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The medieval Christian attitude towards Jews cannot be easily characterised. Legend often portrayed Jews as hostile, grotesque and murderous. Yet close reading of medieval Christian stories about Jews reveals a more complex picture. The <i>Legenda Aurea</i>, compiled by Jacobus de Voragine in the thirteenth century from earlier sources, includes among its recitals of saints’ lives, miracles and related religious themes a number of tales in which Christian miracles are brought forth, albeit perhaps unwittingly, by the agency of Jews. Christian theological and social ambivalence toward Jews (discussed in Chapter One) developed from the Pauline doctrine of the Jews as the first, though undeserving recipients of Christianity, and the Augustinian concept of Jews as outcast and subjugated, but still crucial witnesses to Christian truth. This truth was attested to in early and medieval rhetoric about miracles (Chapter two); miracles involving saints, icons and Christian symbols were cited to affirm divine sanction for Christ and Christianity, and could be instrumental in converting Jews. Following this discussion of Jews and of the miracle, the three final chapters discuss tales from the <i>Legenda Aurea</i> that depict miracles being enabled by Jewish actions. These could be hostile Jewish attacks on Christian images or personages (Chapter Three). However, other tales depict Jews inviting miracles by behaving as if they had some belief in, or secret knowledge of, Christ or the cross (Chapter Four). Finally, the ‘Silvester’ legend (Chapter Five) depicts Jews disputing with Christians and turning to magic when rhetoric fails, but being vanquished by a Christian miracle that they themselves have challenged the saint to perform.

This thesis explores the relationship between Evangelicalism and the Socialist Revival by way of a study of religion, community and culture in the Scottish town of Airdrie, 1790-1914. Chapter One presents an overview of Evangelicalism in the nineteenth century. The links between Evangelicalism and the Socialist Revival are discussed in Chapter Two where it is argued that Socialist Revivalism, especially as manifest by the Independent Labour Party, was a product of Evangelical-mission culture. Chapter Three looks at the development of Airdrie as a weaving community from the 1790s to 1820s, and Chapter Four examines the r^ole of Evangelicalism and dissent in the construction of community and culture in weaving Airdrie. Chapters Five and Six outline the transformation of Airdrie from a weaving to an industrial town. As an introductory survey of the space that religion occupied in Airdrie from the 1820s, Chapter Seven paves the way for detailed examination, in Chapters Eight and Nine, of the continuing importance of Evangelicalism and dissent in shaping community and culture of Airdrie during the 1830s and 1840s. Chapter Ten considers the impact of the Disruption and of the 1859 revival in Airdrie, and suggests that these events consolidated the burgh's Evangelical Protestant and dissenting identity. Chapter Eleven outlines the development of Airdrie during the late nineteenth-early twentieth centuries and examines the efforts of the ILP to establish a foothold in the town. It is argued that the failure of the ILP in Airdrie was as much a consequence of the embeddedness of Evangelicalism and dissent in local culture as of party political or organisational weakness. Chapter Twelve brings this argument to a conclusion through a consideration of the diffusion of Evangelicalism throughout Airdrie's rich associational culture. It is suggested that because the ILP was competing in Airdrie as just one more Evangelical-revivalist organisation against other, older, better-established Evangelical organisations, its progress was hindered. There was no room for it in Airdrie's Evangelical-mission culture.

