Liturgical Non-Sense: Negative Hermeneutics as a Method for Liturgical Studies Based on Liturgical Case Studies of Holy Saturday

In this work, Edda Wolff analyses how a more subtle and nuanced understanding of ‘non-sense’ can enhance the study of liturgy and its contribution to a broader theological discourse. The study is divided into two parts: the first outlines the methodological starting point for a dialogue between liturgical studies and philosophical-hermeneutical approaches, while the second applies negative hermeneutics to analyse the liturgy of Holy Saturday through case studies. The choice of Holy Saturday reflects the broader interest of the work in the ‘in-between’ spaces, the gaps, paradox and negative structures within liturgy. Holy Saturday thus serves as a paradigm for the liturgical engagement with the experience of a loss of sense, as well as the formal lack of pre-given structures. On this basis, the author reflects on the methodological challenges and potential of a negative liturgical hermeneutics for the dialogue with other theological subjects.