Holy People: A Liturgical Ecclesiology

by Gordon W. Lathrop

This sequel to Gordon Lanthrop's highly successful Holy Things is an exercise in liturgical theology, viewing the activities of worship as a means of defining and discussing the concept "church." It centers on community and assembly to discuss the sacraments. It focuses on ecumenism and inculturation as central test cases for a liturgically derived idea of church.

In hopes of invigorating the local church, Lathrop explores the meaning of the term "church," the relationship of the local liturgical assembly and other Christian assemblies (catholicity); the personal and communal character of liturgical assembly; the unity of the churches; the critical principles of liturgy and culture; openness to what is radically other; and liturgical evangelization. Lathrop's work grounds a notion of church that is personal yet communal, universal, but not triumphalistic.

Genres: Theology

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1999

About the author

Gordon W. Lathrop is a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a retired professor of liturgy. Born in 1939 and educated in Los Angeles, CA (Occidental College), St. Paul, MN (Luther Seminary), and Nijmegen, the Netherlands (the Catholic University of Nijmegen), from 1969-1984 he was parish pastor in Darlington, WI, campus pastor at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, and seminary chaplain at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, IA. After teaching at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia from 1984 until 2004, he was named Professor of Liturgy Emeritus there. From 2006-2012 he was Visiting Professor of Liturgical Studies in Yale Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music. In recent years he has taught courses at the St. Thomas Aquinas University in Rome, the University of Copenhagen in Denmark., and here at the Virginia Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including Holy Things: A Liturgical Theology (Fortress 1993), Holy People: A Liturgical Ecclesiology (Fortress 1999), Holy Ground: A Liturgical Cosmology (Fortress 2003), The Pastor: A Spirituality (Fortress 2006), and The Four Gospels on Sunday: The New Testament and the Reform of Christian Worship (Fortress 2012). In 1985 he was the President of the North American Academy of Liturgy. In 1994, 1995 and 1997, he was a participant in international Faith and Order meetings on Worship and Christian Unity. In 2011 he received an honorary doctorate in theology from the University of Helsinki, Finland. From 2011 until 2013 he was President of Societas Liturgica, the international society of scholars in liturgy. He lives now in Arlington, VA, with his wife. Their children and grandchildren live all over the United States.

He continues to write and teach. His research interests are especially focussed on Bible and liturgy, liturgical theology, and liturgy and ecumenism.