The aim of this thesis is to reveal the intimate relationship between John Chrysostom's Eucharistic theology and the christian life, and that at the Eucharist Man's true being is demonstrated. It investigates Chrysostom's exegetical and oratorical method in order to ascertain how he approached a text and how he delivered his understanding of it. He is a representative of the Antiochene School of Exegesis and his fame as a preacher was a result not so much of his oratorical construction, but of the underlying spiritual unity within the oration. The purpose of all his preaching and exegesis was to evoke a moral response from his hearers. In the consecration of the elements, Chrysostcm displayed a remarkable openness to the varying traditions. He saw reciting the words of institution and invoking the Spirit as effecting consecration. Not only this, but also the moral life of the congregation played its part in effecting consecration. Once the elements had been consecrated, Christ was sacrificed, symbolically and literally, not again but in memory (Greek letters) of the Passion, which thereby becomes a present reality. In Chrysostom's understanding of the real presence he displays yet again an openness to the traditions. Christ is both present symbolically through the elements and literally through the transformation of the elements. The real presence demanded of the communicant a high degree of morality. To approach the Table on which Christ lay demanded a life of virtue, not only from the individual communicant but from the whole community. Those who partook unworthily imitated Judas and shared his fate. The community had to approach the Table in unity. At the Table, however, the community received its unity from Christ, the community became the body of Christ. Through participation and becoming the body of Christ, the community was united with the Godhead . Schism, therefore, was a very serious sin for it tore the body of Christ apart. For Chrysostom, Christ was also present in and intimately united with the poor. The church had to be able to be aware of Christ's presence in the poor and be responsible toward Him. In giving to the poor, the communiicant acknowledged that he/she had received at the Table and also received his/her salvation from Christ through the poor. The whole Eucharistic feast not only fed the christian with spiritual food, but called the communicant away from gross materialism to a life-giving dependance on God. It called the communicant to give to others as he/she had received from Christ.

Bibliography: pages 102-105. / The theology and practice of the eucharist emerged as one of the major points of contention in the 16th Century Reformation. While the Reformers themselves differed in their respective eucharistic theologies, they were nevertheless unanimous in rejecting what they perceived as heresy and abuse in the theology and practice within the Roman Catholic Church. Part One of this dissertation explores the Reformed teaching on the eucharist by surveying the eucharistic theologies of the Reformers, Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin, and more recent theologians, Peter Forsyth and Karl Barth. The challenge of the Reformation, however timeous and valid, did not go far enough. While the Reformers went to great lengths to expose theological heresy and to condemn abuses, they gave scant attention to the contextual implications of their theology. For instance, the Reformation focussed on such theological issues as the "essence" or "substance" of Christ's presence in the eucharist, without giving attention to its missiological implications within the contextual struggles for human liberation from socio-political and economic structures of domination, oppression and exploitation. Roman Catholic theology of liberation, emerging from Latin America in the latter part of the 20th Century, presents a compelling challenge to both traditional Catholic teaching and Reformed theology and practice. While not departing from the basic tenets of Catholic teaching, liberation theology adopts a radically critical stance, whereby any orthodox theology and practice is judged in terms of its relevance to the existential situations of human oppression, poverty and suffering. Part Two of this dissertation reflects on the response of liberation theologians to a new crisis for the sacraments within the Roman Catholic Church. This is done by surveying the eucharistic theologies of Juan Luis Segundo, Rafael Avila (from Latin America) and Tissa Balasuriya (from Asia). The Churches of the Reformed tradition have not as yet adequately responded to the challenges within a country characterised by racism, state oppression, social injustices and economic exploitation. A Reformed eucharistic theology and practice should be formulated for the South African context, which takes seriously the criticisms of Catholic liberation theology, while simultaneously exploring the contextual implications of its own Reformed tradition. It is not necessary for a Reformed understanding of the eucharist to break with tradition, anymore than Catholic liberation theology does. What is required is that the tradition be retrieved in relation to the struggle for liberation within our historical context. Part Three sets out the proposal for a eucharistic theology and practice for the South African context, in terms of two major themes, namely those of protest and celebration. These themes are fundamental to both the biblical framework and the contextual application of the eucharist, are consonant with the intention of Reformed eucharistic theology. Central to the proposal will be the formulation of a theology and practice of the community-of-faith. It will become evident as to what is meant by community-of-faith as we explore the above themes.

Afrikaans: Die sogenaamde "eenvoudige" belydenis waardeur kinders moet kwalifiseer om aan die nagmaal te mag deelneem binne die verband van die Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk, spruit vanuit die Zwingliaanse belydenis rakende die teenwoordigheid van die Here in die nagmaal. Wat die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk voorhou as nuwe eksegetiese insigte in die nagmaalstekste, sowel as 'n nuwe Bybelse teologie ten opsigte van die gebruik van die nagmaal deur kinders, is die ou eksegetiese insigte van Zwingli, sowel as die ou bekende teologie van Zwingli aangaande die Here se teenwoordigheid in die nagmaal. Deur kinders met 'n sogenaamde "eenvoudige" belydenis tot die nagmaal toe te laat, het die Nederduitse Gereformeerde kerk die nagmaalsopvatting in sy eie belydenisse verwerp ten gunste van die Zwingliaanse nagmaalsopvatting wat uitdruklik in die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk se belydenisse verwerp word. Die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk beoefen en leer nou die nagmaalsopvatting van Zwingli, onder die vaste oortuiging dat dit die Gereformeerde nagmaalsopvatting is, met slegs 'n nuwe toepassing ten opsigte van die kinders. Binne in die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk se besluit om kinders deur 'n sogenaamde eenvoudige belydenis tot die nagmaal toe te laat, was daar 'n ander besluit opgesluit: die besluit oor wie die teenwoordige Here Jesus in die nagmaal sou wees. Hierdie besluit oor wie die teenwoordige Here Jesus in die nagmaal sou wees, was die onderskeidende en die bepalende vraag aangaande beide die inhoud en die bediening van die nagmaal vir onder andere Calvyn gewees. Calvyn se reaksie as antwoord hierop was dat ons almal in en deur die nagmaal deel verkry aan die teenwoordige mens-wees van Jesus Christus. Hierdeur word Calvyn se nagmaalsopvatting onderskei van die nagmaalsopvatting van Zwingli. Die Gereformeerde Kerke het die belydenis van Calvyn oor wie die teenwoordige Here Jesus in die nagmaal is, aanvaar in hul geloofsbelydenisse, waarmee hulle die nagmaalsopvatting van Zwingli uitdruklik verwerp het. Die Nederduitse Gereformoorde Kerke het homself in geen deel van die debat of besluite oor die teenwoordige mens-wees van die Here Jesus in die nagmaal verantwoord nie. Die kindemagmaal het die deelname van die gelowige aan die teenwoordige mens¬-wees van die Here verIore laat raak as deel van die geloofsbelewenis van die nagmaal. In die plek van die teenwoordige mens-wees van die Here Jesus het die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk gekies vir gelowiges se deelname aan die gemeente se sosiale en godsdienstige samesyn. Die samesyn van die verbondsgesin en selgroepe het die geloofsgemeenskap met die teenwoordige mens-wees van die Here Jesus in die nagmaal vervang. Sonder die verskuiwing van die nagmaalsopvatting van Calvyn en die Gereformeerde kerke na die nagmaalsopvatting van Zwingli, sou die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk nie kinders met ‘n sogenaamde "eenvoudige" geloofsbelydenis tot die nagmaal kon toelaat nie. Hierdie verskuiwing was nodig ten opsigte van die instelling van die kindernagmaal in die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk. English: The so-called "simple" confession through which children should qualify in order for them to participate in communion within the framework of the Dutch Reformed Church, originates from the Zwinglian confession concerning the presence of the Lord in communion. What the Dutch Reformed Church presents as the new exegetical insights within the scripture references regarding the communion, as well as a new Biblical theology on behalf of the participation in communion by children, is the ancient exegetical insights of Zwingli, as well as the ancient known theology of Zwingli concerning the presence of the Lord within communion. By allowing children, with a so-called "simple" testimony, to the communion, the Dutch Reformed Church rejected the concept regarding the communion in its own confessions, in favour of the Zwinglian concept regarding the communion, which is expressly rejected in the confessions of the Dutch Reformed Church. The Dutch Reformed Church currently practices and teaches the concept regarding the communion according to Zwingli, under the firm conviction that this is the Reformed conviction regarding the communion, with only a new application on behalf of the children. Within the decision of the Dutch reformed Church to allow children by way of a so¬-called simple confession to participate in communion, another decision was intrinsically included: the decision regarding who the present Lord Jesus within the communion would be. This decision regarding who the present Lord Jesus within the communion would be, was the discerning and determining question regarding both the content, as well as the ministry of the communion for amongst others, Calvin. Calvin's reaction as reply to this was that all of us do obtain, in and through the communion, part in the present human-being of Jesus Christ. Through and due to this, the concept regarding the communion according to the teaching of Calvin is to be discerned from that of Zwingli. The Dutch Reformed Church has accepted in their faith creeds the confession pertaining to who the present Lord Jesus in the communion is, according to which they clearly rejected the concept regarding the communion according to the doctrines, which Zwingli supports. The Dutch Reformed Church has not yet justified himself in the decision regarding the present human-being of the Lord Jesus Christ within the communion. The children-communion caused the participation of the believer on behalf of the present human-being of the Lord Jesus Christ within the communion to be lost, being part of the faith experience of the communion. In the place of the present human-being of the Lord Jesus the Dutch Reformed Church chose for the participation of the believer on the social and religious fellowship of the congregation. The fellowship of the covenantal family, as well as the cell-groups, has replaced the faithful fellowship with the present human-being of the Lord Jesus Christ in the communion. Without the repositioning of the concept of Calvin and the Reformed Churches regarding the communion, towards the concept regarding the communion according to Zwingli, the Dutch Reformed Church would not allow children with a so-called "simple" confession of faith to participate in the communion These transfers were necessary on behalf of the institution of the communion for children within the Dutch Reformed Church. / Dissertation (MA (Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Dogmatics and Christian Ethics / unrestricted

