Church Historiography Research Articles

The foundation of monastery in gorodets, dedicated to theodore stratelates, in the church historiography of the 19th to the early 20th centuries

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the church historiography of the question of the time of the founding of monastery, dedicated to Theodore Stratelates, in Gorodets. The origin of the date of foundation of the monastery (1152, 1154, 1164) is considered. It is determined that the first date (1152) appears in the book on the history of the monastery, published in 1890. It is deduced by the author, Archimandrite Theodosius, purely logically. The second date (1154) is based only on the speculative constructions of the authors of books on the history of the monastery in 1870 and 1913. The only support in the historical source is the provision on the establishment of Gorodets monastery in 1164. This date was listed in the chronicle kept in Theodore cloister. The article gives a description of the named document.

Adapting Lutheran Preaching: The Postil of Danish Reformer Hans Tausen (1539)

Abstract The Danish reformer Hans Tausen has been characterized as a “Danish Luther” in both Danish and foreign-language church historiography. Recent scholarship, however, has challenged this characterization, interpreting Tausen instead as an urban, humanistic reformer who transmitted a kind of Zwinglian theology. The present article sheds light on Hans Tausen’s 1539 Postil, which has so far been neglected in international research on early modern postils. The drafting of Tausen’s Postil is closely connected with the new legislation for the Danish Lutheran Church presented in the Danish Church Ordinance of 1537–1539. Twentieth-century Danish research has indicated that the Postil was either an original work by Tausen or a precise adaptation of Luther’s own sermons. Previous research overlooked the way in which Tausen worked with several models and templates as inspiration for his postil, the most influential being the postils of Stephan Roth. The Tausen-Postil reflects Tausen’s ability to respond to the changing tides in favour of Wittenbergian theology in Denmark from the mid-1530s. As such, it serves as evidence for the transfer of contemporary Lutheranism from Germany to Scandinavia.

Johann August Neander's Influence on American Church Historiography: Translation and Knowledge Transfer

This article examines the English translations of works by Johann August Neander (the reputed father of modern church history) in order to consider his transatlantic influence. American editions of Neander's work supported the development of church historiography in nineteenth-century America, and influenced the direction of mediating theology at American academic and religious institutions. Besides identifying the agents who championed these translation efforts, the article explores how translations of church history texts supported knowledge transfer from Germany to America. Neander's books received positive attention in the translation culture of the 1830s, and he gained a reputation as a model scholar of church history.

ЖИВОТНЫЙ МИР В КАРТИНЕ МИРА ФИЛОСТОРГИЯ

The article examines the place of the animal world in the picture of the world by Philostorgius. Being a prominent representative of the Alexandrian school and the heretical church historiography of the IV-V cent. AD, he approached this issue much more seriously, paying attention to the symbolism due to the appearance and relationship of a person with one or another biological species. All this correlates with the methods of biological descriptions in antiquity, some of which are also used by modern biologists. Careful handling of the biological terminology of Aristotle and Pliny is noticeable in the use of such a key concept of the Philostorgian worldview as φύσις.Regarding animals, he uses this word in the sense of gender, which successfully correlates with Aristotle's “History of Animals”. It is concluded that the descriptions of animals in the “Ecclesiastical History” is an imitation of “Natural History” by Pliny the Elder and “History of Animals” by Aristotle. Trying to follow, on the one hand, Polybius in covering the political events of the Roman Empire; on the other hand, Eusebius of Caesarea in a story about the religious struggle between currents in Christianity, Judaism and pagan cults; Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, in an effort to represent the entire cosmos from Paradise and heaven, to the depths of the earth and Hell, Philostorgius created a religious and political work with elements of scientific descriptions, intended for an educated reader and aiming to educate a citizen of Rome, a diversified Eunomian.

А. И. Сулоцкий о христианских просветителях Сибири

The article deals with A.I. Sulotsky as a historian. His works on the study of missionary activity in Siberia are analyzed. The main problems of his works are connected with the history of the Church and with the study of his native land. Several works are devoted to missionary activity in Western Siberia in the 17th - 19th centuries. One of them is the well-known monograph “Philotheus Leshchinsky, Metropolitan of Siberia and Tobolsk”, which most fully reveals the personality of Metropolitan Philotheus, including as an educator of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. A number of works less well-known, but no less significant: “Tobolsk archpastors: Similar cases from their lives: Anthony (Znamensky), Eugene (Kazantsev), and George (Yashchurzhinsky)”, “Conversion to Christianity of pagans of the Yenisei diocese”, tell about interesting and memorable cases from missionary practices of that period and their results. The texts of the author's articles published in the second volume “About the Siberian clergy” of his Essays in three volumes, containing articles about prominent representatives of the Siberian clergy of the 17th - 19th centuries, and letters from his personal correspondence, placed by the author of the publication in the third volume of the above-mentioned work. Together, these works by A. Sulotsky formed the source base of the proposed article. Based on the textual analysis, it is concluded that A. Sulotsky acts both as a missionary and as a historian. In his works we see a reflection of the established tradition of writing scientific texts, characteristic of the church historiography of the 19th century: references to historical documents and the work of predecessors, the system of formatting the subscript and notes, which speaks of him as a man of science.

