Church Tradition Research Articles

The Canonical, Legal and Liturgical Consequences of the Redefinition of the Sacrament of Marriage in the Old Catholic Churches

Both the Roman Catholic Church and the canonical Orthodox Churches, or Churches associated with the Union of Utrecht, include marriage in the seven sacraments. Nevertheless, there is no agreement between them regarding the minister of the sacrament, the possibility of a second marriage after divorce or clergy marriage. In recent years, tensions in individual ecclesial communities have also been exacerbated by canonical legalization of same-sex relationships. This issue concerns, in particular, the Churches whose bishops are part of the International Conference of Old Catholic Bishops. In the West European Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht there is full agreement that homosexual orientation is one of the variants of human nature. Old Catholics Theologians believe that the condemnation of homosexuality which we find in Scripture resulted from the state of knowledge at the time and related cultural connotations. They point out that modern science shows this phenomenon in a completely different perspective, based on the results of scientific research unknown to either the Biblical tradition or the Tradition of the early Church. The consequence of this was the opening of the debate on their nature and on the possibility of blessing same-sex relationships.

A Moral Response to the Corruption of Individualism in Kenya Today

This paper undertakes a critical review of a Moral Response to the Corruption of Individualism in Kenya. It is an attempt to investigate the challenge of individualism. Promotion of justice and peace in the world is part of the constitutive mission of the Church. In fulfilling this mission, the church challenges the oppressive structures in society. Research in Kenya reveals that the presence of individualism has affected the people in almost every aspect of life: families, community, governance, religion, land tenure, and access to natural resources. This has resulted into numerous consequences such as inter-ethnic conflicts, poverty, destruction of life and property, and environmental degradation. These factors slow down authentic development and impede the evolution of peoples towards greater socio-economic and spiritual well-being. The study found that the root cause to these challenges is individualism. Since authentic peace must be built upon the values of the dignity of every individual and of solidarity among the people, the study proposed a communitarian ethic as a possible cure to this challenge. This study is an advocacy for the promotion of values such as: justice, peace, human dignity, reconciliation, option for the poor, solidarity and similar. Basing on the Sacred Scriptures, Church tradition, African traditional values and experience, the study has provided numerous recommendations that may help in building a society that values a communitarian ethic. The recommendations invite the church, government, community, and every individual to take part in building a society harmonized by justice and peace. Keywords: Church teachings, Corruption of Individualism, Kenya

Sonata for violin and piano as a Serafim Orfeyev’s creative views

The purpose of the article is to identify the intonation-content complex of the Sonata for Violin and Piano by the representative of the Odesa School of Composers Serafym Orfeyev in the area of the performer's interpretation of the symbolism of the sonata, comparison of similar works of Ukrainian composers in a specific historic period and identifying the original artistic concept of Orfeyev's work in accordance with his mindset. The scientific novelty is based on the fact that for the first time the work of Orfeyev, which has not yet been the subject of scientific research, is considered, and the significance of the composer's contribution to the development of the instrumental sonata of the XX century is revealed. Methodology. The personal features of the artist's creative preferences are determined through a complex of musical symbolism and reflection of the multiple meaning of the Orthodox church tradition of choral art, mythological information of folk-historical archaism in combination with professional achievements in the development of the chamber sonata genre. Conclusions. Sonata's analysis points to the signs of S. Orfeyev's stylistic search, which was expressed in the spread of the specifics of choral writing, to the comprehension of which (on the example of the works of Mykola Leontovych and Anatolii Lyadov) the composer paid great attention; in instrumental thinking, which was reflected in the saturation of the fabric of the ensemble work with a polyphonic plexus of voices, and especially hidden polyphony. The connection with folk art influences the reproduction of an expressive dynamic picture of a folk holiday. A rather complex synthesis of the dramatic and the lyrical creates a unique, deeply emotional concept of a musical work, which vividly complements the genre of the instrumental sonata with new features in the traditional romantic color.

Eucharistic Preaching as Early Response to a Dual Pandemic

This paper examines the preaching at Washington National Cathedral as a response to the dual pandemic of COVID-19 and systemic racism in the United States. Drawing on research from over forty sermons from high church traditions and comparing it with analysis of sermons on Palm Sunday and Easter this paper will show how preachers in high church traditions, accustomed to preaching in the presence of eucharist, adapted their proclamation to respond to a virtual congregation and the absence of in-person communion. Then, the paper examines how Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry further develop elements of eucharistic preaching in Pentecost and Trinity Sunday sermons to respond to the murder of George Floyd. Among other things, Budde and Curry’s sermons call for confession, evoke anamnesis, employ liturgical music, invite embodiment, and offer Christ as broken body and resurrected hope to target systemic racism. These sermonic examples show how the theology and rhetoric of the eucharistic liturgy can be a resource for preaching that more effectively confronts the challenges of a dual pandemic.

