Eucharist: A Guide for the Perplexed

Ralph N. McMichael, Jr. is Canon Theologian and Dean of the Episcopal School for Ministry in the (Episcopal) Diocese of Missouri. He received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. His publications include Walter Kasper's Response to Modern Atheism (2006). He is also co-editor of a two-volume work on Anglican Systematic Theology (SCM, 2007).

• Introduction: What is the Eucharist? Chapter 1 Tradition: History and Theology Chapter 2 Presence Chapter 3 Sacrifice Chapter 4 Ecumenism Chapter 5 Church Chapter 6 Culture Chapter 7 Language Chapter 8 World Epilogue: The Eucharist of Theology

‘As the Eucharist recovers its place as the central act of worship in many churches, the need for a guide both to its history and meaning becomes more and more urgent.  McMichael's Guide for the Perplexed answers that need.  With great skill and clarity we are led through a consideration of the various ways in which the Eucharist has been perceived and explicated in times past.  At the same time, we are treated to a profound meditation upon the Eucharist as gift which constitutes the life of the church,  a gift which grounds us in the present, points us toward the future and invites us to live eucharistically for the sake of the world.' -  The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, 25th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Former Co-Chair of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission