Poet, novelist, dramatist, polemicist, and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini continues to be one of the most influential intellectuals of post-war Italy. In Pasolini: The Sacred Flesh, Stefania Benini examines his corporeal vision of the sacred, focusing on his immanent interpretation of the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation and the "sacred flesh" of Christ in both Passion and Death as the subproletarian flesh of the outcast at the margins of capitalism. By investigating the many crucifixions within Pasolini's poems, novels, films, cinematic scripts and treatments, as well as his subversive hagiographies of criminal or crazed saints, Benini illuminates the radical politics embedded within Pasolini's adoption of Christian themes. Drawing on the work of theorists such as Ernesto De Martino, Mircea Eliade, Jean-Luc Nancy, Alain Badiou, Giorgio Agamben, and Slavoj Zizek, she shows how Pasolini's meditation on the disappearance of the sacred in our times and its return as a haunting revenant, a threatening disruption of capitalist society, foreshadows current debates on the status of the sacred in our postmodern world.

Thomas G. Long, one of America's most trusted and thoughtful pulpit voices, provides a much needed theological and cultural critique of today's Christian funeral. Long begins by describing how the Christian funeral developed historically, theologically, and liturgically and then discusses recent cultural trends in funeral practices, including the rise in number of cremations and memorial services. He describes the basic pattern for a funeral service, details options in funeral planning, identifies characteristics of a "good funeral," and provides thoughtful guidance for preaching at a funeral.

But Long also notes a disturbing trend toward funeral services that seem theologically right and pastorally caring but actually depart from the primary aims of the Christian funeral. Long argues that the proper Christian funeral should be constructed around the metaphor of the deceased as a saint traveling on a baptismal journey toward God, accompanied by the community of faith on "the last mile of the way." He cautions that the cultural conditions for maintaining this view are under stress and a new, less theological and less satisfying metaphor that focuses on the mourner has begun to erode the Christian view. He contrasts the ancient grand community drama with today's trend toward body-less memorial services that focus primarily on the living and grief management, arguing that this is a loss for the church and calling for the church to reclaim the classic metaphor.

Most Christians would say that baptism is the one sacrament Christians of al denominations share, that it is the source of ecumenical unity among al Christian churches. But how true is that? Is there really one baptism," as we profess in the Nicene Creed? If we disagree about what baptism does, can we really say that baptism unites us?

To address this central question Susan Wood brings together the history and theology of baptism (systematic, sacramental, and liturgical), focusing especially on the divergent paths taken in the understanding of the sacrament since the Reformation. Founded not only in her study of theology but also in her years of participation in ecumenical dialogues, her perspective will illuminate this problem for readers and point the way toward deeper understanding.

"Susan K. Wood, SCL, is professor of theology at Marquette University. Active in ecumenical work, she serves on the U.S. Lutheran 'Roman Catholic dialogue, the U.S. Roman Catholic 'Orthodox Theological Consultation, the conversation between the Roman Catholic Church and the Baptist World alliance, and the international Lutheran 'Roman Catholic Dialogue. She is an associate editor of Pro Ecclesia and serves on the editorial advisory board of the journal Ecclesiology. In addition to numerous articles, she has published "Spiritual Exegesis and the Church in the Theology of Henri de Lubac "(Eerdmans, 1998), "Sacramental Orders" (Liturgical Press, 2000), and is the editor of "Ordering the Baptismal Priesthood" (Liturgical Press, 2003).""

John Chryssavgis explores the sacred dimension of the natural environment, and the significance of creation in the rich theological history and spiritual classics of the Orthodox Church, through the lens of its unique ascetical, liturgical and mystical experience. The global ecological crisis affecting humanity's air, water, and land, as well as the planet's flora and fauna, has resulted in manifest fissures on the image of God in creation. Chryssavgis examines, from an Orthodox Christian perspective, the possibility of restoring that shattered image through the sacramental lenses of cosmic transfiguration, cosmic interconnection, and cosmic reconciliation. The viewpoints of early theologians and contemporary thinkers are extensively explored from a theological and spiritual perspective, including countering those who deny that God's creation is in crisis. Presenting a worldview advanced and championed by the Orthodox Church in the modern world, this book encourages personal and societal transformation in making ethical and economic choices that respect creation as sacrament.