Spiritual Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts on Orthodox Christianity Devotion Practices, Rituals, and Religious Pilgrimages.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on multiple aspects of physical and social health, including spiritual and religious dimensions, has been discussed not only by numerous theologians, scientists, and politicians, but also by millions of believers of all faiths worldwide. The pandemic seems to have exerted a significant impact on religious practices. Massive gatherings of devoted and faithful people have been strongly discouraged and even openly banned. Prominent religious festivals and pilgrimages that have been conflated by the media with other “mega-spreader events” are incessantly canceled to mitigate the pandemic and alleviate the burden of COVID-19 on the healthcare system. The impact of the pandemic on Catholic or Muslim religious tourism has been extensively described in peer-reviewed and gray literature. However, observant members of the Orthodox Christianity faith have also experienced the constrictive prohibitions for gathering at and worshiping in shrines, churches, and monasteries. Among the manifestations of devotion that the pandemic has interfered with are the attendance to public worship spaces for the celebration of rites and ceremonies, like the celebration of Orthodox Easter. Expressions of reverent devotion including the kissing of crosses and icons as well as the sacrament of Holy Communion may have also been considered a motive of concern as these holy objects and the spoon used might act as fomites in the dissemination of the virus. Visitation of holy places has been also hampered by the pandemic. The most important centers of pilgrimage for Orthodox Christianity are Mount Athos and Jerusalem, as well as the Shrine of Panagia Evangelistria in the Island of Tinos, Greece. Authorities have halted almost completely the arrival of visitors to these sites. This paper aims at elaborating on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on social manifestations of religiosity and therefore taking a toll on the spiritual health of believers who have deeply rooted religious convictions and are strongly attached to Church tradition. This analysis closes with the provision of specific suggestions for the care, support, and healing of the impacted or splintered spiritual health of the believers who cannot participate in expressions of devotion, such as pilgrimages and religious tourism because of personal and public health concern, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The process of mourning for Eswatini widowers: A pastoral concern

Eswatini custom and church traditions indirectly and directly affect the way widowers handle their mourning period, after the demise of their better halves. Instead of mourning their loss of spouses for their spiritual, emotional, social and financial healing, widowers rush to remarry. This has resulted in dysfunctional marriages, ill health, financial crisis and sometimes death. This article has analysed the impact of the Eswatini custom and church traditions on widowers as emanating from the ‘throne’. The aim of this article therefore is to unpack some of the struggles faced by widowers, which often impacts them on their journey of life as they seek to relive life with another wife. It is in this regard that Nick Pollard’s method of positive deconstruction was used to enter the space of the widowers. Charles Gerkin’s shepherding model was incorporated in order to be able to journey with the troubled souls. The process will in turn heal them as they will be taught about the importance of mourning before remarrying.Contribution: Widowers in Eswatini are the most vulnerable yet neglected in the kingdom of Eswatini. Patriarchy plays a major role, and in this case, it is men versus men power. Eswatini’s cultural practices and church practices have a major impact on widowers and may even shorten their lifespan.

Lexical Aspects of Russian Bible Translations

The article is devoted to the study of the lexical aspects of Russian Bible translations of the 19th—21st centuries in comparative coverage and is a continuation of a study pre-viously conducted by reference to English Bibles. A historical overview of the existing Russian translations is given (the Synodal translation and the texts preceding it, the New Testament of Bishop Cassian, the Bible of the World Bible Translation Center, the “Central Asian translation”, the translation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Bible of the Inter-national Bible Society, the modern translation of the Russian Bible Society, the “Zaoksky Bible”). Special attention is paid to modern editions. Samples of texts are compared according to the lexical parameters of adaptiveness, terminologicalness, style and literalness. On the basis of this comparison, a classification of the considered translations is proposed, and their typological features and interconnections are established. The lexical nature of translations is interpreted in terms of their sociolinguistic effect (public perception). The data obtained confirms the pattern previously found in the English-language Bibles — the inverse relationship between adaptiveness on the one hand and terminologicalness, high style and literalness of the translation on the other. In terms of lexical characteristics, the Synodal and the “Central Asian” translations differ most from each other, which is probably due to their focus on church tradition and missionary goals, respectively.

Church Tradition and Culture: No Admission of Children to the Holy Communion

Abstrak
 
 Penulis mendiskusikan sikap penolakan terhadap kehadiran anak-anak penerima baptisan dalam perayaan Perjamuan Kudus sebagaimana yang dipraktekkan kebanyakan jemaat dalam lingkungan Gereja Kristen Jawa (GKJ). Bertolak dari penelitian terhadap Pokok-Pokok Ajaran (PPA) GKJ, penulis menunjukkan adanya inkonsistensi dalam penerapan PPA-GKJ. Pada satu sisi GKJ memahami Perjamuan Kudus sebagai perlambang kehidupan keluarga Allah. Tetapi pada sisi lain, anak-anak penerima baptisan tidak terhisab dalam keluarga Allah sehingga ditolak kehadirannya dalam Perjamuan Kudus. Ada dua penyebab yang melandasi praktek ini. Pertama, penetapan persyaratan yang terlalu tinggi bagi keikut-sertaan dalam Perjamuan Kudus. Kedua, masih kuat pengaruh paham dalam budaya Jawa tradisional tentang anak-anak sebagai kaum yang tidak bisa disetarakan dengan orang dewasa. Perspektif rangkap dari Roberth Schreiter yakni membuka tradisi gereja dan membuka budaya dipakai penulis untuk memperlihatkan bahwa penolakan terhadap anak-anak dalam Perjamuan Kudus merupakan tindakan yang bertentangan dengan hakikat Perjamuan Kudus.
 
 Abstract
 
 The author discusses the prohibition of entry of baptized children in the celebration of Holy Communion as practiced by most congregations in Christian Church of Java (Gereja Kristen Jawa/GKJ, Bahasa Indonesia). Drawing from the research conducted on the Principle Teachings (Pokok-Pokok Ajaran/PPA, Bahasa Indonesia) of GKJ, the author explains that there are inconsistencies in the implementation of PPA-GKJ. On one hand, GKJ understands that the Holy Communion is a symbol of life in God’s family. On the other hand, baptized children are not included within God’s family, which is the reason why they are not allowed to attend Holy Communion. There are two main reasons why this happens. First, difficult requirement for the permission to attend Holy Communion. Second, strong traditional Javanese ideology to exclude children from adult activities. The author employs Double perspective from Roberth Schreiter to analyze church tradition and culture to show that excluding children from Holy Communion contrasts to the main essence of Holy Communion.

Reverberations of the Black Feminist Breathing Chorus

Alexis Pauline Gumbs is a writer, poet, activist, and independent scholar whose experimental triptych (Spill, M Archive, Dub) offers both mundane and unearthly interventions for humanity’s struggles against histories of ecological extraction and Black feminist refusals. Sangodare is a multimedia artist, musician, and theologian drawing from Black feminist writings and African Diaspora wisdom. They are co-founders of several multi-platform undertakings such as the Mobile Homecoming Project that birthed the Black Feminist Breathing Chorus (BFBC). It is one of many online and in-person spaces supporting QPOC and Black feminist communities. The BFBC, in particular, blends theory, meditation, music, poetics, and Black church traditions. In this asynchronous mantra practice, hundreds of participants receive daily “ancestor” mantras via the Mobilehomecoming.org website. These mantras are shortened quotes from the diverse writings and speeches of figures such as Marsha P. Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, Pat Parker, and Joseph Beam. The social, juridical, and digital records of violence against women, POC, queer, and non-binary bodies and communities is not new. However, as consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have overlapped with conspicuous displays of anti-Black policing and asymmetric economies, the BFBC has provided an alternative space to rebuild and re-enchant social, political, and intellectual life through a remixed spiritual practice of amplifying voices. This interview highlights how race, gender, location, and time do not limit the quest for freedom. Thus, the primacy of Black queer positionality is instrumental in the chorus’s examination of both liberating and oppressive social hierarchies.

Introduction

Introduction

Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism: An Overview of Their Relationship from the Perspective of Moral Values

Orthodox–Evangelical relationships are dominated by proselytism (at least in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union). This is understood as church conversion practiced through unfair means among people who are already Christians, belonging to so-called “historical churches.” However, beyond it, there is a real potential for cooperation using moral values as a starting point. As there is an increasing disagreement between the Orthodox and mainline Protestant on moral values, the Orthodox and Evangelicals might increase their cooperation as they witness traditional values of Christianity. This kind of cooperation might be partially contextual, but it is based on Biblicism, which both Orthodox and Evangelicals share as a core value. As this cooperation, based on shared moral values, certainly has real potential, and has to be used for the good of Christianity, it might also have its limitations. Orthodox Christians and Evangelicals have shared common moral values, but each one of them might interpret the content of these values differently. One of the differences in interpreting and explaining the content of moral values might be given by the different interpretations of what is called church tradition.

