This thesis explores the significance of contemporary Christian spirituality for authentic Christian ministry. To this end an extensive survey of contemporary academic literature is conducted. The research bears in mind the almost unprecedented contemporary interest in `spirituality,' both for academics and laypersons alike, and presupposes the need to redefine and understand spirituality for our times. The study yields the finding that contemporary academic spirituality contributes a newfound authenticity to Christian ministry. Spirituality achieves such authenticity for ministry through highlighting and realising a number of outstanding features. These features include: a new global awareness, and an appreciation of spiritual diversity; a `this-worldly' embodiment or `materialism' as integral to spirituality; a rediscovery of the experiential dimension of ministry; a re-awakening of the contemplative spirit as permeative of every dimension of life and activity, and a new inter-disciplinary appreciation of the metaphors, means and stages for spiritual formation and maturation. The hermeneutically sound and convincing contribution of spirituality is ascribed to its growing academic credibility, its utilisation of its own historical tradition and documented experience, and its discriminative deployment of postmodernism's amenability to Christian spirituality. Finally, the thesis is not concerned with distilling practical ministerial activities from spirituality. It strives, rather, for an understanding of ministry at the ontological level, where self-understanding, vocational awareness and a desire for God realise the essence and dynamic of ministry. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / Thesis (D.Th.)

This thesis explores the significance of contemporary Christian spirituality for authentic Christian ministry. To this end an extensive survey of contemporary academic literature is conducted. The research bears in mind the almost unprecedented contemporary interest in `spirituality,' both for academics and laypersons alike, and presupposes the need to redefine and understand spirituality for our times. The study yields the finding that contemporary academic spirituality contributes a newfound authenticity to Christian ministry. Spirituality achieves such authenticity for ministry through highlighting and realising a number of outstanding features. These features include: a new global awareness, and an appreciation of spiritual diversity; a `this-worldly' embodiment or `materialism' as integral to spirituality; a rediscovery of the experiential dimension of ministry; a re-awakening of the contemplative spirit as permeative of every dimension of life and activity, and a new inter-disciplinary appreciation of the metaphors, means and stages for spiritual formation and maturation. The hermeneutically sound and convincing contribution of spirituality is ascribed to its growing academic credibility, its utilisation of its own historical tradition and documented experience, and its discriminative deployment of postmodernism's amenability to Christian spirituality. Finally, the thesis is not concerned with distilling practical ministerial activities from spirituality. It strives, rather, for an understanding of ministry at the ontological level, where self-understanding, vocational awareness and a desire for God realise the essence and dynamic of ministry. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / Thesis (D.Th.)

This qualitative study examines the social, spiritual and political role the Black Oneness Churches play in Black communities. It also provides an anti-colonial examination of the Afro-Caribbean Oneness churches to understand how it functioned in the formation and defense of the emerging Black communities for the period 1960-1980. This project is based on qualitative interviews and focus groups conducted with Black Clergy and Black women in the Oneness church of the Greater Toronto area. This study is based on the following four objectives: 1. Understanding the central importance of the Black Oneness Pentecostal Church post 1960 to Black communities. 2. Providing a voice for those of the Black Church that are currently underrepresented in academic scholarship. 3. Examining how the Black Church responds to allegations of its own complicities in colonial practices. 4. Engage spirituality as a legitimate location and space from which to know and resist colonization. The study also introduces an emerging framework entitled: Whiteness as Theology. This framework is a critique of the theological discourse of Whiteness and the enduring relevance of the Black Church in a pluralistic Afro-Christian culture. The data collected reveal that while the Black Church operated as a social welfare institution that assisted thousands of new black immigrants, the inception of the church was political and in protest to racism. Hence, the Black Church is a product of white racism, migration and colonization. The paradox of the Black Church lies in its complicity in colonization while also creating religious forms of resistance. For example, the inception of the Afro-Caribbean Oneness Church was an anti-colonial response to the racism in the White Church. But 40 years later, the insidious nature of colonization has weaved through the church and “prosperity theology” as an impetus of colonialism has reshaped the social justice role of Black Churches.

