Originally presented as Author's thesis (Th. D.)--Theologische Universiteit der Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken te Apeldoorn. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [196]-208) and index.

Welcoming visitors is part of our African culture. This research tries to reflect on house visitation in the Maranatha Reformed Church of Christ (MRCC), and the impact thereof, if any, in the spiritual lives of congregants. Traditionally, pastors, elders and deacons alone bear the responsibility of visiting families in the MRCC. This research therefore reflects on the issue of house visitation in the MRCC where it is seen and understood as the duty and responsibility of pastors, elders and deacons only. The research is a passionate call for the MRCC, as a church, to work on a ministry design where all members will be actively involved in visiting one another, a move from the traditional one where only pastors, elders and deacons visit households. Arguments are also presented on how technology could be used to the advantage of the church in this task. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Text in English / Autonomy) which brought about the ownership of the Church by Zambians,was a turning point for the life, ministry and mission of the RCZ. Gerdien Verstraelen-Gilhuis (1982) has done a very thorough objective historical study from the perspective of looking at the scope for African leadership and initiative in the history of a Zambian mission Church. This is up to Umwini (April 1966 ). On the other hand Foston Dziko Sakala has examined ( MTh- Church History. Thesis Unisa 1996 ) the development of theological education since the missionary era. A critical analysis is therefore necessary on how the RCZ reacted and continues to react to some of the missiological challenges posed to it after Umwini. Our second purpose is to point out certain challenges which must be pondered seriously by upcoming theologically sensitive young ministers of the Gospel in the RCZ, who desire to have 'a truly African, Contextual Reformed Church In Zambia', indeed a Church that is contextually consistent with the' writing on the wall'. The political independence (1964) of Zambia from the British colonialists created an environment were the RCZ demanded for its autonomy from the Dutch Reformed Church missionaries from South Africa who had established and were running the church with all its services in education and health since 1899. challenge to the Christian Church. The consequent developments politically from colonialism to multi- party politics (which did not live long - 1964 to 1968) to one party participatory democracy( from 1 968 to 1993 ) and since 1994 up to the time of writing this dissertation, to a liberalised economic market system and democratic governance and the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation all pose specific challenges to the Church's mission. Political, cultural and social changes of Zambia have given a clear on the mission and life of the Reformed Church In Zambia. The Zambian environment has not been the same before and after its political independence and consequently the mission of the RCZ has had its various challenges before and after umwini. It was no longer missionaries directly responsible for determining the mission and growth of the RCZ, it was and has been Zambian people themselves. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:48:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Simone Espin de Oliveira Lucena.pdf: 3085002 bytes, checksum: 762d22e7f9825f36a1ed2652d35a1878 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-11 / Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie / The present work is part of a much wider project, which theme is the relation between ethny and religion in Brazil. The so called Christian Reformed Church in Brazil, object of this study, is mostly composed by Hungarians and shows to be the holder of a religious and socio-cultural preservation of the Hungarians reformed ones. The Hungarians who came to Brazil, were from some dismembered territories, as a consequence of the center-European-politic transformation, the economy desorganization and the revolutions, which were not in favor of the Hungarians in that area. We can obseve that this immigration, which used to be temporary, became definitive. When we take into consideration the importance of the Reformed Christian Church in Brazil and the high number if these immigrants, we can understand that it changes to a universal ethnicized religion, in other words, it uses religion to preserve their culture, their background. The religious elements start to compose the ethnic identity of the group. After 75 years of being organized, the Reformed Christian Church in Brazil faces, for many reasons, problems to keep its original characteristics. / A presente dissertação é parte de um projeto de maior abrangência, cujo tema é a relação entre Etnia e Religião no Brasil. A chamada Igreja Cristã Reformada do Brasil, objeto deste estudo, é composta na sua maioria por húngaros, e demonstra ser detentora da preservação religiosa e sócio-cultural dos reformados húngaros. Os húngaros emigrados para o Brasil provinham de territórios desmembrados, sendo a transformação política centro-européia, a desorganização da economia e as revoluções, desfavoráveis aos húngaros daqueles territórios, fatores estes que motivaram a emigração. Observamos que a imigração antes provisória, torna-se definitiva. Considerando a importância da Igreja Cristã Reformada do Brasil na aglutinação desses imigrantes, entendemos que ela se transforma numa religião universal etnicizada, isto é, utiliza a religião para manter a cultura, os elementos religiosos passam a compor o discurso da identidade étnica do grupo. Com 75 anos de organização, a Igreja Cristã Reformada do Brasil enfrenta, por diversos motivos, dificuldade em manter suas características de origem.

