DESCRIPTION: With the exception of the Lord's Prayer, no single topic in the Christian faith has been written about more than the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, or the Eucharist. This seminar will survey the history of the Lord's Supper. It will introduce the nature of religious meals in the cultures (Jewish and Greco-Roman) that influenced early Christian practice. It will trace the ritual of the Lord's Supper in terms of text and practices. It will also trace the evolving interpretation of the Lord's Supper. Students will move through the Christian eras up to the contemporary church, evaluating the historical choices made in the current Eucharistic rites. This doctoral seminar (for which students at the 800 level will register Spring and Summer, CH834A and CH834B) is open to a limited number of master's level students by special permission (CH534).

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will be expected to learn three methods in this class: First the student will learn how to contextualize liturgical practice within the culture in which it takes place. Second, the student will learn to do comparative liturgy, which is the analysis and assessment of liturgical sources for eucharistic rites. Third, the student will learn the correspondence between the interpretation of the rite and the rite itself, exploring the relationship between sacramental theology and liturgical practice. Beyond these methods the student will learn the historical sweep of the practice of the Lord's Supper and its interpretation. The student will also learn the recent trends in eucharistic practice arising out of the liturgical renewal movement.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Studying the history of Lord's Supper affords the student the opportunity to study the history of Christian worship through the lens of one of the central elements of the church's liturgy. Knowing the source and influences upon the variety of Christian practice today helps one understand the similarities and differences between Christian worship traditions in general.

COURSE FORMAT: The seminar will meet weekly for three-hour sessions. It will have some lectures by the professor, but will be mostly seminar presentations and discussions.

REQUIRED READING:

Course Reader.

Bradshaw, Paul. Eucharistic Origins. Oxford University Press, 2004.

Jasper, R. & G. Cuming, eds. Prayers of the Eucharist: Early and Reformed. Liturgical Press, 1987.

Mitchell, N. Cult & Controversy: The Worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass. Liturgical Pr., 1982.

Mazza, Enrico. The Origins of the Eucharistic Prayer. Liturgical Press, 1995.

Stookey, Laurence. Eucharist: Christ's Feast with the Church. Abingdon, 1993.

One of the following two historical surveys is required:

Senn, Frank. Christian Liturgy: Catholic and Evangelical. Fortress, 1997.

Wainwright, G. & K. B. W. Tucker, eds. The Oxford History of Christian Worship. OUP, 2006.

Cummings, Owen. Eucharistic Doctors: A Theological History. Paulist, 2005.

Seasoltz, Kevin, ed. Living Bread, Saving Cup. Liturgical Press, 1987.