James Clarke – serie

A new translation of Jacques Ellul's landmark theological contribution, including the second volume in English for the first time.In To Will and To Do, twentieth-century French thinker Jacques Ellul presented his landmark theological contribution, yet the full text has never before been available in English. Incorporating recent insights on Ellul, and benefitting from the discovery of a lost manuscript, this new publication remedies this, combining a fresh translation of Volume One with a first English translation of Volume Two. Together, the two volumes constitute the first part of Ellul's planned four-part treatment of Christian ethics. In Volume One, Ellul examines the origin of the problem of Good and Evil, surveys the contemporary morality of Western society, and provocatively sketches the paradox of an impossible and yet necessary Christian ethics. In Volume Two, he carries this discussion forward, outlining the characteristics and conditions of Christian ethics, and analysing the relationship between ethics, the legal texts of the Bible, and dogmatic theology. He concludes by reimagining the theological use of the 'analogy of faith' for scriptural interpretation. Throughout, Ellul remains in dialogue with Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Paul Ricoeur and others, helping to cement To Will and To Do as a major intervention in twentieth-century theological ethics.

The definitive biography of Archbishop Söderblom, focussing on his ecumenical activity.Nathan Söderblom (1866-1931), was not only a profoundly influential figure in Swedish church history, but also one of the great pioneers of the modern ecumenical movement. Elected Archbishop of Uppsala, the head of the Lutheran church in Sweden, in 1914, he was a ceaseless advocate for peace during the first world war. His collaboration with George Bell laid the foundations for intercommunion between the Church of Sweden and the Church of England. Finally, in the year before he died, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.Despite this, until this landmark biography he was largely neglected by historians, the subject of only a few partial studies. In Nathan Söderblom: His Life and Work, Bengt Sundkler corrects this, with new analysis of Söderblom's meticulously preserved correspondence and interviews with his family, friends and former students. The resulting image is of a man deeply committed to his leadership of ecumenical projects, most significantly his movement of 'Life and Work', but also of a complex and fascinating personality.

An essay on the theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, interpreting them as symbolic events that represent the renewing action of God.Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are means of grace, representing spiritual realities by whose observance the Church and its members celebrate the life they are given in Christ.Upon this belief Professor Arndt examines the meaning of “sacramental theology” particularly in its relation to the whole of the Gospel of Christ. He believes that the “Font” and “Table” are symbolic events representing God’s renewing action, and through them this “Community of faith and people of God becomes concrete in historical actuality”.He does not claim that this essay provides a complete sacramental theology. He is primarily concerned with securing a perspective of sacramental practice in the hope of assisting in a “reconstruction of sacramental teaching, a more responsible ordering of practice and a more understanding participation in the sacraments of the gospel”.

A study of the doctrine of the Atonement from an Evangelical perspective.A major study of the doctrine of the Atonement from an Evangelical perspective, showing its theological and historical significance. The author explores the views of patristic, medieval, Reformation and modern theologians, but the whole work is based on a profoundly Biblical understanding. At the same time it reconciles theological and philosophical thinking in such a way that both receive and exercise their full rights. The Christian view of the world-order is shown as providing the final fact of the eternal order when God shall be seen as all in all.

A study of the doctrine of the Atonement from an Evangelical perspective.A major study of the doctrine of the Atonement from an Evangelical perspective, showing its theological and historical significance. The author explores the views of patristic, medieval, Reformation and modern theologians, but the whole work is based on a profoundly Biblical understanding. At the same time it reconciles theological and philosophical thinking in such a way that both receive and exercise their full rights. The Christian view of the world-order is shown as providing the final fact of the eternal order when God shall be seen as all in all.

A comparative study of the way in which two great theologians - one medieval and one modern - view the Christian doctrine of Revelation. Karl Barth's debt to, and differences from, the theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas are fundamental to his theological development, and Fairweather's discussion of their views of revelation is an important contribution to the history of theology.Fairweather examines the definition of revelation, questioning whether its essence truly lies in the belief that it is the direct speech of God to man. He attempts to discover whether divinity in the form of revelation can coexist with the corruption intrinsic in the human mind, or whether one negates the other. To answer these philosophical and theological problems, Fairweather has employed the beliefs and teachings of the famous medieval scholar, Thomas Aquinas, and the mid-twentieth century theologian, Karl Barth. Aquinas expounded the theory that whilst reason is bequeathed by God and is essential to humanity, it is not sufficient to guide men towards the ultimate truth; for this they need revelation. Although reason and revelation are distinct, they are not mutually exclusive, and man without logic would be unable to grasp fully the enormity of revelation.By contrast, Fairweather employs the arguments of Karl Barth, whose debt to, and differences from, the theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas are fundamental to his theological development. Although his beliefs have recently come under criticism for being too negative in their estimate of mankind and its powers of reason, Barth's was an inspiration for the renaissance that took place in theology from about 1920 to 1950. Regarding revelation, Barth believed that it was imparted by God in a similar manner to salvation, and that the subjective responses of man were inconsequential when compared with the enormity of God's design.

