Liturgical Theology

Program Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Liturgical Theology studies worship as the church's primary theological act. What a congregation sings, prays, reads, and enacts forms its belief more powerfully than anything it is told, which is why the ancient principle that the law of prayer shapes the law of belief has never been a slogan for liturgists only. Careless worship teaches carelessly. Students work through the history of Christian worship from its Jewish roots and the earliest church orders, through the classical rites East and West, the medieval developments, the Reformation revisions, and the twentieth-century liturgical movement and its reforms. Theological study covers the relation of liturgy and doctrine, sacramental theology, anamnesis and epiclesis, time and the liturgical year, sacred space and the arts, music and congregational song, the lectionary and the place of Scripture in worship, initiation and eucharistic practice, and rites for marriage, ordination, healing, and death. Contemporary questions are treated with equal seriousness: contemporary worship music and its theology, culture and inculturation, accessibility and disability, digital and broadcast worship, and the formation of congregations that have inherited no liturgical literacy. The dissertation contributes original research on a rite, a period, a tradition, or a contemporary question of worship. Graduates teach liturgy and worship, direct worship in congregations and institutions, advise denominations on rites and hymnody, and train musicians and pastors.

Core Courses

• LIT 801 — Liturgical Theology and Method (6 credits)
• LIT 812 — History of Christian Worship (6 credits)
• LIT 824 — Reformation and Modern Liturgical Reform (6 credits)
• LIT 836 — Sacraments, Initiation, and Eucharist (6 credits)
• LIT 848 — Time, Space, Music, and the Arts (5 credits)
• LIT 860 — Research Design in Liturgical Studies (4 credits)
• LIT 899 — Doctoral Dissertation in Liturgical Theology (24 credits)

Admission Requirements

• Master's degree in theology, missiology, world Christianity, worship, or a related field
• Cross-cultural ministry, mission, or ecumenical experience, or equivalent research preparation
• Statement of purpose naming the region, movement, or question your research will address
• Academic writing sample
• Current curriculum vitae or ministry profile
• Official transcripts from prior institutions when available