As It Is in Heaven: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Introduction to the Traditional Church and Her Worship

by Fr. Paul A. F. Castellano

Have you ever wondered why there are so many different ways for Christians to organize and worship? If you come from an evangelical church, do you puzzle over the practices in traditional liturgical churches -- why they do all the kneeling, sitting, standing, and everyone reciting the same thing at the same time? Do you sometimes feel there's something missing in your own worship service? If you attend a traditional church, do you understand why your church has a liturgy? Does it seem meaningless to you -- as if you're only going through the motions with little to no spiritual impact on your life? As It Is in Heaven , written by Father Paul A. F. Castellano, uncovers the answers to these and many more questions about the traditional church and the governmental structures that support it. As you read, you will gain deep biblical understanding about these structures, helping to enrich the foundations of your faith and give you a new appreciation for the traditions that have stood the test of time. About the Author Fr. Paul A. F. Castellano, MAR, MA, ThM, (ABD) PhD, is an Anglican priest in the United Episcopal Church of North America, which is an Anglican denomination in the Protestant English Reformation Tradition. He has taught at the middle school, university, and seminary levels. Fr. Paul is the Vicar-General of the Missionary Diocese of the West and currently resides in Southern California with his wife Benita and their two dogs, Buddy and Maya, and their cat, Felix.

Genres: Christian

316 pages, Paperback

Published January 28, 2021

Reviews

[Anthony Cirilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review comes much overdue, partly because of my many obligations but more especially because I have feared I could not do this book justice. I first read Fr. Castellano’s As It Is In Heaven as a library book, and was drawn through the whole work quickly as I was struck by the core message it relayed: That our model of worship should 1. Reflect heavenly worship as seen in Revelation and elsewhere in Scripture and 2. We should regard the Old Testament God who inspired and instructed tabernacle and temple worship as the same God who invites worship in the New Covenant of Christ. While these were not new ideas, the stark relief with which Fr. Castellano draws their implications compels careful consideration, and forms an impressive defense of something long on my heart: the importance of worshipping the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 96:9). Theology and practices of worship cannot be neatly separated - rather, as Castellano emphasizes in the preface, we need to be able to show how what we do in worship, as in other matters of faith, responds to what we see in Scripture - in the wholeness of its testimony.
The first chapter lays out an essential correction to a mistake in much of contemporary Christianity: the difference between the Judaizing which Paul faced in the New Testament versus the tendency to ignore how deeply the New Testament draws upon the Old and must be situated that way in every area of biblical study. Building on this point, the second chapter invites the reader to ask whether one’s worship space inspires the kind of awe at God’s character as could be seen in the tabernacle or temple spaces, or as can be seen today in the form of cathedrals. Because God’s eye is the beholder of beautiful worship (Castellano, 26) we cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer, asking God to manifest His will on Earth as it is in Heaven, and then ignore the implications of that prayer for the space in which we worship. Here he begins a refrain that connects much of the book: the pattern of worship is updated from Mosaic Covenant to Christ’s Covenant, but the transformation from Mosaic to Christological is built upon the same pattern of worship which ultimately flows from Heaven, which then receives detailed discussion in chapter 2. God’s view of worship is not linear from the time of Israel to the time of the Church, but rather is eternal in Heaven and receives temporal development: “Heaven was shown to Moses; it was this manifestation that Moses communicated and that prefigures the substance of the New Testament” (38). Liturgical worship privileges this objective truth over, but not in place of, the subjective response of the individual (56); we must remember that Christ cared about the physical space of the temple and that the notion of the Kingdom of Heaven is real and needs real manifestation in the earthly realm (60).
Naturally this leads to the question of authority in worship, a question with debates as old as the time of Cain and Abel (71). Chapters 4, 5, 7, and 9 especially delve into the complicated matter of authority in the church, and Fr. Castellano makes a compelling case that proper worship and proper ecclesiology cannot be divorced if the basis of Christian worship is conducted in the context of the Kingdom. Chapter six discusses the influence in particular of the synagogue on liturgical worship, particularly relevant to the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, and provides a crucial discussion in chapter 8 about the distinction between abolishment and fulfillment. Roughly speaking, if I fulfill the requirements for a PhD, do I abolish the habits involved in being a person who holds a PhD? No, rather: the work to receive the PhD set up a perspective which then shaped the conduct of my life. Likewise, Fr. Castellano contends, the fulfillment of the Law in Christ means that all of the Law points to Christ - this is how worship should then be modified, to reflect that fact rather than to scrub out any reminiscence of the Old Testament.
Naturally, the book will not convince all readers on all points, but the value of As It Is In Heaven goes beyond agreement with any specific point under debate and the overall question of what our paradigm of worship ought to be. On this point, of the fundamental pattern of worship flowing from Heaven and thereby shaping the ecclesiastical system which shapes Kingdom work that promotes such worship, I could not be more thoroughly in agreement with Fr. Castellano. Admittedly, I went into reading this book disposed to be in agreement as an Anglican priest, but I also learned much from it. In fact, after initially reading it as a library book, I bought my own copy and filled the margins with notes and took 13 pages of notes as I taught the class for the season of Advent in 2024. The discussion of the Episcopacy was the most academic element of the book: some readers confessed difficulty with absorbing all of the content on one go, and one attendee of the book study (a Presbyterian) became upset enough with the arguments about episcopacy as to stop attending. However, another individual, an Assemblies of God missionary and minister who was in attendance, upon seeing my visual representation of Fr. Paul’s arguments about the relationship between the Old Testament and New Testament priesthoods, pointed at the whiteboard and said, “That is the critical thing the modern church is missing today. Because we’ve lost hold of what Fr. Paul is saying, the beautiful worship of the Bible has become a mishmash, and our Lord never intended a mishmash.” Amen.
The paradigm shift the book recommends, I think, has value for anyone of any denominational affiliation, but can also help anyone to better understand the principles undergirding liturgical worship, as it did even for me as an already ordained Anglican minister. Even where the arguments may not persuade some good-faith readers, they bear consideration, and I believe this book stands to become a long-term reference point for debates about liturgy in years to come. Not only was the book itself of great value, but so were the resources it mentions: having found the book so valuable, I then went out and bought and read many of the sources to which Fr. Castellano has shared with me, and they have now become fixtures of my library and are already books I am quick to recommend. I should also add that, while it was certainly only one factor, after sitting through ten weeks of studying this book, a married couple in our parish were baptized in Christmastide. Praise God! This book will be useful resource for anyone looking to understand the biblical basis of liturgical worship, whether a veteran of the discussion or someone looking for a robust introduction to the topic. Because of Fr. Castellano’s use of productive reiteration, the novice will not lose his way; because of his use of incredible detail and erudition, the scholar will also find refreshing value. I pray this review encourages you to pick up this book and learn what it means to worship As It Is In Heaven.

[Lee Irons · Rating 3 out of 5]

An apologia for Anglican style worship, liturgy, episcopal church government, and apostolic succession. The author attempts to argue that Anglicanism isn’t just a beautiful and helpful tradition allowed by the Bible but is actually the apostolic pattern revealed in the Bible. On this approach, all sorts of improbable things have to be argued, such as the claim that Jewish synagogue worship was a continuation of temple worship, and that the apostles continued to worship in the synagogue. Then there is the troublesome Jerome passage on elders and bishops that has to be explained away. Super tough arguments to make, and I don’t think the author pulled it off.

[Nancy Mcdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the description of worship: don't be afraid of Anglican worship but embrace it! Finished over a week ago, maybe first week of March, 2021