A study of the issues raised by the Old Testament for Christian faith and the Church, and a survey of attitude to the Old Testament since the Reformation.The Old Testament raises far-reaching issues for the Christian faith. In his valuable historical study Kraeling surveys Christian attitudes to the Old Testament since the Reformation. He offers with scholarly precision and thoroughness an overview of the arguments and attitudes revealed in the massive debates on the Old Testament which have wracked Christendom during the last five centuries. He shows the reactions of Christian scholars to the Old Testament and how these affected the attitude of the Church. This book offers the general reader as well as the Bible student an understanding of the role of the Old Testament in the life of the Church and in Biblical scholarship. It also reveals the profound impact of the Old Testament on the understanding of the New.

A leading British sinologist explains traditional Chinese monarchy, religion, worship, ritual, sacrifices, customs, and all aspects of early Chinese culture.This book is a close examination of Chinese traditions concerning the ancient Chinese institution known as the Ming T'ang, rendered in the title as the "Hall of Light", and the sacrificial rituals connected with it. Soothill does not offer a mere summary of the Chinese accounts of the Ming T'ang but an interpretation of those in the light of comparative anthropology and of the history of ancient astronomy.This is the culmination of the life-long study and research on China of a leading British sinologist, The Hall of Light illuminates traditional Chinese ideas about monarchy, religion, worship, ritual, sacrifices, customs, and all aspects of early Chinese culture, which have influenced the thought and behaviour of the Chinese for well over two millennia. This is a study that will be of value to sinologues, anthropologists, and students of comparative astronomy and religion, as well as anyone with an interest in Chinese tradition and thought.

Two essays by distinguished Reformed scholars that present original interpretations of the central meaning of the Lord's Supper.In these two essays two distinguished Reformed scholars accept the challenge of understanding and explaining the central meaning of the Lord's Supper.How did primitive Christianity understand this event? What relationship was Christ attempting to establish with mankind? Did He wish to establish a link other than the one of preaching His Word? What is the relationship of Word and Sacrament? These and other vital issues for the churches of the Reformation tradition are addressed.In the first essay, Oscar Cullmann proposes to investigate the true meaning of the Lord's Supper with which primitive Christianity invested the cultic act of the sacred meal, as it was practised in the communities of the first century. He examines the Breaking of Bread and the Resurrection Appearances and draws a connection between the Lord's Supper and the Death of Christ, and successfully combines the two in his conclusion.The second essay, by F. J. Leenhardt, provides an answer to the question: What relationship did Christ wish to establish with man? Or more precisely, since Christ wished His disciples to proclaim His Gospel, He established a link which is the preaching of His Word: "He that hears you, hears me." The question is therefore whether or not He wished to establish, by another means than the spoken Word, a further relationship with man.Both essays present new and original insights into the central meaning of the Lord's Supper.

An account of different views of church history propagated by English writers during the Reformation, including William Tyndale, John Bale and John Foxe.Glanmor Williams presents different views of Church History propagated by English writers during the Reformation. He introduces this topic by exploring the continental background, including Luther’s arguments, the opponents and Luther’s influence on important English authors of the sixteenth century.Almost as soon as Luther came to communicate his sensibilities to others he began to realise that defenders of orthodoxy would denounce them as an intolerably presumptuous threat on the part of a single misguided monk to fifteen hundred years of established authority in the Church. Quite apart from the counter-arguments such as those raised by the clerical controversialist, Eck, there was the obvious and very serious objection against criticism of the Church, voiced by the Emperor Charles V: “For it is certain”, he protested, “that a single monk must err if he stands against the opinion of all Christendom. Otherwise Christendom itself would have erred for more than a thousand years.”On October 31 1517, the then obscure friar-professor, Martin Luther, pinned up his ninety-five arguments on the church door at Wittenberg. He was, unknown to himself, proclaiming doctrines which were to find an echo in all corners of Europe in a remarkably short space of time. Among those who were most gladly to receive and propagate the Lutheran message was a young Englishman, William Tyndale, the outstanding English reformer of the first generation, and a major figure among English reformers of any generation.In this fascinating book Williams also looks at the great impact of John Bale and John Foxe.

