201
Pr egledni	znans tv eni	članek/ Article	(1.02)
Bogoslovni vestnik/Theological Quarterly	83	(2023)	1,	201—212
Besedilo	pr eje t o/R eceiv ed:09/2022;	spr eje t o/ Accep t ed:01/2023
UDK/UDC:	27-528
DOI:	10.34291/B V2023/01/Mojz es
©	2022	Mojz eš,	CC	B Y	4.0
Marcel Mojzeš
From the Reform of the Liturgy through Metamor-
phosis to Being Conformable to Christ
Od reforme liturgije skozi metamorphosis do obliko-
vanosti po Kristusu
Abstract : The 	 author 	 analy z e s	and	 summariz e s	 the 	 w ork 	 of	 Thomas	 P ott	 OSB	La 
réforme liturgique byzantine and proposes a biblical basis for the renewal of 
the	 litur gy .	He	 also	e x amines	the	 though ts	 of	P ope	Emeritus	Benedict	XVI	and	
P ope 	 Fr ancis.	The 	 analy sis	 has	 sho wn	 tha t	 the 	 idea	 of	 	 	 r e f orm 	 is	link ed	 t o	 the 	
center of the teaching of the Gospels and of St. Paul about the human person 
and	 t o	 the 	 e xperience 	 of	 a	 ne w	 lif e	 in	 Chris t.	 The 	 Gr eek	 w or d	 μετ αμ όρφωσις 
(metamorphosis ), in the New Testament sense, refers to a process of transfor-
ma tion	 of	 though t	 and	of	 man	 as	such.	Metamorphosis invites to go beyond 
the form,	 t o	 dis c o v er	 the	 true	 essence	 of	 the	 litur gy .	 In	 r ela tion	 t o	 the	 litur gy ,	
it	 is	 necessar y	 t o	 r edisc o v er	 the	 action	 of	 the	 Holy	 Spirit, 	 which	 tr ans f orms	 man 	
into being conformable to Jesus Christ.
Keywords : Liturgy, Man, Jesus Christ, Metamorphosis, Reform
Povzetek:	 A vt or 	 analizir a	 in	 pov z ema	 delo	 Thomasa 	 P ott a 	 OSB	La réforme liturgique 
byzantine 	 in	 pr edlag a	 biblično	 podlag o	 z a	 pr eno v o	 litur gije.	 Obr a vna v a	 tudi	 mi-
sel	 z aslu žneg a	 pape ž a	 Benedik t a	 XVI.	in	pape ž a	 Fr ančišk a.	Analiz a	 je	 pok az ala,	
da	je	 ideja	r e f orme 	 po v e z ana	 s	sr ediščem 	 nauk a	 v	 e v ang elijih	 t er	 pri	 s v e t em 	
P a v lu	 (o	 člo v e šk i	 ose bi	 in	 izk ušnji	 no v e g a	 živ lje nja	 v 	 K r is tusu).	 V	 no v o z a v e zne m	
pomenu	 se 	 gr šk a	 beseda 	 μετ αμ όρφωσις	 (metamorphosis)	 nanaša	 na	 pr oces 	
pr eoblik o v anja	 mišljenja	 in	 člo v ek a	 k ot	 t ak šneg a.	Metamorphosis	 v abi	 k	 poti 	
»onkr aj	 f orme 	 (oblik e)«	 –	 k	 odkritju	 pr a v eg a	 bis tv a	litur gije.	 V	 r azmerju	 do	 li-
tur gije	 je	 nujno	 pono vno	 odkriti	 delo v anje	 S v e t eg a	 Duha,	 ki	 člo v ek a	 spr eminja	
v bitje, oblikovano po Jezusu Kristusu.
Ključne besede :	litur gija,	člo v ek,	Je z us	K ris tus,	metamorphosis , reforma
1. Introduction
The 	 litur gic al	 r e f orm 	 has	 been	 implemen t ed	 in	 pr actice 	 in	 the 	 R oman	 Ca tholic 	
Chur ch	 since 	 the 	 Sec ond	 V a tic an	 Council	 (1962–1965).	 R ecen tly ,	 e v en	 a	 “r e f orm 	 of 	

202 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
the	 r e f orm” 	 (K ocik	 2003,	 K une tk a	 2013) has	 been	 discussed,	 although 	 P ope	 Fr ancis 	
made	 it	 clear	 tha t	 t alking	 abou t	 “r e f orm	 of	 the	 r e f orm”	 w ould 	 be	 a	 mis t ak e.
1
 It is 
also	 import an t	 t o	 t alk	 about	 the	 theologic al	 f ounda tions	 of	 li tur gic al	 r e f orm	 (Sa-
lier s	 201 5)	 and	 don’t	 f or g e t	 tha t	 “the	 litur gy	 has	 a	 pedag ogic al	 c apacity	 thr ough	
the	s timula tion	of	emotions	and	c on victions	of	the	f aith ful”	(K r ajnc	2014,	441).
This	 s tudy	 aims	 t o	 pr o vide	 an	 insigh t	 in t o	deeper	 la y er s	 of	 meaning	 and	 signifi-
c an ce	 as si gn ed 	 t o 	 th e	 t erm	 “ r e f o rm” ,	 n o t	 o n l y	 i n 	 r el a ti o n 	 t o 	 th e	 l i tu r gy ,	 b u t	 al s o 	
t o	 a	 who le	 Chris tian	 lif e	 of	 which	 the	 litur gy	 is	 an	 inher en t	 part.	 The	 Chris tian	 lif e	
itself is an inspiring source of spiritual experience since life exists in the liturgy as 
much	as	the	litur gy	e xis ts	in	lif e	(K r ajnc	2018).
The	 deeper	 meaning	 and	 signific ance	 of	 the	 t erm	 “r e f orm”	 is	 e xpr essed	 thr ough 	
the concept of metamorphosis ,	 as	sug g es t ed 	 b y	 Thomas	 P ott 	 OSB	 in	 his	 mono-
graph La réforme liturgique byzantine (P ott	2000).
Our	 e xplor a tion	 of	 diff er en t	 c onnot a tions	 of	 the	 t erm	metamorphosis is primar-
ily grounded in the Scriptures. Performing a detailed analysis of the term in its 
br oader	 biblic al 	 c on t e x t	 enabled 	 us	t o 	 further	 de v elop 	 ideas	 sug g es t ed 	 b y	 P ott. 	
Fr om	 a	 philosophic al	 poin t	 of	 vie w ,	 w e	 c an	 a ffirm	 tha t	 lo v e	 itself	 is	 tr anscenden t	
(Schrijv er s	2017),	it	g oes	beyond the form. 
Furthermor e,	 w e	 poin t	 out	 the	 pr esence	 of	 the	 c on t en t	 of	 the	 t erm	metamor-
phosis, 	 i.e.,	 an	 e ff ort	 t o	 g o	beyond the form	 in	 r ela tion	 t o	 the	 litur gy	 as	 pr esen t ed	
in	 the	 t eachings	 of	 P ope	 Emeritus	 Benedict	 XVI	 and	 P ope	 Fr ancis.	 Finally ,	 w e	 em-
phasize the role of the Holy Spirit in the process of metamorphosis.
