Twenty Centuries of Christian Worship (Library of Christian Worship: Volume 2)

by Robert E. Webber

Publisher:

Star Song

, 1994

Overview

Twenty Centuries of Christian Worship traces the history of the church from the New Testament period through the modern era detailing worship in the early church, the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Roman Catholic worship, post-Reformation worship, and worship renewal movements in the Twentieth Century. Various historic models of worship are represented including The Didache, Martin Luther's Formula Missae, and John Wesley's Sunday Service. Other features include overviews of different theologies of worship, issues relating to the future of worship, and challenges facing worship renewalists.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Monastic prayer can be more properly thought of as a service of prayer and meditation on Scripture than as liturgy. The primary reason is that liturgy implies the whole church of God gathered together to pray (including clergy), and the monastic movement in its beginnings was a lay movement.” (Page 6)

“If worship is the heart’s love for God, theology is the mind’s love for God; both are responses to God.” (Page 262)

“The liturgy of the Old Covenant has become fulfilled and completed in the liturgy of the New Covenant.” (Page 23)

“Morning and evening prayer (also known as matins and vespers, or evensong) were part of the prayer environment of early Christians. The charge to ‘pray without ceasing’ in the New Testament was observed in different ways among early Christians. First, and foremost, was the weekly celebration of the Eucharist on the Lord’s Day, Sunday. Second was the prayer of the ‘domestic church,’ the family gathered to pray at meals and at sunset and sunrise.” (Page 6)

“The primary hours of Daily Prayer are morning prayer and evening prayer. Morning prayer is a prayer of thanks and praise for the new day and for salvation in Jesus, symbolized by the rising sun. Evening prayer is the Christian way of closing the day, a reflection on the good of the day and reconciliation for the wrongs done.” (Page 6)

Product Details

• Title: Twenty Centuries of Christian Worship (Library of Christian Worship: Volume 2)
• Author: Robert E. Webber
• Series: The Complete Library of Christian Worship
• Volume: 2
• Publisher: Star Song
• Print Publication Date: 1994
• Logos Release Date: 2001
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Public worship › History; Public worship; Liturgics
• ISBNs: 9781562330125, 1562330128
• Resource ID: LLS:39.10.5
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-16T19:00:47Z

About Robert E. Webber

Robert Webber (1933–2007) was known for his work on worship and the early church. The son of a Baptist minister, Webber was raised in the Belgian Congo where his parents were missionaries. He studied at Bob Jones University, Reformed Episcopal Seminary, Covenant Theological Seminary, and Concordia Seminary.

Webber taught theology at Wheaton College for 32 years and was the Myers Professor of Ministry at Northern Seminary. In 1998, as a part of the Convergence Movement, Webber founded The Robert E. Webber Institute of Worship Studies school which focused exclusively on worship education.

Later in his life, Webber took a special interest in Christian worship practice and wrote and edited more than 40 books on this topic including the Ancient-Future series and The Complete Library of Christian Worship.