scholarly journals The Politics of Credentials: A Commentary and Critique of the Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-327
Author(s):  
Graham A Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Presbyterian Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Church Tradition

The use of credentials in an ecclesiastical context is a means of assuring that a minister is who he or she claims to be and is therefore trained and qualified to exercise ministry within a particular church tradition as determined by individual denominations. The concept and use of credentials has developed over time. Using primary sources in the main, this article examines the use of credentials as a tool for ‘inclusion’ or a means of ‘exclusion’, or both, in the history of the largest Presbyterian church in Southern Africa and its predecessors. The research question under study is to what degree, if any, were credentials used to control ministers and to cleanse and purify the church of radical – such as anti-apartheid – elements?

scholarly journals �The hastening that waits�: A critical assessment of the tangebility of unity within the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rothney S. Tshaka ◽  
Peter M. Maruping
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Critical Assessment ◽  
Church Of Christ ◽  
The Political ◽  
Racial Categories ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Racial Lines ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Tradition

The tale of the Reformed Church tradition in South Africa remains conspicuous with challenges also within the current democratic context. Whilst the political past of South Africa contributed towards a Reformed church divided along racial lines, a struggle continues for a genuinely unified Reformed church today. Conceding to the present discussions about the possibility of uniting all Reformed congregations that were divided along racial categories of Black, Coloured, Indian and White, this article aspires to delve into the intricacies pertaining to the already achieved unity between the �Coloured� and a huge portion of the �Black� Reformed congregations, that is to say, the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. This article will argue that although it is fundamental that the church of Christ must be united, it is equally imperative that the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) waits and assesses whether it has already achieved tangible unity.

scholarly journals A Quarter Century of Democracy and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leepo Johannes Modise
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
Measuring Tool ◽  
The Church

This paper focuses on the role of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) in the South African society during the past 25 years of its services to God, one another and the world. Firstly, the paper provides a brief history of URCSA within 25 years of its existence. Secondly, the societal situation in democratic South Africa is highlighted in light of Article 4 of the Belhar Confession and the Church Order as a measuring tool for the role of the church. Thirdly, the thermometer-thermostat metaphor is applied in evaluating the role of URCSA in democratic South Africa. Furthermore, the 20 years of URCSA and democracy in South Africa are assessed in terms of Gutierrez’s threefold analysis of liberation. In conclusion, the paper proposes how URCSA can rise above the thermometer approach to the thermostat approach within the next 25 years of four general synods.

Penerimaan Gereja Orthodox Tewahedo Terhadap 81 Kitab

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-42
Author(s):  
Oktavia Kristika Sari
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Social Culture ◽  
God's Word ◽  
History Of ◽  
Worth Reading ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Tradition

When the Church recognizes the quantity of books as part of God's Word, it uses various standards for book collection. The Tewahedo Orthodox Church, which has 81 books, is one of the churches that got so many. The question of why this Church accepts so many books in its canon and how this Church interprets these books adds to the intricacy of the problem of the number of books in the Tewahedo Orthodox Church tradition. This research employs a content analysis to conduct a literature review. This research demonstrates the Tewahedo Orthodox Church's devotion to the works in its canon. Both in terms of apostles' and Church Fathers' traditions, the lengthy history of Social Culture, Councils and Synods, and the impact of ancient literature in Ethiopia.Although it is well known that writings outside the Hebrew protocanon are employed for ceremonial theology and people's education rather than construction, the Orthodox Tewahedo also believes these works to be vital as books worth reading and historical bridges. Abstrak indonesia  Standar pengumpulan kitab yang digunakan oleh Gereja ketika menerima jumlah kitab-kitab sebagai bagian dari Alkitab yang dipegang menggunakan standar yang berbeda-beda. Salah satu gereja yang menerima begitu banyak kitab adalah Gereja Tewahedo Orthodox yang memiliki 81 kitab. Kompleksnya masalah jumlah kitab di dalam tradisi Gereja Tewahedo Orthodox ini, menjadi pertanyaan apa yang menyebabkan Gereja ini menerima begitu banyak kitab dalam kanonnya dan bagaimana Gereja ini memandang kitab-kitab tersebut. Penelitian ini menggunakan Kajian Kepustakaan berupa kajian isi. Dalam penelitian ini menunjukkan kompleksitas penerimaan Gereja Tewahedo Orthodox terhadap kitab-kitab dalam kanonnya. Baik karena pengaruh tradisi rasul-rasul dan Bapa Gereja, sejarah panjang dalam Social Budaya dan Konsili serta Sinode, maupun juga pengaruh dari Literatur kuno di Ethiopia. Dan diketahui bahwa kitab-kitab diluar protokanon Ibrani tidak digunakan dalam membangun doktrin namun digunakan untuk ritual-ritual dan pengajaran umat, Tewahedo Orthodox juga meganggap penting kitab-kitab ini sebagai kitab-kitab yang layak dibaca dan digunakan sebagai jembatan sejarah.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Rebecca Maloy
Keyword(s):  
Primary Sources ◽  
Isidore Of Seville ◽  
History Of ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
Cultural Project ◽  
Church Councils ◽  
The Church ◽  
Christian Society

