The Oxford History of Christian Worship (review)

It is truly admirable that a work of this breadth (and length) is at once useful to the liturgical specialist, to the trained theologian, to the church historian, and to the educated layperson. Its scope and structure of thirty-four chapters is mostly chronological with separate topical chapters on such things as women in worship, liturgical music, spatial setting, visual arts, vestments and objects, and a retrospect by the highly qualified and well respected scholars who are the general editors of the volume. Geoffrey Wainwright brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from a decidedly theological and ecumenical approach to liturgy. His professorship at Duke University was preceded by prestigious positions in England, then Cameroon, and New York City. His masterful book of liturgical theology, Doxology, deserves the name "classic" with which it is often described. Karen Westerfield Tucker's contribution "Women in Worship" reflects her astute grasp of a number of issues related to liturgy, not the least of which is the contemporary relevance of such a traditional part of church life.

Among the more difficult decisions such editors have to make is how to introduce such a volume. That it begins by a fundamentally scriptural and theological approach from the pen of Wainwright himself is both an important statement of the depth of this book, as well as setting an important theological tone for much of the rest of the book. One could debate a few of his assertions; one could also opine that it is too brief. Yet on balance the theological overture struck here is admirable, especially given the way liturgical studies have been so variously described and pursued of late.

It is important to note the format of this book. Photographs, sketches, and copies of art work and liturgical vessels fill its pages. Also at regular intervals the authors quote at length from a church document, prayer book, commentary on liturgy, or another writing from the period at hand. These are easily noticed because they are set off from the rest of the print by their grayish background and dark border. These documents give an important glimpse into the issues being discussed. They offer a primary source for the secondary reflection about the sources and phenomena under discussion.

Almost all of the over thirty international contributors to this volume represent the first tier of liturgical scholars alive today. Each is recognized in his or her field and almost always are well recognized to be connected with the chapters they have authored, e.g., John Baldovin on "the Empire baptized" (312-622 A.D.) or Andre Haquin, "The Liturgical Movement and Roman Catholic Ritual Revision" (nineteenth century on). Certainly Anscar Chupungco is well known for his work on liturgical inculturation ("Mission and Inculturation: East Asia and the Pacific") but one needs to note that his particular contribution is somewhat dated (it was the topic of his doctoral dissertation) and that in Catholic circles one would have welcomed at least some reference to the 1994 document from the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship, Varietates Legitimae, on the very topic. The editors' intention to include Orthodox, Catholic, the Reformation churches, Mennonite, Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal churches from the widest geographical spectrum (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe) is sustained throughout. At times one might debate the relative importance given to a particular topic, e.g., a chapter on "The Reformed Tradition in Korea" (by Seung–Joong Joo and Kyeong-Jin Kim) without a parallel treatment of the worship of other traditions. Yet even these (admittedly brief) "windows" into what might be regarded as a surprise do precisely that, offer a window into an aspect of the world-wide liturgical scene that is not normal material for such an important dictionary.

Understandably the first part of the book is devoted to generous treatments of the apostolic era (Maxwell Johnson), the empire baptized (John Baldovin), the ancient oriental churches (Christine Chaillot), the conversion of the nations (Michael Driscoll...