Date of Award

Fall 2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS)

College

Barnett College of Ministry & Theology

Department

Department of Christian Ministries and Religion

Primary Advisor

Dr. Chris Palmer

Second Advisor

Dr. Mike Cuckler

Third Advisor

Dr. Anthony Roberts

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the beginning, God created time and ordered it; He gave His creation rhythms to live by. As a result of the Fall, all of creation became fragmented versions of what the Creator had intended. Time was created by God and therefore was impacted by the consequences of sin, causing a fracture in both the experience and perception of time. This fragmentation caused time to be severed in two: xpóvos (chronos, linear and measurable) time and kaιpós (kairos, perfect and immeasurable) time. In order to draw His people into His time, the Creator appointed feasts that created regular intersections between heaven and earth in which all creation-not only mankind-could participate. These feasts reflected the earth's own cycles and brought the Israelites into communion with both their Creator and the rest of Creation. This project contends that the Christian liturgical year serves the same purpose for the Christian church that the appointed times served for the Ancient Israelites. Moreover, it surveys the ways in which it directly challenges an anthropocentric view of salvation by demonstrating God's salvific concern which encompasses the entirety of His creation, not just one part. With this in mind, the liturgical year then becomes not only an anamnestic vessel in which the Christian can regularly encounter their Creator, but also a way for the Christian to live faithfully within Creation, honoring the trifold covenant between God, man, and earth. The following components are analyzed in this research: the theological foundations of sacred time, sacramental theology, the historical development and present status of the liturgical year, biblical roots of ecological theology, parallels between the liturgical year and the earth's cycles, and a proposal for a sacramental theology of time. This research will be helpful to clergy, laypeople, students of theology, academic institutions, and any Christian seeking to deepen their relationship with their Creator and better steward Creation.

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