Thesis advisor: John Baldovin / Thesis advisor: James Conn / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

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This dissertation focuses on the ecclesiastical formation of the Anti-Chalcedonian Alexandrian See and its following, primarily during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For hundreds of years, this Christian Orthodox communion had a distinctive "geography" which, in a sense, has been "carved up" in the modern period. Today, its territories are incorporated within the boundaries of a number of national states, while the sweeping abstraction of "world regions" has bisected the territorial reaches of communion, assigning one parcel to the "Middle East" and the other to "Africa." This fragmentation is reflected in the scholarship, where the "parts" of this geography have been scattered across multiple, and sometimes mutually isolated fields of inquiry. In the coming chapters, we set out in search of an Alexandrian Orthodox Oecumeme which modern discourses, constructs and analytical frames have concealed. We will shed light on various dimensions of a formation which was constituted by myriad relationships and characterized by nebulous frontiers. We will contemplate an arrangement in which "Egyptian" Copts, "Ethiopian" Orthodox and others were linked in shared communion, while situating this within the wider context of an ancien regime order. We will also explore the metaphorical hinterlands of communion, where manifold relationships existed linking Christians and Muslims, monks and bedouin and others, sometimes in most intimate ways. Over the course of these chapters, we will follow processes, discourses and conceptual changes of the nineteenth century that invaded the "hinterlands," severing and reordering relationships while gradually erecting an edifice of boundaried constructs (territorial, institutional, communal.) The exploration of these novelties, together with a host of starkly drawn binaries (among them "religious"/"secular" and "spiritual"/"temporal") will provide insights into the emergence of modern nation-states, national minorities and national churches. But the apparition of these restricting and fragmenting objects coincided with an apparently paradoxical development; the so-called "globalization" of the patriarchal see of Alexandria. This set of circumstances is inexplicable without a rigorous inquiry into the profound transformations that have characterized the modern period. The coming chapters constitute, collectively, a building block to this larger purpose.

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 475-486).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, 1979. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-126).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Harding University Graduate School of Religion, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-169).