Innovation and Undecidability: Some Implications for theKoinoniaof the Anglican Church

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Pickard
Keyword(s):  
Social Engagement ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Anglican Church ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The People ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nicene Creed ◽  
The Church

ABSTRACTThe Anglican Church is now a worldwide communion and international Anglicanism is marked by a high degree of variety and significant tensions both at local and international levels. Dealing with diversity and conflict across the communion may be the most pressing issue facing Anglicanism in the twenty-first century. Certainly the needs of mission require a strong focus on local and regional concerns and the history of Anglicanism bears testimony to a strong emphasis on a contextual and incarnational approach to discipleship, worship and social engagement. For this reason the Anglican Church has always wrestled with the tension between its inherited identity and the demand for relevance in an expanding communion. Many of the tensions and unresolved conflicts that beset modern Anglicanism arise because of the astonishing capacity of the Church to develop new responses in new situations that result in practices that do not fit easily with the received tradition. These point to a fundamental fact of Christianity; its inherent creativity and capacity for innovation. But not all innovations are wise for the Church; many innovations generate further conflict and the people of God are often confused or puzzled about what innovations to adopt or reject, and how to facilitate either of these scenarios. Some examples in the history of Christianity include controversies over the date of Easter, the development of church order (for example, episcopacy), doctrinal developments (for example,homoousionof the Nicene Creed), and issues to do with slavery, marriage, divorce and, more recently, ordination of women. None of these ‘innovations’ were greeted with immediate consensus at the point of local adoption nor as the innovation became more widely known and assimilated into the life of the Church.From an ecclesial point of view the fact of innovation represents both a challenge to, and opportunity for an enhancedkoinoniain the gospel. Minimally this involves commitment to ongoing patient dialogue and face-to-face encounter as innovations are wrestled with, differences explored and conflicts faced. This article considers further the concepts of innovation and undecidability as critical issues underlying much of our current difficulties. The article then inquires as to their relevance and importance for thekoinoniaof the Anglican Communion.

The Bible in The Church

1948 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-232
Author(s):  
A. G. Hebert
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Higher Criticism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Church ◽  
Critical Investigation

The subject is the Bible, and its relation to the Church. Hence I shall not attempt to deal with the so-called Bible Difficulties, or with the Higher Criticism, or to develop a theory of Inspiration. I must try to give a line about the general interpretation of the Bible, as being God's Book and truly inspired, written in the Church and for the Church's use; and as written by men, because it has been God's method to reveal Himself through men. It was written by men, and tells a story which is real history; therefore we must have thorough critical investigation of the Bible. It is God's Book because it tells the story of God's saving Purpose, worked out in the history of the believing and worshipping People of God, Israel, His chosen nation. Because this story is true, we have nothing to fear from the Higher Criticism. If that Criticism has been at fault, as it often has been, it is because it has often failed to see the record, as it needs to be seen, from the point of view of believing and worshipping Israel.For the Church is the People of God, God's Israel. As such, it has existed not for some 1900 years only, but for more than 3000 years, since the day when the Lord God redeemed it out of Egypt and made His Covenant with it.

The People of God, Discipleship and Ministry in the Anglican Church Today and Tomorrow

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
John Littleton
Keyword(s):  
Potential Outcomes ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Anglican Church ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Parish Ministry ◽  
The People ◽  
The Church

Abstract People of God is a well-known biblical term used to describe and understand the inclusive, holistic and serving nature of the Christian Church. Currently, members of the worldwide Anglican Communion are discussing discipleship and ministry. This paper explores the deep connection between describing the church as the People of God and the practice of discipleship and ministry. That exploration occurs through an examination of the considerable literature on the topic, and by discussing discipleship and ministry in light of understanding the church as the People of God. Discoveries made from the journey may surprise. Suggestions for church practice emerged with implications for: ecclesial language; parish ministry and mission; the processes of Anglican Diocesan Synods; and potential outcomes for the 2022 Lambeth Conference.

scholarly journals Synodality — Participation — Co-Responsibility. Remarks on the Determinants of the Aggiornamento of the Church Law

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 95-114
Author(s):  
Andrzej Pastwa
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Community Of Faith ◽  
The People ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Scientific Reflection ◽  
Church Law ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