2. The Idea of Reform Is Deeply Christian
In	 his	 monogr aph	 on	 the	 r e f orm	 of	 the	 B y z an tine	 litur gy ,	 in	 addition	 t o	 a	 his t ori-
c al	 o v er vie w 	 of	 implemen t ed	 r e f orms, 	 P ott	 e xplains	 the 	 idea 	 of	 	 	 r e f orm 	 as	 such. 	
He is inspired by Ladner’s book The Idea of   Reform and says that the concept of 
“r e f orm”	 is	 esse n tially	 Chris tian	 in	 its	 origin,	 its	 initial	 de v elopmen t	 and	 e xpr ess-
es	 the	 Chris tian	 c oncep tion	 of	 the	 c our se	 of	 his t or y .	 The	 idea	 of	 	 	 “r e f orma tion”	 is	
connected with the center of the teaching of the Gospels and St. Paul about the 
human 	 per son 	 with 	 the	 e xperience	 of	 his/her	 »r ene w al«	 in	 Chris t. 	 In	 the	 Scrip-
tures, terms such as μεταμόρφωσις (la t. reformatio, but also transformatio)	and	
ἀνακ αί νωσις	 (la t.	renovatio)	 r e f er	 t o	 per sonal 	 r e f orma tion,	 a	 r ene w al 	 t ow ar ds 	
making	man	the	imag e	and	lik eness	of	God	(P ott	2000,	19).
In	 his	 book,	 P ott	 discusses	 se v er al	 Ne w	 T es t amen t	 c oncep ts.	 W e	 will	 c ar e fully	
e xplor e	 tw o	 of	 them:	 μεταμορφοῦσθαι (R om	 12:2;	 2	 Cor	 3:18)	 and	 μετα σχηματίζ ει ν 	
(Phil	3:21)	(P ott	2000,	26).
1 
P ope	 Fr ancis	 di d	 so	 in	 the	 in tr oduction	 t o	 a	 c oll ection	 of	 hi s	 homil ies	 and	 in t er cessi ons	 fr om	 the	 time	
when	he	ser v ed	as	ar chbishop	of	Buenos	Air es	(2016).

203 203 Marcel Mojzeš - From the Reform of the Liturgy...
3. Biblical Context
The	 f ollowing	 section 	 further	 e x amines 	 the	 whole	 t e xt	 (and 	 c on t e xt) 	 of	 the 	
abo v e-men tioned	 Ne w	 T es t amen t	 c oor dina t es.	 In	 his	 le tt er	 t o	 R omans,	 the	 Holy	
Apostle	 P aul	 writes:	 “ do	not	be	 lik e	 this	world 	 but	 tr ansf orm	your self	(gr . 	
μετ αμ ορφοῦσθε)	 b y	 r ene wing	 y our	 mind	 ( gr .	 ἀνακ αι ν ώσις	 τ οῦ	 νοός)	 so	 tha t	 y ou	
c an	discern	wha t	is	God’ s	will,	wha t	is	g ood,	kind,	and	perf ect. ”	(R om	12:2)
The	goal,	 ther e f or e,	 is	t o 	 know ,	 t o 	 judg e,	t o 	 decide	 (gr .	 δοκ ιμάζ ει ν)	 wha t	 is 	
“ God’ s	 will, 	 wha t	 is	g ood, 	 kind	and	perf ect. ”	 Acc or ding 	 t o	 Holy 	 Apos tle 	 P aul,	 in 	
or der	t o	achie v e	this	g oal,	it	is	necessar y	t o	do	tw o	things:
1. not to resemble this world,
2. to transform yourself into a renewed mindset.
In	 the	 fir s t	 poin t,	 Apos tle	P aul	 uses	 the	 v erb	 συσ χημ ατίζ ει ν,	 which 	 c ould 	 be 	
de scrip tiv e ly	 tr ansla t e d	 as	 »f ollo wing	 the 	 same 	 pa tt e r n«	 as	 the 	 w or ld.	 Je sus	 him-
sel f	 sa y s	 in	 John’ s	 Gospel 	 tha t	 although	 Chri s tians	 ar e	 in	 the	 w orl d,	 the y	 ar e	 not	
of	 the	 w orld:	 “If	 y ou	 belong ed	 t o	 the	 w orld,	 the	 w orld	 w ould	 lo v e	 y ou	 as	 its	 o wn;	
but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice of you has drawn 
y ou	out	of	the	w orld,	tha t	is	wh y	the	w orld	ha t es	y ou. ”	(Jn	15:19)
In the second point, a verb from which the term μεταμόρφωσις is derived is 
used. 	 The	 e xpr ession	 ἀνακ αι ν ώσις	 τ οῦ	 νοός, meaning a renewal of thinking, is 
c onnect ed	 t o	 it.	 Apos tle 	 P aul	 uses	 the 	 t erms	 κ αiι νός	 and	νέος to express the basic 
r ene w al	of	a	per son	who	bec omes	a	“ne w	man”	and	a	“ne w	cr ea tion”	in	Chris t.
P ott	 further	 men tions	 thr ee	 Ne w	 T es t amen t	 v er ses	 which	 r e f er	 t o	 this	 “nov elty ” 	
of	 Chri s tian	 i n	 Chri s t:	 2	 Cor	 4:16;	 Eph	 4:23	 and	 Col 	 3:10.	 Le t	 us	 quot e	 her e	 the	 ful l 	
t e x t	 of	 these	 v er ses,	 in tr oducin g	 their	 br oader	 c on t e x t	 wher e	 necessar y:	 “ Tha t	 is	
wh y	 w e 	 do	 not	 w a v e r	 ( gr .	 οὐ κ	 ἐγκ ακ οῦ με ν);	 indeed, 	 though	 this	 out er 	 human	na-
tur e	of	 our s	 ma y	 be	 f alling	 in t o 	 dec a y ,	 a t	 the	 same	time	our	 inner	 human 	na tur e	is 	
r ene w ed	(gr .	ἀνακ αι νοῦτ αι)	da y	b y	da y . ”	(2	Cor	4,16)
“ Y ou	 w er e 	 t o	 put	 aside 	 y our 	 old	 self	( gr .	 π α λ αιὸν),	 which	 belongs	 t o	 y our 	 old 	
w a y	 o f	l i f e	an d 	 i s	 c o rru p t ed 	 b y	 f o l l o wi n g	 i l l u so r y	 d esi r es. 	 Y o u r	mi n d 	w as	 t o 	 b e	 r e–
newed	(gr .	ἀνανεοῦσθαι)	 in	 spirit	so	 that	 you	 could	put	 on	 the 	 new	(gr . 	
