Liturgical Archaeologism in the Orthodox Context

Liturgical archaeologism refers to the revival of older liturgical forms on the basis of "returning to the roots," a practice debated not only in the Orthodox Church, but also other denominations, as the Roman Catholic Church. In 1947, Pope Pius XII warns against careless archaeologism, but the liturgical reforms of Vatican II, based on the movement of "ressourcement," ensured the continuation of this debate in the Roman Catholic context up until our days. Likewise, Orthodox liturgical reforms of the 20th century can also be traced back to this same liturgical movement. The present article discusses the problems and challenges of archaeologism both from the point of view of general theological reflection and two case studies: Mount Athos and Finland.