A preacher’s spirituality of time may seem like a peripheral issue, but this realm is one where much is at stake. In this article I argue that the preacher’s approach to time scaffolds the overall endeavor. I begin by considering the church’s unique position in time, arguing that the church is fundamentally an event or a happening rather than an institution. Then, I explore ways preaching can foreground the church’s identity as an event. After describing preaching as the narration of a theological moment in the church’s life, I turn to practical implications. In addition to homileticians, my primary interlocutors for this piece include two renowned spirituality scholars, Evelyn Underhill and Abraham Joshua Heschel. I conclude that ecclesiology, pneumatology, and performance are all profoundly shaped by a preacher’s appreciation for the holiness of time.

Thesis (DTh (Systematical Theology and Missiology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A growing number of scholars with an interest in liturgy and spirituality have contributed to discussions surrounding the relationship between liturgy and spirituality. This dissertation examines the relationship between liturgy and spirituality in the ecumenical movement, and in particular how four factors, namely the Charismatic Renewal, inculturation, secularization, and reflections on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM), have had an impact on its development. Chapter One introduces this study by focusing on the particular connectedness between liturgy and spirituality. Chapters Two to Five critically examine the four challenges. Chapter Two examines the impact that the Charismatic Renewal had on liturgy and spirituality. It discusses the interest that the ecumenical movement had in the Charismatic Renewal, as the ecumenical movement realized what the Renewal could offer them. Chapter Three concerns itself with the challenges that inculturation poses, especially to the liturgy. One prominent question is: How do Christians proclaim Christ faithfully in different cultures? This chapter deals with the fact that inculturation involves dialogue between liturgy and culture – a dialogue which leads to mutual enrichment. Chapter Four concentrates on the impact of secularization, especially since the 1960’s. It examines how the relevance of worship was called to question by the process of secularization. Chapter Five highlights how BEM inspired endeavours for the renewal of liturgy and of spiritual life. It describes how BEM had an impact on studies of worship and spirituality and the revision of forms of worship in several churches.Chapter Six is a brief theological evaluation of the impact that the said factors were having on liturgy and spirituality within the ecumenical movement. Some implications of the impact are discussed and suggestions are made about how liturgy and spirituality can continually shape one another. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ‘n Toenemende aantal navorsers op die gebied van liturgie en spiritualiteit het bydraes gelewer betreffende die verhouding tussen liturgie en spiritualiteit. Hierdie verhandeling ondersoek die verhouding tussen liturgie en spiritualiteit in die ekumeniese beweging, en in besonders die impak wat vier faktore, naamlik die Charismatiese Beweging, inkulturasie, sekularisasie, en besinning oor die Doop, die Nagmaal, en die Bediening, op hierdie ontwikkeling gehad het. Hoofstuk Een dien as inleiding tot hierdie studie deur te fokus op die spesifieke verbintenis tussen liturgie en spiritualiteit. In Hoofstukke Twee tot Vyf word die vier uitdagings krities ondersoek. Hoofstuk Twee ondersoek die impak wat die Charismatiese Beweging op die liturgie en spiritualiteit gehad het. Daar is ‘n bespreking van die belangstelling wat die ekumeniese beweging in die Charismatiese Beweging gehad het, toe die ekumeniese beweging besef het wat die Charismatiese Beweging vir hulle kan bied. Hoofstuk Drie ondersoek die uitdagings wat inkulturasie met hom bring, veral met betrekking tot die liturgie. ‘n Belangrike vraag is die kwessie van hoe Christene die Christusboodskap op ‘n geloofwaardige manier in verskillende kulture kan uitdra. Die hoofstuk behandel die feit dat inkulturasie ‘n dialoog tussen liturgie en kultuur behels – ‘n dialoog wat tot wedersydse verryking kan lei. Hoostuk Vier fokus op die impak van sekularisasie, veral sedert die 1960’s. Dit ondersoek hoe die proses van sekularisasie die tersaaklikheid van aanbidding bevraagteken het. Hoofstuk Vyf laat die soeklig val op die pogings van BEM (‘n dokument wat Christene vra om opnuut te besin oor die Doop, die Nagmaal, en die Bediening) ten einde vernuwing te bring wat betref die liturgie en die geestelike lewe. Dit beskryf die impak wat BEM gehad het op studies van aanbidding en spiritualiteit, en die hersiening van vorme van aanbidding in verskeie kerke. Hoofstuk Ses is ‘n kort teologiese evaluering van die impak wat genoemde faktore het op die liturgie en spiritualiteit in die ekumeniese beweging. Implikasies van hierdie impak word bespreek en voorstelle word gemaak oor hoe die liturgie en spiritualiteit mekaar gedurig kan omvorm.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