2001, die NG Kerk se Jaar van Hoop. Twintig jaar later: ’n Kerkhistoriese oorsig

2001, the Dutch Reformed Church’s Year of Hope. Twenty years onwards: A church historiographic review. The Dutch Reformed Church (DR Church) proclaimed the Year of Hope in 2001 as part of the church’s response to complex social problems regarding poverty and factors affecting reconciliation and morality within the South African society at that stage. The ultimate objective was to mobilise the church to address these matters through different means, on different levels and within the respective contexts. In this church historiographic article, newspaper articles and official church documents are reviewed to assess the church’s dealing with the Year of Hope and its subsequent effects in the years that followed, on the DR Church’s resolutions, declarations and activities concerning the matters first articulated when introducing the Year of Hope. It is clear that the DR Church has not neglected its social and prophetic responsibilities. In this article, interest is also expressed, particularly in how the theme of hope is superposing matters of poverty, reconciliation and morality. Twenty years had lapsed since the Year of Hope. In this article it is argued that the theme of hope in social and ecclesiastical matters is still acutely relevant, and in the conclusion the idea is introduced of a theology of hope to direct the church in continuing to be a bearer of hope within society.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Although the focus of this study falls within the field of Church Historiography, the study of the matters concerned, furthers inquiry in relation to Practical Theology and, more specifically, from a public theological perspective.

Obraz kobiet w wybranych dziełach historiografii kościelnej z VI wieku. Część 1. Historia Kościoła Teodora Lektora i Kronika Wiktora z Tunnuny

The present article consists of an analysis of four selected historiographic works with respect to the authors’ reception of the roles of women in the events portrayed. The representation of women in the church historiography of the period is a reflection of how women are perceived by the authors of the sources in question, the men from various cultural backgrounds and milieus: a Greek-speaking lector from Constantinople, a Latin-speaking bishop from the Roman part of Africa, a Syriac monk from Amida, but also a lay jurist from Antioch writing in Greek. The first part of the article contains analyses of Theodore Lector’s Church History and the Chronicle by Victor of Tunnuna. An analysis of the remaining works, as well as final conclusions, will be presented in the second part of the article.

Contribution of the Russian Church Historians to the Development of Serbian Church Historiography

Contribution of the Russian Church Historians to the Development of Serbian Church Historiography

The Contribution of Mary-Anne Elizabeth Plaatjies-Van Huffel to the Writing of Church Historiography in South Africa

Mary-Anne Elizabeth Plaatjies-Van Huffel introduced a fresh method of historical research that enables analysis from specific perspectives. She contended that church historians should pursue not only the meaning of authors’ observable written intentions, but rather, when reading texts, distinguish between what is written and what is not written. In this way, the reading of the text provides a coherent structure. Hence, church historians should think from the framework of the decentralisation of the subject and should consequently reject the idea of a self-governing subject. She refined some of Foucault’s ideas, applied them to our context and established a framework for historical research by church historians. When this is applied to church history, the emphasis should fall on power as knowledge, as it is traditionally transferred in writing.

Насилие татар над митрополитом Максимом и разграбление Киева в 1299 г.: причины, обстоятельства и последствия событий, которых «не было»

Research objectives: This article presents a critical analysis and deconstruction of historiographical ideas about the reasons for Kiev Metropolitan Maxim’s move to Vladimir. Much attention is paid to comparing the prevailing opinions in Russian scholarship with the data of ancient Russian sources and archaeology. The most plausible reasons and motives that prompted the Russian hierarch to change his place of residence are exa­mined, and the circumstances of the metropolitan’s relocation are substantially clarified. Research materials: Old Russian sources and Russian historiography. Results and novelty of the research: The prevailing view for the reasons and circumstances behind the move of Metropolitan Maxim to Vladimir, an even described in Russian church historiography, is based on the erroneous opinion of Prof. E.E. Golubinsky. The source data and the sequence of events allow us to conclude that the metropolitan’s move was a well-planned action designed to solve many problems. Following the death of Nogai, and in the face of the growing political ambitions of the Galicia-Volyn princes, Byzantium tried to draw closer to Sarai. In Kiev, the inhabitants feared the attacks of disparate Tatar detachments, but were most afraid of being at the epicenter of the war between the Horde, Lithuania, and Galich over Kiev. Relations between the metropolitans and the South Russian episcopate remained extremely difficult. Under such conditions, the move of the Metropolitan to Vladimir became a logical and well-thought-out response.

