This thesis seeks to answer the question of the origin of some of the most fundamental additions made to early Christian baptism. Christian baptism began in a relatively simple liturgical form, but became, by the fourth century, a much more dramatic set of initiation rituals. Among the added elements to baptism were washing ceremonies in the nude, physical anointing with oil, being marked or signed with the cross on the forehead, and receiving white garments. Scholars have proposed different theories as to the origins of these baptismal rituals. Some claim the elements existed in the New Testament practice of the rite. Others have supposed that the Christian church adopted the elements from either the Jewish synagogue or from contemporary pagan modes of initiation. This thesis argues that the initiation rituals of the Israelite tabernacle and temple provide a much more likely source for the added elements of Christian baptism. The esoteric practices of the temple priests became the esoteric tradition of early Christianity. The rites of this temple-oriented esoteric tradition in both the Old and New Testaments parallel, and may have been the origin for, the evolutions made to Christian baptism during the third and fourth centuries of the church. Christian groups such as the Valentinians provide evidence of higher esoteric rites being interpreted as baptism. Somehow the esoteric rites of the Israelite temple and the esoteric rites of early Christianity were adopted into the practice of Christian baptism.

The aim of the thesis is to determine the influence exerted by the heads of the Catechetical School (Didaskaleion) in Alexandria on the growth and development of Christianity in Africa prior to the Arab invasion in 642 CE in Egypt. The methodological tool used is the Historical Method. Chapter 1 contains a discussion of the founding and development of the city of Alexandria through its Golden Era and until the Arab invasion in 642 CE. This city played an important role in the development of Christianity as it is there that the early Christians (the "followers of Christ's teachings") settled and established their faith. Chapter 2 deals with the founding of the Didaskaleion as an addition to the other big schools/"universities" in the city, for example the Musaion (also called the Museion), the Serapium (also called the Serapeum) and the Sebastion. All the possible heads of the School are discussed in order to get a full picture of the School and her activities during the time. In Chapter 3 all the extant and lost documents written by the heads of the School are discussed to provide insight into the formation of the Theology of the School and the contributions of her various heads. Chapter 4 constitutes the pinnacle of the thesis and depicts the influence of the School on the known parts of Africa – to the west and the south of Alexandria – during the first seven centuries CE (until the Arab invasion in 642). The influence is described at two levels: Influence, where mentioned by a specific writer, is called factual influence and includes personal influence. • Influence that is not mentioned but observed, is called derived influence. As there is ample evidence that the (heads of the) School exerted both factual and derived influence on the people in Africa, the conclusion can be drawn that the School and her heads played a significant role in the growth and development of Christianity in Africa. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Church history)

L'opera presenta una nuova edizione critica del testo greco degli "Estratti da Teodoto" di Clemente Alessandrino oltre alla prima traduzione italiana completa. Alcuni capitoli introduttivi e un esteso commento permettono di apprezzare la ricchezza di contenuti di questa fonte di inizio III sec. per lo studio dello gnosticismo, letteratura cristiana antica, patristica e storia del dogma. Gli "Estratti da Teodoto" non sono una raccolta di frammenti originali copiati da fonti gnostiche principalmente valentiniane, come si crede abitualmente. Ad un'analisi approfondita essi appaiono come una collezione di tredici frammenti tratti dalle "Ipotiposi", un'opera perduta di Clemente. La natura e il contenuto di questi frammenti mostrano che la tradizionale suddivisione degli ETh in quattro sezioni (Sagnard) non è ricevibile. Deve pure essere abbandonato il tentativo di individuare precisamente le parti 'valentiniane' e 'clementine'. Clemente riporta raramente citazioni letterali tratte dalle sue fonti, mentre molto spesso presenta le dottrine 'eterodosse' in modo indiretto, proponendo delle sintesi ('epitomes'). Nella prima parte degli ETh Clemente presenta e discute soprattutto dottrine valentiniane, probabilmente 'orientali'. Tuttavia, a partire principalmente dal frammento 11 illustra il pensiero di Teodoto. Costui sembra abbia sviluppato e modificato dottrine del valentinianesimo 'occidentale', come dimostra il confronto con la 'Grande Notizia' di Ireneo. / The work presents a new critical edition of the greek text of "Excerpta ex Theodoto" of Clement of Alexandria together with the first complete Italian translation. Some introductory chapters and an extensive commentary allow you to appreciate the richness of the contents of this early third century source for the study of Gnosticism, ancient Christian literature, patristic and history of dogma. The ETh are not a collection of original fragments copied from Gnostic sources mainly valentinian, as believed to routinely. For an in-depth analysis they appear to be a compilation of thirteen fragments from "Hypotyposeis", lost work of Clement. The nature and extent of these fragments show that the traditional division of the ETh in four sections is unacceptable. It must also be abandoned the attempt to accurately identify 'valentinian' and 'clementinian' parts. Clement shows a few quotes verbatim from his sources. Very often shows 'heterodox' doctrines indirectly proposing summaries ('epitomes'). In the first part of the collection Clement presents and discusses especially valentinian doctrines, probably 'eastern'. Instead, starting mainly from the fragment 11, he presents the Theodotus thought. He seems develope and modify doctrines of 'western' valentinianism, as demonstrated by the comparison with the 'Great Notice' of Irenaeus.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the construction of a historical event in late medieval chronicles, in a way that increases our understanding of the mechanisms behind historiography. The analysis is based on how the coronation of Pope Clement V in 1305 and the accident which then took place, in which a wall crashed and killed a number of people, is depicted in a selection of 14th century chronicles, mainly from France. This event has been largely overlooked by previous research on Clement V and the Avignon Papacy, which has tended to emphasise its meaning as a bad omen for the pope. Through a close reading of the chronicles inspired by a comparative methodological approach and the theoretical framework of Suzanne Fleischman this thesis proves that the French chronicles do not give much actual support for the interpretation of the accident as a bad omen and that the event occurs in multiple versions, which can be explained by the chroniclers’ different attitudes towards the alliance between Pope Clement and King Philip the Fair of France. The different versions are dependent on the texts’ contrasting aims and uses of narratives and facts, and is ultimately defined by the communicative situation between writer and reader.

