The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, Volume 3: The Medieval Church
Overview
The third volume in Hughes Oliphant Old’s multivolume history of the reading and preaching of Scripture focuses on the Middle 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.
Praise for the Print Edition
Studying these volumes is like walking around a great cathedral [. . . ] every section, however distinctive, unites in a grand design whose aim is to restore preaching to its rightful place. This multivolume work is easily the best history of preaching ever written, one that will serve generations of those whose faith comes by hearing.
—William Edgar, Westminster Theological Seminary
I consider this series by Old to be most timely. The current unfortunate trend to dumb down worship with less Scripture and with popular topical sermons needs the corrective offered in this comprehensive and readable work.
—Robert Webber, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary
Product Details
- Title: The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, Volume 3: The Medieval Church
- Author: Hughes Oliphant Old
- Series: The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Publication Date: 1999
- Pages: 664
Reviews
1 rating
Glenn Crouch
12/1/2016
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.