L’affirmation de l’Église « Une » comme une réalité présente dans l’histoire fait partie de la tradition catholique. Après la naissance du mouvement œcuménique, Yves Congar (1904-1995) introduit dans la théologie catholique le principe ecclésiologique de l’œcuménisme. Il s’agit de penser la vie chrétienne des autres baptisés à partir de leurs Communions. Pour mettre en évidence ce principe herméneutique, cette thèse étudie sa portée théologique dans l’œuvre congarienne (1931 à 1954), se penche sur sa réception dans le décret sur l’œcuménisme Unitatis Redintegratio (1964), dans l’encyclique Ut Unum Sint (1995) et dans quelques documents récents, avant de proposer son inscription dans une théologie de l’ Église structurée à partir de l’institutionnalité de la grâce, située dans une perspective eschatologique. / The assertion of the Church as “One” present throughout history is part of the Roman Catholic tradition. After the appearance of the ecumenical movement, Yves Congar (1904-1995) introduces the ecclesiological principle of ecumenism in catholic theology. The idea is to think of the Christian life of the other baptized based on their Communion. To emphasize this hermeneutics’ principle, this thesis studies its theological impact on the congarian work (1931-1954) and ponders over its reception within the decree on ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio (1964), within the encyclical Ut Unum Sint (1995) as well as in recent documents. It will also lead on to suggesting its recording in one theology of the Church structured by the institutionalization of grace in an eschatological perspective.

This research project in empirical theology draws on qualitative empirical methods to examine the topic of inclusion as it applies to disability and leadership in the context of state and free churches in Switzerland. Its goal was to ascertain how the challenging inclusion of religious leaders with physical, emotional or mental impairments can be theoretically and practically improved within the Swiss churches. From a theoretical point of view, aspects of labour theory and ecclesiastical law that pose challenges for church leaders with disabilities were foregrounded, as were theological positions defining the pastoral role. From a practical point of view, structural, technical and similar barriers demanded investigation, along with the adaptability of church practices and of work structures. To that end, the topics of inclusion, disability and leadership responsibility in the church were initially studied from a theoretical and interdisciplinary perspective and the relationships between them were traced. Male and female church leaders (clergypersons, priests, pastors and the like) affected by the issue and employed by state and free churches in Switzerland were then interviewed individually and together with their partners, their superiors and members of local church councils. Analysis of the data thus gathered revealed three empirical-theological models and three conceptions of how inclusion might be theorized. These describe both numerous challenges in the inclusion of church leaders with various disabilities and specific measures for improving the inclusion of those affected. Among other results, it proved possible to derive and elaborate a multifunctional practical concept for the inclusion of church leaders with disabilities that has practical-theological applications in the context of the state and free churches in Switzerland. / In dieser Forschungsarbeit wurde Inklusion am Beispiel von Behinderung und Leitungsverantwortung im Kontext von Landes- und Freikirchen der Schweiz empirisch-theologisch bzw. qualitativ-empirisch untersucht. Es war das Ziel, herauszufinden, wie die problematische Inklusion von Leiterinnen und Leitern mit körperlichen, seelischen und geistigen Einschränkungen in Landes- und Freikirchen der Schweiz theoretisch und praktisch verbessert werden kann. In theoretischer Hinsicht standen dabei unter anderem die für Leitungspersonen mit Behinderung herausfordernden arbeitstheoretischen oder kirchenrechtlichen Gegebenheiten sowie die theologischen Überzeugungen zum pastoralen Berufsbild im Vordergrund. Aus praktischer Perspektive galt es bspw. die architektonischen, technischen u.a. Barrieren oder die Anpassungsfähigkeit der Kirchenpraxis und der Arbeitsgestaltung zu erforschen. Dazu wurden die Themen Inklusion, Behinderung und Leitungsverantwortung in der Kirche zuerst theoretisch bzw. interdisziplinär aufgearbeitet und ihr Verhältnis zueinander bestimmt. Danach wurden betroffene Leiterinnen und Leiter (Pfarrpersonen, Priester, Pastoren u. Ä.) aus Landes- und Freikirchen der Schweiz einzeln und gemeinsam mit Partnerinnen oder Partnern, Vorgesetzten und Mitgliedern von lokalen Kirchenleitungen in einer Gruppendiskussion befragt. In der Danteanalyse wurden drei empirisch-theologische Typen bzw. theoretische Inklusionskonzepte herausgearbeitet. Diese beschreiben sowohl zahlreiche Herausforderungen in der Inklusion von kirchlichen Leitungspersonen mit unterschiedlichen Behinderungen als auch konkrete Massnahmen dazu, wie der Einbezug von Betroffenen verbessert werden kann. Aus den Gesamtresultaten liess sich u.a. ein multifunktionales Praxiskonzept für die Inklusion von kirchlichen Leitungspersonen mit Behinderung erstellen und praktisch-theologisch bzw. für den landes- und freikirchlichen Kontext anwendbar machen. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

