Symbols of God's presence to the Church - Verbal and nonverbal (On the intellectual triumph of the whole person in restored Christian liturgy)

Christian worship may be assumed to have been a matter of ritual from the s tart, because of its roots in Temple worship, common festal meals, and the baptismal practice of Jesus and John. New Testament witness to its forms is minimal, but the development of rites begins to be attested in the "Didach e", Justin's "First Apology", and Hippolytus' references to eucharist led b y "episkopoi". The "mysteria/sacramenta" were celebrated ritually in the We st until the reformers' emphasis on the biblical word and corresponding de- emphasis on the senses resulted in the triumph of the spirit over matter, a nd of intellect over sight, sound, and movement. In our day, the former bal ance is being restored as worship forms begin again to engage the whole per son.