The liturgical year is a relatively modern invention. The term itself only came into use in the late sixteenth century. In antiquity, Christians did not view the various festivals and fasts that they experienced as a unified whole. Instead, the different seasons formed a number of completely unrelated cycles and tended to overlap and conflict with one another. Drawing upon the latest research, the authors track the development of the Church's feasts, fasts and seasons, including the Sabbath and Sunday, Holy Week and Easter, Christmas and Epiphany, and the feasts of the Virgin Mary, the martyrs and other saints.

The liturgical year is a relatively modern invention. The term itself only came into use in the late sixteenth century. In antiquity, Christians did not view the various festivals and fasts that they experienced as a unified whole. Instead, the different seasons formed a number of completely unrelated cycles and tended to overlap and conflict with one another. Drawing upon the latest research, the authors track the development of the Churchs feasts, fasts, and seasons, including the sabbath and Sunday, Holy Week and Easter, Christmas and Epiphany, and the feasts of the Virgin Mary, the martyrs, and other saints.

Packed with dozens of charts, maps, and timelines, over 150 illustrations and photographs, and easy-to-understand summaries, this full-color, reproducible book on the feasts and celebrations of the Bible will help you understand key information at a glance! Passover. Yom Kippur. Feast of Tabernacles. Rosh Hashanah. With all the ceremonies, festivals, and observances in the Bible, it’s hard to keep track of them all and remember why they’re important to our faith! But what if you could distill all this key information across dozens of chapters of the Bible into one solid, easy-to-read handbook with images, charts, and diagrams? It’s never been easier to get an expert look at the traditions, fasts, and feasts of the Bible: with this guide, 5 leading authorities on biblical celebrations and disciplines will help condense their research and historical knowledge into key takeaways that you can learn quickly and easily: Solid overviews of the feasts, celebrations, and rituals kept in ancient Israel and the Old TestamentHistorical background of the feasts and holy days in the centuries leading up to the New TestamentSummary of modern-day traditions kept by Jews todayKey takeaways of how messianic communities observe biblical feasts and holidays todayPresentation of how non-messianic Christian congregations have adopted the feasts into liturgies, theologies, etc. God commanded Moses and the children of Israel to observe feasts and holy days as memorials to the great things that he had done in their lives. With expert research, clearly understand how these times of celebration are important to help us better see God’s complete picture and plan of redemption.

This book explores this rediscovery, first in the Roman Catholic Church and then in the Episcopal Church and other Churches of the Anglican Communion, and looks in particular at how both grassroots and official work played a role in renewing and restoring the liturgical celebrations of Holy Week.

Worshiping in Season guides ministers through a meaningful framework for ecologically oriented worship. Following the liturgical calendar and maintaining a Christocentric emphasis, Joseph E. Bush Jr. aligns earthly seasons with the liturgy and suggests readings, songs, and other acts of worship to amplify an ecologically informed Christology. The seasons of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost and Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany recall and reenact dramas about Jesus Christ that entail good news for the natural world and for the flourishing of earthly creatures. Bush examines the Christological and ecological importance of selections from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Mass and the Revised Common Lectionary that is used in ecumenical Protestant denominations. Creation and Christ weave together in concert, and Christian worship is seen as an opportunity to participate in both creation’s longing and in Christ’s saving work. Each chapter includes resources and suggestions for worship as well as biblical commentary and theological interpretation helpful to preaching. This book is a valuable companion in preparing for worship during the important seasons of the Christian year, giving voice to our faith in Christ and our hope for the Earth.

Uniquely authoritative and wide-ranging in its scope, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church is the indispensable reference work on all aspects of the Christian Church. It contains over 6,500 cross-referenced A-Z entries, and offers unrivalled coverage of all aspects of this vast and often complex subject, from theology; churches and denominations; patristic scholarship; and the bible; to the church calendar and its organization; popes; archbishops; other church leaders; saints; and mystics. In this new edition, great efforts have been made to increase and strengthen coverage of non-Anglican denominations (for example non-Western European Christianity), as well as broadening the focus on Christianity and the history of churches in areas beyond Western Europe. In particular, there have been extensive additions with regards to the Christian Church in Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, and Australasia. Significant updates have also been included on topics such as liturgy, Canon Law, recent international developments, non-Anglican missionary activity, and the increasingly important area of moral and pastoral theology, among many others. Since its first appearance in 1957, the ODCC has established itself as an essential resource for ordinands, clergy, and members of religious orders, and an invaluable tool for academics, teachers, and students of church history and theology, as well as for the general reader.

The seasonal liturgies at the heart of the Christian year have the ability to touch individuals and whole church communities in a way that changes lives. This companion and commentary to Lent, Holy Week and Easter offers advice on creatively using the church's most dramatic and transformative liturgies. It explores how commemorating Jesus’ passion and resurrection enables us to enter the familiar stories and discover their power to make us more Christlike, even in the painful events of life. Written principally for those who celebrate the liturgy – clergy, readers, local ministry teams, ordinands and others, it stretches from the beginning of Lent to the end of the Great Fifty Days, with a particular focus on Holy Week. For each event in this season, it: o Traces how it has been observed in Christian tradition o Explores how the authorized liturgies can be used creatively in different pastoral contexts o Reflects on the narratives theologically and in terms of their power to transform.

The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity is the first comprehensive reference book covering every aspect of history, culture, religion, and life in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East (including the Persian Empire and Central Asia) between the mid-3rd and the mid-8th centuries AD, the era now generally known as Late Antiquity. This period saw the re-establishment of the Roman Empire, its conversion to Christianity and its replacement in the West by Germanic kingdoms, the continuing Roman Empire in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Persian Sassanian Empire, and the rise of Islam. Consisting of over 1.5 million words in more than 5,000 A-Z entries, and written by more than 400 contributors, it is the long-awaited middle volume of a series, bridging a significant period of history between those covered by the acclaimed Oxford Classical Dictionary and The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. The scope of the Dictionary is broad and multi-disciplinary; across the wide geographical span covered (from Western Europe and the Mediterranean as far as the Near East and Central Asia), it provides succinct and pertinent information on political history, law, and administration; military history; religion and philosophy; education; social and economic history; material culture; art and architecture; science; literature; and many other areas. Drawing on the latest scholarship, and with a formidable international team of advisers and contributors, The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity aims to establish itself as the essential reference companion to a period that is attracting increasing attention from scholars and students worldwide.

“Bill Petersen makes a compelling case for re-imagining Advent. Readers will benefit from his wisdom as a scholar and priest, and congregations will find ample resources for an Advent season that helps them anticipate the fullness of the reign of God.” —Ruth Meyers, Church Divinity School of the Pacific

This book is part of the Preparing Parish Worship™ series.