Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Reconstruction theology is widely regarded as one of the most influential approaches to contemporary African Christian theology – alongside others such as inculturation theology, liberation theology, African women’s theology, evangelical theology and Pentecostal theology. In this thesis I offer a critical assessment of one of the main exponents of such reconstruction theology, namely the Kenyan theologian Jesse Mugambi. I explore the question of how his position on the notion of reconstruction should be understood. One point of entry into understanding Mugambi’s views on reconstruction is to explore his position on the relationship between the church and the coming reign of God. In the history of Christianity this relationship has been understood in widely divergent ways. The task of this thesis will therefore be to examine, position, analyse and assess Mugambi’s particular view in this regard. This will be done on the basis of a close reading of Mugambi’s publications such as African Christian Theology: an Introduction (1989), From Liberation to Reconstruction: African Christian Theology after the Cold War (1995), Christian Theology and Social Reconstruction (2003), and numerous chapters in publications by African theologians.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:19:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AlonsoGon.pdf: 500079 bytes, checksum: c3ee0b7e2c3df5614267aee6e17e04c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This research aims to work with the ecclesiology in the academic production of the German theologian Jürgen Moltmann. It will seek to handle the principal hermeneutical keys of Moltmann s ecclesiology. For it understands that his ecclesiology designs a concept of church in open dimensions, i.e., a church that demands to be aware of what occurs in society and be part of it, having commitment and significant inclusion in the major issues raised by contemporary culture. By his theological categories, Moltmann contributes towards the achievement of thinking about an ecclesiology with open dimensions, also to the development of the praxis, which is more consistent within the context of the community of faith. For this, considering that Moltmann s reflections can contribute to Brazilian ecclesiological context, the research chooses to compare the main ecclesiological aspects of the author with the Baptist way of life in Brazil, and uses authors of consensus in the Baptist universe in which they produce theological reflection for the church. In addition to the bibliographical sources, the research will consider the Brazilian Baptist Church theological thinking on the Doctrinal Statement of the Brazilian Baptist Convention, trying to point out ways that are liable to theological reflection and pastoral contribution critiques / A pesquisa pretende tratar de um tema na produção acadêmica do teólogo alemão Jürgen Moltmann, sua eclesiologia. Ela procurará abordar as principais chaves hermenêuticas da eclesiologia moltmanniana, por entender que o autor, em sua eclesiologia, desenha uma concepção de igreja em dimensões abertas. Sendo, portanto, uma igreja que procura estar ciente do que ocorre na sociedade e dela fazer parte com um grau alto de comprometimento e inserção significativa nos grandes temas suscitados pela cultura contemporânea. Moltmann, com suas categorias teológicas, favorece o estabelecimento de bases para se pensar em uma eclesiologia com dimensões abertas, contribuindo assim para o desenvolvimento de uma práxis que seja mais condizente com o contexto em que a comunidade de fé está inserida. Para isso, considerando que as reflexões de Moltmann podem contribuir para o contexto eclesiológico brasileiro, na pesquisa optamos por fazer a comparação dos principais aspectos eclesiológicos do autor com o modo de ser batista no Brasil, a partir de autores que produzem reflexão teológica para a denominação, sendo, portanto, autores reconhecidos no universo batista. Além destas fontes bibliográficas, a pesquisa trará o pensamento teológico da Igreja Batista brasileira a partir da Declaração Doutrinária da Convenção Batista Brasileira, procurando apontar caminhos que são passíveis de reflexão teológica e contribuição pastoral críticas.  

