The dissertation is a study of the religious lives of Orthodox Christians in a semirural, coffee‐producing community on the shores of Lake Tana in northwest Ethiopia. Its thesis is that mediation in Ethiopian Orthodoxy – how things, substances, and people act as go‐betweens and enable connections between people and other people, the lived environment, saints, angels, and God – is characterised by an animating tension between commensality or shared substance, on the one hand, and hierarchical principles on the other. This tension pertains to long‐standing debates in the study of Christianity about the divide between the created world and the Kingdom of Heaven. Its archetype is the Eucharist, which entails full transubstantiation but is circumscribed by a series of purity regulations so rigorous as to make the Communion inaccessible to most people for most of their lives. These purity regulations, I argue, speak to an incommensurability between relations of human substance‐sharing, especially commensality and sexuality, and hierarchical relations between humans and divinity.

This thesis considers how religious identities were constructed and expressed in Reformation England by focussing on two London livery companies: the Grocers and the Drapers. Livery companies had strong religious elements to their corporate identity; they had their origins in parish fraternities, maintained clergy and celebrated the feast of their patron saint. Whilst merchants have long been characterised as zealous early Protestants, existing research has simultaneously contended that the companies to which they belonged, and civic institutions more generally, adapted to the Reformation by secularizing their activities and ethos in order to retain stability – a notion that this thesis rejects. An examination of company records reveals that the rhetoric of Christianity, particularly appeals to peace, charity and brotherly love, punctuated the language of corporate governance throughout the century, and played a central role in the ability of the liveries to retain both a vibrant spiritual culture and fraternal stability. London's merchant elite were also London's civic governors and in their capacity as churchwardens and hospital officers we see that here too the language of peace and charity aced as a unifying and moderating force. Individual mercantile religious identities are also considered. By examining nearly 400 wills, a cache of almost 1000 letters and other trading records, it is clear that merchants can no longer be characterised as being unusually susceptible to Protestantism, and that their responses to the Reformation were more diverse than has been recognised. Until at least the late sixteenth century, the religious identities of London's citizens represent growing religious plurality rather than stark confessional polarisation. Moreover, ties of company membership, friendship and kinship had the power to transcend religious difference. Nor were 'zealous' and 'moderate' mutually exclusive traits. Those with a strong faith could moderate their behaviour in certain contexts, and such restraint could be as pious as it was pragmatic.

The study of the New Testament properly begins with Paul, since the earliest documents of the New Testament are from his hand. In this, my first serious attempt to make a study of one aspect of the theology of the New Testament, I have thus chosen to begin with Paul. I have tried to choose a topic which would allow me to study Paul's theology as a whole, but which would permit me to approach it from a viewpoint not already overused.

This study investigates a range of ways in which the late medieval monastery of Iona interacted with the region of Argyll and the Isles: as the owner of churches and lands; as the centre of major saints’ cults; and as the focus of a school of sculpture. A major part of the research is a detailed examination of the local context of each of these links with Iona. The research project focuses on the monastery of Iona in the period c1203-c1575. These dates have been chosen specifically because they encompass virtually the entire period of occupation by the Benedictine monks, and because they apply to the most comprehensive surviving documents that relate to Iona and its landholdings. At the time of the introduction of the Benedictines to Iona, papal protection was sought, and a papal bull of December 1203 records Iona’s holdings at this period. Many of these holdings remained in Iona’s possession until the Reformation, soon after which time a rental was drawn up listing the abbot’s temporal and spiritual wealth, along with that of the bishop of the Isles, who was by this time also commendator of Iona abbey. These documents serve comprehensively to illustrate the fortunes of the monastery over the later Middle Ages. Iona’s acquisitions of lands and churches, and what subsequently became of these possessions, took place in the wider context of the changing political scene. For this reason, the political and social links between Iona, the Lordship of the Isles and other powerful local kindreds, such as the Mackinnons, MacLeans and Campbells, are explored. Iona’s relations with other religious houses in Argyll is also considered, particularly in relation to the potential transfer of lands between monastic houses. The monastery’s fortunes varied over the course of its existence, depending largely on who held the position of abbot, and on the relationships with powerful local magnates, as well as with other ecclesiastical bodies. It held estates and churches over a wide area, and although it gained many possessions, some were also lost to other houses, and to secular powers. There are many other churches and lands within Iona’s sphere of influence, but the nature of the evidence precludes drawing any firm conclusions about how many, if any, of them, were founded or owned by the monastery. Regarding Iona’s role as a centre of the cults of saints Columba and Adamnán, the local preponderance of churches dedicated to these and other saints important to Iona is considered in an effort to try to establish how widespread they are, and the longevity of these dedications. Looking also at Iona’s lands and the dedications of their churches, an attempt is made to discern any patterns; for example, to whom are the churches on Iona’s lands dedicated, and when? If churches on lands gifted to Iona had an existing dedication, is this likely to have been changed? Iona’s wider ecclesiastical associations are also discussed: the monastery held an ambivalent relationship with the papacy, and was considered to be under Rome’s protection, but often failed to pay its dues to the Curia, pleading poverty and the expense of having to travel such a long distance ‘from the ends of the habitable earth’. Due to the fragmentary nature of the existing documentary record, an interdisciplinary approach has been taken, involving the integration of evidence from historical sources, archaeology and place-names. One of the main fruits of the research has been the production of a gazetteer of Iona’s lands and churches held throughout the later Middle Ages. It is hoped that this may prove a useful tool in further research. Janet MacDonald Departments of Celtic and History University of Glasgow