This qualitative study examines the social, spiritual and political role the Black Oneness Churches play in Black communities. It also provides an anti-colonial examination of the Afro-Caribbean Oneness churches to understand how it functioned in the formation and defense of the emerging Black communities for the period 1960-1980. This project is based on qualitative interviews and focus groups conducted with Black Clergy and Black women in the Oneness church of the Greater Toronto area. This study is based on the following four objectives: 1. Understanding the central importance of the Black Oneness Pentecostal Church post 1960 to Black communities. 2. Providing a voice for those of the Black Church that are currently underrepresented in academic scholarship. 3. Examining how the Black Church responds to allegations of its own complicities in colonial practices. 4. Engage spirituality as a legitimate location and space from which to know and resist colonization. The study also introduces an emerging framework entitled: Whiteness as Theology. This framework is a critique of the theological discourse of Whiteness and the enduring relevance of the Black Church in a pluralistic Afro-Christian culture. The data collected reveal that while the Black Church operated as a social welfare institution that assisted thousands of new black immigrants, the inception of the church was political and in protest to racism. Hence, the Black Church is a product of white racism, migration and colonization. The paradox of the Black Church lies in its complicity in colonization while also creating religious forms of resistance. For example, the inception of the Afro-Caribbean Oneness Church was an anti-colonial response to the racism in the White Church. But 40 years later, the insidious nature of colonization has weaved through the church and “prosperity theology” as an impetus of colonialism has reshaped the social justice role of Black Churches.

CHARLES UNIVERSITY PRAGUE Catholic Theological Faculty Department of Theological Ethics and Spiritual Theology ThLic.Mgr. Ing. David Seifert THE POST-CONCILIAR RENEWAL OF THE PERMANENT DIACONATE HISTORY - THEOLOGY - SPIRITUALITY Doctoral thesis Resume Thesis adviser: ThLic. Vojtěch Kohut Th.D. PRAHA 2011 2 CONTENT CONTENT ................................................................................................................................. 2 RESUME.................................................................................................................................... 3 List of sources and literature ...................................................................................................... 4 3 RESUME The trends of the contemporary theology of diaconate are based on the old-christian practice of diaconate mainly in sense of the variety of the services in church and plurality within the frame of the church office, which is justified richly theologically, namely trinitarily. In the light of relationship between the service and the community is just the variety of services in the local church understood as the fullness of the mission, which just the local Church is called to accomplish and live. The question therefore is to answer the question of identity of diaconate through...

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In this doctoral thesis, The Spirituality and Mysticism of Nature in the Early Franciscan Tradition, I have begun with an attempt to clarify the notions of spirituality and mysticism. The former, was seen as an approach to God embodied in outlook, practice and lifestyle, and the latter, mysticism, was defined as a felt awareness and knowledge of the presence of God. My hypothesis is that nature played a very important part in both the spirituality and mysticism of Saint Francis of Assisi, and in the spirituality of the movement he founded. In a systematic attempt to investigate my theme, I began with a study of the chief places associated with Francis. They present a kind of mirror of his soul and reveal, I believe, a good deal about his outlook and way of living. They tend to be remote and solitary places, often high in the mountains or near water, often desolate and harsh and usually beautiful, and what was later to become known as `romantic'. I turned then to the world of nature, beginning with the celestial bodies, sun, moon and the stars, and the elements of the sub-lunar world. The world of living things, fruits and flowers, animals, wild beasts and tame, fish and birds was examined. Nearly all the evidence here came from that collection of Franciscan stories and anecdotes which forms one of the great treasuries of stories in world literature. The fourth chapter was devoted to the poetry of Francis, above all to the Praises of God and The Canticle of the Creatures. After examining the circumstances of its composition, I took the stanzas one by one and examined them in the light of what they reveal of Francis spirituality and mysticism. The purpose of chapter five was to gather the fruits of my research and evaluate the hypothesis I proposed. I concluded that Francis, incorporated nature into his spirituality and mysticism in a very original way. I hold that Francis was a great nature mystic, and that his nature spirituality is still full of vigor and potential for the future. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / (D.Th. (Christian Spirituality))

