Taizé worship refers to a style of Christian worship and prayer that originated in the 1940s in the French village of Taizé. It was developed by Brother Roger Schutz and other members of the Taizé ecumenical monastic community he founded there. Some key characteristics of Taizé worship include:
- Simple, repeated chants and songs – Short melodic chants and songs are sung repeatedly, often in various languages, to create a meditative atmosphere.
- Scripture readings – Brief scripture readings are interspersed with times of silence and reflection.
- Iconography and candles – Icons, candles, and other symbols are often incorporated to aid meditation and prayer.
- Silence – Extended periods of silence are observed to facilitate prayer and contemplation.
- Meditative pace – The entire service has an unhurried, peaceful pace aimed at calming and centering the soul.
- Ecumenical spirit – Taizé worship is intended to transcend denominational divides and unite Christians in meditative prayer.
- Personal prayer – Times of silent, personal prayer are offered, as well as spoken prayers led by a prayer leader.
- Simplicity – The worship space is kept simple, stripped of distractions, to aid focus on prayer.
- Instrumental music – Soft instrumental music, such as simple repeated motifs on piano or guitar, often provides a musical backdrop.
Taizé worship services can vary in specific details but generally last 30-45 minutes and follow a simple order including opening songs, scripture readings, silence, spoken and silent prayer, more songs, and a blessing at the end. The meditative songs sung are usually short chants, either from Scripture or other Christian sources, repeated over and over to reinforce an atmosphere of calm reflection. Icons, candles, dim lighting, kneelers, and other tactile symbols are used to engage the senses and deepen the contemplative experience.
The Taizé community views this worship style as a way to quiet the soul before God and open oneself up to hearing His voice through Scripture, song, and silent meditation. Their website describes Taizé worship like this: “Singing that continues in the silence of one’s heart when the singing has stopped, silence in which Christ’s word may be heard in all clarity, that is the spirit of prayer that is proposed in Taizé.”
Origins and History of Taizé Worship
The Taizé monastic community was founded in 1940 in the village of Taizé, located in the Burgundy region of France, by Brother Roger Schutz, a 25-year-old Reformed Protestant theology student. He established it as an ecumenical community committed to reconciliation and peace among divided Christians. The community began with a handful of brothers but grew over the decades and today numbers around 100 brothers from Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, and Catholic traditions who take vows of celibacy, simplicity, and hospitality.
From early on, the Taizé brothers developed a distinct style of meditative worship in their community chapel, centered on repetitive singing, silence, and prayer. As the Taizé community grew, their worship style attracted interest from youth pilgrims visiting the community. By the 1950s, Taizé was hosting international gatherings of thousands of young people who would spend days worshiping and praying in the Taizé style, studying the Bible, and discussing global issues from a Christian perspective. The community’s commitment to unity and reconciliation resonated with post-war youth.
Brother Roger authored songs and chants that became well-known Taizé worship standards, such as “Jesus Remember Me” and “Wait for the Lord.” The community produced recordings of these songs that allowed the Taizé style to spread globally through youth ministry. Today, Taizé-style worship is used by churches and campus ministries of many Christian denominations around the world.
Praise, Worship, Meditation, or Prayer?
Taizé worship blends elements of praise, worship, meditation, and prayer into a unique contemplative experience. The singing of short chants helps believers enter God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving. Singing Scripture reinforces biblical truth. Times of silence and reflection cultivate meditative attitudes and inward focus. Spoken prayers give voice to petitions and intercession. The entirety of the service is viewed as an act of worship opening one’s spirit to communion with the Spirit of Christ. Participants are encouraged to listen prayerfully for God’s voice throughout the service.
While Taizé worship borrows contemplative practices from various monastic traditions, both Eastern and Western, it is intended not for monks but for ordinary lay Christians. The Taizé community wanted to take the meditative stillness and depth of monastic prayer and make it accessible and impactful for modern people accustomed to noise, distraction, and busyness.
Criticisms and Concerns About Taizé Worship
Some evangelical and Protestant Christians have expressed cautions or objections about Taizé worship related to its use of repetitive chanting, contemplative silence, and sensory symbols. Specific concerns include:
- Repetitive chanting can induce mesmerizing or hypnotic effects.
- Prolonged silence and meditation techniques may lead to subjective spiritual experiences not rooted solely in God’s Word.
- Icons, candles, etc. are visual tools borrowed from Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
- Taizé’s inclusive ecumenism joins Protestants and Catholics in spiritual practices without resolving underlying doctrinal differences between traditions.
More conservative Protestants argue the Bible neither models nor instructs the kind of meditative, chant-based worship style developed at Taizé. They believe silence, repetition, and other contemplative techniques potentially make people vulnerable to spiritual deception and undermine the centrality of Scripture. Taizé’s use of varied liturgical symbols and its ecumenical breadth also raise concerns that it blurs important doctrinal distinctions between Protestantism and other traditions.
