Crossing Mental and Bodily Borders : Ritual Touching in the Context of Worship

Abstract

This article discusses seen and unseen boundaries and the possibilities of crossing them in the congregational and liturgical context. Our research method was collaborative autoethnography. The text is the result of a year-and-a-half-long process consisting of joint conversations, individual reflection, and conference presentations in a working group setting. We have not tried to blur our differences but to bring forward the richness of our experiences of lived Lutheran Mass and Orthodox liturgy. Our approach is more than a theoretical comparison of two Christian denominations and their liturgies, and is based on our experiences of Mass and liturgy and our discussions about them.