Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. Liturgy can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembrance, supplication, or repentance. It forms a basis for establishing a relationship with God. Technically speaking, liturgy forms a subset of ritual. The word liturgy, sometimes equated in English as "service", refers to a formal ritual enacted by those who understand themselves to be participating in an action with the divine. This is a first edition, bound in navy cloth with gilt lettering on the spine, which has been severely faded by light. It is held in a handmade dust jacket of lightweight cream card, with a printed identification panel on the spine. It contains a bookplate with the name of the previous owner, but is otherwise clean and tight.