If we attempted to include every extant pre-Reformation missal in the pool of sources for the The Lutheran Missal, our grandchildren would likely be the ones to finish the task. In the Latin missals available to us, the combined index of sanctoral masses yields a staggering 100,000 entries—one for each mass. It was immediately clear…
In The Lutheran Liturgy, Dr. Reed mentions that he had physical access to three pre-Reformation missals of Germany: Nuremberg 1484, Bamberg 1498, and Constance 1505 (p. 463). The missals were housed in the Krauth Memorial Library at Philadelphia and supplied the historic basis for the Common Service. In this regard the internet has changed our…
Today we officially welcome two additional editors to The Lutheran Missal project: Matthew Carver and Fr. Stefan Gramenz. Matthew Carver is a translator of German and classical literature. His interests lie in art, orthodox Lutheran theology, liturgy, and hymnody. Matthew received a BA from California State University, Long Beach with a double major in German…
Many people do not know that Sundays and major feasts days are only a small part of the Church’s historic lectionary. These are the chief occasions, yes, but the lectionary, as observed by faithful Christians for centuries, includes much more. The temporal calendar historically contained propers for most Wednesdays and Fridays of the year, and…
In February of 2018, while completing my final year at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fr. Heath Curtis asked me to edit the second edition of his Daily Divine Service Book (DDSB). The preface of the first edition laments that the Lutheran Church in North America has not yet produced a missal. In recognition of this profound…