Christianity Commons^™

Ecumenical Dialogue Between Reformers And Orthodox Under The Ottomans (15-16th Century), Svetoslav Svetoszarov Ribolov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Despite the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453, the Orthodox Church continued to make contacts with the West. In the 15^th and 16^th centuries, Patriarchs Joasaph II and Jeremias II had ecumenical contacts and theological dialogues with two generations of Reformers. Martin Luther and Melanchthon, and later Martin Crusius, Jakob Andrеä, and their associates in Wittenberg took up the initiative for a serious ecumenical dialogue with Constantinople. Despite a sincere desire on both sides, lack of a common methodological framework in the talks did not allow for significant results. In the end, both sides did not …

Review: Oliver Jens Schmitt, Biserica De Stat Sau Biserică În Stat? O Istorie A Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Editura Humanitas, București, 2023, Csaba Szabó

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A review of Oliver Jens Schmitt, Biserica de stat sau biserică în stat? O istorie a Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Editura Humanitas, București, 2023. 457pp.

ISBN: 978-973-50-7919-2

De Desciptione Temporum: Revisiting C. S. Lewis' Inaugural Lecture, Jean Bethge Elshtain

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

A discussion of Lewis's lecture giving a "description of the times," published in C. S. Lewis, They Asked for a Paper: Papers and Addresses (London, 1962). Excerpt: "The third and no doubt most salient point for our contemporary consideration is that the “christening of Europe,” deplored by some (like Gibbon, the “humanistic unbeliever”), seemed a unique, irreversible event. “But we have seen the opposite process,” Lewis writes. To be sure, “the un-christening of Europe in our time is not quite complete; neither was her christening in the Dark Ages,” but it proceeds apace. Consequently, while our “ancestors divided history into …

Conflicts In The Families Of Parish Priests In 18th Century Ukraine, Oleksandr Lukyanenko, Vitaly Dmytrenko, Vita Dmytrenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The study demonstrates how the religious worldview of early modern man influenced the formation of family values and relationships in the families of church and clerics. The paper is based on the analysis of religious texts that were the basis of the contemporary Orthodox idea of the ideal family, comparing them with notes on the daily life of religious figures of the early modern period and with archival sources. The thesis analyses the conflicts in priests’ families in Ukraine in the early modern society that was lenient with the “dosed” violence of the father in the family. The priest chose …

Confession As A Multifunctional Holy Sacrament Of The Ukrainian Orthodox Population Of The 17th-19th Centuries, Olena Borodenko, Vasyl Fazan

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Цель. Статья посвящена проблеме многофункционального исследования конфессиональной обрядности мировоззрения и религиозной принадлежности украинского православного населения XVII-XIX вв.

Методы исследования . Междисциплинарный интеллект строится с преимуществом формально-логического метода познания в истории религии, социально-религиозной истории и интегрируется с избранными направлениями психологии и философии.

Основные результаты.Святое Таинство Исповеди представлено как проявление искреннего покаяния верующего в своих грехах, с верой в Бога-Творца, в Его милость, с надеждой на исправление жизненных проступков через отпущение грехов священником. По признанию, одним из побудительных факторов можно считать страх и набожность человека. Главной целью религиозного обряда было укрепление соблюдения в обществе христианских нравственных норм нравственности и гражданского права. …

Christian Denominations On The Territory Of Ukraine In The First Half Of The 20th Century (1900-1939), Fedir Prodanyuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article examines the state of Christian denominations in the territory of Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century. It has been established that the Christian religion occupied an important place in the life of Ukrainian society. However, the period of prosperity and oppression simultaneously fell in the first 40 years of the 20th century. The confessional policy of the Soviet Union, which came to replace the tsarist authorities, gave a limited privileged position for some Christian churches while creating harsh conditions for other denominations. As a rule, these were Protestant movements, but the Orthodox Church also experienced …

Analysis Of Letters From Representatives Of Religious Bible Student Groups (Badaczy Pisma Świętego) In Poland During The Nazi Occupation, Roman Orlovskii, Denys Shpak

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The founder and leader of the International Bible Students movement was Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916), an eminent religious figure, the first president of the Watch Tower Society. After his death, the denomination he created split into a number of communities: Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as various groups of Bible Students who refused to recognize the authority of the Watch Tower Society under the rule of subsequent presidents. The followers of these groups, who recognized only the works of Charles Taze Russell, lived in different countries of the world, including in Poland. There are practically no scientific works devoted to the …

