scholarly journals Chrzest w "Traktach wielkanocnych" św. Gaudentego z Bresci

Vox Patrum ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 103-113
Author(s):  
Bazyli Degórski

In the fullness of times, Christ is present at the Wedding Feast in Cana, a town called possessio gentium territory of the Gentiles. Besides the Bridegroom are Moses, pre-figured by the man in charge of the feast; Mary, who symbolizes in herself the Patriarchs, the Prophets and all the just ones of the Old Testament; the Apostles – to whom it will be commanded to preach the word and to minister Baptism. In such a context Christ renders the Church, gathered from the multi­tude, His Spouse, and He grants her, through the intercession of Mary, the gift of the new wine: the Holy Spirit. In Christ the Bridegroom are fulfilled all the expec­tations of the old just ones, pre-figured in Mary, and Mary intercedes so that the Bridegroom grants thirsty people [symbolized by Cana, town of the Gentiles], the gift of the bridal union: the Holy Spirit. The command given to the servants to fill the jars with water symbolizes the Apostolic vocation of Baptism and teaching. When stripping the thought of Saint Gaudentius of forced exegesis, there remains his interpretation of the Bridegroom as the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and the beginning of a new era of bridal union: the work of the Holy Spirit, the dies lucis. The Christian life, renewed by the Baptismal waters, implies the maintenance of the purity of the bridal wine, the given innocence, by keeping afar from idolatry and not to be dispersed by God. In a word, it all has to do – in the thought of Saint Gaudentius – with life in faith, hope and charity and faithfulness to the charis­mas received. His rich and consistent teaching renders him an integral part of the Patristic exegetical tradition, from which he himself draws important interpreta­tive elements, but to which he contributes as well with original hints enriching the hermeneutics of the narrative of Cana while revealing at the same time its pneumatological, sacramental and ecclesiological – as well as mariological and moral cohesion. In Baptism, the Christian is immerged in the paschal mystery of Christ to res­urrect with Him becoming a new creation, through the passing from death to life. In fact, the Christian initiation, in the times of the Bishop of Brescia, took place at Easter, thus explaining all chronological circumstances. Furthermore, Baptism, furthermore, was founding the description of the passage of the Hebrews through the Red Sea (see Ex 12, 7-13), thus finding its typology in such a narrative.

Author(s):  
Maxwell Johnson

“Christian initiation” refers to the ritual process employed by various churches in forming new Christian converts through catechesis (instruction) during the “catechumenate” to baptism, postbaptismal rites (including hand-laying and anointing, sometimes called “confirmation”), culminating in First Communion, and leading to the further integration of these newly initiated members into ongoing Christian life through “mystagogy.” Christian initiation is the story of diversity and change as the biblical images of initiation lead toward a rich variety of early Christian practices and theological interpretations, eventually coming to focus on Christian baptism as “new birth” or the “washing of regeneration” in water and the Holy Spirit (John 3:5 and Titus 3:5) in early Syria and Egypt and baptism as participation in the death and burial of Christ (Rom. 6) in North Africa and other places in the West. In the 4th and 5th centuries, after Christianity emerged as a cultus publicus, the rites of Christian initiation underwent a certain standardization and cross-fertilization as various churches borrowed from one another to construct rites that display a remarkable degree of homogeneity. These rites include a decided preference for celebrating Christian initiation at Easter, after a period of final catechetical preparation in Lent; prebaptismal rites with an exorcistic focus; an almost universal (Rom. 6) theological interpretation of baptism; and postbaptismal hand-layings or anointings associated explicitly with the gift or “seal” of the Holy Spirit, still leading to First Communion within a unitive and integral process. Another characteristic, thanks to the controversies faced by Augustine with Pelagianism, was the development of a new theological rationale for the initiation of infants, which focused on the inheritance of “original sin” from Adam. This would have far-reaching consequences for subsequent centuries as infant baptism became the norm for practice and theology. If the Eastern rites underwent little further development in the Middle Ages, the West experienced what many have been called a sacramental dissolution, disintegration, and separation. Gradually, the postbaptismal rites of hand-laying and anointing, associated with the gift of the Holy Spirit and now with the physical presence of the bishop, became separated from infant baptism and were given at a later point. Similarly, the reception of First Communion also became separated and was often postponed until the canonical age of seven. This process was inherited by the adherents of the Protestant and Catholic reformations of the 16th century. Little was done to restore the unitive and integral process of Christian initiation from the earlier centuries and confirmation itself developed among the reformers largely into a catechetical exercise or rite with First Communion either prior to or after confirmation. In the early 21st century, thanks to the Roman Catholic Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and similar rites in other churches, the unitary and integral process of initiation has been restored. What remains to be done, however, is the full integration of infants and children into this process, although in several Anglican and Lutheran contexts infants now are again recipients of the full rites of initiation, including First Communion.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander D. Soal ◽  
Desmond Henry

