This thesis comprises six chapters. Chapter one consists of the statement of the research problem. It covers the outlin of the dissertation and the background of and motivation for the research. It also includes the research problem and the theoretical framework. The last section of the introduction will be the limitations and the assessment of the main resources used in this study. The aim of chapter two is to give the background information of the people of Madagascar in general, and the Merina in particular. It gives a general understanding of their world. It includes a brief description of the island and its population, the location of the Merina and their origin, also their traditional beliefs and religion, the attempts of the early Catholic missionaries to evangelise the Island and Radama's contract with Great Britain. Chapter three deals with the first encounters between the Bible and Merina Christians around the capital of Antananarivo. It highlights the arrival of the first LMS missionaries and their mission in and around the city of Antananarivo, the presence of the Bible in the highlands and the use of it as a text book in schools. From that moment the Merina population sensed that the Bible had power; as a result their interest to get copies of it grew throughout the capital and the surrounding villages. Chapter four provides information about the uncertainty of Christianity in Madagascar. It was uncertain because of the death of Radama, friend of the missionaries, and the accession of Ranavalona I, an anti-Christian queen, to the throne as his successor. It continues with the dusk: a period of confirming the church, then the queen's edicts against the converts. It ends up with the edition of the Bible, translated into the Malagasy language. The focus of chapter five is the sustaining power of the Bible during persecutions. First of all it considers the causes of the persecutions, then the role of the Bible in the Malagasy language in the hands of Christians. After that it speaks of the use of the Bible by the indigenous Christians and the power they gained from it during times of persecution. It also speaks about the edict of the queen to collect all the Bibles and burn them, and how the Christians managed to save some and hide them. Then it concentrates on the three waves of martyrdom, in 1837-1842, 1849 and 1857. Lastly it highlights the courage of these martyrs until death with the Bible in their hands and the contribution of the Bible to the growth of Christianity in Imerina during the persecution. Chapter six will be the conclusion of the thesis. It underlines three aspects of the Bible and its encounters with the martyr church. It considers, in the first aspect, the effects of the translation of the Bible into the Malagasy language. The second aspect deals with the interaction of the Bible with the Malagasy culture and context; and the last is about the power of the Bible itself. The very last paragraph will try to prompt a further research on the Bible and its impact in Madagascar after Ranavalona's death. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Lona ngumbiko ngelucwaningo lolwentiwe ngalendzabakati yekufika kweLivangeli eSwatini, liletfwa belumbi labamhlophe lababetitfunywa teliVangeli laMvelinchanti. Kulandzela sembulo inkhosi Somhlolo leyabanaso sivela enkhosini vase Zulwini, titfunywa teliVangeli tatseleka eSwatini ngekumenywa yinkhosi Mswati wesibili. Emkhatsini wato kwakukhona Nkosazana Malla Moe, umsunguli weLibandla LeVangeli eSwatini, lokunguyena lolucwaningo lugcile kakhulu kuye, asahambisa tindzaba taJesu emaSwatini emdzabu. Livetile leliphepha kutsi emaSwati atemukela ngelisasa lelikhulu titfunywa teliVangeli. Ngabe sizatfu lesimcoka lesenta loko kwabakutsi letitfunywa betibapha boshukela, netiswayi, nemasekeni? Cha, kwakujulule kunaloko. Imfihlakalo kwaba kutsi inkholo yemdzabu lecuketse emagugu enhlakanipho elukholo yayise iwuvukutile umhlaba wanotsa, walungelela kutsi lembewu yenkholo yebuKrestu nayi hlanyelwa ichume itsele titselo. EmaSwati abukhandza lobuyanga lobabuvetwa yinkholo yemdzabu bucedzeka ngoba bebusitfunti salokukhulu lokutako. Loko kwenta kutsi noma letitfunywa betinemaphutsa, lebetiwacondzile nalebetingakawacondzi, emaSwati atikhandza letitfunywa kutitja letibutsakatsaka, kodwa letiphetse igolode. Ngekufundza tincwadzi emitapeni leyehlukeni, nanekufuna imivo yebantfu leyehlukene, kubekhona imicondvo letsite lolucwaningo loluyitfolile, leveta lentsambo letsekeleta letinkholo letimbili. Loko kube yinkhomba yekutsi emaSwati attkhandza emukelekile enkholweni yebuKrestu, ase ayayitsatsa lendzaba yeliVangeli yaba ngeyabo nabo. Konkhe loku lokungetulu, kucuketfwe ngemakhasi lasitfupha alolucwalingo. Lamakhasi acale etfule ingcikitsi yalolucwalingo, bese achaza ngalokufinciwe imvelaphi yesive semaSwati nekutsi sikuphi lamuhla, bese etfula inkholo yemdzabu netingoni tayo, kanye nekufika kwenkholo yebuKrestu. Emakhasi lamabili ekugcina atfula imivo yebantfu labehlukene ngebudlelwane emkhatsini waletinkholo letimbili bese ayasonga. Ngineletsemba kutsi lomcukutfu Iona utakuba lusito esiveni semaSwati, kulesitukulwane salamuhla nakusasa, ngoba uveta lolunye luhlangotsi olungenta kutsi liSwati Iibe neligcabho ngemvelaphi yalo, nangenkholo yalo yemdzabu. Futsi nemalunga elibandla leVangeli, kanye neKrestu onkhana atawukwati kutsi lelibandla lichamukaphi. Nalomunye asangachubeka acwalinge kutsi likuphi lamuhla liBandla leVangeli. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

This thesis examines the historical and theological development, and ultimate failure, of the unity process between the three Lutheran Churches in Namibia, and places it in the socio-political and economic context of the turbulent history of the country. The focus is particularly on the period between 1972 and 1993 which witnessed a crucial phase in the struggle for a United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. This took place against the background of heightened anti-apartheid political activity and international mediation for Namibian independence, which was achieved in 1990. The increasing involvement of the two Black Lutheran Churches in the liberation struggle was matched by the growing alienation and isolation of the White Lutheran Church. The three Lutheran Churches eventually failed in their deliberations between 1972 and 1993 either to unite or even to form a federation, and managed only to achieve a superficial working relationship. The failure ofthe process was shaped by various factors. These included issues of political and ethnic differences between the three Churches, concerns over the future common ownership of each Church's property, differentials in salaries, the external influence of Lutheran Churches elsewhere in the world (not least through their funding), and the question of what form the leadership structure should take in a unified Church. The leaders of the three Lutheran Churches lived and operated as theologians in somewhat different religious cultures that were the product of the several Lutheran missionary societies that had originally founded the three Lutheran Churches in Namibia. The abnormal socio-political and economic context of Namibia during colonialism (1884-1990), and the new challenges after independence, created a situation where religious and secular activities became inseparable. Inevitably, the priorities and questions confronting Lutheran Church leaders and people were concerned more with issues such as social justice, freedom, self-determination, political participation and sheer survival than with the question of church unity. The challenge for the Lutheran Churches of Namibia still remains for them to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ holistically and to spread the message of unity for all Namibians irrespective of differences of race, colour, gender and geographical region. / Thesis (M.A.)- University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002

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Chapter Five finally argues that Bouyer's construal of the Church's principal actions (liturgical celebration, evangelical witness, and the total life of prayer and Christian discipleship) is consistent with his christological and trinitarian horizon, and that these ecclesial actions respond most appropriately to the divine initiative manifested in the Word and Wisdom.

This thesis provides a study of the career and works of Samuel Harsnett, one of the most senior members of the early Stuart Church. Harsnett enjoyed a distinguished career as bishop of Chichester and Norwich, and finally as archbishop of York, but earned notoriety much earlier, by virtue of preaching a controversial sermon against the then orthodox Calvinist position on predestined grace. It was this early expression of anti-Calvinism (or Arminianism as it later became termed), together with a predisposition towards tradition on the liturgy and ceremony of the Church, which has earned Harsnett, as Conrad Russell put it, a place among "the cream of the English Arminians". As the first future bishop to express openly anti-Calvinist views Harsnett's career is contemporaneous with the first forty years of what Nicholas Tyacke described as the 'Rise of Arminianism'. For that reason he is deserving of a biographical study, both to determine the nature of Arminianism in practice and his particular contribution to its 'Rise'. In seeking to determine Harsnett's contribution to the Arminian phenomenon this thesis suggests that Harsnett was, in a number of respects, hardly the archetypal Arminian that Professor Russell and most other modern historians have assumed. This raises important questions as to the actual significance of the theology of predestination to developments in the early Stuart Church. The significant areas of Harsnett's career considered in the thesis are: his formative years as a scholar and then fellow at Pembroke College, Cambridge; his early career as chaplain to Richard Bancroft when Harsnett probably developed his lifelong dislike of Puritan non-conformity; his episcopal career at Chichester and then Norwich; his parliamentary career, which was marked by major ideological differences with fellow Arminians; his final appointment as archbishop of York, senior religious adviser to the king and Privy Councillor.

Responding to twofold question how did the transition occur; and what were its implications for the ancient cultures? - this thesis places an emphasis upon the transition as an indigenous movement, involving a transformation of the ancient. The primary focus is comprised of the Aleut and Alutiiq peoples who converted virtually as whole nations in the later 18th century. They then maintained this faith themselves within their village structures, a premise that will be substantiated in the Introduction. While a similar ingrafting occurred among other Alaskan peoples as well, an amount of published evidence is available for the Aleuts and Alutiiqs that can render the premise especially secure for them. These other Alaskan peoples - the Yupiit, the "Ingalik" Athapascans, the Kolchan Athapascans, the Denaᐟina Athapascans, the historical Eyak, and the Tlingit have provided corroborative ethnographical and social anthropological material; and the main concepts articulated in this study could potentially be extended to them as well, and extended further to peoples of similar cultures across northern Eurasia who were part of this history (as explained in Chapter 1 and in the epilogue in Chapter 6). [continued in text ...]

