It was written for the 1982 Plenary Session of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Lima, Peru and reflects the theological convergences of the meeting's Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM) document as expressed in liturgy.
Another goal of the liturgy is to allow as many Christians as possible to take part in a joint celebration of the Eucharist.
For example, one female Oriental Orthodox member of the Central Committee of the WCC was discredited by her church for having taken part in the celebration of the Lima Liturgy as reader and was ultimately forced to resign.
[4] The principal drafter of the liturgy was Max Thurian,[5] who had also played a key role in the group that produced BEM.
[6] Ultimately, Thurian agreed to draft the liturgy, seeking to write it based on traditional liturgical documents that he thought corresponded to the theology of BEM.
[7][8] Unlike BEM, it was not sent for comments to WCC member churches or approved by the Faith and Order Commission.
"[16] Myra Blyth concludes: "The feeling generated in Vancouver was that worship has more power to unite and reconcile than do documents and negotiations.
[20] According to Geoffrey Wainwright, "its popular reception is at least an indication of the felt need for an instrument whereby a common faith can be confessed, celebrated, proclaimed, and taught together.
"[22] There have, however, also been criticisms of the Lima Liturgy, from Catholics, the Orthodox and Protestants and,[19][23] according to Frieder Schulz, "Talk of an 'ecumenical Mass' is premature".
[19] One female Oriental Orthodox member of the Central Committee of the WCC, Mary Thomas, was discredited by her church for having taken part in the celebration of the Lima Liturgy as reader and was ultimately forced to resign.
[19] Crawford and Best point out the irony in the fact that "although the Lima liturgy has been the subject of critical study and comment by theologians and liturgists, the Faith and Order Commission itself has yet to engage in any sustained reflection on or revision of one of its most widely known products.
[26] The Kyrie and Gloria have been particularly rich since the Vancouver and Canberra meetings, although in Thurian's original text they are, according to Martien Brinkman, "wanting".
[15] The Offertory draws from the Jewish roots of Christianity by taking the form of a berakhah (thanksgiving prayer) grace said before a meal.
[27] The Offertory not only gives thanks for the bread and the wine, as is common across liturgies, but also includes a prayer derived from the liturgical texts of the Didache that prays for the unity of the Christian Church and the coming of the Kingdom.
[29][22] The same interpretation can also be found in the wording of the first Epiclesis, which reads: "Behold, Lord, this eucharist which you yourself gave to the Church and graciously receive it, as you accept the offering of your Son whereby we are reinstated in your Covenant.
[21] Lathrop asks: Can the diverse lay and ordained leadership roles, so important to Christian assembly, be more clearly indicated?
Can the strongly thematic character of the prayer texts be avoided or reduced, yielding more attention to the always central yet perpetually changing theme of the scriptures of the day in relationship to our salvation in Christ?
"[4] Lathrop's solution is to move from the Lima understanding of text as the center of ecumenical liturgy to form (Ordo) as the common nexus.