Studies in the relationship between spirit and tradition in the bible, combining the insights of Orthodox theology with Western biblical scholarship.How deeply is new revelation rooted in and bound by old revelation, and how far does the old determine or contain the newness of the new? How does the new grow old, how is the old renewed, and what is the pattern - if any - of this process? In this study of the similarities and, equally important, the differences between older and more novel revelation in the Bible, Englezakis analyses these questions and indicates some of the ways in which answers may be found.A wide-ranging study which combines much original thought and sound scholarship with a deep spirituality, New and Old in God's Revelation reflects one of the rare encounters of western Biblical scholarship with eastern Christianity.

A study of the tension between early Christian belief and Jesus's teaching, and the question of how that teaching is reflected in the Gospel record.Reissued after many years, this is an important contribution to the debate about the relationship between early Christian belief about Jesus and Jesus' own teaching, and the problem that the Gospels, while professing to record the teaching of Jesus do so through the eyes of early Christians.The study underlines the questions over the authenticity of the Gospel references to Jesus as the Son of Man and how the early church understood the concept.

This challenging book with two main themes: the substitution of dialogue for the 'mission to the Jews', and the communion of Jews and Christians in the Messiah.Without compromising the Christian position, Gillet sets out to show how much Christians have to learn from Jews before they can hope to communicate their own faith that Jesus is the Christ.After a historical analysis of the intellectual relations between Christianity and Judaism, the author eruditely draws out the common elements of the two traditions, challenging and correcting misconceptions about Rabbinism and Jewish life and teaching generally, misconceptions which overlook the two millennia of Jewish thought between the Old Testament and modern times. He shows how close is this connection, and how deeply spiritual is much of Jewish theology.There is, he claims, nothing in Jewish belief that a Jew become Christian ought to reject, while Christianity is the completion and fulfilment of Judaism.

The definitive survey of martyrdom and persecution during the first four centuries of Christianity.Although the story of the triumphant rise of Christianity has often been told, it was a triumph achieved through blood and tribulation. The literal meaning of the term martyr meant witness, but among early Christians it quickly acquired a harsher meaning – one who died for the faith – and that witness through death was responsible for many conversions, including those of Justin Martyr, himself to offer just such witness, and perhaps Tertullian.Persecution was seen by early Christians, as by later historians, as one of the crucial influences on the growth and development of the early Church and Christian beliefs. Why did the Roman Empire persecute Christians? Why did thousands of Christians not merely accept but welcome martyrdom?In his classic work, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church, the late W.H.C. Frend explores the mindset of those who suffered persecution as well as the motivation of those who persecuted them. He shows the critical importance for early Christians of Jewish ideas, influenced heavily as they were by the story of Daniel and the trauma of the revolt of the Maccabeean. He argues that the Christian concept of martyrdom, so highly regarded among early Christians, can only be understood as springing from Jewish roots.Frend explores a number of major persecutions, such as that in Lyons in the second century, the Decian Persecution in the third, and the Great Persecution under Diocletian in the fourth, showing both the common themes and the variations, and examines also the relationship between the heavenly kingdom of Christ and the rule of the earthly emperor. In doing so he shows how the persecutions formed an essential part in a providential philosophy of history that has profoundly influenced European political thought.

A key theological work in the doctrine of the Ascension that deals with the origin and significance of the Apostles’ Creed.This Bampton Lecture series of 1958 provides an illuminating exposition on the Ascension, which as J.G. Davies asserts, has been a greatly neglected article of the creed.Davies thoroughly examines the Biblical material before following the history of the doctrine and its development from the period of the ante-Nicean Church, through the Carolingian Renaissance to the reforming monastic movements of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. He also gives a systematic commentary on the Ascension doctrine as it may reasonably be held and taught today.This is an important theological work in the doctrine of the Ascension that deals with the origin and significance of the Apostles Creed.

