We have limited ourselves to Initiation, Eucharist, Ordination, Office, and Calendar. Each of these subjects has been the responsibility of its own panel of authors, and they are presented historically under five main divisions: Jewish and New Testament, patristic, medieval, Reformation and counter-Reformation, and contemporary (i.e., the reforms of the last twenty years). The historical account of these rites is preceded by a general introduction, in the form of a series of notes giving background information on subjects, like Hippolytus or Cranmer, which recur in the study of all the rites. But we do not wish to present liturgy in isolation. We are anxious to make clear its theological foundations and connections; the theological introduction is an essential part of our intention. We are also anxious to show that the study of liturgy, even in its historical aspects, is not irrelevant to the present concerns of Christians, pastoral as well as liturgical; and so the concluding pastoral orientation is for us as important as the theological introduction. It was also our ambition, in each phase of historical exposition, to show the connection between liturgy and other aspects of Christian activity and interest. - Preface.

Worship is at the heart of the Christian faith. This applies equally to all denominations. For that reason it is all the more important that the ordering of worship and its place in the life of the church is regularly rewritten and reinterpreted. This volume--based on the third, completely revised German edition from 2013 by two of the foremost liturgical scholars in Germany--offers a contemporary, comprehensive introduction to the foundations for the study of liturgy today, one from which scholars and students in the English-speaking world can also profit. Beyond appealing to students of liturgy and theology, this book reaches out to everyone who wants to know more about the liturgical essence and dimensions of the church.

This introductory book for students and general readers sheds fresh light on the study of liturgy and worship, reflecting important new directions in contemporary research. The contributors, who are at the forefront of teaching and research in the United Kingdom, United States, and Ireland and who represent a variety of denominations, offer multiple insights into a range of topics neglected by traditional approaches. The book is divided into themed sections, influenced by developments in scholarly methodologies in the social sciences, anthropology, philosophy, and linguistics, building on previous textual and historical foundations. Significantly, The Study of Liturgy and Worship has also taken inspiration from the growth of ecumenical dialogue and exchange in recent years. Academics have praised the book for “its accessibility and clarity”; “the personal tone and examples given by the authors”; “its easy adaptability to both an advanced undergraduate and master’s level usage”; “’inspired’ organization”; and how “it addresses the themes [of] my introductory course . . . [and my] advanced seminars with PhD students.”

Volume I consists of three parts: Preliminary Notions," "Historical Overview of the Liturgy," and "Liturgical Sources." Articles and their contributors include "A Definition of Liturgy," by Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB; "Liturgical Families in the East," by Ephrem Carr, OSB; "Liturgical Families in the West," by Gabriel Ramis; "Bible and Liturgy," by Renato De Zan; "Liturgy and the Fathers," by Basil Studer, OSB; "Liturgy and Ecumenism," by Patrick Lyons, OSB; "History of the Liturgy Until the Fourth Century," by Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB; "History of the Eastern Liturgies," by Manel Nin, OSB; "History of the Roman Liturgy Until the Fifteenth Century," by Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB; "History of the Roman Liturgy from the Sixteenth Until the Twentieth Centuries," by Keith F. Pecklers, SJ; "History of the Liturgies in the Non-Roman West," by Jordi Pinell I Pons, OSB; "Liturgical Documents of the First Four Centuries," by Basil Studer, OSB; "Byzantine Liturgical Books," by Elena Velkova Velkovska; "Other Liturgical Books in the East," by Manel Nin, OSB; "Liturgical Books of the Roman Rite," by Cassian Folsom, OSB; "Liturgical Books of the Non-Roman West," by Gabriel Ramis; "Liturgical Textual Criticism," by Renato De Zan; "Criticism and Interpretation of Liturgical Texts," by Renato De Zan; "Translation of Liturgical Texts," by Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB; and "Liturgical Law," by Frederick R. McManus. More than forty authors from Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, and Eastern and Western Europe have contributed to the Handbook. Many are professors and graduates of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome. Each author, while drawing material from liturgical tradition and from ancient, medieval, and modern sources, writes also from a particular research and personal interest in a subject. Although diverse in style, the authors collectively express a spirit of fidelity to the Church, to its doctrine and tradition, and to its mission. The result is a cohesive view of the meaning, purpose, and celebration of Christian worship.

Everyday worship practices—from praying the rosary to moments of recognizing the beauty of God's creation, from being moved by the power of music to praying Vespers on an iPad—not only take place at different locations and during different days of the week but also dynamically interact with one another. The Liturgy of Life examines the interrelationship between the practice of Sunday Eucharist and the many nonofficial worship practices that mark the everyday lives of Christians who continually negotiate the boundaries of official teaching on liturgy. Drawing on the writings of theologians and sociologists of lived religion and data from an ethnographic research project, this timely work stretches the contextual horizon of liturgical scholarship and presents a provocative and dynamic paradigm of Christian worship for the twenty-first century.

What concepts must one have in order to understand and explain the nature and purpose, the plan and actualization, and the relational character of the liturgy? Volume 2: Fundamental Liturgy addresses this question in three parts - epistemology, celebration, and human sciences - which develop the foundational concepts of the liturgy. It leads the reader to a deeper understanding of the liturgy by examining the basic concepts that belong to its definition. Articles and their contributors are Theology of the Liturgy," by Alceste Catella;"Liturgical Symbolism," by Crispino Valenziano; "Liturgy and Spirituality," by Jesus Castellano Cervera, OCD; "Pastoral Liturgical Ministry," by Domenico Sartore, CSJ; "Catechesis and Liturgy," by Domenico Sartore, CSJ; "Liturgy and Ecclesiology," by Nathan Mitchell; "The Liturgical Assembly," by Mark Francis, CSV; "Participation in the Liturgy," by Anna Kai-Yung Chan; "Liturgical Ministries," by Thomas A. Krosnicki, SVD; "The Psychosociological Aspect of the Liturgy," by Lucio Maria Pinkus, OSM; "Liturgy and Anthropology: The Meaning and the Method of the Question," by Crispino Valenziano; "The Language of Liturgy," by Silvano Maggiani, OSM; "Liturgy and Aesthetic," by Silvano Maggiani, OSM; "Liturgy and Music," by Jan Michael Joncas; "Liturgy and Iconology," by Crispino Valenziano; and "Liturgy and Inculturation," by Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB and Silvano Maggiani, OSM "

“I am increasingly convinced that the decisive question that demands an answer from us is not so much how believers experience the liturgy, but whether believers live from the liturgy they celebrate.”With these few words Goffredo Boselli captures the essence of this present work. Believers can celebrate the liturgy throughout their lifetimes without ever really drawing their lives from it. And this is true of all believers—laity, clergy, or monastics. More than a century after the start of the liturgical movement and half a century after the start of the postconciliar liturgical reform, we must ask the difficult question of whether the liturgy has or has not become the source of the spiritual life of believers. For only by living from the liturgy can they receive the nourishment necessary to maintain a life of faith in today’s world. In The Spiritual Meaning of the Liturgy, Goffredo Boselli—one of Europe’s foremost liturgical theologians—offers an accessible and important guide for both scholars and interested laypeople to understand the meaning that permeates the liturgy and its implications for daily living. Readers will find here a resource to help understand the liturgy more fully, interiorize it more effectively, and live it more authentically.