Bonds and Boundaries among the Early Churches
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Book Series
Studia Traditionis Theologiae, vol. 64
- Pages: 358 p.
- Size:156 x 234 mm
- Language(s):English
- Publication Year:2026
- € 70,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-61837-1
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- € 70,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-61838-8
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This book explores the intersection of ritual and narrative within the lived reality of the Eucharist. Focusing on the Armenian rite, a tradition continuously shaped by centuries of intercultural exchange, it examines how liturgical practice reflects and transforms theological meaning.
Subject(s)
BIO
Arman Shokhikyan holds a doctorate in Religious Studies from the University of Nottingham, where he also earned a master’s degree in Theology. Specializing in liturgical studies and historical theology, his research weaves together theological reasoning, cultural studies, and ecclesiastical history. A recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, Shokhikyan has published in several academic journals, including Ecclesiology, Theological Studies, and Worship. He is currently investigating the Armenian rite as a liminal space between the Greek East and Latin West during the 12th to 14th centuries.
Summary
This volume presents the first sustained study of the dynamic interplay between ritual and narrative in the Armenian Eucharistic tradition. Using the Armenian rite as a test case, it reveals how Eucharistic liturgy served as a site where theology, history, and intercultural exchange converged. By tracing its development across centuries of contact, with Greek, Latin, and regional influences, the book demonstrates how the rite was continually reshaped while preserving its distinct ecclesial identity.
Combining ritual and narrative analysis, the study introduces a new methodological lens for understanding Eucharistic liturgy within Eastern Christianity. Grounded in close analysis of Armenian sources, the book opens a broader conversation about how liturgy discloses meaning, makes history present, and narrates tradition. It offers both a focused contribution to liturgical studies and a valuable resource for scholars of Eastern Christianity and comparative Eucharistic theology. More broadly, it provides a fresh perspective on the relationship between religious tradition, ritual, and narrative.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Note on Transliterations and Biblical References
Chapter 1. The Armenian Eucharistic Rite in Context. Tradition, Sources, and Questions
Part I. How Ritual and Story Interact
Introduction
Chapter 2. The Ritual and Story Disconnected. The Boundaries of the Scholastic Paradigm
Chapter 3. Re-Connecting the Ritual and Story. A Ressourcement Perspective on Sacramentality
Part II. How the Story Unfolds in the Ritual
Introduction
Chapter 4. Body in the Liturgy. Text, Performance, and Symbolism
Chapter 5. From Jerusalem, with Love. The Armenian Synaxis and the Shaping of the Word
Chapter 6. From Constantinople, with Labouring Unity. An Entangled Narrative Component
Chapter 7. From Rome, with Affection. A Ritual Episode that Becomes a Narrative Motif
Part III. How the Story has been Enacted
Introduction
Chapter 8. Words Before the Altar. The Narrative Script of the Anaphora
Chapter 9. Bread Without Leaven, Wine Without Fault. Doctrinal Controversies and Liturgical Practice
Chapter 10. Receiving the Gifts. Ritual Texts, Clerical Agency, and the Language of the Communion Rites
Coda: History, Ritual, and Narrative. Towards a Liturgical Hermeneutics
Appendices
Appendix A. Liturgical Reading Sequence
Appendix B. The Armenian Eucharistic Creed in Comparison with the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and Epiphanius of Salamis’ Creeds
Appendix C. The Anaphora of St Athanasius
Bibliography
Indices
Index of Biblical References
Index of Ancient Authors and Sources
