Christian monasticism originated in Egypt and then spread to the rest of the Christian church. Coptic monks made a significant contribution to Christian theology and spirituality through their distinctive approach to the life of faith. This study by a Coptic monk analysis Coptic missionary spirituality as it flowered in the fourth and fifth centuries. Chapter 2 introduces the three main types of Coptic monasticism and the key figures in each of the three types. Chapter 3 describes the centripetal dimension of their mission, indicating how they attracted a wide.variety of people to a committed Christian life through their holiness, simplicity and humility. Chapter 4 discusses their "outreaching" mission of love: their preaching in harmony with the culture of people, their concern for the poor and oppressed, their healing miracles and exorcisms, their defense of the Orthodox faith against heresy. Chapter 5 summaries the findings of the study and identifies priorities for further research. / Department of Christian Spiritual Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

One of the most significant acts of protest against the rule of Vladimir Putin was staged by the punk group Pussy Riot in Christ the Saviour’s Cathedral in Moscow in February 2012. The protest was one of several actions during the last decade where Russian artists had questioned the role of the Russian Orthodox Church, but this time the role of the Church in relation to the State rule was directly highlighted. This caused strong reactions internationally and in Russia, and there is a need to look into the arguments used in the debate in detail, using discourse analysis. This thesis, therefore, investigates what discourses the most prominent stakeholders – the Church, the State and Pussy Riot – rely on in the public debate around the Pussy Riot performance and the trial. Interconnections between different discourses are also investigated in order to gain a better insight into how religion, politics and popular culture interact in Russia today. The most important conclusion in this thesis is that religion and religious discourse affect legal and political practices in Russia today in ways that are not normally expected in a modern and secular state.

This work examines and analyses the reform attempts undertaken by the Greek Orthodox and Uniate Bishop of Lviv, Iosyf Shumliansky, during his episcopacy (1668-1708). These reforms are seen as a means of facing the intensified confessionalising pressures at state and regional levels in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The analysis focuses on the Bishop’s model priest as illustrated in his handbook for the clergy; the influence the Bishop and the Consistorial Court had over the parish clergy; the types of litigation and the categories of plaintiff in the cases concerning the parish clergy; and the clergy’s behaviour. Iosyf Shumliansky required the clergy to adjust its behaviour and educational standards to be similar to those of the nobility and Roman Catholic clergy. The parish clergy should refrain from dressing like peasants, becoming too close to the villagers and from participating too enthusiastically in village festivities. They should learn Polish and Latin. The Bishop expected the clergy to adopt a style of dress and behaviour that would distinguish and elevate it as a group above the mass of the peasantry. Included in the analysis, are cases from the Lviv and Halych main deaneries but not the main deanery of Kamianets Podilsky. The Bishop and the Consistorial Court had good control over most of the western and central regions of the Diocese. The Court could not control the situation in the eastern territories, as it was unsafe because of wars, Tatar raids and occupation by Ottoman forces. The possibility for Shumliansky to influence the parish clergy through the Court in these regions was limited. Their participation in court proceedings was negligible. The most common type of litigation was official misconduct by the priests. After that came violence, finance and defamation. The most common category of plaintiff was parish priests, followed by nobles and honest/reputable/townsmen. In the study, violence has been treated as a means of interaction and communication. It would appear that the status of the parish clergy was often frail and had to be publicly, vigorously and violently defended. Many of the clergy could not live up to the demands of the Bishop because they lived as and among peasants.

This thesis seeks to shed light on a remarkable figure in Russian history, Father Alexander Men’. How and why did Men’ identify Vladimir Solovyov, Nikolai Berdyaev, and other pre-revolutionary cultural figures as representatives of authentic Russian religious culture? Why would a popular Russian Orthodox priest present the writings of mystics, anarchists, and the Silver Age counterculture as the antidote for seventy years of Soviet materialism? What role did Judaism and the Russo-Jewish intellectual tradition have on Men’s identifications as an Orthodox priest? I use a semiotic theory of culture following Yuri Lotman and the Tartu–Moscow Semiotic School as a framework to analyze the historical development of Orthodox personalism. Through this we find a coherent justification for Men’s cultural project. This thesis traces this line of thought from theories of cultural unity by Pyotr Chaadayev, through Christian universalism in Vladimir Solovyov, the existential personalism of Nikolai Berdyaev, and finally through Men’s personal relationship with Nadezhda Mandelstam.

Master thesis Religious circumstances in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century will deal with religio-spiritual situation within czarist Russia since the dawn of 20th century till the rise of Bolshevik regime in 1917. It aims not only to analyse and describe religious circumstances of contemporary Orthodox church, but also reflect those circumstances in "minority" religious communities. It introduces the state at which the Orthodox church was at and enlighten the situation, that was influenced both by Russian course to industrial society and the outbreak of the First world war and revolution at 1917.

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The diploma thesis " The Reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I., (527 - 565)" deals with the life and the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. The aim of the thesis is to perform the Justinian effort to reach the symphony between the State and the Church.The first chapter leads us to the ages preceding the Justinian's Reign and gets acquainted us with the political and dynastic history. From the second chapter of the thesis deals with its main topic, the Emperor Justinian I., his life and reign and with his foreign, internal and religious policy. The final part presents appreciating of Justinian's personality.

