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Reformation anniversary in Eastern Europe? What is going on? Where did the idea come from? What do our eastern neighbors have to do with this? So much!
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In all the times individuals have been interested in their own destiny. If someone determines a person’s life, then maybe the person is only a marionette. Maybe it is possible somehow to deceive destiny or fate, to choose another version than the one intended for you. And maybe only we, and no one else, determine our own actions? The doctrine of predestination has been widely described and defended by Reformation theologian, John Calvin. He marked the line very distinctly between rescued and condemned people. According to Calvin’s concept, predetermination is the precedent destiny or fate of individual, and only elected are deserved to be salvaged because they are privileged with mercy. Perhaps there could be an intermediate version: we create our own life, but sometimes fate intervenes. How is it possible? Let us say that God, the supreme power of destiny, is watching our lives and help some moment when we, according to him, are doing something wrong or reckless. But should not the individual decide and determine his own life? After all, God gave freedom to choose to humans. For examples, to choose whether to eat the fruit of the good and evil tree of knowledge; to choose their way of life: to go straight or to turn to the wayside; to behave honestly or not. If our life is governed by the predestination, could God allow humans to know good and evil?
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The article explores the modern issues of scholarly analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne's literary work in the discursive space of American religious reformism that was an essential part of popular democratic culture in the United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. Due to the recent discovery of numerous elements from the religious discourse of The Second Great Awakening throughout Hawthorne's work, contemporary scholars are only beginning to comprehend the significant connections between Hawthorne and the national discursive practices of the age in which he lived, the American Renaissance.
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The article discusses several issues linked to the Abjuration of Bilino Polje, suggesting a different historiographical interpretation than the prevalent one. Special attention is paid to the ecclesiastical-legal position of the papal chaplain John de Casamaris in order to establish to which class of papal representatives he actually belonged. The paper also discusses the attitude of Pope Innocent III and the papal curia towards the question of orthodoxy of the Bosnian church and considers the Abjuration of Bilino Polje from the Roman aspect, as a result of compromise between the political situation in the Balkans and the theological tenets of the Krstjani church, between the pope’s pastoral concerns for the salvation of the faithful and the position of Ban Kulin as a secular protector indispensable for achieving this goal.
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Traditional evangelical-Protestant churches in the period after WWII in Macedonia are Methodist and Baptist churches, and one home-church that will become Church of God. In 1947 there are 8 Methodist churches and three mission station with 5 pastors, and 2 Baptist Churches with one bi-vocational preachers. In 1948 a government body that deals with the religious community is formed.The Law on Religious Communities of 1953 forbids religious activities outside church property, and therefore many church communities not owning a building are forced to stop, with several punishments for those not abiding. In 1954 there are 3000 Methodist and 3000 Baptist in Yugoslavia.The services of the secret police and military intelligence were asking preachers to report on their activities, especially when going abroad. The government is obstructing the building of Church buildings. In 1962 there are 1920 Methodists with 6 preachers and 37 Baptist with one preacher.In this period Methodist preachers are Pane Temkov, Vladimir Daskalov, Krum Kalajliev, Kosta Karamazov, Ceko Cekov, Asen Palankov, Kiro Buhov, Zora Vuchkova, Nada Shamanova, Nikola Arnaudov, Krum Ivanov, Boris Donchev, Kitan Petreski, Bozhin Kostadinov, Georgi Milchev and Mihail and Pavle Cekov. They are rotating as a pastors in Skopje, Strumica, Prilep, Bitola, Murtino, Koleshino, Monospitovo, Veljusa, Radovish and Raklish.Baptist preachers, Ivan Rusjakov, Strahil Grozdanov, Marijan Hlastan, Chedo Ralevich, Ivan and Samuel Grozdanov, Bore Blazhevski, Branko Trajkovski and Sande Kotev are pastoring churches in Skopje, Radovish, Murtino and Bansko.This period ends with the forming of new Еvangelical-Protestant churches in 1987, Evangelical and Congregational churches, when a new period starts with larger numbers of believers are accepting Evangelical-protestant Christianity as a choice, rather than by tradition.
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In a general terms, missionary is a systematic concept of Christian religion that dominates the whole world's geography today. The Christianity, which started with the collective communication that Jesus had received from God, was very different from his own attachments in the later periods by the transfer of his followers. Especially Christianity, with Paul, who said many things from his language, although he had never encountered him after Jesus, had a totally different appearance. At this point Paul is considered as Christianity's architecture and the father of ideas’s missionary in Christian societies. The post-Paulic period has reached a wider range of the world since Christianity is recognized by the Roman Empire as the official religion of the state. In the recent history, the beginning of the divisions between the Christians and the emergence of the sect known as Protestantism have given a new meaning to this belief. Protestants’s world-wide missionary activities have made it possible to have a say in the name of governments in countries where they are not limited only to religious missions. At this point, the last point of the missionary's future in political and religious terms has been evangelism, which the protest movements are under one roof.In this study, it was tried to examine the understanding of the past and present missionary in the process ranging from the beginning of the Christian to the all-time.
