Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

This study consisting of five chapters is an examination of the rights and obligations of the pastor of a parish according to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches and the Particular Law of the Syro-Malabar Church The following important issues constitute the core of the investigation pursued by the study: the juridical figure of the pastor of a parish in the Eastern tradition; the rights and obligations of the pastor of a parish as minister of the word of God, sanctification and governance; and the rights of the pastor of a parish in his removal and transfer from office. The pastor of a parish, both theologically and juridically, is at the center of a parish community. He is a presbyter, the foremost collaborator of the eparchial bishop in the parish and he carries out his ministry under the authority of the same eparchial bishop. The pastor is the good shepherd of the flock, teacher in matters of faith, preacher of the word of God, mediator and principal dispenser of the mysteries of God who has the right and obligation to encourage, coordinate and direct the catechetical formation of the faithful entrusted to his care. It is his primary responsibility for the sanctification of the faithful and he is obliged to motivate, inspire and organize his parishioners in a way that they will in fact live out "the sacraments and sacramentals" in their daily life. Pastor shares in the governing function of the eparchial bishop and assumes responsibilities of organizing, directing and coordinating the faith life of the parish community. His office does not entail legislative and judicial power. The Eastern Code and the particular law of the Syro-Malabar Church make provision for the pastor to exercise the executive power of governance especially in the area of dispensation from merely ecclesiastical laws, such as the laws governing matrimonial impediments under certain conditions and circumstances, blessing of marriages, dispensation from private vows and oaths, and the administration of the parish's temporal goods. The pastor is obliged to know his flock, promote Christian values both in individual members and in associations, and should make sure that the needy and the destitute are never ignored. All these responsibilities of the pastor of a parish are part of his function of organizing and directing the life of the faithful. It is the pastor's responsibility to arouse interest among his parishioners to be involved in the good of the community. Through legitimate appointment to his office, the pastor acquires certain rights related to the security and stability of the office as well as his well-being and good name. A bishop cannot arbitrarily remove or transfer a pastor who has been appointed either for an indefinite period of time or for a determined period. Any substantial violation of the right of defense of a pastor could result in the invalidity of the bishop's decision. The study concludes that a pastor of a parish does have concrete rights and corresponding obligations in the Church, and these rights and obligations are real and not merely empty words. These rights and obligations are embedded in the threefold mission of the Church, namely the teaching, sanctifying and governing functions.

Canon 391, §1 of the 1983 Code distinguishes the power of governance of a diocesan bishop as legislative, executive and judicial. This threefold distinction is based on the division of powers in a secular system of governance. Although, in a democratic civil society, three independent organs exercise legislative, executive and judicial powers, such a division is not possible in the Church because of the nature and the purpose of its power. In the canonical tradition of the Church, the concepts of legislative and judicial powers have generally remained the same. However, the notion of executive power has been subject to progressive understanding, especially after the Second Vatican Council. The 1917 Code, in c. 335 stated that the bishop governs his diocese with legislative, judicial and coercive powers. The Second Vatican Council described it as right/duty of making laws, passing judgement and moderating. The seventh revision principle of the 1983 Code used the term "administrative" instead of "moderating." While the Code revision process had an inconsistent use of the terms "executive" and "administrative," the Code itself, in cc. 135, §1 and 391, §1 prefers the term "executive." Moreover, the Code also uses the expressions "administrative power" and "acts of administration." Some other documents related to the Code equate "executive power" with "administrative power." There is no consensus concerning these concepts in the post conciliar canonical literature. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the exact nature and scope of the executive power of a diocesan bishop in the Code. The first chapter of this study discusses the theological nature of the power of the diocesan bishop in the light of the Second Vatican Council. This provides the theological context within which the juridical nature of the diocesan bishop's power of governance is to be understood. The focus of the second chapter is on the nature and scope of executive power in general, and its juridic nature. Here, the study proves that the expression "administrative power" in the Code refers to "executive power" itself. "Acts of administration" in the Code are distinct from "administrative acts," and therefore, they are subject to distinct processes. With this clarification, the study provides a definition of executive power. After analysing the acts of executive power in general (the general and singular administrative acts), in the third chapter, the study makes an attempt in the final chapter to determine the acts of the diocesan bishop's executive power in the 1983 Code, and then draws some conclusions.

No description available.

No description available.

<p> The project director has a deficiency in Christ-centered preaching from the Old Testament, lack of skills as to how the biblical genre guides the sermon structure, and misunderstanding of sermon delivery following the contours of Old Testament narrative. The lack of skills were supported by review of previous sermons preached from Old Testament narrative revealing logical sermon forms, moralistic application, and gospel presentations rather than Christocentric content emanating from the text. Additionally, the ministry location for the project implementation has experienced an absence of expositional sermons from the Old Testament over the past twenty years.</p><p> The purpose of this project was to enhance the skills of Christ-centered preaching from the Old Testament utilizing Eugene Lowry&rsquo;s homiletical sermon form. The project director preached a series of six sermons from Exodus 1&ndash;20 applying Lowry&rsquo;s five-stage sermon form. Expertise in sermon development and delivery was enhanced by exposure to scholarly work in the fields of Old Testament theology, exegesis, Christ-centered hermeneutics, and Lowry&rsquo;s sermon form. An expert panel guided the project implementation and the sermon evaluation panel provided data on each of the six sermons from Exodus.</p><p> Upon review of data received from the sermon evaluation team, the project director displayed increased proficiency building and delivering Christocentric sermons from the Old Testament. Data from the evaluation team revealed positive results concerning sermon clarity and structure indicating Lowry&rsquo;s homiletical sermon model as an effective form.</p>

<p> The purpose of this doctoral research project was to determine if the impartation of the step-by-step "business plan" of Nehemiah in a nine-week class would assist participants in learning and applying this process to determine their unique calling from God, and integrating their faith in whatever realm they are called upon to lead: home, church, community, or workplace. </p><p> In Chapter One, "Introduction," the research author stated the ministry problems being addressed (lack of "integration" or "dis-integration" of faith and life; need for clarity regarding one's calling), and the contribution that this <i>Nehemiah: Leading with Integrity</i> class could make to the re-integration of faith and life and clarity of one's calling. </p><p> In Chapter Two, "Literature Review," the research author reviewed books on integration of faith and life (particularly books and articles on the Puritans); commentaries, books, articles, and papers on the content of the book of Nehemiah; books and articles on leadership (particularly integrity in leadership); books, articles, and papers on a theology of work and divine calling; and other research projects related to Nehemiah. </p><p> In Chapter Three, "Procedure and Research Methodology," the research author described hypotheses ("Nehemiah Project"); the intervention (the Nehemiah course); summary (weekly topics; the development of the <i>Nehemiah</i> manual and the integrated leader evaluation); the evaluation process; and assessment toward goals. </p><p> In Chapter Four, "Results," the research author reviewed the data collected from this study in two sections: (1) "Quantitative Analysis," analyzing the data collected from the Integrated Leader Evaluation (ILE) to determine if, in fact, there was a perceptible increase in a sense of integration in the nine areas of life listed above, as well as an increase in clarity regarding one" calling; and (2) "Qualitative Analysis," analyzing the journaling, classroom discussion, and "discovery papers" that outlined the individual steps that led to an increased sense of integration and calling that was expressed by the participants in this study. </p><p> In Chapter Five, "Conclusions," the research author summarized conclusions from this study. Included in this chapter were the restatement of the purpose of the study, interpretation of results (quantitative and qualitative results), conclusions based on the evaluation of data, overall recommendations, and recommendations to improve the project and conduct further research.</p>