Maxwell E. Johnson is emeritus professor of liturgy at the University of Notre Dame and a retired presbyter in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. His numerous publications are on the origins and development of early Christian liturgy, contemporary rites, and current ecumenical and theological questions in both East and West. He is the author and/or editor of more than twenty books and over one hundred essays and articles. He is also a former president of the North American Academy of Liturgy, a member of the Society of Oriental Liturgy, a member of Societas Liturgica, and a member of the scientific advisory board for the journal Ecclesia Orans.
Max Johnson has done it again. If you have room in your library for
only one reference book on initiation, this is the one to choose. .
. . This revision paints and even broader, deeper, and therefore
even more complex picture of how Christians have ritualized and
understood Christian identity and the making of
Christians.Celebrate
Those who know Max Johnson’s work in the area of sacramental
initiation need no introduction to this new edition of The Rites of
Christian Initiation. In fact, they probably already own it. The
1999 edition was the definitive work on the history and theology of
the liturgical rites of initiation and a major contribution to
their spirituality. It has been widely used as a textbook, and I am
sure that those who have used it have found its clarity and
insights as challenging as I have. The new edition, with extensive
updating and rewriting, is even better. . . . The book is
indispensable for anyone interested in sacramental
initiation.Catholic Books Review
No Catholic library should be without this revised and expanded
version of The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and
Interpretation.Catholic Library World
[A] necessary reference book for every initiation ministry team. .
. . This book will offer helpful insights to those open to history
and the wisdom of diverse communities within the Church. It’s
perfect for those who know it’s time for a personal update—and this
book highlights the fact that it is indeed time for most of us—or
for use in any initiation course that goes beyond the surface of
what is in the current liturgical books.Celebrate
Used as a textbook in university undergraduate and graduate
religious studies programs, the work is accessible and informative
to any reader interested in a historical perspective on Christian
initiation rites.Midwest Book Review
If you think Maxwell Johnson has already written the definitive
book on the history of Christian initiation rites, you are right.
But now he has made it better. A revised and expanded edition is
only necessary because scholars have new insights into the history
of these rites, and because their contemporary celebration
continues to develop. Johnson has written a textbook case of
writing good textbooks: clear in organization, generous in quoting
sources, precise in analysis, and provocative in expositing
contemporary theological issues. Maxwell Johnson is a mystagogical
Titan at the top of his form. Paul Turner, STDAuthor of When Other
Christians Become Catholic (Liturgical Press)
The revised and expanded edition of Maxwell Johnson’s The Rites of
Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation further
enhances the reputation of the Liturgical Press for publishing
first-rate liturgical studies that both keep abreast of the field
and ahead of it. The first edition clearly established itself as
the best overall treatment of the subject and the most widely used
textbook available. This new edition captures the fast-moving
developments in scholarship on the rites of both eastern and
western Christianity. Particularly instructive is Professor
Johnson’s discussion of the most recent fruitful engagement of
Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches on initiation,
including directions to be taken in the future. Most arresting,
however, is his penetrating theology and spirituality of the rites
of initiation. For everyone interested in the rites of Christian
initiation, no matter from what faith tradition, this revised and
expanded edition is must reading and stud
The first edition has already established itself as the standard
history of the rites of initiation, and the updating in this second
edition will further enhance its reputation.Rev. Paul Bradshaw,
PhD, Professor of Liturgy, University of Notre Dame
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