While only rarely reflecting explicitly on liturgy, French philosopher Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005) gave sustained attention to several themes pertinent to the interpretation of worship, including metaphor, narrative, subjectivity, and memory. Inspired by his well-known aphorism, “The symbol gives rise to thought,” Liturgical Theology after Schmemann offers an original exploration of the symbolic world of the Byzantine Rite , culminating in a Ricoeurian analysis of its Theophany “Great Blessing of Water.” . The book examines two fundamental questions: 1) what are the implications of the philosopher’s oeuvre for liturgical theology at large? And 2)how does the adoption of a Ricoeurian hermeneutic shape the study of a particular rite? Taking the seminal legacy of Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983) as its point of departure, Butcher contributes to the renewal of contemporary Eastern Christian thought and ritual practice by engaging a spectrum of current theological and philosophical conversations.

The author has tried to define liturgical theology, noting especially its progress beyond liturgics, the study and comparison of texts, and showing how the dynamic realism of the Eucharistic liturgy has been often obscured in popular liturgical piety. These themes are developed in reference to the Ordo or shape of worship as it evolved in the Orthodox Church, from the very earliest years down to the 'crystallization' of worship in Byzantine Orthodoxy in the ninth-twelfth centuries.

Reflections on the theological aspect of the liturgy was the focus of Alexander Schmemann's intellectual life. He intuitively grasped and insisted upon the essentially theological character of all liturgical renewal. He recognized that the renewal of the church requires a rediscovery of the liturgy's own inherent theology, that same theology which once informed the whole of the church's life as well as the teachings and writings of the leaders of the Patristic age. This theological content which is inherent in the liturgy itself is designed by Schmemann as liturgical theology.

"Liturgical Theology" is often a convenient label for any theology that has loosely to do with worship or Eucharist. In this innovative book, David Fagerberg distinguishes liturgical theology from a general theology of worship. He proposes two defining attributes of liturgical theology: (1) "lex orandi": It is manifested in the Church's historical rites. (2) "theologia prima": It is theology done by the liturgical community. Theologia Prima is a thorough revision of Dr. Fagerberg's groundbreaking, What Is Liturgical Theology? A Study in Methodology (1992). It contains three new chapters as well as well as more anecdotal material derived from Dr. Fagerberg's extensive experience as a teacher and theologian.

The crowning achievement of Fr Schmemann's work, reflecting his entire life experience as well as his thoughts on the Divine Liturgy.

This book not only presents Eastern Orthodox readings of the great Latin theologian, but also demonstrates the very nature of theological consensus in ecumenical dialogue, from a referential starting point of the ancient and great Fathers. This collection exemplifies how, once, the Latin and Byzantine churches, from a deep communion of the faith that transcended linguistic, cultural and intellectual differences, sang from the same page a harmonious song of the beauty of Christ. Contributors are: Lewis Ayres ¿ John Behr ¿ David Bradshaw ¿ Brian E. Daley ¿ George E. Demacopoulos ¿ Elizabeth Fisher ¿ Reinhard Flogaus ¿ Carol Harrison ¿ David Bentley Hart ¿ Joseph T. Lienhard ¿ Andrew Louth ¿ Jean-Luc Marion ¿ Aristotle Papanikolaou ¿ David Tracy

Anamnesis as Dangerous Memory explores the political theology of Johann Baptist Metz to discover how Christian memory is prophetic both in its revelation of extraordinary circumstances of injustice and the challenge and hope it poses to those who join in solidarity with the oppressed. Liturgical theologian Alexander Schmemann then elaborates how the liturgy reveals the kingdom of God and empowers believers to witness to it. The meeting of these theologies results in a rich eschatology, a life shaped y the vision of a future that fulfills the promises of the past.