Church

The irrelevancy of "the church" is more than a trivialization of this or that kind of religious group or gathering - it's a widely held supposition both inside and outside circles. Of the several recent efforts to revive relevancy, few account for the utilitarian call for value and simply default to the crowded space of claims and counter-claims to fealty.

Using the notions of chaplaincy, ministry, and missional assertions to justify "the church" this conversation offers a glimpse of our alternatives as we observe the obvious - "the church" must add value or suffer irrelevancy.

The Mum effect is the natural human reluctance to share bad news with others, due to a desire to avoid a range of negative consequences, consequences affecting both self and the recipient of the bad news. Although the gospel is good news to those who believe, it may be viewed negatively by those who do not believe. Thus, Christians may be hesitant to share the gospel because of the negative consequences associated with the Mum effect. Because of the anonymity of the internet, social media is often filled with unre-strained criticism of Christianity. This may amplify the perceived negative consequences of sharing the gospel with unbelievers. In light of this cultural evolution, found now in the global north and increasingly present in the global south, Christian leaders can lead more effective ministries by distinguishing between outreach (building relationships in a way that makes the gospel attractive), witnessing (explaining how one has experienced God), and evangelism (sharing all that is necessary to make a decision for Christ), and by ensuring that all three occur in culturally relevant ways, carried out by individuals best equipped to do each, in a way consistent with the New Testament teaching on spiritual gifts. Specifically, outreach and witnessing can be done by all Christians who interact with non-Christians, whereas evangelism may be carried out, both on the individual level and in large groups, by those who are appropriately gifted. By addressing large groups in a more impersonal way, those gifted in evangelism may reduce the negative consequences of the Mum effect and build upon the outreach and witnessing done by others.

In de meeste studies waar de 'oudsten' in het Nieuwe Testament ter sprake komen vindt men op een of andere wijze het concept terug dat in 1953 door Hans von Campenhausen werd gelanceerd[i]. Hij plaatst een paulinisch christendom tegenover een joods christendom. Het eerste is charismatisch waarbij elk lid door de Geest wordt gebruikt, het tweede is strak geregeld onder een joodse oudstenraad. In de pastorale brieven wordt volgens Von Campenhausen het joodse model ingevoerd in de Paulinische gemeenten. Hij stelt dat de toename van het institutionele karakter (ofwel het ambt) samen op gaat met een afname van geestelijke dynamiek ofwel het charismatische. Hoe breed deze gedachte is geaccepteerd blijkt bijvoorbeeld uit het gegeven dat James D.G. Dunn deze theorie overneemt en introduceert in de Angelsaksische theologie[ii]. Dit gedachtegoed gaat ervan uit dat er vrij vroeg (al in het Nieuwe Testament, eerste eeuw) sprake is geweest van een plaatselijke christelijke gemeente in de zin van een gemeente die op één plaats samenkomt en die geleid wordt door oudsten die voor dit ambt aangesteld zijn. Dit oudstenmodel zou overgenomen zijn van de synagoge. Wetenschappelijke consensus Parallel aan de idee van dit nieuwtestamentisch gemeenteconcept ontwikkelen zich twee andere lijnen, die m.i. de zwakte van het concept van Von Campenhausen en Dunn aangeven. Er is namelijk in dit model zondermeer vanuit gegaan dat de oudsten in de synagoge een functie/ambt bekleedden. Dit blijkt niet zo te zijn. Er is al een halve eeuw een consensus onder wetenschappers, zoals verwoord door M.H. Shepherd in de breed geaccepteerde Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible: "Jewish elders were not responsible for worship in the synagogue, though they enjoyed seats of honour at the synagogue assemblies. Doubtless the synagogue rulers were frequently elected from among their number".[iv] De 'oudsten' waren door de gemeenschap gerespecteerde, meestal oudere wijze mannen (uit gerespecteerde families) die verantwoordelijk waren voor het reilen en zeilen van de gemeenschap, maar niet noodzakelijkerwijs een functie bekleedden. Ook in het NT zien we dat oudsten in de kerk deze positie bekleden.