AFRIKAANS : Sewe kerkregtelike beginsels word in Hoofstuk 1 onderskei vir die beoordeling van die kerkreg en kerkregering van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk (=NGSK), Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika (=NGKA), Reformed Church in Africa (=RCA) en die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika (=VGKSA) te wete: i. Christus as hoof van die kerk, ii. Die selfstandigheid van die plaaslike kerk, iii. Die karakter van die kerkverband, iv. Die karakter van die gesag van die meerdere vergadering, v. Die tugreg ten opsigte van ampsdraers, vi. Die appèlreg ten opsigte van besluite van die meerdere vergadering, vii. Die bevoegdheid van die meerdere vergadering met betrekking tot wanbestuur. Hoofstuk 2 handel kursories oor die kerkregtelike ontwikkeling van die Gereformeerde Kerke in Nederland (1816-1944). In dié hoofstuk word die grondslae en uitgangspunte van die Doleansiekerkreg aangeteken. Die Doleansie beoog nie om ’n nuwe kerkreg te ontwikkel nie, maar gryp terug na die sisteem van kerkregering soos vasgestel deur die Nasionale Sinode van Dordrecht (1618-1619). Beide die Doleansiekerkreg (oud kerkrecht) en die nieuwe kerkrecht het die kerkreg en kerkregering van die sendingkerke onmiskenbaar beïnvloed. Die studie is daarom interaksie tussen die insigte van A Kuyper, F C Rutgers, A F de Savornin Lohman, asook H. Bouwman, J van Lonkhuyzen, W A van Es, aan die eenkant en H G Kleyn, H H Kuyper, M Bouwman en Joh Jansen aan die anderkant. Die ekklesiologiese onderbou in die regering van die kerk asook die verskillende kerkregeringstelsels kom ook in die hoofstuk onder bespreking. Hoofstuk 3 dek kursories die kerkreg en kerkregering van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) in soverre dit betrekking het op die kerkreg en kerkregering van die sendingkerke. Die NGK het aanvanklik die kerkregtelike beginsels, soos veronderstel word in die Algemeen Reglement voor het bestuur der Nederlandsche Hervormde Kerk in het Koningrijk (1816) , onderskryf en het by die daarstelling van die sendingkerke beide die teologiese insigte van Voetius met betrekking tot die sending in onder andere sy Politica Ecclesiastica asook Doleansiekerkregbeginsels geïgnoreer. In Hoofstukke 4 tot 7 word die kerkreg en kerkregering van die NGSK, NGKA, RCA asook die VGKSA gedek. Die onderskeie sendingkerke het sedert die stigtingsjare tot en met 1978, met die daarstelling van die eerste kerkorde, gepoog om hul kerkreg en kerkorde op Doleansiekerkregbeginsels te skoei. Van meet af is klem gelê op die selfstandigheid van die plaaslike gemeente, die konfederatiewe karakter van die kerkverband asook die tugreg van die meerdere vergadering. Gedurende die negentigerjare tot op hede het die meerdere vergaderinge van die NGKA, NGSK en selfs latere VGKSA hul gaandeweg die gesag toegeëien om sonder inspraak van die mindere vergadering ingrypende besluite met betrekking tot kerkeenwording, eiendomsreg en selfs die belydenisgrondslag te maak. In Hoofstuk 8 word die kerkregtelike beginsels wat uit beide die Doleansiekerkregbeginsels en die nieuwe kerkrecht in die voorafgaande hoofstukke onderskei was, in ’n kerkregtelike raamwerk gesinkroniseer. ’n Behoefte aan kerkordelike reëlings dat die meerdere vergaderinge in die geval van wanbestuur, onmag, dwaalleer of skeurmakery oor die reg beskik om in die bestuur van plaaslike gemeentes in te gryp en hul besluite in mindere vergaderinge te implementeer, word aan die einde van die dissertasie aangedui. ENGLISH : Chapter 1 entails the research methodology and theoretical framework of this dissertation. One can discern seven church polity principles in this chapter to adjudicate the church polity and church governance of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church, (=DRMC), Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (=DRCA), Reformed Church in Africa (==RCA) and the United Reformed Church in Southern Africa (=URCSA): i. Christ as head of the church, ii. The autonomy of the local church, iii. The character of the denominational ties, iv. The character of the power of the major assemblies, v. The power to discipline church officials, vi. The appeal