Ce travail de recherche est une généalogie de la notion de « désir sexuel » telle qu'elle fut conçue dans le christianisme antique du IIIe au Ve siècle. À partir de la distinction entre deux anthropologies concurrentes, nous cherchons à reconstituer les modalités selon lesquelles ce désir a été pensé comme une pulsion irrésistible. Nous nous inscrivons donc dans la tradition des études de genre puisque nous posons la question de savoir s'il existe, au fondement des catégorisations sociales et des modes de légitimation du pouvoir, une forme de naturalité irréductible. Notre objectif est de mettre en évidence, d'une part, en quoi l'idée de désir naturel est une forme de problématisation contingente du désir sexuel et, d'autre, part, les conséquences de cette façon de penser. Entre le IIIe et le Ve siècle, les auteurs chrétiens s'opposent en ce qui concerne la question des capacités humaines. Pour les « perfectionnistes », l'homme est capable d'accéder par ses propres forces à la perfection. Par conséquent, le « monde » est pensé par eux comme un ensemble de liens qui entravent l'itinéraire spirituel du sujet. La solitude du « désert » apparaît alors dans ce cadre problématique comme un moyen d'accéder à la liberté. Au contraire, pour les « défaillantistes », l'homme est par nature infirme, si bien que la perfection est conçue non plus comme ce à quoi il peut lui-même accéder, mais comme un don de Dieu. En soulignant que l'homme n'est pas le maître dans sa propre maison puisqu'il ne peut maîtriser sa libido, Augustin montre que sa libération n'est envisageable qu'au prix de sa soumission à des institutions coercitives ayant pour fonction de compenser sa faiblesse. Proposant une forme originale de problématisation de la nature humaine en naturalisant la pulsion sexuelle, le défaillantisme chrétien permet donc de justifier la soumission des hommes. En faisant la généalogie du désir sexuel, ce travail s'emploie à montrer que la liberté ne requiert pas seulement une critique de l'idée de répression, mais une remise en cause plus fondamentale du modèle naturaliste de la pulsion. / This thesis is a genealogical study of the notion of “sexual desire” as it appeared in Ancient Christianity from the 3rd to the 5th century. Distinguishing between two competing anthropologies, it seeks to reconstruct the modalities according to which this desire has been understood as a compelling drive. It is in line with gender studies in so far as it asks the question of whether there is, at the basis of social categories and justifications of power, a form of irreducible naturality. The purpose here is, on one hand, to show that the notion of natural desire derives from a contingent problematization of sexual desire and, on the other hand, to highlight the consequences of this reasoning. Between the 3rd and 5th centuries, Christian authors opposed one another on the question of human capabilities. For the “perfectionists,” man was able to achieve perfection on his own. Consequently, they saw the “world” as full of bonds hindering the subject's spiritual progress. In this context, being alone in the “desert” appeared as a means to achieve freedom. On the contrary, the “defaultists” held that man was naturally flawed, so that perfection was not thought to be an achievable goal any more, but a gift from God. Underlining that man was no master in his own house because he could not master his own libido, Augustine showed that his liberation could only depend on his submitting to coercive institutions designed to compensate for his weakness. Offering an original problematization of human nature by naturalizing the sexual drive, Christian defaultism could thus justify the submission of men. By tracing a genealogy of sexual desire, this study seeks to demonstrate that freedom does not only require criticizing the idea of repression, but more radically questionning the naturalist model of the drive.