The Christmas Eve devotional essay, published by the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust (pages 83-85 in A Book of Days: Christmas Reflections from the Northwest, Steven G. W. Moore and Richard Ganz SJ, eds.; Franklin, TN: Seedbed Publishing, 2014)

Both the emotion of gratitude and the expression of gratitude produce benefits for the person who is thankful and the person being thanked. This study explores the degree to which various forms of gratitude expression are appreciated by those being thanked. In a survey-based study (N = 361), costly, private expressions of gratitude were more appreciated by people being thanked than less costly, public expressions. Higher levels of the HEXACO personality traits of Conscientiousness and Emotionality increased the degree to which people appreciated being thanked. Lower Honesty-Humility (e.g., narcissism) predicted a greater appreciation of receiving public expressions of gratitude while higher Honesty-Humility predicted a greater appreciation of receiving private expressions of gratitude. This information can be used by Christian leaders to help equip others for ministry.

Deel 4 van de hertaalde uitgave van Petrus van Mastricht Theoretisch-Praktische Godgeleerdheid. In dit deel gaat het over de verlossing zoals die toegepast wordt aan de zondaar en over de kerk. De volgende onderdelen van de heilsorde worden behandeld: roeping, wedergeboorte, bekering, vereniging met Christus, rechtvaardiging, aanneming tot kinderen, heiligmaking en heerlijkmaking. In het boek over de kerk gaat het ondermeer over de dienaren van de kerk, de sacramenten, tucht en kerkregering.

Media literacy -the role in the Church and the trends of development.
The article aims to attempt a synthetic look at the reality of media literacy, first and foremost from the perspective of theological sciences, in particular the pastoral theology and the theology of means of social communication in a direct ecclesial context. This is connected with the need to define its role in the contemporary Church and its place in the current division of scientific fields and disciplines, as well as to indicate the trends of media literacy development and tasks that the Polish Church faces in this area. The contemporary teaching of the Church on the new evangelisation, which - in many places - has implications for the ecclesiastical doctrine of the media, constitutes the immediate context of the undertaken research. The issue under study has been presented in the following areas: 1. Around the concept of media literacy, 2. Interdisciplinarity of media literacy, 3. The role of media formation in the Church, 4. Selected trends of development of media literacy in an ecclesial context.

Jesus� imperatives in the Sermon on the Mount continue to play a significant role in Christian ethical discussions. The tension between the radical demands of Jesus and the impossibility of living this out within the everyday world has been noted by many scholars. In this article, an eschatological-ontological model, based on the social construction of reality, is developed to show that this dialectic is not necessarily an embarrassment to the church but, instead, belongs to the essence of the church as the recipient of the Spirit of Christ and as called by him to exist now in terms of the coming new age that has already been realised in Christ. The absolute demands of Jesus� imperatives, it is argued, must relativise all other interpretations of reality whilst the world, in turn, relativises Jesus� own definition of what �is� and therefore also the injunctions to his disciples on how to live within this world. This process of radical relativisation provides a critical framework for...

An annual gathering/workshop of sixty-five ordained and lay clergy, along with church administrators, from the UCC Churches of Maui, Moloka'i, and Lānaʻi where Dr. Ronald Williams Jr. was the guest speaker, offering three illustrated presentations

Mультимедийная лекция, посвященная 1000-летию памяти Владимира Святого – Крестителя Руси († 1015),  в Международном мультимедийном пресс-центре МИА «Россия сегодня» (Президентский зал) 4 Марта 2015 г. (17:00) в рамках нового мультимедийного проекта «Sputnik. Чтения»: http://1000vladimir.ru/2015/03/15/v-moskve-proshla-multimedijnaya-lekciya-istorika-professora-o-g-ulyanova-kreshhenie-vladimira-svyatogo-i-nachalo-rusi/

A iluminação de espaços sagrados não é devidamente observada como elemento relevante para a eficácia de tais ambientes. Todavia, a contínua construção e manutenção de igrejas cristãs ao longo de milênios tem manifestado a luz como dotada de força simbólica excepcional e primordial para a percepção do espaço sagrado como lugar de encontro com o divino. O presente artigo trata da luz, manifestadora do transcendente, a partir de abordagem simples, para divulgação em site da empresa D’Falco Vitrais, solicitante do trabalho. São elencados alguns princípios conceituais e diretrizes para o planejamento da luz no espaço sagrado, a partir da análise do vitral como técnica que alia luz e cor, que diz do visível e do invisível.

