Ancient Christian Worship: Early Church Practices in Social, Historical, and Theological Perspective

by Andrew B. McGowan

Overview

An Important Study on the Worship of the Early Church

This introduction to the origins of Christian worship illuminates the importance of ancient liturgical patterns for contemporary Christian practice. Andrew McGowan takes a fresh approach to understanding how Christians came to worship in the distinctive forms still familiar today. Deftly and expertly processing the bewildering complexity of the ancient sources into lucid, fluent exposition, he sets aside common misperceptions to explore the roots of Christian ritual practices—including the Eucharist, baptism, communal prayer, preaching, Scripture reading, and music—in their earliest recoverable settings. Now in paper.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801097874
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/05/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Andrew B. McGowan (PhD, University of Notre Dame), an Anglican priest, is president and dean of the Berkeley Divinity School and J. L. Caldwell McFaddin and Rosine B. McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut.

Table of Contents

Contents
1. Introduction: The Origins of Christian Worship
2. Meal: Banquet and Eucharist
3. Word: Reading and Preaching
4. Music: Song and Dance
5. Initiation: Baptism, Anointing, and Foot Washing
6. Prayer: Hours, Ways, and Texts
7. Time: Feasts and Fasts
Epilogue: The Making of Christian Worship
Indexes