Apostle Andrew as the Enlightener of Future Russia in Russian Church Historiography from the Works of Platon (Levshin) to A. V. Kartashev

The article presents a range of opinions of leading representatives of Church historiography about the fact of the preaching of the Apostle Andrew on the territory of the future Kievan Rus, from the works of Metropolitan Platon (Levshin) to A. V. Kartashev.

The Labarum – from Crux Dissimulata and Chi-Rho to the Open Image Cross

Based on the testimony of emperor Constantine the Great himself, Eusebius of Caesarea presented a labarum in the form of crux dissimulata crowned with the Chi-Rho. The continuers of his Church History in the next century, Rufinus of Aquileia, Philostorgius, Socrates of Constantinople, and Sozomen, only kept the cross-shape of the banner, excluding the christogram. This might have happened because in two main sources informing about the vision of Constantine – the accounts of Eusebius of Caesarea and Lactantius – it was not only the monogram of Christ that played a significant role. The motif of the cross also appears in them, in the account of Eusebius directly, and Lactantius indirectly. Furthermore, Christians interpreted the cross explicitly as a sign of victory. Eusebius wrote about the cross as a symbol of immortality, a triumphant sign of Christ overcoming death. In the account of the bishop of Caesarea, on the other hand, Constantine’s supposed vision included a triumphal sign in the form of a luminous cross, or the symbol of the trophy of salvation. Numismatic evidence also cannot be ignored. Already during the reign of Constantine the Great, the Chi-Rho appeared on the coins both on the shields and on the labarum. However, starting from the reign of Constantius II, coins that were minted included the cross instead of the Chi-Rho on the labarum. It also began to be placed on the shields, in their central part, where the monogram of Christ used to be. Over time, the cross replaced the entire labarum. The iconography present on the coins may prove that the phenomenon of identifying the labarum or Chi-Rho with the cross was not limited to church historiography and was more widespread, although it should be remembered that coins continued to also be decorated with the letters Chi-Rho. Therefore, the representation of the cross did not replace this symbol. However, it cannot be ruled out that the increasingly common image of the cross on coins also contributed to the aforementioned perception of the labarum by church historians.

Badania dotyczące praktyki postu w rosyjskiej historiografii kościelnej w okresie przedrewolucyjnym

<p>Chrześcijaństwo od wieków określało ideologię rozwoju społecznego Europy. Cerkiew znacząco wpływała na bieg wydarzeń historycznych, konstytuując światopogląd jednostki i społeczeństwa. Post chrześcijański jest ważnym składnikiem odrodzenia duchowego, sposobem opanowania naturalnych ludzkich instynktów, wyrazem posłuszeństwa wobec Boga. Chociaż historiografia postu nie została dotąd szczegółowo zbadana, wzbudza ona obecnie duże zainteresowa­nie badaczy jako kwestia aktualna i perspektywiczna. Celem pracy jest określenie kierunków badań nad postem, podjętych przez związanych z cerkwią historyków w okresie narodzin i rozwoju rosyjskiej historiografii cerkiewnej. Powstanie państwa absolutystycznego w Rosji wywołało działania reformatorskie, które znacząco wpłynęły na rozwój nauk historycznych. Autor artykułu analizuje genezę i rozwój rosyjskiej historiografii cerkiewnej w okresie cesarstwa (1725–1917), omawia stan badań nad postem w ujęciu związanych z cerkwią historyków rosyjskich. Pod koniec XVIII i w pierwszej połowie XIX wieku badacze nie stawiali konkretnych celów badawczych, więc wyniki ich ustaleń były obarczone prawosławną apologetyką i ograniczały się do opisu spuścizny rosyjskiej hierarchii cerkiewnej. To zadecydowało o uproszczeniu analiz, opierających się na prowidencjalizmie jako metodzie badawczej. Dopiero w okresie reform liberalnych w latach 60. XIX wieku intensyfikuje się działalność badawcza, a prace historyków stają się wieloaspektowe. Badania nad postem prowadzono przy wykorzystaniu źródeł greckich, łacińskich i słowiańskich. W badaniach historycznych dotyczących postu zaszły duże zmiany: obecnie dominują tendencje do wyboru i prezentacji w monografiach wąskiej problematyki. Post jest opisywany w powiązaniu z historią ogólną chrześcijaństwa i prawosławia, a także w kontekście teologii etyki, w której historia postu zajmuje znaczące miejsce.</p>