Biblical scholars have grown increasingly aware of the importance of looking at texts not only in their historical or literary contexts, but also in their socio-cultural contexts. Many studies have shown that honour and shame were core social values in the ancient Mediterranean world. By scrutinizing the available research on the topic of honour and shame, one realizes that there were indeed four major social values in the Mediterranean world, that is i) honour and shame, ii) patronage and reciprocity, iii) kinship and iv) purity. Modern biblical scholars would often appeal to the works of the classical authors in order to show how important these values were in the ancient world. Unfortunately claims that are being made in modern studies concerning honour and shame are usually based on the biblical and classical writings. These scholars seldom consult patristic writings. In this study it is argued that the ancient Church Fathers were indeed aware of these social values. The four social values mentioned above are taken as a basis to unlock the social context of Clement of Alexandria’s Paedagogue. It illustrates the importance of understanding the core social values of the Mediterranean society in order to interpret the theology of the early Church Fathers. / Thesis (DLitt (Greek))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted

The creation of the National Health Service is treated, analytically and historically, as a planning process involving major changes in the social organisation of health as a part of the larger set of social and economic reconstruction policies undertaken by the wartime Coalition and postwar Labour governments. Definitions of 'health' are considered as relative both to social expectations and ideology, and to theoretical models of the organisation of health services. These models are identified with certain socio-political agents or interests in the providing and consuming of health services: professional groups, public and private authorities, non-professional workers, and the public. The models of the health service advocates and of the medical profession are considered as reference points. A framework is presented for the analysis of the representation of these interests, by the state, in the planning and operation of the NHS, and as beneficiaries of its services. Through a detailed historical consideration of internal health service planning documents of the major interests, including the medical profession, the health service advocates representing the Labour party and trade unions, and recently released documents of the Ministry of Health and the Coalition and Labour Cabinets, the interaction of the interests with the two governments and with each other is traced, and the reconciliation by the state of the health service models proposed by them is analysed. It is argued that the changes wrought in the social organisation of health in Britain can be described according to certain principles of the organisation of pre- and post-NHS health services: principles of public access, structure of services, structure of administrative control and structure of planning representation. Tne major interests were represented differentially by the state with respect to each of these criteria; similarities and differences between the approaches of the two governments to the representation of interests are examined, and it is concluded that, although the health service advocates and the public benefited from a free and universal scheme, the public and non-professional health workers enjoyed considerably less representation than the medical profession in the particular services provided by the NHS and in its planning and administration.

K. I. Dientzenhofer in the service of Society of Jesus Abstract The Diploma Thesis aims to map the famous Jesuit religious buildings arising in the Czech kingdom by the hands of Kilian Ignac Dientzenhofer, as well as some smaller foundations or now-defunct constructions. Firstly it is the rural residences in Liběšice and the completion of the construction in Tuchoměřice or the dispensary in Smíchov, which has been demolished in 1930. Furthermore, the Holy Mountain Steps, which were only partially implemented according to the Dientzenhofer proposal. The Thesis also includes constructions where the architect's authorship is not proven, such as the Chapel of Sts. Archangel Michael in Kozinec and Chapel of Sts. Cross in Středokluky. An important part is also the effort to put these buildings into the context of the work of the younger Dientzenhofer and to get a closer look at the perception of their clients, including the typology of the architectural order within the function. Keywords The Church of St. Francis Xavier, the Church of St. Clement, the Church of St. Nicholas, the Church of St. Bartholomew, Prague, Opařany, Odolena Voda, Lesser Town, Tuchoměřice, Liběšice, radical Baroque, K. I. Dientzenhofer, Jesuits, architecture, rural residences, chapel

Before the reformation and the schism of the Catholic Church, it had always been the duty of the Church and not of the state, to undertake the seven corporal works of mercy; feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick, visit the prisoner, and bury the dead.¹ By dissolving these institutions, Henry had unwittingly created what would become a social disaster of biblical proportions. In essence, this act was rendering thousands of the poor and elderly without a home or shelter, it denied the country of much of the medical aid that has been offered by the church, it denied future generations of thousands of volumes of books and scriptures from the monastic libraries, as well as denied many an education who would have otherwise never received one without the help of the Church. The ultimate goal of my thesis is to prove my hypothesis that the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII was not merely a contributory factor in the need for the creation of poor laws, but the deciding factor (in a myriad of societal issues) for their creation. Footnote 1: Matthew 25 vv. 32-46.

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