Originally published in 1999, The Rites of Christian Initiation was haled for its clarity and comprehensiveness. Kalian McDonnell, OSB, called it the best overall treatment of Christian initiation available, and Paul Bradshaw predicted it would be the standard textbook on the subject for very many years to come." The current edition draws on new translations of early texts on baptism as well as recent scholarship on the early traditions in the East and West. It is sure to replace itself as...

In graduate theology programs across the United States and elsewhere, Maxwell Johnson's The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation has become a standard text. Now Johnson and Paul Bradshaw together offer a companion volume on the historical development of the liturgy and theology of the Eucharist.Like the earlier volume, this study proceeds historically, from the origins of the Eucharist up to our own day. Unlike most studies of this kind, it includes an ...

Further Issues in Eucharistic Praying in East and West is a collection of essays concerned with the origins, development, and theologies of early Eucharistic praying. For students and teachers of liturgy, as well as all who seek solid, up-to-date scholarship on Eucharistic liturgy and theology, this volume provides current research on a variety of Eucharistic prayers in the churches of East and West.Essays and authors include:Balancing Eucharistic Origins in ...

This anthology surveys the development and theology of the liturgical year in the order of its historical evolution: From Sabbath to Sunday"; "From Passover to Pascha" (Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost); and "From Pascha to Parousia" (Epiphany, Christmas, and Advent). In addition, introductory essays on the meaning of the liturgical year and a short concluding section on the sanctoral cycle ("From Parousia to Persons") are also provided.While written as a companion to standar...

2026 Catholic Media Association Third Place Award, History of Theology, Church Fathers and MothersRenowned liturgical scholars offer, for the first time anywhere, English translations and commentary of new witnesses to the Apostolic Tradition**.**In recent years, a number of new witnesses to the so-called Apostolic Tradition have been discovered or freshly edited for the first time. Among them is a new, re...

This classic work, previously edited by Ronald Jasper and Geoffrey Cuming, has been a staple source in teaching liturgy to generations of students in colleges, seminaries, and universities. It has now been comprehensively revised for future generations of liturgical scholars.Updates include:New introductions that take into account the substantial changes in recent scholarshipNew groupings of the various prayers into liturgical “families” in order to make the...

What was the impact of liturgy on the development of orthodox doctrine in the early Christian church? With renowned liturgical historian Maxwell E. Johnson as a guide, readers of Praying and Believing in Early Christianity will discover the important and sometimes surprising ways that worship helped to shape what was believed, taught, and confessed. In particular, Johnson considers this relationship in terms of soteriology: What is the role of grace in the process of salvation? Tr...

In Introduction to Eastern Christian Liturgies, renowned liturgical scholars Stefanos Alexopoulos and Maxwell E. Johnson fulfill the need for a new, comprehensive, and straightforward survey of the liturgical life of the Eastern Christian Churches within the seven distinct liturgical Eastern rites still in existence today: Armenian, Byzantine, Coptic, Ethiopic, East Syrian, West Syrian, and Maronite. This topical overview covers baptism, chrismation, Eucharist, reconciliation, ano...

From 1991 to 2012, Nathan D. Mitchell was the author of the "Amen Corner" that appeared at the end of each issue of Worship. Readers of Worship grew accustomed to Nathan's columns as invitations to rethink the practice of Christian worship through a liturgical theology that was interdisciplinary, aesthetic, and attentive to history. With the soul of a poet, Nathan was always on the lookout for the turn of phrase, image, stanza, or metaphor from other classic wordsmiths that could capture t...

This collection provides several "state of the question" essays on current research in a variety of Eucharistic prayers in the Churches of East and West, including attention to other issues of Eucharistic praying and theology. In addition to essays by already recognized scholars in the field, this collection also introduces readers to a new generation of liturgiologists who are emerging within the academy as notable contributors to the field of liturgical studies.For students and t...

2025 Catholic Media Association Third Place Award, History of Theology, Church Fathers and MothersAn analysis of the origin of the Canons of Hippolytus, church orders from the fourth century***.***Can a case still be made for Egyptian origin of the Canons of Hippolytus? This is the question that noted scholars Maxwell E. Johnson and Nathan P. Chase focus on in response to the recent transl...

A survey of the principal themes of patristic writing, touching on the major Greek and Latin Fathers of the Church, now revised.