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The Reformation Movement laid the foundation for two fundamental human values: moral autonomy and personal responsibility, whose rediscovery had a strong resonance. Later, these were taken over and themed by Enlightenment, in modern society, representing the essential characteristics of an adult personality. To what extent are these still relevant in the 21st century? An analysis of the current society finds that the very complexity of the 21st century overwhelms the individual being a call for developing autonomy and personal responsibility. In achieving this goal, the present society needs to promote these two values as the target of the educational process and, at the same time, to create a social framework favorable to their development.
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Evagrius Ponticus is one of the most significant representatives of ancient Christian ascetic tradition of the East. His work had a strong impact on theology and Christian ascetic practice in the past centuries. However, the theological basis of his asceticism is certainly not unquestionable. In this article the author examines Evagrius’s theological position and its relation to his asceticism, so that his work could be appropriately evaluated.
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In the year when have passed 500 years from the protestant Reformation of Martin Luther, the present study aims to accentuate the contributions to the Reformation study, recorded over the years in the journal of Banat’s Mitropoly: “Banat’s Altar”, that became “Banat’s Mitropoly”, and in present “Banat’s Altar”. The quoted contributions pertain to some hierarchs, clerics and theologians from the Orthodox Churches and Protestant Churches. These are foregone by some general frameworks in which the protestant Reformation appeared and by a short reference to the way in which it was perceived in the orthodox world.
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The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) took place in Busan, Republic of Korea, during the late October and early November 2013. More than 5.000 delegates from around 300 member Churches and 100 countries, examined the tasks facing the World Council of Churches, their relationships in the world, their potential and their dreams, and they came to speak more and more of the „pilgrimage of justice and peace” in describing this journey on which the God of life is leading the Christians. In the following study, we try to capture how the theme of mission is reflected in the official report, published now by WCC Publications into the year 2014.
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The case study presents certain aspects of modernization and cultural changes in a small Nahua Indian village in Mexico. It investigates the local cargo system and its religious background; analyses the emergence of protestant denominations and its impact on the cargo system. Debates about locality, inclusion and exclusion, and the symbolic borders of the community are also discussed. The study is based on fieldwork conducted in the Huasteca hidalguense during the period 1996 and 2002.
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The author’s aim is a comprehensive presentation of the history and achievements of the dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches, which was conducted within the framework of the Joint Working Group established in 1965. The subject has been dealt with in three parts. The first one offers a general description of the Joint Working Group. In the second part, the author focuses on the history of the relations between Vatican and Geneva. The last part is a concise presentation of the main threads of the study documents which have been elaborated as a result of this dialogue.
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Cette encyclique datant du 17.04.2003 résume et présente les éléments essentiels de l’enseignement de l’Église catholique vis à vis L’Eucharistie en basent sur la Bible, la Tradition et l’enseignement de l’Église. Elle traite d’une façon particulière le sujet de la relation Eucharistie-Église, c’est pourquoi elle commence par les mots Ecclesia de Eucharistia vivit – „l’Église vit de L’Eucharistie” (EE 1). L’Eucharistie qui a été constituée par Jésus Christ comme l’Alliance Nouvelle dans le cadre de la Cène Pascale. Dès le début elle exprime, anime et renforce cette Communauté Apostolique qui se répend dans le monde entier du moment de la Pentecôte. Le rassemblement eucharistique constitue le signe de l’Église le plus visibile. „L’Eucharistie, comme nous le lisons dans l’encyclique consolide notre incarnation dans le Christ, initiée en Baptême par le dont de l’Esprit Saint (cf. 1 Co 12,13-17)” (EE 23). Malheureusement, à travers des siècles cette idée qui montrait l’union essentielle de l’Eucharistie avec la vie de l’Église avait été perdue dans la conscience des théologiens, des prédicateurs des prêtres et des fidèles. C’est à cause de cela que les messes dites privées existaient dans l’histoire. Le rôle de l’Eucharistie a été souligné avec force par le Concile Vatican II comme celle qui construit la communauté de l’Église. C’est surtout la Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium qui l’accentue. En remontant à la Bible et aux Pères de l’Église le Concile a montré que c’est grâce à l’Eucharistie que l’Église progresse dans l’aspect vertical et horizontal. L’Eucharistie à travers l’unité avec le Christ lie l’homme avec Dieu dans la Sainte Trinité et en même temps avec toute la communauté de l’Église, celle qui pérégrine sur la terre et aussi celle qui participe dejà dans la gloire du ciel. La réforme de la liturgie après le Concile Vatican II fait preuve de ce renouveau. Elle consiste entre autre au retour de la participation active des fidèles à la liturgie. On met aussi l’autel face aux gens pour souligner que la mystère de l’Eucharistie est véritablement „la source et le comble” (SC 10) de la vie de toute l’Église. Il ne manque pas non plus l’accent ecuménique dans cette encyclique. Malgré un effort constant des théologiens chrétiens et le désir de l’unité de plus en plus grand, pour le moment il n’y a pas de possibilité ni pour la concélébration ni pour la communion interconfessionelles. L’Église romaine trouve que le sacerdoce lié avec la succession apostolique est obligatoire pour importance de l’Eucharistie. Malgré toutes ces difficultés il faut espérer que le conférences, les discussions et les rencontres interreligieuses pourront approcher l’heure de l’accomplissement de la prière du Seigneur durant la Cène: „Que tous soient un” (J 17,21).
