The following was provided by Fr. Alan Andreas, of the Missionary Diocese of All Saints, Anglican Church of North America. We include the press release for this resource below, as well as links to purchase the book, and find that it may be useful during a time when many churches and families are limited to bringing the Church’s ancient worship into their homes:
“Sacred House: What Do You Need for a Liturgical, Sacramental House Church?”: a timely, clarion, and immensely engaging book that tackles the history of worship and how the home is perfectly suited to act as a place of corporate gathering for God’s people through priestly liturgy and the sacraments. “Sacred House” is the creation of published author, the Rev. Dr. Alan L. Andraeas; a retired Navy chaplain and ordained Anglo-Catholic priest.
Andraeas shares, “While the House Church Movement is gaining immense popularity throughout many denominational and independent faith communities—collectively standing as the largest ‘denomination’ in the United States—sacramental and liturgical congregations are taking only the most tentative steps toward this venue of worship. Consequently, there exists a vacuum of guidelines or information to support this dynamic ministry model from a uniquely sacramental perspective. In this book, Dr. Andraeas examines the scriptural foundations for liturgical worship; the biblical, theological, and historical precedents for house churches; and how a union between priestly liturgy and house church worship complement and support each other.” He concludes with a vigorous challenge for all sacramental and liturgical jurisdictions to engage their seminarians, clergy, and people in reclaiming this approach to worship, church planting, evangelism, and community.
Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Alan L. Andraeas’s new book masterfully articulates how worship on earth should follow the pre-existent patterns of eternal worship in heaven, and how Christians can participate in this authentic, God-sanctioned worship within a home setting. This was how Christians worshiped for the first three centuries while evangelizing the Roman Empire! This is also the worship and vision that congregations need to recapture today.
“Sacred House” is thoroughly footnoted to over 180 scholarly sources contained in its bibliography as well as countless biblical references, providing readers with the tools they need for further study and engagement. This also makes the book an invaluable resource for adult Sunday School and Bible college or seminary classrooms when engaging such topics as worship history, liturgical and sacramental theology, church planting strategies, home missions, the Persecuted Church, and house church methodologies.
Consumers can purchase “Sacred House: What Do You Need for a Liturgical, Sacramental House Church?” online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.