S’il est généralement reconnu que le processus d’institutionnalisation de l’Église s’est accéléré au IVe siècle, certaines de ses étapes nous sont moins connues. Ce mémoire cherche à évaluer l’importance de Jean Chrysostome dans l’émergence de la primauté d’honneur de Constantinople. Après une étude attentive du troisième canon du concile de Constantinople I mise en relation avec l’opinion de trois auteurs contemporains, c’est-à-dire Palladius d’Hélénopolis, Socrate de Constantinople et Sozomène, il ressort de ce travail que l’épiscopat de Jean Chrysostome a favorisé l’implantation de cette prééminence dans l’Église. L’analyse des modalités de la primauté d’honneur de Constantinople montre bien qu’historiquement, les évêques de l’ancienne et de la nouvelle Rome n’ont pas construit leur primat à l’aide des mêmes arguments. L’explicitation de ces éléments ne se veut pas une prise de position dans les débats oecuméniques actuels, mais plutôt un préliminaire permettant une meilleure compréhension des données du problème. / Even though it is generally accepted that the Church institutionalization process accelerated in the IVth century, some of its steps are less known. This dissertation tries to assess John Chrysostom’s importance in the emergence of Constantinople’s primacy of honour. After a thorough study of the third canon of the council of Constantinople I and of the opinion of three contemporary authors, namely Palladius of Helenopolis, Socrates of Constantinople and Sozomenos, the results of this works are that John Chrysostom’s episcopate fostered the implementation of this preeminence in the Church. The analysis of the terms of the primacy of honour of Constantinople shows that historically, the bishops of Old and New Rome did not build their primacy with the same arguments. Clarifying these elements is not a way to make a stand in the current ecumenical debate, but rather is a preliminary step to a better understanding of the problem.

The present study deals with the encounter between the diocese of Luleå and the process of modernising. The main issue is individualism as a part of modern man’s identity. What kind of individualism was it, and how did it find expression in the diocese’s perspective on faith during the first half of the 20th century? A leading idea in the thesis is that the low church profile provided the diocese with a particular readiness to meet the demands of modern culture. The starting-point of the study is Philosopher Charles Taylor’s theory on the rise of modernity’s concept of freedom and perception of the self, which includes a justification of a positive side of modern individualism and a corresponding dismissal of a negative side. This attitude opens the door for the possibility of doing greater justice to the low church emphasis on the individual person. Taylor asks, from his moral-philosophical point of view, as well as the diocese of Luleå did, whether the Christian faith would have any future in modern culture. The low church view on faith becomes dynamic-extential as it dismisses a traditional metaphysical or theoretical explanation of God as a transcendent reality. Instead the subject is given vital importance. This apprehension reflects an influence from expressivism as a new form of consciousness, in protest against the science of the 17th that separated reason from both nature and feelings. This was inherent in the diocese via pietism. However, not an outspoken anthropology, the diocese nevertheless indicates that it considers man a linguistic and self-interpreting creature. This amounts to a more suitable view on the belief in modern culture, which no longer can rely on a commonly accepted belief in an inherent order of the world as an expression of God’s intentions and will. / digitalisering@umu

The identity of Russian Evangelical Churches theology is considered in this thesis. This identity arose as result of interactions of Western Evangelical movements with the Orthodox Church, and with native pre-Protestant groups. The separate area of theology chosen as the subject of research is ecclesiology. The historical background of the appearance of inner-orthodox movements is shown in this work in order to understand the theological peculiarities. Peculiarities of the orthodox and extra-orthodox mentality also are considered, as they become an important environment for the appearance and development of Evangelical theology in Russia. The last part of this work shows peculiarities of recent Evangelical ecclesiology. / Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics / M.Th. (Systematic Theology)