The religious and ecclesiastical role of women in the early medieval church in the city of Rome has so far not been studied in detail and this thesis offers to remedy that gap. It presents in form of a case study limiting itself in terms of its topographical boundaries to the city of Rome, and in terms of a historical time period to that which coincides approximately to the start of the papacy of Hadrian I to the end of the papacy of Paschal I. Use is made only of source material which can be connected directly to early medieval Rome, and not only ordained and monastic roles of women are explored but also the many other ways in which women were able to engage with the liturgy, sacraments and religious ordinances as well as through diaconal and other forms of work. This is done not least through a detailed analysis of the relevant Ordines Romani. Other ways in which women of early medieval Rome were able to engage in the life of the church was through the production and maintenance of liturgical textiles and also through patronage on large and small scales towards individual ecclesiastical institutions. A less well known means of engagement was through the work of the diaconitae at Rome’s diaconiae. Throughout the thesis a particular interest is expressed in exploring how religious and ecclesiastical engagement was possible for women from lower social strata. In addition to this the overall inclusion, or otherwise, of women in the surviving iconographical material of early medieval Rome is analysed. Particular attention is given to matters such as relics, saints patronage and lectionary readings in relation to saints’ days. Matters of hermeneutics are explored on an ongoing basis in relation to the source material, but also in relation to the secondary literature consulted. Regarding the latter this is especially undertaken in relation to female monastic communities and the offices of the diacona, presbytera and episcopa. In respect of these offices, but also in relation to all other matters pertaining to the ecclesiastical and religious roles of women in early medieval Rome this thesis argues neither for a minimalist nor for a maximalist interpretation, but offers a nuanced yet, of necessity, fragmentary overall picture. This is borne out of the decision to work only with source materials that can be directly linked to early medieval Rome which in itself is fragmentary in nature. On the one hand it means that little can be made known on a subject area such as women’s religious education for instance. On the other hand this concentration on Roman source material alone means that matters unique to the situation of women in the church of medieval Rome can be established, such as, for instance, the continuation of the ordained office of the diacona into the early ninth century or the absence of any issues regarding cultic cleanness relating to women.

