The dissertation identifies the beacons of canon development during the first five hundred years of Christianity. These beacons are processes, events and certain persons from general as well as dogmatic history, which played a formative role in canon development. The beacons are placed within the historical, geographical and theological milieu, in which it took place. It especially emphasises the role of human conduct and decisions in the process of canon development. It provides a background of the development of a complex Judaism as the origin of Christianity, and demonstrates the continuous impact of Judaism on Christian canon development. The differences presented between these two independent religions are also mentioned. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics)

Text in German / Essen und Trinken haben im Neuen Testament einen hohen Stellenwert. Die ersten Christen haben sich regelmäßig beim Mahl getroffen. Die ausführlichste Beschreibung einer solchen Mahlzeit findet sich in 1Kor 11,17-34, in den paulinischen Ausführungen zum Abendmahl der Korinther. Im Verlauf der weiteren Kirchengeschichte hat das christliche Abendmahl einiges an Veränderung erfahren. Diese Arbeit soll zeigen, dass urchristliche Mahlfeiern wenig mit unseren heutigen Mahlfeiern gemeinsam hatten. Ein besonderer Fokus soll darauf liegen, in wie weit die Urgemeinde ihre Mahlfeiern gerade auch zu missionarischen Zwecken verwendet haben, ein Zusammenhang, dem seit frühster Kirchengeschichte keine wirkliche Beachtung mehr geschenkt worden ist. Schlüsselbegriffe Herrenmahl, Mahlgemeinschaft, Eucharistie, Antikes Gastmahl, Mission, Ungläubige / Eating and drinking have an important position in the New Testament. That is due to the fact, that Early Christian’s meat regularly at communal meals. The most detailed description of such a meal could be found in 1Cor 11, 17-34, the Pauline depiction of the Lords Supper. But during the progress of church history Christian communion changed significantly. This paper wants to show, that the Early Christian’s communion had little in common with our communion today. A special focus should be lie on the fact, that the early church used their communion for missionary purpose, a connection that got lost quickly in the first centuries of church history. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis explores the intertextual nature of Irenaeus' reading of Genesis 1-3. In this study, we assume a different mode of investigation than previous works on Irenaeus' use of scripture. Drawing from contemporary discussions on intertextuality in Fishbane, Boyrin, Hays, and Young, we challenge a tradition of investigation into Irenaeus' exegesis that has marginalized the significance of scriptural networking inherent to his hermeneutic. This perspective is evident in the previous works on Irenaeus' reading of Genesis in Orbe, Jacobsen, Kannengiesser, Steenberg, and Holsinger-Friesen. This thesis, on the other hand, brings together an appreciation for Irenaeus' hermeneutic with respect to his exegesis of Gen 1-3. We show that in every instance Irenaeus interprets Gen 1-3, not in isolation, but in correlation with other texts by means of a variety of intertextual reading strategies that shape his theological polemic. In chapter one we investigate the nature of Irenaeus' hermeneutical orientation based upon studies of patristic exegesis and his own descriptions of the exegetical task. We show that Irenaeus purposes to interconnect texts in his refutation and exegesis and we formulate a methodology that appreciates his reading of Gen 1-3 within this theological networking of texts. In chapters 2-6, we provide a literary analysis of the echoes, allusions, and citations of Gen 1-3 in each book of Adversus Haereses. In each case we isolate the allusions to Gen 1-3 and the corresponding interrelated texts that form a hermeneutically symbiotic relationship with Gen 1-3. We show how these textual relationships yield a more comprehensive appreciation for the meaning and function of Gen 1-3 in Irenaeus. In chapter 7 we conclude with a summary and cumulative evaluation of the intertextual relationships fashioned with Gen 1-3 and the reading strategies that guide his intertextual use of Gen 1-3. In doing so, this thesis exposes the intricacies of Irenaeus' theological and intertextual reading of Gen 1-3 and the various ways that Irenaeus harmonizes scripture.

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Archaeologists and historians have sought to understand the architecture of the early church using methods common to their respective fields of inquiry. This has included an approach to architecture which classifies buildings according to type and style. Limitations of both method and evidence has led some scholars to conclude that there was no Christian architecture before A.D. 200. This present study intends to broaden the understanding of architecture beyond mere tectonics and realise its significance as a boundary of place with a view toward examining the foundations of early Christian architecture. Boundary and place are primary components of the cosmos within Judaism. The Hebrews came to understand the world according to a concept of holiness manifested as a scheme of circular boundaries ascending into the presence of God, located within the Temple. As an outgrowth of Judaism, the early Church held similar views of place and boundary which gave them an affinity for the Temple. By understanding architecture as a boundary of place we can connect the sacred places and boundaries of the Jews from Creation to the Land and Temple. The Church proclaimed Jesus as God incarnate and Himself the Temple transformed. The traditional view has been that the synagogue was the connecting link between the Church and the Temple, but the origins and role of the synagogue are now doubted. The predominance of the house in the life and ministry of Jesus combined with its prevalence in the NT and the early Christian writers indicates that the Christians understood sacred place in terms of their domestic reality. The house provided not only a strong ligature connecting Church and Temple, it was also an archetype for the Church’s sacred place and developing architectural boundaries.

