The worship experience in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is inextricably linked to the ward or branch. This thesis examines the development of the Latter-day Saint congregation at the church centers from 1829 to 1846: Palmyra and Fayette, New York; Harmony, Pennsylvania; Kirtland, Ohio; Independence, Liberty and Far West in Missouri; and Nauvoo, Illinois. This work not only documents the creation and development of congregations, but also gives attention to the other important elements developed during the early years that are still associated with modern Latter-day Saint wards: meeting and worship patterns, physical locations where meetings took place, and leadership of local branches and wards. More on parameters and purpose is spelled out in Chapter 1.Each of the next three chapters deals with a time period and place, tracking all four of the elements of emphasis through an era. Chapter 2 briefly discusses meetings and groups before the official organization of the Church, and then continues on to consider the developments made in the three areas considered as Church centers: Fayette and Palmyra in New York and Harmony, Pennsylvania. The bulk of Chapter 2, however, deals with Kirtland, Ohio, which was headquarters for the Church for much of the 1830s.The three counties in Missouri that held the highest concentration of Saints-Jackson, Clay and Caldwell-are the area of study for Chapter 3. Eventually driven not only from all of these counties but also the state of Missouri, the Saints moved on to Illinois, the subject of Chapter 4. Quincy, Illinois was briefly considered the Church center until the purchase of the land that became Nauvoo. The final chapter synthesizes each of the four topics: congregational organization, meeting patterns, local leadership, and meeting places. Consequently, it is a brief overview of what advancements were made across all years and places studied in each area of focus.

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Структура магистерской диссертации включает в себя введение, три главы, заключение, список использованной литературы, приложения. В работе рассматриваются культовые объекты в качестве бренда территории, а также изучение степени влияния гражданской активности горожан на градостроительные решения. Выявлены социально – экономические проблемы развития выбранной территории, отличающиеся для города миллионника острым дефицитом свободных для строительства земельных участков и необходимости включения механизма редевелопмента. На основе анализа вариантов развития территории предложен девелоперский проект, включающий в себя храм, отличающийся грамотным расположением, что повышает комфортность проживания жителей города. Рассмотрен анализ окружения, варианты размещения. Приводится оценка эффективности проекта по строительству храма, формируется социальная нацеленность проекта, включающая в себя ряд социальных эффектов, а также затронут вопрос самоокупаемости текущей деятельности объекта как некоммерческой организации. В заключении сформулированы основные выводы и обобщены результаты исследования. / The structure of the master's thesis includes an introduction, three chapters, conclusion, bibliography, applications. The work examines cult objects as a brand of the territory, as well as the study of the degree of influence of citizens' civic engagement on urban planning decisions. The socio-economic problems of the development of the selected territory, which are distinguished for the city of a million with an acute shortage of free land plots for construction and the need to include a redevelopment mechanism. Based on the analysis of the options for the development of the territory, a development project has been proposed, which includes a temple, which is distinguished by a competent location, which increases the comfort of living for residents of the city. The analysis of the environment, placement options are considered. An assessment of the effectiveness of the project for the construction of the temple is given, the social orientation of the project is formed, which includes a number of social effects, and the question of the self-sufficiency of the current activity of the object as a non-profit organization is raised. In the conclusion, the main conclusions are formulated and the results of the study are summarized.