one of the most enduring assessments of the reformation has been the view that Protestantism and its worship shunned sensory experience in religion. As a result Protestant religion has been seen as fundamentally 'asensual', void of the images, relics, incense, vestments and fabric of late medieval religiosity. This appraisal has been most commonly applied to Protestant liturgy and worship. This was in contrast to pre-reformation worship which contained numerous objects and gestures making it highly sensualized. in late medieval liturgy this sensuality was the locus of spiritual action, allowing the distribution of sacred power or grace to believers in varying degrees through objects and actions. This evaluation is simplistic. In considering contemporary notions of sensation, sensory physiology and liturgical reform, a much more complex picture of the reformation in Tudor England emerges. Both Protestants and their conservative opponents shared the same basic understanding of how the senses worked physiologically. The senses were transformative powers that integrated perceivers with the world around them, literally bringing experience into the very being of the beholder. As such, they required proper governance to avoid evil objects, which caused sin and sickness, and to focus their attention on good and true objects. None were more potent than the rites of the late medieval church. Here divinity was internalized and integrated into believers through the senses. The senses, though, had their limits, and it was agreed that they were not suitable to determining beliefs or aspects of faith. As is well known, however, the reformation saw key disjunctures and clashes over the very nature of the doctrines and modes of salvation which defined these parameters. Inevitably, this resulted in a shift in how sensation functioned within religious contexts, namely liturgical life. on both sides of the religious divide the fear was that the senses would take control on their own, driving believers towards sin and concupiscence in an unfettered experience of the material world. Protestants saw this manifested in traditional piety, which was false and constructed, making the sensuality of late medieval religion highly detrimental. Conservatives, however, saw the empirical use of scripture by Protestants and the touting of scriptural authority as an improper use of the senses to determine faith. Each regarded the other as sensual. Protestants, despite their castigation of traditional piety, continued in many respects to employ its modes of interaction when encountering scripture. it took much of the sixteenth century to come to the realization that such a position was incongruous with reformed justification. The result for English notions of sensation was immense, as it became glaringly evident that Protestant doctrine and traditional sensory physiology could not exist side by side. The end of the Tudor era therefore coincided with the advent of a new era of sensing, in which the greatest revolution was that religious sensing was potentially benign to the perceiver; not saving, but not damning either.

This study provides a qualitative analysis of an Assembly of God Pentecostal church in the North East of England. The research employed an ethnographic framework incorporating overt participant observation and in-depth interviews over the period of one year at the City Christian Centre. In addition, a number of other churches (of varying denominations) were visited and observed. In this work, former interpretations within the sociology of religion, regarding membership and recruitment, are challenged and new perspectives offered. Few ethnographic studies of conservative evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom exist and quantitative work on this group, generally, has failed to define significant concepts such as salvation and conversion adequately. While such concepts remain foundational to the conservative evangelical believer, a significant transformation of religious expression is taking place within contemporary British Pentecostalism. This thesis gives an account of a synthesis between classical Pentecostals and the Charismatic movement that is creating a distinct form of spiritual expression resulting in a hybrid church. This fusion of traditions affects congregations in a number of important areas. Expressions of praise and worship, theological interpretations and church leadership each reflect the dynamics of the hybrid church. So in addition, does a shift in class composition. Once the preserve of the working classes, Pentecostalism in Britain is now much more socially and economically diverse in its membership. This thesis comes at an interesting time for the sociology of religion. Much is said about a resurgence of interest in religion, this is partly due to its persistence in society. Much work has focused on church demographics and secularisation, this work, however, shifts the emphasis away from religious decline to religious adaptation and change.

This thesis uses a comparative case study as the means for demonstrating how the policies and attitudes of local churches are influenced by organisational factors. A model based on open systems theory reveals that each local church mediates and processes a variety of environmental inputs. As a result, the inputs are converted into outputs or products. The model, therefore, draws attention to the relationship between the churches and their environment and also to their internal structures and processes. In this instance a single input was followed through 'the system'. This concerned the question of the response of local churches to high levels of unemployment, and associated socio-political issues. The resultant data underlines how important for these churches is their 'religious' environment, particularly when it involves their parent denominations. The main finding, however, is that the two churches investigated were both able to mediate and modify environmental inputs on unemployment. It is, therefore, the 'internal' polities and organisational structures of local churches which are of prime importance. Despite the fact that these churches had different polities, it was possible to discern in each case the key interaction between formal and informal organisational structures and processes, and how these related to the position and activities of agents such as the minister and lay leaders. It was found, in more specific terms, that the most crucial influence on the internal processes of these churches came from the ministers. The investigation required a fourteen-month period of intensive fieldwork during which the writer was a participant observer in both churches. Other methods of data collection used included both structured and unstructured interviews and the monitoring and analysis of a wide range of secondary material. The findings presented here are a contribution to both the sociology of organisations and the sociology of religion. They also illustrate the value of ethnographic studies of the church in its manifestation as a local organisation.

