Research

Toward a comparative frame for ritual texts

Research

Working paper summarising a workshop series on parallel structures in liturgical and ceremonial writing.

Comparative work on ritual language often stalls on terminology: what counts as “liturgy” across traditions differs enough to obscure genuine structural parallels. Our winter workshop tested a modest proposal—to begin from performative cues (address, repetition, gesture) rather than from doctrine.

Participants brought examples from three continents; the resulting matrix is provisional but already suggests patterns worth a dedicated volume. A fuller report will follow in the Institute’s working paper series.

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