This article questions whether a further gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts is the reversal of the curse of Babel and thus the rationale for multicultural local churches in an intercultural and globalised world. Using a non-empirical research design, including a literary survey of the Old Testament and New Testament texts and commentaries, the authors examine the significance of the division of language by God at Babel in the Genesis record. The inherent creational imago Dei, genetic and Noahic unity of all humans makes reconciliation, relationship and intercultural communication possible. This is followed by an examination of the impact of Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit’s gift of tongues is found to symbolise the unifying of divided languages and cultures. This leads to the conclusion that the primary purpose of the gift of tongues was not centred on the controversial debate around glossolalia but rather on personal spiritual transformation and intercultural transformation. The Trinitarian nature of God enables all humans, made in his image, to once again be one in Christ. The centripetal gathering of all people at Babel, which led God to centrifugally scatter nations through language, was reversed in Acts 2 by God. This empowered the early church to go out centrifugally to all cultures. The conclusion is drawn that Acts 2 reverses the communication breakdown of Genesis 11 and, in this way, becomes the theological underpinning of multilingual and multicultural churches. Multicultural churches are thus not simply because of the prevailing winds of globalism in our day.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Acts 2 reversing Genesis 11 impacts the discipline of Ecclesiology from a missional perspective (multilingual and multicultural churches, heterogeneous local churches). The article deals broadly with Pneumatology and the Pneumatological rationale, as well as intercultural studies, intercultural communication, intercultural pastoral care, conflict resolution and globalism. Heterogeneous local churches call for a change in the discourse (which is both possible and necessary in a globalised world) of the traditional homogenous church growth principle. This article has broad overlap with some social science theory related to communication, culture and anthropology and offers interesting biblical-cultural insights probing the biblical text.


1998 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Wright

A TRANSFORMATIVE THEOLOGY of Christian education is defended against reconstructionist alternatives. Any authentic theology of education should be grounded in the ontic reality of the divine economy of salvation. Though important, noetic questions of theological epistemology, together with pragmatic issues of pedagogic strategy, are not to be taken as foundational. Certain traits of Lutheran theology lend superficial support to a reconstructionist theology, but only at the expense of introducing a crippling dualism between faith and creation. The Biblical picture of the completion of the new covenant and new creation through the work of the Holy Spirit lends strong support to a transformative theology.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Leonardo Nunes