Provides an introduction to the book’s central objectives, to the Old Hispanic rite, and to the Visigothic cultural program. The book argues that much of the Old Hispanic chant was created as part of an intellectual and cultural project initiated by Iberian bishops in the late sixth and seventh centuries. A central part of this project was the education of clergy, and through this, the formation of a Nicene Christian society. Chant was a central part of this endeavor. The chapter examines primary sources related to the history of the Old Hispanic liturgy and chant, such as the church councils and the works of Isidore of Seville, and traces, in summary form, the later developments of the tradition. The author also provides an overview of each chapter’s central argument.

scholarly journals South African Presbyterian women in leadership in ministry (1973–2018)

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham A. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Women In Leadership ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Presbyterian Church ◽  
General Acceptance ◽  
Ordination Of Women

The issue of women in the ministry has been a vexed one historically. In many denominations, the ordination of women has been represented by some form of struggle, which culminated in the first ordinations of women during the second half of the 20th century. This article investigates the process towards the ordination of women in two Southern African Presbyterian denominations – the Bantu Presbyterian Church of South Africa (renamed the ‘Reformed Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa’ in 1979) and the Presbyterian Church of South Africa (renamed the ‘Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa’ in 1958), prior to their union in 1999 to form the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. This article focusses on women in leadership in ministry, not exclusively on women ordained to the ministry of ruling or teaching elder (minister). It begins with an historical overview and proceeds to an investigation of developments in the two relevant denominations. The terms ‘leadership’ and ‘ministry’ are used separately and together and are considered to be synonymous. The article uses primary sources from the records of both denominations considered and suggests that the process was gradual and progressive as the worth of women in leadership was recognised following the general acceptance of the biblical and theological arguments.

scholarly journals Ecclesiological Renewal for a Relevant Ministry and Church Polity, with reference to UCCSA and UPCSA in Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xolani Maseko ◽  
Wim A. Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Emerging Church ◽  
Presbyterian Church ◽  
Church Ministry ◽  
Church Unity ◽  
Church Polity ◽  
The Face ◽  
Strategic Perspective ◽  
The Church

This article is a critique of Reformed Ecclesiology, particularly as regarding ministry and church polity. It is argued herein that a static ecclesiology results in church ministry that is seemingly deficient in responding to the context. This is seen in the current church polities and ways in which different denominations explain and carry out their ministry in the face of the new religious environment of the 21st century. This critique demands imperatives from the church, especially now in the advent of the emerging church, virtual ministry and such pandemics as Covid-19. The church cannot afford to remain ambivalent; her relevance is at stake. This article deals with Reformed Ecclesiology and polity in the context of Zimbabwe, with a special focus on the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) and the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA) in Zimbabwe. These two denominations are in a “prolonged” engagement for church unity. From a strategic perspective, a possible ecclesiology will be proposed that can facilitate this renewal in the context of a Calvinistic ecclesiology. It is argued that a change in ecclesiology will result in a refined church ministry and polity. This is done by investigating the “church as epiphany.”

scholarly journals From England to Under African Skies: The Quest for an African Anglican Liturgical Voice

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Carleton Houston ◽  
Andrew Kruger
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Anglican Church ◽  
Revision Process ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Consultative Process ◽  
The Church