καινὸν)	man	tha t	 has	 been	 cr ea t ed	 on	 God’ s	 principles, 	 in	 the 	 uprigh tness	 and	ho-
liness	of	 the 	 truth.”	 (Eph	4:22-24)	In this chapter Apostle Paul goes on to talk about 
wha t 	 is 	 t o	 be	 the 	 c onsequence 	 or 	 c oncr e t e 	 manif es t a tion	 of	 this	 ne w 	 lif e	 in	 Chris t: 
Putting	 off 	 y our	 old 	 self	 means	 putting	 off 	 lies	 and 	 t elling	 the	 truth:	 “So 	 fr om	 no w 	
on, there must be no more lies. Speak the truth to one another since we are all 
parts	of	one	another . ”	(Eph	4:25)
Finally ,	 in	 the 	 Le tt er 	 t o	 the 	 Colossians, 	 the 	 Holy 	 Apos tle 	 P aul	 also	 r e turns	 t o	 the 	
t opic	 of	 putting 	 off	 the 	 old	 w a y 	 of	 lif e	 and	sa y s: 	 “ Y ou	 ha v e 	 s tripped	 off	 y our 	 old 	
behaviour	with 	 your	 old 	 self	 and 	 you 	 have	 put	 on 	 a	 new	 (gr .	 νέον)	 self 	
which	will	progress	 towards	 true	knowledge 	the 	 more 	 it	 is	 renewed	(gr . 	
ἀνακ αι νούμενος)	 in	 the	 imag e	 of	 its	 Cr ea t or . ” 	 (Col 	 3:9-10)	 Acc or ding	 t o	 the	 Apos tle 	
P aul,	 the	 meaning	 of	 the	 pr ocess	 of	 a	 c ons t an t	 “r ene w al” 	 of	 the	 ne w	 man	 in	 Chris t, 	

204 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
ther e f or e,	 c onsis ts	 in 	 the	 “true	kno wledg e	the	 mor e	 it	 is	 r ene w ed 	 in 	 the	 imag e	 of 	
its	Cr ea t or	(gr .	εἰς	ἐπί γ ν ωσι ν	κ ατ’	εἰκ όνα	τ οῦ	κτίσαν τ ος	αὐτ όν)”	(3:10).
The Holy Apostle Paul’s theology about the new life in Christ is in a way devel-
oped	 b y	 St.	 Gr eg or y	 of	 Nazianz us	 in	 his	 44
th
 homily, in which he explains the sig-
nific ance	 of	 the	 celebr a tion	 of	 the	 f eas t	 of	 c onsecr a tion	 or	 r es t or a tion	 (gr .	 ἐγκ αί νια) 	
of the temple. In this homily among other things St. Gregory comments on the 
name	 of	 P salm 	 29	 (F or 	 the 	 R es t or a tion	 –	 Sanctific a tion	 of	 the 	 House)	 and	sa y s, 	
“ This	 house	 is	 us	 who	 ha v e	 been	 r ec ogniz ed	 as	 w orth y	 /...	 /	 t o	 be	 c alled	 the	 T em-
ple 	 of	 God.	 Behold, 	 y ou	 kno w 	 the 	 meaning	 of	 the 	 F eas t	 of	 r ene w al	 –	 sanctific a tion 	
( gr .	 ἐγκ αί νια).	 Ther e f or e,	 r ene w	 y our self ,	 y ou	 who	 ha v e	 been	 fr eed	 fr om	 the	 old	
man	 who	 is	 in	 y ou,	 liv e	 a	 r ene w ed	 lif e	 /...	 /	 Thus	 man	 is	 r ene w ed,	 so	 is	 the	 f eas t	
of	 r e ne w al	 cele br a t ed	 –	 the	 sanctific a tion	 of	 the	 t emple. ”	 Acc or ding	 t o	 St.	 Gr eg-
ory of Nazianzus, to consecrate, therefore, means to restore, to restore God’s 
original order and God’s original purpose in things and in man.
The	 second	 biblical	 place	 mentioned	 by	 P ott	 in	 connection	 with	 the	 verb 	
μεταμ ορφοῦσθαι is	 fr om	 the	 Sec ond	 le tt er	 t o	 the	 Corin thians: 	 “ And	 all	 of	 us, 	 with 	
our 	 un v eiled	 f aces	 lik e	 mirr or s	 r e flecting 	 the 	glory 	of	 the 	 Lor d, 	 ar e	 being	 tr ans f ormed 	
(gr .	 μεταμ ορφούμε θα)	 in t o	 the 	 imag e	 tha t	 w e 	 r e flect	 in	 brigh t er 	 and	 brigh t er 	 glory; 	
this	 is	 the 	 w orking 	 of	 the 	Lor d	who	 is	 the 	 Spirit	 a	 mor e 	 glorious	 imag e.”	 (2	 Cor 	 3:18) 	
Metamorphosis	in	the 	Chris tian	is	thus	the	w ork	of	the	Holy	Spirit.
Finally ,	 le t	 us	 look	 a t	 a	 v er se	 fr om	 the	 Epis tle	 t o 	 the	 Philippians,	 wher e	 the	 Holy 	
Apostle	 Paul	 uses	 the 	 verb	 μετασχηματίζειν:	 “who	will	transfigure 	 (gr . 	
μετ α σ χημ ατίσει)	 the 	 wr e t ched	 body	 ( gr .	 σῶμ α	 τῆς	 τ απει ν ώσεως
2
),	 of	 our s	 in t o 	
the 	 mould	 ( gr .	 σύμμ ορφον,	 la t.	conforme)	 of	 his 	 glorious	 body 	 ( gr .	 σώμ α	 τῆς	 δόξης 	
αὐτ οῦ),	 thr ough 	 the	 w orking	 of	 the	 po w er	 which	 he	 has,	 e v e n	 t o	 bring	 all	 things	
under	 his	 mas t er y . ”	 (Phil	 3:21)	 So ,	 God	 has	 the	 po w er	 t o	 tr ans f orm,	 t o	 o v er c ome	
the	 l i mi t a tions,	 the	 mi ser y	of	 our	 body ,	 t o	 f ol l o w	 hi s	 scheme	 (μετ α σ χημ ατίσει ν) 	
and 	 giv e	 him	 the	 same	 f orm	 (σύμμ ορφον)	 as	 his	 glorified 	 body ,	 lit er ally	 “the	 body 	
of	his	glor y . ”
Aft er	 pr esen ting	 the	 biblic al	 c on t e x t,	 le t	 us	 r e turn	 t o	 the	 litur gy	 and	 t o	 the	 ap-
plic a tion	of	the	biblic al	messag e	t o	the	litur gy .
4. Go Beyond in Relation to the Liturgy according to Pope 
Emeritus Benedict XVI
The fact is that the term reformatio	 had	 been	 used	 in	 the 	 his t or y	 of	 Chris tianity 	
e v en	 be f or e 	 the 	 emer g ence	 of	 the 	 litur gic al	 mo v emen t	 in	 W es t ern	c oun tries	 in 	
the	 19th	 cen tur y .	 One	 w ell-kno wn	 e x ample	 is	 the	 period	 of	 the	 R e f orma tion	 500	
y ear s	ag o , 	 mos t 	 c ommonly 	 associa t ed	 with	 Martin	 Luther 	 (S v a t oň	 2017).	 In	 an y 	
2 
Tαπείνωσις	 in	 Gr eek	 means	 lo wness, 	 helplessness, 	 w eakness, 	 po v erty ,	 humilia tion, 	 despondency 	 (Pr ach 	
1993,	514).

205 205 Marcel Mojzeš - From the Reform of the Liturgy...
case, in general, ecclesia semper reformanda est.
3
 However, it is important to di-
s tinguish	be tw een	true	and	f alse	r e f orm	in	the	Chur ch	(Cong ar	1968).
