The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, Volume 3: The Medieval Church

Reading & Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church #3

by Hughes Oliphant Old

The third volume in Hughes Oliphant Old's multivolume history of the reading and preaching of Scripture focuses on the Middles Ages.

Surveying the development of preaching over the span of a thousand years, Old explores the preachers of sixth-century Byzantium, the church's mission to the barbarians, the preaching of the gospel during Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire, the era of the great monastic orders, and the prophetic preachers of Renaissance Italy. Giving special attention to preaching greats like Bernard of Clairvaux and Bonaventure, Old also provides extensive analyses of several sermons from the period in order to show how the church presented the gospel in this little-known era.

Genres: History

664 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Dr. Hughes Oliphant Old was the John H. Leith Professor of Reformed Theology and Worship at Erskine Theological Seminary and Dean of the Institute for Reformed Worship. He was a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and studied at the University of Tübingen, the Protestant Theological Faculty of Paris, the Institute Catholique of Paris, and the University of Basel. He completed a D. théol. at the University of Neuchâtel and was appointed a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey. His 18 years of pastoral ministry in two churches, combined with meticulous research, has informed his prolific publishing.

Reviews

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving into the 3rd volume of Old's investigation into the Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, we delve into the Medieval period. Unlike the previous 2 volumes, this is a period of Church History that I have sadly neglected, and I must confess that my general opinion of the period has been negative. To my very pleasant surprise, the Author endeavours to find the positives as he explores a plethora of preachers, covering not only several centuries, but also different cultures and backgrounds that make up the Medieval period. However, the Author is not sugar-coating things, and has no problems pointing out problems. Rather, he endeavours to place the Preacher within his time period and culture, and then investigate what strengths can be found. I like that approach!

It continues to be a fascinating approach to explore Church History, through the Sermons and use of Scripture. I have been blessed to be exposed to many preachers that I never knew, as well as seeing some of the leading church men of this period as preachers for the first time. Whilst my education in the Medieval period still needs much more work, I thank the Author for the journey he took me on in this book.

This is a great way to learn more about the Medieval Church.