Presence Of Christ Research Articles

Spatial Expansion, Planning, and Their Influences on the Urban Landscape of Christian Churches in Canton (1582–1732 and 1844–1911)

Canton (present-day Guangzhou, China) has a long history as a trading port and serves as a window for studying the history of Sino-Western cultural exchanges. Canton was a city built under Confucian orders, leading to significant differences (when compared to Christian cities) in urban functional zoning, layout, urban landscape, and methods for shaping spatial order. Therefore, the churches constructed by Christian missionary societies in Canton merit particular attention in missionary history research and urban planning history. Based on local gazetteers, historical maps, export paintings, Western travelogues, and archives at that time, from a cultural landscape perspective, this article compares and analyzes the spatial expansion of Christian churches and their influences on the urban landscape in Canton in two stages. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the spatial layout of the churches indicated an active integration into Canton City. After the Opium War, churches were not only used for religious purposes but also served as symbols asserting the presence of Christians and Western powers (which made the situation more complicated). Missionary societies attracted believers through the construction of public facilities, building Christian communities centered around churches, thereby competing with authorities for spatial power and influencing the urban functional system and spatial layout controlled by the authorities. Comparatively, the Roman Catholic Cathedral has profoundly changed the traditional landscape order in Canton, while the Protestant Dongshan Church interacted more closely with the city.

„Maryja pełna łaski” w nauczaniu św. Tomasza z Akwinu

We can find the Mariological texts of St Thomas Aquinas in only a few of his works. Nonetheless, in his teaching he focused on Mariological issues of importance to theology. This article aimed to present Aquinas’ theology on the question of the fullness of grace in the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the first part of this article, in addition to the general historical context, the basic content on Aquinas’ theology of grace is introduced. In the following chapters, the author of the article, based on the teaching of St Thomas, sought to present the effects produced by the presence of full grace in the life of Mary, followed by a discussion of its three forms, which St Thomas related to the stages of the life of the Mother of Jesus. In summary, firmly grounded in Christoligy, St Thomas’ Mariology links the truth of Mary’s ‘full grace’ to the literal presence of Christ in her womb. Consequently, Aquinas regards the Incarnation of Christ as the sole source of the graces received by the Mother of Jesus.

The Christian Population of 16th-Century Ottoman Anatolia: An Overview and Preliminary Observations on Its Location and Numbers in the 1520s

Abstract By the 15th century, the transformation of Anatolia into a region with a large Muslim majority had been completed. By then the Christian population in most of Anatolia was either small—in absolute numbers as well as in comparison to Muslims—or non-existent. This general picture has long been known to scholarship, yet no effort has been made to date to provide a systematic overall perspective of the Christian presence in Ottoman Anatolia. This article offers a preliminary overview of the location and relative strength or weakness of that presence in the different parts of Anatolia, based on data from Ottoman fiscal registers that reflect the situation in the 1520s.

Before the War: Orthodox Christians in Anatolia, 1880s–1914

Abstract Orthodox Christians in Anatolia engaged in a widespread effort to establish churches, schools, and cultural associations in the late Ottoman period. This effort lasted roughly from the 1880s until the Great War, marking these few decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a period of intense institutionalization. This article historicizes the Orthodox Christian presence in Anatolia by exploring the moment of emergence of modern institutions, which would later provide our most direct and visual knowledge (real or remembered) of Orthodox Christian communities in the Ottoman Empire. Focusing on a diverse range of local, imperial and international actors in provincial space in western Anatolia, the study delineates the contexts and processes of institutionalization. It shows a modern community in the making, and demonstrates how Orthodox Christians consolidated themselves before being forced to leave as a result of the Greek-Turkish War of 1919–22 and the ensuing population exchange.

Communicatio Idiomatum and the Lutheran Quest for Christological Agency

Abstract This article compares Luther’s understanding of the unity of Christ’s person with that of his theological successors, focusing on Martin Chemnitz and Johann Gerhard. It argues that Luther’s more apophatic approach to the communicatio idiomatum and his heirs’ elaborate doctrine of the three genera of the communication do not stand in a straightforward relationship of continuity. To be sure, both are historically found in the context of Eucharistic polemics. Yet Luther’s perspective on the communicatio is driven by a desire to give expression to Christ-for-me specifically as the subject and agent of his promise; it has its driving force in the ontology of the promise as the essence of the gospel. By contrast, Luther’s successors are preoccupied with the ability of Christ’s assumed human nature to receive divine properties in the hope of shoring up the presence of Christ’s body in the Lord’s Supper. In the end, it is Luther who succeeds in presenting a more successful account of a co-extensive and internally congruent understanding of Christ’s divine and human agency, whereas his successors’ account of the unity of Christ remains undermined by intractable and ever-threatening divergence.