ABSTRACT
The lighting of sacred spaces is not properly observed as a relevant element for the effectiveness of such environments. However, the continuous construction and maintenance of Christian churches over millennia has manifested the light such as endowed with exceptional and primordial symbolic strength for the perception of the sacred space as a place of encounter with the divine. This article deals with light, a manifestator of the transcendent, from a simple approach, for dissemination on the website of the company D’Falco Vitrais, who requested the work. Some conceptual principles and guidelines for the planning of light in the sacred space are listed, based on the analysis of stained glass as a technique that combines light and color, which speaks of the visible and the invisible.

Diósi Dávid gyulafehérvári teológus tanári munkája során, valamint előadásaival és publikációival is már többszörösen bizonyította, hogy hitelesen tudja megragadni a mai ember problémavilágát. A filozófia, a teológia, a szociológia és a művészet beható ismeretével képes választ adni „személyre szabottan” a különböző körülmények között élő embernek, megszólítva magában az emberben lévő képességet a kérdésre és a válaszadásra egyaránt. Így juthat el az örök isteni megtalálására a sokszor homályba vagy sötétségbe kerülő lélek esetében, és képes megnyugtató módon szólni a mindannyiunkat körülvevő titokról. Sajátos gondolattársítással teszi egyértelművé, hogy az ünnepi liturgia bennünk van, melyet nem kell felszínes, futó örömökkel helyettesíteni, mert a Lélek hívásának mi vagyunk a főszereplői, ezért egzisztenciális kérdéssé válik az emberben lévő szép feltárása. Diósi Dávid azt az új látásmódot kínálja tehát, amely voltaképpen „meglepetésszerűen” teszi egyértelművé, hogy ki az az ismerős „Ismeretlen”, aki újra meg újra jeleket ad, hogy ezáltal felismerjük páratlan hivatásunkat. Vegyük kézbe a rövid írásokat, s engedjük magunkra hatni a szerzőnek a megszokottól sokszor eltérő fogalomvilágát, mert így egy különleges szellemi úton járhatunk.

Dr. Kránitz Mihály
egyetemi tanár, dékán, PPKE-HTK, Budapest

The prayer of a Christian is the subject of his daily care in the process of spiritual development. We can say that without it and its dynamic development it is not possible for the spiritual progress of the Christian and the Church in which he or she lives. It is also a very extensive subject of research and scientific work in the field of theology and especially the theology of spirituality. Hence, it must be treated in a multi-faceted and multi-directional way. Among all the different categories of prayer, community prayer and common prayer are very important. This distinction is necessary because it reveals to us the truth that every prayer has a communal character, but it is not always common. However, prayer celebrated together is the source of Christian life and the Church, and it is the clearest and most readable testimony of faith.

Does freedom of religion protect religious institutions, or does it only protect the individual religious conscience? Canadian jurisprudence after the Charter of Rights and Freedoms takes a decidedly individualist turn, deliberately avoiding the question of the rights of religious institutions. This individualist focus neglects the historical trajectory of religious freedom, the social understanding of religious faith by religious adherents themselves, and the institutional structures in which religion emerges and develops, and though which it is ultimately protected. An institutional account of religious liberty can complement the individualist account, as it better explains the legal order, better reflects actual religious practice, and better preserves both institutional and individual religious liberty. Recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada go some way towards correcting this individualist bias, but balk at resolving the legal status of religious institutions. This persistent ambiguity will prove problematic in controversies over religious autonomy already making their way through the courts.

Jesus' imperatives in the Sermon on the Mount continue to play a significant role in Christian ethical discussions. The tension between the radical demands of Jesus and the impossibility of living this out within the everyday world has been noted by many scholars. In this article, an eschatological-ontological model, based on the social construction of reality, is developed to show that this dialectic is not necessarily an embarrassment to the church but, instead, belongs to the essence of the church as the recipient of the Spirit of Christ and as called by him to exist now in terms of the coming new age that has already been realised in Christ. The absolute demands of Jesus' imperatives, it is argued, must relativise all other interpretations of reality whilst the world, in turn, relativises Jesus' own definition of what 'is' and therefore also the injunctions to his disciples on how to live within this world. This process of radical relativisation provides a critical framework for Christian living. The church must expect, and do, the impossible within this world through her faith in Christ who recreates and redefines reality. The church's ethical task, it is further argued, is to participate with the Spirit in the construction of signs of this new reality in Christ in this world through her actions marked by faith, hope and love.