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Nach der Schlacht von Actium am 2. September 31 v. Chr. war alles anders. Mit seinem Aufstieg zum unumstrittenen Alleinherrscher des Imperium Romanum wurde Augustus in den östlichen Reichsteilen kultisch verehrt. In Griechenland waren aus der hellenistischen Tradition heraus die Bedingungen für eine göttergleiche Ehrung des Herrschers gut bereitet. Das Anliegen dieser Studie ist es zu untersuchen, wie sich der Kult in den römischen Provinzen Griechenlands entwickeln und festigen konnte. Dabei werden zunächst Vorläufer kultischer Ehrungen römischer Staatsmänner in republikanischer Zeit betrachtet. Spannend ist dann in frühaugusteischer Zeit vor allem der bauliche Übergang, oftmals wurde der neue Kult des Kaisers in bereits bestehende Heiligtümer integriert. Gegenstand der Untersuchung sind nicht nur die Kaiser selbst, sondern auch ihre Familienmitglieder. Für die Betrachtungen werden Kultorte, Tempel und Altäre herangezogen. Kaiserfeste und ihre Ausrichtung spielen eine Rolle, ebenso das Amt der kaiserlichen Priester und Priesterinnen sowie Stifter und Stifterinnen. Unter kultur- und religionsgeschichtlichen Aspekten werden Fragen nach den Formen des Kaiserkultes aufgeworfen: Wie wurde dieser formal dargestellt und in welche städtischen und architektonischen Kontexte wurde der Kult eingebunden? Fragen nach der Praxis kultischer Verehrung sollen im Hintergrund stehen, wenn ausgewählte Zeugnisse des Kaiserkults von iulisch-claudischer bis in flavische Zeit betrachtet werden. Dabei bildet Athen einen hervorragenden Ausgangspunkt für einen provinzübergreifenden Vergleich, der anhand selektiver Beispiele von lokalen Kaiserkultstätten in den Provinzen Achaia, Epirus und Macedonia bereichert wird. Dabei werden Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede in den genannten Regionen herausgestellt, die das Phänomen Kaiserkult beleuchten. / Early Roman imperial cult in the provinces of Achaia, Epirus and Macedonia After Actium everything changed. With his rise to the sole ruler of the Imperium Romanum, Augustus began to be worshiped in the eastern Empire. Because of its Hellenic tradition Greece had been well prepared for emperor worship. The aim of this study is to investigate how emperor worship came to be established in the Roman provinces of Greece. It first considers the precursors of worshipping Roman statesmen in the Republican period. In the following early Augustan period, there is a fascinating architectural transformation in which the new cult for the emperor was often integrated into preexisting sanctuaries. The focus of this investigation is not only the emperor himself, but also his family members. It is thus necessary to consider cult sites, sanctuaries and altars. Imperial festivals also play a role, as do imperial priests and benefactors. Questions are raised about the forms of emperor worship within their cultural and religious contexts: how was imperial cult integrated into and physically represented in its urban and architectural spaces? The actual practices of cultic worship constitute the necessary background for interpreting the evidence of Julio-Claudian and Flavian emperor worship. Athens is thus an excellent starting point for a comparison between provinces, based on case studies of imperial cult sites in the provinces of Achaia, Epirus and Macedonia. By virtue of these comparisons, similarities and differences across the regions come to the fore and ultimately help illuminate the phenomenon of emperor worship.

This thesis finds out how the concepts of the divine in African Traditional Religions are similar or different, particularly in Ghana and Lesotho and in other parts of Africa in general. In doing so, the researcher combines literature review of eminent scholars who have studied the religious and socio-cultural life of the people of Ghana and Lesotho in particular and Africa in general, with personal field study through dissemination of questionnaires, interviews and personal observations. Through this approach he finds out the various religious phenomena that reveal the concept of the divine in the two countries concerned and in other African countries through comparison of their worships and socio-cultural activities in order to come out with the differences and the similarities that may call for synthesis of the concept in Africa. He also finds out how the concept of the divine in Africa has been influenced by foreign religions and culture particularly Christianity, Islam, Western culture and Education. And how their services and disservices have affected the concept of the divine in Africa. The researcher also looks at the issue of monotheism as against polytheism in African religious perspective to find out whether the African Traditional Religions are polytheistic, monotheistic or monolatry. The study reveals that the concept of the divine, in the two countries under study, ends up in one Supreme deity-God- .but that the approach to the concept is not always the same. There are some differences and similarities, which also prevail in other African Traditional Religions and in Christianity. There is also a look into whether the term "African Traditional Religions" is appropriate for the religious belief and practices found in Africa, and whether a synthesis of religious practices in Africa would be possible in future. In the final analysis the study reveals that the African concept of the divine as pertains in the two countries is not different from that of Christianity and Islam but that the approach to the concept differs due to differences in the perception of the divine through sociocultural and religious milieus. / Religious Studies & Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

