The aim of this thesis is to present from the historical perspective the Ethiopian Amharas as a nation, which, even though they are not forming majority of the state, they had and still have major impact on the Ethiopian society. They also maintained influence on other nations mainly thanks to the Amharic language, which became the official language of the whole of Ethiopia. The structure of the work is divided in such a way in order to include all the relevant phases that are related to the history and life of the Ethiopian Amharas. The compilation of the work is based on the theoretical analysis and the study of the literature. In the thesis I give a brief overview of the history, including the legend of the origin of the Solomon dynasty, to which the Amharas still avow. In the view of the fact that significant role in Ethiopian society plays also the affiliation of most of the Amharas with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, I deal with its history and hierarchies. I also apprise of the religious rituals, feasts and celebrations. In individual parts I follow up the historical roots of Amharic and its relevance to a particular language group. Role of Amharic is analyzed with respect to the educational system in Ethiopia, I am also referring to its role in connection with the so-called Amharization...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:48:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mauricio Loiacono.pdf: 2110226 bytes, checksum: a34778480f9b5a914f87cde154ab7fb1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This paper has as a theme the Exile of The Russian Orthodox Apostolic Catholic Church in São Paulo. The Development of the theme in issue had as objectiv to demonstrate how this denomination of the Orthodox Church related to the immigration work along with Russians who participate in it, not only limiting a relation in a holy space where they are installed in their temples to wich the followers run into in Service Days or Holly Feasts; moreover, its way of leading with daily matters of their followers lives who away from Russia were obliged to a reconstruction of their identities in a country totally strange to them. The text that is presented had as resources, a research done along with the priests of this Church mainly responsible of the São Sérgio de Radonej church in Moema, São Paulo; besides the interviews conducted with the clergyman, it was still done in this research activities such as, in loco observation work, participation in Sunday Liturgy, in Easter Celebration, and the Foundation of the church Celebration among other festivities. Therefore, it is expected that this pioneer paper in relation to this matter will be part of a contribution to those studious people of The Religion Science field, as well as other correlated studies to the Religious Diversity Study in Brazil. / O presente trabalho tem como tema, A Igreja Católica Apostólica Ortodoxa Russa no Exílio em São Paulo. O desenvolvimento do tema em questão objetivou-se a demonstrar como essa denominação da Igreja Ortodoxa voltada para a Imigração atua junto aos russos que a ela são congregados, não apenas limitando-se a uma relação no espaço sagrado onde estão instalados seus templos para onde os fiéis acorrem nos dias de Liturgia e Festas Santificadas, mais que isso, a sua forma de agir no cotidiano dessas pessoas que fora da Rússia foram obrigadas à reconstrução de sua identidade em um país totalmente estranho para eles. O texto que ora é apresentado, teve como subsídios uma pesquisa feita junto a sacerdotes dessa Igreja, principalmente o padre responsável pela Paróquia de São Sérgio de Radonej no Bairro de Moema-SP. Além dessas entrevistas concluídas junto aos clérigos, foram realizados ainda nessa pesquisa, trabalhos de observação in loco, participando além das Liturgias Dominicais, em celebrações como a da Páscoa e Festa da Fundação da Paróquia entre outras. Assim sendo, espera-se que esse trabalho pioneiro em relação ao assunto venha a apresentar-se como uma contribuição para os estudiosos das Ciências da Religião, bem como outros estudos correlatos a Diversidade Religiosa no Brasil.

The Russian Orthodox community is a relatively small and little known group in Australian society, however, the history of the Russian presence in Australia goes back to 1809. As the Russian community includes a number of groups, both Christian and non-Christian, it would not be feasible to undertake a complete review of all aspects of the community and consequently, this work limits itself in scope to the Russian Orthodox community. The thesis broadly chronicles the development of the Russian community as it struggles to become a viable partner in Australia’s multicultural society. Many never before published documents have been researched and hitherto closed archives in Russia have been accessed. To facilitate this research the author travelled to Russia, the United States and a number of European centres to study the archives of pre-Soviet Russian communities. Furthermore, the archives and publications of the Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church have been used extensively. The thesis notes the development of Australian-Russian relations as contacts with Imperial Russian naval and scientific ships visiting the colonies increase during the 1800’s and traces this relationship into the twentieth century. With the appearance of a Russian community in the nineteenth century, attempts were made to establish the Russian Orthodox Church on Australian soil. However, this did not eventuate until the arrival of a number of groups of Russian refugees after the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War (1918-1922). As a consequence of Australia’s “Populate or Perish” policy following the Second World War, the numbers of Russian and other Orthodox Slavic displaced persons arriving in this country grew to such an extent that the Russian Church was able to establish a diocese in Australia, and later in New Zealand. The thesis then divides the history of the Russian Orthodox presence into chapters dealing with the administrative epochs of each of the ruling bishops. This has proven to be a suitable matrix for study as each period has its own distinct personalities and issues. The successes, tribulations and challengers of the Church in Australia are chronicled up to the end of the twentieth century. However, a further chapter deals with the issue of the Church’s prospects in Australia and its relevance to future generations of Russian Orthodox people. As the history of the Russians in this country has received little attention in the past, this work gives a broad spectrum of the issues, people and events associated with the Russian community and society at large, whilst opening up new opportunities for further research.

