The Shape of the Liturgy

Considered the most influential liturgical work of the twentieth century, this volume describes Dix’s Four Action Shape of the Liturgy: Offertory, Consecration, Fraction, and Communion. Dix explores the ancient Christian forms of liturgy from the Egyptian and Syrian traditions to the Roman, Jerusalem, and Antioch rites prior to the fourth century, and each of their expressions and developments in each liturgical action. The Shape of the Liturgy is the standard text for ancient liturgical studies and the meaning of each symbol and sacrament present today.