Text in Afrikaans / Preaching is the proclamation of God's Word. This proclamation has an aim - the listeners of the Word. There was a dynamic change in the study field of the homilectics in the sense of a shifting from an one-sided kerugmatic approach to a dialogical approach. According to this approach the preacher no longer preaches without studying the recipients of the message. This model puts the emphasis on the preacher trying his utmost to get to know the contexts of his listeners. In the case of this thesis the contexts of the youth have been studied through the empirical research. During 1991 Prof. J.A. van den Ven and Prof H.J.C. Pieterse expected that there would be new problems awaiting the church in the new dispensation. They believed that, with the change in state and politics, the religious and moral values of the youth would be under pressure. Because, from now on, our children would be in the centre of values regarding ethnically and culturally integrated schools, they decided to launch a scientific study to determine whether their expectations were justified or not. In October 1991 they became partners in a project called: "Moral and Religious Values of the Youth of South Africa". The empirical study is a longitudinal study with a first data collection in 1995/1996, a second in 2000 and a third in 2005. The first collection of data was incorporated into this thesis. When preaching to the youth it is of utmost importance to take listeners (the youth) as strating point in the exegetical work, without neglecting the Biblical text. Practically speaking it is then necessary to pay attention to the following topics: (1) For the understanding and formulating of the message of the Scripture, modern critical hermeneutics are of the greatest importance. (2) A new practical theory for preaching to the youth is essential. In such a theory the following are important: generational differentiation, visual presentations, musical identification and relationship based preaching. (3) The dialogical communication theory is also of great importance and has dialogue before, during and after the preaching in mind. (4) The researcher proposes that the communication theory of Habermas should be dealt with as a means to help dispose of any generational conflict. / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

Interfaith dialogue is no luxury for Christians living in a pluralistic~ effervescent world of intenningling, multi-religious realities. Many Christians take seriously their responsibility towards interfaith dialogue. However, different Christians understand this responsibility in different ways, which often leads to acrimonious accusations of unchristian dialogical approaches. The question is whether there is any means of ordering and assessing the Christian responsibility towards other religions in a mutually uplifting and increasingly holistic way? Ken Wilber provides an integral, or All-Quadrant, All-Level hermeneutics that may assist us with an answer. All holonswhich means everything in the "Kosmos" - emerge or arise in holarchical fashion. On one level, it is a whole, on the next transcendent level it is a part of the whole. This process is infinite and is only ever released in One Taste/salvation/Nirvana/the Kingdom of God, or simply unqualifiable Suchness. Wilber provides an integrated methodology for understanding the process by which holons find their release in One Taste. The holon of Christian responsibility towards interfaith dialogue also emerges through discreet, recognizable stages. Each stage is integrated into the next higher level. The lower levels are more fundamental since they exist as a part of the higher levels. However, the higher levels are more significant, since they have an increased capacity to explore aspects of dialogue previously hidden. The levels we explore are the mythic rational, the rational and the centauric. 'lbese levels emerge through four interrelated dimensions or Quadrants: the Upper Left or spiritual/faith dimension of the person entering into dialogue, the Upper Right Quadrant or theology of dialogue that emerges, the Lower Left or communal and interpretive realm, and Lower Right which covers the social organizational patterns with which the person in dialogue chooses to associate him or herself. We define responsibility in tenns of these four Quadrants: The response or theology (UR) of the person is dependent upon her response-ability, or interior faith development (UL), which is informed by the worldview (LL) of her faith community to whom she feels responsible, with the sociological patterns of her community (LR), to some extent, offers clues as to her stage of development. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D.Th.(Religious Studies)