This dissertation attempts to rebuild the American Catholic brand fractured by the priests' sexual abuse scandals, using Isocrates' theory of self-defense and self-representation as found in his Antidosis. The work conceptualizes the Catholic Church as a brand because it is a religious organization with an army of followers, is well-known, and is an indisputable leader in the provision of education, healthcare, and social welfare, thereby playing an important role in the socio-cultural consciousness of many Americans. Built over centuries of service to its members and the country, the Catholic brand from the 1960s to the dawn of the twenty-first century had enjoyed high moral authority as a religious organization that promoted the dignity of the human person and acted as an ethically responsible corporate citizen in American society. However, such moral authority crumbled following the 2002 Boston Globe revelations that for decades the Church's hierarchy in the Archdiocese of Boston had sexually preyed on innocent children and vulnerable members. The result has been a crisis of faith and trust, lasting for over a decade in spite of the Church's efforts to create a safe environment for its children and vulnerable members and to hold predator priests accountable.<br> This dissertation holds the view that, for the Church in America to rebuild its brand and thereby restore its fractured image and reputation, it must adopt a rebranding model based on Isocrates' theory of self-defense and self-representation/characterization. Consistent with the Isocratean rebranding model, the American Catholic Church must embrace its core identity as a model institutional citizen that promotes the dignity of the human person, differentiate and dissociate itself from predator priests and their episcopal supporters, establish goodwill toward stakeholders by setting up monuments to memorialize abuse victims, organizing annual events for victims to tell their stories, holding abusive clergy and irresponsible bishops accountable, allowing the lay faithful to play an active role in priestly formation, being more transparent in its handling of sexual abuse cases, and requiring seminarians and priests to undergo frequent sexual assault and sexual harassment training. Moreover, the ecclesial community must reconcile with victims by honestly confessing its complicity in the tragedy of the abuse and seeking forgiveness. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Communication and Rhetorical Studies / PhD; / Dissertation;

