Designed as a general introduction to Christian liturgy, this book explores the meaning, history, and practice of worship in Eastern and Western, Catholic and Protestant traditions. Its chapters cover the theology of worship, the historical development of Eucharist and the Prayer Offices, the lectionary and customs of the church year, other sacramental rites, and the use of music and the arts. As such, it is a perfect textbook for students seeking to understand the basics of liturgical worship, as well as a reliable guide for worship leaders.

The Church of Sweden is the largest Lutheran church body in the world, with 6.5 million members that represent about 70% of the Swedish population. The Meaning of Christian Liturgy illuminates and explains the changes that have occurred in the liturgy of the Church of Sweden from 1980 to 2000. In the process, this volume asks a number of questions of immense importance not only within Sweden but also for Christian churches in the English-speaking world, including: How does participation in a liturgy make clear what "church" is about? What does liturgical participation say about who or what God is and about the community's encounter with God? How have churches lived with the changes and renewals introduced in the twentieth century? How does the church building shape worshipers' ideas of God and of church? Contributors: Torbjrn Axner Oloph Bexell Sven-Erik Brodd, Gordon W. Lathrop Karin Oljelund Boel Hssjer Sundman Gunnar Weman

Presenting new insights into the history and interaction between Jewish and Christian liturgy and worship, the various contributions offer a deeper understanding of the identity of Judaism and Christianity. It addresses issues such as: – Is the Eucharistic Prayer a ‘Berakha’ and what information is available for the reconstruction of the history of the Jewish ‘Grace after Meals’? – How does Jewish liturgy rework the Bible, and are Christians and Jews using similar methods when they create liturgical poetry on the basis of a biblical text? – Which texts of the Cairo Genizah are of direct importance for the history of Christian liturgies, and are Christian creeds in fact Prayers or Hymns? – What does it mean that both Jews and Christians recite Isaiah's "Holy, Holy, Holy" at important points in their respective liturgies? Questions like these brought together scholars and specialists from different disciplines to share their recent insights at a conference in Aachen, Germany, and to offer the reader a fascinating discourse on a broad range of aspects of Jewish and Christian liturgies.

In line with a profound theological understanding of liturgy as the Church at prayer (ecclesia orans), the focus of this Element is the variegated ways in which Christians address, turn to, and worship God in their central rituals and celebrations. Surveying a representative sample of official liturgical sources from different Christian Churches, the question is asked how 'pure' the monotheism expressed in them is. For one could argue that there is some ambiguity involved, especially with respect to (i) the peculiar position of Christ, the Son of God, and God the Father in liturgical prayers, and (ii) regarding the veneration of the saints. The essential key to unlock this complex and multi-layered reality is a meticulous study of the essential doxological nature of Christian liturgy, both from a phenomenological point of view and on the basis of fine textual analyses.