In Tradition and Innovation, Nathan Witkamp convincingly argues that Narsai of Nisibis’ (d. ca. 503) baptismal rite and mystagogy, as portrayed in his Liturgical Homilies 21-22, are much less dependent on Theodore of Mopsuestia (ca. 350-ca. 428) than scholars have previously supposed. Narsai’s baptismal rite turns out to represent a particular East Syrian liturgical tradition, independent of Theodore. In his mystagogy, Narsai uses Theodore’s Baptismal Homilies 1-3 as just one source among others to create the artwork he desires. This detailed comparative study contributes to our understanding of rite and mystagogy in Theodore and Narsai within the broader early Syrian context, as well as to the reception of Theodore by Narsai and the East Syrian Church.

Re-envisioning Theodore is the first comprehensive study of Theodore of Mopsuestia's biblical interpretation in his Catechetical Homilies. It challenges the common yet reductionist view of Theodore’s exegetical approach as “historical,” offering a balanced portrayal of this exegete. Theodore is not a slave of his interpretative methodology, and he may omit the exposition of the historical setting of the Bible and introduce elements not present in the biblical narrative.Re-envisioning Theodore also reveals Theodore’s previously little known exegetical ties with Pro-Nicenes and, through them, with Origen. For the first time, this book shows that his exegesis incorporates Greco-Syrian liturgical imagery.

The recent retranslation and US adaptation of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults can be seen as the work of the Second Vatican Council continuing to unfold, fulfilling the council’s mandate to draw up texts and rites so that they “express more clearly the holy things that they signify” (Sacrosanctum concilium, 21). In this present volume, A Pastoral and Theological Commentary on the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, fourteen authors—all scholars and pastoral ministers steeped in the Church’s living liturgical tradition—help us appreciate this unfolding more deeply by presenting the historical development and theological significance of the OCIA rites and texts, thus enriching our pastoral practice. Introductory essays present a contextual foundation, including discussion of historical and theological roots and an exposition of Christian Initiation: General Introduction Then, following the structure of the OCIA, eight chapters of commentary concentrate on each stage of Christian initiation, from acceptance into the Order of Catechumens through the Period of Mystoagogy, including chapters on the Rites for Particular Circumstances. Further commentaries on the musical enrichment of the rites and on the newly revised National Statues for the Catechumenate round out this panoramic, yet accessible, view of the rites of the OCIA. “This book is for anyone ministering in or studying Christian initiation. We believe it offers a deep understanding of the rites for both those long familiar with this process and those fairly new to it. For those who wish to pursue further study, either casual or in-depth, a vast array of endnotes and bibliographies offer plenty of suggestions” (editor Victoria Tufano, from the introduction).

In this book, the academic colleagues of Prof. Dr. Gie Vleugels, who turned 65 in 2021, celebrate his life by contributing chapters in his honor. Several chapters are innovative in nature, including Clemens Wassermann's comparative analysis of 1 John and the Fourth Gospel, which utilizes insights from Semitic syntax and shows how spoken Semitic dialects help us to unearth new perspectives on the relationship between John's Gospel and 1 John. The chapter on the Didache by Martin Webber makes innovative use of Social Identity Complexity Theory. Other contributions come from the fields of New Testament, Old Testament, Historical Theology, and Systematic Theology. Prof. Dr. Dr. Jacobus Kok is Professor and Department Chair of New Testament Studies and Co-Director of RCEC at the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven in Belgium, as well as Professor Extraordinarius and NRF B3 rated scholar in the Department of New Testament and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria in South Africa. Prof. Dr. Martin Webber (Professor of New Testament Studies), Dr. Jeremy Otten (Senior Researcher and Lecturer in New Testament Studies and Greek) and Dr. Mark Paridaens (Lecturer in Greek) are also appointed at Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven in Belgium.

The Routledge Handbook of Religion and the Body is the first comprehensive volume to feature multireligious cross-cultural perspectives on the body and embodiment. Featuring multidisciplinary approaches and methodologies from the humanities and the social sciences, it addresses the body and embodied religiosity in theological, ethical, and cultural contexts. Comprised of 30 chapters by a team of international contributors, the handbook is divided into four parts: Theology and Embodied Religiosity Gender, Sexuality, and Body Regulations Ritual and Performance Religion, Healing, and the Future of the Body Each part examines central issues, debates, and problems in relation to global belief systems, including embodiments of love, transfiguration, the secular body, disability, body language, maternal bodies, embodied emotions, celibacy, ecology and the body, reshaping the corporal body, initiation rites, physiology, Tantra, Reiki practice, religious experience, technological body modifications, and ethics and the body. Providing a breadth of rich and innovative research, it is a must-read for students and scholars in religious studies, theology, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, and cultural and gender studies. Chapter 7 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Ritual Dynamics in Jewish and Christian Contexts investigates questions that arise in modern ritual studies concerning Jewish and Christian religious communities: How did their religious rituals develop? Where did different ritual communities and their ritual texts interact? How did religious communities and their authoritative texts respond to change, and how did change influence religious rituals? The volume is a product of the interdisciplinary and international research efforts taken by the Research Centre “Dynamics of Jewish Ritual Practices in Pluralistic Contexts from Antiquity to the Present” at the Universität Erfurt (Germany) and unites the voices of important senior and emerging scholars in the field. It focuses on antiquity and the medieval period but also considers examples from the early modern and modern period in Europe

What is the real meaning of the church for Christian life? If we confess Christian faith, the church is one of the twelve articles, which implies that the church is rather important. In the creeds of the early church catholicity is confessed as characteristic for the church. This means that the church cannot exist without catholicity. What does this qualification mean? In this study the author listens to the understanding of the concept of catholicity in the theology of Ignatius, Cyprian, Cyril, Augustine and Vincent. In the second part of the book some representatives of the reformed tradition are analyzed, namely John Calvin, James Ussher, John Owen, Herman Bavinck and Gerrit Berkouwer. This analysis leads to a comparison between the early church and the reformed tradition. Listening to theologians from the early church and the reformed tradition, Van Vlastuin presents an up-to-date concept of the catholicity of the church which clarifies among others that the visibility of the church belongs to the essence of Christ's body, that practicing the catholicity of the church is necessary against denominationalism and party formation, that loss of catholicity leads to spiritual and theological impoverishment, that the understanding of catholicity implies also orthodoxy with consequences for the interpretation of 'semper reformanda' and that the consciousness of catholicity is related to the citizenship of two worlds.

This history of early Christian creeds contains an up-to-date account of their origin and development from the credal texts in the New Testament to the fully fledged classical formulae of the 4th century. It includes the creeds’ use and alteration in subsequent periods until the time of Charlemagne and the beginnings of the filioque controversy. In addition, the author provides a scholarly commentary on the most common ancient confessions: the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed. Going beyond previous studies, the book contains chapters dedicated to the use of creeds in law, art, music, everyday life and even magic. Recently discovered source texts, such as a new Ethiopic version of the Roman Creed and a short recension of the Creed of Nicaea-Constantinople, receive extensive treatment. Credal developments in the eastern churches beyond the borders of the Roman Empire complete this comprehensive overview. This volume is intended both as a textbook for advanced students of theology and cognate disciplines and as a reference book on the creeds in a wide range of contexts. All source texts are accompanied by modern English translations. Winner of the Alberigo Award 2024 awarded by the European Academy of Religion.