The beginnings of implementation of the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council in the Diocese of Banská Bystrica

Abstract

Sixty years have passed since the opening of the Second Vatican Council, and yet its liturgical reform seems to be questioned and misunderstood by traditionalist-minded contemporaries. The aim of this study is to look at the first steps of the implementation of the Council's liturgical regulations into life in Slovakia, specifically in the Diocese of Banská Bystrica. Among the most important elements of this reform are certainly the liturgy in the language of the people, the celebration of the priest facing the people and the active involvement of the laity in the liturgical celebration. The restored ancient components of the liturgical space like altar, sedes and ambo are also closely associated with this subject. In this study we trace the regulations published in the circulars of the episcopate during and after the Council, as well as the instructions of the state authorities with which the priests gradually became familiar and assimilated in the early years of the practical implementation of the liturgical reform in the arrangement of churches.