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The questions that underlined and motivated this research project have been: Why do members of the Orthodox Church participate in the ecumenical movement, and how can they negotiate an involvement in ecumenical contexts, together with their non-Orthodox counterparts – considering that the Orthodox see their Church as the one and only true Church? The background of this exploration has been the context of hostility and prejudice, which some groups within the Orthodox Church have manifested towards ecumenical encounters, which has marred and obstructed a genuine dialogue between the Orthodox and the non-Orthodox Christian communities. This project is based on the analysis of sources from contemporary Orthodox and Western theological milieux. It has interpreted these sources with a view to determining how they interact and coalesce into visions that inform the relationship between Orthodoxy and ecumenism. The interpretative stage of the discussion reveals the necessity of delineating paradigms for Orthodoxy and ecumenism that will enable future ecumenical interactions of greater efficiency and integrity. Such paradigms outline a vision wherein central aspects of Orthodox theology would move away from a paradigm of ‘passive conservatism’ to one of ‘active metanoia’ (transformation), while ecumenism would come to be seen as a perennial process and intrinsic aspect of theology. These vantage points define a new Orthodox vision of ecumenism as an ever-enlarging catholicity, by bringing back to the fore the common theological core of both Orthodoxy and ecumenism.

Joseph Smith is one of the most enigmatic figures in American religious history. From the details of his life story to the eventual formation of his own church, much has been written on the legacy of Joseph Smith. However, there are still numerous areas of Smith’s life and thought that demand further engagement, especially from a Nicene perspective. The purpose of the present research is to substantively add to scholarly knowledge regarding Joseph Smith. In contradistinction to other Nicene treatments of Joseph Smith and his theology, the present project will integrate multiple disciplines for the purpose of producing a robust, Nicene assessment of Smith’s life and tritheism. The aim of this project is to establish the historical context and potential religious influences upon Joseph Smith’s theological evolution. The process by which this information is ascertained requires a thorough and exegetical evaluation of the scriptural basis for Nicene orthodoxy. This data represents a theological foundation that must be built upon by recounting the development of Trinitarianism among the early Christians. Based upon this scriptural and historical background for Nicene orthodoxy, the historical focus then must turn to theological trends just prior to and during the life of Joseph Smith. The result of this process then leads to an assessment of Smith’s life and tritheism, from a Nicene perspective that integrates multiple lines of data. The findings of this research demonstrate, rather conclusively, that Nicene orthodoxy is rooted in the text of Christian Scripture. Further, Trinitarianism developed creedally, over time, among the early Christians but existed, in nascent form, from the close of the New Testament. Additionally, Nicene orthodoxy held sway among the colonies in America prior to the revolutionary era. The ideas and events leading up to the American Revolution gave occasion and platform to anti-Nicene ideologies that greatly influenced Joseph Smith’s family. Moreover, Joseph Smith’s own historical and religious context was littered with anti-Nicene and unorthodox teachers, movements and visionaries. These details lead to the conclusion that Joseph Smith was not a unique prophet but just one of many anti-Nicene religious leaders that arose to prominence during this period. It is therefore argued that Smith’s theology originated from his own theological musings. The resultant system is replete with doctrinal contradictions and philosophical absurdities. Thus, from the perspective of Nicene Christianity, Smith’s tritheism must be deemed as a distinct and rival system intended to replace historic orthodoxy. / PhD (Church and Dogma History)