The following study seeks to explore the subjects of Christianisation and Christian identity during the transitional period of the fourth century from an ecclesiological perspective, and argues that the very question of Christian identity is, indeed, an ecclesiological one. It approaches the subject through the writings of Cyril of Jerusalem, specifically his Catechetical Lectures, the earliest complete catechetical programme that has come down to us, making it an invaluable resource for anyone hoping to understand the Catholic Church's efforts to preserve and construct its identity in the wake of Constantine's formal conversion to its faith. Moreover, Cyril, who became bishop of the Holy City around 350, affords us a unique perspective on the question at hand, teaching as he did from the 'very centre of the earth', following the creation of a Christian holy land and pilgrimage centre in the midst of what remained a largely pagan province, and in a city still central to Judaism. The ability to possess the sites and relics associated with the life of Christ and the Prophets for the first time in Christian history not only made the drama of salvation tangible in Jerusalem like nowhere else, but raised new and important questions around the extent to which this sacred topography was compatible with Christianity's departure from the temple-centred worship of the Old Testament. It also provides valuable insight into the relationship between the local and the universal as regards notions of the Church's catholicity, Cyril's definition of καθολικ? in his eighteenth lecture arguably being the earliest. Membership of the Church, and therefore Christian identity, is for Cyril primarily ontological, defined and effected through mysteriological participation, with baptism - the believer's death, rebirth, and union with Christ - representing the dividing line between insider and outsider, a fact enforced by the so-called Disciplina Arcani, by which all knowledge of the Church's sacraments were jealously guarded from the unbaptised. The thesis explores how this notion of ontological membership underpins and informs Cyril's dealings with the various groups against which he sought to define his own community - the Greeks, Jews, and heretics - while also looking at the ecclesiological significance of the baptismal act itself.

This thesis analyses the idea of the Church adopted by the papacy of Honorius II (1124-1130), a pontificate hitherto overlooked by most historians. The main sources, examined with a particular focus on language and context, are the extant letters produced by the papal chancery, which present the official Roman view. A preliminary calendar of the letters is compiled here for the first time and is intended as a tool for future research. Chronicles and other sources are also used to expand the analysis. The first section explores the papacy's theoretical assertions of primacy over the whole Church and the innovations of the chancery led by Haimeric (1123-1141). It argues that this pontificate added a degree of novelty to ideas already in use (such as the maternal role of the Roman church) but also made new and stronger claims for the papal office. Chapter two considers the consequences of these claims on papal relations with other ecclesiastical institutions and the tools Honorius resorted to when asserting his primacy. It concludes that some of these – especially papal legates – were adapted to the pope's needs or achieved an even more significant role during this papacy, allowing Honorius to exercise a certain pragmatic primacy over the whole Church. Chapter three deals with relations with secular powers. Although this is afflicted by a serious dearth of letters – the silences of Honorius - the chapter demonstrates that it is still possible to recreate some sense of the modus operandi towards secular powers. It argues that the papacy was usually responsive and its actual power quite limited. The last section offers a case study of Honorius's relations with Montecassino. Compared with two almost contemporary cases at Cluny and Farfa, this exposes how the ecclesiology of this papacy worked in detail. It argues that these episodes should be read together as a papal attempt to assert primacy over institutions which had always pursued a policy independent from Rome. The image emerging from this analysis frames Honorius's papacy more effectively, overturning the idea of a transitional and colourless pope. This was a vital pontificate, during which some significant innovations and claims were made. In particular, by adapting the content of each letter to addressee and context, Honorius's chancery, led by Haimeric, played a decisive role in extending the ecclesiology of the papacy.