Bakgrund: Tidigare forskning visar på att patientens andliga omvårdnadsbehov inte får tillräckligt utrymme inom vården i jämförelse med patientens fysiska omvårdnadsbehov. Tidigare forskning visar även att patienter har behov av att erhålla andlig omvårdnad då detta kan mildra patienters lidande. Andlig omvårdnad delas in i två perspektiv: icke religiös och religiös. Syfte: Att belysa vårdpersonalens erfarenhet av andlig omvårdnad ur ett icke religiöst perspektiv.  Metod: En allmän litteraturöversikt genomfördes för att belysa vårdpersonalens erfarenheter av andlig omvårdnad ur ett icke religiöst perspektiv. Resultatet baserar sig på tio vetenskapliga artiklar varav sju var kvalitativa, två kvantitativa samt en med blandad design, vilka analyserades enligt Fribergs (2012) metod för resultatanalys. Resultat: Fynden av denna studie resulterade i att fyra stycken teman upprättades; Vårdpersonalens upplevelse av andlig omvårdnad, vårdpersonalens strategier till att utöva andlig omvårdnad, vårdpersonalens upplevda hinder till att utöva andlig omvårdnad samt vårdpersonalens upplevelse av andlig omvårdnad relaterat till Holistisk vård. Slutsats: Andlig omvårdnad anses vara en del av Holistisk vård men vårdpersonal upplever svårigheter till att applicera det i praktiken utifrån diffus definition. Andlig omvårdnad ska relateras till patientens välbefinnande och inte medicinska diagnoser. Förslag på vidare forskning: Samtliga resultatartiklar som inkluderades i denna studie bedömer att det är av stor vikt att vidare forskning bör handla om definitionen av andlig omvårdnad ur ett icke religiöst perspektiv. Författarna anser att vidare forskning även behöver ta fram strategier till att utöva andlig omvårdnad ur ett icke religiöst perspektiv. / Background: Previous research shows that patient spiritual care needs may not be enough space in health care in comparison to the patient's physical care needs . Previous research also shows that patients need to receive spiritual care as this can alleviate patients' suffering. Spiritual care is divided into two perspectives : non-religious and religious. Aim; To highlight the health professionals experience of spiritual care from a non- religious perspective. Method: A general literature review was conducted to illustrate the health professionals experiences  of spiritual nursing from a non religious perspective . The result is based on ten scientific articles which seven were qualitative , two quantitative and one with a mixed design, which were analyzed according to Friberg (2012 ) method for analysis of results. Results : The findings of this study resulted in four themes were established ; Health professionals experience of spiritual care , health professionals strategies to pursue spiritual care , health professionals perceived obstacles to the exercise of spiritual care and health professionals experience of spiritual care related to holistic care . Conclusion: spiritual care considered be a  part of holistic care of health professionals but experience difficulties to apply in practice by the diffuse definition . Spiritual care should be related to the patient's well-being and not medical diagnoses. Suggestions for further research: All results-articels that were included in this study believes that it is essential that further research should focus on the definition of spiritual care from a non- religious perspective . The authors believe that further research also needs to develop strategies to exercise spiritual care from a non- religious perspective.

Thesis (D. Lit. et Phil.)--University of South Africa, Pretoria, 2002.

“How does one develop an appropriate urban Christian Spirituality?” is the question this study asks. First, I develop a rigorous, yet open, theoretical framework with which to describe Christian Spirituality’s complexity: a description focused primarily on constraining the markers of Biblical Spirituality and City Spirituality. Within the limits placed on the complex system of Christian Spirituality, I begin exploring various, mostly minor, tropes of urban biblical spiritualities in the “Old” and “New” Testament. From these analyses, I evince the implications of these biblical spirituality tropes for the current city theater, and also construe a set of questions evaluating the appropriateness of mitigating urban communities. The study culminates in an imagined ideal mitigating urban community named an ekklesiastes: a wisdom teaching technology of urban meaning, complexity, and resistance. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Christian Spirituality)