Worship In Rome

It's hard to get anywhere in Rome without coming across a church, so it's not too hard to find a place to attend worship. However, if your primary language is anything other than Italian and if you're anything other than Roman Catholic, things get a lot harder. Since we're English-speaking Protestants, we're trying to find a worship community where we feel like we belong, at least for the time being.

Last week, we attended church at Santa Susanna, the official American National Catholic church in Rome as designated by the Pope. They are funded neither by American nor Italy, but instead exist under permission of the church to function as if they were an American church. Their facility is a beautiful, ancient building, with parts dating back as far as 280 AD. Their service was very contemporary, using Marty Haugen among other more recent liturgical artists. The sermon was simple, straight-forward, and accessible.

This past Sunday, we decided to try something a little different and went to St. Paul's Inside The Walls, the American Episcopalian church in Rome. They are the first non-Catholic church built inside Rome. Interestingly enough, this service was more high church than the Catholic church the week previous; this probably owed partly to the Bishop's attendance at worship that day. His sermon was extremely calm (almost to where I tuned him out) and very intellectual. The church itself was a sort of modern take on ancient art, with gorgeous mosaics and sculpture inside.

What struck me most about these two congregations is the way they defined themselves within their contexts. Santa Susanna certainly has the advantage by way of its denomination, since the Catholic church has much more support within the country. However, it seemed to also have a stronger sense of integration; instead of defining itself against its surroundings, it placed itself strongly within it. It embraces its ancient history while remaining extremely accessible for all sorts of visitors (since even its regular worshiping body doesn't come close to those visiting) regardless of language or even denomination.

St. Paul's, on the other hand, didn't seem to strike the same balance. Their bulletin opened with Luke 4:24, as if we worshipped in Rome because we weren't welcome at home. Even the closing hymn made explicit mention of the call for evangelists to save Europe, as Paul did once before and we were to do now. Instead of helping us feel welcomed and adjusted, it reminded us so strongly of the foreignness of our surroundings.

Churches in general are out-of-place no matter where they land. Therefore, a congregation must decide how it will adapt and adjust in light of the peculiarities of whatever city (or lack thereof) it finds itself in. English-speaking and/or Protestant churches here in Rome seem to drive that point home. I look forward to continuing participation in their services and seeing how they find sense of self and strong proclamation in this sometimes challenging context.