Thesis advisor: Boyd Coolman / This study considers the development of Augustine's early soteriology in the years leading up to and including his writing of Confessions. Central to that inquiry is a treatment of his increasing use of the term humilitas. Yet that inquiry necessitates a broader account of the fallen soul and its healing by the Incarnate Savior. The result is a mostly chronological survey that shows Augustine developing clearer connections between his soteriology, Christology, and sacramental theology. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

1 Abstract Anointing with the oil as a sacramental - new possibilities? The use of oil as a sacramental is present in the whole history of the Church. In this thesis we deal first with the nature of sacramentals and with the concept of blessing in the antiquity and in the biblical period. We also consider the sacramental use of oil in the history of liturgical worship. Then we examine recent ways of using the oil as a sacramental according to liturgical books - i.e. we study different ways of application of the oil of the catechumens, of the chrism oil, of the blessed oil intended as a meal and of the blessed oil ("myron") used for anointing in the Eastern Church. Present ways of the sacramental use of oil that are not directly presupposed in the liturgical books are further investigated. These include: anointing of the assembly during a youth meeting, during retreats and Pentecost vigils. The question of the "exorcised oil" is also briefly considered. Finally, several proposals are presented for the inclusion of anointing into the liturgical worship of the Church. Keywords Anointing, oil, blessing, sacramental.

Mission studies are checkpoints in the lifecycle of many Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations yet these curricula of transition need an overhaul to ensure their efficacy and to identify potential improvements. By evaluating several behavioral models (including Quinn’s Advanced Change Theory, and leadership models by Fluker and Olsen), the author constructs a curriculum centered around a congregational study of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper that fulfills the function of a mission study. In so doing, he provides an alternative for churches seeking to achieve the requirements of such a study while equipping them to discern God’s call in the ever-changing world.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:38:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gerson da Silva Merces.pdf: 598884 bytes, checksum: 300d2e023fa5172018e5409de82b6db7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-26 / The objective of this dissertation was to reflect on spiritual counseling and sacramental confession in the perspective of psychological counseling developed in the person-centered approach. To achieve this goal presented the history of confession since its inception, its historical evolution and its relationship with spiritual counseling. Secondly, presented the sacramental confession to the light of catholic theology, emphasizing the basic attitudes that the confessor should adopt. Then, I tried to understand the spiritual counseling and confession as aid relationship that approximate the relationship between counselor and client proposal by the personcentered approach for psychological counseling. In conclusion, I present the gains that the knowledge developed in the area of counseling can bring to the work of spiritual counselor and confessor / O objetivo desta dissertação foi refletir sobre o aconselhamento espiritual e a confissão sacramental na perspectiva do aconselhamento psicológico desenvolvido na abordagem centrada na pessoa. Para atingir essa meta apresentei a história da confissão desde seu surgimento, sua evolução histórica e sua relação com o aconselhamento espiritual. Num segundo momento, abordei a confissão sacramental à luz da teologia católica, salientando as atitudes básicas que o confessor deve adotar. Em seguida, busquei compreender o aconselhamento espiritual e a confissão como relações de ajuda que se aproximam à relação entre conselheiro e cliente, proposta pela abordagem centrada na pessoa para o aconselhamento psicológico. Na conclusão, apresento os ganhos que os conhecimentos desenvolvidos na área do aconselhamento psicológico podem trazer para o trabalho do conselheiro espiritual e do confessor

This thesis is a comparative analysis of the doctrine of deification in sacramental worship as taught (and practiced) by the Eastern Orthodox and Latter-day Saint (Mormon) churches. The doctrine that man may become like God—known as deification, divinization, or theosis—is a central teaching in the Orthodox and Mormon traditions. Both faiths believe that man may become like God. However, because of doctrinal presuppositions and disagreements regarding the natures of God and man, Orthodox and Mormon teachings of deification do not mean the same thing. This thesis will outline several key distinctions between their respective doctrines. And yet, despite doctrinal disagreements, this thesis will also illustrate how Orthodoxy and Mormonism share several notable similarities regarding the function of sacramental worship in the process of theosis. Mormonism and Orthodoxy both believe that men and women may achieve theosis only as they interact with God. Through the combined initiatives of the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, humankind may receive the attributes of divinity and participate in the process of deification. The means whereby humanity may interact with God are through sacramental participation. This thesis will illustrate how institutional rituals and personal worship practices foster man's divine interaction and ultimate deification. Furthermore, Orthodox and Mormon rituals are deeply rooted in the doctrine of deification—each ritual contributing to man's divine transformation. As such, those rituals reflect numerous thematic variations and emphatic differences of their respective traditions. This should not discourage the reader from comparing Orthodox sacraments with Mormon sacraments; rather, as one studies the similarities and differences in the Orthodox and Mormon sacraments, he or she will begin to see how deification is so intricately woven into the worship practices of these two faiths.