As	 f or 	 the 	 r e f orm 	 of	 the 	 litur gy 	 a ft er 	 the 	 Sec ond	 V a tic an	 Council, 	 w e 	 c an	 also 	
learn	 a	 lot	 fr om	 the	 r e flection	 tha t	 is	 alr eady	 t aking	 place	 a ft er	 the	 r e f orm	 in	 the	
W es t ern	 Chur ch.	 One	 of	 the 	 mos t 	 r eno wned	 author s	 in	 this	 field	 is	 P ope 	 Emeritus 	
Benedict	 XVI,	 who	 main t ains	 tha t	 “the	 crisis	 of	 the	 litur gy	 and 	 thus	 of	 the	 Chur ch	
in	 which	 w e	 c on tinue	 t o	 be	 f ou nd	 is	 only	 minimally	 c aused	 b y	 the	 diff er ence	 be-
tween old and new liturgical books. It is becoming increasingly clear that, in the 
light of all these controversies, there has been a deep disagreement about the 
na tur e	of	litur gic al	celebr a tion. ”	(Ra tzing er	2010,	441)
It	 is 	 in t er es ting	 t o 	 not e	 tha t	 the	 P ope	 Emeritus	per ceiv es 	 a	 c onnection,	 and 	
e v en	 iden tifies	 the	 crisis	 of	 the	 litur gy	 with	 the	 crisis	 of	 the	 Chur ch.	 In	 his	 speech	
deliv er ed	 on	 the 	 occ asion	 of	 the 	 40th	 anniv er sar y 	 of	 the 	 Council’ s	 Cons titution 	
“Sacr osanctum	 Concilium” , 	 the 	 then	 Car dinal	 Ra tzing er	 spok e 	 in	 a	 similar	 manner: 	 	
“In	 m y	 opinion,	 a	 lar g e	 part	 of	 the	 pr oblems 	 associa t ed 	 with 	 the	 c oncr e t e 	
applic a tion	 of	 the	 litur gic al	 r e f orm	 ha v e 	 t o	 do	 with	 the	 f act	 tha t	 insufficien t 	
acc oun t	 has	 been	 t ak en	 of	 the	 f act	 tha t	 the	 s t arting	poin t	 of	 the	 Council 	 is 	
the	 P assov er;	 t oo	 much	 emphasis	 w as	 placed	 on	 pur ely	 pr actic al	 things, 	ri-
sking	 losing	 sigh t	 of	 wha t	 w as	 a t	 the	 cen t er .	 It	 ther e f or e 	 seems	 essen tial	 t o 	
me to take this approach again as a criterion for renewal and to deepen even 
further	wha t	the 	Council	necessarily	indic a t ed. ”	(Ra tzing er	2010, 	775–776)
In	 an	 e ff ort	 t o	 r es t or e 	 the	 litur gy ,	 the 	 pope	 emeritus	 c alls	 f or	 a	 deeper	 mov e, 	 f or 	
the	 s tructur e	(scheme)	 or	 e x t ernal	 f orm	 of	 the	 litur gy .	 In	 his	 speech	 he	 also 	 r e-
minded	 us	 of	 one 	 beautiful	 s t a t emen t	 of	 Orig en:	 “In	 f act,	 it	 is	 alw a y s	 necessar y	 t o 	
g o	 further ,	 t o	 g o	 be y ond. ”	 (Ra tzing er	 2010,	 772;	 Lópe z	 2013)	 Benedict	 XVI	 further 	
de v e lop s	 this	 ide a	 in	 the 	 se nse 	 tha t 	 it	 is	 not 	 ne c e ssar y 	 t o	 pr e se n t 	 one se lf	 de fini-
tiv el y	 wi th	 an y	 g ood	 un til 	 w e	 c ome	 t o	 the	 g ood	 i n	 whi ch	 w e	 c an	 r emai n. 	 Th e	 l i t-
urgy – as the Council teaches us – 	 allo w s	 us	t o	 en t er	 in t o	 this	 “me t aph y sic al”	 dy-
namic	 “t o 	 g o 	 be y ond. ” 	 	 This	 is	the	 idea	tha t	 se v er al 	 Chur ch 	 F a ther s	 shar e	 (Ra tz-
ing er	 2010,	 772–773).	 P erhap s	 the 	 bes t	 kno wn	 in	 this	 c on t e x t	 is	 the 	 s t a t emen t	 of 	
St.	 Augus tine: 	 “My	 heart 	 is	 unhapp y 	 un til	 it	 r es ts	 in	 y ou, 	 O	 God. ”	 (Confessiones 1,1)
The	 ul tima t e	 ai m	 of	 the	 e ff ort	 t o	 r es t or e	 the	 l i tur gy	 c an not,	 th er e f or e,	 be	 the	
litur gy	 itself .	 In	 the	 w or ds	 of	 Be nedict	 XVI:	 “In	 e v er y	 litur gic al	 r e f orm,	 in	 e v er y	 li-
tur gic al	 celebr a tion, 	 a tt en tion	 should	 be	 f ocused	 abov e 	 all	 on	 the 	 primacy 	 of	 God. ” 	
(Ra tzing er	2010,	793–794) And	this	is	a	ma tt er	of	f aith,	wh ich	is	God’ s	gift.
P ope	 Emeritus	 Benedict	 XVI	 c oncludes	 tha t	 in	 deepening	 the	 litur gic al	 lif e,	 the	
impulse must come from the one who truly lives the faith. Such a belief, lived to-
gether and celebrated in the liturgy, is the basis for the existence of exemplary 
places, where the liturgy is celebrated in the right way and where it is possible to 
e xperience	in	per son	wha t	the	litur gy	actually	is	(2005,	380).
3 
This	s t a t em en t	is	based	on	the	t eachin gs	of	St.	Augus tine	(Mahlmann	2010,	 384 –388).

206 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
In	 this	 r eg ar d	 v er y	 in t er es ting	 seems	 the	 r e flection 	 upon	 the	 cir cums t ances 	
in which Romano Guardini wrote his famous book The Spirit of the Liturgy, 
which	 w as	 a ft er	 the 	 e xperience	 of	 be autiful	 and	 e xis t en tial	 lit ur gic al	 ce lebr a-
tion	(Lang e nbahn	2018).	