Діяльність православної єпархії в комітаті Мараморош у першій половині XVIII століття

After the conclusion the Uzhhorod union, the Orthodox episcopate was looking for new ways to preserve and maintain its tradition. As a result, Maramaros County became the centre of church life of Mukachevo Orthodox Eparchy from 1690, where the new Orthodox Eparchy was formed with an active episcopate and full-fledged complex of relevant ecclesiastical structures and units. The purpose of publication is a comprehensive study of the activities of Orthodox and Greek Catholic episcopates, as well as the correspondingly created eparchy and vicariate, as in the church historiography of the Orthodox Church there are practically no studies based on the documents of the State Archive of the Transcarpathian region. The research methodology is based on the general principles of scientific knowledge: neutrality, analysis of sources and their synthesis, objectivity, impartiality, comparison, historicism, historical pluralism, detailing and generalization. Scientific novelty. Some aspects of the activity of the Orthodox Eparchy in the first half of the 18th century in Maramaros County are investigated based on the documents of the State Archive of the Transcarpathian region. Some archival documents are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. They help to correct the permanent and clarify new aspects of the archpastoral activity of the Orthodox Episcopate of the Maramaros Eparchy. Considerable attention is paid to the coverage of the role of the ruling bishops Josyp (Stoyka) and Dosyfey (Feodorovych) in the development of the new church unit. Prospects for further research provide for a more detailed study of the episcopate of the Maramaros Eparchy, its development and enlargement will expand permanent knowledge about the internal religious situation in the region, state-church relations in the county, church policy of Hungary, Romania and Moldova towards the Transcarpathian region during this period. The conclusions state that there was no centralized system of administration in the Maramaros Eparchy. Constant harassment, imprisonment and bans by opponents prevented the bishops from fully administering their eparchy, so the episcopate operated virtually underground.

The collapse of the synodal system (the end of the nineteenth – the beginning of the twentieth century): concepts of modern Orthodox historiography

Purpose of the study. To analyze the works of modern historians, reflecting the intra-church vision of the situation of the Orthodox Church in the Russian Empire from the end of the nineteenth century to 1917. Attention is focused on assessments of the late synodal system, the need to Church renew, Church freedom in the state, the clergy perception of the February Revolution and the new government. The concept of «modern Church / Orthodox historiography» is used in a broad and conditional sense. Itʼs represented by authors of various ideological and canonical directions of the twentieth – early twenty-first century. The research methodology is based on a comparative study of the historiographic concepts mainly of the second half of the 20th century – the beginning of the 21st century. We study the most influential generalizing texts representing the position of various groups in the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as the works of Orthodox historians of emigration, the diaspora, Church dissidents. They have mostly liberal views and assessments of the Church process. The scientific novelty. The novelty of the study is determined by the weakness of the internal Church critical reflection, since the Church history functions within the framework of the apologetic and descriptive paradigm. Modern Church historiography is a specific phenomenon of historical science. Itʼs trying to combine two difficult tasks: religious apologetics and academic research. The article showed the negative aspects of this approach. Findings. The main lack of modern Church historiography is the indifference to non-political aspects of Church history. The potential of historical anthropology, intellectual history, the social history of ideas, and the history of mentality is ignored. As a result, many promising stories fall out of Сhurch historiography. These subjects are successfully investigated by secular historians. Common problem of the Orthodox historiography is thematic limitations, the tendency of the phenomenological «encapsulation» of the Church in the historical process, the conceptual dependence on Orthodox journalism at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Also, the weak representativeness of the sources as a result of inattention to local documentary sources.

LIFE AND COMMUNITY MINISTRY OF JACOB (DOMSKY). THE EMINENT BISHOP OF YAKUTSK AND VILYUYSK

The article considers the peculiar features of the selfless service in the far regions of the Russian Empire. The analysis is carried out on the example of the life and ministry of missionary, educator, teacher, preacher, Bishop Jacob (Domsky). His participation in the process of improving spiritual schools, the conditions of teaching and mentoring, developing new and improving old educational programmes contributed to the solution to one of the most important tasks - the training of highly educated Ministers of the Church. These graduates were able to serve the Fatherland in Siberia, the Far East, the Russian mission in China and Japan, in the vast territory of the Aleutian and Alaska dioceses. The opening of rural parish and parochial schools, the establishment of women’s diocesan schools, public library and translation activities - all these facts are about the life of Jacob (Domsky). As the Bishop of one of the most distant and great foreign dioceses, he did much to establish Orthodoxy and raise the authority of the Orthodox priesthood. Based on the brief analysis of the main theological works, among which is “Russian preaching, historical review and contemporary perspective on its direction”, the article shows the importance of the heritage of the missionary in the development of the Church historiography. For example, the activities of Bishop of Jacob (Domsky) reveal the role of Russian spiritual warriors in the organization and development of librarianship, education and spiritual enlightenment of the indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Far East.