In the communio Ecclesiae reality, of a unitarian, charismatic, and institutiona structure, the crucial concepts of participation and co-responsibility are firmly anchored in the juridical and canonical discourse. This is the way in which the horizon of the subject matter reveals itself, the study of which — from the point of view of the title triad: synodality — participation — co-responsibility — will never lose its relevance. What is, at the same time, important is the idea of “synodality,” which is adequately recognized as the sacra potestas of a sacramental origin (ontological aspect), which gains the dynamism of libertas sacra (existential and dynamic aspect) through the charisms of the Holy Spirit, thus leading to the inseparability of its personal and synodal aspects. Therefore, in the attempt to illuminate the determinant of the aggiornamento of the Church law in this study, it was appropriate, on the one hand, to consistently refer to the essence of the idea of the communio hierarchica, according to which Christ makes selected servants participate in his authority by means of an office, the exercise of which always remains a diaconia in the community of faith. On the other hand, in reference to the contemporary understanding of communio fidelium, the axis of scientific reflection was to be the communion-creative phenomenon of charisms — gifts of the Holy Spirit that awaken in the People of God synodal co-responsibility for the good of the entire Church community. In both cases — without losing sight of the obvious truth that, in the sacramental structure of the Church (communio), both hierarchical and charismatic gifts converge in the service of the bishop, who updates — according to the logic of the Vaticanum II aggiormamento and the ecclesiological principles of the Council: collegiality, the title synodality and subsidiarity — the fullness of Christ’s service: as Prophet, Priest, and King.

scholarly journals Apostolate from the Point of View of the II Vatican Council

2020 ◽  
pp. 553-570
Author(s):  
Lucjan Balter
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Actual State ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
People Of God ◽  
The People ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
The Times ◽  
Sociological Studies ◽  
The Church

e panorama of the Council’s thinking about the universal apostolate, sketchedout in brief, is increasingly becoming the property of the people of God: it permeatesthe minds and hearts, is reflected in the practice of daily life, in the initiativesand apostolic undertakings taken, in the way of thinking and acting. It wouldbe difficult to say, of course, what the actual state of current apostolic activityin the Church is, if we had separate sociological studies. Nevertheless, it shouldbe stated and strongly emphasised that the pioneering suggestions of VincenzoPalottis, enriched by the experience and reflections of future generations, thecontributions of Newman, Perrone and others, deepened and adapted accordingto the demands of the times by the Second Vatican Council, have already becomea lasting heritage and property of the whole people of God, who are becomingincreasingly more aware that they are by their very nature, and therefore mustbe in practice, a people who are eminently apostolic.

3. The people called Methodists

2019 ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
William J. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The Core ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
Core Elements ◽  
History Of ◽  
Renewal Movement ◽  
The Church

The initial agenda of Methodism as a renewal movement in the Church of England was ‘to reform England, especially the church, and to spread scriptural holiness throughout the land’. Like most renewal movements in the history of Christianity, it did not succeed. Instead it morphed into a network of Methodist denominations across the world. ‘The people called Methodists’ outlines John Wesley’s new version of Christianity and its separation from the mother church. It describes the search for succession, the process of ordination, and the core elements of Methodism. Methodists insist on the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist, and on orderly ordination for their clergy. But beyond that there is flexibility, innovation, and adaptability.

Ecumenism and Rome

1984 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-64
Author(s):  
T. F. Torrance
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Evangelical Churches ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Catholic Churches ◽  
The Church

Few people in our time have been more deeply concerned with thinking into each other again the inner substance of the evangelical and catholic emphases in the Church of Jesus Christ, than Oscar Cullmann. This has been especially evident in the way in which he has consistently sought to penetrate into the essential harmony of the Gospel that not only underlies the whole history of the Church but underpins the divisions between the Evangelical Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, bringing his unusually fresh understanding of the NT and the Early Church to bear constructively upon the areas of discord and friction, not least in respect of the concept of the Papacy. His many writings reveal unparalleled sensitivity and appreciation for the centrality of the biblical message, the sanctity of tradition and the continuity of worship in the redeemed life of the people of God, which have allowed him to bring together, without compromise, the concentration upon the core of the Gospel which has characterised the Evangelical Churches and the universal task and unifying order which have characterised the Catholic Churches.

