Sed Contra: A Podcast of Catholic Theology Does Changing Liturgy Change the Faith?
Mar 5, 2026
Christopher Owens, liturgical historian and CEO of the Veterum Sapientia Institute, and Matthew Minerd, Byzantine seminary professor, discuss how prayer texts and rites shape belief. They trace historical cases, translation debates, Eucharistic centrality, and how lectionaries and missals propose theology to the faithful. They recommend readings and urge praying with the church to see how liturgy frames theological imagination.
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Council Fathers Used Prayer To Refute Nestorius
- The Council response to Nestorius used longstanding prayer practice to adjudicate doctrine, pointing out constant liturgical use of Theotokos.
- Christopher Owens recalls bishops asking what the church had always prayed: Holy Mary, Mother of God, which rebutted Nestorius.
Read The Phrase As Active Practice
- Lex Orandi is active: the Latin participles stress the doing of praying and believing rather than static content, shaping theology as lived practice.
- Fr. Ambrose Dobrozsi and Christopher Owens note the participial force matters for theology and the life of the believer.
Catechism Affirms Liturgy As Expression Of Faith
- The Catechism codifies the principle: when the church celebrates sacraments she confesses the faith received from the apostles, hence lex orandi, lex credendi.
- Fr. Ambrose cites Catechism ¶1124 linking liturgy, sacraments, and the living tradition.
