scholarly journals Kimpa Vita (Dona Beatriz) and “Afro-Catholicism”: reexamining controversies and unsolved problems

Author(s):  
Benjamin Hendrickx

My paper concentrates on certain unsolved or controversial questions regarding the famous nganga marinda (person communicating with the spiritual world), prophetess and religious leader and rebel, Kimpa Vita (Dona Beatriz) (1684-1706), who - in a period of civil war - "supported" Pedro IV (Nusama a Mvemba) to conquer and maintain the throne of the Empire of Kongo (now part of Angola and the DRC) with Sao Salvador (now Mbanza Kongo) as capital, and then “betrayed” him. She has been compared to Jeanne d' Arc and black Christians have insisted that the Pope make her a saint. She believed that she was the incarnation of St. Anthony of Padua, and her followers have been called Antonines. She has also been labelled in a 2016-film "Mother of African Revolution", trying to free the slaves. The results of these political and religious actions, real or attributed to her, need re-examination and further investigation. In the same context, her Africanism, expressed in her use of traditions, the establishment of an African-Catholic indigenous version of Christianity, her symbolism and philosophy as well as references to another older prophetess, Appolonia (sic!) Mafuta, receive renewed attention. The question is asked whether and in how far her court case and execution as a heretic, resulting from interventions by the Church and the King, were related to the Inquisition. Today, it is recognized that Kimpa Vita has introduced a new theology, an African version of Catholic Christianity. Finally, a post-mortem considers her influence after her death.

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (03) ◽  
pp. 20628-20638
Author(s):  
Anik Yuesti ◽  
I Made Dwi Adnyana

One of the things that are often highlighted in the world of spirituality is a matter of sexual scandal. But lately, the focus of the spiritual world is financial transparency and accountability. Financial scandals began to arise in the Church, as was the case in the Protestant Christian Church of Bukti Doa Nusa Dua Congregation in Bali. The scandal involved clergy and even some church leaders. This study aims to describe how the conflict occurred because of financial scandals in the Church. The method used in this study is the Ontic dialectic. Based on this research, the conflict in the Bukit Doa Church is a conflict caused by an internal financial scandal. The scandal resulted in fairly widespread conflict in the various lines of the organization. It led to the issuance of the Dismissal Decrees of the church pastor and also one of the members of Financial Supervisory Council. This conflict has also resulted in the leadership of the church had violated human rights. Source of conflict is not resolved in a fair, but more concerned with political interests and groups. Thus, the source of the problem is still attached to its original place.


Author(s):  
Peter Linehan

This book springs from its author’s continuing interest in the history of Spain and Portugal—on this occasion in the first half of the fourteenth century between the recovery of each kingdom from widespread anarchy and civil war and the onset of the Black Death. Focussing on ecclesiastical aspects of the period in that region (Galicia in particular) and secular attitudes to the privatization of the Church, it raises inter alios the question why developments there did not lead to a permanent sundering of the relationship with Rome (or Avignon) two centuries ahead of that outcome elsewhere in the West. In addressing such issues, as well as of neglected material in Spanish and Portuguese archives, use is made of the also unpublished so-called ‘secret’ registers of the popes of the period. The issues it raises concern not only Spanish and Portuguese society in general but also the developing relationship further afield of the components of the eternal quadrilateral (pope, king, episcopate, and secular nobility) in late medieval Europe, as well as of the activity in that period of those caterpillars of the commonwealth, the secular-minded sapientes. In this context, attention is given to the hitherto neglected attempt of Afonso IV of Portugal to appropriate the privileges of the primatial church of his kingdom and to advance the glorification of his Castilian son-in-law, Alfonso XI, as God’s vicegerent in his.


2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Martin

This article surveys the Catholic Church's exploitation of sport in Liberal (1861–1922), Fascist (1922–1943), and post-war Italy. It examines how and why the Church overcame its initial reticence to embrace sport and turn it into a fundamental pillar of an alternative culture that challenged the monopoly of national sporting federations. Following the rise of Fascism, sport became one of the principal means by which the Church resisted a complete takeover by the regime. Analysis of the devout Catholic cyclist Gino Bartali reveals how the Church maintained its identity and tradition of sporting independence despite the inevitable suppression of Catholic sporting organisations. Culminating in an examination of the ‘immortalisation’ of Bartali after his win in the 1948 Tour De France – a victory popularly credited with saving Italy from civil war – the article illuminates the processes by which sport became a central feature of Catholicism in national life. It highlights the Church's contribution to the development of Italian sport, assesses the wider impact of sport's role in forming alternative cultures, and argues that sport perfectly positioned the Church to respond to the demands of Reconstruction Italy and provided opportunities to secure a post-war Christian Democratic society.


1965 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kessel Schwartz

Almost from the inception of the Spanish Inquisition which sought to stifle scientific investigation and philosophical speculation while rejecting foreign ideologies, contrary currents existed in Spain. The liberal humanistic movement headed by Erasmus preached intellectual freedom and a defense of interior religión. This ideology never disappeared in Spain in spite of the formation of the Company of Jesus by Ignacio de Loyola and the efforts of Spanish theologians who promoted the Counter Reformation at the Council of Trent. Under Felipe II foreign ideas were forbidden as heretical and interpretations independent of the Church were stifled. Nevertheless, criticism of the status quo continued. Reginaldo González Montano wrote the first attack on the Inquisition, Sanctae Inquisitioms Hispanicae in 1567.