Si l'auto sacramental baroque du XVIIe siècle est aujourd'hui amplement étudié, moins fréquentes sont les études consacrées aux drames eucharistiques espagnols du XVIe siècle, et plus rares encore celles qui ont pris comme objet la théâtralité spécifique de ces modestes pièces de la Renaissance. Travailler sur les pièces eucharistiques du XVIe siècle demandait une réflexion préalable sur l'origine d'un genre dramatique qui s'est développé dans la péninsule ibérique tout au long de la Renaissance, époque à laquelle la question religieuse a fréquemment occupé le devant de la scène (crypto-judaïsme, Concile de Trente, Contreréforme, question des morisques). Toutefois, ce n'est pas seulement l'interrogation obsédante concernant l'origine des drames eucharistiques qui a guidé ces travaux, mais surtout le concept de théâtralité —on entend par là les signes inscrits dans le texte dramatique et possédant un potentiel de spectacularité—, afin de rechercher comment ce théâtre s'est progressivement doté des caractéristiques qui lui sont propres. C'est sur un corpus de trente-deux pièces d'origines et de style divers que nous avons construit une réflexion dont le premier point concerne l'espace dramatique et montre que les lieux infernaux et célestes acquièrent une importance croissante dans ce théâtre. L'analyse des dialogues et de leur enchaînement a permis ensuite de souligner la place prise par les figures d'"attaque" et de "mouvement-vers", suivant la terminologie vinaverienne. Par ailleurs, en nous inspirant de concepts sémiotiques relatifs aux structures "sémio-narratives de surface" comme le modèle actantiel de Greimas, nous avons montré les différentes stratégies discursives propres aux drames eucharistiques, afin de mieux pénétrer les mécanismes qui régissent les dialogues et caractérisent les liens entre les personnages de ce théâtre. L'évolution des éléments comiques a pu être mise en relief par une étude minutieuse des procédés langagiers, gestuels, ou encore des effets tirés de l'utilisation de personnages populaires. Enfin, une approche de l'allégorie (élément considéré comme fondamental dans l'auto sacramental), sous l'angle de la théâtralité, a souligné combien les développements successifs de cette figure dans le drame eucharistique du XVIe siècle l'ont doté d'une structure cohérente permettant des effets toujours plus spectaculaires. / Allthough17th century baroque Spanish sacramental plays have been thoroughly studied, the same cannot be said of 16th century Spanish Eucharistic dramas and even less so of the theme of specific theatricality in the modest Renaissance plays. The study of 16th century Eucharistic plays required prior thought on the origins of a dramatic genre which developed in the Iberian peninsula throughout the Renaissance years, a period when religion was frequently the main issue (The crypto-Judaism, Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation and the Moriscos). However, it is not just the obsessive questioning concerning the origins of Eucharistic dramas which guided these studies but above all the theatricality concept, by that we mean the signs containing a spectacularity potential within the dramatic text. This is essential in order to understand how this kind of theatre gradually acquired its own specific characteristics. We have worked on thirty-two original plays written in different styles. Our first point of interest was the dramatic space which shows that hellish and heavenly places acquire an increasing importance in this kind of theatre. The analysis of dialogues and of how they are linked together then allowed us to emphasize the space taken up by the “attack” and “movement-towards” figures (Michel Vinaver’s terminology). Additionally, by taking inspiration from semiotic concepts relative to “surface semio-narrative” patterns like the Greimas’ actancial model, we have shown different discursive strategies specific to Eucharistic dramas. This allowed us to study more thoroughly the mechanisms determining the dialogues and which characterize the links between the characters of this theatre. The evolution of comical elements has been highlighted by a detailed study of language and gestural techniques as well as a study of the effects produced by using typical theatre characters. Finally, an approach of the allegory in theatricality (element considered as fundamental in Spanish sacramental plays), has emphasized to which extent successive developments of this structure in 16th century Eucharistic drama have given a coherent structure to theatricality making the effects even more spectacular.