right regarding decisions of the major assemblies, vii. The capability of the major assemblies regarding misconduct. Chapter 2 deals cursorily with the church polity development of the Dutch Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (1816-1944). The foundational grounds and main notions on Doleansie Church polity are being drawn in this chapter. The Doleansie did not try to develop a new church polity system, but is rather a regression to a system of church polity as enacted by the National Synod of Dordrecht (1618-1619). Both the Doleansie church polity (oud kerkrecht) and the nieuwe kerkrecht impacted the church polity and the church governance of the mission churches. The study is therefore a interaction between the notions of A Kuyper, F C Rutgers, A F de Savornin Lohman, and H Bouwman, J van Lonkhuyzen, W A van Es, on the one side and H G Kleyn, H H Kuyper, M Bouwman and Joh Jansen on the other side. The ecclesiological basis of the governance of the church as well as the different church polity system is also discussed in this chapter. Chapter 3 focuses cursorily on the church polity and church governance of the Dutch Reformed Church, (DRC) in so far it has implications on the church polity and church governance of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church, (DRMC). At the outset the DRC subscribed to the church polity principles as presumed in the Algemeen Reglement voor het bestuur der Nederlandsche Hervormde Kerk in het Koningrijk (1816) and ignored at the inception of the mission churches the theological notions of Voetius about mission in his Politica Ecclesiastica as well as Doleansie church polity principles. The overriding jurisdiction resided in the mission commission of the DRC. In Chapters 4 to 7 an attempt is made to investigate the church polity and church governance of the DRMC, DRCA, RCA and the URCSA. Since their inception the mission churches until 1978 with the acceptance of the first church order tried to base their church polity and church order on Doleansie church polity principles. From the outset the mission churches placed emphasis on the autonomy of the local churches, the confederative character of the denomination and the disciplinary power of the major assemblies. During the nineties up to date the major assemblies gradually usurped power to make decisions on church unification, property rights and even the confessional basis of the church without giving the minor assemblies the opportunity to participate in the decision making. The church polity principles, discerned out of the Doleansie Church polity and the nieuwe kerkrecht in the preceding chapters, are synchronized in Chapter 8 in a church polity framework. A need for church order regulations that give the major assemblies in case of maladministration, impuissance, heresy or schism the right to intervene in the governance of the local congregation and to implement their decisions in minor assemblies are presented at the end of this dissertation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Church History and Church Policy / unrestricted

Misinterpretations of John Calvin's theology are legion. It is hoped that this thesis does not add to their number. The basis for this lies in the fact that the task of writing on the subject has of course compelled the writer to do his utmost to comprehend what Calvin had to say concerning the Sacraments both in the Institutions and in the Scriptural Commentaries ... .The attempt has been made to refract Calvin's thought on the Sacrament, using certain key-concepts as prisms, and from the results thus obtained, to draw certain conclusions from which, it is hoped, will not be unprofitable to the life of the Holy Catholic Church. It is thus to be reagrded as an essay in historical theology rather than a whole-hearted attempt to reconstruct Calvin's exposition of the sacrament in the light of what has been revealed to us in the intervening years.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (Church History))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Church History and Church Polity / unrestricted

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.

