Church's Liturgy - by Michael Kunzler (Paperback)

About the Book

This is the first volume published in English of a series of International Handbooks of Catholic Theology under the general editorship of Cardinal Christoph Schnborn, Archbishop of Vienna.The book is a comprehensive introduction to the liturgy of the Roman Rite, set within a broader consideration of Christian liturgies Eastern and Western (Byzantine, Mozarabic, Ambrosian, and Reformed). The central theme of the book is the life-creating communication between God and human beings. Part 1 deals with God's invitation to humanity to enter the divine fullness of life. This is God's descent or "katabasis." Part II is concerned with humanity's acceptance of the invitation--the human ascent to God or "anabasis." Following this extensive treatment of the general nature of Christian liturgy are four sections devoted to particular subjects: the celebration of the Eucharist, the celebration of the sacraments, the liturgy of the hours and other services of the Word, and, finally, the liturgical year.

Book Synopsis

This is the first volume published in English of a series of International Handbooks of Catholic Theology under the general editorship of Cardinal Christoph SchÁ-nborn, Archbishop of Vienna.The book is a comprehensive introduction to the liturgy of the Roman Rite, set within a broader consideration of Christian liturgies Eastern and Western (Byzantine, Mozarabic, Ambrosian, and Reformed). The central theme of the book is the life-creating communication between God and human beings. Part 1 deals with God's invitation to humanity to enter the divine fullness of life. This is God's descent or "katabasis." Part II is concerned with humanity's acceptance of the invitation--the human ascent to God or "anabasis." Following this extensive treatment of the general nature of Christian liturgy are four sections devoted to particular subjects: the celebration of the Eucharist, the celebration of the sacraments, the liturgy of the hours and other services of the Word, and, finally, the liturgical year.

Review Quotes

" should serve well as a textbook or a reference book for upper division and graduate survey courses." Theological Studies, November/December 2003

"[The author has] a thorough knowledge of the theology of the Eastern Church, which abounds all around us and extends and amends our one-sided Western perspective." Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

"For a single author to attempt such an enormous feat is quite precocious. But Kunzler rises to the challenge, synthesizing an impressive array of mainly German scholarship into one, systematically ordered volume....It can serve as a handy reference on any liturical question and its first two parts may be milestones in the theological understanding of liturgy."
Patrick Regan, Worship, May 2003

"Kunzler's aim goes beyond conveying information; he wants to arouse affection for the Divine Service. In his book, he has achieved this in an outstanding way." Catholic News Agency

[June 24, 2002] Public News Service, rates it "!!!! Exceptional" and notes "Advance Praise, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger"



"[The author has] a thorough knowledge of the theology of the Eastern Church, which abounds all around us and extends and amends our onesided Western perspective."

About the Author

Michael Kunzler was born at Saarbrucken, Germany, in 1951. Ordained for the diocese of Trier in 1980, he became Professor of Paderborn Theological Faculty in 1988, and he has been a Visiting Professor at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome since 1999.