Showing papers on "Ecclesiology published in 1991"

Buildings, Faith, and Worship: The Liturgical Arrangement of Anglican Churches 1600-1900

Abstract: This is the first major study for over forty years of the liturgical arrangement of Anglican churches in the period between the Reformation and the Oxford Movement. The study is based both on surviving buildings and on a wide range of archival sources, such as seating plans, which are used to document internal changes and to suggest reasons behind them. In the course of the book Nigel Yates challenges many widely held assumptions about the liturgical outlook of the Pre-Tractarian period, and about the impact of ecclesiology on the Church of England. In particular, he emphasizes the existence, hitherto disregarded, of a Church of England movement for liturgical renewal between 1780 and 1840, which to a degree anticipated some of the ideas previously attributed solely to the ecclesiologists. The discussion is firmly set within the context of European Protestantism, and comparisons are drawn with the liturgical practices both of Calvinists and Lutherans.

Ecclesiology in Dialogue : a Critique of the Understanding of the Nature of the Church in the Thought of G. C. Berkouwer

Abstract: ECCLESIOLOGY IN DIALOGUE: A CRITIQUE OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH IN THE THOUGHT OF G. C. BERKOUWER

A Manual for SDA Ministers of South Brazil to Train the Laity in Understanding How to Evangelize Roman Catholic Basic Ecclesial Communities

Abstract: Adviser: A MANUAL FOR SDA MINISTERS OF SOUTH BRAZIL FOR TRAINING THE LAITY IN UNDERSTANDING HOW TO EVANGELIZE ROMAN CATHOLIC BASIC ECCLESIAL COMMUNITIES by Jos6 Miranda Rocha

Organizing the People of God: Social-Science Theories of Organization in Ecclesiology

Abstract: A ARTICLE by a political scientist which appeared in this journal in 1972 put the case for the usefulness of the social sciences in understanding and structuring the Church. It ended with a call for "political ecclesiology" to be made an important part of theological studies, and for insights from social-science theories of organization to be increasingly applied in ecclesiologies. Even at the time when that article appeared, some work in the area of ecclesiology and social science had already been done. Bonhoeffer's isolated attempt at "a dogmatic enquiry into the sociology of the Church" in the 1920s had prepared the way for an increasing number of studies in this interdisciplinary field—studies which have varied greatly in weight, approach, and background, and have rarely engaged one another. This variety and lack of connectedness makes the area of "political" or "organizational" ecclesiology a difficult one to assess and work within. The use of theories of organization in ecclesiology is still relatively new, and so lacks clear, well-established parameters and methodologies. Each laborer in the field has to start more or less from scratch, reading the work already done, studying the social-science theories themselves, and working out her own approach. This article aims at facilitating the development of this field by giving a critical account of the major work done in the area so far. That will be of help and guidance to any theologians attempting to bring together ecclesiology and social-science theory, and it may be of interest to others as well. In what follows a number of ecclesiological works which employ social-science understandings of organizational life are examined. Once

Buite-kerklikheid en makro-kerklikheid in die moderne ekklesiologie

Abstract: Two significant trends can be identified in the church of today: indifferentism and the emergence of a macro-church. Indifferentism bears the implicit meaning that the church is no longer regarded as being important or having significance for Christianity. In line with this thought, it is claimed that it is possible to be a Christian without having any official commitment to a church as structure. The term macro-church, on the other hand, describes the concept of the church as primarily being a huge ecumenical structure which acts as 'super church’ in the world. These two trends should be regarded with caution. Not only are these trends theologically questionable, but the importance and effectiveness of the local church is also disregarded. When aiming to develop and establish the true essence of Christianity in future, the functioning of the local church should be restored. In this article it is thus argued that for the immediate future the main task of the Ecclesiology will be to establish the original meaning and functionality of the local church.