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Das Thema ,,Eucharistie und Kirche in der Auffassung der altkatholischen Tradition” zeigt ein ganzes Interessengebiet auf, das berűcksichtigt werden muss, um die wichtigsten Punkte einer solchen Zusammenschau zu berűcksichtigen. Gott, Eucharistie, Kirche, Christ: so lauten umfassende thematische Blőcke, denen die Teologie speziell großen Raum widmet. Diese und nicht nur diese Worte enthalten das, was wir im Alten und Neuen Testament in seiner Entfaltung vorfinden. Die Gestalten der Eucharistie des Alten Testaments stellen Vorankűndigungen des Neuen Bundes dar. Das Paschafest verbindet die Epochen des Alten und Neuen Testaments. Zweifellos ist die alttestamentarische Pascha-Theologie der Hintergrund des Abendmalsaals, in dem die Eucharistie eingesetzt wurde. Jesus Christus wird sowohl Opferpriester wie auch Priester. Die Feier der Eucharistie in der Zeit des frűhen Christentums war sichtbares Zeichen der Einheit der Gemeinschaft der Gläubigen unter sich und mit Gott. Hier wird eine gegenseitige Abhängigkeit sichtbar: Am Ort, wo die Eucharistie gefeiert wird, offenbart sich die Kirche in sichtbarer Weise, und umgekehrt. Das Erleben der Eucharistie in der Gemeinschaft bedeutet vor allem Zeugnis der Einheit und Verwirklichung des Testaments Jesu Christi: ,,Tut dies zu meinem Gedächtnis!” (Łk 22.19), dank dem wir in der Kirche verbleiben, die Gemeinschaft und Institution ist, die Chance auf Rettung, auf Ewigkeit versichert. Die altkatholische Theologie weist klarerweise auf die Eucharistie als Ausdruck des Dienstes vor Gott hin. Sie soll wahrgenommen werden als Dienst im Sinne der großen Verantwortung vor Gott fűr das anvertraute Volk. Die weit aufgefasste Sendung der Kirche besteht doch im Bilden des geheimnisvollen Leibes Christi auf Erden. Diesem Auftrag dienen das Lehren und Verkűnden der Botschaft Jesu von der Rettung des Menschen und seine Hinfűhrung zum vollen Leben aus den Sakramenten. Die Eucharistie ist es gerade, die in vollendetster Form das Gefűhl der Verbindung mit dem Schőpfer ausdrűckt.
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Église mise à jour événement du salut accomplie par le Christ, cela signifie l’Eucharistie comme un mémorial du salut. L’Eucharistie apparaît l’Église comme un nouvel éon dans la réalité de ce monde. Relation entre l’Église et l’Eucharistie est le plus important et montre l’Église comme un cosmos transformé. Eucharistie est le moment dans la vie de l’Église, l’eschaton entre dans l’histoire. Église dans l’Eucharistie a expérience d’être sur la route. Cette randonnée est l’anticipation de la parousie dans la mémoire de l’anamnèse et conduit à la parousie.
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Considering the Lutheran definition of the Church and the Sacrament of the Altar, we can answer positively the programmatic question on the church-generating role of the Eucharist, asked by the organizers of the conference. I present five arguments confirming the perspective of the Church as built by performing and partaking in the Eucharist, i.e. in the visible Word of God, in which salvation from the cross of Golgotha is fulfilled and offered to the sinner: – the Eucharist builds the Church, because it constitutes partaking in the one body of the Crucified and risen Christ, which makes believers into one body. This supports the argument for the universal unity of the Church; – drinking from one cup constitutes participating in the community of giving and receiving. The participants, while drinking from the cup given them by the crucified Christ, remain in unity with the Lord, creating in this way the community of the new covenant; – the Eucharist, as the visible Word, plays a missionary role, building the Church gathered around the table of the Word of God; – the Eucharist brings the salutary benefit of the communion of entire Christianity as the communio sanctorum; – the Lutheran definition of the Church as completely dependent on the Word of God, preached and dispensed as a sacrament, leads to the conclusion that the Church is also built owing to the visible form of the Word.
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