Product Description

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Christian Church continues to minister to the dying and the bereaved. However, it does so in a rapidly changing world. The traditional understandings of death and life after death are challenged by the disciplines of medicine, the law, philosophy, psychology and anthropology. This two-volume study of Christian funerary theology and practice presents an account of funeral rites and the central issues involved for compilers and users. The author writes from direct experience of conducting funerals and of drafting liturgical resources for others. In Volume I, Dr Sheppy argues that the Church ought to construct its theological agenda in dialogue with other fields of study. He argues for a Christian statement about death that finds its basis in the Paschal Mystery, since human death must be explained by reference to Jesus' death, descent to the dead and resurrection. Using the three phases of van Gennep's theory of rites of passage, the author shows how the Easter triduum may be seen as normative for Christian liturgies of death. Volume II reviews a wide range of current Christian funeral rites and examines how they reflect both the Church's concern for the death and resurrection of Christ and the contemporary secular demand for funerals which celebrate the life of the deceased.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #422212 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-23
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Customer Reviews

Comparative Funeral rites
Those who were present at the 2000 conference of the Society for Liturgical Study, held in Oxford, will recall Paul Sheppy's fascinating and often moving paper on Funeral Rite Revision: the Dance of Death. We are now fortunate to have two volumes devoted to a theological and pastoral examination of the Christian understanding of death and of the rites and rituals associated with it. The history of the Christian liturgy for the dead makes it clear that there is a wealth of material to draw on as an object of further study.
In Volume I we are invited on a journey, to accompany the author on "a confessional pilgrimage". Drawing upon his considerable pastoral experience and knowledge of disciplines other than those of theology and liturgy, Dr Sheppy is not afraid to address the difficult questions arising from our modern attitudes to death and funeral rites. The question "what is death?" is examined from a medical and legal point of view before moving the reader on to philosophical and theological considerations. We are also introduced to the reflections of social anthropologists on death as a rite of passage before progressing to a formulation of an understanding of Christian death within the context of the Pascal Mystery.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the purpose of prayers after death can be seen to be changing. In medieval times its purpose was to protect and assist the soul in its perilous journey from this life to heaven. As interpretations of death have changed, so has the role of the funeral liturgies. In spite of the growth of the hospice movement, death is often interpreted as failure, both personal and medical. To die is to fail, and for many the major purpose of funeral liturgies is remembering of the dead and consolation of the living.
Volume II, while not claiming to be comprehensive, guides us through a considerable sample of funeral texts from Orthodox, Catholic and Reformed traditions. Here Dr Sheppy critiques the texts in the light of the particular denomination's pastoral and theological agenda. Attitudes to death over the last twelve hundred years have altered, from a rising fear of death in the Middle Ages, to the denial of any ability to affect the status of the deceased at the Reformation, to changed attitudes to Heaven and Hell in the nineteenth century, the denial and shock in the face of death in the two Great Wars and to the interpretation of death as failure in the late twentieth century.
These are two fine volumes, which commend themselves to anyone who seeks to broaden their knowledge, and thinking on Christian death and funeral rites; and to address the difficult pastoral issues facing any Church which is called upon to celebrate Christian funeral liturgies in post-modern, consumerist society.