The aim of this dissertation is to undertake a study of the trinitarian ecclesiology of the North American evangelical theologian Stanley J. Grenz (d.2005), along with his imago Dei theology, revisioned social trinitarianism, narrative theology, incorporation of theosis, and theology of triune participation. This dissertation also utilizes the hermeneutical philosophy of Paul Ricoeur, in conjunction with Grenz’s trinitarian ecclesiology, to propose a missional and hermeneutical ecclesiology. Chapter one begins with an overview of Grenz’s theology and a discussion of the current state of Grenz scholarship. It then introduces Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self and theory of narrative identity. The chapter concludes with an overview of chapters two, three, and four. Chapter two traces the manner in which Grenz’s social trinitarianism and imago Dei theology yield a social imago. The first section overviews Grenz’s The Social God and the Relational Self, the social imago, the ecclesial self, his notion of ecclesial eschatological prolepsis, and his theology of triune participation. The second section responds to key criticisms of social trinitarianism, discusses Grenz and Ricoeur on the relational self, and outlines the manner in which Grenz’s theology of theosis and triune participation “in Christ” and through the Spirit yields an ecclesially oriented communal theo-anthropology. The final section takes up Grenz’s social imago and triune participation in relation to female/male mutuality in ecclesial participation and community. Chapter three discusses Grenz’s narrative theology and the development of a narrative imago. The first section overviews Grenz’s The Named God and the Question of Being and his development of the narrative of the divine name as the saga of the triune God, his further use of theosis, and the narrative imago arising within storied participation “in Christ” through the Spirit. The second section examines the continuity of Named God with Social God and argues that Grenz presents a revisioned social trinitarianism. The second section also considers Grenz and Ricoeur on the narrative self and proposes that Grenz’s ecclesial theo-anthropology now becomes a cruciform Christo-anthropology. The third section takes up the narrative imago and female/male mutuality and cruciformity as it arises from the ecclesial relation of storied and communal theotic triune participation. Chapter four treats the development of a Grenzian ecclesial imago and proposes a missional and hermeneutical ecclesiology. The first section presents Grenz’s ecclesiology as it is oriented towards mission and the connection of theosis, triune participation, and ecclesia. This section then proposes a missional grammar for the church as God’s ecclesial hermeneutics of community. The second section discusses potential charges of ecclesiological foundationalism, considers Grenz and Ricoeur on the summoned self, and extends Grenz’s theo-anthropology and Christo-anthropology into a missio-anthropology. The third section considers the mutuality and cruciformity of ecclesial “male and female” relation “in Christ” and through the Spirit, manifest in ecclesial friendship and hospitality, as the coming-to-representation and hermeneutics of community of the triune God. The conclusion offers a summary and possible avenues for further investigation.

Text in German with English and German summaries / The New Testament teaching on the church structure associated with the Systematic Theology is being investigated and discussed under the term ecclesiology. Therefore, this is about the contextualization of the main terms: Ecclesia, the body of Christ, Positions (Acts, teachers,bishop, elders, etc.). In this climactic situation I will write my work and critically analyze the postmodern model of the multi-site and compare it to other post-modern models including their main exponents who are also trying to respond to today's situation. It is through the critical examination of the contextualization of the multi-site - relating to the New Testament understandingof the church – that full attention is given to the context of this world and the Christian identity is preserved by referring back to the Scriptures. The identity of the multisiteneeds to be examined through the pluralization of religious providers and compared toother ecclesiological models in order to gain new insight and understanding. / Die neutestamentliche Lehre über die Gemeindestruktur ist der systematischen Theologie zugeordnet und wird unter dem Terminus Ekklesiologie erforscht und diskutiert. Deswegen geht es um die Kontextualisierung der wesentlichen Begriffe Ekklesia, Leib Christi, Ämter (Apostel, Lehrer, Bischof, Älteste usw.). In dieser Zuspitzung werde ich meine Arbeit schreiben und kritisch das Modell der Multisite im Vergleich zu anderen postmodernen Modellen mitsamt deren Hauptexponenten, die ebenfalls versuchen auf die heutige Situation reagieren, zu analysieren. Denn durch die kritische Betrachtung der Kontextualisierung des Multisite-Modells anhand des neutestamentlichen Kirchenverständnisses wird dem Kontext dieser Welt volle Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt und durch den Rückbezug auf die Heilige Schrift die christliche Identität gewahrt. Diese Identität der Multisite soll in der Pluralisierung religiöser Anbieter im Kern mit anderen ekklesiologischen Modellen kritisch betrachtet werden, um so neue Erkenntnisse zu gewinnen. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

The point of departure in this dissertation is the situation in the Marzahn-Hellersdorf region of East-Berlin, where, 17 years after the political turnaround, only three new Christian communities have established themselves., However it is, known that there have been many attempts at church planting during these years. In this district there seems to be a high percentage of people who are resistant towards western theology or ecclesiology respectively. That is why the focus of the dissertation is on those people who live in an a-religious context surrounded by post-socialistic influences. Social scientific approaches and methods have been integrated and utilised as part of this practical-theological research project. The benefit of this was the developing of aspects of a practical-theological perspective that could be used for a specific ecclesiology with special reference to church planting. Ultimately, three hypotheses have been developed. The implications of these hypotheses could serve as essential material for prospective church planting efforts in the area. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. Missiology

