Performance as locus theologicus: an attempt at synthesis

ABSTRACT: The aim of this presentation is to demonstrate the theological potential of the concept and practice of performance. It will serve as a metaphorical model for theology. Starting from a definition of performance, it will be shown that its characteristics such as the pursuit of synthesis and the bringing together of opposites, the capacity for integration and interaction with the context, based on its fundamental anthropological dimension, offer a new approach to theological themes. We will present two of them: Incarnation and Paschal Mystery. The configurations of the performance components, while offering new insights into these themes, at the same time open up a new perspective for Christology, with interesting implications for both liturgy and prayer.

Bernard Łukasz Sawicki (MA, STD), a Benedictine monk (Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec, Poland) musician and theologian, the associated professor at the Pontifical Atheaneum Sant'Anselmo in Rome, interested in the interaction between spirituality, theology, art and culture. Among his books: "The concept of the absurd and its theological reception in Christian monasticism", "The music of Chopin and the Rule of Saint Benedict".
https://www.anselmianum.com/it/docenti?task=renderScheda&id=33
https://anselmianum.academia.edu/%C5%81ukaszSawicki
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bernard-Sawicki-2