5. Go Beyond According to Pope Francis
Si mil arly ,	 the	 Hol y	 F a ther	 Fr ancis	 speak s	 of	 the	 necessity	 t o	go beyond in his Apo-
s t olic	 Le tt er	Aperuit illis 	 which	 ins titut es	 the	 celebr a tion	 of	 a	 Sunda y	 of	 the	 God’ s	
W or d:	
“ A	 similar 	 tr ans figur a tion	 t ak es	place 	 with	 sacr ed	 Scrip tur e, 	 which	 tr an-
scends itself whenever it nourishes the lives of believers. As the Apostolic 
Exhort a tion	‘ V erbum	 Domini ’ 	r eminds	 us: 	 ‘In	 r edisc o v ering 	 the 	 in t erpla y 	
be tw een	 the	 diff er en t	 senses	 of	 Scrip tur e	 it	 bec omes	 essen tial 	 t o	 gr asp 	
the	 passag e	 fr om	 le tt er	 t o	 spirit.	 This	 is	not	 an	 aut oma tic,	 spon t aneous 	
passag e;	r a ther ,	the	le tt er	needs	t o	be	tr anscended. ’	(VD	38)”	(AI	14)
An	 import an t	 principle	 is	 t o	 r ec ogniz e	 tha t	 “ sacr ed	 Scrip tur e	 tr anscends	 itself	
whene v er	 it	 nou rishes	 the	 liv es	 of	 belie v er s. ”	 Similarly ,	 w e	 c ould	 sa y	 tha t	 “litur gy	
tr anscends	itself	whene v er	it	nourishes	the	liv es	of	belie v er s. ”
T o 	 e xplain 	 this	 principle,	 the	 Holy	 F a ther	 Fr ancis	 r e f er s	 t o 	 the	 e v en t	 of	 the	 T r ans-
figur a tion	 of	 the	 Lor d:	 “ A	 similar	 tr ans figur a tion	 t ak es	 place	 with	 sacr ed	 Scriptur e. ” 	
And	 wha t	 actually	 happened	 during	 the	 T r ans figur a tion?	 F or	 e x ample,	 w e	 c an	 r ead 	
about	it	in	the	Gospel	of	Ma tthe w:
“Six	 da ys	later ,	Jesus	took	 with 	 him	 P eter	 and 	James	and 	 his	br oth –
er John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There in their 
pr esence	 he	 w as	 tr ans figur ed	 ( gr .	 μετεμ ορφώθη):	 his	 f ace	 shone	 lik e	 the	
sun and his clothes became as dazzling as light. And suddenly Mo-
ses	and	El i jah	app ear ed	 t o	 them;	 the y	 w er e	 t al ki ng	 wi th 	 hi m. 	 Th en	 P e t er	
spok e 	 t o	 Jesus.	 ʻLor d,ʼ 	 he 	 said, 	 ʻit	 is	 w onderful	 f or	 us	 t o	 be	 her e; 	 if	 y ou	 w an t 	
me to, I will make three shelters here, one for you, one for Moses and one 
f or	 Elijah.ʼ	 He	 w as	 s till 	 speaking	 when 	 suddenly	 a	 brigh t	 cloud 	 c ov er ed 	
them with shadow, and suddenly from the cloud there came a voice which 
said, 	 ʻThis	 is	m y	 Son, 	 the 	 Belov ed; 	 he 	 enjoy s	 m y	 f a v our .	 Lis t en	t o	 him.ʼ 	
When	 the y	 hear d	 this, 	 the	 disciples	 f ell	 on	 their	 f aces, 	 o v er c ome	 with	 f ear . 	
But	Jesus	c ame	 up	 and	 t ouched	 them,	 sa ying:	 ʻSt and	 up,	 do	 not	 be	 a fr aid.ʼ 	
And	 when	 the y	 r aised	 their	 e y es	 the y	 sa w	 no	 one	 but	 Jesus. ”	 (Mt	 17:1-8).
This	 e v en t	 is	also	 men tioned	 b y	 the 	 e v ang elis ts	 Mark	 (9:2-9),	 Luk e	 (9:28-36) 	
and	 e v en	 b y	 the 	 Apos tle 	 P e t er	 in	 his	 sec ond	 le tt er 	 (2	 P t	 1:16-18).	 Not e 	 tha t	 the 	
Gr eek	 w or d 	 f or	 tr ans figur a tion 	 is	μετ αμ όρφωσις.	 W e	 also 	 find 	 this	 w or d 	 on 	 the 	
Gr eek	ic ons	of	the	T r ans figur a tion	of	the	Lor d.

207 207 Marcel Mojzeš - From the Reform of the Liturgy...
The 	 Gr eek	 w or d	 μετ αiμ όρφωσις is	c omposed	 of	 tw o	 parts: 	 μετ α	 –	 “be y ond” 	
and	 μ ορφή	 whi ch	 means	 “f orm. ”	 The	 w or d	 metaphysics 	 has	 a	 similar	 meaning	 –	
wha t	is	“be y ond”	ph y sics,	wha t	tr anscends	the	ph y sic ally	per cep tible	w orld.	
6. God is ἀσχημάτιστος
 In	 an	 in t er es ting 	 Ukr ainian	 article 	 en titled	 “Pur e	 Pr a y er	 and	 St a t es	 be y ond	 Pr a y er 	
in	 the	 w ork s	 of 	 E v agrius	P on ticus 	 and 	 Isaac	of 	 S yria” ,	 writt en 	 by	 Fr .	 R.	 Sideľnik 	
(Sideľnik 	 2016),	 w e 	 r ead, 	 among	 other	 things, 	 tha t	 in	 Gr eek	 P a tris tic	 ther e 	 is	an 	
e xpr ession	 abou t	 God	 being	 ἀ σ χημ άτισ τ ος that is, without a scheme. It does not 
mean	 tha t	 God	 lack s	something; 	 it	 simply	 means	tha t	 he 	 is	not	 limit ed	by	 an y 	
scheme.	 E v en	 St.	 E v agrius	P on ticus	 claims 	 tha t 	 the 	 r es triction	 of	 God	 in	 some 	
scheme	 or	 place	 is	 fruitless	 and	 ma y	 be	 the	 r esult	 of	 enem y	 f or ces.	 (Sideľnik	 2016, 	
154,	not e	47).
In	 the 	 ligh t	 of	 this	 pa tris tic	 e xpr ession	 about	 God, 	 w e 	 c an	 be tt er 	 under s t and 	
the	 pr eviously	 quot ed	 w or ds	 of	 Holy	 Apos tle	 P aul,	 who	 uses	 the	 v erb	 συσχηματίζ ει ν 
in	 r e la tion	 t o	 the	 w orld	 in	 R omans	 12,2:	 “ do	 not	 be	 lik e	 this	 w orld”	 –	 do	 not	 be	 in	
the	 same	 pa tt er n	 as	 the	 w orld .	 The	 w orld,	 the	 w orldly	 per cep tion,	 c an	 ther e f or e	
be	 schema tic, 	 but	 God	 r emains	 ἀσχημάτισ τος,	 w e 	 cannot	 r educe 	 him	t o	 an y 	
scheme.
Figure 1: The icon of Transfiguration of the Lord.

