Christian literary genres

An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from the Latin , a Latinization of Greek (), meaning "circular", "in a circle", or "all-round", also part of the origin of the word encyclopedia).

type of Christian devotional book, popular in the Middle Ages

thumb|Pages from a breviary used in the Swedish Diocese of Strängnäs in the 15th century|300px A breviary () is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times.

thumb|The Missal, a 1902 portrait by John William Waterhouse A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a priest to celebrate Mass publicly and others for private and lay use. The texts of the most common Eucharistic liturgy in the world, the Catholic Church's Mass of Paul VI of the Roman Rite, are contained in the 1970 edition of the Roman Missal.

genre of prophetical writing

In the Western Church of the Early and High Middle Ages, a sacramentary was a book used for liturgical services and the mass by a bishop or priest. Sacramentaries include only the words spoken or sung by him, unlike the missals of later centuries that include all the texts of the mass whether read by the bishop, priest, or others. Also, sacramentaries, unlike missals, include texts for services other than the mass such as ordinations, the consecration of a church or altar, exorcisms, and blessings, all of which were later included in Pontificals and Rituals instead.

open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of his diocese

poetry found in the Hebrew Bible

theatrical performances of Christian stories

genre of early Christian texts

Illuminated scroll

subgenre of both Christian literature and science fiction