An Anthology of Writings from 1483 to 1999 Firmly I Believe and Truly celebrates the depth and breadth of the spiritual, literary, and intellectual heritage of the Post-Reformation English Roman Catholic tradition in an anthology of writings that span a five hundred year period between William Caxton and Cardinal Hume. Intended as a rich resource for all with an interest in Roman Catholicism, the writings have been carefully selected and edited by a team of scholars with historical, theological, and literary expertise. Each author is introduced to provide context for the included extracts and the chronological arrangement of the anthology makes the volume easy to use whilst creating a fascinating overview of the modern era in English Catholic thought. The extracts comprise a wide variety writing genres; sermons, prayers, poetry, diaries, novels, theology, apologetics, works of controversy, devotional literature, biographies, drama, and essays. Includes writings by: John Colet, John Fisher, Thomas More, Robert Southwell, Philip Howard, Edmund Campion, John Gother, John Dryden, Mary Barker, Alexander Pope, Richard Challoner, Alban Butler, John Milner, Elizabeth Inchbald, Nicholas Wiseman, Margaret Mary Hallahan, A. W. N. Pugin, John Henry Newman, Henry Edward Manning, Frederick William Faber, Bertrand Wilberforce, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Vincent McNabb, Hilaire Belloc, Maurice Baring, G. K. Chesterton, R. A. Knox, J. R. R. Tolkien, Caryll Houselander, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, John Bradburne, Cardinal Hume

An overview of the theologies of the eucharist leads on to a detailed exploration of the Berengarian debates of the eleventh century and the complex of eucharistic ideas subsequently developed. During the Romanesque period in France, and accelerated by a growing introspection and consciousness of self-identity, a penitential focus was given to eucharistic piety. Population increase and prosperity brought greater tithe income to the Church, allowing new discipline and religious regulation in respect of the sacraments. The aim of this book is to bring together aspects of the multi-faceted penitential-eucharistic devotion, as revealed in theological writings and Mass commentaries, in Gregorian reform, in heretical circles both clerical and popular and in works of art, so that the reader can contemplate, through a wider juxtaposition than that usually practicable in more detailed specialised scholarship, something of the mood of the period. Just as the new scholastic writings impressed by their innovative creativity, the best late eleventh- and twelfth-century art was astonishingly vital andthe comparison of art and textual works is central to the volume. Dr Elizabeth Saxon has recently retired from the staff of the Open University.

This volume offers the first critical edition of the vast Commentary on the Pentecostal iambic canon (traditionally ascribed to St John the Damascene) composed by Eustathius, archbishop of Thessalonica. The attribution of the hymn to the Damascene was, in principle, called into question by Eustathius himself, who eventually suggested to have it adopted into Damascene's paternity only out of ecclesiastical obedience. The Commentary is probably the last text Eustathius wrote. It can be regarded as the summa of his method of work, his style of exposition, his scholarly interests and literary tastes. Moreover, it can be read as the first Byzantine attempt to create a fusion between a method of work which originated from the exegesis of classical texts and the modes of theological interpretation connected in turn with liturgical experience and pastoral practice. The edition of the text is accompanied by three apparatuses, a complete range of indices, and exhaustive Prolegomena where the editors shed light on the Commentary as such - its genesis and date, its audience, its discussion of the traditional attribution, its sources - and on history of its manuscript tradition, with a special focus on the Constantinopolitan didaskaleion of Prodromos-Petra.

Elkeen van ons het ‘n rede waarom ons bid. Ons wil hê God moet ingryp in on lewens en in die lewens van ons geliefdes. Maar soms is Hy stil. Waar laat dit ons? Doen ons iets verkeerd? Het Hy dalk nie gehoor toe ons bid nie? Hoekom lyk dit asof sommige mense se gebede ‘n groter uitwerking het as ons s’n? Dan raak ons moedeloos en gee moed op, ons hou op met bid. Ons hou op om juis daardie wapen te gebruik wat God aan ons gegee het sodat ons nie moedeloos sal word nie.