A detailed and scholarly historical study of the schism between orthodox Christians and the Monophysites during the 5th, 6th and 7th centuries.The first lasting schism in Christendom was that between Monophysite and orthodox Christianity. This well-established, integrated study examines the social historical background to this significant two hundred year period from the council of Ephesus in 431 to the expulsion of the Byzantines from the Monophysite provinces. Contemporary critics' views that Monophysitism can be considered as a 'quarrel about words' or as a symbol of the separatist movements in Syria, Egypt and Armenia are viewed as limiting in this authoritative survey, which moves beyond such criticisms. Frend asserts that regional identity does not have to imply separatism and examines this claim in detail. The work does not limit its scope to the history of the Christian doctrine either. The issues raised by the councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon affected all areas of life beyond the political sphere in the east Roman provinces in the fifth and sixth centuries. Through this study, the reader can uncover how religion was the medium through which the harmony between government and the governed was mediated in this period. Through nine extensive chapters - from The Road to Chalcedon, 428-451 through to Syria, A Long Farewell - Frend provides an examination of the doctrinal issues relating to the Early Church, which are essential to a deeper understanding of the history of the fifth and sixth centuries.

An incisive scholarly study of the influential yet often neglected Reformation thinker Philip Melanchthon.The impact of Philip Melanchthon upon Lutheranism cannot be underestimated. Yet Melanchthon is often overlooked and he remains one of the most enigmatic figures of the Reformation. It is within Dr. Robert Stupperich’s incisive portrayal of a man, acclaimed as ‘the preceptor of Germany’ in his lifetime, that the reader can uncover the secrets of a layman who directly influenced Luther.Melanchthon struggled with contemporary powers, yet his persistence and drive resulted in him becoming the chief architect of Germany’s school system and also a chief negotiator between statesmen and theologians. Despite this success, almost no-one wholly accepted Melanchthon’s religious views. Yet, few could have managed without the advances which Melanchthon precipitated in theology, education, natural science and even public affairs.This study of impressively broad scope begins by addressing the historical background which shaped Melanchthon’s early life. The development of Melanchthon’s inner humanist is investigated through an assessment of his childhood and adolescence. The second chapter examines the path which Melanchthon carved for himself in theology, where it is revealed how Melanchthon became a defender of Luther. Further chapters trace his life to its end, to allow the reader to see the full impact of a life which encourages the Reformation to be viewed in a new focus and depth.

A timely and fascinating examination of the decline in religious faith and rise of secular thought in western intellectual society.Spirituality is a difficult subject in the modern world. Everywhere, from popular media to the university, from the bookshelf to the dinner table, religions are derided or marginalised and public figures, such as Richard Dawkins, set upon anyone who admits to a belief in God.It seems that science and religion are fundamentally at odds and that a mutual respect is unacceptable to either in their parallel pursuit of ‘truth’. Yet the majority of Enlightenment authors engaged with both science and spirituality and did not lose their faith. Today we tend to see these authors as not having applied full scientific rigour to their religious beliefs, but are we correct in dismissing this aspect of their lives so easily?In Secularism, Mike King examines the elements of religion, philosophy and science which have contributed to an almost total disavowal of spirituality by contemporary western intellectuals. He engages with a wide range of thinkers, including Pythagoras, Marx, Spinoza, Darwin and Nietzsche, and incorporates detailed studies of a variety of ‘spiritual’ leaders, some of whom readers are unlikely to have considered in this way before, to uncover why the western world no longer has any interest in devotion or accords it any respect.

A comprehensive survey of Reformation and post-Reformation thinkers who repudiated the medieval doctrine of the soul’s immortality.A new and thoroughly researched study of the rise and development of Christian Mortalism, also known as Conditional Immortality or Soul Sleep, in England during the Reformation and Post-Reformation periods.Dr Bryan Ball traces the origins of the belief in Continental Reformation thought, and then in the writings of Wycliffe and Tyndale, and its growth and development in the writings of many other advocates, including Hobbes, Overton, Milton, Locke, Edmund Law, John Biddle, Peter Peckard, Francis Blackburne, among many others, concluding with the views of Joseph Priestley.In the context of being a historical study, this book challenges the traditional doctrine of the soul’s innate immortality. Having previously written on English eschatological thought, Dr Ball sets out to demonstrate here that this alternative view of man’s essential nature and ultimate destiny was held across a wide theological spectrum in English thought for at least three centuries.While dealing with a subject that is at times difficult, the book has been intentionally written in a readable, accessible style, and will appeal to a much wider audience than the purely academic. The book provides important background information for the growing interest in the mortalist point of view in contemporary theological and historical circles.