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta dissertação busca investigar a existência de uma Teologia Reformada brasileira no âmbito da eclesiologia e da relação com a cultura, trabalhando com a Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil como base de dados para tal investigação. Na primeira parte, pesquisa-se como se formou o reformador João Calvino e que relação a sua formação humanista teve com os ensinos que desenvolveu, bem como tais ensinos poderiam ser aplicados à Teologia Reformada brasileira, escolhendo-se a graça comum para entender a relação com a cultura e buscando-se compreender a abrangência de sua eclesiologia. Na segunda parte, calvinismo, puritanismo e neopuritanismo são analisados sob a perspectiva de compreenderem-se possíveis rupturas ou continuidades. Tais situações serão verificadas na influência cultural do silogismo prático dos calvinistas e da relação de Calvino e dos puritanos com a ciência. A terceira parte apresenta Richard Shaull como contraponto ao modo de ser reformado designado como neopuritano, aplicado à boa parte dos reformados brasileiros da IPB, na medida em que tenta construir uma Teologia Reformada da revolução, que seus seguidores, possivelmente seu maior legado, transformariam em Teologia da Libertação. Ele será comparado em sua visão eclesiológica com Ashbel Green Simonton, pioneiro da IPB no Brasil. Por fim, à guisa de conclusão, a quarta e última parte estudará a construção da atual Teologia Reformada da IPB, sua possível relação com o fundamentalismo, a partir dos puritanos ou não, e acima de tudo o grande receio quanto a sua brasilidade, buscando pistas para responder que tipo de eclesiologia afinal tem produzido a Teologia Reformada da IPB. / This dissertation seeks to investigate the existence of a Brazilian Reformed Theology in the area of ecclesiology and its relation to culture by using the Presbyterian Church of Brazil as the object of investigation. The first part investigates how the reformer John Calvin was educated and how his humanism related to the teaching he developed, as also its possible application to Brazilian Reformed Theology, choosing common Grace to understand this relation to culture in seeking to understand how wide was its influence in his ecclesiology. In the second part, Calvinism, Puritanism and Neopuritanism are analyzed toward possible divisions or continuity. Such situations will be studied as a possible cultural influence of the practical rationalization of the Calvinists and of the relation of Calvin and the puritans with science. The third part presents Richard Shaull as a contradiction to the style of being reformed neopuritans, applical to a good part of the Brazilian reformed of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, to the extent that he attempted to construct a Reformed Theology of Revolution that his followers, perhaps his major contribution, could transform into a Theology of Liberation. His ecclesiastical vision will be compared to that of Ashbel Green Simonton, pioneer of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. The fourth and final part will study the construction of Reformed Theology in the Presbyterian Church of Brazil today, its possible relation to fundamentalism, beginning or not with the puritans, above all a real fear as to its Brazilianity, seeking ways to respond to the kind of ecclesiology the Reformed Theology of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil has produced.

This study looked at the journey towards becoming a missional church, using Beach Mission Presbyterian Church as a case study and explores the question of the missiological praxis of Beach Mission and UPCSA. Despite the fact that the church is not fundamentally the keeper of mission, it is however the sign, instrument, means of expression, and foretaste of God’s mission to the troubled, broken and traumatised world. I can affirm with equal validity that, mission belongs to God. Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission – God’s mission. The UPCSA must give careful attention to the processes by which it governs itself but the biblical and theological foundations will always be crucial than the specific structures implemented. These foundations will allow authentic relationships to develop simply because they assure people that they will be valued as those created in the image of God. Their wisdom and participation will be noticed and honoured. The church structures will give credence to God’s work of reconciliation. When church structures allow the biblical and theological foundations to order its life, the church will bring glory, praise and honour to God. Gibbs (2005:20) asserts that, the church of the twenty-first century needs missional thinkers and apostolic leadership. By missional leadership I mean leaders who can read the Scriptures with fresh eyes, relating the story of redemption to the human condition in its present cultural context – contexts that are increasingly multicultural and influenced by global trends. This poses a challenge to UPCSA. It was apparent that the Beach Mission Presbyterian Church approaches missional church conversation with a sense of hopefulness, and this was motivated by the strong belief that God is present and up to something wonderful. The Beach Mission Presbyterian Church’s case in point is heartening other congregations who intend in embarking on a journey towards becoming a missional church. The focus has been about God and his mission. The Beach Mission Presbyterian Church ought to comprehend the indisputable fact that it is just an instrument for missio Dei or to put it simply it is nothing more than a delivery means for the gospel. Wright (2010:31) asserts that, but at the end of the day, mission is a matter of loyalty. The ambassador must have complete loyalty to the government he or she represents. A trusted messenger will faithfully deliver what his sender said, not his own opinions. The church is a rejected community sent out to the world with a product (Jesus), to bring about transformation to the world. In essence, one wonders if the church does comprehend the world in which it is sent out to? Does it comprehend God, who has sent it? In the missional church, the theology is more than the self-serving what do you get mentality. Members comprehend that they are called to be the church rather than be served by it. / Dissertation (MA Theol)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Science of Religion and Missiology / unrestricted

Traditional patterns of leadership in the Church of England are changing. The demands of mission in post-Christendom, and renewed attention to the theology of social trinitarianism have focussed attention on the health of the local congregation as the place where the future of the church will be determined. Aware of the damage that disharmony can cause, the Diocese of Chelmsford has supported this research which examines how good relationships between lay and ordained leaders may be fostered, as a contribution to the equipping of congregations for mission. A process of facilitated conversations was held with lay and ordained leaders at the end of a ministerial vacancy, after an appointment had been made. These were analysed in the light of both theological and sociological perspectives on the nature of priesthood and of the local church, and of my own experience as a parish priest and training officer in the church. The process of facilitated conversations enabled differences of attitude and understanding to be articulated. Of particular note was a strong preference for, or reaction against, the use of familial language to describe the local congregation. These differences could be categorised as a contrast between the views held by those who had received no academic training in theology and those who had. A revised pattern of meetings is proposed in the light of these results and the feedback received. The conclusion is that relationships between the lay leaders and the newly appointed priest will benefit from facilitated conversations at the outset of this new period of ministry about the nature of the priestly role and the local church. A good relationship, marked by improved mutual understanding and respect between leaders, will better enable the parishes of the Diocese of Chelmsford to re-envision the missionary task.

[pt] A presente dissertação intitulada: A Eclesiologia Latino-americana como acolhimento criativo do Vaticano II: Um caminho para uma nova recepção da herança conciliar desenvolveu-se estimulada pela reflexão que se vive hoje diante a uma mudança de época que demanda, por parte da Igreja, novas respostas aos desafios que se apresentam à evangelização na cultura atual. Parte-se do Concílio Vaticano II, onde a Igreja sente-se compelida diante do mundo a tomar decisões e dar um novo rumo à sua missão de evangelizar, promovendo assim uma renovação e mudança que possibilita uma nova consciência eclesial, que, por sua vez, é reconhecida e valorizada nos Documentos das Conferências Gerais do Episcopado Latino-americano. Esta nova concepção de Igreja adquire forte vitalidade no pós-Concílio na América Latina. A Igreja latino-americana, atenta aos sinais dos tempos, procura compreender e atualizar sua missão assumindo a realidade e a partir dela testemunha o Evangelho. As consequências eclesiológicas desta tradição latino-americana, possibilitada pelo Vaticano II, iniciada com a Conferência de Medellín e intensificada mais recentemente com a Conferência de Aparecida se apresentam como contribuições atuais para toda a Igreja e situam-se na direção de uma nova recepção da herança conciliar. / [en] This dissertation entitled: The Latin American Ecclesiology as a creative host of Vatican II: A path for a new receipt to reconcile the heritage was developed stimulated by the reflection that lives today on an era change that demands, by the Church, new answers to challenges that present themselves to evangelism in today’s culture. Stems from Vatican II council, where the Church feels compelled against the world to make decisions and grant a new direction in Its mission to evangelize, promoting a renewal and change that enables a new ecclesial consciousness, which is recognized and valued in the General Conferences of Latin American Bishops’ documents. This new conception of Church has strong vitality in the post-council on Latin America. The latin american Church, attentive to the signs of the times, seeking to understand and update their mission assuming the reality and taking from it to witness the gospel. The ecclesiological consequences of this Latin American tradition, made possible by Vatican II, which began with the Medellín’s Conference and intensified more recently with the Aparecida’s Conference, are presented as current contributions to the whole Church and are in the direction of a new reception of the heritage council.