As jy enigsins in gebed belangstel, wil jy sien dat gebed werk. Dit is die doel van hierdie boek. Wanneer ons ontdek dat gebed nie net behels om vir God dinge te vra nie, maar ‘n vennootskap met Hom is, gaan daar vir ons nuwe moontlikhede oop. Ons is God se seuns en dogters, ons het die gesag van Jesus Christus ontvang en ons het ‘n groter rol om te speel in gebed as wat ons ooit kon dink,. Ons het ook veel groter mag.

Gebed wat berge versit is ‘n praktiese boek wat geanker is in jare se ervaring. John Eldredge bemoedig jou op ‘n sensitiewe, liefdevolle manier, maar sy raad is terselfdertyd reguit en leersaam, en sal jou stap vir stap leer hoe kragtige gebed werk. Daar is niks wat aan ‘n mens groter hoop gee as die idee dat dinge anders kan wees nie, en dat ons ‘n rol kan speel om daardie verandering te bewerkstellig. Met God, kan ons berge versit.

This book explores the liturgical experience of emotions in Byzantium through the hymns of Romanos the Melodist, Andrew of Crete and Kassia. It reimagines the performance of their hymns during Great Lent and Holy Week in Constantinople. In doing so, it understands compunction as a liturgical emotion, intertwined with paradisal nostalgia, a desire for repentance and a wellspring of tears. For the faithful, liturgical emotions were embodied experiences that were enacted through sacred song and mystagogy. The three hymnographers chosen for this study span a period of nearly four centuries and had an important connection to Constantinople, which forms the topographical and liturgical nexus of the study. Their work also covers three distinct genres of hymnography: kontakion, kanon and sticheron idiomelon. Through these lenses of period, place and genre this study examines the affective performativity hymns and the Byzantine experience of compunction.

The Book of Common Prayer runs like a golden thread through the history of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer is the first comprehensive guide to the history and usage of the original Book of Common Prayer and its numerous descendants throughout the world. It shows how a seminal text for Christian worship and devotion has inspired a varied family of religious resources that have had an influence far beyond their use in the churches of a single tradition.
The Guide is unique. In it, experts from every part of the globe and every branch of Anglicanism, as well as from the Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Methodist, and Unitarian traditions, provide an unparalleled examination of The Book of Common Prayer and its lineage. Much more than simply a history, this volume describes how Anglican churches at all points of the compass have developed their own Prayer Books and adapted the time-honored Anglican liturgies to their diverse local cultures. In the dozens of editions now in use throughout the world, the same texts--Daily Prayers, the Eucharist, Marriage and Funerals, and many others--resemble each other, and yet differ from each other in interesting ways. A brief look at "electronic Prayer Books" offers a glimpse at how this story of development and adaptation may continue in the Information Age.
From 1549 to the twenty-first century, The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer offers a fascinating journey through the history and development of a classic of world literature.
"A wonderful and useful book. This book asks all the important questions and provides essential material for those who are looking foranswers."
--(The Rev.) Christopher Webber, The Living Church
"It is well conceived physically, graced with both illustrations of historic prayer books and text boxes from the liturgies being discussed, which are a significant help to the reader. This authoritative guide to the Book of Common Prayer as it once was and has now become will well serve anyone interested in Anglicanism or the prayer book tradition."
--Christian Century
"The editors have assembled a roster of authors that is a veritable who's who among Anglican liturgical scholars. [They] have provided a service to the entire Communion by editing this worldwide survey of the Book of Common Prayer."
--Frank C. Senn, Anglican Theological Review
"Hefling and Shattuck have kept a tight hand; they have maintained narrative interest, eliminated overlaps, discreetly filled holes themselves. Excerpts from specimen prayers and documents are given in boxes on the page. In a big book, room has been found for thirty black-and-white illustrations, a chronology, a glossary, a bibliography, a good index, and a world map in the endpapers."
--John Whale, Times Literary Supplement
"Monumental and magnificent! This Guide makes clear why The Book of Common Prayer is both a religious and a literary masterpiece."
--Phyllis Tickle

This unique new book records and celebrates the extraordinary wisdom and genius of Frederick William Dwelly, the first Dean of Liverpool. His creativity in the use of poetry, of music, of the commissioning of art, and in the use of the Great Space of Liverpool Cathedral set him apart from his peers and won huge admiration from all quarters. Above all, his liturgy was always centred around the value of the human being and he fostered worship that was dignified, imaginative and relevant for the thousands of people who attended services. Peter Kennerley's lively account of the work of a true master of liturgy is set in the context of the story of the cathedral itself, to create this highly readable, beautifully illustrated and fascinating volume.