The prayer book of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa is currently being revised. The slogan ‘Under Southern Skies - In An African voice’ is the rallying cry of this liturgical consultative process.  It captures one of the core purposes of the revision project, namely, to root Anglican liturgy in the context of Southern Africa.  But this is not a new impetus. The previous revision of the prayer book, 1989 Anglican Prayer Book, sought a similar objective and hoped for the continuing development of indigenous liturgy.  This hope has a long history. The Anglican church, formed in England in the midst of the Reformation, engaged significantly with the vernacular moment, crafting liturgy in English rather than Latin. The church also sought to hold together a diversity of theological voices in order to create a via media or middle road.  This paper explores the liturgical turning point of the Reformation and the later expansion of colonial and theological tensions that have shaped and been expressed through the history of the Anglican prayer book in Southern Africa.  The authors conclude that giving substance to indigenous voices and finding theological middle ground remains important to the revision process to this day.

scholarly journals Die wording van ’n Suid-Afrikaanse kerkhistoriese bibliografie: ’n Historiese en bibliografiese oorsig

1990 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-173
Author(s):  
J. W. Hofmeyr
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
History Of ◽  
Select Bibliography ◽  
The Church ◽  
Insight Into

The making of a South African church historical bibliography: An historical and bibliographic survey The compilation of the History of the church in Southern Africa: a select bibliography of published material (compiled and edited by J W Hofmeyr and K E Cross) is discussed especially in historical perspective. The prime purpose of this article is to provide information both for the continuation of the project itself and to give for various purposes the outsider an insight into the compilation of a bibliography of this nature.

scholarly journals THE WAY TO THE AUTOCEPHALY OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN 1918 (THROUGH THE PRIZE OF DOCUMENTS OF THE SECOND SESSION OF THE ALL-UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX COUNCIL)

2019 ◽  
pp. 37-42
Author(s):  
A. Sliusarenko ◽  
T. Pshenychnyi
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Tradition

The events that are taking place today in the church field of the Ukrainian State testify to the importance of the national church in building the national security of the country. The union of the church with the state has been formed for centuries, and to consider the absence of this tandem today would be wrong. However, such an alliance can be dangerous for the state if the church provokes separatism, ignites national conflict, undermines the national security of the state. Evidence of this is the aggressive policy of the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church towards Ukraine throughout history, which has turned the church into an instrument of political games. Thus, by annexing the Metropolitan of Kiev in 1686 and establishing a protectorate over the Ukrainian church space, the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church did everything to destroy the Ukrainian church tradition. History of Ukraine of the twentieth century testifies to the repeated attempts of Ukrainians to get out of the grip of the Russian Orthodox Church and build their own independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church. A striking example of this is the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Council of 1918, which, in the context of national competitions of the Ukrainian people for their own state, brought to the agenda of the revolutionary events the question of independence of the Ukrainian Church. At the second session of the Council, the idea of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for the first time in many years consolidated a small part of the Ukrainian church and political elite around it. This article is devoted to analyzing the documents of this council session. The author tries to present the main stages of the competition for the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the difficulties that have arisen.

scholarly journals Genetic structure and sex-biased gene flow in the history of southern African populations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Bajić ◽  
Chiara Barbieri ◽  
Alexander Hübner ◽  
Tom Güldemann ◽  
Christfried Naumann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Y Chromosome ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Population History ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
The Social ◽  
African Populations ◽  
History Of ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACTObjectivesWe investigated the genetic history of southern African populations with a special focus on their paternal history. We reexamined previous claims that the Y-chromosome haplogroup E1b1b was brought to southern Africa by pastoralists from eastern Africa, and investigated patterns of sex-biased gene flow in southern Africa.Material and MethodsWe analyzed previously published complete mtDNA genome sequences and ~900 kb of NRY sequences from 23 populations from Namibia, Botswana and Zambia, as well as haplogroup frequencies from a large sample of southern African populations and 23 newly genotyped Y-linked STR loci for samples assigned to haplogroup E1b1b.ResultsOur results support an eastern African origin for Y-chromosome haplogroup E1b1b; however, its current distribution in southern Africa is not strongly associated with pastoralism, suggesting a more complex origin for pastoralism in this region. We confirm that the Bantu expansion had a notable genetic impact in southern Africa, and that in this region it was probably a rapid, male-dominated expansion. Furthermore, we find a significant increase in the intensity of sex-biased gene flow from north to south, which may reflect changes in the social dynamics between Khoisan and Bantu groups over time.ConclusionsOur study shows that the population history of southern Africa has been very complex, with different immigrating groups mixing to different degrees with the autochthonous populations. The Bantu expansion led to heavily sex-biased admixture as a result of interactions between Khoisan females and Bantu males, with a geographic gradient which may reflect changes in the social dynamics between Khoisan and Bantu groups over time.

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