L'Occidente fu sempre attratto dalla Cina, ma la mitica "Terra di Mezzo" rimase un mondo sconosciuto, favoloso e irraggiungibile fino all'inizio del Seicento, quando il gesuita Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) penetrò in quell'immenso Paese, facendo conoscere alla Cina la civiltà europe…
Bernard of Clairvaux emerges from these studies as a vibrant, challenging and illuminating representative of the monastic culture of the twelfth century. In taking on Peter Abelard and the new scholasticism he helped define the very world he opposed and thus contributed to the r…
The fascinating story of the women who have lived in religious communities, from the dawn of the modern age onwards - their ideals and achievements, frustrations and failures, and their attempts to reach out to the society around them. - ;Cloistered and inaccessible 'brides of C…
Patrick Leigh Fermor set off as a teenager to make his way across Europe, as recorded in his classic memoirs, A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water. Later he fought with local partisans against the Nazi occupiers of Crete. A Time to Keep Silence stands out among Le…
In this authoritative and engaging new biography, Augustine Thompson, O.P., sifts through the surviving evidence for the life of Francis using modern historical methods. The result is a complex yet sympathetic portrait of the man and the saint.
Providing objective criteria and analytical frameworks by which the quality and function of contemporary congregational music can be assessed, this book also considers how well modern music is serving the modern church, and how effectively it is operating as a musical form in th…
This book opens up a new area of research in the history of the institution of the Irish Presentation Sisters and the impact of Vatican II, 1962-1965 on women religious life in Ireland. The challenges offered by the Council were taken on by the Presentation Congregation and resu…
"A religious fundamentalist, a political operative, a primitive sermonizer, and an accomplice of worldly secular powers. Her mission has always been of this kind. The irony is that she has never been able to induce anybody to believe her. It is past time that she was duly honore…
"Public religious practice lay at the heart of civic society in late medieval Europe. In this illuminating study, Andrew Brown draws on the rich and previously little-researched archives of Bruges, one of medieval Europe's wealthiest and most important towns, to explore the role…
A bestselling journalist exposes the connection between the Catholic Church's sexual abuse crisis and the practice of confession. Confession is a crucial ritual of the Catholic Church, offering absolution of sin and spiritual guidance to the faithful. Yet this ancient sacrament …
Mount Athos is the spiritual heart of the Orthodox world. From its beginnings in the ninth century it attracted monks from all corners of the Byzantine empire and beyond to experience its seclusion, its sanctity, and its great natural beauty. The first monastery, founded in 963,…
"Practical help, encouragement, preparation exercises, and spiritual wisdom for those who serve as readers in worship. Hoyer provides valuable insight into both the why and the how of excellent reading. Includes pronunciation guide for the lectionary readings."--
In Monks and Markets Dr Threlfall-Holmes provides a unique insight into medieval consumer behaviour and challenges the view that the middle ages were bound by tradition. Using Durham Cathedral Priory's outstanding archive she discusses diet, the factors influencing purchasing de…
Shenoute of Atripe: stern abbot, loquacious preacher, patron of the poor, and scourge of pagans in fifth-century Egypt. This book studies his numerous Coptic writings and finds them to be the most important literary source for the study of society, economy, and religion in late …