208 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
7. Μορφὴ Θεοῦ and μορφὴ δούλου in Christ and in the 
Liturgy
Holy	 Apos tle	 P aul	 e xplains	 in	 the	 Le tt er	 t o	 the	 Philippians	 tha t	 Jesus	 Chris t,	 who	
has	 e xis t ed	 since	 e t ernity	 in	 the	 μ ορφὴ (f orm)	 of	 God,	 in	 his	 lo v e	 f or	 man	 and	 in	
an	 e ff ort	 t o	 sa v e	 him,	 accep ts	 the	 μ ορφὴ (f orm)	 of	 the	 sla v e: 	 “Chris t	Jesus:	Who ,	
being	 in	 the	f orm	of	 God 	 (gr .	 ἐν	 μ ορφῇ	 Θεοῦ	 ὑπ άρ χ ω ν),	 did 	 not	 c oun t	 equality 	
with	God	some thing	 t o	 be	 gr asped.	 But	 he	 emptied	 himself	 (gr .	 ἑαυτ ὸν	 ἐκ έν ωσεν), 	
t aking	 the	f orm	of	 a	 sla v e	(gr .	 μ ορφὴ	 δού λ ου),	 bec oming	 as	human	 beings	ar e; 	
and	being	in	e v er y	w a y	lik e	a	human	being. ”	(Phil	2:5b-7a)
Jesus, 	 although	 s till	 living	 in	 the 	 f orm 	 of	 God, 	 t ook 	 the 	 f orm 	 of	 a	sla v e 	 in	 an	 e ff ort 	
to save man. God was and he is willing to go beyond the form. Similarly, we could 
sa y	 tha t	 in	the	 litur gy	w e	 c an	be	motiv a t ed	 by	the	 same	 lov e	 of	 God	 and	 the	 e ff ort 	
to save man, to go beyond the form and discover a living God who, through liturgi-
c al	 celebr a tion, 	 giv es	 us	 the	 opportunity	 t o	 participa t e	 in	 his	 own	 lif e.	 In	 this	 sense, 	
w e	 c an	 under s t and	 also	 the	 title	 of	 the	 book 	 of	 one	 of	 the	 f amous	 litur gis ts	 and	 m y 	
f ormer	pr of essor	R obert	T a ft	SJ	(1932–2018)	Beyond East and West (T a ft	1997).
8. Metamorphosis in the World of Living Nature as an 
Image of Spiritual Metamorphosis
The term metamorphosis is	 also	 used	 in	 the 	 w orld	 of	 wildlif e, 	 especially 	 in	 butt er-
flies,	 t o	 describe	 the	 pr ocess	 of	 tr ans f orming	 a	 c a t erpillar	 thr ough	 a	 c oc oon	 in t o	
a	beautiful	butt erfly .
Figure 2: The metamorphosis of a butterfly.

209 209 Marcel Mojzeš - From the Reform of the Liturgy...
It	 is	a	 c omple x	 dev elopmen t al 	 cy cle,	 which 	 has	 f our	 s t ag es:	 eg g ,	 c a t erpillar , 	
pupa,	 butt erfly .	 In	 or der	 f or	 a	 c a t erpillar	 t o	 bec ome	 a	 butt erfly ,	 it	 needs	 t o	 chang e 	
its	 f orm 	 –	 t o	 lea v e	 the	 s t a tic	 c oc oon,	 so	 tha t	 it,	 tr ans f ormed	 in t o	 a	 butt erfly ,	 c an	
shine	 with	 beautiful	 c olour s	 and	 fly .	 If	 a	 c a t erpillar	 decided	 t o	 r emain	 only	 a	 c a t-
erpillar ,	or	jus t	a	c oc oon,	it	w ould	ne v er	bec ome	a	butt erfly .
In nature, however, God arranged it so that the caterpillar was created to turn 
in t o	 a	 butt erfly .	 W e	 c ould	 sa y	 tha t	 this	 pr ocess	 is	 a	 pictur e	 of	 the	 spiritual	meta-
morphosis that takes place during the liturgy. Everyone is called to become a but-
t erfly .	 The	 pa th 	 of	 this	 tr ans f orma tion 	 also 	 leads	 thr ough 	 such 	 f orms	 of	 litur gy	 tha t 	
ma y	 out w ar dly	 r esemble	 a	 s t a tic	 c oc oon.	 Ho w e v er ,	 the	 f orm	 of	 the	 litur gy	 is	 not	
the	 g oal,	 only	 the	 means	 thr ou gh	 which	 the	 c ons t an t	 tr ans f orma tion	 t ak es	 place	
( gr .	 μετ αμ όρφωσις,	 la t.	transformatio).	 Jus t	 as	 a	 c a t erpillar 	 tr ans f orms	 in t o	 a	 fr ee-
flying	 butt erfly ,	 which	 mak es	 other s	 happ y	 with	 its	 beauty ,	 so	 c an	 the	 Chris tian	 be 	
tr ans f ormed	 thr ough	 the 	 litur gy .	 In	 the	 splendour 	 of	 a	 flying	 butt erfly , 	 w e 	 c an	 see	
the image of life in Christ.
9. The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Process of 
Metamorphosis: To Make Us Conformable  
(gr. Σύμμορφοι) To Christ
W e	 ha v e	alr eady	 mentioned 	 a	 quot e	 fr om	 the	Second	 Lett er	 of	 Holy	 Apos tle 	
P aul	 t o	 the 	 Corin thians, 	 which	 sa y s	 tha t	 the 	 Spirit	 of	 the 	 Lor d	 tr ans f orms	 us	( gr . 	
μετ αμ ορφούμε θα)	 (2	 Cor 	 3:18).	 Similarly ,	 P ope	 Fr ancis	 emphasiz es	 the 	 r ole 	 of	 the 	
Holy	 Sp irit	 in	 r e ading	 the	 Scrip tur es	 in	 his	 Apos t olic	 Le tt er	Aperuit illis, where he 
wrote, among other things, that 
“ sacr ed	 Scrip tur e,	 b y	 the	 w orking	 of	 the	 Holy	 Spirit,	 mak es	 human	 w or ds	
wri tt en 	 i n	 h u man 	 f ashi o n 	 b ec ome	 the	 w or d 	 of	 God . 	 Th e	 r o l e	 of	 the	 Ho l y 	
Spirit	 in	 the	 Scrip tur es	 is	 primor dial.	 Without	 the	 w ork	 of	 the	 Spirit,	 ther e	
w ould	 alw a y s	 be	 a	 risk	 of	 r emaining	 limit ed	 t o	 the	 writt en	 t e x t	 alone.	 This	
would open the way to a fundamentalist reading, which needs to be avo-
ided, lest we betray the inspired, dynamic and spiritual character of the 
sacr ed	 t e x t.	 As	 the 	 Apos tle 	 r eminds	 us: 	 ‘ The 	 le tt er 	 kills, 	 but	 the 	 Spirit 	 giv es 	
lif e. ’	 (2	 Cor	3,6)	 The	 Holy	 Spirit,	 then,	 mak es	sacr ed 	 Scriptur e	 the	 living 	
word of God, experienced and handed down in the faith of his holy peo-
ple. ”	(AI	9)
Wha t	 is	 men tioned	 her e	 is	 the	 tr ans f orming	 r ole	 of	 the	 Holy	 Spirit,	 who	 tr ans-
f orms	 the	 human 	 w or d 	 writt en 	 in	 a	 human 	 w a y	 in t o 	 the	 w or d 	 of 	 God,	 and 	 thus 	
tr ans f orms	 the	 Scrip tur es	 in t o	 the	 W or d	 of	 the	 living	 God.	 Similarly ,	 w e	 c ould	 sa y	
tha t	 in	 r ela tion	 t o	 the 	 litur gy	 w e 	 also	 need	 t o	 r edisc o v er 	 this	 tr ans f orming	 activity 	
of the Holy Spirit which transforms human words and human gestures into the 
w or ds	and	actions	of	the	living	God	himself .

