Adrien Nocent

Adrien Nocent (2 February 1913 – 9 December 1996) was a Belgian monk and liturgical theologian.
Biography.
Nocent was born in Charleroi and entered Maredsous Abbey at the age of 19, making solemn vows in 1933. He was ordained as a priest in 1938. He studied theology at Keizersberg Abbey (French "Mont César") near Leuven, Belgium, where the Liturgical Movement began. Among his teachers were Bernard Capelle (1884–1961) and Bernard Botte (1893–1980). 
Nocent entered military service before his ordination and later during the Second World War when he served in a military hospital and later a military chaplain. 
Beginning in 1952, Nocent lectured at the "Centre international Lumen Vitae" in Brussels. He continued his studies at Louvain University and in Paris at the École pratique des hautes études. He finished his degree there in 1959 with a thesis under the direction of Gabriel Le Bras (1891–1970) and titled "Un Fragment de sacramentaire de Sens au Xe siècle." "La liturgie baptismale de la province ecclésiastique de Sens dans les manuscrits du IXe au XVIe siècles." He then went to Rome to teach at the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm. Together with Salvatore Marsili (1910–1983) Cipriano Vaggagini (1909–1999), and Emmanuel Lane, he founded the Pontifical Liturgical Institute.
Nocent became a consultant to the Second Vatican Council in 1964 and in 1969, consultant to the Congregation for Divine Worship. In 1983, he co-founded the liturgical periodical "Ecclesia orans" with Anscar Chupungco. For decades, Nocent was a sought-after speaker on the topic of post-conciliar liturgical reform. He spoke in Italy, Canada, the United States, Cameroon, Senegal and Togo. Many bishops considered him to be an eminent specialist in his field.
Nocent was an amateur violinist and Vice President of the Arthur Grumiaux Foundation.
Works.
In his works, Nocent approached the New Testament from the standpoint of sin and reconciliation, which he both considered as omni-present in the text. For instance, he identified three different interpretations of classical passages in Matthew that are related to the liturgy and the sacrament of penance: juridical, ecclesiological, and demonological. He explained how the juridical interpretation, which holds that the supreme and universal power over sin in the church has been given to Peter and to the apostolic college, is no longer accepted.
Nocent also opposed the moderate and balanced position of the Vatican Council. In a book called "L'avenir de la liturgie" published in 1961, he criticized the mentality that permeated after the "Sacrosanctum Concilium". This involved what he called as attitude that favored iconoclasm and the burning of old idols. Nocent described it as too impatient and based on a view that confused idle routine with legitimate tradition.
During the Second Vatican Council, he was a member of the committee for the revision of the Lectionary. In this capacity, he participated in the move for the massive introduction of Scripture in the missal, citing that it constituted a renewal in the Church's liturgical reform. His position on liturgical movement has also been described as "validism", which holds that what matters is not that the liturgical ceremonies have meaning or the sacraments express grace which they signify. For Nocent, all that matters is for the sacraments to be valid, for the formulas to be correct, and for the gestures to be rubrically exact. This, for him makes worship mechanically efficient, resulting to less trouble for worshippers receiving grace. The position aimed to address the interior and subjective worship. 