Sacramental Life Volume 17.1 (Winter 2004-2005) Founded in 1988, Sacramental Life is one of two journals published by the Order of Saint Luke (OSL Publications). It focuses on the emerging and historical practices of Christian worship. Print distribution is to the members of the Order globally, as well as to a number of theology departments and seminary libraries in the United States.
Delves into the ancient debate regarding the nature and purpose of the seven sacraments What are the sacraments? For centuries, this question has elicited a lively discussion and among theologians, and a variety of answers that do anything but outline a unified belief concerning these fundamental ritual structures. In this extremely cohesive and well-crafted volume, a group of renowned scholars map the theologies of sacraments offered by key Christian figures from the Early Church through the twenty-first century. Together, they provide a guide to the variety of views about sacraments found throughout Christianity, showcasing the variety of approaches to understanding the sacraments across the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox faith traditions. Chapters explore the theologies of thinkers from Basil to Aquinas, Martin Luther to Gustavo Gutiérrez. Rather than attempting to distill their voices into a single view, the book addresses many of the questions that theologians have tackled over the two thousand year history of Christianity. In doing so, it paves the way for developing theologies of sacraments for present and future contexts. The text places each theology of the sacraments into its proper sociohistorical context, illuminating how the church has used the sacraments to define itself and its congregations over time. The definitive resource on theologies of the sacraments, this volume is a must-read for students, theologians, and spiritually interested readers alike.
This book presents twenty essays written in honor of the noted theologian and ecumenist Geoffrey Wainwright, Cushman Professor of Christian Theology at Duke University. The editors have assembled a remarkable international roster of contributors and have organized the volume around three major themes in Wainwright's work: worship, liturgy, and mission. Contributors include Nicholas Lossky, Eberhard Jungel, Dietrich Ritschl, and Gunther Gassman.
Recent theology offers few attempts to come to grips with the meaning and implications of the ascension of Jesus. Professor Farrow begins with a discussion of the biblical treatment of the ascension and Eucharistic celebration, from which emerges the unique ecclesial worldview. There are chapters on the treatment of these ideas by Irenaeus, Origen and Augustine, and on developments up to the Reformation. He explores the link between ideas of the ascension, cosmology and ecclesiology. Farrow goes on to examine the difficulties faced by the doctrine of ascension in the modern scientific world. In a final chapter he calls for an ecclesiology, which does not marginalise the human Jesus>
