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In Love with the Church brings together four homilies of Saint Josemaria Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei. These homilies contain magnificent reflections on the Church and on the layperson's role in the Church, written in Saint Josemariá's attractive and compelling style. This book offers the reader and opportunity to grow in love for the Church and to learn how to serve her more faithfully, guided by a saint whose own love for the Church was truly remarkable.

Sacred places are not static entities but reveal a historical dynamic. This volume explores both the cultural developments that have shaped them and their varied multidimensional levels of significance.

Michael Peppard provides a historical and theological reassessment of the oldest Christian building ever discovered, the third-century house-church at Dura-Europos. Contrary to commonly held assumptions about Christian initiation, Peppard contends that rituals here did not primarily embody notions of death and resurrection. Rather, he portrays the motifs of the church's wall paintings as those of empowerment, healing, marriage, and incarnation, while boldly reidentifying the figure of a woman formerly believed to be a repentant sinner as the Virgin Mary. This richly illustrated volume is a breakthrough work that enhances our understanding of early Christianity at the nexus of Bible, art, and ritual.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the mother of all the churches, erected on the spot where Jesus Christ was crucified and rose from the dead and where every Christian was born. In 1927, Jerusalem was struck by a powerful earthquake, and for decades this venerable structure stood perilously close to collapse. In Saving the Holy Sepulchre, Raymond Cohen tells the engaging story of how three major Christian traditions--Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian Orthodox--each with jealously guarded claims to the church, struggled to restore one of the great shrines of civilization. It almost didn't happen. For centuries the communities had lived together in an atmosphere of tension and mistrust based on differences of theology, language, and culture--differences so sharp that fistfights were not uncommon. And the project of restoration became embroiled in interchurch disputes and great power politics. Cohen shows how the repair of the dilapidated basilica was the result of unprecedented cooperation among the three churches. It was tortuous at times--one French monk involved in the restoration exclaimed: "I can't take any more of it. Latins--Armenians--Greeks--it is too much. I...

ÊThis is the story of the Sudarium of Oviedo, an ancient bloodstained cloth, believed to have covered the head of Jesus of Nazareth after his crucifixion. The author traces the known history of the linen and presents the up-to-date conclusions of EDICES. The investigative team that has been studying the cloth since 1989, discusses the cultural significance of the crucifixion and blood in the context of first-century Jerusalem. They demonstrate the significance of the famous passage of John 20:5-7, as analyzed by some of the most important Biblical scholars of the world. The book contains twenty pages of color photographs, many of which are from EDICES. These photographs explain visually the bloodstains and wrinkles found on the cloth, how the cloth was used, its comparison with the Shroud of Turin and the historical odyssey from Jerusalem to Spain.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

San Fernando Cathedral is the inspiring story of how a church built nearly two and a half centuries ago remains a wellspring of life an renewal today. Know for its public rituals that attract thousands to down town San Antonio - particularly during Holy Week and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe - San Fernando Cathedral nurtures and nourishes a diverse and dynamic population; it is indeed the soul of the city.

Revised Edition This is the story of the Sudarium of Oviedo, an ancient bloodstained cloth, believed to have covered the head of Jesus of Nazareth after his crucifixion. The author traces the known history of the linen and presents the up-to-date conclusions of EDICES. The investigative team that has been studying the cloth since 1989, discusses the cultural significance of the crucifixion and blood in the context of first-century Jerusalem. They demonstrate the significance of the famous passage of John 20:5-7, as analyzed by some of the most important Biblical scholars of the world. The book contains twenty pages of color photographs, many of which are from EDICES. These photographs explain visually the bloodstains and wrinkles found on the cloth, how the cloth was used, its comparison with the Shroud of Turin and the historical odyssey from Jerusalem to Spain.