Holy Spirit and Worship: Transformation and Truth in the Theologies of John Owen and John Zizioulas

The Holy Spirit hasbecome an object of greater attention in Trinitarian theology, and indeed inthe broader life of the Church, since the rise of Pentecostalism at thebeginning of the twentieth century. Different understandings of the Holy Spirithave had different impacts on worship; here, Elizabeth Welch examines foursurprising overlaps in the thought of two radically different traditions of thechurch about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and worship. Thesetraditions are represented by John Owen, from seventeenth-century England, andJohn Zizioulas, from contemporary Greece.

Welch explores inturn the common themes of the personal and relational nature of the triune God,the immediacy of the encounter with God through the Holy Spirit in worship, therole of the Holy Spirit in leading people into truth, and the transformative natureof worship that draws people into sharing God's purpose for the world. In each,the insights of Owen and Zizioulas shed new light on the ongoing debate in theChurch today.