210 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
But	 fir s t	 and 	 f or emos t,	 it	 is	about	 tr ans f orming	 the	 human 	 heart. 	 E v en	 wha t 	
happens	 a t	 the	 celebr a tion	 of	 the	 Eucharis t,	 tha t	 is,	 the	 tr ans f orma tion	 of	 br ead	
and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ by the Holy Spirit, should not end in 
the	 tr ans f orma tion 	 of	 gifts	 (br ead 	 and 	 wine	 in t o 	 the	 Body	 and 	 Blood 	 of	 Chris t) 	 but 	
should	 lead	 t o	 the	 tr ans f orma tion	 of	 those	 who	 ea t	 the	 Body	 of	 Chris t	 and	 drink	
his Blood so that they may become more and more involved in the life of Christ 
and	 thus	 bec ome	 part	 of	 the	 Chur ch	 –	 the	 m y s tic al	 body	 of	 Chris t.	 W e	 ther e f or e	
need	in	 the	 fir s t	 place	 t o	 allo w	 the	 Holy	 Spirit	 t o	 tr ans f orm	 our	 in t erior	 lif e,	 our 	
heart.
In	 his	 Apos t olic	 Le tt er	 “Desiderio	 desider a vi ” , 	 the	 Holy	 F a ther	 Fr ancis	 writ es:	 “…
so that the Spirit, plunging us into the paschal mystery, might transform every di-
mension	 of	 our 	 lif e,	 c on f orming	 us	mor e 	 and	mor e 	 t o	 Chris t. ”	 (DD	 21)	 T o	 bec ome 	
c onf ormable	 (gr .	 σύμμ ορφος) t o 	 Chris t,	 t o 	 ha v e	 “the	 f orm	 of	 Chris t ” 	 means	 t o 	 ha v e, 	
jus t	as	he 	 has, 	 the	 human	 will	 fr eely	 subor dina t ed	 and	unit ed	t o	 Godʼs	 will	 (Denz-
ing er	 and	 Schönme tz er	 1997,	 553–559),	 t o	 ha v e 	 the	 mind	 of	 Chris t	 (Phil	 2:5;	 1	 Cor 	
2:16)	 and	 also	 his	 sen timen t.	 T o	 ha v e 	 a	 sen timen t	 of	 Chris t	 means	 t o	 be	 συμπ αθής 
(Heb	 4:15)	 –	 t o	 be	 able	 (in	 Chris t)	 t o	 suff er 	 with	 other s.	 It	 is	especially 	 the 	 litur gy 	
tha t	 helps	 people	 become	 mor e	 conf ormable	 t o	 Chris t. 	 The	 Holy	 F a ther	 Fr ancis	 sa y s: 	
“ The	 celebr a tion	 c oncerns	 the	 r eality	 of	 our	 being	 docile	 t o	 the	 action	 of	
the	 Spir it	 who	 oper a t es	 thr ough	 it	 un til	 Chris t	 be	 f ormed	 in	 us.	 (Gal	 4:19)	
Th e	 fu l l 	 e x t en t	 o f	 o u r	 f o rma tio n 	 i s	o u r	 c o n firma tion 	 t o 	 Ch ri s t. 	 I	 r ep ea t:	 i t 	
does not have to do with an abstract mental process, but with becoming 
Him.	 This	 is	 the 	 purpose 	 f or 	 which	 the 	 Spirit 	 is	 giv en,	 whose 	 action	 is	 alw a y s 	
and	 onl y	 t o	 c on f ect	 the	 Body	 of	 Chris t.	 It	 is	 tha t	 w a y	 with	 the	 Eucharis tic	
br ead,	 and	 with	 e v er y	 one	 of	 the	 bap tiz ed	 c alled	 t o	 bec ome	 alw a y s	 mor e	
and	mor e 	 tha t	 which	 w as	 r eceiv ed	as	a	 gift	 in	 Bap tism; 	 namely ,	 being	 a 	
member	of	the	Body	of	Chris t. ”	(DD	41)	
10. Conclusion
It	 f ollo w s	 fr om	 the	 lines	 writt en	 abo v e	 tha t	 when	 c onsidering	 and	 a tt emp ting	 t o	
r es t or e	the	litur gic al	lif e,	it	should	be	k ep t	in	mind	tha t:
1. The idea of   reform is connected with the center of the teaching of the Gospels 
and the Holy Apostle Paul about the human person and with the experience of 
a new life in Christ.
2. The word metamorphosis	 (gr .	 μεταμ όρφωσις)	 in	 the	 New	 T es t amen t	sense 	 e x-
pr esses	 a	 pr ocess	 of	 tr ansf ormation	 of	 thought 	 and	 man	 as	 such, 	 and	 not	 s t agna-
tion	 in	some, 	old	 or	 new	 f orm.	Metamorphosis invites us to go beyond the form, 
to	 discover	 the	 true	 essence	 of	 the	 litur gy ,	 that	 is,	 fuller	 participation 	 in	 God’ s	 lif e.
3.	 In	 r ela tion	 t o	 the	 litur gy ,	 w e	 need	 t o	 r edisc ov er	 the	 w ork	 of	 the	 Holy	 Spirit	 who 	
transforms so that the goal of the renewal of the liturgy will be not only the li-

211 211 Marcel Mojzeš - From the Reform of the Liturgy...
tur gy	 itself , 	 but	 fir s t	 and	 f or emos t	 the	 glory	 of	 the	 F a ther	 pr esen t	 in	 Chris tians 	
living	in	Chris t	as	the	Chur ch, 	which	is	his	m y s tic al	body .
4.	 The 	 Holy 	 Spirit	 w ork s	 t o	 mak e	 us	 mor e 	 “ c onf ormable”	 (gr .	 σύμμορφοι) to Christ, 
t o	 bear	 r esemblance 	 t o	 him, 	 and	ha v e 	 the 	 “f orm”	 of	 Chris t 	 in	 though ts, 	 sen ti-
men t,	 and 	 deeds. 	 This	 applies	 not	 only	 t o 	 the	 litur gy	 itself ,	 but	 also 	 t o 	 the	 en tir e 	
Chris tian	lif e 	tha t	both	“ springs	fr om	and	culmina t es	in	the 	litur gy ”	(SC	10). 	
Abbreviations
 AI –	 Fr ancis	2019	[Aperuit	illis]. 
 DD – Fr ancis	2022	[Desiderio	desider a vi].	
 SC	–	 Sec ond	V a tic an	E cumenic al	Council	1963	[Sacr osanctum	c oncilium].
 VD 	–	 Benedict	XVI.	2010	[V erbum	Domini].	
References
Benedict XVI.	2010 .	V e r b u m	D o m i n i .	O n	t h e	W o r d 	
of God in the life and mission of the Church. 
Po s t - s y n o d a l	A p o s t o l i c	E x h o r t a ti o n .	V a ti c a n . 	
3 0 .	9 .	ht tp s : / /w w w . v a ti c an . v a/ c o nte nt / b e n e -
di c t - x v i / e n / ap o s t _ e x h o r t at i o ns / d o c um e n t s /
h f_ b e n -x v i _ e x h _ 2010 0 93 0 _ v e r b u m - d o m i n i .
html 	( a c c e s s e d	21 .	1 2.	202 2 ).
Congar, Yves. 1968. Vraie et fausse réforme dans 
lʼÉglise .	P a r i s:	C ER F .
Denzinger, Heinrich, and Adolf Schönmetzer. 