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study entails an historical investigation of how the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) has addressed the ecumenical tension between ecclesiology and ethics in its history between 1963 and 2013. The study is arguably the first comprehensive analysis of the history of the AACC focussing on ecclesiology and ethics and will therefore make an original contribution to ecumenical theology in Africa in this regard. The study argues that the tension between what the church is (read: ecclesiology) and what it does (read: ethics) has undeniably been present in the ecumenical movement in Africa. The study is situated within two concentric contexts. Firstly, it is located within the context of the WCC study project on ecclesiology and ethics that was conducted during the period 1992 to 1996 and will contribute to wider discourse in this regard. The WCC project was an attempt to bridge a deep divide in the ecumenical movement between those who emphasise that the way to unity is through doctrinal agreement and those who believe that "doctrine divides" while a common moral cause (service) may unite. Secondly, this study is aimed at discerning how the AACC has addressed the relationship between the theological quest for unity (read: ecclesiology) and the social responsibility of the church (read: ethics). The study examines how the AACC assisted its member churches to respond to contemporary challenges in three distinct periods in recent African history, namely the periods of decolonisation (1963-1974), development (1975-1992) and neo-liberal globalisation (1993-2013). The hypothesis of this study is that these periods correlate with the AACC's ways of negotiating the tension between ecclesiology and ethics. The study argues that although the AACC has privileged the social agenda of the church in society (read: ethics), the ecumenical quest for ecclesial unity (read: ecclesiology) has not been completely absent. While the study acknowledges that the tension between ecclesiology and ethics is not easily resolved, it affirms that these two ecumenical concerns are inseparable. The study therefore suggests an appropriation of the African notion of ubuntu as a horizon for ecclesiology and ethics. The intuition behind the proposal is that ubuntu resonates with biblical notions of koinonia and diakonia and is thus an apt notion for an articulation of the interconnectedness between ecclesiology and ethics. The study is divided into two parts, comprising eight chapters. The first part covers four chapters in which I offer an historical background to the modern ecumenical movement, an analysis of the ecclesiology and ethics debate in the wider ecumenical context and a brief institutional history of the AACC. The second part of the study comprises three chapters. Therein, I present a critical analysis of the AACC's handling of the tension between ecclesiology and ethics in the period 1963-2013. Each chapter describes and analyses the various ways in which the AACC addressed the tension between the theological quest for the visible unity of the church on the one hand (read: ecclesiology) and the social responsibility of the church (read: ethics) on the other in specific socio-historical contexts. The hypothesis of the study is confirmed on the basis of such analysis. This study contributes to discourse in African theology on authenticity (read: ecclesiology) as expressed in theologies of inculturation and indigenisation and on social relevance (read: ethics) as expressed in theologies of liberation and reconstruction. It further contributes to academic reflection on the history of the ecumenical movement in Africa and the quest for an appropriate ecumenical vision on the African continent amidst the tensions between mainline churches, independent churches (AICs) and a variety of Pentecostal churches and the many social challenges that churches have to address.

Cette thèse analyse le développement de l’identité institutionnelle de la papauté pendant l’époque byzantine, c’est-à-dire la représentation de l’Église romaine dans certaines sources officielles entre l’âge de l’empereur Justinien et la première moitié du huitième siècle. Le dossier des sources se concentre sur les actes des conciles œcuméniques et la production officielle du pouvoir impérial et de la papauté. Le propos est de montrer que loin d’être monolithique, l’identité institutionnelle de la papauté était changeante et fluide, et que les éléments qui la composaient se trouvaient modifiés selon le contexte, les nécessités et les enjeux du pouvoir. L’étude se focalise en particulier sur les disputes ecclésiologiques et les conciles destinés à les résoudre : la controverse des Trois Chapitres et le deuxième concile de Constantinople de l’année 553, la dispute monoénergiste et monothélite qui donne lieu au concile du Latran de l’année 649 et au troisième concile de Constantinople des années 680-681, et le concile quinisexte des années 691-692. Elle incorpore aussi d’autres développements liés à la représentation de la place de l’Église romaine, le rôle des papes, et la réception des conciles œcuméniques. / This dissertation analyses the development of the institutional identity of the Papacy during the Byzantine period, that is, the representation of the Roman Church in some official sources between the age of Emperor Justinian and the first half of the eighth century. The main sources are the acts of the ecumenical councils, as well as the official production of the imperial power and the papacy. The purpose is to show that, far from being monolithic, the institutional identity of the papacy was changing, dynamic and fluid, and the elements that composed it were modified according to the context, the necessities and the relations of power. The study focuses in particular on ecclesiological disputes and the councils aimed at resolving them : the Three Chapters controversy and the Second Council of Constantinople of 553, the monothelite dispute, including the Lateran Council of 649 and the Third Council of Constantinople of 680-681, and the Quinisext Council of 691-692. It also incorporates other developments related to the representation of the place of the Roman Church, the role of Popes, and the reception of ecumenical councils.

The Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches, as well as other Christian communities, are faced with the challenges of postmodern thought, which calls into question some of the foundational theological and philosophical constructs through which Christianity has articulated the mystery of Eucharistic presence. Louis-Marie Chauvet, Alexander Schmemann and John Zizioulas, the interlocutors presented in this dissertation, recognize that for centuries, Eucharistic theology has been shaped within a metaphysical/Scholastic framework which confines, in many respects, the experiential/relational aspects of the divine/human dynamic as mediated in the Eucharistic celebration. An appeal for a paradigmatic shift is made evident in their respective works based on a renewed understanding of the various strata of the symbolic order and the paradigm of relationality as being the primary contexts within which the people of God celebrate his presence. This shift is necessary in order to correct the problematic of a causal, mechanistic, reductionist, overly-metaphysical, dualist framework as well as a static onto-theological construct, to which Eucharistic theology has been subjected to for centuries. There is a call for a re-thinking of Eucharistic presence in light of a theology which is rooted in the mutually supportive principles of lex orandi est lex credendi and of a Patristic theological landscape. The methodology of this dissertation is comparative and dialogical in nature in which each theologian articulates the need for a scholarship of Eucharistic presence to be established on new terrain and a new trajectory which will prove to be more appropriate in expressing the mystery of presence as it is grounded and expressed within the Apostolic faith and practice.<br>By appealing to and implementing the theologies here presented, we can develop a renewed vision of Eucharistic presence that may provide a common ground for an ecumenical enterprise, reaffirming the most essential component of faith: God's presence among humanity and in creation. This ecumenical enterprise must not remain within the realm of the abstract or theoretical, but needs to culminate in a true union of the churches born of a common unity in faith and eventual Eucharistic practice. In addition, these three theologians' contributions will continue to provide contemporary and future scholars in sacramental theology with an innovative approach to further articulate the mystery of presence through media which speak to the contemporary world while remaining rooted in antiquity. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Theology; / PhD; / Dissertation;

Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2008. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 277-293).

As both a philosopher and a Christian, John Macmurray (1891-1976), spent his life attempting to show that we are truly called to a life of unity with one another. He makes a strong philosophical case that to be properly human is to seek and to intend communion with others, and in his analysis of the nature of the human person he offers uS a way of understanding that the call to Christian unity is not simply a matter of pastoral effectiveness but one that expresses the deepest truth of our human being, that we are most fully ourselves when we are in communion with one another. The call to unity among the Christian Churches is one that has largely shaped pastoral and theological concerns over the last hundred years or more. The efforts of the World Council of Churches and the writings of many eminent theologians have pushed the question of ecumenism to the forefront of Christian consciousness. It is now generally recognised among Christians of all traditions that the failure of the Churches to give practical expression of the unity for which Christ prayed is itself a major obstacle to the proclamation of the Good News, and one that inhibits the message of Jesus from being properly heard and accepted by many who are seeking meaning in their lives. In terms of how best to achieve the unity that so many desire, there has long been a divide between those who argue that unity should come about through doctrinal agreement and those who say that, while doctrine tends to divide Christians, unity can be best achieved through a shared commitment to practical efforts to make the world a more peaceful, just and loving place. Something, however, that has been largely overlooked in the whole ecumenical question is the need to find an appropriate philosophical basis for unity among peoples and among the Churches. Without such a philosophical underpinning, the call to unity can easily be seen as simply a practical pastoral tool for the effective proclamation of the Gospel or as nothing other than emotive rhetoric. In the writings ofJohn Macmurray we· are able to find an approach to the question of ecumenism that provides us with just such a philosophical basis for unity. This dissertation engages in a close reading of both Macmurray's philosophical and religious views, and suggests that, despite some inconsistencies in his own approach, Macmurray offers the whole ecumenical project a significant philosophical basis for the notion that in seeking unity among the Christian Churches we are being faithful to our nature as human beings. While not denying the sincerity of the countless numbers of those who have committed themselves to the call for unity among Christians, the desire for unity needs to be fortified by an appropriate understanding of human nature. It is. argued that the ecumenical movement can be greatly enhanced by the kind of perspective that Macmurray brings to the whole question of unity. His voice still needs to be heard. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-117).