[pt] Esta pesquisa centra-se no estudo do tema do Kerygma no mundo fragmentado. Busca-se desenvolver o tema a partir da visão do teólogo alemão Jurgen Moltmann. A referida pesquisa visa a interação entre a leitura do Kerygma em Moltmann e suas propostas pastorais às demandas do ser humano pós-moderno. O trabalho se desenvolve em três capítulos que buscam estruturar esta dissertação: no primeiro, descreve-se o declínio da modernidade e o consequente nascimento da pós-modernidade, bem como a configuração existencial do ser humano pós-moderno; no segundo, desenvolve-se a leitura teológica do Kerygma bíblico em Jurgen Moltmann e no terceiro, retomam-se os principais pontos das reflexões dos capítulos anteriores com objetivo de fornecer propostas pastorais kerygmáticas às demandas do ser humano hodierno. A leitura kerygmática do referido teólogo propõe um comparecimento pastoral veiculado através de uma linguagem existencial e relacional, uma cristologia do caminho, materializando ortodoxia em concreta proclamação de vida coerente à situação existencial do ser humano de nossa época. / [en] This research focuses on the study of the subject of the Kerygma in the fragmented world. We seek to develop the theme from the German theologian Jurgen Moltmann s view. This research aims at the interaction between the reading of the Kerygma in Moltmann and pastoral proposals demands of the post-modern human being. The work develops into three chapters that seek to structure this essay: in the first, describes the decline of modernity and the consequent birth of Postmodernity, as well as the human being s existential postmodern configuration; in the second, develops the theological reading of the Kerygma Bible in Jurgen Moltmann; in the third, resumed the main points of reflections of previous chapters in order to provide pastoral proposals Kerygmatics the demands of the human being today. The Kerygmatic reading of that theologian proposes a pastoral attendance broadcasted through an existential and relational language, a Christology of the way, materializing orthodoxy in life coherent proclamation concrete to the existential situation of human beings of our time.

Between 1847 and 1903, spanning the first three episcopates of the newly-created Diocese of Manchester, 228 churches were built, or significantly extended, in the largest by far of its five deaneries, the Deanery of Manchester. Exploration of diocesan, Mancunian, and parochial archival and other sources revealed that sixty-one of those 228 building-projects – over a quarter – had each been funded by a single donor or single family. The fifty 'singular' donors (eight financing more than one project) represented a wide swathe of the middle and upper echelons of society, comprising six MPs; thirty-one industrialists, including twenty-two (predominantly textile-) mill-owners, three engineers, and two colliery- and canal-owners; and thirteen non-industrialists, including five bankers, two landed gentry and three clerics. The scale of this aspect of industrial city philanthropy, and its lack of study are striking. Singular funding by donors of specific buildings provides a fresh angle from which to approach the reasons for philanthropy at an individual level. In each case, what role did self-interest play; what role such impulses as Established-Church-allegiance, evangelism, paternalism, territorialism, and dynasticism? Could a master driving-force, composed of a combination of some or all of those and other possible impulses, have been a donor's desire for worth: self-worth; worth in the eyes of contemporary society; and worth for remembrance in posterity? Were donors essentially creating churches in their own image? The Introduction covers identification of the churches and the ecclesiastical, industrial and historical context of their building and of nineteenth-century Mancunian philanthropy. Chapter One, exploring the donors' biographies, includes, as potential drivers in church-creation, timing of public preferment – providing scant support for its previously identified role in other charitable giving – and alternative donor-self-image-related impulses. Chapter Two considers, as a measure of donor-church-identity, possible linkage of donor to church through dedication, proximity, iconography, memorials, armorials, dedicated space, and burial arrangements. Chapter Three uses choice of architect, their north-western oeuvre, and the balance of architects' and donors' roles, to further assess reflection of donor-self-image in the church. Finally, Chapter Four scrutinises each donor-church-architect nexus for signs of churchmanship; a quality – where present in strength and definable as donor-led – considered strongly indicative of donor-self-image. Donor, church, architect, and churchmanship – key components of the donated church and to assessing in each their interconnections – disclose great diversity. Donor-self-image was indeed present, in its various aspects, in most if not all the churches. Its presence ranged from almost negligible or inconclusive to what amounts to its passionate expression. Archive Note: Research for this project resulted in far more material of relevance to its substance than could be included in the text. The University of Manchester has kindly consented to hold this material, comprising textual and photographic data, as an archive freely accessible on request.