CHAPTER 4: MONASTIC VOCATION WITH ECUMENICAL IMPLICATIONS 145 Both communities are open to the gifts of different churches. In Taizé, this is immediately visible in the Church of Reconciliation. The community stresses the significance of Holy Scripture by the habit of turning toward the Gospel when it is read from the ambo, a little rite in which all present turn around in their places in order to physically face in that direction. Again, it is present in the daily Bible introductions. Catholic Brother TC adds that he has learned a great deal from the gifts of the Reformation: When I came of course, I discovered... ... the ecumenical movement more through... yeah, through a lived experience, through the beauty of the prayer and the hymns. I loved the Huguenot hymns... and the Lutheran hymns, the love of the word of God, that was very striking, and knowledge also of the word of God, that people... ... the brothers had this strong legacy from the Reformation, that... the Bible is very central, so that was... that was something that became important for me, and uh... ... the... bible, getting to know the Bible more, and getting... ... to ... into a relationshipwith Scripture, and Christ through Scripture. And the hymns, as I said the hymns were... very important.353 The gift of the Eucharist as found in the Catholic tradition is present through its daily celebration and through the central place of altar and tabernacle. Also, the many icons in the church indicate the community’s efforts to integrate Orthodox elements in its spirituality, as does the distribution of blessed bread to those who cannot or wish not to receive Communion. And, of course, the music of Taizé shows the rich variety of Christian piety in the texts as well as in the melodies. Bose receives the theological wisdom of various traditions through symposia and conferences on Protestant and Orthodox spirituality and on church architecture. During the midday prayers, texts of Church Fathers and saints, both from the East and the West, or of prominent (contemporary) theologians from different traditions, are read aloud. BG, for whom the possibility to pray together is very dear, says: It’s possible to pray together all the days. In our prayers we have many things taken by different churches. And all the Bible is common for all of us, it’s not the problem. And yes, in taking also from the Orthodox Church text written here, taken by other things, texts of 353 TC-1,4b.
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