Joseph Smith is one of the most enigmatic figures in American religious history. From the details of his life story to the eventual formation of his own church, much has been written on the legacy of Joseph Smith. However, there are still numerous areas of Smith’s life and thought that demand further engagement, especially from a Nicene perspective. The purpose of the present research is to substantively add to scholarly knowledge regarding Joseph Smith. In contradistinction to other Nicene treatments of Joseph Smith and his theology, the present project will integrate multiple disciplines for the purpose of producing a robust, Nicene assessment of Smith’s life and tritheism. The aim of this project is to establish the historical context and potential religious influences upon Joseph Smith’s theological evolution. The process by which this information is ascertained requires a thorough and exegetical evaluation of the scriptural basis for Nicene orthodoxy. This data represents a theological foundation that must be built upon by recounting the development of Trinitarianism among the early Christians. Based upon this scriptural and historical background for Nicene orthodoxy, the historical focus then must turn to theological trends just prior to and during the life of Joseph Smith. The result of this process then leads to an assessment of Smith’s life and tritheism, from a Nicene perspective that integrates multiple lines of data. The findings of this research demonstrate, rather conclusively, that Nicene orthodoxy is rooted in the text of Christian Scripture. Further, Trinitarianism developed creedally, over time, among the early Christians but existed, in nascent form, from the close of the New Testament. Additionally, Nicene orthodoxy held sway among the colonies in America prior to the revolutionary era. The ideas and events leading up to the American Revolution gave occasion and platform to anti-Nicene ideologies that greatly influenced Joseph Smith’s family. Moreover, Joseph Smith’s own historical and religious context was littered with anti-Nicene and unorthodox teachers, movements and visionaries. These details lead to the conclusion that Joseph Smith was not a unique prophet but just one of many anti-Nicene religious leaders that arose to prominence during this period. It is therefore argued that Smith’s theology originated from his own theological musings. The resultant system is replete with doctrinal contradictions and philosophical absurdities. Thus, from the perspective of Nicene Christianity, Smith’s tritheism must be deemed as a distinct and rival system intended to replace historic orthodoxy. / PhD (Church and Dogma History)

This thesis is about kinship, neighbourliness, sainthood, fasting and exorcism among Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The uncertainties of providing for oneself and one’s family in the city make people deeply reliant on neighbours, kin, and religious networks in order to survive. But these dependencies are also sources of vulnerability—to the demands of close others and the harm they can inflict, but also, increasingly, to demonic possession. A recent surge in public exorcisms testifies to a broad sense of spiritual threat, as well as a perceived need to re-entrench the power and authority of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) at a time when the effects of religious pluralism and modernization policies pose a particular challenge. In this thesis, I document the ways in which Orthodox Christians are working to re-situate and reframe their relationships with the EOC in their daily lives. I argue that these efforts are inherently relational, based on the sharing of blessing through substances such as holy water, and on various labours of devotion performed for others or on their behalf. Through fine-grained ethnography, this study finds kinship and other local networks, rather than institutional practices or large-scale rituals, to be the basis of religious action in the city. I show how ordinary people, faced with the contradictions between religious imperatives and the material necessities of life, seek blessing for themselves, their neighbours, and their kin, from powerful human and non-human intercessors and, in turn, how they become intercessors for others. I pay particular attention to the bodily and affective dimensions of these practices: how people fast together and for one another; how they circulate and consume holy water; and how they subject themselves to violent exorcistic interventions. For Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa, these bodily practices constitute key methods for acting on the flesh, and thereby engaging with the basic problem of the fallen nature of humanity—which is felt to be particularly pressing in contemporary urban conditions. By taking such perspectives, my thesis aims to contribute to discussions of Christian embodiment, personhood, and subject-formation with a detailed study of the networks and relationships by which people build an intersubjective and interdependent ethics of daily life—an ethics, that is, which contrasts with the discourses of individual self-fashioning that have informed many recent studies of Christianity and piety in other world religions.

