Date of Award

5-1974

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Theology

Abstract

Man lives in time, Behind the simplicity of that statement lurks a problem that has faced man since his origins. How does he f ace the insecurity with which time threatens him? Throughout the history of mankind, there have been many ways to face the threat posed by time, a threat of change and transitoriness, and, ultimately, mortality. The question we are posing here concerns a specific people in a specific period of history: what concept of time is reflected in the early Christian practice of praying the Hours (or as it later came to be known, the Divine Office)? That question must be preceded by a more general inquiry into a Christian conception of time, which, in turn can only be established against a broad horizon of the many ways that man deals and has dealt with time. It is here that we will begin.

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