The monumental sculpture, especially the pulpits, of the father and son duo, Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, have often been compared to ancient Roman and early Christian sarcophagi. Giovanni produced a pulpit with two accompanying lecterns for the Pisa Cathedral, which is just a few steps away from the Camposanto, a “holy field”, or cemetery, built around sacred soil from Golgotha which serves to house a huge collection of sarcophagi. Iconography, composition, relief style, and even the materiality of Giovanni’s Pisa pulpit is in part governed by, and connected to, these sarcophagi. This influence is especially highlighted by the Epistles lectern, which depicts a half-length Christ as the Man of Sorrows encircled about and raised aloft by two angels. This unusual depiction of the Man of Sorrows seems to be appropriating a long tradition of the imago clipeata, or visual apotheosis. Giovanni borrows this classical imagery and updates it to reflect contemporary Christianity. The presence of the classical clipeata on the lectern underlines the two natures of Christ, which is a main characteristic of the iconography of the Man of Sorrows. The lectern’s clipeata and the reference to sarcophagi establishes a connection to ritual, but in this case Christian ritual, namely the sermon and the Eucharist. The imagery embodies an affective focus on the love and humanity of Christ as the crux of salvation, a characteristic of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century preaching. The drapery and textile, which act as the frame of the clipeata on the lectern, allude to the tramezzo, or choir screen, and liturgical cloths found at the high altar—both are liturgical accessories that aid the viewer during the consecration of the Eucharist. Giovanni Pisano adopts this antique imagery and recontextualizes it in an early-fourteenth century Christian setting as it becomes a creative commentary on the liturgy, devotion, and significance of place at the cathedral of Pisa.

The monumental sculpture, especially the pulpits, of the father and son duo, Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, have often been compared to ancient Roman and early Christian sarcophagi. Giovanni produced a pulpit with two accompanying lecterns for the Pisa Cathedral, which is just a few steps away from the Camposanto, a "holy field", or cemetery, built around sacred soil from Golgotha which serves to house a huge collection of sarcophagi. Iconography, composition, relief style, and even the materiality of Giovanni's Pisa pulpit is in part governed by, and connected to, these sarcophagi. This influence is especially highlighted by the Epistles lectern, which depicts a half-length Christ as the Man of Sorrows encircled about and raised aloft by two angels. This unusual depiction of the Man of Sorrows seems to be appropriating a long tradition of the imago clipeata, or visual apotheosis. Giovanni borrows this classical imagery and updates it to reflect contemporary Christianity. The presence of the classical clipeata on the lectern underlines the two natures of Christ, which is a main characteristic of the iconography of the Man of Sorrows. The lectern's clipeata and the reference to sarcophagi establishes a connection to ritual, but in this case Christian ritual, namely the sermon and the Eucharist. The imagery embodies an affective focus on the love and humanity of Christ as the crux of salvation, a characteristic of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century preaching. The drapery and textile, which act as the frame of the clipeata on the lectern, allude to the tramezzo, or choir screen, and liturgical cloths found at the high altar--both are liturgical accessories that aid the viewer during the consecration of the Eucharist. Giovanni Pisano adopts this antique imagery and recontextualizes it in an early-fourteenth century Christian setting as it becomes a creative commentary on the liturgy, devotion, and significance of place at the cathedral of Pisa.

No description available.

By the turn of the seventeenth century, the auto sacramental quickly became the most elaborate dramatic genre in Spain. Shortly after the Council of Trent, professional playwrights replaced clerics who had previously written autos for the Corpus Christi celebrations held each year, but none were more influential than Lope de Vega in refining thematic, literary, and staging elements and techniques. At the middle of the nineteenth century, critics began to study the genre that a royal decree had banned almost a century earlier; however, few have dedicated much time to Lope's autos. As a result, most critics have misunderstood Lope's contributions to the genre. This study addresses some of the issues that scholars have particularly misunderstood or ignored, namely, Lope's treatment of the Eucharistic theme in his autos, the level of dramatic unity displayed in his Corpus Christi plays, and the contribution of spectacle to the overall performance. Using a textual analysis of three of Lope's autos, I conclude that Lope could and did write profound, unified liturgical plays designed to disseminate Catholic dogma in an effective and entertaining manner. Each of the three autos used in this study, Las aventuras del Hombre, El viaje del Alma, and Los dos ingenios y esclavos, presents a protagonist representing mankind, who must learn to disregard evil influences faced in mortality and turn to Christ and the Eucharist for salvation. These elaborate liturgical performances, whose budgets exceeded those of the popular comedias of the day, all took place in city plazas around the country. In order to understand the deserved popularity that Lope's autos clearly enjoyed in their original setting, scholars need to return to the texts themselves and not merely rely on criticism.

No description available.

