the churching of women: bibliography
Call me a nerd (you wouldn’t be wrong), but it’s been absolutely fascinating for me to do a deep dive into the literature on churching I’ve been able to obtain. In addition to the other books I’ve shared in Book Blurbs posts, here’s a list of what’s been occupying my reading time throughout this project, with my very most sincere thanks to the staff of the Outerlibrary Loan department of the Madison Public Library.
Purification, Thanksgiving and the Churching of Women in Post-Reformation England (David Cressy)
In this paper from 1993, Cressy explores the practice and meanings of churching as it evolved through post-Reformation controversies in the Church of England. He takes a relatively positive view of the rite.
The Churching of Mothers in the Orthodox Church (Carrie Frederick Frost, PhD)
In this paper, Frost provides a helpful overview of the history of churching in the Orthodox tradition, along with a beautiful vision for subtly and powerfully altering the current ritual in needed ways that are already being practiced to some degree.
Rite for the Introduction and Healing of Women after Childbirth (Liesbet Duerinck Van Gysegem)
A Lutheran proposal for a reimagined “ritual for women after childbirth … to address two distinct needs: the need for a rite of passage and the need for a rite of healing”. Includes some good discussion of pastoral considerations as well as a full liturgy.
Rite Out of Time: A Study of the Ancient Rite of Churching and Its Survival in the Twentieth Century (Margaret Houlbrooke)
In this 2011 book, Houlbrooke shares her research into English church records from the 20th century. She engages less with theological questions and primarily focuses on the nitty-gritty practicalities of how churching was actually practiced in that time and place.
Reconsidering an Obsolete Rite: the churching of women and feminist liturgical theology (Natalie Knodel)
If I were to recommend just one article, it would be this one from 1997. Knodel gives a succinct historical overview of churching, then writes some thought-provoking ideas toward reimagining the rite.
On the Purification of Women: Churching in Northern France, 1100-1500 (Paula M. Rieder)
In this 2011 book, Rieder investigates liturgical manuals, legal records, and theological writings to reconstruct the practice of churching in medieval France. Her writing engages both with the practical and with the philosophical as she explores the effects of churching on medieval French women within their society.
The Parochial Minister’s Affectionate Address on the Thanksgiving of Women After Child-Birth Commonly Called the Churching of Women (Church of England Tract Society)
This 1820 tract describes churching as “too frequently regarded as little more than a customary ceremony, observed for form's and decency's sake, but in which the mind and heart have little concern”, and it aims “[t]o assist [women]… under the divine blessing, in forming a juster and more serious opinion on this subject”.