Defenders of Taizé counter that meditative prayer and singing have long been part of Christian heritage, practiced by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants alike. They note Taizé worship’s emphasis on praying Scripture helps root it in biblical truth versus subjective experience. Participants are urged to test all contemplative promptings against God’s authoritative Word. Proponents argue Taizé worship adheres to historic Christian practice even as it renders that tradition more accessible for today’s believers.
Evaluating Taizé Worship in Light of Scripture
Given the concerns many conservative evangelicals have with Taizé practices, it is reasonable to ask whether a worship style involving repetitive chanting, extended silence, imaginative prayer, and other contemplative activities is consistent with Scripture’s teaching on worship that is holy and pleasing to God. Several biblical principles can guide this evaluation:
- All worship practices must align fully with revealed truth about God and His will in Scripture (John 4:24).
- Our affections and intellect should be engaged in worship (Mark 12:30).
- Worship should strengthen Christ’s followers in sound doctrine and holy living (Titus 2:1).
- Worship traditions not forbidden in Scripture are allowable but not obligatory (Romans 14:1-23).
- Guard against practices that may open your mind to dangerous spiritual influence (2 Corinthians 11:3-4).
- Avoid whatever divides believers or causes others to stumble (Romans 14:13, 21).
In keeping with these principles, Scripture neither forbids nor requires the elements of Taizé-style worship. The repetitive singing is similar to Psalm 136, which 26 times repeats “His steadfast love endures forever.” Silent reflection is modeled by Jesus’ own practice (Mark 1:35) and Solomon’s counsel (Ecclesiastes 5:2). Candles and other symbols were part of Old Testament worship and are never condemned in the New Testament. Yet excesses even of permissible practices can be unwise or dangerous. Overall, Christian wisdom suggests both freedom and caution regarding meditative traditions like Taizé.
The content and themes of Taizé songs and prayers, if consistent with Scripture, seem to satisfy the biblical requirement for worship that reveals God truthfully. Times of silence, chanting, or contemplation of symbols like candles or icons are only beneficial, however, insofar as they engage the mind and heart to focus on biblical truth versus imagination or sensory experiences alone. Some people may have personalities and cognitive styles better suited to rote chanting or visual symbols, while others engage more easily with study, preaching, or verbal prayer. If the symbols and repetitive songs become empty ritual rather than authentic spiritual engagement, they fall short of true worship.
Regarding ecumenism, Taizé’s intention to unite Christians across traditions is good, but sharing spiritual practices without resolving core doctrinal differences can also compromise biblical truth. Even well-intentioned ecumenism must be careful to avoid undermining sound doctrine or potentially deceiving less-mature believers, which would violate other scriptural principles.
For these reasons, mature believers able to test subjective promptings and separate helpful practices from unwise ones may freely participate in Taizé-style worship if they find it beneficial to actual communion with Christ. The same freedom may not apply equally to new believers or Christians with less discernment regarding spiritual sources, who therefore need guidance to worship in ways that are biblically safe as well as spiritually engaging. As with many matters where Scripture does not dictate a single approach, wisdom and mutual patience are needed, along with liberty for each believer to follow their own conscience under the Spirit’s guidance (Romans 14:5).
Key Bible Passages Related to Taizé Worship Components
Repetitive Singing/Chanting
“Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.” (Psalm 30:4)
“Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!” (1 Chronicles 16:8-9)
“Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.” (James 5:13)
Silent Meditation
“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.” (Psalm 62:1)
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
Scripture Readings
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)
“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13)
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)
Ecumenical Unity
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27)
Guarding Against Spiritual Deception
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
“The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1)
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)
Practical Tips for Participating in Taizé Worship
For Christians interested in taking part in Taizé worship in a thoughtful and self-aware manner, keeping these practical tips in mind may help them maximize the potential spiritual benefits:
- Prepare your heart in advance through prayer and reflection on Scripture.
- Don’t simply follow rituals mindlessly but actively focus on praising and loving God.
- Engage your mind in the lyrics and themes of the songs and chants.
- During silence, meditate purposely on biblical truths versus passively emptying your mind.
- Reflect on the love of Christ and listen for His Spirit versus chasing subjective spiritual experiences.
- Test any spiritual promptings against the truth of God’s Word and reject those not rooted in Scripture.
- See the repetition and routine as a way to open your heart to God, not as having spiritual value in itself.
- Maintain a reverent alertness to the potential of deceptive spiritual influences.
Taizé-style worship offers both potential benefits and some cautions to weigh carefully. Most Christians would benefit from learning historic spiritual disciplines that help tune one’s heart to God. But discernment is needed so that the practices actually serve to make Scripture and Christ the unrivaled focus versus being unhelpful rituals or even openings to spiritual confusion. Approached humbly and thoughtfully, Taizé worship may assist people seeking a deeper experience of communion with the Lord in stillness, simplicity, and meditation on His eternal truth.