Beim Synodalen Weg gibt es die Tendenz, Pädokriminalität in der Kirche als Folge einer zu rigiden katholischen Sexualmoral zu betrachten. Das beste Gegenmittel wäre, heißt es, eine Lockerung der Lehre. Dabei liegt der Schlüssel woanders: im Vergleich mit außerkirchlichen Missbrauchsfällen sowie in der Ausbildung der Priester.

Publikacja zawiera wygłaszane w latach 1974–1976 w kościele Świętego Krzyża w Warszawie wystąpienia kard. Stefana Wyszyńskiego, nazywane "Kazaniami Świętokrzyskimi". W ramach tego cyklu Prymas odnosił się do kluczowych kwestii z zakresu katolickiej nauki społecznej. Teksty źródłowe zostały poprzedzone obszernym wstępem przybliżającym kontekst wygłaszanych wystąpień oraz umiejscawiającym je w nauczaniu kard. Wyszyńskiego.

Para que se manifieste la fuerza interna del reino de Dios, es necesario que la comunidad cristiana, una minoría, se mantenga interiormente como tal; así resulta ser una verdadera minoría creativa. Sólo permaneciendo semilla, levadura, grano de mostaza, sal y luz es posible participar de la fecundidad y de la fuerza renovadora del Evangelio. Ello requiere, también, la atención por lo pequeño, por la persona (el pequeño rebaño, la oveja perdida) para poder construir algo grande. Las primeras comunidades cristianas atestiguan hasta qué punto el testimonio del evangelio sólo se hace significativo para los hombres de cada época si se sabe preservar esta diferencia. Porque esa diferencia pertenece a lo íntimo del misterio de Cristo, que con su acción invisible es la raíz de esa fuerza misteriosa y realísima.

Participation of Adam “Nergal” Darski, the leader of the death metal band Behemoth, in the television talent–show The Voice of Poland in autumn 2011 caused a media storm and fierce public debate in Poland . This story has focused as in a lens Polish social, political and religious life. Here heavy metal intersects with the popular media and culture, controversial stage image with court trials, Nergal’s fight against leukemia with advertising, Satanism and its symbols with Christianity, political struggle during the parliamentary election campaign with religious life, freedom of speech and artistic expression with religious freedom. This paper aims to answer two fundamental questions about those events: (1) How various discourses involved influenced each other?; (2) Which communication mechanisms have been used? Methodologically I use the Critical Discourse Analysis approach of Norman Fairclough (2003, 2005) and the case study method (Gerring, 2007; Stacks, 2005, 2011) to identify three intertwining and interacting processes of communication: (1) Nergal’s shockvertising/publicity in the death metal niche; (2) Nergal’s shockvertising/publicity in TVP when promoting The Voice of Poland to mass audience; (3) political and religious scandalization performed by specific activists (various political, church and religious organizations, bishops etc.)

Mordoğan is a sea-side township in the district of Karaburun in Izmir, western Turkey. It is situated on the eastern shoreline of Karaburun Peninsula within the Gulf of Izmir at about 20 km to the south of the district center of Karaburun. In a close distant of Mordoğan there was a Greek village1920s that was called as "Tekke Köy". In this short article in Turkish language this small rural church of 19th cent. is being presented.

Religion plays an important role in human life. In a recent review, religiosity has been associated with prosocial behavior; although consistent, the association was weak (Saroglou, 2013). To understand religious prosociality, varying theoretical contentions were offered (Preston, Salomon, & Ritter, 2013). The present study tested Supernatural Monitoring Hypothesis and sought to identify the role of the thought of a watching God in a religious individual’s prosocial behavior. With this aim, an experiment was conducted with two groups of participants wherein the experimental group was primed with the thought of a watching God through a song translation. Results of independent samples t-test showed that religious participants who were primed offered more time for a volunteer work compared to those who were not primed. Implications of this study point to the role of the thought of a watching God - interestingly when primed through a song - in prosocial behavior.

