The Oil of Gladness is a comprehensive survey of the use of oils in the Christian tradition. The sixteen essays discuss anointing in the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Reformed Churches, and cover the period from Old Testament times to the revival of the use of oils in contemporary culture.

Introduction – Roger Greenacre
The Sacramental Use of Material Things – Brian Horne
Ancient Mesopotamia – Stephanie Dalley
Ancient Greece and Rome – Angus Bowie
The Old Testament – Roy Porter
The New Testament – Jeffrey John
The Early Church – John Halliburton
The Syriac Tradition – Sebastian Brock
The Orthodox Churches – Christine Hall
The Catholic Church – Martin Dudley
Anglicanism/The Churches of the Reformation – Geoffrey Rowell
Anointing in Hospital – Norman Autton
The Hospice Ministry and Anointing – Maureen Palmer
Oils in Contemporary Culture – Rebecca Abrams/Hugo Slim
The Blessing of Oils: The Western Tradition – Martin Dudley
The Blessing of Oils: The Byzantine Rite – W. Jardine Grisbrooke

This classic book has been reissued in response to continuing demand.

MARTIN DUDLEY is Rector of St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, London
GEOFFREY ROWELL is Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe