Göta Kanal är för många människor en turistattraktion och en vattenled för semesterfirare. Färre vet att den byggdes som handelsled och för att säkerställa den svenska importen under krigstider. Göta kanal byggdes under åren 1813-1832 av bl.a. svenska arbetare, svenska militärer och ryska desertörer. Myten om att kanalen byggdes av ryska krigsfångar dementerar denna uppsats. Mycket tyder på att de istället var desertörer från Ryssland. Uppsatsen visar på hur dessa ryska män som arbetade vid kanelen mot togs av den svensk lutherska kyrkan. I Ryssland var och är majoriteten av befolkningen ryssortodox. Detta arbete ska försöka belysa och ge en första inblick i vilka det var som kom. Samt att ge en första förståelse i hur de integrerades i Svenska kyrkan och om de anammade den lutherska tron eller om de fick utöva sin ortodoxa tradition. Detta arbete är ett pionjärarbete och en första studie i att kartlägga de ryssar som arbetade med anläggandet av Göta Kanal och som bodde i Östergötland, och Söderköpingstrakten. De församlingar i Söderköpingstrakten som jag valt att fördjupa mig i är; S:t Laurentii (då kallad Söderköping), Skönberga, Drothem och Västra Husby. Övriga församlingar i Söderköpingstrakten har jag inte fördjupat mig i, eftersom inga naturliga förflyttningar skett till eller från dem som jag kunnat följa. Efter färdigställandet av kanalen sökte troligen flera av familjerna arbete vid kanalen eller som drängar på gårdar omkring Söderköping. Arbetet med insamling av information och kunskap om dessa människor är inte slut i och med denna uppsats. Utsikterna för att finna mer intressant information anses av mig som goda. Det finns stort behov av att kontrollerna andra akter än dem som denna uppsats tar upp. Att söka efter människors rötter kan upplevas som att människorna återigen blir levande i någon bemärkelse och en önskan att få lära känna dem ännu mer. Dessa ryssar som jag har fått följa kom till Sverige av någon anledning, arbetade troligen i hopp om att få en bättre tillvaro. Deras tillvaro blev inte i allt att döma någon lyx tillvaro, utan många av dem levde under knappa förhållanden. / For many people, Göta Canal is a tourist attraction for people on their holiday. Not so many know that the canal was originally built for trade purposes and to secure the Swedish import during times of war. Göta Canal was built 1813-1832 by Swedish workers, Swedish soldiers and Russian deserters. This essay denies the myth saying that the canal was built by Russian prisoners of war. Instead it indicates that they were deserters from Russia. The essay shows how these Russian men were greeted by the Swedish Lutheran Church. In Russia, the majority of the people belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church. This essay’s purpose is to give a first insight about who the people were that came from Russia to Sweden to work with the canal. It will also give a basic understanding about how they were integrated into the Swedish Church and if they accepted the Lutheran beliefs or if they were allowed to practise their Orthodox traditions. This essay is the very first study of all the Russians who worked with Göta Canal and lived in the county “Östergötland” close to the city “Söderköping”. The congregations in Söderköping that I’ve chosen to study closer are “S:t Laurentii” (during that time called Söderköping), “Skönberga”, “Drothem” and “Västra Husby”. I have excluded the other congregations since I haven’t been able to find any Russians moving to their areas. When the building of Göta Canal was finished, many of the families probably sought other work - either at the canal or at farms around Söderköping. I believe that the prospects to find more interesting information about these people are very good. There is a great need to control the files that this essay doesn’t take part of. To seek the roots of people can give a feeling of them coming back to life and a wish of getting to know them better. The Russians that I’ve followed came to Sweden for a reason, probably in hope of a better life. But their life didn’t become as good as they hoped for since many of them lived under very poor circumstances.

Gemenskap är eftersträvansvärt för de flesta människor. Samtidigt är många gemenskaper relativt homogena och likriktade. På ett liknande sätt är många kristna församlingsgemenskaper uppbyggda, dvs. de är gemenskaper där mångfalden får svårt att hävda sig. Kan teologin bidra med öppningar i ett samtal om gemenskap och mångfald i den kristna församlingen och i mänskligt samliv? Denna avhandling utgår från hur man inom två konkreta församlingar i Svenska kyrkan talar om identitet och pluralism och försöker komma till rätta med att man har olika tankefigurer för hur en församlingsgemenskap skall kunna innefatta mångfald. Församlingarnas svårigheter pekar mot ett allmänkyrkligt dilemma, kanske allmänmänskligt: Hur förena gemenskap och mångfald? Dietrich Bonhoeffer är en teolog som i sina skrifter diskuterade just denna problematik, först som ung i avhandlingen Sanctorum Communio, senare som ledare för prästseminariet i Finkenwalde i boken Life Together och slutligen som motståndsman under krigsåren i det som var avsett att bli hans magnum opus, Ethics. Utifrån Bonhoeffers teologiska diskussion blir det viktigt att möta församlingarnas praktiska dilemma genom ansvarigt handlande i den konkreta situationen, att försöka gestalta en församlingsgemenskap som bejakar olikhet, medveten om mångfalden och om att varje handling hotar att utestänga några. / Most people strive for fellowship. However, most communities and fellowships are fairly homogenous and uniform. Many Christian parish fellowships are built in a similar fashion; they are, in other words, fellowships where pluralism has a hard time asserting itself. Could theology possibly contribute to opening up for discussions regarding community and pluralism in the Christian church and in social life? This dissertation takes its starting point in how two actual parishes in Sweden talk about identity and pluralism and how they try to come to grips with the fact that in each parish there are different mental figures as to how parish fellowship might include pluralism. The difficulties facing the parishes point to a dilemma facing all churches, and possibly all human beings: How to unite fellowship and pluralism? Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a theologian who in his writings discussed this very issue, first as a young man in his dissertation Sanctorum Communio, then later as the leader of the Seminary at Finkenwalde in his book Life Together and finally as a member of the resistance movement during WWII in what was meant to be his magnum opus, Ethics. Based on the theological discussion of Bonhoeffer, it becomes an important task to address the practical dilemma of the churches through responsible action in the practical situation; to try to model a community that includes otherness, at the same time being aware ofthe plurality and that each action may threaten to shut some people out.

This study is about twinning partnerships between congregations in the Church of Sweden (CoS) and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). The study is about three congregations within the diocese of Härnösand that has twinning congregations within the diocese of Iringa. The aim of the study is to define values within the twinning congregations that are important to the CoS. The study is based on interviews with lay people, elected and employed people within CoS. Swedish informants have told me that they see the prayer being part of daily life in a more natural manner for the friends in Tanzania. “The prayer is real within the congregations in Tanzania”, the people of the CoS are saying. What is the value for the CoS of having twinning congregations with ELCT? What do the Swedish people gain of it and how is it affected of the economical differences between the twinning congregations?

I 1 Korintierbrevet finns två ofta diskuterade avsnitt som med speciellt fokus på kvinnorna talar om ordningen vid kristna sammankomster: 11:2-16 och 14:34-36. Denna uppsats gör en analys av dessa texter och deras behandling i den vetenskapliga litteraturen. Hur ska man förhålla sig till att kompetenta forskare kommer till rakt motsatta slutsatser? Är det fel i argumentationen, i premisserna, eller saknar vi helt enkelt tillräcklig kunskap? Går det att skilja på vad som är omstritt av exegetiska respektive teologiska skäl? Slutsatsen är att bland tre typer av argumentation som förekommer i litteraturen, som jag kallar den värderande, den datainsamlande respektive den konstruktiva, har forskningen en olycklig slagsida mot den första typen. Alltför mycket har skrivits utan att tillföra något av varken fakta eller ideer - man refererar bara till tidigare forskning och väger olika uppfattningar mot varandra. Om man refererar till andra författares tidigare arbeten utan att gå in på argumenten blir forskningen svår att bedöma efter att nya data tillkommit. Alltför ofta är kriteriet dessutom hur väl en teori stämmer med på förhand given teologi, snarare än en värdering av argumentens stöd i fakta. / In 1 Corinthians we find two much discussed passages which, focusing especially on the women, speak of order at the Christian gatherings: 11:2-16 and 14:34-36. This paper analyses these passages and their treatment in the scholarly literature. How should one relate to the fact that competent scholars reach diametrically opposed conclusions? Is there error in the argumentation, the premises, or do we simply lack sufficient knowledge? Is it possible to distinguish between what is contested for exegetical and for theological reasons? The conclusion is that among three types of argumentation in the literature, which I call value judgments, information gathering, and construction, there is an unfortunate imbalance towards the first type. Too much has been written that adds neither facts nor ideas - there is only references to earlier research and weighing of points of view against each other. If there is only references to other scholars' works and no engagement with the arguments, it is difficult for others to reassess the results after new data has appeared. Too often, also, the conclusions are based on a pre-conceived theology, rather than a weighing of the factual support of the arguments.

Denna studie undersöker kyrkan som välfärdsaktör och belyser, utifrån intervjuer med professionella diakoniarbetare, hur protestantiskt kristna kyrkor i Sverige gör socialt arbete. Empiriska data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med 15 diakoniarbetare fördelade över hela landet och analyserats med hjälp av en tematisk analys. Genom tematisering och kodning har tre huvudteman med underteman framträtt: Kyrkans roll i samhället, Självständighet och beroende samt Inkludering och exkludering. Av resultatet framkommer att kyrkan ser ett behov av välfärdstjänster utöver de som erbjuds av offentlig sektor. Många gånger anser sig kyrkan vara kapabel att utföra stöd och hjälp på ett sätt som offentliga myndigheter inte kan och därmed utgör ett komplement till offentliga aktörer. Exempelvis anser sig kyrkan inte enbart kunna möta människors fysiska nöd utan också sociala behov och existentiella frågor. Kyrkans omfattande krisberedskap och volontära krafter framhålls som en styrka och som viktiga resurser. Diakonin skiljer sig från socialt arbete på så sätt att den bygger på den kristna tron som också utgör en central del och en grund för kyrkans sociala förändringsarbete. Vidare belyser studien styrkor och svagheter hos civila välfärdsaktörer och problematiserar maktstrukturer i hjälpalliansen. Slutligen belyser studien vikten av professionell kompetens och ett kritiskt förhållningssätt i en organisation som drivs av välvilja och volontärt engagemang. Studien visar att en kritiskt reflekterande kyrka genom sina volontära resurser har potential att vara en viktig samarbetspartner för offentliga aktörer, en välfärdsaktör som är värd att tas på allvar. / This study examines churches as welfare actors and demonstrates how protestant churches in Sweden accomplish social work.  The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 professional diaconal workers from all over Sweden and analysed through a thematic analysis. Through thematisation and coding three main themes were identified: The role of churches in society, Independence and dependence and Inclusion and exclusion. The findings show that churches are seeing a need to offer welfare services as a complement to services offered by the public sector. The churches are often capable to offer support and help in a way that authorities are not able to offer and therefore they act as a compliment to public actors. For example, the churches can not only satisfy physical needs, but also the social needs and a support to deal with existential issues of people. The extensive crisis preparedness and voluntary resources of the churches are presented as a strength. In Sweden the diaconal work differs from social work, offered by the public sector, by building on Christian faith that is also an important component in the churches work for social change among vulnerable people. The study also exhibits strengths and weaknesses in civil society actors and problematises power structures in the help alliance. Finally, this study illustrates the importance of having professional competence and a critical approach in an organisation that is operated with kindness and voluntary engagement. The study shows that churches, through their voluntary resources and while maintaining a critical reflection, have the potential to be important collaboration partners for public actors, and are therefore welfare actors to be taken seriously.

Sound levels in live sound reinforcement have long been a topic for debate in live concerts, but the subject is also important elsewhere. Swedish Christian free churches have also struggled for many years to optimize how sound reinforcement can serve the community. There are many different factors affecting the sound level preferences in live sound reinforcement environments. Among them are perception of loudness, musical preferences, hearing impairments and tolerances. This bachelor thesis investigated if musical preference affected the perceived loudness and/or the preferred listening level through a set of listening tests and qualitative surveys. It was investigated in one Swedish free church congregation, from which 16 subjects participated. The listening test was conducted with three parts: loudness matching stimuli to a pink noise, setting the preferred listening level of the stimuli and rating the preference of the stimuli. Subsequently, a survey after a service was conducted to investigate different factors affecting the experience. No connection between music preference and loudness perception or preferred level wasfound. However, the study did produce multiple findings that reveal factors affecting the sound level preferences in the chosen congregation, such as hearing impairments, expectations on the role of sound in worship services, and the balance of instruments. These findings revealed differences in opinion regarding the mix philosophy used in services, and the impact of these approaches on members of the congregation. Altogether, the findings point to recommendations and considerations for live sound engineers working in worship environments.

Sigrid Blomberg and the altarpiece in the church of Oskarshamn – a woman’s work of art, is an essay with the aim to describe, analyse and to discuss the gypsum altarpiece in the city church of Oskarshamn and its artist, the Swedish sculptor Sigrid Blomberg.  The essay begins with a brief historical description of the situation for female artists in Sweden at the turn of the 20th century and a comment on the material chosen for the altarpiece – gypsum. This is followed by a short summary of the life of Sigrid Blomberg and two other examples of her work to illustrate and discuss similarities with the altarpiece in the church of Oskarshamn.  This is followed by a description of the church and its interior, as well as the altarpiece’s history, creation process and problems. The essay then focuses on an analysis of the different parts, as well as the whole, of the altarpiece – characters, meanings and interpretations. The essay ends in a discussion of the findings and the author’s conclusions regarding the altarpiece and the artist’s place in the art history. Central in the essay is the apparent lack of female artists in the art canon and the reasons and effect due to this.  The author uses a semiotic method and a feminist theory premiss to find the answers to questions such as: why was a female artist chosen for the assignment; how does the artwork compare to other, equivalent and contemporary artworks; how may the placing of the work have effected the perception of the altarpiece; have the perception changed over time; and finally what’s characteristic for the artist Sigrid Blombergs idiom?