Liturgical Diversity And Roman Influence

While there is a common core to historic Western Christian liturgy, there is also considerable diversity. Rites differed from region to region and from place to place. Regional improvisations on the basic framework of the liturgy led eventually to a proliferation of liturgical books in the Western church, with much variation even within the same regional traditions. In origin, evolution, and spirit, the liturgical tradition of the Western church is complex and diverse. What is known as the Roman rite was only one of several Western rites which existed between the fourth and sixteenth centuries; the others are known as the North African, Ambrosian, Spanish, Gallican, and Celtic rites. In matters of worship, local churches were free to develop their own forms, and often did so in conjunction with the churches of the same region under the authority of the metropolitan bishop who served as primate of the region or "diocese" as it was termed in the Roman Empire. The bishop of Rome, as p…