The Dutch Reformed Church as a prominent established South African church: In transition towards the 21st century

The Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk) is in transition because of the influences of the more recent South African epochs of democratisation, Africanisation and globalisation. The histories of these epochs extend over more than 20 years and have had a significant influence on the church. The Dutch Reformed (DR) Church changed institutionally because its place and influence within society changed considerably as a result of political and social transformation since 1994. The ongoing process of Africanisation that accompanies these transformations brings certain reactions to the bosom of the church via the experiences of its members. Most are Afrikaners being more inclined to westernised social frames of reference. Ironically, these people are more susceptible to the effects of globalisation, especially secularisation, which transposes the religious set-up of the DR Church into an open and individuated system. These developments pose major challenges to the DR Church in the sense that it has to reconsider how it approaches society, what it can contribute to the ecumenical church, why it is necessary to reflect on its denominational identity and what its academic, theological endeavours in these regards entail.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article has an interdisciplinary scope because the multiplicity of the present-day calls for interdisciplinary academic reflection. For the purpose of this article, Church Historiography helps to systemise recent ecclesiastical developments within the DR Church. To clarify the influences of these developments on the DR Church, sociological premises are incorporated to describe them within a broader social context. References to the conducted empirical study serve to explain respondents’ (members of the DR Church) social and religious constructs regarding these ecclesiastical and sociological phenomena.

The Black Church: A Tree with Many Branches

“The Black Church” is a popular phrase, often uttered with little consideration of the historical dissonances that make up Black Christianity. Despite the ways Black Christianity has shared in the common aim of dignity, humanity, and freedom asserted throughout the broader history of Black religion, there has never been one monolithic Black Church. However, when viewed as a “tree with many branches,” to borrow Christopher Small’s terminology for describing the tradition of Black music making, the Black Church represents a tradition with multiple performance practices and politics that have changed throughout history. Today, many young Black activists have turned to the Black church for political support only to find most clergy unwilling to make the kind of bold gestures of resistance seen in the Civil Rights era of the 1960s. Also, younger Black activists have found the current church particularly hostile toward queer identities. The church they face, however, is not the sum total of the Black Church as a tradition. This essay is a mediation in and meditation on the Black Church’s interaction with contemporary Black activism and the tradition of Black working-class church activism as a “usable past,” a spiritual resource for the current crossroads in Black citizenship. I speak of Black working-class churches as a descriptive frame rather than in the exclusively demographic sense. Black working-class communities brought Black labor activism into churches, but further investigation is needed to adequately describe the membership of congregations discussed here. As an alternative to traditional Black Church historiography, viewing some of the connections among class, culture, and queerness can reveal how Black spirituality thrives beyond the view of the church from the top down, but it also demonstrates how and why this version of the Black church had to be sacrificed in the onslaught of neoliberalism.

Die teoloog as sendeling – Op soek na ’n sleutel vir Calvyn se sendingbeskouing

The contention that the Reformers, and especially Calvin, had little or no interest in mission is not new in church historiography. While many studies, conducted over years, have demonstrated the contrary, this groundless allegation continues to assert itself from time to time, for example as found in a recent best-seller by one of the world’s leading church historians. Given that 2009 marked the world-wide commemoration of Calvin’s birthday 500 years ago with the consequence of many studies published, it is appropriate to elucidate the question in a different manner: What theological motives are important in Calvin’s view of mission? This article examines the issue of the relationship between mission and Calvin with regard to the concept of mission, but also concerning some other theological questions.According to Calvin, every believer has a role to fulfill in evangelism. The ‘mission field’ is comprised of every nation, all peoples, the entire world. Calvin interprets the task of mission ecclesiologically: for him the church (as local congregation) is only church when it has a missionary orientation.

PREHĽAD CIRKEVNEJ HISTORIOGRAFIE V ČESKEJ REPUBLIKE V NOVOM TISÍCROČÍ

PREHĽAD CIRKEVNEJ HISTORIOGRAFIE V ČESKEJ REPUBLIKE V NOVOM TISÍCROČÍ