M.A. / The theme of this thesis is mainly on the essence of repentance as exclusively revealed by the Synoptic Gospels. As a starting point, repentance is looked at against the backgrounds of the Old Testament and the Inter-testamental periods, which in this case are represented by JoIm the Baptist. Its climax and fulfilment are realized in and through the person and works of Jesus Christ, who embodies the kingdom of God. The Synoptics show a watershed in the history of repentance. According to them the difference came with the coming of the long awaited Messiah and the kingdom of God. They managed to demonstrate through their two main characters, John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, how repentance was first introduced and then fulfilled. The Synoptists have been realistic and honest in reporting the personal belief of John the Baptist about the awaited apocalyptic kingdom. It it is human and realistic for a person so to believe. Probably unaware, the Synoptics reveal the fallibility that people in general seem to have. Although there were personal human misunderstandings and misconceptions about the main message, repentance was constantly proclaimed. It is interesting how the Synoptists show the manner in which John's belief was later corrected by Jesus. The three Synoptists succeeded individually to show how John the Baptist made a follow-up on the Old Testament repentance and also introduced the fulfilment of it. Through John the Baptist's humble attitude towards Jesus, they commonly reflect the unfulfilled nature of repentance which requires a personal relationship with the Messiah. On the other side the Synoptists also go on to demonstrate the full magnitude of repentance in and through the person, works and teachings of Jesus Christ amongst the people. Here, they show a new meaning that repentance carries when looked at against the background of the kingdom of God. In the light of the latter, both the indicative and the imperative aspects of repentance are equally maitained. God's acts of love and compassion towards people challenge and expect people to respond in a similar fashion towards other people and God himself Their protagonist, Jesus, did acts of love out of concern for people and he in turn instructed every person to do likewise. Thus, according to the Synoptists, repentance should be both productive and maintained. The magnitude of repentance is further confirmed by the way the Synoptists display how Christ demonstrates in real situations and parables concepts like, "faith," "love," "discipleship" and "obedience to the commandments." In this case the Synoptists ought to be credited for showing the depth, width and height of repentance in a concrete way. To sum it up, repentance is finally shown by the Synoptics as are-orientation of a person's attitude towards both other people and God.

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 245-254). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 245-254). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Anderson School of Theology, 1987. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-145).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1982. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-93).

The reign of Henri III saw a multiplication of penitential acts: theological texts on repentance were published, new penitential orders founded, and processions organized that included acts of mortification—many of which were led by the king himself, who could be seen marching through the streets of Paris dressed in a penitential sackcloth. Why did the concept of repentance acquire such an unprecedented political import during the second half of the sixteenth century? Based on the examination of a wide range of textual sources including treatises, pamphlets, journals, public sermons, prayers, satirical poems, as well as major works by Jacques-Auguste de Thou, Pierre de L’Estoile, and Pierre Victor Palma Cayet, my dissertation seeks to bring answers to this understudied question, which must be understood in light of a variety of theological-political factors and complex historical circumstances. Not simply a theological concept governing personal gestures of contrition and regret towards God, repentance began to function as a political concept during the Wars of Religion. It served both as an instrument in the affirmation of monarchical power and as a means to delegitimize it. With Henri III’s penitential processions, repentance broke away from the confines of the private sphere to take to the streets. Soon it became ubiquitous, part of a common theological-political vocabulary: in the years 1588-1589, the ultra-Catholic League as well as other political forces opposing the king appropriated processions and penitential spaces, turning them into sites of resistance and contestation. As a result, even if penance had become an almost idiosyncratic feature of Henri III’s style of government, little of its currency was lost after his assassination. With Henri IV’s conversion to Catholicism in 1593, repentance acquired a new political face. Placed in the difficult position of having to restore order in France, Henri IV and his supporters adopted several political strategies to counter the efforts of contentious factions within the realm. The rhetoric of penance and forgiveness became one of the tools that allowed the king to reestablish and stabilize his political authority and legitimacy. During the Surrender of Paris in 1594, Henri IV took on the role of the merciful monarch dispensing forgiveness. This strengthened his sovereignty and he became, as the historical reception of his image attests, the king who saved France from the Wars of Religion. Reconciliation, however, came at a price. When Henri IV issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598, an act that instituted a bi-confessional state in France, repentance no longer stood at the core of political reconciliation and stability, but rather at its limits. Instead of acknowledging the past atrocities in the form of an “institutionalized” or public form of repentance, the king wielded the rhetoric of forgiveness in order to efface penance. References to the past violence or to religious topics susceptible of fueling civil discord were censored. Because the dramatic and ostensible processions of penance made popular by Henri III had been more likely to incite people to violence rather than to pacify them, Henri IV and Royalists discredited their political import in the public sphere. Repentance was being censured, and perhaps for this reason more present than ever. By supporting the suppression of public representations of penance, with the goal of restoring “civil accord,” Henri IV decidedly reshaped collective identity and memory for both Catholics and Protestants.

This thesis aims to analyze the notions of sin and repentance of Lancelot and Gawain in Malory¡¦s Morte Darthur so as to unveil what Malory¡¦s ideal knight is to be like. While the traditional view takes Lancelot as a perfect knight and Gawain a reckless one because of their different dispositions, I approach these two characters from their breach of the chivalric code and their sequential penitence. Chapter I and Chapter II will study respectively how Lancelot and Gawain sin in the world of chivalry because of their wrongdoings. Although these two knights have both sinned, yet, in Malory¡¦s hands, these two knights are portrayed in divergent degrees with obviously contrastive narrative context and their repentance takes a different hue as well. Chapter III examines the repentance of Lancelot and Gawain and takes note that although both knights repent for their sins, forgiveness is granted to the former exclusively whereas the latter is denied such a treatment. Chapter IV concludes that such difference or prejudice is indicative of Malory¡¦s evaluation of Lancelot and Gawain in accordance with how the two knights handle their misdeeds and this implies the author¡¦s conception of what a perfect knight should be. Of particular interest is that Chapters I through IV trace the traditional theological view by looking at St. Thomas Aquinas¡¦ concept of sin and repentance. Aquinas¡¦ doctrinal view allows us to analyze Lancelot and Gawain¡¦s sin and repentance within a chivalric as well as theological domain and provides us a better base with which to understand these two concepts. This research strives to bring about a different perspective in evaluating Malory¡¦s knights.