MONITORING THE ATTITUDE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH TO SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS IN UKRAINE

Orthodox believers have been found to be prejudiced against Protestants, including Adventists. On the one hand, adherents of Orthodoxy see Adventism as a foreign (foreign) religious element, whose members level the millennial traditions of the dominant Church in Ukraine. On the other hand, it is believed that this denomination, combining in its doctrinal system certain elements of the teachings of the Baptist and Jewish religions, has become a religious platform for the spread of heretical ideas among Orthodox Christians. Moreover, religious antagonism on the part of Orthodoxy is also manifested in the terminology still used by Orthodox believers when referring to Protestants, including and Adventists by “sects” or “sectarians”. It is stated that mutual intolerance and religious antagonism can be explained by differences in worldviews and religious competition. Although in the context of world religious tolerance among scholars of the world's leading countries, such terminology to recognized Protestant denominations is unacceptable and discriminatory. However, the authors also cite positive references and responses in the media about Adventists from Orthodoxy. A positive aspect of Adventists is a thorough doctrinal system that is stable, systematic, and publicized. But the most positive response from Orthodoxy was given by Adventist teachings on the principles of a healthy lifestyle.

Receiving the Word in Image: Federico Zuccaro’s the Annunciation Broadcast by Prophets (1565) and the Reception History of the Bible in the Counter-Reformation

Abstract The Annunciation Broadcast by Prophets (1565) was an altarpiece created by Federico Zuccaro (1541–1609) for the Church of the Annunciation, Rome. It was the first image commissioned by the Order of the Jesuits, a movement involved in propagating the objectives of the Counter-Reformation Church. Altarpieces were particularly effective points of communication between the Catholic Church and the lay beholder, and used visual exegesis as a means to communicate appropriated receptions of biblical texts. The intimate connection that these objects have to their theological and political context marks them as significant moments of biblical reception, that have, up to this point, been overlooked by historians in the field. This article identifies the broader lacuna in scholarship surrounding the reception history of the Bible during the Counter-Reformation. Whilst this is due to a preference for studies of the Bible in the Protestant Reformation, the lack of scholarly investment poorly reflects the relevance of the Counter-Reformation period to the reception-historical methodology. The context prioritized the interpretation of the Bible through the lens of Church tradition, or in other words, the history of the Bible’s reception. This affinity is echoed in the reception-historical approach found in contemporary biblical scholarship, creating a hermeneutical link between the two contexts. Visual culture was a valuable expression of Counter-Reformation rhetoric and visualized the mediation of biblical texts through Church tradition. This article uses Zuccaro’s altarpiece as a tool to argue this hypothesis and postulate the intimate relationship maintained between texts and their reception in Counter-Reformation Catholicism.

RUSSIAN CHURCH DIVISION AND RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE

The article focuses on the origins and further evolution of the Church Schism in Russia as well as on the legal status of the representatives of the Old Believers in Russia. Church reforms initiated by patriarch Nikon and the local Church Council in 1666-1667 banned all elements of the old Russian church tradition and outlawed Old Believers. Russian legislation viewed Old Believers as church and state criminals. However, in spite of strong discrimination from state and official church, Old Believers remained mostly loyal to Russian state. Gradual improvement of the legal status of the Old Believers started in XVIII century. Decree on religious tolerance issued by the emperor Nikolas II on 17 April, 1905, proclaimed Old Believers as legally recognized church organization.

When the Gap between Academic Theology and the Church Makes Possible the Orthodox–Evangelical Dialogue

In the church tradition, we find that the great theologians were also deeply involved in the life of the church as bishops, priests, or pastors who served the believers in their parishes, though, even at that time, practicing theology started to drift apart from performing pastoral work. In Modernity, however, things began to change radically, especially with the development of theology as an academic discipline and even more so with the development of the profession of the theologian specializing in religious studies. This phenomenon penetrated Protestant churches in particular, but it is also found in Orthodoxy. In this study, we advance the hypothesis that, despite its negative connotation, the gap between academic theology and church life opens up the possibility of a promising dialogue between Evangelicals and the Orthodox in Romania. Especially in the last 30 years, theologians from both communities have interacted in the context of doctoral research, scientific conferences, and research projects, although the dialogue between church leaders and hierarchs is almost non-existent. We analyze whether this incipient theological dialogue could possibly create a bridge between the two communities and within them and between academia and the church. We believe that one of the best ways to reduce the distance between them is to build on the interest of the current generation of theologians from both churches in Biblical studies, in Patristic theology, and in the work of the Romanian theologian Dumitru Stăniloae.

