RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20834, 28 September 1929, Page 5

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

By Am flics. “ To work for ultimate objectives rather than immediate results, to sow seed in faith rather than hammer home facte, above all, to believe that the Spirit of God will bless with illumination and power in the after years ail faithful teaching, will require courage and patience. _ Anti the iirst thing we all must do is to go ourselves to school once more, to be with Jesus, and learn in a new way from Him.” RELIGIOUS DRAMA. Religious drama started in England in the Church, in its services, when portions of Scripture were represented for religious and moral edification. About the eighth century, A.D., there was a tendency to elaborate the ritual, by introducing melodies, sung to vowel sounds. Soon words- were written for. these vowel songs, the texts based on Scripture being known as “ Tropes.”. These “ Tropes " were sung by the choir at the beginning of mass, as the celebrants approached the altar. The twenty-eighth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, verses 1 to 7, was its earliest form; the corresponding portion in Mark’s Gospel being verses 1 to 6 of the sixteenth chapter. When transferred to the celebration of Easter, it fell easily into a dialogue between the parts of the choir; one semichoir took the part of the angel at the sepulchre; the other, the answer of the women.

By the tenth century the dialogue had developed into a little play, one of the arches of the church representing in a crude way the cave; besides the entrance lay a great stone, apparently just rolled away. Three of the clergy, dressed in long garments denoting womanhood, approached the opening, where they met another figure dressed in white, bearing ar| d holding a palm in his hand. an B e i sitting beside the tomb asks, Whom seek ye? ” The reply, “Jesus of iN azareth, which was crucified.” The angel tbem. “He is risen; He is not here; behold the place where they laid Him.” tufting the veil, he shows them the place, bare of the body, and only the clothes remaining in which the cross was shrouded. The three, taking the cloth, hold it up and sing, “ The Lord has risen from the grave, and then the Te Deum is sung with joy, and accompanied by the ringing of bells.

