Rationale Divinorum Officiorum by Guillaume Durandus, Volume Two: A Modern Translation of Books Two and Three

Volume Two of this translation of the Rationale Divinorum Officiorum contains Books Two and Three of this work. Having dealt with the church and its parts in Book One Durandus moves on in Book Two to look at the ministers and orders of the Church and their obligations. The ten ministries he examines are those of the chanter, psalmist, usher, lector, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon, priest, and bishop. In Book Three Durandus explains the vestments of priests, bishops and other officials. As with so much else in the Rationale Divinorum Officiorum the author shows the extensive degree to which the origin of these things can be found in the Old Testament. In these books, as throughout the entire work, Durandus continues to provide spiritual insights which may well be regarded as having been overlooked for too long a time. The translator of this work, Janet Gentles, has spent over forty years exploring the spiritual foundations of both Christianity and Judaism as both assist in gaining an understanding of the profound teachings of the Bible. Her publication the Rationale Divinorum Officiorum, provides a substantial contribution to such understanding.