South African Christian Experiences: From colonialism to democracy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelebogile Thomas Resane
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
African Women ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The Church

Theologically and historically sound, Resane’s South African Christian Experiences: From Colonialism to Democracy, envisions a robust Christianity that acknowledges itself as “a community of justified sinners” who are on an eschatological journey of conversion. This Christianity does not look away from its historical sins and participation in corruption and evils such as Apartheid. Resane argues that failing to adhere to Jesus’ teachings is not a reason for Christianity to recede from public life. Rather, doing so further pushes Christianity away from Jesus who emphatically called for the Church to engage in the liberation of society. By framing how the Christian must engage with his/her community as a component to belief – that saying must mean doing for belief to happen – Resane frames his theology as an eschatological clarion call for internal and social renewal, an interplay between the individual Christian, the communal churches of Christ, and society at large. Dr J. Sands – Northwest University “Drawing from our own wells” is a prophetic call for theologians to develop context specific liberation theologies drawn from their own contexts, history, experiences, and different types of knowledge. This book locates its loci in the historical and contemporary context in South Africa, as well as drawing from the rich legacy of liberation theologies including African, Kairos, Black, Circle and many other theologies to address contemporary issues facing South Africa. Resane’s book contributes towards enhancing the much needed local theologies of liberation based on contextual realities and knowledges. Dr Nontando Hadebe – Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians South African Christian Experiences: From Colonialism to Democracy captures the societal binaries that are part and parcel of Christianity, especially in the African context. The definition of God is also affected by these binaries, such as, is God Black or White? The book proposes both the non-binary approach, and the process of inculturation. The work also shows how not to have one theology, but different theologies, hence references and expansions on the Trinity, Pneumatology, Christology, etc. Furthermore, this work portrays Christ as seen from an African point of view, and what it means to attach African attributes to Christ, as opposed to the traditional Western understanding. Rev. Fr. Thabang Nkadimeng – History of Christianity, University of KwaZulu Natal Resane has dug deep into the history of the church in South Africa, and brought the experiences of Indigenous people and Christians, including theologians, to the attention of every reader. The author demonstrates an intense knowledge of the history of Christianity. He also portrays that there is still more to be done, both from the Christian historical perspective and the theological perspective for the church to be relevant to all the contexts in which it finds itself. Prof. Mokhele Madise – Department of Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology, University of South Africa

scholarly journals Development of the Genealogical FamilySearch Database and Expanding Its Use to Map and Measure Multiple Generations of American Migration

Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Samuel M. Otterstrom ◽  
Brian E. Bunker ◽  
Michael A. Farnsworth
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Short History ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Genealogical Data ◽  
Migration Flows ◽  
The Church ◽  
Family Trees

Genealogical research is full of opportunities for connecting generations. Millions of people pursue that purpose as they put together family trees that span hundreds of years. These data are valuable in linking people to the people of their past and in developing personal identities, and they can also be used in other ways. The purposes of this paper are to first give a short history of the development and practice of family history and genealogical research in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has developed the FamilySearch website, and second, to show how genealogical data can illustrate forward generation migration flows across the United States by analyzing resulting patterns and statistics. For example, descendants of people born in several large cities exhibited distinct geographies of migration away from the cities of their forebears.

scholarly journals A certain bishop and a certain diocese in Egypt at the turn of the fourth and fifth centuries: The testimony of the Canons of Athanasius

2020 ◽  
pp. 92-115
Author(s):  
Ewa Wipszycka
Keyword(s):  
Fifth Century ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Church Hierarchy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Church

The Canons of Athanasius, a homiletic work written at the beginning of the fifth century in one of the cities of the Egyptian chora, provide us with many important and detailed pieces of information about the Church hierarchy. Information gleaned from this text can be found in studies devoted to the history of Christianity of the fourth and fifth centuries, but rarely are they the subject of reflection as an autonomous subject. To date, no one has endeavoured to determine how the author of the Canons sought to establish the parameters of his work: why he included certain things in this work, and why left other aspects out despite them being within the boundaries of the subject which he had wished to write upon. This article looks to explore two thematic areas: firstly, what we learn about the hierarchical Church from the Canons, and secondly, what we know about the hierarchical Church from period sources other than the Canons. This article presents new arguments which exclude the authorship of Athanasius and date the creation of the Canons to the first three decades of the fifth century.

scholarly journals The School Culture Heritage of the Reformation

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-121
Author(s):  
László Trencsényi
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Church Reform ◽  
College Culture ◽  
Educational Innovations ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Culture Heritage ◽  
History Of ◽  
Contemporary Education ◽  
The Church

Abstract On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, this essay analyses those educational innovations in the history of central European education that were introduced by the Church reform in the 16th century, following these modernizations and their further developments through the spreading of the universal school systems in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Drawing examples from the innovations in the college culture of the period, the author emphasises that those pedagogical values established in the 16th century are not only valid today, but are exemplary from the point of view of contemporary education. From these the author highlights: pupils’ autonomy (in the form of various communities), cooperation with the teachers and school management and the relative pluralism of values.

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