
Rev. Dr. Bryan Spinks, Professor of Liturgical Studies at Yale Divinity School, will be the keynote speaker at a book launch celebrating the release of Worship Traditions in Armenia and the Neighboring Christian East, a collection of articles authored by current leading scholars on Eastern liturgy. The event, open to the public, will be held on December 6, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. on the campus of St Vladimir's Seminary, which is co-hosting the occasion with St Nersess Armenian Seminary.
Edited by Roberta R. Ervine, Associate Professor of Armenian Studies at St Nersess Seminary, the book includes a keynote article by Robert F. Taft, S.J. entitled, "Was the Eucharistic Anaphora Recited Secretly or Aloud? The Ancient Tradition and What Became of It," among its panoply of articles on early Christian liturgy in the Eastern traditions: Armenian, Byzantine, and East and West Syrian. Fr. Taft is probably the world's foremost living scholar in the field of liturgical studies.
Click here to see the complete contents of the book.

Worship Traditions is the third volume of St. Nersess Seminary's AVANT Series, dedicated to early Armenian patristic, dogmatic, and liturgical texts. The series is a collaborative effort between St. Nersess and St. Vladimir's Seminaries. The new volume honors St Nersess Seminary on the occasion of its 40th anniversary.
Professor Spinks will examine the worship of the Armenians and their Christian neighbors, whose liturgies conserved and transmitted the heart of doctrine in the Christian East. His own eminent research includes East Syrian rites, Reformed rites, issues in theology and liturgy, and worship in a postmodern age. He also teaches courses on marriage liturgy, English Reformation worship traditions, the eucharistic prayer and theology, Christology, and the liturgies of the Eastern churches.
Required Reading
V. Rev. Daniel Findikyan, Dean of St Nersess Seminary and general editor of the AVANT Series, said of Worship Traditions, "The international symposium in 2003 that gave birth to this book brought together practically every scholar in the world specializing in the liturgical traditions of the ancient Christian East. This book will be required reading for students and practitioners of the Armenian and neighboring rites, and eye-opening to those less familiar with eastern Christiantiy."
The reception will take place in the Metropolitan Philip Hall of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, in Crestwood, New York. Click here for travel directions.
The reception is free and open to the public, through reservations are requested. Copies ofWorship Traditions in Armenia and the Neighboring Christian East, as well as the previous numbers in the series will be available for purchase at a special discounted price.
For additional information, or reservations for the event, contact St. Nersess Seminary at info@stnersess.edu or by telephone: (914) 636-2003.