The great Fr. Z of What Does the Prayer Really Say? has an interesting post about where exactly must a choir in a church be located?
Click here to read this very informative post. You will be surprised what the Church documents really say about this.
Through the years, we have been tricked into believing that Vatican II is the Mother of all Councils and that anything before Vatican II is scrapped. And so goes the chaos.
You hear nuns, priests and bishops and lay people who went to seminars of liturgical dissenters and became liturgical-know-it-all telling you "what Vatican II says."
I too had a similar experience in our parish where the choir was placed right in the front pews of the church. Imagine the number of people who were not able to sit because of this arrangement.
Our "Deal or No Deal" parish priest had no choice when the people complained of the arrangement and moved the choir to another place, not the choir loft though.
Sad how some people go for change for the sake of changing, along.
Read the post of Fr. Z. Knowing what is right is only half the battle.
The blog of a group of Filipino Catholics and their frank commentary on anything that affects their lives as a citizen of the Philippines and as a Roman Catholics.
If it is a collegiate church or cathedral, the choir is seated facing each other before the high altar and is in a separate sacred space from the congregation. The rest of the congregation is in the nave. In parish churches, the choir is traditionally in the loft if the church has one. If not the choir should be on stands at the rear of the congregation.
ReplyDeleteThe choir in the Anglican Catholic tradition is the venue for Evensong and Evening Prayer. Parishioners can sit in the stalls during this prayer. During the Mass, the Choir occupies this space.
Having the choir in the center of the chancel is a Protestant innovation. It diminishes the sacrificial aspect of worship. This is in concordance with Protestant Eucharistic theology.
Clerical choirs occupy the separate sacred space within the sanctuary. This is the place where monastic or mendicant orders or cathedral chapters celebrate the Divine Office like in Santo Domingo Church. The choir who leads the singing in the Liturgy occupy a separate space, more appropriately in the loft.
ReplyDeleteI agree Dr. Ben. Having the choir in the center at the back of the altar is a Pentecostal innovation.