Ancient Christian worship
Subtitle: early church practices in social, historical, and theological perspective
By: Andrew B. McGowan
Publisher: Baker Academic
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 298
ISBN-13: 9780801031526
Subjects: Worship; History
Description: "This introduction to the origins of Christian worship illuminates the importance of ancient Christian worship practices for contemporary Christianity. Andrew McGowan, a leading scholar of early Christian liturgy, 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. Students of Christian worship and theology as well as pastors and church leaders will value this work"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: the origins of Christian worship; title: Meal: banquet and eucharist; title: Word: reading and preaching; title: Music: song and dance; title: Initiation: baptism, anointing, and foot washing; title: Prayer: hours, ways, and texts; title: Time: feasts and fasts; title: Epilogue: the making of Christian worship.