In Christianity , worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. One is proskuneo "to worship" which means to bow down to God or kings. Throughout most of Christianity's history, corporate Christian worship has been liturgical , characterized by prayers and hymns , with texts rooted in, or closely related to, the Scripture , particularly the Psalter ; this form of sacramental and ceremonial worship is still practiced by the Roman Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , and Anglican churches, as well as some Protestant denominations such as Lutheranism and Methodism. In Evangelicalism , worship is viewed like an act of adoration of God , with a more informal conception. The term liturgy is derived from the Greek leitourgia meaning "public service" and is formed by two words: "laos" people and "ergon" work , literally "work of the people". Responsorial prayers are a series of petitions read or sung by a leader with responses made by the congregation. Set times for prayer during the day were established based substantially on Jewish models , and a festal cycle throughout the Church year governed the celebration of feasts and holy days pertaining to the events in the life of Jesus , the lives of the saints , and aspects of the Godhead. A great deal of emphasis was placed on the forms of worship, as they were seen in terms of the Latin phrase lex orandi, lex credendi "the rule of prayer is the rule of belief" —that is, the specifics of one's worship express, teach, and govern the doctrinal beliefs of the community. According to this view, alterations in the patterns and content of worship would necessarily reflect a change in the faith itself. Each time a heresy arose in the Church, it was typically accompanied by a shift in worship for the heretical group.


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The forms and types of worship are extraordinarily rich and varied. Three types may be distinguished: corporate exclusive worship; corporate inclusive worship; and personal worship. Exclusive corporate worship is worship that belongs to the group alone. Such exclusive groups may understand their distinct status over against other groups on the basis of a divine mission in the world e. Study of contemporary religious groups discloses many similarities of belief among these exclusive communities , and distinctions considered unique by the group may not be unique at all—but they are perceived to be unique. Among the exclusive types, the mystery religions e. An elaborate system of initiation brought the new member into the community. The community maintained its exclusiveness through the passing on of the secret lore to new members through rites designed to free the devotee from the hold of the material world and thus prepare the way for his ascent to the realm of the divine, from which he had been separated. Totemic societies are drawn and held together by the recognition of the significance of the animal or object that embodies and displays the holy in their midst.
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To save this word, you'll need to log in. These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'worship. Send us feedback. See more words from the same century Dictionary Entries near worship worseness worse off worser worship worshipable worship at the altar of worshipful. Accessed 27 Aug. Keep scrolling for more More Definitions for worship worship. Entry 1 of 2 : to honor or respect someone or something as a god : to show respect and love for God or for a god especially by praying, having religious services, etc. Entry 1 of 2 1 : deep respect toward God, a god, or a sacred object 2 : too much respect or admiration worship. Please tell us where you read or heard it including the quote, if possible. Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
A long-running argument exists over whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. The worship of some of these deities appears to have included orgiastic rituals: music, wine, sex. Some streams of Buddhism have the trappings of worship , rituals, and semi-divine beings, but others do not. The worship that holds you for a few hours a week becomes, then, the clue to that deep truth inside. He brought forward reasons for the worship of images, which the Christian worship pers of images subsequently adopted.