{"product_id":"the-origins-of-feasts-fasts-and-seasons-in-early-christianity-9780814662441","title":"The Origins of Feasts, Fasts, and Seasons in Early Christianity","description":"\u003cp\u003e The liturgical year is a relatively modern invention. The term itself only came into use in the late sixteenth century. In antiquity, Christians did not view the various festivals and fasts that they experienced as a unified whole. Instead, the different seasons formed a number of completely unrelated cycles and tended to overlap and conflict with one another. In early Christianity, the fundamental cycle was that of the seven-day week. Taken over from Judaism by the first Christians, this was centered on Sunday rather than the sabbath. As the early Church established its identity, the days of the week set aside for fasting came to be different from those customary among the Jews. There also existed an annual cycle related to Easter. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Drawing upon the latest research, the authors track the development of the Church's feasts, fasts, and seasons, including the sabbath and Sunday, Holy Week and Easter, Christmas and Epiphany, and the feasts of the Virgin Mary, the martyrs, and other saints. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBradshaw, Paul F.:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003ePaul F. Bradshaw is emeritus professor of liturgy at the University of Notre Dame and an Anglican\/Episcopal priest. The author or editor of over thirty books and of more than 120 articles and essays, he is also a past president both of the North American Academy of Liturgy and of the international Societas Liturgica. From 1987 to 2005 he was editor-in-chief of the scholarly journal \u003ci\u003eStudia Liturgica\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Liturgical Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50413351731474,"sku":"9780814662441","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9fa4a25c-4594-470d-a26b-d809883e6497.jpg?v=1729352850","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-origins-of-feasts-fasts-and-seasons-in-early-christianity-9780814662441","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}