The present dissertation examines the function and nature of the heavenly sanctuary/temple and its relationship to the earthly counterparts in the major passages of the New Testament (NT) Gospels, Acts, Pauline and General Epistles where the sanctuary/temple motif is found (a total of twenty-two passages). After the introductory chapter, chapters 2, 3, and 4 are devoted to the exegetical analysis of these major passages following canonical order and divisions of the NT. This exegetical analysis has detected the relevance of the heavenly sanctuary/temple motif for NT studies, i.e., how its function, nature, and relationship to the earthly counterparts influence the understanding of important themes of the NT such as salvation, intercession, spiritual gifts, love, holiness, eradication of evil, among others. This investigation has identified that the heavenly sanctuary/temple in the NT function as God’s dwelling place. It is a place for reunion, reconciliation, and sending of the Holy Spirit, from where every spiritual blessing is bestowed upon the believers. In the heavenly sanctuary/temple Jesus is enthroned to exercise authority, power, sovereignty, and rulership; it is where judgment and vindication are made, the new covenant is ratified. It is a place to present praise and worship to God, celebrating Christ's victory over evil. The heavenly sanctuary/temple is where Christ presents His once-for-all sacrifice, "obtains eternal redemption," and intercedes in our behalf, giving assurance that God's salvific purpose and the heirs' hope will be fulfilled. The heavenly sanctuary/temple also functions as the motivation and ground for holy living, the driving force for sacrificial service and endurance of suffering for Christ. The heavenly sanctuary/temple is also the final destination of the Christian journey where all believers will gather together with the godhead and the angels in a festal assembly. Regarding the nature of the heavenly sanctuary/temple in the NT, the passages surveyed show that architecture is not the main concern of the NT writers. However, in tune with the Old Testament (OT), they describe the heavenly sanctuary/temple in terms of a spatiotemporal reality where the corporeal resurrected Jesus is at work and the bodily resurrected believers will live. This NT ontological perspective safeguards the actuality of the heavenly sanctuary/temple many functions. The spatiotemporal nature of the heavenly sanctuary/temple is strengthened when one looks at its relationship to the earthly counterparts. The NT passages examined demonstrate that there is structural and functional correspondence between OT and NT heavenly and earthly counterparts within a typological framework, as well as dynamic interaction among them. Chapter 5 offers a theological synthesis of the heavenly sanctuary/temple motif presented in the previous chapters. A summary of the findings is first provided followed by inferences of theological implications in the three main areas of this dissertation (function, nature, and relationship). After these concluding remarks, an appendix is provided with a brief treatment of twenty-five NT passages not dealt with in the main text (including thirteen passages in the book of Revelation) in order to give the reader a more comprehensive perspective of the pervasiveness of the heavenly sanctuary/temple motif in the NT. In conclusion, the study of the heavenly sanctuary/temple motif in the NT seems to be needed in order to have a sound and balanced understanding of NT theology.


2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 587-616
Author(s):  
Jennifer Wiard

This essay investigates the roles of Billy Sunday's staff during his urban revivals in the 1910s, especially the committees and departments they administered. Understanding this revival organization is central to understanding Sunday's success. A corporate organization not only allowed Sunday's team to reach urban populations, it also put evangelicalism culturally in step with the times. This committee structure made outpourings of the Holy Spirit predictable and even guaranteed, and it helped Sunday create a revivalism for an age of mass production, one that was palatable to a cross-class and nationwide audience and reproducible in cities across the country. Most scholars of American religion are familiar with the outline of Sunday's career, but the labors of his staff and their contributions remain virtually unexplored. Further, there is a looming historiographical problem with how scholars treat Sunday. His most important years as a revivalist were in the 1910s, before the fundamentalist movement began, but his name is virtually synonymous with fundamentalism. This article challenges scholars to interpret Progressive Era evangelicals not in terms of what they became in the 1920s, but in terms of how they shaped and were shaped by an era of urbanization and consumer capitalism.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-29
Author(s):  
Fatony Pranoto ◽  
Ivonne Eliawaty ◽  
Surja Permana

Pastoral service is a spiritual service and should not be ignored in the pastoral ministry. At GBI the Jordan River Surabaya has provided several models of material services: Money / goods to help congregations in need; Spiritually: introducing people to Jesus Christ and to life in the Holy Spirit or led by the Spirit, new born life becomes a new creation (not only identity / without repentance; Healing: making others healthy, both physical, mental and emotional as well as; Prophetic: changing the way of human life in the structure of society. Improve people’s way of life (especially in rural areas).


2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-345
Author(s):  
Klaus B. Haacker

Since 1950, studies of Luke–Acts have been influenced by a downgrading of eschatology (at least of the expectation that the goal of history would be near). Conzelmann's slogan ‘Die Mitte der Zeit’ (the earthly mission of Jesus as the ‘centre of history’) suggested a long ‘time of the Church’ with the gift(s) of the Holy Spirit as a substitute (and not a foretaste) of the kingdom of God. The present study challenges this influential view of Luke's theology and its impact on definitions of the genre of Acts.


Author(s):  
Paul McPartlan

The chapter explores three deeply interlinked aspects of John Zizioulas’s highly influential ecclesiology: the relationship between the church and the Trinity; the relationship between the church and the Eucharist; and finally the consequences of those relationships for the structure of the church. The church is a communion through its participation in the life of the Trinity. In Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, it receives and re-receives the gift of communion in every Eucharist, and communion has a shape that reflects the life of God. The Trinity is centred on the Father, and so in the church at various levels the communion of the many is centred on one who is the head. This is the purely theological reason why the synodality of the church requires primacy at the local, regional, and universal levels. The chapter concludes that, while prompting many questions and needing further development, Zizioulas’s proposal has great ecumenical value.


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