Churches are confronted with the reality of younger, mobile generations challenging existing understandings of church and witness. They seem to live according to a different (postcolonial) script. This study probes the question as to how these churches are to understand and respond meaningfully, but also missiologically, to these transformations. Coming as a missiologist from a particular ecclesiological, theological, cultural background, I had two rationales for this study, namely to review the current theories we have about church and mission, i.e., missiological ecclesiology, and in order to do this, we need to craft a sensitive and creative dialogue, in the form of a missiological methodology with younger people. I address these rationales, guided by a research question: How can I design a creative dialogue with younger generations, to pick up the impulses, in order to discern a Southern African missional ecclesiology. Working with the metaphor of ―remixing‖, this discernment process started off where I engaged my own embeddedness. These were the older ―samples‖ to work with, in order to produce something new and in tune with the sensibilities, the ―soul‖ of newer communities. I then attempt to understand the current social transformations that younger generations are responding to. Through this, I want to design a methodology for a creative dialogue with these youth movements on the basis of an intersubjective epistemology. Using this methodology, I could develop a thick description from the dialogue with the two uniting youth movements. Lastly, I present the engagement (remixing) between these rich new impulses with the old (the existing), in carving out an appropriate missional ecclesiology for the audiences I‘ve been with. Starting with an outdated and colonial gereformeerde missionary ecclesiology, but then also the anti-colonial ecclesiologies and a postmodern (predominantly Western) emerging missionary ecclesiology, I discern a particular postcolonial African ecclesiology, which I call a Southern African missional ecclesiology. Instead of exclusion, I propose remixing church in terms of five dimensions as social network, spiritual home, mobile community, movement in the Holy Spirit and as story. These can serve as a map to guide Southern African congregations in their dialogue with younger generations. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

Text in German / Das Thema Gemeindezucht war allen Reformatoren ein Anliegen. Seit einigen Jahren ist es nach einer Hochphase in der Periode der dialektischen Theologie in der Evangelischen Kirche um das Thema Gemeindezucht sehr ruhig geworden. Es findet, von Ausnahmen abgesehen, in der Evangelischen Kirche weder eine theoretische Reflektion noch eine praktische Anwendung von Gemeindezucht statt. Etwas anders ist es in der täuferisch-mennonitischen Kirchenfamilie. Das Anliegen Gemeindezucht wird dort nach wie vor sehr hoch bewertet. Allerdings herrscht, so scheint es, eine große Unsicherheit, wie denn Gemeindezucht konkret, verantwortlich und sachgemäß zur Anwendung kommen kann. Die wenige veröffentlichte Literatur zur Kirchenzucht erschöpft sich meist in einer Darstellung und Diskussion der Bibelstellen zum Thema. Theologische, ekklesiologische und kirchengeschichtliche Überlegungen fließen in der Regel nicht in die Literatur ein. Das Ziel dieser Forschung ist es, einen Beitrag zur Schließung dieser Lücke zu leisten. Außerdem sollen Schlussfolgerungen erarbeitet werden, die es ermöglichen, dass Gemeindezucht in täuferisch-mennonitischen Kirchen verantwortlich zur Anwendung kommen kann. Es handelt sich bei dieser Forschung im ersten Teil um eine Literaturstudie. Der zweite Teil ist eine Fallstudie mittels Dokumentenanalyse zur Kirchenzucht in der Täufergeschichte. Um zu den Praxisimpulsen zu gelangen, wird das Thema Gemeindezucht anhand von fünf Leitfragen aus drei Perspektiven evaluiert und dann synthetisiert bzw. diskutiert. Diese drei Perspektiven sind die täuferische Ekklesiologie, das Neue Testament und die Täufergeschichte. / The issue of church discipline was a concern for all reformers. Whereas the discussion of this issue had its peak during the period of dialectic theology, it has become very quiet around this subject within the Protestant Church. With some exceptions, neither theoretical reflection nor practical application of church discipline is taking place within the Protestant Church. The situation is, however, a little bit different within the Anabaptist-Mennonite church community. Anabaptist-Mennonite Churches view the matter of church discipline with a relatively higher level of importance. However, great uncertainty seems to persist with respect to the question of how to apply church discipline in a practical, responsible and appropriate way. The limited literature published on the subject of church discipline is often restricted to a mere description and discussion of corresponding Bible references. As a rule, one does not include theological, ecclesiological and church-historical reflections within this literature. The purpose of this research is to close this gap by achieving well-founded conclusions which will make it possible for Anabaptist-Mennonite Churches to, once again, apply church-discipline responsibly. The first part of the research includes a literature review. The second part is a case study using document analysis. In order to arrive at practical impulses, the subject of church discipline will be evaluated, assuming from five central questions, from three different perspectives and synthesized or discussed. These three perspectives are the Anabaptist-Mennonite ecclesiology, the New Testament and the Anabaptist-Mennonite church history. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)