Creating Missional Worship explores how contemporary context and Anglican liturgical tradition can be fused together to create engaging and transformative worship. It addresses a key issue that has arisen in the wake of Fresh Expressions: to what extent should worship be shaped by the culture of the day, and how far can it stray from core patterns of worship and still be recognisably Anglican? Tim Lomax offers imaginative ideas and resources for finding freedom within a framework. Using the basic patterns of Common Worship, he outlines a contextual approach to creating worship that is incarnational, sacramental, Trinitarian and revelatory in today's language and cultural forms. He offers many examples and illustrations of how liturgy and contemporary culture can meet in fresh and challenging ways.

A short, simple and thoroughly biblical explanation of the meaning and purpose of Holy Communion, designed to appeal to all ages. Explains its biblical origins, the different ways in which Christians have understood it over the centuries, and its crucial place in the Christian life today.

The Holy Spirit has become an object of greater attention in Trinitarian theology, and indeed in the broader life of the Church, since the rise of Pentecostalism at the beginning of the twentieth century. Different understandings of the Holy Spirit have had different impacts on worship; here, Elizabeth Welch examines four surprising overlaps in the thought of two radically different traditions of the church about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and worship. These traditions are represented by John Owen, from seventeenth-century England, and John Zizioulas, from contemporary Greece. Welch explores in turn the common themes of the personal and relational nature of the triune God, the immediacy of the encounter with God through the Holy Spirit in worship, the role of the Holy Spirit in leading people into truth, and the transformative nature of worship that draws people into sharing God's purpose for the world. In each, the insights of Owen and Zizioulas shed new light on the ongoing debate in the Church today.

With the twelve-volume series Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes will cover all of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable occasions.The page layout is truly unique. For each lectionary text, preachers will find brief essaysA'aEURO"one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume will also contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of its contents. The printed volumes for Ordinary Time include the complementary stream during Year A, the complementary stream during the first half of Year B, the semicontinuous stream during the second half of Year B, and the semicontinuous stream during Year C. Beginning with the season after Pentecost in Year C, the alternate lections for Ordinary Time not in the print volumes will be available online at feastingontheword.net.

An edition of two unprinted Wycliffite texts, together with parallel text version of the first, composed between c. 1400-1414. This volume also includes a full discussion of the historical context and authorship.

With the twelve-volume series Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes will cover all of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable occasions.The page layout is truly unique. For each lectionary text, preachers will find brief essaysA'aEURO"one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume will also contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of its contents. The printed volumes for Ordinary Time include the complementary stream during Year A, the complementary stream during the first half of Year B, the semicontinuous stream during the second half of Year B, and the semicontinuous stream during Year C. Beginning with the season after Pentecost in Year C, the alternate lections for Ordinary Time not in the print volumes will be available online at feastingontheword.net.

The Westminster Confession is a foundational document for countless churches worldwide. Churches of all sizes claim it as their confession and hold to it with varying degrees of closeness. However how many people actually have any real knowledge of the Confession or feel it is only of relevance to their church leaders Joey Pipa's study book is the ideal tool for all Christians who seek to gain a better understanding of their faith through exploring an integral cornerstone of Reformed Christianity. Pipa has produced an accessible user friendly study aid which illuminates the Westminster Confession for all Christians showing it is not just a document for intellectual theologians but is as relevant in our own lives today as when it was written. Also includes The Westminster Confession of Faith The Larger Catechism The Shorter Catechism The Belgic Confession The Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dordt

One of the most common tasks undertaken by all clergy is ministry to the sick and to the bereaved. Containing the essentials for pastoral ministry in the community, Common Worship: A Pastoral Ministry Companion brings together services, prayers and readings for the most frequently encountered pastoral occasions in a portable, easy-reference volume. It includes liturgies, prayers and readings for: Emergency baptism Prayers for the sick and their families Holy Communion at home or in hospital Reconciliation services (not present in previous Pastoral Services or Ministry to the Sick volumes) Prayers with the dying and at the time of a death Prayers for use at home before and after a funeral Passages of Scripture and Psalms in both modern and Prayer Book versions This elegant and discreet volume - bound in soft-touch imitation leather with two ribbons - is the ideal size for keeping to hand in your pocket, bag or car glove compartment.

