Church At Prayer – serie

Principles of the Liturgy is the first book of the newly revised and newly translated work THE CHURCH AT PRAYER, under the general editorship of A. G. Martimort, honorary dean of the faculty of theology, Toulouse.Principles of the Liturgy outlines the complex history and development of liturgical practices. From its foreshadowings in the Old Testament to the reformed rites of the Vatican II, we are made aware, along the way, of liturgy’s role in the Church and, as A. G. Martimort says, as an “expression of life.” The authors introduce us to the contributions made to the Church’s “sacred actions” from art and music, from theological reflection on historical data, and from our present-day human sciences of anthropology, sociology, psychology, and linguistics.The other volumes in the work are: II The Eucharist (1986); III The Sacraments (Fall 1987); and IV The Liturgy and Time (1986).

The Eucharist is the second book of the newly revised and newly translated four-volume work THE CHURCH AT PRAYER, under the general editorship of A. G. Martimort, honorary dean of the faculty of theology, Toulouse. In it, author Robert Cabié, who succeeded Martimort as professor of liturgy at Toulouse, traces the development of the Eucharistic celebration–from the influence of the Jewish festal meal to the post-Vatican II liturgy we celebrate today.The Eucharist reflects the latest research available and is of significance not only for the liturgical scholar but for the educated lay reader as well. Robert Cabié offers us the fruits of his knowledge of liturgical history and his experience as a teacher and pastor.

With The Sacraments, the task of publishing a new revision and new translation of A. G. Martimort’s monumental L'Église en Prière (1965) is complete. This up-to-date series, THE CHURCH AT PRAYER, is a welcome addition to the bookshelves of liturgical scholars and educated lay readers, and the four-volume set will serve well as basic texts for an introduction to the liturgy. The authors of The Sacraments survey the origin and development of the sacramental rites through a careful scrutiny of various pontifical, rituals, sacramentaries, and euchologia of the past and present. The scope of the book goes beyond the seven sacraments to provide a wealth of information about monastic rites and religious profession, Christian death, the consecration of virgins, the several ministries instituted by Vatican II, blessings, processions and pilgrimages, and numerous aspects of “popular” religion. THE CHURCH AT PRAYER includes the following volumes: I Principles of the Liturgy, II The Eucharist, III The Sacraments and IV The Liturgy and Time.