Essays in Liturgy and Theology, Volume 4: Church, Clergy, Laity, and the Spiritual Life

The Church is the place in which we apprehend salvation and share in the mighty saving acts of Christ. The Church is composed of many members, each one of whom is unique and vital. Yet these many unrepeatable persons form a single body, an organic unity of communion in which each one has both a particular and a common activity. They carry out their common activity through their diverse but interdependent gifts, responsibilities, roles, and duties. The people who constitute the Church comprise two distinct but interdependent orders, the clergy and the laity. The essays in this volume were written over the course of several years for a variety of reasons. A common thread holds them together. Each deals in one way or another with themes that provide the title of the volume: Church, Clergy, Laity, and the Spiritual Life.-From the PrefaceThe Reverend Dr. Alkiviadis C. Calivas is Professor Emeritus of Liturgics at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, and