Kaum einer hat die religiösen Veränderungsprozesse der Gegenwart so treffend beschrieben wie Charles Taylor. In diesem Beitrag möchte ich seiner Grundthese der Säkularität folgen und fragen, was dies für Kirche in der Öffentlichkeit bedeutet („Wie spricht die Kirche zu unserer Welt?“). So wie die Säkularisierung nicht das Ende der Religion im öffentlichen Raum ist, so sind die Kirchenaustritte nicht das Ende der Kirche. Aber beide Entwicklungen hängen miteinander zusammen und bieten für Religion und Kirche neue Chancen und Herausforderungen. Diese sollen exemplarisch an Taylors Analyse von den ‚Suchenden‘ und den ‚Bewohnenden’ aufgezeigt werden. Dabei wird deutlich, dass die bisherigen Grenzen der beiden Gruppen (wie z.B. durch die Kirchenmitgliedschaft) zunehmend an Bedeutung verlieren und beide Gruppen in Bewegung aufeinander zu sind. Dadurch entstehen Zwischenräume, die kirchliche Arbeit in Zukunft verändern wird.

Hardly anyone has described the religious transformation of the present as accurately as Charles Taylor. In this contribution, I would like to follow his basic theory of secularity and ask what this means for the church in public ("How does the church speak to our world?"). Just as secularization is not the end of religion in public space, so church leavings are not the end of the church. But both developments are interrelated and offer new opportunities and challenges for religion and the church. Taylor's analysis of the 'seekers' and the 'dwellers' will serve as examples to illustrate these. It becomes clear that the previous boundaries of the two groups (e.g. through church membership) are becoming less and less important and that both groups are moving towards each other. This creates spaces in between which will change church work in the future.

Το κείμενο αυτό αποτελεί μετάφραση ενός άρθρου από το ηλεκτρονικό περιοδικό ORTHODOX ARTS JOURNAL. Articles and news for the promotion of traditional Orthodox Christian liturgical art. Δημοσιεύθηκε στις 8 Απριλίου 2021. Η συγγραφέας Christabel Helena Anderson είναι αγιογράφος με έδρα το Λονδίνο. Εξειδικεύεται στην κατασκευή εικόνων με αυγοτέμπερα σε ξύλο, στη μινιμαλιστική εικονογράφηση πάνω σε μεμβράνη και περίκλειστο σμάλτο (cloisonné) με σμάλτο και επιχρύσωση, δημιουργημένα όλα στο πλαίσιο της παράδοσης της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας. Τα σχέδια, οι μέθοδοι και τα υλικά της βρίσκουν την έμπνευσή τους στα εικονογραφικά παραδείγματα και στην τέχνη, την αρχιτεκτονική και τα χειρόγραφα της Βρετανίας και της Ιρλανδίας από την ύστερη αρχαιότητα και την πρώιμη μεσαιωνική εποχή.

Kirche und Postmoderne. Die Religiosität und die Neigung zur Ästhetisierung in unserer Zeit
Elkötelezett katolikusként az egyházról írni egy vallásilag sokszínű világban nem könnyű vállalkozás. Különösen akkor, ha az ember a leírtakat a hitelesség pecsétjével látja el, és írásában nem mint külső szemlélő vizsgál egy többé-kevésbé ismert világot, hanem s¬ját életteréről ír.
Diósi Dávid „Egyház és posztmodern” írása a katolikus egyház helyzetét vizsgálja a posztmodern jelzővel ellátott világban. Ezen világ sajátja a „megmozdultság”, a sajátos határok elmozdulása, felbomlása. A jelzett világ állampolgára konfúz vallásos térségben találja magát, ahol nehéz tisztán látnia. Nehéz ebben a világban a keresztény értékrend képviselete.
Erre vállakozik Diósi, és vezet el az egyházias térség biztos talajára. Az olvasó hiteles és átfogó képet kap az egyházias élet szépségéről. A gördülékeny stílusban megírt könyv élvezetes olvasmány és fontos hiánypótló munka az egyház kérdésével foglalkozó szakmai piacon.
(Jitianu Liviu, teológus)