Introduction to the Study of Liturgy

Worship is at the heart of the Christian faith. This applies equally to all denominations. For that reason it is all the more important that the ordering of worship and its place in the life of the church is regularly rewritten and reinterpreted. This volume—based on the third, completely revised German edition from 2013 by two of the foremost liturgical scholars in Germany—offers a contemporary, comprehensive introduction to the foundations for the study of liturgy today, one from which scholars and students in the English-speaking world can also profit. Beyond appealing to students of liturgy and theology, this book reaches out to everyone who wants to know more about the liturgical essence and dimensions of the church.

Albert Gerhards, after studies in Innsbruck and Rome, received his doctorate from the University of Trier. Professor of liturgics at the University of Bonn since 1989, he has been active in the broader spheres of church art and architecture, ecumenism, and Christian-Jewish dialogue, and he has served as an adviser to the Conference of German Bishops.

Benedikt Kranemann studied Catholic theology, German linguistics, and philosophy at the University of Münster. He began his career as librarian for the German Liturgical Institute, where he became a master of liturgical literature old and new. Since 1998 he has been professor of liturgics in the Catholic faculty at the University of Erfurt.