A History of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: The Precommunion Rites

Employing the methods of Comparative Liturgy, Taft locates his study of the Byzantine tradition within the broader context of liturgical history. The analysis of each liturgical component of the Byzantine precommunion and the respective accompanying formulas is accompanied at each step by an analysis of the pre-Byzantine evidence in the patristic and historical sources, and of later developments in the context of the relevant traditions. Consequently this book provides a veritable encyclopedia of material concerning the precommunion rites across the traditions of East and West, making it of interest to students of liturgy in general.