The purpose of this research is to explore possible ways of making the Eucharistic celebration more meaningful to Catholics in Mutare diocese, Zimbabwe. The reason for this concern is that the Eucharist is the `source and summit' of the Christian life. Since inculturation is a possible means of achieving this aim of a meaningful celebration, it was found necessary in this study to examine how the Eucharist has been taught and inculturated in the Catholic Church over the years. From this It was discovered that inculturation was absent in the writings and catechesis of early Church authors and Fathers during the periods reviewed. Although an observation was made that it was indirectly implied in the Eucharistic prayers of the early Christians, it was only after a new `understanding of culture' emerged, following Vatican II, that permission was given by Rome to use local languages at Eucharistic celebrations. In the course of this study, efforts were made to determine the elements that constitute Eucharistic inculturation in Mutare diocese. These include: symbolic gestures, local languages, proverbs, enthronement, local staple food, invocation of ancestors, and others. In an empirical study to find out the extent of inculturation that has taken place in Mutare diocese, questionnaires were sent to sixteen out of twenty-four parishes in the diocese. Oral interviews were also conducted for this purpose. After analyzing the responses from respondents and those interviewed, it was discovered that some areas of inculturation have been realized, though not fully. Two outstanding areas which have not yet been realized were found to be the use of local staple food and the invocation of ancestors. The conclusion was that inculturation is not fully implemented in Mutare diocese and this impacts negatively on the celebration of the Eucharist. Eucharistic inculturation is an achievable goal in Mutare diocese, however, provided there is intensive catechesis which takes into account Shona-rich cultural values, aided by active involvement of small Christian Communities and the support of the hierarchy. / Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Text in German / Die vorliegende Dissertation untersucht die christologischen Schwerpunkte im Leben und Denken von Frère Roger Schutz von Taizé und zeigt Querverbindungen zu unterschiedlichen theologischen Ansätzen. Dabei werden dogmatische Berührungspunkte zu den Vätern der alten Kirche, zur lutherischen, katholischen und orthodoxen Christologie dargestellt und untersucht. Als Basis der systematisch-theologischen Forschungsarbeit dienen die theologischen Studien, Tagebücher und erbaulichen Schriften, die Roger Schutz zwischen 1943 und 2005 geschrieben hat, sowie die liturgischen Hefte und Gebetsbücher von Taizé, die auf ihren christologischen Gehalt untersucht werden. Die poetische Sprache von Frère Roger erfordert eine literarische und theologische Interpretation, die mit zwei Brüdern der Gemeinschaft in Taizé besprochen wurde. Die Entwicklung der christologischen Ansichten von Roger Schutz wird durch alle Phasen seines Lebens hindurch untersucht, sodass am Schluss der Arbeit drei wichtige Thesen dargestellt werden können, die für die Zukunft von Taizé und für die christologische Diskussion im ökumenischen Umfeld interessant sind. / This present dissertation researches the christological key factors in the life and thinking of Frère Roger Schutz of Taizé and shows specific connections to different theological theories. We find several points of reference to the church fathers, the lutheran, catholic and orthodox Christology which are categorized and evaluated. As a base of this systematic research, I use the theological reflections, the diaries and the devotional books which Roger Schutz wrote between 1943 and 2005 as well as the liturgical sheets and prayer books in Taizé center. The poetic language of Frère Roger needs a literally and theological interpretation which I discussed with two Brothers of the community. The development of the christological thinking of Roger Schutz is analysed through all phases of his life, so that at the end of my research I conclude with three final observations which are interesting for the future of the community in Taizé as well as for the christological discussion in the ecumenical context. / Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

The aim of this project is to investigate the proper response of theology to the Christian God who, as revealed through revelation, is Being-in-act. This project takes seriously the idea posited by Shakespeare, that totus mundus agit histrionem, and upon this stage ‘all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts.’ If, then, God’s Being is in act, and as so many have deduced, life and death are enveloped within the drama of everyday, then, might it be possible that our theological endeavours would prosper through a dramatic rendering? In light of this, the project seeks to illumine that it is beneficial for both the Church and society, to realise how drama can be, and is, fruitful for our theological endeavours. God is Being-in-act, and through His revelation, He invites humanity to enter into and participate in His action. In light of the aforementioned, then, theology must contend with the implications for its practices, which, as is being argued, are benefited most through a full embrace of the dramatising of theology. The thesis is situated in the recent movement of our theological endeavours that recognise the profundity of the dramatic and its ability to illuminate God’s action and call to action from theology, the Church and society. Moving forward from the seminal work of Hans Urs von Balthasar, and set forth in the context of the theologies of Balthasar and Karl Barth, this project argues that it is through the dramatising of theology that theology is best equipped to illumine God’s desire for humanity’s participation in His Theo-drama. The dramatising of theology is a natural response to God’s Being-in-act; it is the natural movement of theology’s response to God’s action which calls for an active response on our part. Current examples of today’s theological movement towards the dramatic can be seen in such authors as Max Harris, Trevor Hart, Stanley Hauerwas, Michael Horton, Todd Johnson and Dale Savidge, Ben Quash, Kevin Vanhoozer, Samuel Wells and N.T. Wright. This project hopes to contribute to the movement towards the dramatising of theology.

Ideas of kinship play a significant role in structuring everyday life, and yet kinship has been neglected in Christian ethics, as well as moral philosophy and bioethics. Attention has been paid in these disciplines to the ethics of ‘family,’ but little regard has been paid to the fact that kinship is not a given, but is culturally contingent. The thesis seeks to remedy the neglect in recent Christian theological ethics by drawing on resources from the history of Christian thought and practice. It uses social anthropology both to unsettle the accounts of kinship used in Christian ethics, and to expose elements in Christian traditions of thought and practice relating to kinship. Notions of shared bodily substance, the house, gender and personhood recur cross-culturally in giving shape to kinship. By examining these four notions as they inform Christian thought and practice, a theological account is developed. Chapters dedicated to each of these four attempt to provide, in the first instance, a descriptive account of how the notion has structured Christian thought and practice in relation to kinship. Each chapter then turns, in the second instance, to a critical mode, offering a theological treatment of the chapter topic as it bears on kinship. The thesis concludes that kinship in Christ should be considered normatively primary for the Christian, but also that there are ways in which Christians have honoured this kinship in Christ by organising and playing out kinship on a smaller scale. In detailing the distinctively Christian organising principles that structure some practices of kinship ‘in miniature,’ another common practice – the special privileging of the blood tie in structuring kinship – is singled out for critique.