This new edition of the classic work has been very largely rewritten in order to incorporate the fruits of the latest research and up-to-date bibliographical material. New chapters have been added on ministry and ordination, and on the effects of the coming of Christianity in the fourth century. ‘The Search for the Origins of Christian Worship’ examines critically the sources for Christian liturgical practices in the first three centuries; it discusses how these practices should be interpreted to prevent projecting the customs of later times onto them. The book explores the considerable variety of practice in the early Church, and looks at the emergence of the classical shape of Christian liturgy as various traditions were brought together in the fourth century.