The thesis begins by analysing how the concept of <I>engoko</I> determined the place and role of women in Abaluyia society. It then examines the American cultural, social and religious context out of which the Friends missionaries came and which invariably shaped their ways of understanding reality and organising their work in Kenya. The arrival of the first Friends missionaries in Kenya in 1902 aimed at raising the spiritual and living standards of the Abaluyia people, especially the women. Their experiences of Abaluyia culture and perceptions of the people is assessed, as well as the move to establish EAYM in 1946. A closer look is taken at the complex and interconnected issues of marriage (especially polygyny) and bride wealth. Missionary inability to grasp the issues involved allowed the Quaker male elders to make policies which often reflected the patriarchal views of Abaluyia society. The thesis also examines the nature of mission work among Abaluyia women, and argues that much of the mission discussion about women was prescriptive, confining the ideal Abaluyia woman to her function as mother and homemaker. The discussion shows how missionaries assumed an ideal universal understanding of womanhood and how this affected Abaluyia women's roles in the church and in the wider society. The way in which Abaluyia women experienced and responded to Quaker Christianity is also assessed especially how they formed separate groups which developed into a Women's Yearly Meeting. From their marginal position women emerged strongly to contribute to the work of a growing church. The thesis then proceeds to discus the place of women in the organisational structure of EAYM. Using the cases of Maria Atiamuga and Keran Nyamusi Alfayo, the thesis argues that women have been sidelined from the leadership to EAYM because it reflects a traditional pattern of clan leadership which is exclusively male. Finally the thesis assesses the role of women in pastoral ministry by discussing the nature of training at Friends Bible Institute (FBI) and the type of ministry open to women. Using Rasoah Mutua, the first woman graduate from FBI, the thesis shows that the traditional Friends championing of spiritual equality for men and women in the church has not been realised in EAYM. The thesis concludes with a reflection on this disparity due to the persistence of <I>engoko</I>, and proposes a rediscovery of a Friends teaching in this respect, and the formulation of a new ethos in accordance with it to replace <I>engoko. </I>

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This thesis argues that the study of large-scale conversions to Christianity among the many tribal and Dalit communities in India needs to be done from a communication perspective. My research attempts this with special reference to the conversions among the Kui people of Orissa in the Kondh Hills. Christian service, proclamation and institutions as modes of Christian communication and their impact on people are examined. The Kui converts’ role as agents was vital in the process of communication and conversion. The period covered is from the campaign against Kondh human sacrifice in the 1830s to the conversion movement of the 1960-70s. Evidence is gathered from personal and group interviews conducted among first-generation converts using the qualitative research method, and also from the archival, library and Mission sources. Significantly, many tribal and Dalit communities embraced Christianity and led large-scale indigenous conversion movements at a time when all or most missionaries had left. Yet many critics in India view these conversions as western missionary products or achieved through force or inducements. They regard the non-literate tribals as passive recipients, and their initiative in conversion is ignored. These explanations fundamentally lack the voice of the very participants of conversion. I argue that in accounting for religious conversion the indigenous perspective is the primary reality and the converts are the true agents; that the motivation and meaning of the conversions need to be found first of all in the converts’ witness and in the role and impact of Christian communication, which influenced the decision for conversion. The five major means of communication which I have studied in the Baptist Mission and the Kui Church are: first, the person or message-bearer, the western missionary or Kui Christian him/herself, who was a medium of the message, both consciously and inadvertently. Secondly, the spoken word, in preaching and otherwise, which was a principal form used in direct evangelism. Thirdly, the written word which was no less important as a major medium, despite very low literacy. The printed Bible in the mother-tongue mediated the gospel in depth and became a prized possession. Fourthly, education which was a vehicle of Christianisation and modernisation and facilitated the important indigenous Christian leadership development. Fifthly, the medical mission work which visibly communicated God’s care and sent out a message of the power and credibility of the Christian gospel. The sustained mission work, from a basis in the gospel and the message it communicated, made a considerable impact on the Kui. The conclusions demonstrate that each of these five major means of Christian communication has played a vital part and has had considerable impact in conversion. These conversions have come about in time and terms preferred and acted on by the converts, and they have developed a distinctive way of being a church which may even be at odds with, and differ from, the expectations of the missionaries.