A challenging exploration of the possibilities and limitations of the language of Christianity in the modern world.In its various forms, speech is absolutely integral to the Christian mission. The gospel is a message, news that must be passed on if it is to be known by others. Nevertheless, the reality of God cannot be exhausted by Christian knowledge and Christian knowledge cannot be exhausted by our words. All the while, the philosophy of modernity has left Christianity an impoverished inheritance within which to think these things. In Speak Thus, Craig Hovey explores the possibilities and limits of Christian speaking. At times ethical, epistemological, and metaphysical, these essays go to the heart of what it means to be the church today. In practice, the Christian life often has a linguistic shape that surprisingly implicates and reveals the commitments of people like those who care for the sick or those who respond as peacemakers in the face of violence. Because learning to speak one way as opposed to another is a skill that must be learned, Christian speakers are also guides who bear witness to the importance of churches for passing on a felicity with Christian ways of speaking. Through constructive engagements with interlocutors like Ludwig Wittgenstein, George Lindbeck, Jeffrey Stout, Stanley Hauerwas, John Howard Yoder, Thomas Aquinas, and the theology of Radical Orthodoxy, Hovey offers a challenging vision of the church able to speak with a confidence that only comes from a deep attentiveness to its own limitations while able to speak prophetically in a world weary of words.

A wide-ranging study of asceticism in the Roman and early Christian traditions, combining both historical and theoretical analysis.A leading scholar of ascetical studies, Richard Valantasis explores a variety of ascetical traditions ranging from the Greco-Roman philosophy of Musonius Rufus, the asceticism found in the Nag Hammadi Library and in certain Gnostic texts, the Gospel of Thomas, and other early Christian texts. This collection gathers historical and theoretical essays develop a theory of asceticism that informs the analysis of historical texts and opens the way for postmodern ascetical studies. Wide-ranging in historical scope and in developing theory, these essays address asceticism for scholar and student alike. The theory will be of particular interest to those interested in cultural theory and analysis, while the historical essays provide the researcher with easy access to a significant corpus of academic writing on asceticism.

An authoritative anthology of texts from 17th-century Anglican authors, illustrating the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England of the age.First published in 1935, this classic compilation provides a connected account of the theological literature of the Church of England during the 17th Century. Particularly invaluable to scholars and students, it contains a considerable number of passages which have not been printed since the original time of writing. In addition, since the doctrines of the Church of England have never been defined by the thinking of single theologian like Luther or Calvin, there has been always need to consult a considerable range of writings in order to resolve questions of doctrine and practice. This book brings together just such a range, providing a comprehensive insight into the theology of 17th Century Anglicanism.

The definitive guide to the French sociologist's theories on religion, which helped establish sociology of religion as a discipline.Religion is central to Durkheim's theory of society, and his work laid most of the foundations of the sociology of religion. Daring and brilliant though his analysis was, its bold claims and questionable premises has made it the subject of ongoing academic debate. Durkheim's work on the subject reached a peak with the publication in 1912 of what turned out to be a classic in its field, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. No other book has explained Durkheim's views on religion using the whole corpus of his writings. Dr Pickering shows how Durkheim's position developed and explains the themes and theories that run through Durkheim's work. This includes Durkheim's attitude towards secularisation and Christian churches, as well as his notion of the contemporary cult of the individual.

An authoritative study of the development of English classical scholarship from 1500 to 1950, concentrating on the three giants: Bentley, Porson, and Housman.Professor C.O. Brink's English Classical Scholarship is the first sustained treatment since the early years of this century of the historical development of English classical scholarship. Brink shows the effect of the Italian Renaissance on nascent English scholarship and examines the contribution made by 17th century scholars such as Bishop Pearson and Thomas Gataker. He deals at length with the life of Richard Bentley, his troubled careers master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and above all the immense advances he made in classical studies, which were in turn developed by Richard Porson. He also shows how, paradoxically, in the Victorian era, while a classical education was seen as the key to advancement, classical scholarship almost wholly stagnated. Although the tradition of Bentley and Porson all but disappeared in England, it was nurtured by the great German scholars of the nineteenth century. It was only with the work of A. E. Housman that the tradition of the greatest classical scholars returned to its native land and Professor Brink shows how it began again to make a contribution to the 'European fund'.

