Worshiping with the Church Fathers - by Christopher a Hall (Paperback)

About the Book

Christopher Hall invites us to accompany the church fathers as they enter the sanctuary for worship and the chapel for prayer. He also takes us to the wilderness, where we learn from the early monastics as they draw close to God in their solitary discipline. Readers will enjoy a rich and rare schooling in developing their spiritual life in this unique survey of the life of worship from the perspective of the early Church.

Book Synopsis

Christopher Hall invites us to accompany the fathers as they enter the sanctuary for worship and the chapel for prayer. He also takes us to the wilderness, where we learn from the early monastics as they draw close to God in their solitary discipline.The focus of this book is not liturgy but more broadly worship in its corporate and individual dimensions. We enter into the patristic understanding of baptism and the Eucharist. And we come under the instruction and discipline of great spiritual teachers of prayer.In two previous books, Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers and Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, Christopher Hall has ushered us alongside the church fathers as they study the Scriptures and plumb the depths of theology. In this survey of the spiritual life of worship he informs and challenges Christians in faithful living today. Hall weaves his own experiences into his observations of the fathers' practices and teachings and so helps us close the gap of the centuries. Readers will enjoy a rich and rare schooling in developing their spiritual life.

Review Quotes

"A specialist on the early church, Hall provides an excellent, readable overview of the worship of the early church."

"Hall has accomplished an important task for Protestants and Evangelicals by bringing these complex and beautiful texts to light. . . . From cover to cover it is an invitationto consider the beauty and insight of the early Christian tradition of prayer and practice. The richness of the likes of Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, and John Cassian reach out to any reader--academic, pastoral, or lay."

"In Worshiping With the Church Fathers, Hall helps us understand sacraments, prayers, and disciplines and their meaning for the early Church fathers, giving us important keys to enriching our contemporary worship. We gain a sense of history and our connection to the past believers who make up 'a great cloud of witnesses, ' plus our worship vocabulary and practice is expanded and deepened."

About the Author

Christopher A. Hall is chancellor of Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He previously served as dean of the Templeton Honors College at Eastern. In addition, he is associate editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture.