Evangelical Protestant Christians have been one of the primary groups opposing Mormons since the beginnings of Mormonism in the 1820s. This thesis is an examination of the historical basis for Evangelical opposition to Mormonism and the impact of that opposition on Mormon identity. This study is divided into three chronological chapters representing the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries in America. Evangelical animosity towards Mormonism was grounded in the Christian heretical tradition begun in the second century AD. Because of this tradition, Evangelicals were inherently afraid of heresy for two main reasons: temporal treason and eternal damnation. Due to the heterodox claims of a new prophet and new scripture, Mormonism was quickly labeled as dangerous, not only to Christianity, but to America as a whole. This perceived danger only grew as Mormonism continued to differentiate itself further with the practices of polygamy, communalism, and theocracy. In the nineteenth century, Mormon assimilation of Evangelicalism primarily affected the social structures of marriage, economics, and politics. In the twentieth century, Mormon assimilation of Evangelical identity would focus more on the incorporation of Evangelical ideology and theology. As Fundamentalism and Neo-Evangelicalism protested Mormonism as a cult, Mormonism became more Fundamentalist and Evangelical by nature, especially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognized how such opposition negatively impacted American public perceptions. Such changes included the development of Mormon neo-orthodoxy with its emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the depravity of man, and salvation by grace. In the twenty-first century, a group of Mormon and Evangelical scholars engaged in the practice of interfaith dialogue developed by Liberal Protestants and Catholics. As part of their dialogue, Evangelicals retained the purposes of evangelism and apologetics thereby qualifying the dialogue as a new more subtle form of Evangelical opposition to Mormonism in the twenty first century. As Evangelicals continuously opposed Mormonism as a Christian heresy, such opposition effected changes within Mormonism, changes that have led to some degree of assimilation and even adoption of several elements of Evangelicalism. The most recent part of this assimilation process has been the development of Mormon progressive orthodoxy that emphasizes anti-sectarianism, anti-liberalism, and revised supernaturalism.

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Diploma thesis "Orthodoxy in Australia, Oceania and Antarctica" deals with the history, evolution and current state of religious structures of Eastern christian churches in Australia, Oceania and Antarctica. Each part of the investigated area has been analyzed in terms of the ethnic or. ecclesiological diaspora, its organizational capture (formation of the first parishes, dioceses, monasteries, schools and charitable organizations etc.) and on their current status (size and functionality of the existing church structure). Following the various jurisdictions and churches are described. A fundamental consideration is given to the canonical Orthodox Churches, then to the Orthodox Churches with less problematic canonical status, but there are also other Eastern Christian churches mentioned. Within the area the eminent figures of church life are closer described. This descriptive material is supplemented by interviews and journalistic texts, which further analyze situation of churches in the region and their various problems. It is also accompanied by photographic material. The thesis tries to describe ecclesiological tensions between the diaspora and mission, the diversity of ethnic and religious minorities and differences in their assimilation in the new religious, social and culture environment.

Diploma thesis "Orthodoxy in Australia, Oceania and Antarctica" deals with the history, evolution and current state of religious structures of Eastern christian churches in Australia, Oceania and Antarctica. Each part of the investigated area has been analyzed in terms of the ethnic or. ecclesiological diaspora, its organizational capture (formation of the first parishes, dioceses, monasteries, schools and charitable organizations etc.) and on their current status (size and functionality of the existing church structure). Following the various jurisdictions and churches are described. A fundamental consideration is given to the canonical Orthodox Churches, then to the Orthodox Churches with less problematic canonical status, but there are also other Eastern Christian churches mentioned. Within the area the eminent figures of church life are closer described. This descriptive material is supplemented by interviews and journalistic texts, which further analyze situation of churches in the region and their various problems. It is also accompanied by photographic material. The thesis tries to describe ecclesiological tensions between the diaspora and mission, the diversity of ethnic and religious minorities and differences in their assimilation in the new religious, social and culture environment.