1984 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Elliott

At the Reformation, three possibilities faced English Catholics. They could continue to be Catholics and so suffer the penalties of the penal laws; they could conform to the Church of England; or they could adopt a middle course and become Church Papists. The Nevills of Nevill Holt, near Market Harborough in Leicestershire, went through all three phases. In the reign of Edward VI, Thomas Nevill I became a Protestant. His grandson, Thomas Nevill II, became a Church Papist under James I; and Thomas II’s son, Henry Nevill I, continued to be one at the time of the Civil War. But Henry l’s son William was definitely a Catholic and went into exile with King James II, while William’s son, Henry Nevill II, was an open Catholic under Charles II. Henry Nevill II’s descendants continued to be Catholics throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries until they left Nevill Holt in the late nineteenth century.


1991 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 237-251
Author(s):  
Willbm Nijenhuis

In the year 1643 the Dutch revolt against Spain was dragging gradually to an end. Repeated attempts by Stadtholder Frederick Henry to take Antwerp had failed. Since 1640 only minor military operations had been undertaken. The demand for peace was growing, but this, at the same time, led to divisions of opinion. During this period of domestic tension the United Provinces became involved in events in England leading to the Civil War.


Scrinium ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-159
Author(s):  
David C. Sim

The early Church Fathers accepted the notion of an intermediate state, the existence of the soul following death until its reunification with the body at the time of the final resurrection. This view is common in the modern Christian world, but it has been challenged as being unbiblical. This study reflects upon this question. Does the New Testament speak exclusively of death after life, complete lifelessness until the day of resurrection, or does it also contain the notion of life after life or immediate post-mortem existence? It will be argued that, while the doctrine of future resurrection is the most common Christian view, it was not the only one present in the Christian canon. There are hints, especially in the Gospel of Luke and the Revelation of John, that people do indeed live again immediately after death, although the doctrine of resurrection is also present. These two ideas are never coherently related to one another in the New Testament and it was the Church Fathers who first sought to  systematise them.



Author(s):  
А.В. Венков

Во время гражданской войны в России казаки, выступившие в большинстве против большевиков, казались представителям советской власти враждебной монолитной силой. Лишь небольшая часть казаков поддержала большевиков. Проводя против казаков репрессивную политику, представители власти в первую очередь старались показать, что карают белых казаков, которые убивали красных казаков. Случай, когда восставшие казаки казнили казаков, возглавлявших на Дону советское правительство, стал идеальным поводом для репрессий против казаков вообще. В статье рассматривается судебное дело, в котором уцелевшие после гражданской войны белые казаки преследуются именно по обвинению в убийстве лидеров красных казаков. Показано, как изменение политики власти по отношению к казачеству влияет на решение суда, как после изменения политики тех же людей и по тем же обвинениям не отпускают домой, а расстреливают. During the Russian Civil War the Cossacksstrongly acted against the Bolsheviks. Soviet government perceived them as a solid antagonistic force. Only a few Cossackssupported the Bolsheviks. The Bolshevik policy of systematic repressions against Cossacks of the Russian Empire was aimed at the White Cossacks who killed the Red ones. The case when rebel Cossacksexecuted those Cossacks supporting the Soviet Government, became the perfect trigger for launching repression against Cossacks in general. The article examines the court case in which the White Cossacks who survived the Civil War have been charged with the murder of Red Cossacks leaders. It is shown how politics affect the decisions of the court.


Author(s):  
Oliver H. Creighton ◽  
Duncan W. Wright ◽  
Michael Fradley ◽  
Steven Trick

This introductory chapter outlines the historiography of the reign of King Stephen (1135–54), highlighting how study has been dominated by documentary history while archaeological and other material evidence has played a marginal role. It identifies landmark studies of the period, summarises the principal chroniclers that cover Stephen’s reign and discusses charters as another cornerstone of the evidence base. A major debate has centred on whether or not the period should continue to be styled as ‘the Anarchy’, with scholars taking maximalist and minimalist views of the violence and disturbances of the period. The final part of the chapter explains the approach and structure of the volume: after a chronological outline of the civil war (Chapter 2), the book covers conflict landscapes and siege warfare (Chapter 3), castles (Chapter 4), artefacts and material culture (Chapter 5), weaponry and armour (Chapter 6), the church (Chapter 7), settlements and landscape (Chapter 8), and a detailed case study of the fenland campaigns (Chapter 9), while Chapter 10 presents a self-contained concluding essay that reflects on what the material evidence can and cannot us about the conflict and its consequences.


Author(s):  
Anthony Roberts

With Turkic and Tajik peoples to the north, Tajiks and Pashtuns in the west, ethnic Hazaras in the central highlands and the Pashtuns to the south and east, Afghanistan’s diversity stems from its history as a regional crossroads. Christianity began in Afghanistan in the fourth century and was later revived by missionaries in the frontier areas, but there was little concerted effort to spread the faith until after 1945, when the Pashtun monarchy sought to modernise Afghanistan. However, the Soviet invasion prompted fighters to repel the forces under the banner of Islam. Amidst a civil war, Christian NGO’s continued until expelled by the Taliban in 2001. The new government allowed Christian NGO’s to expand into new areas of the country. For the sake of believers’ security the most visible fellowships have been limited to foreigners. Most find it difficult to sustain everyday life in the country while openly professing Christianity due to ostracism from society. While Islam has been linked with Afghan identity, worldview has begun to change. Unfortunately, there has been an exodus of Afghan believers, usually after social and legal ostracism. Nevertheless, due to sacrifices by Afghan believers, the church is growing in numbers despite all the challenges.


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