Few would refute the didactic nature of stained glass windows, paintings, and sculptures used in Spanish cathedrals during the Counter-Reformation. For hundreds of years the artistic renderings of biblical narratives and of Catholic dogmata had aided both the literate and illiterate alike to internalize the teachings of the Church. In contrast, the seemingly complex web of semiotic signs that form part of the aural and visual spectacle of the auto sacramental has understandably led some to question if such productions could have truly held much meaning for commoners with little formal education. However, as a theatrical genre, the auto sacramental does not deviate much from the literal meaning and allegorical symbolism of the more static art forms that adorn cathedral walls and altarpieces. The usage of ships, highwaymen, and courtroom trials represent some of the most prominent symbols utilized by playwrights to create a Counter-Reformatory drama that facilitated the audiences' ability to decode the plays' allegorical meaning. The repeated use of these semiotic signs allowed the culturally literate public in urban centers across Spain to draw upon their intertextual knowledge of such symbols to appreciate and understand these Corpus Christi performances. Modern readers less familiar with these semiotic signs and their meaning experience an additional handicap because of their inability to see the visual spectacle designed, if not as the primary didactic tool of the genre, then at least as an effective complement to the instructive dialogue that takes place between the different characters of the auto. In spite of these additional challenges that the modern reader faces, the auto sacramental offers some insight into sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain that cannot be found in the more secular genres of the time. The added effort to investigate and understand the missing links of intertextual knowledge open a window that offers a panorama of a largely unexplored landscape of early-modern, Spanish society.

Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (1910-1999), une des figures de proue de la littérature espagnole du XXème siècle, est surtout connu pour ses narrations. Le théâtre constitue pourtant sa grande passion –la première aussi– car il y consacre les vingt premières années de sa carrière littéraire. L’activité théâtrale de l’auteur galicien au cours des décennies 1930 et 1940, intense et soutenue, nous livre un témoignage de choix sur la situation de la scène espagnole pendant la Seconde République : la coexistence d’un théâtre bourgeois et commercial qui jouit de la faveur du public depuis la fin du XXème siècle et d’un théâtre d’avant-garde, minoritaire, qui ambitionne de rénover la scène théâtrale à grand renfort d’innovations formelles. Les deux premières pièces de Torrente Ballester s’inscrivent dans cette dernière démarche mais un événement historique, la Guerre d’Espagne, entraîne un changement esthétique et thématique majeur. Torrente rejoint un groupe d’intellectuels Phalangistes, le Grupo de Escorial, où se mêlent littérature et politique, un amalgame qui conditionne les pièces –mais aussi les essais et les articles– de notre auteur au tout début des années 1940. Le rêve d’une société idéale éduquée par le théâtre tourne court en 1943 et don Gonzalo se détourne vite du dogmatisme qui caractérise la période 1937-1942. L’auteur galicien retrouve alors une liberté créatrice qui lui permet de composer ses meilleures pièces juste au moment où, faute de mise en scène, il décide d’abandonner l’écriture dramatique pour se consacrer exclusivement à la narration. L’aventure théâtrale de Torrente s’arrête à la fin des années 1940 mais l’expérience –littéraire, politique et humaine– accumulée au cours de cette étape se révèle essentielle pour la brillante carrière de romancier qu’il connaît ensuite. / Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (1910-1999), one of the main figures of the Spanish literature of the 20th century, is best known for his narrative. However, theatre is his greatest passion – and also the very first one – since he devoted the first twenty years of his literary career to theatre. The theatrical activity of the Galician author during the 1930s and the 1940s, hectic and steady, gives us an outstanding account of the Spanish stage during the Second Republic: the coexistence of a commercial and bourgeois theatre appreciated by the public since the end of the 19th century, and a minor avant-garde theatre aspiring to reform the theatrical stage with extensive innovations in the form. The two first plays of Torrente Ballester are in the line of this latest approach but a historical event, the war of Spain, leads to a major thematic and aesthetic change. The playwright meets up with a group of intellectuals of the Spanish Phalanx, the Grupo de Escorial, where literature mingles with politics, a mixture which determines the plays – but also the essays and articles – of our author at the very beginning of the 1940s. The dream of an ideal society educated by theatre ends up in 1943 and Torrente turns away from the dogmatism characteristic of the 1937-1942 period. The Galician author recovers then a creative freedom which allows him to compose his best plays just when, in the absence of staging, he decides to give up dramatic writing to dedicate himself exclusively to narrative. The theatrical adventure of Torrente stops at the end of the 1940s but the literary, political and human experience collected during this stage turns out to be essential to his later brilliant career as a novelist.