DOORS to the SACRED Historical Intro to the Sacraments :: FREE Shipping

• Hardback book with Dust Jacket by Joseph Martos
• Preface by Bernard Cooke
• Over 524 pages
• Copyright © 1981 by Joseph Martos

" Now for the first time the intriguing and illuminating
history of the sacraments is available in one volume. "

• the historical development of the liturgy, doctrine and canon law of the sacraments ...
• biblical, patristic, medieval, modern and contemporary ideas and practices ...
• concise, non-technical language ...
• the sacramental theories of the great theological thinkers of all times ...
• individual treatment of each of the seven ecclesial sacraments ...
• brief, up-to-date bibliographies after each chapter ...

• Every religion in the world has sacraments.
• Sacraments were called effective signs because they really had an effect on people.
• Infant baptism became a standard practice in the fifth century.
• The traditional theology of Confirmation was based largely on some ninth century forgeries.
• Some early celebrations of Eucharist did not contain the words of consecration.
• Until the thirteenth century people sometimes confessed their sins to each other, rather than to a priest.
• During the first centuries of Christianity holy oil was taken internally as well as applied to the body.
• There was no Catholic wedding ritual before the eleventh century.
• Women were ordained deacons in the Church until the fourth century.
• Most priests did not have any seminary training before the sixteenth century. "

" DOORS TO THE SACRED "discerns how much of what actually occurred in sacramental development was from the spirit, and how much came from 'non-religious' cultural influences; to what extent were sacramental liturgies the expression of the faith of a spirit-filled community, or to what extent were they folk rituals performed with somewhat superstitious or magical understanding." - Bernard Cooke "

" Here is a book that treats the history and theology of the seven sacraments of the Catholic church without making assumptions about readers' beliefs.
Teachers, students, Catholic and non-Catholic alike will find this popular study invaluable in understanding the historical and cultural evolution of these rituals which lie at the heart of Catholic theological doctrine.
Joseph Martos has divided his subject into two sections: first, an examination of the development of sacraments in general and Christian sacraments-both Catholic and Protestant-in particular; second, a detailed discussion of each of the seven ecclesial sacraments: baptism, confirmation, eucharist, penance, anointing the sick, marriage, and holy orders. "

" The only such book dealing with this particular topic and written for an ecumenical audience, DOORS TO THE SACRED is an indispensable reference tool for scholars and students interested in the historical genesis of modern religious practice. "

Contents includes:

" Preface by Bernard Cooke

Introduction: History and Sacraments

PART ONE: A HISTORY OF SACRAMENTS

I. Sacraments in All Religions

II. The Beginnings of the Christian Sacraments
1. Israel and the Roman Empire
2. The Early Christian Community
3. The Patristic Period
4. The Sacramental Seal
5. Augustine and Afterward

III. The Development of the Catholic Sacraments
1. Seven Liturgical Sacraments
2. Sign and Reality
3. The Sacramental Character
4. Aristotle, Aquinas, and the Sacraments
5. Legalism, Nominalism, and Magic

IV. Catholic and Protestant Sacraments
1. Luther and the Protestant Reformation
2. Trent and the Catholic Counter-reformation
3. The Modern Centuries

V. The Sacraments Today
1. Twentieth-Century Movements
2. Contemporary Sacramental Theology
3. Contemporary Sacramental Practices

PART TWO: HISTORIES OF THE SACRAMENTS

VI. Baptism
1. Parallels and Precedents
2. Baptism and Christian Initiation
3. Baptism in the Middle Ages
4. Baptism in Modern Times
5. Baptism in Contemporary Catholicism

VII. Confirmation
1. Parallels and Precedents
2. Receiving the Holy Spirit
3. From Consignation to Confirmation
4. Confirmation in Modern Times
5. Confirmation in the Contemporary Church

VIII. Eucharist
1. Parallels and Precedents
2. From the Last Supper to the Liturgy
3. The mass and Eucharist in the Middle Ages
4. The Lord's Supper and the Modern Mass
5. Liturgy and Eucharist in the Twentieth Century

IX. Penance
1. Parallels and Precedents
2. Repentance and Reconciliation in Early Christianity
3. Confession and Penance in the Middle Ages
4. The Modern Sacrament of Penance
5. Sacramental Reconciliation in the Church Today

X. Anointing
1. Parallels and Precedents
2. Healing and Anointing in the Early Church
3. From Anointing the Sick to Anointing the Dying
4. The Modern Sacrament of Extreme Unction
5. Return to Anointing of the Sick

XI. Marriage
1. Parallels and Precedents
2. Early Christian Marriage
3. From Secular to Ecclesiastical Marriage
4. Marriage in the Modern Church
5. Marriage in Contemporary Catholicism

X. Orders
1. Parallels and Precedents
2. Christian Ministries and Sacred Orders
3. Holy Orders in the Middle Ages
4. The Modern Catholic Priesthood
5. Ministries in the Church Today

Conclusion: Sacraments and the Future "

This book came from a church library and has a pocket on the first blank page as well as several church name & address stamps.
Otherwise it is in very good condition with some wear and tear to the edges of the dust jacket.
No torn or ripped pages.

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