First of all, the editor wishes to thank all the contributors to this
volume for their ready cooperation and sorely tested patience over the last
few years; completion of the project has been “a long time coming,” due,
in part, to circumstances beyond my control, and I am exceedingly grate-
ful to everyone who has awaited publication as generously as you all have.
On two separate occasions, I received financial assistance from Emmanuel
College (Centre for the Study of Religion in Canada) and Victoria Univer-
sity (Senate Research Grants) to pay for student support in preparing the
manuscript, which I am eager here to acknowledge. My student assistants,
Dr. Stephen Chambers and Ms. Karen Williams, able and professional in the
performance of their various assignments, are both unrivalled in their cor-
diality and decency. Finally, I wish to thank Prof. Peter Richardson for his
sustained commitment to the project and Prof. Stephen Wilson for his final
“maieutic” nudging. In all these instances, the rivalries to which the vol-
ume as a whole is dedicated have been graciously absent.viiAcknowledgments
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