Last week Rhoda presented us with a picture of her standing in an ancient Ethiopian cruciform font, that, as she noted, is still in use! It was clearly a deep enough font for submersion, that is, the complete submersing of the body under the water during baptism. As with Rhoda, I was recently traveling, but […]
Last week’s blog featured the Church of St. George, part of the monolithic churches in Lalibela. Also of interest are the churches and monasteries on the islands and peninsula of Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia and source of the Blue Nile River. The churches, said to be built on “earlier religious sites,” date […]
Today’s banner photo is a baptismal font from Bete Amanuel (House or Church of Immanuel), one of numerous monolithic churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia, named for King Lalibela (r. ca. 1181-1221).
Notre Dame de Reims Cathedral has a rich history of martyrs, bishops, and royals. As part of the Roman Empire, there is evidence of a Christian presence in Riems in the middle of the third century. The first church on the present site of the cathedral was built around 400 by St. Nicasius (Nicaise), a […]
Kent has passed the blogger’s baton to me (Rhoda) for the month of July. Having just returned from travels in Europe (where Christianity is waning) and Ethiopia (where Christianity is flourishing), I’ll be sharing some of my pilgrimage experiences, reflecting on baptism, Christian formation, and the presence of Christ in and through the church now […]
Throughout the course over the last two years two issues have surfaced repeatedly: immediacy of baptism and implementation of the catechumenate. Some brief observations on both of those issues. Certainly, the desire for immediacy of baptism with adult candidates reflects the priority of the gospel and the gifts that God gives in baptism. We want […]
Two-thirds of the way through this half semester course—as students were preparing to make their presentations on various aspects of the catechumenate—the revelation popped into my head that I had used few experiential pedagogical elements in the course. What a sucker-punch self-critique of my pedagogy this was. Why? For at least two reasons, first because […]
“This course will examine how the church forms, catechizes, and incorporates adult Christians into the church and the fullness of the Christian life. It will give specific attention to the practice of adult faith formation, especially through the adult catechumenate, by (1) studying its ritual and theological origins and development, (2) examining contemporary catechumenal theology […]
In our last post on the 4th century mystagogical catecheses, Rhoda explored the multivalence of the kiss of peace and the Eucharistic liturgy. In this our truly final post on the Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation, I’ll explore the nature of communion, participation in the body and blood of Christ, as reflected in the mystagogues. Ambrose […]
A month ago, this email from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship landed in my email box, asking that I “help us spread the word about this opportunity.” It may be too late for our readers to consider applying for a grant that is due June 15, but it’s not too early to start the […]