The Great High Priest

The Temple Roots of Christian Liturgy

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by Margaret Barker

T & T Clark

Due/Published September 2003, 284 pages, paper

ISBN 0567089428

Margaret Barker has been researching and writing about the Jerusalem temple for over twenty years. Many of her studies have remained unpublished. Here for the first time her work on the roots of Christian liturgy has been brought together. Whereas most scholarship has concentrated upon the synagogue, Margaret Barker's work on the Jerusalem temple contributes significantly to our understanding of the meaning and importance of many elements of Christian liturgy which have hitherto remained obscure. 

The many subjects addressed include the roots of the Eucharist in various temple rituals and offerings other than Passover, the meaning of the holy of holies and the Christian sanctuary, the cosmology of temple and church, the significance of the Veil of the Temple for understanding priesthood and Incarnation, the Holy Wisdom and the Mother of God, angels and priesthood, the concept of unity, the high priestly tradition in the early church and evidence that Christianity was a conscious continuation of the temple.