Editing Christianity (section)

=== Communal worship ===
[[Church service|Services]] of worship typically follow a pattern or form known as [[Christian liturgy|liturgy]].{{refn|group=note|Frequently a distinction is made between "liturgical" and "non-liturgical" churches based on how elaborate or antiquated the worship; in this usage, churches whose services are unscripted or improvised are described as "non-liturgical".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Russell |first1=Thomas Arthur |title=Comparative Christianity: A Student's Guide to a Religion and Its Diverse Traditions |year=2010 |publisher=Universal-Publishers |isbn=978-1-59942-877-2 |page=21 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FmMarHDbglgC&pg=PT21}}</ref>}} [[Justin Martyr]] described 2nd-century Christian liturgy in his ''[[First Apology]]'' ({{circa|150|lk=no}}) to Emperor [[Antoninus Pius]], and his description remains relevant to the basic structure of Christian liturgical worship:
{{blockquote|And Sundays, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the [[Presbyter|president]] verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying [[Amen]]; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need.<ref name="justin">Justin Martyr, [https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-firstapology.html ''First Apology''] §LXVII</ref>}}

Thus, as Justin described, Christians assemble for communal worship typically on Sunday, the [[Lord's Day]], though other liturgical practices often occur outside this setting. Scripture readings are drawn from the Old and New Testaments, but especially the gospels.{{refn|group=note|Often these are arranged on an [[annual cycle]], using a book called a [[lectionary]].}}<ref>{{harvnb|White|2010|p=36}}</ref> Instruction is given based on these readings, in the form of a [[sermon]] or [[homily]]. There are a variety of [[Church (congregation)|congregational]] prayers, including thanksgiving, confession, and [[intercession]], which occur throughout the service and take a variety of forms including recited, responsive, silent, or sung.<ref name="White_71-82">{{harvnb|White|2010|pp=71–82}}</ref> [[Psalms]], [[hymn]]s, [[worship song]]s, and other [[church music]] may be sung.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Witvliet |first1=John D. |title=The Biblical Psalms in Christian Worship: A Brief Introduction and Guide to Resources |year=2007 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0-8028-0767-0 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7cyEGLwHicC |access-date=24 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wallwork |first1=Norman |title=The Purpose of a Hymn Book |url=https://jlg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Hymns-Purpose.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://jlg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Hymns-Purpose.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=Joint Liturgical Group of Great Britain |access-date=24 June 2020 |year=2019}}</ref> Services can be varied for special events like significant [[Calendar of saints|feast days]].<ref>For example, {{citation|title=The Calendar |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar |publisher=Church of England |access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref>
[[File:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg|thumb|[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|''The Last Supper'']] in the [[Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan|Santa Maria delle Grazie Church]] in [[Milan]], [[Italy]], a late 1490s mural painting by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], depicting the [[Last Supper]] of Jesus and his [[Apostles in the New Testament|twelve apostles]], depicts the [[Last Supper|final meal]] of [[Jesus]] before [[Crucifixion of Jesus|his crucifixion and death]].]]

Nearly all forms of worship incorporate the Eucharist, which consists of a meal. It is reenacted in accordance with Jesus' instruction at the [[Last Supper]] that his followers do in remembrance of him as when he gave his disciples [[Sacramental bread|bread]], saying, "This is my body", and gave them [[sacramental wine|wine]] saying, "This is my blood".<ref>Ignazio Silone, ''Bread and Wine'' (1937).</ref> In the [[Early Christianity|early church]], Christians and those yet to complete initiation would separate for the Eucharistic part of the service.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Benz |first1=Ernst |title=The Eastern Orthodox Church: Its Thought and Life |year=2008 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-0-202-36575-6 |page=35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5Z_evECb1UC&pg=PA35}}</ref> Some denominations such as [[Confessional Lutheran]] churches continue to practice '[[closed communion]]'.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060812151753/https://www.lordlife.org/site/dbpage.asp?page_id=140000871&sec_id=140000527 Understanding Closed Communion]}}, stating "''Therefore, our Congregation and our Denomination practices what is called 'close or closed Communion', meaning that before you take Communion at our Churches, we ask you to take a Communion Class first to properly learn what Communion is all about.''", by [[Archive.org]]</ref> They offer communion to those who are already united in that denomination or sometimes individual church. Catholics further restrict participation to their members who are not in a state of [[mortal sin]].<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|1415}}</ref> Many other churches, such as [[Anglican Communion]] and the [[Methodism|Methodist Churches]] (such as the [[Free Methodist Church]] and [[United Methodist Church]]), practice '[[open communion]]' since they view communion as a means to unity, rather than an end, and invite all believing Christians to participate.<ref>{{cite web|title=An open table: How United Methodists understand communion – The United Methodist Church|url=https://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/an-open-table-how-united-methodists-understand-communion |publisher=[[United Methodist Church]]|access-date=24 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Order of Worship |url=https://wilmorefmc.org/worship/current-order-of-worship/ |publisher=Wilmore Free Methodist Church |access-date=21 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.churchofengland.org/more/policy-and-thinking/canons-church-england/section-b#b28| title = Canon B28 of the Church of England}}</ref>