{"id":26926,"date":"2014-08-13T12:13:04","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T17:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=26926"},"modified":"2014-08-13T12:13:04","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T17:13:04","slug":"ancient-basis-for-liturgical-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2014\/08\/13\/ancient-basis-for-liturgical-dance\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Basis for Liturgical Dance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Dilley at Bible History Daily<\/i><\/a> has an interesting post titled \u201cJesus as Lord of the Dance.\u201d In his post he talks about ancient forms of Christian dance. Several times I have spoken about my aversion to liturgical dance on the blog; however, as a self-proclaimed \u201cliturgical historian\u201d I am fascinated by anything ancient, especially if it responds to modern controversies.<\/p>\n

Dilley in his article begins by mentioning a scene in the apocryphal Acts of John<\/i> in which the apostles dance around Jesus:<\/p>\n

the apostle John recalls how, on the night before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus commanded the apostles to form a circle around him, and to dance as he sang a hymn to which they responded in a series of \u201cAmens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most scholars agree that this fascinating text functioned as an etiology (a foundational narrative) for a ritual of dance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Dilley, this dance scene finds its way into the psalms of the Manichaeans, a gnostic sect. It is easy to dismiss this dance since it occurs in an apocryphal text and later on in the texts of a gnostic sect; however, as Dilley points out:<\/p>\n

\u201cNew\u201d evidence has complicated this picture, namely the recent publication of a Coptic manuscript\u2026dated to approximately the ninth century, containing a very similar dance scene. The manuscript was discovered in an abandoned monastery at Qasr el-Wizz\u2014a settlement in Nobadia, the northernmost of the three medieval Christian kingdoms of Nubia\u2014during rescue excavations in the 1960s (the site is now under Lake Nasser near the southern borders of Egypt). One of the texts, which scholars call the Dance of the Savior<\/i>, features a dance similar to the one in the Acts of John<\/i>. As the apostles circle around, Jesus addresses the cross in a series of short hymns, proclaiming the glory and triumph of the crucifixion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The presence of a dance scene in a Coptic manuscript similar to that found in the Acts of John<\/i> suggests that \u201cliturgical\u201d dance was not only a gnostic or heretical practice. Rather, it is possible that some orthodox communities practiced some sort of liturgical dance as well. Dilley also notes that this manuscript not only speaks to the presence of dance in Nubia, but to its presence throughout the Roman Empire as well.<\/p>\n

In the Christian Roman Empire, liturgical dancing was a part of common events such as saints\u2019 festivals. Some polemicists saw this as an inappropriate expression of piety, uncomfortably close to pagan traditions like pantomime or Dionysian revelries. But it was also related to imperial celebrations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Based on the limited evidence available, Dilley admits that \u201cthe role of dance in the medieval Nubian liturgy is uncertain.\u201d Despite Dilley’s uncertainty, his analysis of this ancient manuscript is fascinating. Dilley’s exploration might not change my feelings about the practice of liturgical dance in the West today, but it does reshape my views on the history of liturgical dance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paul Dilley at Bible History Daily has an interesting post titled \u201cJesus as Lord of the Dance.\u201d In his post he talks about ancient forms of Christian dance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eastern-liturgy"],"yoast_head":"\nAncient Basis for Liturgical Dance - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2014\/08\/13\/ancient-basis-for-liturgical-dance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ancient Basis for Liturgical Dance - 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