An anthropological approach to the historical personage of Jesus, offering an intriguing and fruitful alternative to traditional historiographic methods.The aim of historical Jesus research is to identify the authentic material from which the historical figure as a social type underneath the overlay is constructed. Pieter Craffert's anthropological historiography offers an alternative framework for dealing with Jesus of Nazareth as a social personage fully embedded in a first-century Mediterranean worldview and the Gospels as cultural artefacts related to this figure. This cross-cultural model represents a religious pattern that refers to a family of features for describing those religious entrepreneurs who, based on regular Altered State of Consciousness experiences, perform a specific set of social functions in their communities.

A study of the biblical account of Jesus's conception, emphasising the context of social conceptions of honour and shame then prevalent.When Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit' (1:18). We are made to assume that Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, but that he does not know that she is with child from the Holy Spirit. Joseph must decide what he will do with Mary. The discussion of this verse generally focuses on two questions. First, did Joseph suspect Mary of adultery? Second, if he did suspect Mary of adultery, what were his options? If Joseph reveals that Mary is pregnant she will be killed. If Joseph conceals Mary's pregnancy, he will be opposing the law of the Lord. What is a 'righteous' man to do? Marohl's study of honor killings, be they modern or ancient, opens up new avenues of interpretation for "The Gospel of Matthew's" infancy narrative. It is a pattern that is to be replicated in the lives of the Jesus followers.

Two volumes of essays on deification, the process of becoming like God, discussing the biblical and theological development of the concept.Deification' refers to the transformation of believers into the likeness of God. Of course, Christian monotheism goes against any literal 'god making' of believers. Rather, the New Testament speaks of a transformation of mind, a metamorphosis of character, a redefinition of self hood, and an imitation of God. Most of these passages are tantalizingly brief, and none spells out the concept in detail.Deification was an important idea in the early church, though it took a long time for one term to emerge as the standard label for the process. That term was theosis, coined by the great fourth-century theologian, Gregory of Nazianzus. Theologians now use theosis to designate all instances where any idea of taking on God's character or being 'divinized' (made divine) occurs, even when the term theosis is not used. And of course, different Christian authors understood deification differently.While some articles in this collection discuss pre-Christian antecedents of theosis, Greek and Jewish, most focus on particular Christian understandings. The article by Gregory Glazov examines Old Testament covenant theology, with an emphasis on divine adoption, and on bearing the fruit of knowledge or attaining the stature of a tree of righteousness in Proverbs, Isaiah, and Sirach. The article by Stephen Finlan on 2 Pet 1:4 ('You may become participants of the divine nature') examines the epistle's apparent borrowings from Middle Platonic spirituality, Stoic ethics, and Jewish apocalyptic expectation. The epistle stresses 'knowledge of Christ,' which means cultivation of godly character and growing up into Christ.

An authoritative and ground-breaking biography of the 8th-century theologian and statesman Alcuin of York, revealing his importance for the period.Scholar, ecclesiastic, teacher and poet of the eighth century, Alcuin was a person of deep Christian faith, tenacious in his loyalty to orthodox Catholic theology. He had a seminal influence upon his own generation and those that came after him. Although he remained a Northumbrian Christian at heart, the part of his life about which most is known was spent on the Continent. He never lost contact with his homeland; but his most significant and lasting work was evidently accomplished in Europe and his influence on the early medieval Western Church was an abiding one. This book examines his life and career in England and on the continent; it also considers his legacy as a churchman and a leading political figure. This volume prefigures a forthcoming work on Alcuin's intellectual legacy, 'Alcuin : A Study of his Theology' (due for release, April 2013). This rich study is intended for the general reader as well as for those studying, teaching or researching this period of early medieval history and theology in schools and universities.

Selected volumes of the catalogue of Ethiopic manuscripts digitised by the Ethiopic Manuscript Imaging Project, with full descriptions of contents and illuminations.The series Ethiopic Manuscripts, Texts, and Studies offers, in the first place, catalogues of the Ethiopic Manuscript Imaging Project, whose purpose it is to digitize and catalogue collections of Ethiopic manuscripts in North America and around the world. Beyond this, though, the series offers a venue for monographs, revised dissertations, and texts that explore the rich historical, literary, and artistic traditions of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.From the Series Foreword