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No description available.

The first Christian historian, Eusebius of Caesarea, wrote his pioneering Ecclesiastical History in the early 4th century, just after the western emperor Constantine’s “conversion” to Christianity. It was a history born of Eusebius’ present and designed for the future. Reading Eusebius and the Ecclesiastical History within the second sophistic movement, I argue that Eusebius’ picture of Christian history appropriated the past to fundamentally re-imagine the essence of Christian authority. Eusebius’ descriptions of past Christians used them as exemplars of a new model of Christian leadership designed for his 4th century context. Eusebius was writing in the first place for the Christian clergy; elite provincial Christians who shared the mores and stereotypes of their elite non-Christian neighbours. He therefore presented a model of Christian authority not based around the extreme violence of martyrdom and asceticism which had characterised the charismatic heroes of earlier 2nd and 3rd century Christian literature. It was based instead on a traditional elite rhetoric of temperance, learned through paideia and manifested in care for dependents. Around this thread Eusebius built his Empire-wide church.

Much work has been done over the last fifty years in the study of the English ecclesiastical courts. One court that thus far has escaped much significant scholarly attention, however, is the one located in Chester, England. The author analyzes the acta of that court in order to determine what types of cases were being heard during the years 1540-42. His analysis shows that the Chester court did not deviate significantly from the general legal and theological structure and function of Tudor church courts of the period.

Texte remanié de: Th.--Droit--Montpellier I, 1981. / Bibliogr. p. 251-269. Index.

Thesis--Tübingen. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-197).

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One of the most dynamic relationships historically has been that of the state with religion. Having been blamed for many wars and rebellions it comes as no surprise that those states continuing to model close relationships with an individual religion come under high scrutiny, especially now religious freedom plays such an important part in today's society. Furthermore, sociological theories have developed beyond metaphysical explanations of state authority and no longer depend on spiritual or religious explanations. The UK, with two established churches, is one such state with its relationship with the Church of England especially being subjected to criticism from a number of different groups. Whether this constant criticism is justified is another story and one of the aims of this thesis is to try to unpick some of the debates that flow around the subject in order to put them into a practical context. Often, when such discussions are undertaken there are lots of arguments made as to why the Church of England should, or should not, be disestablished. Discussions on whether they retain an important place in society are made but ultimately very little said about how disestablishment may occur if this was chosen as the way forward. This thesis will aim to tackle some of these questions and will delve into the constitutional complexities in order to discover how such a procedure can be initiated, and the effect this would have on both the state and the Church of England. Future relations will also be discussed and an important consideration will be the views and effect this might have on other religions who have come to benefit from the pleural approach of the established church. Ultimately, the result will be the uncovering of the complexities of disestablishment and who, if anyone, will benefit from the process.

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 2008. / Description based on Microfiche version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-66).