The same sort of. development took place with the Christmas trope, which dealt with the angelic choir, appearing to the shepherds. The cradle was placed near the altar, and- certain of the clergy, arrayed as shepherds, advanced singing a hymn. A boy, dressed as an angel, sang in - reply the Glad Tidings from position above. As the shepherds neared the cradle they were met by two priests, attendant at the divine birth. A dialogue followed, beginning with a question regarding the Babe. Another hymn was sung, and the play of the shepherds ends. To the play of the shepherds was added a , Trope,” representing the Three Kings of the East, guided by a star to the cradle that lay underneath. A sermon, supposed to be written by Augustine on the prophets, was used in the same way, the prophets coming forth in their costumes with appropriate cymbals, and reciting their prophecies. These furnished a kind of living picture book of sacred story, to strengthen the faith of unlearned people. Thus the . drama was born in the Church, and is being reborn in the Church now, pageantry becoming more and move m th e bauds of the skilled educator, a valuable method towards the development of a Christian character. THE PASSION PLAY OF OBERAMMERGAU. ~ The Passion Play of Oberammergau (a little village in the Tyrol) is the most remarkable religious survival in the world, these villages had their miracle cycles as early as the twelfth century. The F ass 'on Drama dates back to 1633, when the 30 years' war was ended, a plague threatened to wipe out this village as others had been. In their dire distress, when deaths were increasing daily, those who were unaffected cried to God. They cried aloud that if they were only spared they would repent of their sins, and to show their godly living, they would, evcrv K) years, present the drama of the death and resurrection of Christ. The plague was stayed, and next year, the first Passion Drama was given, and, except in the times of great war prevention, it was given every 10 years. In 1870, the time of the piay had changed to the first year xk e ? c “ The Franco-Prussian War began. The Christ came down from ™ to f erv ® in Owing to the 1920 to 1922 P 37 WaS postponed from The Passion Play Committee, with the Mayor as its official head, is made up of iu members, and meets every week during the year before the performance. For its responsibility lies in the choosing of the cast and appointing and directing all sub-committees. The whole tillage makes the play its chief interest. Of ten, one or more are re-cast for the same parts, having impersonated . the Biblical characters with distinction. In 1922, Anton Lang played the Christ part for the third time, haying taken tne part witn dignity and with spirituality unprecedented. The Virgin Mary—a young girl—is, of course, chosen anew each decade. A veteran ■playei, who has taken many prominent parte, once played Judas Iscariot, with such conviction, that he brought tears i v yes ,°r f audience, and so identified himself with the remorseful character that- he hanged himself gad had io be rescued. The actors devote themselves with religious zeal to the rehearsal of their parts The - been ,std ff vei i al v lmes; lts simplicity is due to the leading mental, moral, and Sorsentarger! ** _° f obGl ' ai ™gau-Father The play depicts the human side of the , of Jesua Christ, and falls into three divisions, the first division beHn«try of Christ into JerSsaand er| ding at His arrest in the GarKisioA ha V even acts - The division has also seven acts, and depicts ac ?. nes , fr °m the arrest to the Pconbri S-; ( W llat S Thc third division Wffb VT ‘ B the condemnation and ends acts th Keaurrection, occupying four • act is preceded by a tableau, and is so introduced that the thoughtful truth 1 th" r 1 be '^ e . to valise the fraud truth that Jesus Christ, the Son of God. for our salvation, i 8 the cen* 1 Thp ‘p - f tb i )I wtlo, , e aspired volume.” wiTh 1 9 P - aSSlon ,- Play has 600 Performers, with l-o.speaking parts. Three or four wifili r inn are , neede d for the tableaux, wliiJe 100 work out the details. The play h ° U * rS ’ and y** 3 is celebrated . oie parts are taken. Preparation is accompanied by special religions tS Vll, ? gers refuse fabulous prices to play elsewhere They refuse to place it on a commercial basis. “ The 30 pieces Tt ha 't € been rcf,l£ed with smiling rebuke. .Theatre owners, picture magnates have tried in vain to get the Stt! produce the Part or parts of it or the music, without success, and have gone away disappointed. The simple villagers go about their everyday woff andTo" ” \VhIf n n dOU p , u ° I . isher said of the play: i, „7 a revelation it is of thp mine of eSual—iM aC fhJT mUSica1 ’ dramatic, intel-ieciuai---m the human race, that a sfinrrTo mountain village can furrish under caption g fi urh ance v, a ? d witt adequate inspi'rlisuch a na/ fr/’ r^ pGtcnt to set forth men if , “ tinkers, tailors, ploughcanaefti thS*? ?"'! - the Hke ” is not is mn-H W 1 ] - ack ” 1 K to mankind. It is the guiding brain, the patient love; the careful education and the stimulation and inspiration of a great idea. THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPTION OF GREATNESS. " ‘‘ Whosoever will be great among vou shall be your minister servant, and whosocnei of you will be the chiefest shall be the servant of all.” With these wosds Jesus ushered in a fro 1 f,3tllve "''ll be different tiom the past because of an altered conception ot greatness. It is a new ideal, fnt !i eW I U P< i l s , make theil ' "ay slowlv inte the hearts of men. Even now it is auncult to accept this new principle* It ft U nu tl? a ®pire after greatness of the Christian sort. We find it easier to be a lord than to be a servant. We like to Ko iip, We do not enjoy coining down. We are lovers of self. It is not easy to serve others. Who is the greatest man in your church I" Who is the greatest man in your town? When you answer do yon take into account the words of Jesus? Are you in the habit of measuring men and ranking them according to the standards set up by Jesus. Do you want to be great? Do von want to grow in greatness? Are you achieving greatness? Arc you greater now than you were five years ago? Do yon hope to be greater next year than you were when the last year bewail? To he great after the stylo of Jesus is the only greatness worth achieving. "—Tha-S.S. Executive