This thesis takes as a focal point an important Archbishop of the Greek community in Venice, Meletios Typaldos, who lived in the turbulent era of the late seventeenthearly eighteenth century (1651-1713). An enquiry into the course of his life was deemed worthy of scholarly research: first, because he had not been till now adequately investigated; second, because he is a multi-faceted personage who is highly representative of the ambiguities of that historical period but also clearly and sophisticatedly involved in them. In addition, a study of his life and work reveals a great deal about the religious and cultural beliefs and bias of the flourishing Greek Diaspora of Venice during this historical period. The dissertation investigates initially the political background within which Venice played a crucial role. Moreover, it brings to the fore the religious conflicts of the era as well as the renewal of the theological and philosophical ideas related to scholastic Aristotelism, derived from the teachings at Padua University which spread to the territory of the city-state of Venice. The emphasis in the dissertation is to focus on the impact that these ideas had on the beliefs and views of Typaldos. Principally, the thesis disambiguates the initiatives of Meletios Typaldos who, as head of the Orthodox Church in Venice, planned to convert the Orthodox Greeks to Catholicism without taking into consideration the church body, i.e., the Greek Orthodox clergy and congregation. In contrast to the prevailing view that his ambition to become a cardinal drove him to the acceptance of the Catholic doctrine, this dissertation argues that Typaldos’ activities were inspired by his desire to play a crucial role in a Uniate Church under the Pope’s auspices, with the ultimate ambition to convert all Greeks to it. Finally, specific attention has been given to the resistance of the Greeks of Venice to Typaldos’ plans. After examining the evidence, the thesis concludes that the will of the Greek Confraternity to maintain its social independence -that was guaranteed by the Venetian state - and its passionate desire to maintain unchanged the Confraternity’s Greek ethnic and religious identity are the main causes that determined its reactions against Typaldos. The conflict between the Archbishop and leadership of the Greek community ended in Typaldos’ excommunication by the Patriarchate of Constantinople and, with the loss of his leadership, the decline of the Greek Community of Venice.

Esta tese procura estudar as relações entre o humanismo erasmiano e os processos de confessionalização desenvolvidos no contexto da Europa ocidental a partir da década de 1530. Um dos pressupostos da investigação é a existência de grande distância entre as perspectivas de Erasmo, moldadas segundo as noções de minima dogmata (a definição de um conjunto de dogmas reduzido ao mínimo essencial) e de condescendência para com as diferenças secundárias de doutrina dentro da fé cristã, e a atitude que norteou os processos confessionais, assinalada pelo enrijecimento doutrinário e pela multiplicação de dogmas. Apesar dessa distância, o humanismo erasmiano foi elemento importante na configuração da atitude confessional, tanto pela centralidade que deu à pregação enquanto instrumento catequético, quanto pelo estímulo que proporcionou à abordagem filológica nos estudos bíblicos. Nesse processo frustrou-se o projeto da minima dogmata: a multiplicação de dogmas trouxe, também, a multiplicação das acusações de heresia. Esse resultado ambíguo nos ensina algo sobre as ambiguidades de Erasmo e do seu humanismo. Ambos encontravam-se num contexto de enormes mudanças em todas as áreas, mas ligavam-se profundamente a estruturas sociais e a formas de pensamento do passado. A luta de Erasmo contra a tirania, marcada pela defesa dos antigos privilégios dos ordines contra as intromissões da centralização política, representou uma apropriação criativa dos valores que caracterizaram, cento e cinquenta anos antes, o humanismo cívico florentino; mas se revelou também um programa desprovido de qualquer viabilidade. Como humanista, Erasmo procurava adequar o mundo ao livro (à sabedoria dos Antigos, somada à sabedoria da fé cristã); nesse processo, deu respostas inadequadas aos problemas de sua própria época. Situado num momento de contrastes, na confluência de dois mundos e pertencendo, por formação e por convicção, ao mundo que se dissolvia, o humanismo erasmiano nos ensina muito, tanto sobre as estruturas do mundo medieval em crise como sobre as novas realidades que despontavam. / This thesis aims to study the relations between Erasmian humanism and the processes of confessionalization developed in Western Europe context from the 1530s. One of the assumptions of the research is that there are great distances between the perspectives and ideas of Erasmus, molded according to the notions of minimal dogmata (defining a set of dogmas reduced to a minimum) and condescension toward the minor differences of doctrine within the Christian faith, and the attitude that guided these confessional processes, marked by doctrinal rigidity and by multiplication of dogmas. This distances notwithstanding, Erasmian humanism was an important element in shaping the confessional attitude, both by the centrality that it gave to catechetical preaching and by the stimulus to philologycal approach in biblical studies. But the project for minima dogmata was thwarted; the multiplication of dogmas brought also the multiplication of heresys accusations. This ambiguous outcome teaches us something about the ambiguities of Erasmus and his humanism. Both were in a context of profound changes in all areas; but both were deeply linked to social structures and ways of thinking of the past. Erasmuss struggle against tyranny, marked by the defense of ordiness ancient privileges against the intrusions of political centralization, represented a criative appropriation of the values of old Florentine civic humanism; but it also revealed a program lacking any viability. As a humanist, Erasmus sought to adapt the world to the book (the wisdom of the Ancients, and the wisdom of the Christian faith); in doing so, Erasmus gave inadequate answers to the problems of his own time. Set in a time of contrasts, at the confluence of two worlds and belonging, by formation and conviction, to the fading world, Erasmian humanism teaches us a lot about the structures of the medieval world in crisis, and about the new realities that was about to breaking out.