The intention of this thesis is to make a contribution to the understanding of the eighteenth-century Church of England within the community in which it existed. Recognising the enormous variation that existed within the Church during the period, this study provides a close comparison of two archdeaconries, (something which is rarely undertaken in the historiography of the Church), both of which have never received attention from historians. In order to study the Church in these regions, the archdeaconries of Buckingham and Gloucester, detailed consideration is given to the role and activities of the parochial clergy in each archdeaconry. By concentrating upon the community, and the clergy's place within it, this thesis is able to provide a detailed picture of the social, political and economic integration of the clergy within these two specific regions, as well as their pastoral work and family life, the latter much neglected by historians. It devotes much attention to the property of the clergy, as a means of locating the clergy within local communities, and because of the great effect their property and income had upon other spheres of their everyday life. In doing this, this thesis demonstrates the diversity of experience of clergy within each archdeaconry, but it also shows some overall trends which marked the experience of parochial clergy in the period. It argues that the eighteenth-century clergyman was immersed in almost every aspect of community life, and although conscious of his distinctiveness as a parson, such integration represented a fusion of the ecclesiastical and secular, the incumbent's pragmatic response to the circumstances of the community of which he was a part.

This thesis explores the relationship between a leading French Catholic family and the Church in the second half of the sixteenth century. This is a socio-cultural study rather than an investigation of the French Church during this period, although some insight into the Church is given. The Church is used to provide a focus for an examination of noble experience. The thesis notes that male and female religious were integral members of the family network. The means by which the dynasty maintained an alternative patrimony in the Church is outlined. Consideration is then given to the resources which high ecclesiastical office brought an individual, both tangible - in the form of economic assets - and more theoretical - access to patronage opportunities and influence, which contributed to an individual's power. The economic resources which benefice tenure brought are examined and their management analysed. Patronage is viewed more as an expression of a noble culture of interacting social networks than as a product of a hierarchical power structure. The position of the Lorraine-Guise Cardinals in relation to the French Church is assessed. Their power within the Church was a result of personal qualities rather than institutional structures. The power which came with tenure is discussed, as is any relationship between ecclesiastical and secular power. A final chapter looks at the experience of women religious. Churchmen and women could contribute in certain ways to family interests, but there is no evidence of large-scale despoliation of the Church through ecclesiastical kin.

This thesis is concerned with the changing face of educational provision in nineteenth-century Scotland. In particular, it examines the reasons behind the Church of Scotland�s loss of official authority over schooling in 1872. From the time of the Reformation, the Church had been empowered to supervise all education in Scotland, to play the major role in the appointment of teachers, and to ensure that landowners assumed their responsibilities in the placing of a school in every parish. However, this authority had never operated straightforwardly, and in 1803 an Education Act transferred significant aspects of the Church�s power over the appointment of teachers in parochial schools - and therefore over the curriculum of those schools - to local landowners. In the course of the nineteenth century, the Church�s position was eroded still more substantially, until the Education Act of 1872 formally gave control over State sponsored establishments to locally-elected School Boards. The Church�s loss of power was directly connected with the formation of a system of universal, compulsory schooling for Scotland�s children. The study is structured in seven chapters. Chapter 1 considers the background to the educational developments of the nineteenth century: the profound social and ecclesiastical consequences of demographic change, industrialisation, and urbanisation. Section A (Chapters 2-4) explores the history of the Church of Scotland�s work in education, and the emergence of other churches which actively developed additional and rival schools in the 1800s. Chapter 2 examines the origins and working of the Church of Scotland�s system of parochial schools, and the responses of this system to a changing educational environment. Chapters 3-4 assess the place of the Church of Scotland�s ancillary institutions, Sessional and Assembly schools, and the activities of the Scottish Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK). Detailed consideration is given to the educational efforts of four other major denominations - the Free Church of Scotland, the United Presbyterian Church, the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Roman Catholic Church - and to the schools established by the Society of Friends. The demonstrable inability of the Church of Scotland to meet its statutory obligations in both rural and urban areas, and the sheer scale of the educational provision made by other bodies, fostered a growing perception that responsibility for schooling could not be entrusted to any single voluntary institution, but required to be vested in the State. Section B (Chapters 5-7) examines the evolving ideals of rescue and reformation of the �perishing classes� in the work of Sunday, ragged, industrial, and reformatory schools, and the parts played by such schools in educating the poorest members of British society in the nineteenth century. As these parts can all be seen to be interconnected, it emerges that the Church of Scotland�s withdrawal from Sunday-school provision in 1799 compromised its capacity to meet the needs of a growing constituency of vulnerable children, and exacerbated its inability to provide appropriate instruction for those most affected by the turmoil of industrialisation. The lay composition of the committees that managed all of these schools also contributed to the marginalisation of the institutional voice of the Church in administering Scotland�s education. In the end, the Church of Scotland lost control to the State in 1872 because it was unable to adapt its parochial structure sufficiently to provide appropriate schooling to meet the challenges of a changed world.