Building on his previous work on embodied liturgy, Frank C. Senn explores the relationship between the sacramental body and blood of Christ, the ecclesial body of Christ, and the body of the communicant. Drawing on the richness of the eucharistic traditions and his own life experiences, this book expands our understandings of the Eucharist to include pilgrimage to the altar (ad altare Dei), a life of gratitude (anaphora), cosmology and praise (preface and Sanctus), body and memory (anamnesis), Spirit and community (epiclesis), Trinitarian orthodoxy and world view (doxology), presence and union with Christ (communion), and initiation and reconciliation (fencing the table). It argues for use of a full eucharistic prayer to express a wider understanding of the Eucharist, including creation themes, an emphasis on the passion of Christ to connect the Eucharist to suffering humanity, an expansion of the fellowship dimension of the Eucharist to embrace the church in heaven and around the world, a recovery of Trinitarian praise, an ecumenical exploration of how we understand theologically the presence of Christ received bodily, and a reconsideration of the value of initiation in sacramental discipline and in the life of faith.

Considered by many to be one of the most influential German Pietists, August Hermann Francke lived during a moment when an emphasis on conversion was beginning to produce small shifts in how the sacraments were defined-a harbinger of later, more dramatic changes to come in evangelical theology. In this book, Peter James Yoder uses Francke and his theology as a case study for the ecclesiological stirrings that led to the rise of evangelicalism and global Protestantism. Engaging extensively with Francke's manuscript sermons and writings, Yoder approaches Francke's life and religious thought through his theology of the sacraments. In doing so, Yoder delivers key insights into the structure of Francke's Pietist thought, providing a rich depiction of his conversion-driven theology and how it shaped his views of the sacraments and the church. The first in-depth study of Francke's theology written for an English-speaking audience, this book supports recent scholarship in English that not only challenges long-held assumptions about Pietism but also argues for the role of Pietism's influence on the changing religious landscape of the eighteenth century. Through his examination of Francke's theology of the sacraments, Yoder presents a fresh view into the eighteenth-century ecclesiological developments that caused a rupture with the dogmas of the Reformation. Original and vital, this study recognizes Francke's importance to the history of Pietism in Germany and beyond. It will become the standard reference on Francke for American audiences and will influence scholarship on Lutheranism, Pietism, early modern German studies, and eighteenth-century history and religion.

From time to time, a rare monument will appear in some archives, filling the gap in previous research. Such a "discovery" was the identification of a hitherto unnoticed manuscript from Bratislava as a medieval missal associated with the cathedral in Lund. From the given period, it is the only complete manuscript that documents the liturgical and musical tradition of the Archdiocese of Lund. In the first part of the publication, the authors present the results of their research in the field of codicology, musical paleography, as well as musicological and liturgical analyses and comparisons. The second part consists of facsimiles with registers of songs, lessons, and prayers. This book aims to initiate further research into the medieval liturgy in Scandinavia and Europe as a whole.

Based on a constructive reading of Scripture, the apostolic and patristic traditions and deeply rooted in the sacramental experience and spiritual ethos of the Orthodox Church, John Zizioulas offers a timely anthropological and cosmological perspective of human beings as "priests of creation" in addressing the current ecological crisis. Given the critical and urgent character of the global crisis and by adopting a clear line of argumentation, Zizioulas describes a vision based on a compassionate and incarnational conception of the human beings as liturgical beings, offering creation to God for the life of the world. He encourages the need for deeper interaction with modern science, from which theology stands to gain an appreciation of the interconnection of every aspect of materiality and life with humankind. The result is an articulate and promising vision that inspires a new ethos, or way of life, to overcome our alienation from the rest of creation.