"'I love the Lord, He heard my cry, ' Deacon cries out as the newly gathered congregation, now seated in their pews, echoes his words in a plaintive tune". Thus begins the Devotional at St. John Progressive Baptist Church, one of many Afro-Baptist services that Walter Pitts observed in the dual role of anthropologist and church pianist. Based on extensive fieldwork in black Baptist churches in rural Texas, this is a major new study of the African origins of African-American forms of worship. Over a period of five years, Pitts, a scholar of anthropology and linguistics, played the piano at and recorded numerous worship services. Offering an extensive history of Afro-Baptist religion in the American South, he compares the ritual structures he observed with those of traditional African worship and other religious rituals of African origin in the New World. Through these historical comparisons, coupled with sociolinguistic analysis, Pitts uncovers striking parallels between Afro-Baptist services and the rituals of Western and Central Africa, as well as African-derived rituals in the United States Sea Islands, the Caribbean, and Brazil. Pitts demonstrates that African and African-American worship share an underlying binary structure: the somber melancholy of the first ritual frame and the joyful, ecstatic trance of the second frame, both essential to the fulfillment of that structure. Of particular interest is his discovery of the way in which the deliberate heightening and strategic suppression of "black English" contribute to this binary structure of worship. This highly original study, with a foreword by Vincent Wimbush, creates a memorable portrait of this vital, yet misunderstood aspectof African-American culture. A model for the investigation of African retentions in the diaspora, Old Ship of Zion will be of keen interest to students and scholars of cultural anthropology, religious studies, and African-American studies, as well as those concerned with the culture of the diaspora, the investigation of syncretism, folklore, and ethnomusicology.

This book, rather ironically, uses the written word to draw together threads from science, psychotherapy, scripture, and homiletics that can help us recognize and reclaim the power of oral-aural storying as a way of knowing. Story as a Way of Knowing will open your mind and imagination to new ways of thinking and knowing about yourself, others, your world, and your God.

Catechesis for Infant Baptism will help parishes design a catechetical process for the formation of a ministry team to share "our common treasure" of faith with parents preparing for their infant's baptism. This book is for pastors, pastoral staff, liturgists, DREs, and all those who prepare catechists to engage in this ministry. Ellen Marie Collins employs primary symbols, the Lectionary and prayer texts for infant baptism to offer a process for deepening the catechists' understanding of the Rite of Infant Baptism and to help them as they share their faith as a baptismal ministry team.

An unintimidating guide to understanding the Catholic Mass

Throughout the centuries, the liturgy of the Church has taken a variety of regional and historical forms, but one thing has remained constant: the Mass has always been the central form of Catholic worship.

"Catholic Mass For Dummies" gives you a step-by-step overview of the Catholic Mass, as well as a close look at the history and meaning of the Mass as a central form of Catholic worship. You'll find information on the order of a Mass and coverage of major Masses.Covers standard Sunday Mass, weddings, funerals, holiday services, and holy days of obligationProvides insight on the events, symbols, themes, history, and language of the MassTranslations of a Mass in Castilian and Latin American Spanish

If you're a Catholic looking to enhance your knowledge of your faith, an adult studying to convert to Catholicism, a CCD instructor, or a non-Catholic who wants to understand the many nuances of the Catholic Mass, this hands-on, friendly guide has you covered.

With the twelve-volume series Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes will cover all of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable occasions.The page layout is truly unique. For each lectionary text, preachers will find brief essaysA--one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume will also contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of its contents. The printed volumes for Ordinary Time include the complementary stream during Year A, the complementary stream during the first half of Year B, the semicontinuous stream during the second half of Year B, and the semicontinuous stream during Year C. Beginning with the season after Pentecost in Year C, the alternate lections for Ordinary Time not in the print volumes will be available online at feastingontheword.net.