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O objetivo principal desta dissertação é estudar a figura do Rabino Shimshon Raphael Hirsch (1808 1888), de Frankfurt, um grande mestre e líder de gerações para segmentos importantes do Judaísmo dentro do contexto histórico em que ele viveu, analisando seu impacto e legado para as futuras gerações, principalmente dentro da Ortodoxia Judaica. Esta era uma época em que a Haskalá provocava profundas mudanças na sociedade judaica, dando os primeiros passos para a criação do Movimento Reformista. Assim, entre outros objetivos deste estudo, tem destaque entender quais foram as inovações introduzidas pelo Rabino Hirsch dentro da Ortodoxia? Quais aspectos o diferenciam da Ortodoxia tradicional, transformando-o num dos principais protagonistas da Neo-Ortodoxia? Quais impactos e mudanças o novo modelo imprimiu ao sistema educacional judaico alemão e europeu? Quais as diferenças entre o modelo de Frankfurt e o modelo de Berlim, este último encabeçado pelo Rabino Azriel Hildesheimer? Outras questões analisadas dizem respeito ao modelo Torá Im Derech Eretz, que pretendia formar um sistema educacional, contemplando os estudos judaicos tradicionais e a formação secular, possibilitando aos seus seguidores uma integração plena na sociedade moderna, e se mantendo fiel às leis e normas religiosas tradicionais do Judaísmo. Quem são os herdeiros ideológicos deste movimento? Qual o legado histórico e relevância deste modelo para a sociedade judaica moderna? / This dissertation aims mainly at studying the persona Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), of Frankfurt, a great scholar and leader for different strata of Jewish society, the historical context he lived in, and analyzing his impact and legacy for generations to come, particularly regarding Jewish Orthodoxy. This was a time when Haskalah promoted profound changes in Jewish society, taking the first steps for the creation of the Reform movement. Therefore, this study also aims at understanding what the innovations introduced by Rabbi Hirsch within Orthodoxy were. What aspects differentiated between him and traditional Orthodoxy, turning him into one of the protagonists in Neo-Orthodoxy? What were the impacts and changes that his model impressed onto the German Jewish educational system and in European Jewish community? What are the differences between the model of Frankfurt and the model of Berlin, the latter headed by Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer? Other questions raised concern the Torah Im Derech Eretz model, that intended to form an educational system covering traditional Jewish studies and secular training, enabling its followers full integration in modern society, while remaining faithful to the laws and traditional religious norms of Judaism. And, who are the ideological heirs of this movement? What is the historical legacy and relevance of this model for the modern Jewish society?

O objetivo principal desta dissertação é estudar a figura do Rabino Shimshon Raphael Hirsch (1808 1888), de Frankfurt, um grande mestre e líder de gerações para segmentos importantes do Judaísmo dentro do contexto histórico em que ele viveu, analisando seu impacto e legado para as futuras gerações, principalmente dentro da Ortodoxia Judaica. Esta era uma época em que a Haskalá provocava profundas mudanças na sociedade judaica, dando os primeiros passos para a criação do Movimento Reformista. Assim, entre outros objetivos deste estudo, tem destaque entender quais foram as inovações introduzidas pelo Rabino Hirsch dentro da Ortodoxia? Quais aspectos o diferenciam da Ortodoxia tradicional, transformando-o num dos principais protagonistas da Neo-Ortodoxia? Quais impactos e mudanças o novo modelo imprimiu ao sistema educacional judaico alemão e europeu? Quais as diferenças entre o modelo de Frankfurt e o modelo de Berlim, este último encabeçado pelo Rabino Azriel Hildesheimer? Outras questões analisadas dizem respeito ao modelo Torá Im Derech Eretz, que pretendia formar um sistema educacional, contemplando os estudos judaicos tradicionais e a formação secular, possibilitando aos seus seguidores uma integração plena na sociedade moderna, e se mantendo fiel às leis e normas religiosas tradicionais do Judaísmo. Quem são os herdeiros ideológicos deste movimento? Qual o legado histórico e relevância deste modelo para a sociedade judaica moderna? / This dissertation aims mainly at studying the persona Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), of Frankfurt, a great scholar and leader for different strata of Jewish society, the historical context he lived in, and analyzing his impact and legacy for generations to come, particularly regarding Jewish Orthodoxy. This was a time when Haskalah promoted profound changes in Jewish society, taking the first steps for the creation of the Reform movement. Therefore, this study also aims at understanding what the innovations introduced by Rabbi Hirsch within Orthodoxy were. What aspects differentiated between him and traditional Orthodoxy, turning him into one of the protagonists in Neo-Orthodoxy? What were the impacts and changes that his model impressed onto the German Jewish educational system and in European Jewish community? What are the differences between the model of Frankfurt and the model of Berlin, the latter headed by Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer? Other questions raised concern the Torah Im Derech Eretz model, that intended to form an educational system covering traditional Jewish studies and secular training, enabling its followers full integration in modern society, while remaining faithful to the laws and traditional religious norms of Judaism. And, who are the ideological heirs of this movement? What is the historical legacy and relevance of this model for the modern Jewish society?