Antistite nostro: The Episcopal Ministry in the Life of the Local Church: Festschrift in Honor of Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati

The richness of the Catholic Church is found in the bonds of communion between the universal church and the local church. The bishop―the antistite, or high priest, as he is entitled in the Canon of the Mass―is the apostolic successor who, though always in communion with the pope, is likewise a vicar of Christ in his own right. Thus, the role of the bishop―and his understanding of his own ministry―can shape the personality of a diocese as well as its understanding of its place in the worldwide church. This Festschrift, written in honor of a bishop who has sought to enliven his diocese and remind it of its bonds of communion with the whole, aims to provide a multi-disciplined approach to the ministry of the diocesan bishop at a time when authority is held in suspicion, communion is seen as constricting, and obedience to those in authority is treated as an artifact of a bygone age. The assembled essays approach the question of the episcopal ministry from the perspective of the Catholic Church's theological tradition and aim to enlighten clergy and laity about the ministry of their bishops and encourage bishops themselves in exercising their sacred office.

Ryan T. Ruiz, a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, is dean of the School of Theology and associate professor of liturgy and sacraments at Mount St. Mary's Seminary & School of Theology, Cincinnati. He received a doctorate in sacred liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Saint Anselm in Rome and serves as a consultant for the US bishops' Committee on Divine Worship. David J. Endres serves as academic dean and professor of church history and historical theology at Mount St. Mary's Seminary & School of Theology, Cincinnati. A priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, he holds a doctoral degree from the Catholic University of America and is editor of the scholarly quarterly U.S. Catholic Historian.

David J. Endres is a Catholic priest serving in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. He is chaplain and religion teacher at Fenwick High School, Franklin, Ohio and Adjunct Professor of History at Xavier University, Cincinnati.