Augustine and the Catechumenate
As one of the most influential thinkers in Christian history, St. Augustine (354–430) had a flair for teaching and meditated deeply on the mysteries of the human heart. This study examines a little-known side of his career: his work as a teacher of candidates for baptism.

ln the revised edition of this seminal book, both the text and notes have been revised to better reflect the state of contemporary scholarship on Augustine, liturgical studies, and the catechumenate, both ancient and modern. This edition also includes new findings from some of the recently discovered sermons of Augustine and incorporates new perspectives from recent research on early Christian biblical interpretation, debates on the Trinity, the evolution of the liturgy, and much more.

This reconstruction of Augustine’s catechumenate provides fresh perspectives on the day-to-day life of the early church and on the vibrancy and eloquence of Augustine the preacher and teacher.

1014855282
Augustine and the Catechumenate
As one of the most influential thinkers in Christian history, St. Augustine (354–430) had a flair for teaching and meditated deeply on the mysteries of the human heart. This study examines a little-known side of his career: his work as a teacher of candidates for baptism.

ln the revised edition of this seminal book, both the text and notes have been revised to better reflect the state of contemporary scholarship on Augustine, liturgical studies, and the catechumenate, both ancient and modern. This edition also includes new findings from some of the recently discovered sermons of Augustine and incorporates new perspectives from recent research on early Christian biblical interpretation, debates on the Trinity, the evolution of the liturgy, and much more.

This reconstruction of Augustine’s catechumenate provides fresh perspectives on the day-to-day life of the early church and on the vibrancy and eloquence of Augustine the preacher and teacher.

39.95 In Stock
Augustine and the Catechumenate

Augustine and the Catechumenate

Augustine and the Catechumenate

Augustine and the Catechumenate

Paperback(Revised ed.)

$39.95 
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Overview

As one of the most influential thinkers in Christian history, St. Augustine (354–430) had a flair for teaching and meditated deeply on the mysteries of the human heart. This study examines a little-known side of his career: his work as a teacher of candidates for baptism.

ln the revised edition of this seminal book, both the text and notes have been revised to better reflect the state of contemporary scholarship on Augustine, liturgical studies, and the catechumenate, both ancient and modern. This edition also includes new findings from some of the recently discovered sermons of Augustine and incorporates new perspectives from recent research on early Christian biblical interpretation, debates on the Trinity, the evolution of the liturgy, and much more.

This reconstruction of Augustine’s catechumenate provides fresh perspectives on the day-to-day life of the early church and on the vibrancy and eloquence of Augustine the preacher and teacher.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780814663141
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Publication date: 12/30/2014
Edition description: Revised ed.
Pages: 504
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author


William Harmless, SJ, is professor of historical theology and patristic studies at Creighton University. He is the author of Desert Christians: An Introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism, Augustine in His Own Words, and Mystics

Table of Contents

List of Charts x

List of Abbreviations xi

Foreword Allan Fitzgerald xvii

Preface to the Revised Edition xxi

Introduction: To Return to the Sources 1

What the RCIA Says 3

What the RCIA Implies 10

What the RCIA Does Not Say 16

The Investigation 20

Chapter 1 The Fourth-Century Catechumenate 35

Third-Century Inheritances: North Africa 37

The Catechumenate: Trends in the Greek East 57

Lent: Trends in the Greek East 70

Mystagogy: Trends in the Greek East 79

Chapter 2 Augustine and the Catechumenate in Milan 88

Augustine the Catechumen 91

Augustine the Petitioner 109

Augustine the Neophyte 117

Lessons from the Threshold 125

Chapter 3 Evangelization: Unrolling the Scroll 131

The Candidate: Milieu, Motives, and Types 135

The Catechesis: Principles 148

1 The Classical Background 149

2 The Narrative: Making the Case for Christianity 152

3 Exhortation and End Time 157

The Catechist: Cultivating Delight 160

The Catechesis: Examples 164

The Message and the Messenger 175

Chapter 4 Catechumenate: Breaking Open the Bread of the Word 181

Feeding the Hungry: The Liturgy of the Word 186

Noisy Improvisations: The Sermon and Its Hearers 190

1 Written Text and Oral Performance 191

2 Audience Response 195

3 The DiscipHna Arcani 197

A Seasoned Rhetoric: The Method 200

Scripture and Its Riddles: The Core Curriculum 208

Conversi ad Dominum: The Dismissal 222

Excursus: The Delay of Baptism? 225

Chapter 5 Catechumenate: The Eagle and the Staircase 235

Two Sessions: December 406 239

Tractate on John 1 240

Exposition of Psalm 121 246

Melodic Themes 250

1 The Paradox of Christ 251

2 The Church as Body of Christ 256

3 Baptism and the Donatists 260

4 A Spirituality for Exiles 265

Turning to the Catechumens 271

Tractate 3 271

Tractate 4 273

Tractate 10 275

Tractate 11 276

Tractate 12 279

Theater of the Word 280

Chapter 6 Lent: Time in the Womb 291

The Cross-Weave of Faith and Works 292

Boot Camp: The Lenten Discipline 299

Emancipation Proclamation: The Scrutiny 309

A Pact among Pearl Merchants: The Creed 322

Two Wings of Prayer: The Our Father 336

Lent and the Midwife's Art 345

Chapter 7 Mystagogy: Baking Bread, Fermenting Wine 352

Lamps and Hearts Ablaze; The Rites of the Easter Vigil 354

The Great Swap: Easter Morning 369

Be What You See, Receive What You Are: The Eucharist 372

Hunting Down Death: Easter Week 381

Chirpings to Fledglings Leaving the Nest: The Octave 388

Mystagogy Tuned to the Key of the End Time 395

Chapter 8 Peroration 404

The Spoken Word: Rhetoric 406

Catechesis as a Performing Art 407

The Well-Tempered Word 408

The Art of Persuasion 412

The Dark Side 416

The Visible Word: Liturgy 418

The Sermon as Catechesis 420

The Pedagogy of Silence 421

The Shape of Mystagogy 423

Catechesis as Liturgical Theology 426

The Written Word: The Scriptures 427

The Bread of the Word 428

Breaking Open the Bread of the Word 429

The Musicality of the Word 432

The Word-Made-Flesh: Christ 435

The Melody of Christ 435

Christ and Conversion 438

Select Bibliography 443

Index 462

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