Still Sticking To The Big Brother: History, German Protestantism, And The Ukrainian War, Katharina Kunter

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

It has often been revealed, in the great historical upheavals of contemporary history, that a quick, situational ad-hoc assessment and reaction is not the strength of German Protestantism. This was the case after the collapse of Imperial Germany (Kaiserreich) and the sovereign church regiment (Landesherrliches Kirchenregiment; summus episcopus) in 1918, as well as after the end of the Second World War, when German Protestantism was long at odds with democracy and Adenauer's ties to the West.4 The Peaceful Revolution in the GDR in 1989 (during the civic uprisings of 1989/90 in the other Central European countries) also surprised the leaders …

"The War Factor" In The History Of The Late Protestantism In Ukrainian Lands Via The Policy Of The Russian Autocracy, Roman Sitarchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article explores the impact of war on the movements of late Protestantism on the territory of Ukraine. The study is based on the three largest Protestant denominations in Ukraine: Baptists, Pentecostals, and Adventists. Due to the refusal of the Protestants to do military service and fight with weapons, the Russian autocracy suppressed and created difficult conditions for believers of the Protestant denominations on the territory of Ukraine. Before the First World War, the refusal of Protestants to engage gave the state an argument for why the Protestants were not reliable members of society. This study uses as a basis …

Sacred Architecture And Interreligious Dialogue In The Concept Of The “Russian World”, Oleksandr Lukyanenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article continues a series of studies illustrating the formation of the idea of the “Russian world” in the religious discourse of Orthodox Russia. The main attention is paid to ideological stamps used by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow during sermons and public speeches. The study summarizes the idea of the exclusivity of the Russian spiritual path in contrast to the West, which supports the annexation geopolitical policy of Vladimir Putin. The article provides examples of falsification of historical facts in the religious and political spheres in order to create a powerful propaganda background in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war. …

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church: Foundation And Beginnings In Post-War Germany, Vladyslav Fulmes

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) met many obstacles regarding its activities from the Soviet and German occupation regimes. Due to persecution and oppression, the hierarchy and clergy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church decided to emigrate. Preserving the canonical episcopate, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church began a new stage of existence in emigration, ushering a new period of activity of UAOC. This study is relevant to modern historical science since the study and introduction into the scientific sphere of new archival documents and memoirs of contemporaries gives an opportunity to establish a coherent picture of the activities of the UAOC …

Ukrainian Interfaith Families In The Context Of Church, Marriage, And Social Relations Of The 19th Century, Olena Borodenko, Roman Sitarchuk

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The aim. In the article (based on the materials of church statistical books of Orthodox parishes in the Right and Left Bank of Ukraine, ego-documents, documentation of the directive and administrative direction, canonical and fiction), an imaginary collective portrait of interfaith families is created in the representation of marriage partners of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic faiths—in the context of marriage-social policy of the Russian Empire in the 19th century.

Research methods. The interdisciplinary direction of intelligence led to the use, in addition to general scientific methods, of special historical methods: quantitative, comparative, prosopographic and critical analysis.

Main results. Based …

The Work Of The Nazi Special Services Among The Protestants Of The Reichkomissariat Ukraine (According To The Top-Secret Materials Of The Nkvd-Nkgb), Oleksandr Korotaiev

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Studying the work of Nazi special services among the Protestant denominations of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine during World War II is an under-explored aspect of modern historical science. The article attempts to fill this gap by covering the work of the Nazi secret services, Gestapo1 and Sicherheitsdienst (SD),2 among Evangelical Christians (EC), Baptists (B), and Christians of the Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals, CEF) of the RKU. The basis of this study is the recently declassified documents and archival materials of the KGB of the USSR. The article first provides a brief analysis of the activities of the Soviet intelligence services (NKVD3) …

Integration Of The Pochaiv Lavra Into The Structure Of The Russian Orthodox Church Between 1830s And 1860s, Ella Bystrytska, Nadiia Volik

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A series of imperial decrees during the 1820s contributed to the spread of the autocratic and synodal system of government, and the installation of control over the Greek Uniate Church institutions in the territories of Right Bank Ukraine.1 The Greek Uniate Church was moved in “standby mode” for favorable conditions for the government to rapidly localize its activities. The accusation of the Basilian monks in support of the November Uprising of 1830-1831 in Poland contributed to the liquidation of this order and most of their monasteries. The transfer of the Pochaiv Lavra to the ownership of the Orthodox clergy in …