Die geskille wat daar bestaan tussen predikant en lidmaat in die NHKA vra na ’n unieke ruimte in die Kerk in terme van ’n postmoderne samelewing. Verskillende perspektiewe lei baie maklik tot konflik in ’n gemeente. Konflik wat nie opgelos word nie, kan dikwels die werk van ampsdraers in ’n gemeente kniehalter. In hierdie navorsing volg ek ’n kontekstuele benadering tot die beoefening van praktiese teologie. ’n Postfundamentele prakties-teologiese raamwerk is gevolg. Die sosialekonstruksiediskoers en narratiewe epistemologie bied nuwe perspektiewe waarvolgens daar liminale ruimte kan ontstaan waarbinne meer as een perspektief kan bestaan. Binne ’n samelewing wat gekenmerk word deur sekularisme en privatisering, ondersoek ek die moontlikheid van ’n ruimte van eenheid te midde van diversiteit in die Kerk. In die navorsingsproses het ek gebruikgemaak van ses medenavorsers se ervarings ten opsigte van konflik en inkongruensie in ’n spesifieke konteks binne die Kerk. Ons het verder die moontlikheid ondersoek van ’n alternatiewe ruimte waar opnuut weer oomblikke van communitas in hierdie verhale kan ontstaan. In die navorsing is die ruimte daarvoor gevind in die beskrywing van twee metafore, naamlik: Die liminale hangbrug van genade en Die dans van vrede. Binne hierdie twee metafore het die medenavorsers hul verhale hervertel. My navorsing belig die belangrike bydrae van ’n interdissiplinêre gesprek in navorsing. In die navorsing speel die reistema ’n belangrike rol waar die leser uitgenooi word om saam met die medenavorsers ’n (liminale) ruimte te ontdek, in terme van inkongruensie tussen predikant en lidmaat. ENGLISH : Disagreements between pastors and church members in the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa require a unique space in the church in terms of a postmodern society. Different perspectives can easily lead to conflict in the church. Unresolved conflict may jeopardise the work of the clergy in a congregation. In this research, I follow a contextual approach to the pursuit of practical theology. A postfundamental practical theological framework is followed in the research. The social construction discourse and narrative epistemology offer new perspectives for developing a liminal space where more than one perspective can exist. Within a society characterised by secularism and privatisation, I examine the possibility of a space of unity amid diversity in the church. I involved six fellow researchers who have experienced conflict in a specific context within the church. We also examined the possibility of an alternative space where moments of communitas can once again occur in these stories. The research found space for this in the description of two metaphors, namely the liminal suspension bridge of grace and the dance of peace. The stories of the fellow researchers are retold within these two metaphors. My research highlights the important contribution of an interdisciplinary conversation in research. In the study, the journey theme plays an important role, and the reader is invited along with the fellow researchers into a (liminal) space to explore the conflict between the church minister and the church member. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

The title of this dissertation is “The early years of the Dutch Reformed Congregation of Utrecht and churchly Disruption” The decistion to associate with the Cape Reformed Church, was already taken at the foundation meeting of the congregation on 19 November 1854. This, however, was not as simple as meets the eye. The first inhabitans of course knew no other church than the Dutch Reformed Church. When crossing borders on their trek from the Cape Colony, they did not only take with them the Bible in the wagon box; they also remained members of the Dutch Reformed Church. From the diary of Erasmus Smit (the only person who accompanied the Great Trek as minister of religion), it is clear that he was a loyal supporter of the Dutch Reformed Church. He was very fond of following the tracks of the Dutch Reformed Church very closely, as far as the organisation and order of church affairs were concerned , not only regarding the organisation and order of church affairs, but also the devotion to the same confession of faith illustrates unity with the Cape Mother-church. The first years reflect a time of great turbulence on churchly as well as political terrain. This was a time during which the church was right in the midst of the battle for Liberalism. Fundamental truths, such as the virgin birth of Christ and other vital believes were under strong criticism and doubt. Therefore the importance of this subject is taken into serious discussion. The conflict around the confession is also adressed. This is the quia – viewpoint was accepted; the viewpoint that confession was accepted , “because it is in line with Scripture”. This viewpoint directly opposes the more liberal quatenus – vieupoint, which adheres to the articles of faith , “in as much as they agree with the Word of God.” These also were times of immense political conflict. The Boer Republics stood by the opinion that they also wanted to be free of the church living under British Colonial rule. These were all contributing factors to the final rift in church ranks. In such a turbulent world, the young Utrecht congregation had to find her way. The congregation was heavily blamed for her decision to stand by her choice of connecting to the Cape Dutch Reformed Church. The Reverant Frans Lion Cachet, first minister to the Utrecht Congregation, would play a leading role in this regard. His contribution is therefore discussed in detail. From the above - mentioned , the reasons for church division are clearly observed. Valuable lessons are learned on how to address similar divisions of the present and how they can be overcome. / Dissertation (MTh(Theol))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Church History and Church Policy / unrestricted