Poststructural Feminist Theology and Christian Education

In church tradition, cultural misappropriation has often legitimized unjust hierarchy rather than to challenge it. Under the rubric of culturalism, Christian Education has served to justify the oppressive system and maintain status quo as well. A feminist theologian, Rebecca Chopp argues that the contemporary Western culture has intensified narcissistic individualism and self-referentiality and has supported the powerful, while forced the marginalized to be silent. Chopp insists that the role, nature, and mission of Christianity is to provide Word and words of emancipatory transformation. She advocates poststructural feminist theology and aims at renewal of the socio-symbolic order in society by criticizing assumptions underneath language, culture and politics. In this study, we will review the interview with an Asian-American couple and disclose the underlying assumptions and hegemony which have contributed to maintain the male domineering system. I suggest that Christian education for emancipatory transformation should encourage the oppressed women to reflect critically the existing order and to restore their own voice through constructive intervention facilitating “plurivociy” and “problem-posing” dialogue. Proclaimation of transformative Word can empower the marginalized people to revision the world alternatives to monotheistic patriarchal modernism.

Chalcedon on the Road to Justice and Peace

AbstractIn the context of the bilateral dialogue between the Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht, the question of Christology – and with that the joint reception of the conciliar tradition of the early church – played an important role, given the “families” of churches that both traditions belong to: “Western Catholic” and “Oriental.” This paper, written from the vantage point of Old Catholic ecumenical theology, analyzes how the topic of (Chalcedonian) Christology was addressed in this dialogue and places it in the context of the broad ecumenical movement. The dialogue focused reception on the content rather than on the wording of patristic convictions. This focus, as well as the willingness to look beyond confessional categories, facilitated a joint understanding of Christology that did justice to both of the traditions involved and was a faithful reflection of the conciliar tradition regarding Christology.

KEY REASONS FOR THE ABSENCE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING IN STUDENTS OF PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY

This issue is unique and characteristic for this category of students, and today it requires a thorough study and development of effective educational scenarios to solve the existing problem. The emphasis is placed on theology as a complex area of student training that includes various aspects of religious teaching and requires adherence to established church norms in the perception of religious issues. It is stated that theology is meant to be a tool to criticize the existing private traditions within the framework of church life from the point of view of general church or catholic traditions. It manifests itself in the form of orthodoxy, i.e., the religious norm. Due to the fact that orthodoxy does not cover the whole field of possible specific “cases” that require theological understanding, theology remains a living thought that operates on the border of the Church and the world. It is stated that theology creatively and critically comprehends any problem or topic based on the spiritual experience of life in the Church, which remains unchanged because it is the experience of meeting the eternal Divine reality.

The Faith Once for All Delivered: Liturgical Theology, Scripture, and the Evangelical Free Church Tradition

This article proposes to explain how the evangelical Free Church commitment to scripture as its primary authority affects their interaction with liturgical theology. Free Church theology is underpinned by various hermeneutical, theological, and cultural commitments—none more central than its commitment to scripture as revelation of and from God—which complicates Free Church engagement with much recent liturgical scholarship that emphasizes the ecclesiological basis for Christian worship and the corollary authority of Christian tradition. In the first part of the article, I provide an exploration of theological authority within Free Church evangelicalism, arguing that their commitment to scripture’s authority is a commitment to the ecclesial tradition of the apostolic church. In the second part of the article, I explore two additional hermeneutical considerations for evangelical liturgical theology that follow from their commitment to scripture: the priority of biblical exegesis in the theological process and the application of a trusting hermeneutic in their reading of scripture.

KONSEP TOLL HOUSE MENURUT SERAPHIM ROSE DAN PERTUMBUHAN IMAN

The Toll House concept according to Seraphim Rose and Growth of Faith. This article discusses Toll House and the Growth of Faith which is reviewed according to the book The Soul After Death to explore one of the church's traditions inherited from the Church Fathers. This book is a book that is not known by many believers therefore this topic is rarely discussed, even in the Church. Therefore, this paper aims to invite believers to be on guard in the face of death, so that in all things can be done and done with the understanding that whatever we do now will be accounted for later. This dogmatism is supported through the book The Soul After Death and interactions with the Bible as well as other books or articles that discuss about Toll House, resulting in a growing spiritual life through Toll House tradition or doctrine. The dogmatic from Toll House reminds believers that while living in this world, we must fight to fight the evil spirits by keeping watch, purifying ourselves, living in holiness so that believers will no longer live in power. the evil one (sin) but instead directs his life toward the goal of God to create mankind that is to be similar to the image and likeness of God (Theosis).