Title: PTP-Practical Theology Seminar 1
• Guaranteed by: Department of Practical Theology (27-PT)
• Faculty: Protestant Theological Faculty
• Actual: from 2025
• Semester: summer
• Points: 5
• E-Credits: 5
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:0/2, C [HT]
• Capacity: unknown / unknown (unknown)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment
• Guarantor: doc. Tabita Landová, Ph.D.
• Class: obligatory
• Pre-requisite : RETA4001
• Is pre-requisite for: RETA6100

Annotation

This course offers an opportunity to explore the liturgical theology of Gordon Lathrop. We will critically read and discuss his seminal work, "Holy Things: A Liturgical Theology" (1993), and engage his biblically grounded concepts in dialogue with our own understanding of liturgy, as well as our experiences across various denominational settings.

Theological reflection on liturgy remains underdeveloped in many contemporary Protestant churches, both in German-speaking contexts and in the Czech Republic. Protestant liturgics has traditionally focused more on the formal and structural aspects of worship (Gestaltungsfragen), while the theological dimension has often been marginalized. In recent years, however, interest in the theological significance of worship has been growing, and North American liturgical theology has become a key source of insight and inspiration.

Last update: Landová Tabita, doc., Ph.D. (04.10.2025)

Course completion requirements

Course requirements: 

•       regular attendance (apologies in advance)

•       active participation on discussions

•       two presentations of the chapter (or part of the chapter) from the book "Holy Things"

•       a paper on a liturgical topic, 8–10 pages in length

Last update: Landová Tabita, doc., Ph.D. (04.10.2025)

Literature

Required Reading

Lathrop, Gordon W. Holy Things. A Liturgical Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998 (1993). ISBN 978-0800631314

Recommended Reading 

Lathrop, Gordon W. Holy People: A Liturgical Ecclesiology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006 (1999). ISBN 978-0800638405
Lathrop, Gordon W. Holy Ground: A Liturgical Cosmology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009 (2003). ISBN  978-0800696559

Hughes G. Worship as Meaning. A Liturgical Theology for Late Modernity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2003. ISBN 0-521-82851-1

Lukken G. Rituals in Abundance. Critical Reflections on the Place, Form and Identity of Christian Ritual in Our Culture, Leuven: Peeters, 2005. ISBN 90-429-1517-X

Senn F. C. Christian Liturgy: Catholic and Evangelical. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1997. ISBN 0-8006-2726-1.

Wainwright G., Westerfield T. K. B. (eds.). The Oxford History of Christian Worship. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-513886-4

Last update: Landová Tabita, doc., Ph.D. (04.10.2025)

Syllabus

 The Strucuture of the Course:

1.    Introduction

2.    The Biblical Pattern of Liturgy 

3.    Basic Patterns in the Ordo of Christian Worship

4.    Developed Patterns in the Ordo of Christian Worship

5.    Things 

6.    Access to Holy Things 

7.    The Christian Sacrifice 

8.    Liturgical Criticism 

9.    Leadership and Liturgical Community 

10. Liturgy and Society 

11. Final Reflection

Last update: Landová Tabita, doc., Ph.D. (04.10.2025)

Learning resources

https://moodle.etf.cuni.cz/moodle/course/view.php?id=513

Last update: Landová Tabita, doc., Ph.D. (04.10.2025)