This study traced Tertullian’s utilisation of history (or historical material) as a rhetorical instrument in one of his earliest works, the Ad Nationes. An in-depth analysis of the book identified this as a fundamental trajectory in the argument of Tertullian. The study casts a new perspective on the written work of this renowned Christian apologist and theologian. His use of history particularly to substantiate his arguments was compared with the contemporary primary sources, in order to assess the integrity or accuracy of his historical data. The prevailing rhetoric, as e.g. outlined by Quintilian, valued the message and intention of a text higher than the historical accuracy of the account. The same Quintilian, however, emphasized that historical accuracy would guarantee the message and intention of a text. The research concluded that Tertullian, who enjoyed a classical education and was therefore well acquainted with the rules of rhetoric, did pay sufficient attention to Quintilian’s insistence on historical accuracy in his utilisation of history. Tertullian was well aware of the significance of historical accuracy. On occasion he rightly criticised Tacitus (the famous historian) for historical inaccuracies in his work. In his Apologeticus (in which much of the Ad Nationes was reworked) he corrected some historical data. In the Ad Nationes he wrote a brilliant paragraph on the origin of rumours (fama) and also expressed his appreciation for careful investigation (in court procedures) in order to ascertain the truth (veritas) accurately. In the rhetorical utilisation of historical material, accurate historical knowledge did not play a crucial role. Of paramount importance was the intention and purpose of the immediate argument. / Thesis (MA (Latin))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

While the cumulative history of the early church paints a trajectory towards a strict form of vertical, hierarchical leadership, at least five patterns of shared leadership emerge throughout the Apostolic Fathers that make the case for the presence of a form, proto or otherwise, of shared leadership in the early church. In light of the literature base, the study presents shared leadership in terms of nine seminal aspects. With these seminal aspects as a foundation, the study employs a directed content analysis and a structured matrix to analyze Michael W. Holmes' Apostolic Fathers, 3rd ed. for five patterns of shared leadership. By exposing five patterns of shared leadership that emerge in the corpus of the Apostolic Fathers the study extends the field of shared leadership through the in-depth analysis of an organization's historical practices and expands the modern church's understanding of the roots of its leadership practices and structures.

O presente trabalho procura analisar a polêmica judaico-cristã em relatos de martírio durante a perseguição romana aos cristãos até o século IV. Abordaremos as principais temáticas que compunham essa polêmica em outras fontes cristãs e judaicas para indicar um cenário possível que pudesse alimentar conflitos entres os dois grupos religiosos. Defenderemos que essa rivalidade presente no discurso dos líderes servia para demarcar a alteridade religiosa e que não necessariamente era vivenciada pelo conjunto dos fiéis em conformidade com os textos, sobretudo, quando a identidade judaica e a identidade cristã estavam em construção. Mesmo em um momento crítico de perseguição religiosa, a multiplicidade de manifestações religiosas tanto no judaísmo quanto no cristianismo, contribuiu para a circulação de práticas, de crenças e para um contato mais estreito entre judeus e cristãos nesses primeiros séculos. Defenderemos que apesar da concepção de martírio judaico ser diferente da concepção cristã é possível estabelecer relações entre os dois martirológios. As Atas dos Mártires dão alguns indícios de que o conceito de martírio cristão desenvolvido pelo cristianismo gentio estabeleceu essa afirmação de alteridade diante de sua matriz judaica. / The aim of this work is to analyze the Judeo-Christian polemics in martyrdom reports produced during the Roman persecution of Christians until the fourth century. We will cover the main themes that made up this controversy in other Christian and Jewish sources to indicate a possible scenario that could fuel conflicts between both religious groups. We will defend that this rivalry in the discourse of leaders served to demarcate the religious otherness and that it was not necessarily experienced by all the faithful according to the texts, especially when Jewish identity and Christian identity were under construction. Even at a critical time of religious persecution, the multiplicity of religious manifestations in both Judaism and Christianity contributed to the circulation of practices, beliefs and to a closer contact between Jews and Christians in those early centuries. We will argue that despite the difference between the Jewish and the Christian conception of martyrdom, it is possible to establish relations between the two martyrologies. The Acts of the Martyrs give some evidence that the concept of Christian martyrdom developed by Gentile Christianity stated the otherness from its Jewish mother.