2 0 1 7. 	Enchiridion symbolorum definitionum et 
declarationum de rebus fidei et morum .	Fr e-
ib u r g : 	 H er d er .	
Francis.	201 6 .	Nei tuoi occhi è la mia parola: Ome-
lie e discorsi di Buenos Aires 1999–2013. Mila-
n o :	R iz zo l i .
– – – .	201 9 .	A p e r u i t	i l l i s . A p o s t o l i c	L e tt e r	g i v e n 	
m o t u	p r o p r i o	i n s ti t u ti n g	t h e 	S u n d ay	o f	t h e 	
W o r d	o f	G o d .	V a ti c a n	3 0 .	9 .	ht tp s :/ /w w w .
v at i c an . v a / c o n t e n t /f r an c e s c o / e n / m o tu _ p r o -
p r io / d o cu me n t s / pa pa -f r a nce s c o - mo t u - pro-
p r i o - 2 0 1 9 0 9 3 0 _ ap e r ui t - i lli s .h t m l 	( a c c e s s e d	1 2. 	
1 3 .	202 2 ).
– – – .	202 2.	D e s i d e r i o	d e s i d e r av i . On the liturgical 
f o r m a ti o n	o f	t h e	p e o p l e 	o f	G o d .	A p o s t o l i c 	
L e tt e r .	V a ti c a n .	2 9 .	6 .	h t t p s : / / w w w.v a t i c a n .v a /
c o n t en t / f r a n c es c o / en / a p o s t _ l e t t er s /
do cu me n t s / 2 0 2 2 0 6 2 9 - let t e r a - a p - de s ide rio -
-desideravi.html 	( a c c e s s e d	1 2.	1 3 .	202 2 ).
Klun, Branko .	201 7 .	T r a n s c e n d e n c a , 	s a m o - t r a n-
s c e n d e n c a	i n	č a s o v n o s t:	f e n o m e n o l o š k i	r azm i -
sleki. Bogoslovni vestnik	7 7 ,	n o.	3 – 4 :5 0 3 – 5 1 6 .
Kocik, Thomas.	20 0 3 .	Reform of the Reform?: A 
Liturgical Debate: Reform or Return .	S a n	Fr a n-
c i s c o :	I g n a ti u s	Pr e s s .
Krajnc, Slavko .	201 4 .	L i t u r g y	a n d	M i s s i o n .	Bogo-
slovni vestnik	7 4,	n o.	3 :4 35 – 4 4 8 .
– – – .	201 8 .	D u h o v n o s t , 	k i	t e m e l j i	n a	l i t u r g i j i	i n	n a 	
“ li tur gi ji ” 	 p o 	 li tur gi j i. 	Bogoslovni vestnik	7 8 ,	n o. 	
3 : 7 97– 811 . 	
Kunetka, František.	201 3 .	Re f o r m a	l i t u r g i c ké 	
r e f o r my ?	K 	5 0 .	v ý r o č í	v y d á n í	Ko n s ti t u c e 	o 	
l i t u r g i i	( 4 .	1 2.	1 9 6 3 ).	Studia Theologica 15, no. 
4 :4 7 – 6 7 .	h tt p s: / / d o i .o r g / 10 . 55 07 / s t h . 201 3 . 0 4 6
Langenbahn, Stefan.	201 8 .	Ei n	Ei n g r i ff	i n	d i e 	
Fr a ge n	d e r	Z e i t .	Gottesdienst 	 5 2 : 1 2 9 –1 31 . 	
López, Sierra.	201 3 .	O n	5 0	y ea r s	o f	S a c r o s a n c t u m 	
C o n c i l i u m :	T h e o l o g i c a l	d i m e n s i o n	o f	t h e	r e -
n e we d	l i t u r g y	( a d v a n c e s	a n d	c h a l l e n ge s ). 	
Ephemerides Liturgicae 	1 2 7 ,	n o.	4 :3 8 8 – 4 0 8 .
Mahlmann, Theodor .	2010 .	»Ec c l e s i a	s e m p e r 	
r e fo r m an d a « : 	 E i n e 	 h i s t o r i s c h e 	 A u f ar b e i tun g . 	
N e u e	B ea r b e i t u n g .	I n : Torbjörn Johansson, 
Robert Kolb and Johann A. Steiger, eds. Herme-
neutica Sacra: Studien zur Auslegung der Heili -
gen Schrift im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert ,	3 8 2–
4 4 1 .	B e r l i n ;	N e w	Y o r k :	D e 	G r u y t e r .
Pott, Thomas .	20 0 0 .	La réforme liturgique byzanti -
ne: Étude du phénomène de l’évolution non -
-spontanée de la liturgie byzantine .	R o m a : 	
C e n t r o 	 L i tur gi c o 	 V i n c e n z ian o .
Prach, Václav .	1 9 93 .	Řecko-český slovník .	Pr a g u e : 	
Scriptum.
Ratzinger, Joseph.	20 0 5.	Dio e il mondo . 	 M i l an o :	
San Paolo.

212 Bogoslovni vestnik 83 (2023) • 1
– – – .	2010 .	Opera omnia .	V o l .	11, 	Teologia della 
liturgia .	V a ti c a n	C i t y :	L i b r e r i a	Ed i t r i c e 	V a ti c a n a . 	
Saliers, Don.	201 5.	T h e o l o g i c a l	F o u n d a ti o n s	o f 	
Liturgical Reform. Liturgy 	3 0,	n o.	4 :20 – 2 7 .
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council .	1 9 6 3 .	S a c r o-
sanctum Concilium. On the Sacred Liturgy. 
C o n s ti t u ti o n .	V a ti c a n .	4 .	1 2.	ht tp s :/ /w w w .
v at i c an . v a / ar c h i v e / h i s t _ c o un c i l s / i i _ v at i c an _
c o un c i l / d o c um e n t s / v at - i i _ c o ns t _1 9 6 3 1 2 0 4 _
s a c r o s an c tum - c o n c i li um _ e n .h t m l 	 ( ac ce s s ed 	
21 .	1 2.	202 2 ).
Schrijvers, Joeri.	201 7 .	L u d w i g	B i n s w a n ge r :	T h e 	
Transcendence of Love. Bogoslovni vestnik	 7 7, 	
n o.	3 / 4 :4 8 9 – 5 01 . 	
Sideľnik, Ruslan.	201 6 .	Č i s t a	m o l i t v a	i	s t a ny	p oz a 	
m o l i t v o j u	u	t v o r a c h	Ev a g r i j a	Po n ti j s ko h o	t a 	
Isaaka Sirijskoho. Bohoslovskij naukovij zbirnik 
8 : 1 4 5 –1 6 6 .
Svatoň, Robert .	201 7 .	V	d u c h u	p o k á n í	a	v d ě č n o s ti : 	
5 0 0 .	v ý r o č í	z a č á t k u	r e f o r m a c e 	j a ko	p oz v á n í 	
k	p r o h l o u b e n í	v z áj e m n é h o	s p o l e č e n s t v í .	Stu -
dia Theologica 	1 9 ,	n o.	4 : 10 3 – 1 2 5.
Taft, Robert.	1 9 97 .	Beyond East and West: Pro-
blems in Liturgical Understanding .	R o m e : 	
P o n ti fi c al 	 O r i e n t al 	 I ns ti tu t e .