All-Union Council Of Evangelical Christians And Baptists As A Product Of Work Of Soviet Special Services, Oleksandr Korotaiev

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The purpose of the study is to show the work of the Soviet special services in the 1940s among the evangelical denominations of the Ukrainian SSR, which consisted of the formation of the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians and Baptists (hereinafter ACECB). The study of the work of the Soviet special services among the Protestant denominations of Ukraine during WWII and in the post-war period is generally a poorly studied topic of modern historical science. The article attempts to fill this gap by highlighting the work of the NKVD-MGB bodies among Evangelical Christians and Baptists, which aimed to create a …

Rohmann's "Christianity Book-Burning And Censorship In Late Antiquity: Studies In Text Transmission" (Critical Book Review), Joseph Baumstarck Jr.

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Against The Stream, How Karl Barth Reframed Church-State Relations (Chapter 3 Of Keine Gewalt! No Violence!), Roger J. Newell

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Excerpt: "Defenders of the Barmen Declaration's apolitical tone remind us that it was never intended to establish a program of political protest, that Karl Barth and the others were pastors not politicians; that the goal was to reassert the integrity of the gospel in the face of the attempted subversion by the German Christians. On the one hand, the soundness of this interpretation is self-evident. And yet it should surprise no one that an apolitical strategy would have little political impact on the German state. It is also true that Barth's views on church and state relations changed after Barmen; …

The Stuttgart Declaration Of 1945: A Casy Study Of Guilt, Forgiveness And Foreign Policy - Chapter 15 From "Trinity And Transformation: J. B. Torrance's Vision Of Worship, Mission, And Society", Roger Newell

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

J. B. Torrance was one of the few theologians of our era whose exposition of fundamental Christian theology spoke prophetically to the church’s social and political witness to the Gospel. This essay examines how Torrance’s analysis of forgiveness casts fresh light on the process whereby relations between the Protestant churches of Europe and America were restored in the chaotic aftermath of postwar Germany. The essay argues that the result of their meeting for reconciliation, the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt, prepared the way for the Allies to set aside policies of collective punishment in favor of policies which supported reconciliation and …

Study Guide For Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Life Together", Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

"The study begins with a short essay on Bonhoeffer’s life that explains the context of his work, especially Life Together. The study guide is organized in five parts, easily read in weekly installments. There is also a short conclusion."

Faith, Action, And Inaction During The Holocaust, Suzanne Brown Fleming

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

John Wesley And Slavery: Myth And Reality, Irv Brendlinger

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

1. Was Wesley opposed to the institution of slavery? Or is that merely myth, because he only opposed the horrors of the slave trade? The reason for this question is that many eighteenth-century persons were greatly opposed to the slave trade, but had no moral difficulty with the institution of slavery.

2. If he opposed slavery, was it the abuses that troubled him, or did he reject the philosophical underpinnings of the institution itself?

3. What is truth and what is myth about Wesley's contemporaries, such as his friend John Newton, author of Amazing Grace, and known as the "converted …

The British Church And The Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms To C.620 (Chapter Four Of The Celtic And Roman Traditions: Conflict And Consensus In The Early Medieval Church), Caitlin Corning

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

Excerpt: "At the same time that Columbanus was establishing his monasteries in Merovingian Gaul, Pope Gregory the Great began planning a mission to convert the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms located in present-day England. The pope wrote to leading Merovingians such as Brunhild asking for their support in this endeavor and to provide whatever aid was necessary for the missionaries. In 596, Augustine (597–604/10), future bishop of Canterbury, and his party departed Italy for the north, traveling through the Merovingian kingdoms to Kent where the papal mission established their headquarters at the old Roman town of Canterbury (map 4.1).

In the first years …

Communism And Religion - Telling The Story For The 21st Century, Mark Pargeter

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Religion And The Historiography Of Eastern Europe, James R. R. Payton Jr.

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Evangelical-Orthodox Dialogue In Russia On The Eve Of The Tenth Anniversary Of Chernobyl, Michael J. Christensen

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Divine Protection Through Extraordinary Dangers During The Irish Rebellion In 1798, Dinah W. Goff

Historical Quaker Books

Excerpt: "The Saviour of men frequently inculcated on his followers the duty of avoiding an over-anxious and distrustful disposition, and of confiding in the protecting and preserving care of our Heavenly Father. "Are ·not five sparrows sold for two farthings," said he, "and not one of them is forgotten before God,"- " one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." "