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This thesis is a historical study of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, with specific reference to its role in relation to the Bulgarian State. Against an extended discussion of the Byzantine and early Ottoman eras, it focuses on the 19^th and 20^th centuries, with a detailed examination of church-state relationships in the later Ottoman, Communist and Post-communist periods. The research falls specifically within the discipline of ecclesiastical history and is intended to contribute to the fields of World and Balkan Christianity. The thesis is based substantially on Bulgarian sources: unpublished archival, published literary and oral resources. The thesis asks critical questions of key elements in Bulgaria’s traditional historiography, subjecting it to socio-historical criticism, exposing discrepancies between renowned myths, which highlight the heroic and salvific work of the Bulgarian Church during the period of Ottoman domination, and verifiable history. Chapter I provides an historical evaluation of four critical moments in the formation of Bulgarian Orthodox identity (865-1396). Chapter II, focusing on the earlier Ottoman period, investigates the religio-historical context in the country prior to the National Revival, which commenced from the late 18^th century, and considers archival evidence of enforced Ottoman conversion. Chapter III focuses on the National Revival. Chapter IV investigates the development of the National Church movement and argues that foreign national intrigue helped to give birth to the conception of Bulgarian ecclesiastical independence. Chapter V moves on from the Ottoman period to the birth and consolidation of the Bulgarian state and considers the upheavals of war on church-state relationship. Almost fifty years of communism took a heavy toll on the Church and Chapter VI investigates this difficult era. Chapter VII focuses on the post-communist era. Chapter VII uses the collated evidence to construct a historical interpretation of church-state relations and evaluates their contribution towards the formation of Bulgarian ecclesiastical nationalism.

In December 1905 an archaeological dig at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt uncovered a small fragment of a non-canonical story of Jesus which recorded a conversation between Jesus and his disciples and a confrontation with a Pharisaic chief priest in the temple. The initial discovery of this fragment, designated P.Oxy. 840, sparked a debate concerning the date of the fragment, the origins of the story contained therein, and the historicity of its references to first-century Judaism. After nearly 100 years, the fragment has received no substantial scholarly investment, leaving many of these questions unresolved, and leaving many other important issues unexplored. Thus, this study will offer the first full-scale evaluation of this text - from palaeographical, historical, and exegetical perspectives - in hopes of discovering its rightful place in the scope of early gospel traditions. Chapter one examines the codicology and palaeography of P. Oxy. 840, with special attention to its date, punctuation, scribal features, and possible function within early Christian communities. It is determined that P.Oxy. 840 is best understood as a miniature codex, not an amulet, and is plausibly dated 300-350 A.D. Chapter two offers a new reconstruction of the Greek text, along with a new English translation. In addition, there is a running commentary on the Greek text explaining key reconstructive choices, exegetical decisions, and interpretive conclusions. Chapter three provides a thorough re-examination of the historical problems that have plagued P.Oxy. 840 since its initial discovery. Such problems include the combination of Pharisee and chief priest, the viewing of the holy vessels in the tabernacle, bathing in a pool filled with dogs and pigs, and changing into white garments before entering the temple. Upon closer examination - particularly in light of new archaeological discoveries in the last century - it seems that P.Oxy.840 has substantial and accurate knowledge of first-century temple practices. Chapter four explores the relationship between P.Oxy.840 and the canonical gospels. Prior scholarship has only scratched the surface of this issue, with various suggestions here and there amounting to no more than a few paragraphs. A detailed textual comparison shows the author of P.Oxy.840 demonstrates awareness of (and is influenced by) five canonical passages; Luke 11:37-52; Matt 23:1-39; John 7:1-52; John 13:10; and Mark 7:1-23. Chapter five attempts to reconstruct the probable community and religious milieu hat would have given rise to P.Oxy.840. The theological interests and polemical thrust of our fragment suggest that it arose from within Jewish-Christian circles engaged in dispute over ritual purity practices. One possibility is that P.Oxy.840 arose from within the Jewish-Christian sect called the Nazarenes. Such a scenario would plausibly place the production of P.Oxy.840 in Syria between 125 and 150 A.D.