Master of Music / School of Music, Theater, and Dance / Virginia Houser / Alexander Tikhonovich Gretchaninoff (1864-1956) was a prolific composer from Russia’s Romantic age who explored the art of musical writing within an extensive number of genres and forms and showed an unusually strong interest in the creation of solo piano pieces for and about children. It is important that musicians in general and pianists in particular investigate his compositions and gain an understanding of their nature and potential usefulness as teaching pieces and as works worthy of public performance. My research consisted of an examination of Gretchaninoff’s autobiography, the study of numerous secondary accounts of his life and personal analysis of piano scores written by the master. My investigation uncovered the almost hidden existence of a large number of attractive musical works which Gretchaninoff wrote for solo piano as well as insightful details concerning the circumstances and motives that inspired the master to compose within the parameters of this genre. The following pieces are performed as part of this presentation: (from Children’s Album, Op. 98) A Tale, In the Camp of the Lead Soldiers, Lead Soldiers on the March, Hobby-Horse, Nurse Is Sick, Lullaby, Little Dance, Dreadful Event, After the Ball, On a Travel Tour, The Little Would-be Hero; (from 12 Little Sketches for Children, Op. 182) Sunrise, With the Fishing Rod, On the Swing, A Country Lad; (from A Child’s Day, Op. 109) Morning Prayer, The Broken Toy, The Happy Return Home; (from The Grandfather’s Book, Op. 119) My Dear Mommy, Swallow Dance, Pussy Is Ill, On the Swing; (from Glass Beads, Op. 123) Morning Promenade, On a Bicycle, Difficult Work; (from Andrusha’s Album, Op. 133) The Dance of the Gold Fishes, My Little Dog Joujou; (from Album Leaves, Op. 139) After Walking; (from Nina’s Album, Op. 141) After Mass, Dreaming, At the Wheel; (from Arabesques, opus number in dispute) Russian Folksong, A Sad Little Story; Sonatina in F major, Op. 110, #2 – 1. Allegro giocoso, 2. Menuet (Moderato grazioso) and Trio, 3. Finale – Allegro.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T19:30:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Felipe Beltran Katz.pdf: 3043130 bytes, checksum: 20132492cb571c38c6960989ada1326e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-15 / This work tries to point out the diversity of the oriental Christianity in Sao Paulo, through the oriental churches. These institutions are connected to the immigrant communities that came to Sao Paulo since the 19th century until the mid 20th century. Amongst the oriental Christians that have come to the city are Arabs, Armenians, Greeks, Russians and Ukrainians. These communities are divided in twelve different churches, that are located in different areas of the city. The research is based on the collected testimony of each clergy member of each church, some oriental Christians from Sao Paulo and bibliography that studies the historical experience of these institutions in other parts of the world. Far from being something completely strict, presenting Rites and peculiarities of ancient Christianity, the oriental churches of Sao Paulo are inserted in the daily life of the metropolis. These churches try to mediate their past, while maintaining the faith and culture of immigrant groups with their current situation in the city. A situation where the 1st generation of immigrants is diminishing trough age and the migratory flux is not being renewed. The oriental churches, according to the testimony of clerics and faithful, are experiencing a reflexive moment in their course in the metropolis. However, this work does not try to judge which church best preserves it‟s past, but understand that they are part of the daily life of the city. They are oriental churches from Sao Paulo, therefore, their situation permeates appropriations that best respond their experience in Sao Paulo / O trabalho busca apontar a diversidade do cristianismo oriental paulistano, debruçando-se sobre as Igrejas Orientais. Essas instituições estão associadas a comunidades imigrantes que vieram para São Paulo desde o final do século XIX até a segunda metade do século XX. Entre os grupos cristãos orientais emigrados para a cidade estão árabes, armênios, gregos, russos e ucranianos. Essas comunidades estão divididas em doze Igrejas localizadas em diversos pontos da região metropolitana. A pesquisa apoia-se em depoimentos coletados entre os membros do clero de cada uma dessas Igrejas, alguns fiéis cristãos orientais da cidade e bibliografia acerca da experiência histórica dessas instituições em outras partes do mundo. Longe de ser algo cristalizado, apresentando Ritos e peculiaridades do antigo cristianismo, as Igrejas Orientais na cidade de São Paulo estão inseridas no dia a dia da metrópole. Essas Igrejas pretendem mediar seu passado, associado com a manutenção da fé e cultura das comunidades imigrantes, e a vivência de sua situação paulistana atual. Uma situação em que a primeira geração de imigrantes diminui devido ao envelhecimento e aos fluxos imigratórios que não se renovam. As Igrejas Orientais, de acordo com os depoimentos de clérigos e fiéis, vivem um momento reflexivo de sua trajetória na metrópole. No entanto, o trabalho não deve julgar qual Igreja preserva melhor o passado, mas deve compreender que elas fazem parte do cotidiano da cidade. São Igrejas Orientais paulistanas, portanto, sua situação perpassa apropriações que melhor respondem à sua experiência em São Paulo

According to the directives of Lgr11, learning about Christianity should be an important part of religious education in secondary school (7th-9th grade) in Sweden. A school teacher must therefore have good knowledge of the field and of different aspects of the beliefs of the various Christian traditions. This essay is about how salvation is conceived of by two members of the laity in each of three different Christian traditions: the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Sweden (which is Lutheran). As a theoretical perspective for my analysis, I have chosen the official views of salvation of these three churches. That is to say, views of the members of the laity have been compared with the official views of the respective churches. It is thus a very limited qualitative study aiming at finding out how the views of the laity conform to the official creed concerning salvation and whether there are any differences here between the churches. The result of this essay is that there were few differences and a lot of similarities between the laity belief in the relation to the official doctrines of salvation. Only among the protestant laity differences were prominent.