The dissertation recontextualizes the iconographical developments of the Last Judgement scene in Central Italian mural painting in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries by exploring the theological and political contexts in which these scenes were produced. Two striking events mark the evolution of the Late Medieval Last Judgement scene: first, the revival of the 'complete' Last Judgement after a period of contraction, and second, the separation of Heaven and Hell from the Last Judgement. Both of these features reflect an increasing anxiety about the fate of the soul in the afterlife: a fate which, by the end of the thirteenth century, had moved from the end of time itself to the moment of an individual's death. The first chapter concerns Pietro Cavallini's fresco in S.Cecilia in Trastevere (c.1293), its place within the Roman tradition of Last Judgement scene, and its role as the earliest surviving monumental example of the 'complete' Last Judgement. Chapter II concerns the frescoes of S.Maria Donnaregina in Naples (c.1317-23), patronized by the Angevin queen, Maria of Hungary. In 1266 the Papacy conferred on Charles I of Anjou the Kingdom of Naples in exchange for defense of the Papal States, and the Angevins became the chief administrators of civil and penal justice throughout the Papal States and independent Guelf city-states. A discussion of Angevin iconography establishes a connection between Angevin self-image and the Last Judgement scene. Chapter III is devoted to Giotto's Last Judgement at the Arena Chapel in Padua (c.1305) and its imitator at S.Maria Maggiore in Tuscania (c.1320). The chapter includes a discussion of thirteenth-century papal decrees concerning the fate of the soul in the afterlife, the appearance of the penitent patron at the foot of the cross, and the possibility of a Papal-Angevin-Guelf influence on the production of both of these frescoes. Chapter IV on the "Angevin Connection" begins with a reinterpretation of the iconography of the Florence Baptistery mosaics (c.1271-1330) in terms of their patronage by the Church and the exclusively Guelf Guild of the Calimala. The first instance of the separation of Paradise and Inferno from the Last Judgement, in the Magdalen Chapel of the Bargello in Florence (c.1322), is discussed in light of the civic function of the chapel and of Angevin control of the office of podesta. The relief panels of the façade of Orvieto Cathedral (c.1290-1330) are also considered in view of Papal and Angevin domination of that city. In Chapter V the influence of the Magdalen Chapel's separation of Heaven and Hell is linked to the increasing secularization of the Last Judgement scene as evidenced in the Campo Santo, Pisa (c.1330) and the nave of S.Croce, Florence (c.1330). The revival of the 'complete' Last Judgement scene in Late Medieval Central Italy was the result of theological changes concerning the afterlife, the rise of the penitential movement, and the formation of the Papal-Angevin-Guelf alliance for whom the triumphant scene of judgement became emblematic. The individual's anxiety about the fate of his soul at the moment of death and the appropriation of the Last Judgement for use in secular contexts affected the separation of Heaven and Hell from the Last Judgement and brought about the secularization of a traditionally sacred scene.

From the time of the Reformation in England Anglo-vatican relations have typically been seen as a long history of unending antagonism. It is not common knowledge that in the period between 1846 and 1851 there was a notable, if temporary, lull in this animosity and even talk of establishing full diplomatic relations. This thesis aims to account for this thaw in tensions and to analyse the British response to the early 'liberal' years of Pope Pius IX, not only looking at government policy but also the attitude of the British public towards the new Pope. In addition, this study sets out not only to look at individual issues, such as the Risorgimento, the history of the Roman Catholic Church in England and the Irish question, but seeks to explain the interplay between them in order to come to a fuller understanding of British policy. This thesis reveals that British policy was based on the need to achieve a number of goals, such as a peaceful solution to the political crisis in the Italian peninsula and the curbing of the Irish agitation, and that it was held that an enlightened Pope could help in the fulfilment of these aims. The effort to improve relations in the end failed as it was undermined by an overoptimistic assessment of the Pope's liberalism and failure of the British government to appreciate the depth of anti-Catholic opinion among the British public and their representatives in Parliament. The result was that this short thaw in relations came to an abrupt end.