Este trabalho procura mostrar aspectos de dois fenômenos contemporâneos que se entrecruzam e que convergem em Israel: a disseminação e importância das séries televisivas e a visibilidade adquirida pela ortodoxia judaica na sociedade israelenses a partir dos anos 1990. Dessa maneira, a partir da análise de uma série produzida para a televisão israelense, Shtisel, busca-se compreender quais são os mecanismos que operam para que audiências das mais diversas, espalhadas pelo mundo, possam se identificar com um grupo tão específico como a ortodoxia judaica. No decorrer do trabalho, para que também se possa entender o fenômeno da visibilidade da ortodoxia nas telas, analisa-se a expansão de um cinema de comunidade, como aqueles produzidos por e para judeus ortodoxos. / This work seeks to show aspects of two contemporary and interwoven phenomena: the dissemination and importance of television series and the visibility acquired by Jewish orthodoxy in Israeli society from the 1990s. Thus, from the analysis of a series produced for the Israeli television, Shtisel, the work seeks to understand what are the mechanisms that operate so that audiences of the most diverse, scattered around the world, can identify themselves with a group as specific as Jewish orthodoxy. In the course of the work, in order to understand this phenomenon of the visibility of orthodoxy on the screen, we analyze the expansion of a community cinema, such as those produced by and for Jewish Orthodoxy.

