Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The problem of this dissertation was: What are the patterns of self-image, social relationships and religious commitment expressed by persons who respond to their Christian vocation by entering the ordained ministry from another occupation? The "second-career" minister, particularly in his formative seminary years, is in a unique position to describe these patterns. The theoretical orientation had two foci: the self-actualization paradigm of Maslow and sociological concepts: role relationship, reference group and persons, role-definition, latent and manifest content, and dysfunction. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

Hymns are handed down from generation to generation, from country to country, and from church to church. In every time in history, hymns and songs are needed that are new for that time and generation – hymns through which the timeless message can be voiced in a new and unique way. The historical binding, as well as the ecumenical tie, are thus indispensable features for the church, her liturgy and her music. In the processes of creating new hymns and liturgical forms, the una sancta ecclesia always needs to be in focus. In this study the ecumenical and liturgical movements of the twentieth century, their goals, and the influence they exerted on liturgical renewal and hymn singing, are investigated. The ecumenical meaning of new hymns and liturgical forms is evaluated in terms of these goals. To determine the functionality of new hymns, a theoretical grounding for the various functions of hymns is given. Renewal in the form of contemporary material, new styles and ecumenical-liturgical forms is reflected in the Liedboek van die Kerk (2001), the new hymnal for the Afrikaans-speaking churches. The hymnal is discussed with regard to the content, and the processes of compilation. The versification of the psalms, fundamentalist views, and the resistance to transformation in the processes of canonization, also comes under scrutiny. Documentation, motivation and report of about sixty new hymns and liturgical forms in the Liedboek van die Kerk (2001) are given. Hymns, songs and liturgical forms are researched from hymnological perspectives, by relevant musical and textual analysis, and by exploring their origin, history, working history, and liturgical function. The functionality of the hymns is assessed, and their hymnological, liturgical, contextual and ecumenical significance determined, with regard to the theoretical grounding in the preceding chapters. The conclusion is that ecumenicity is a sine qua non for the hymns and songs of a new generation. History and tradition, but also the contemporary church as a whole, should co-determine processes. The future of liturgical singing depends on the way in which theological, liturgical, hymnological, ecumenical and anthropological fields of tension could be kept in balance. Balance thus needs to be found between functionality, ethics, and aesthetics; between tradition and creativity; historical fidelity and contemporary embodiment; individualism and community; between the individual church and ecumenism; quality and popularity; between Christian/confessional identity, and general religiosity; between orthodox expressions of faith, and the poetical-symbolical shifting of boundaries. Boundaries are exceeded through the singing of hymns – boundaries of language, of confession, of time and space, and boundaries between individuals and groups. Liturgical singing can be the singing of believers of all times and all places only by preserving the traditional ecumenical heritage on the one hand, and on the other hand, through ecumenical cooperation when creating new hymns and forms – thus the one faith in many languages, the audible sign of the una sancta ecclesia. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Music / DMus / Unrestricted

In the town of Södertälje, a great number of ecclesiastical denominations are represented, a majority of which with roots in the Middle East. To a person attending several various Christian services at many different churches, the diversified ecclesiastical scene offers many similarities among the different denominations, as well as many differences between them. An obvious difference is the view of ministry. In the Church of Sweden women may be ordained, whereas this is not possible in the Chaldean-Catholic Church or the Syrian-Orthodox Church. This paper describes how some ordinary worshippers, members of the Chaldean-Catholic Church or the Syrian-Orthodox Church, look upon their own religious practices in view of the fact that they belong to minority denominations in a secularized society in which the Church of Sweden is the major church. This paper has a Theological as well as a Sociological perspective, since these two perspectives have a reciprocal effect on each other regarding the creating of identities of both informants and churches. An important aspect of this paper is the informants’ view of the relationship between priesthood and gender. It will be obvious that the informants’ opinions of who may be allowed to take Holy Orders depend more on the person’s eligibility than on gender, irrespective of traditions in their denominations. In spite of the fact that women are not ordained in either of the churches dealt with in this paper, the informants hold the view that this may change with time. Instead, they mean that this is one in a row of adaptations that should be carried out by their churches, in order for them to be able to continue to exist in Södertälje and to achieve an ongoing increase in numbers. However, the question of priesthood and gender is complicated, partly due to traditions in their home countries, but also since the bodies of men and women, respectively, are regarded differently in Orthodox theology, not least so in comparison with that of the Church of Sweden. In this paper the informants also express questions arisen from encounters between their respective home countries and Sweden. Primarily, those questions are about the possible effects that may occur when ecclesiastical traditions meet secular values. That affects the informants’ views of culture and nationality, as well as the meaning of being an individual in a group, profoundly marked by church traditions in a society as individualistic as Sweden. / I Södertälje finns ett stort antal kyrkliga samfund representerade, flertalet med rötter i Mellanöstern. Det kyrkliga landskapet medför att det för den kyrkobesökare som rör sig i flera olika kyrkorum, är lätt att upptäcka många likheter mellan de olika kyrkliga samfunden, men också flera skillnader. En påtaglig skillnad är synen på prästämbetet. I Svenska kyrkan kan kvinnor vara präster, medan detta inte är möjligt i Kaldeisk-katolska kyrkan eller i Syrisk-ortodoxa kyrkan.   Den här uppsatsen handlar om hur några vanliga gudstjänstdeltagare, medlemmar i Kaldeisk-katolska kyrkan eller Syrisk-ortodoxa kyrkan, ser på de egna kyrkotraditionerna och -praktikerna i ljuset av att vara minoritetskyrkor i ett sekulärt samhälle där Svenska kyrkan är majoritetskyrka. Uppsatsen har ett teologiskt såväl som ett samhällsorienterat perspektiv. Anledningen till det är att dessa två perspektiv har en ömsesidig påverkan på varandra beträffande informanternas - och kyrkornas - identitetsskapande. En viktig ansats i uppsatsen är vilken syn på relationen prästämbete och kön informanterna ger uttryck för. Uppsatsen visar att informanternas uppfattning om vem som kan vigas till präst är mer beroende av personlig lämplighet än av kön, oaktat att de kyrkotraditioner de tillhör säger något annat. Trots att kvinnor inte vigs till präster i någon av de kyrkor som uppsatsen belyser, menar informanterna att det på sikt inte alls skulle vara en omöjlighet. Det är istället en i raden av anpassningar som de menar att deras kyrkor bör göra, för att fortsätta att leva och verka i Södertälje och för att tillväxten av medlemmar ska vara god. Dock visar det sig att frågan om prästämbete och kön inte är okomplicerad. Det beror dels på traditioner från hemländerna, men också på att mannens och kvinnans kropp betraktas på olika sätt i ortodox teologi, inte minst jämfört med Svenska kyrkans teologi. I uppsatsen ger informanterna också uttryck för frågor som har väckts genom mötet mellan deras respektive hemländer och Sverige. Främst handlar detta om vad som kan hända när kyrkliga traditioner möter sekulära värderingar. Detta påverkar deras syn på såväl kultur och nationalitet som vad det innebär att vara individ i en grupp, som starkt präglas av kyrkliga traditioner, i ett samhälle som är så individcentrerat som Sverige.