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-88).

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-65).

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-65).

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, N.Y., 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-65).

After a barren period between about 1920 and 1970, in which there was little or no mission activity, the Orthodox Church has experienced a revival of interest in mission. This thesis is an examination of how Orthodox theology and worldviews have affected Orthodox mission methods, and account for some of the differences between Orthodox methods and those of Western Christians. A starting point for the study of the Orthodox theology of mission is the ikon of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which shows the apostles gathered in the upper room with the world in their midst. Orthodox soteriology, which sees Christ as the conqueror of evil and death, rather than as the punisher of sin, has led Orthodox missionaries to have a more open approach to other cultures. A historical survey of ways in which the Orthodox Church grew in the past includes martyrdom, mission and statecraft, monastic mission, and in the 20th century, the missionary significance of the Orthodox diaspora. Even in the fallow period, however, there was mission in the sense that various groups of people were drawn to Orthodoxy, sometimes through the ministry of irregularly ordained bishops. The collapse of communist regimes in the Second World has created many new opportunities for orthodox mission, but has also brought problems of intra-Christian proselytism, nationalism and viole:1ce, and schism and stagnation in those places. As the Orthodox Church prepares to enter the 21st century, its worldview, which has been less influenced by the modernity of the West, may enable it to minister more effectively to people involved in postmodern reactions against modernity. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)

The thesis examines Serbian conspiracy culture at the time of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999. During the war, conspiratorial themes became a regular occurrence in Serbian mainstream media, as well as in pronouncements by the Serbian political establishment. For the most part, conspiratorial explanations focused on the machinations of transnational elite organisations such as the Bilderberg group or, more generally, on the conspiracy of 'the West'. However, conspiratorial accounts of the war occasionally invoked themes which were previously deemed to be beyond the boundaries of acceptable opinion, such as the allusion to a Jewish conspiracy or to the esoteric and occult aspects of the alleged plot. The thesis outlines the history of conspiracy theories in Serbia and critically reviews psychological approaches to understanding the nature of conspiracy theories. It suggests that the study of conspiratorial discourse requires the exploration of the rhetorical and argumentative structure of specific conspiratorial explanations, while paying special attention to the historical and ideological context within which these explanations are situated. The thesis is largely based upon the examination of the coverage of the war in the Serbian press. Recorded conversations with two well-known Serbian conspiracy theorists are also analysed. The study suggest that conspiratorial interpretations of the war drew upon a longstanding conspiracy tradition of explanation which has a strong anti-semitic legacy and is rooted in right-wing Christian ideology. Analytic chapters explore the discursive and ideological dynamics by which the anti-semitic and mystical aspects of the conspiracy tradition emerged briefly in Serbian mainstream media and political discourse. The thesis concludes by examining the status of conspiracy theories in Serbia in the aftermath of the political changes in October 2000.

This dissertation focuses on religious gatherings in communist Romania and the Soviet Union, 1943-1989. Church was one of the few opportunities for voluntary associational life and is invaluable for the study of power, ideology, and belonging in an everyday social setting. This project is based on archival documents and memoirs, uncovering how state officials and religious representatives struggled to establish religious practice that would be acceptable to all. Although ideologically atheist, state officials regarded some religious gatherings as acceptable and others unacceptable, but not due to utterances of beliefs or performance of traditional sacraments, but because of social aspects: how people related to one another, what kinds of people came, the settings of the gatherings, and affective characteristics like enthusiasm, engagement, and authenticity. Even though believers participated in religious gatherings for their own reasons, state officials policed them as contests for mobilization. This project compares the cases of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Reformed Church of the Transylvanian region of Romania and the Russian Orthodox Church and the Baptist Church in the Moscow region of the Soviet Union. Based on comparisons, the role of a Church's culture in shaping church-state relations becomes clear. Officials largely considered traditional Orthodox hierarchy and rituals as religiously unproblematic, but they underestimated the power of such features of Orthodoxy to endure and mobilize successive generations. The hierarchical nature of the Orthodox Churches did not preclude spirited negotiations over acceptable Orthodox religiosity, but non-conforming or innovating priests were marginalized relatively easily. Protestant Churches have had a more entrenched custom of decentralization in governance and Scriptural interpretation, factors which presented officials with difficulty in centralizing the management of such churches and which at times led to protracted interpersonal battles and inner-church divisions. One such case sparked the Romanian Revolution in 1989. Officials in Romania and the Soviet Union handled the problem of religion very similarly in defining the acceptable limits of religious activity in practice, but virulent attacks on religion in the Soviet Union prior to WWII made for a stronger lingering religious antagonism there after the War than in Romania, where Orthodoxy was at times incorporated into the state’s nationalist discourse.