Hildegard von Bingen, religiosa beneditina que viveu no século XII, alegava ter escrito sua primeira obra, o Scivias, obedecendo a um comando divino, que ela teria recebido em uma visão. Segundo Hildegard, suas visões a acompanhavam desde sua infância, e nelas ela via uma Luz Viva e recebia mensagens divinas. O Scivias que, segundo Hildegard, consistia na transcrição dessas mensagens divinas, era uma obra com ensinamentos em ortodoxia doutrinária. O caráter profético da obra aliado à sua ortodoxia garantiu-lhe pronta aceitação no meio eclesiástico e deu a Hildegard a reputação de profetisa. Devido à sua fama de profetisa, Hildegard passou a ser buscada como a um oráculo espiritual, como conselheira espiritual em diversos assuntos. Monges, abades, abadessas, bispos e imperadores consultavam Hildegard em busca de conselho, consolo e mesmo solução para os seus problemas. A vasta correspondência da religiosa atesta este fato. Neste estudo, procuramos entender, através da análise de um relato mítico incluído no Scivias e de parte de sua correspondência, de que maneira profecia e ortodoxia, como expressões da espiritualidade de Hildegard, manifestaram-se em sua obra. / Hildegard von Bingen, religious Benedictine woman who lived in the twelfth century, claimed to have written her first book, the Scivias, under a prophetic call, that came to her in a vision. According to Hildegard, her visions had been with her since her childhood, and in them she saw a Living Light and received divine messages. The Scivias which, according to Hildegard, consisted of the transcription of these messages, was a work with teachings in doctrinal orthodoxy. The prophetic character of the book, allied to its orthodoxy, guaranteed it with acceptation in the ecclesiastical environment and gave to Hildegard the reputation of a prophetess. Due to her fame as prophetess, people began to search Hildegard as a spiritual oracle, as a spiritual counsellor in different subjects. Monks, abbots, abbesses, bishops and emperors consulted Hildegard in search of admonition, advice, consolation and even solution for their problems. The vast correspondence of Hildegard bears witness to this fact. In this study, we try to understand, through the analysis of a mythical account included in the Scivias and of part of her correspondence, in what ways prophecy and orthodoxy, as expressions of Hildegards spirituality, were manifested in her work.

Esta tese de doutorado aborda a chamada Teologia Judaica do Holocausto, ou seja, as reflexões realizadas por rabinos e pensadores judeus a respeito da perseguição nazista e suas consequências no plano da religião. A tese concentra-se no estudo de uma corrente judaica especíifica, a Ortodoxia Moderna dos EUA, representada aqui por seus mais importantes pensadores da Shoá Joseph Soloveitchik, Eliezer Berkovits e Irving Greenberg. A pesquisa expõe estas reflexões, insere-as no contexto mais geral do pensamento judaico e analisa suas contribuições ao judaísmo pós- Holocausto. / This doctoral thesis researches the so-called Jewish Holocaust Theology, i.e. reflections of rabbis and Jewish thinkers concerning Nazi persecution and its implications on the religious level. The thesis concentrates on one specific Jewish religious stream: North-American Modern Orthodoxy, represented here by its most important thinkers on the Shoah - Joseph Soloveitchik, Eliezer Berkovits and Irving Greenberg. The research reveals their reflections, inserts them into the more general context of Jewish thought and analyzes their contribution to post-Holocaust Judaism.

The Novgorod icon of Divine Wisdom is a great innovation of fifteenth-century Russian art. It represents the winged female Sophia flanked by the Theotokos and John the Baptist. Although the icon has a contemporaneous commentary and it exercised a profound influence on Russian cultural history (inspiring, among others, the sophiological theory of the turn of the twentieth century), its meaning, together with the dating and localisation of the first appearance of the iconography, has remained a great art-historical conundrum. This thesis sheds new light on this icon and explores the message, roots, function and historical context of the first, most emblematic and most enigmatic Russian allegorical iconography. In contrast to its recent interpretations as a Trinitarian image with Christ-Angel, it argues that the winged Sophia is the personification of the Orthodox Church. The Novgorod Wisdom icon represents the Church of Hagia Sophia, that is Orthodoxy, as it was perceived in fifteenth-century Rus’: the icon together with its commentary was a visual-textual response to the Florentine Union between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, signed in 1439 but rejected by the Russians in 1441. The thesis is based on detailed interdisciplinary research, utilising simultaneously the methodologies of philology, art history, theology and history. The combined analysis reveals that the great innovation of the Novgorod Sophia icon is that it amalgamates ecclesiological and sophiological iconographies in new ways. Hence the dissertation is also an innovative attempt to survey how Orthodoxy was perceived and visualized in medieval Rus’. It identifies the theological questions that constituted the basis of Russian Orthodox identity in the Middle Ages and reveals the significance of the polemics between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches for the history of Medieval Russian art.