Themes

• Survey of the history of the Liturgy from the Old Testament to the end of the 4th century
• Worship in the Bible, both Old and New Testament
• Worship in the early church, including within its eschatological worldview
• Development of liturgical tradition and of the structure of Eucharistic liturgies
• Study of early liturgical sources and commentaries
• The meaning of ‘typology’ and ‘allegory’

Readings

• Hugh Wybrew, The Orthodox Liturgy, pp 13-66 [preface and chapter 1 are optional reading]
• Peter Galadza, “Review: The Orthodox Liturgy”

Primary Sources

Primary texts drawn from Lucien Deiss, Springtime of the Liturgy. 

Students will be assigned and focus on different primary texts within this collection as follows:

Biblical sources

• Old Testament and Jewish liturgy, pp 3-19 
• Institution of the Eucharist, pp 22-26
• New Testament hymns — Doxologies and blessings, pp 29-37
• New Testament hymns — Christological hymns, pp 38-45
• New Testament hymns — Professions of faith and baptismal hymns, and Didactic and hortatory hymns, pp 46-56
• New Testament hymns — Canticles from Luke, pp 56-61
• New Testament hymns — Hymns of the Apocalypse, pp 62-69

Early church (first three centuries)

• Didache, pp 73-77
• Clement of Rome to the Corinthians, pp 81-85
• Justin Martyr, pp 89-94
• Melito of Sardis, Homily on Pascha, pp 99-110
• Clement of Alexandria, pp 115-119
• Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome, pp 123-153
• Didascalia of the Apostles, pp 169-180