Rethinking Inter-Faith Relations in Nigeria: A Study of Christian-Muslims Relations in Bayelsa State,b 1997-2015

Religious crises in Nigeria are no longer news today. Previously the Boko Haram insurgency sacked many communities, destroying lives and properties, especially in northern parts of Nigeria. These religious motivated crises have, so far, dented the image of Islam in the North (especially among other faiths) and other parts of the country. However, the narrative in Bayelsa State posits a different view. This paper examines the nature of inter-faith relations in Bayelsa, 1997-2015. It is an area that enjoys peaceful inter-faith relations, despite the presence of both Christians and Muslims. Unlike Northern Nigeria where there was incessant religiously motivated violence, Muslims in Bayelsa enjoy moderate harmonious relations with their Christians counterparts. The paper found that while there was never a time both Christians and Muslims got entangled in a religious motivated physical conflict in Bayelsa, the age-long struggle for dominance between the two faiths was inevitable in the area. The paper discovered growing but salient challenges in the interfaith relations among Christians and Muslims in Bayelsa. The study relies on interviews and sourced information from secondary sources. The paper finally argues that, though doctrinal difference was inevitable among the two faiths, there was no recorded religious motivated mayhem in Bayelsa. The study further suggested that other states in the country should emulate this for a better and prosperous Nigeria.

Zionism’s Redemptions: Images of the Past and Visions of the Future in Jewish Nationalism by Arieh Saposnik

Reviewed by: Zionism’s Redemptions: Images of the Past and Visions of the Future in Jewish Nationalism by Arieh Saposnik Noam Pianko Arieh Saposnik. Zionism’s Redemptions: Images of the Past and Visions of the Future in Jewish Nationalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. 300 pp. Arieh Saposnik’s Zionism’s Redemptions: Images of the Past and Visions of the Future in Jewish Nationalism confronts a delicate historiographical dilemma: How should scholars interpret the centrality of redemption rooted in messianic visions of Jewish salvation within Zionist ideologies? Ever a flashpoint in debates about nationalism and liberalism, this question about Zionism’s historical relationship with notions of redemption cannot be easily separated from the contentious politics surrounding the post-1948 Jewish state. This book offers readers a [End Page 229] much-needed path through this politicized terrain to look closely at a critical trope in modern Jewish nationalism. Messianic and redemptive political visions do not map simply onto a secular nationalist movement with democratic aspirations. Indeed, scholars tend to view messianic impulses in twentieth-century politics, whether explicitly a call for an extrahistorical religious transformation or secular efforts to reimagine the world through a singular lens, as closely linked to totalitarian movements. Visions of future forms of social and political redemption thus stand in contrast to liberal ideals of multicultural and pluralist societies. An exploration of Zionism’s redemptions must acknowledge, and grapple with, the complex backdrop that modern historians bring to the study of ideologies that espouse very particular political visions of redemption. The strength of this book lies in the nuanced framework that Saposnik adopts to unpack the complexity of redemptive tropes across various Zionist ideologies. The study rejects the bifurcated historiographical legacy of this theme—to read references to redemption as symbolic language disconnected from traditional Jewish notions of messianism or as an embrace of messianic ideas that illustrates the extrahistorical, and perhaps even totalitarian, proclivities within Jewish nationalism. By avoiding the polarizing interpretations, Saposnik opens new ways of categorizing the centrality of visions of redemption in Zionist thought. Zionism’s Redemptions offers the “redemptive dimension” of Jewish nationalism as a novel category for reframing the conversation. Based on this reconceptualization, Saposnik argues that Jewish nationalism’s emphasis on redemption often served to capture a deep yearning for actively engaging in history to bring about universal ends and liberal objectives. Redemptive visions imbued Jewish nationalism with a radical desire to return to history through a variety of ideological perspectives (rather than messianic calls to transcend history). Zionist ideologies, Saposnik argues, turned to this discourse of redemption as a shared backdrop to explore a variety of political, social, and cultural directions—from exclusivist nationalisms that emulated aspects of European totalitarians to utopian ideals of human redemption. The discourse of redemption also served as opportunity to negotiate the relationship between Zionism and contemporary political and religious forces, including European nationalism, Christian notions of salvation, and Jewish religious traditions. Zionism’s Redemptions captures this diversity through textured and nuanced case studies. These case studies illuminate the multivocal conceptions of redemption woven through Zionist ideologies. Readers have the chance to consider this trope across subjects ranging from Diaspora-oriented Jewish nationalists such as Israel Zangwill to Zionists grappling with the presence of Christians who connected their own redemptive visions to the Holy Land. From these examples, Saposnik demonstrates that redemption served as a shared vocabulary for articulating deep internal ideological fragmentations within the Zionist movement. (Thus the significance of the book title’s reference to Zionism’s “redemptions” in the plural.) Saposnik’s study provides a much-needed alternative to viewpoints that perceive particularist nationalism and progressive universalism as inherently [End Page 230] mutually exclusive forces. In contrast, Zionist thinkers developed ideas of redemption that offered national movements as the ideal path toward cosmopolitan objectives. Many of the figures included in this study held these opposing forces together in their visions for the future. Certainly, the historical success of these objectives is a topic of debate. Nevertheless, Zionism’s Redemptions serves as a site to study the complicated relationship between striving for humanistic ends and advancing a nationalist agenda. This book thus sets the foundation for engaging the relationship of nationalist ideologies...

Martin Luther and the Shaping of the Catholic Tradition ed. by Nelson H. Minnich and Michael Root

Reviewed by: Martin Luther and the Shaping of the Catholic Tradition ed. by Nelson H. Minnich and Michael Root Robert Kolb Martin Luther and the Shaping of the Catholic Tradition. Edited by Nelson H. Minnich and Michael Root. (Washington: Catholic University of America Press. 2021. Pp xix, 289. $75.00. ISBN: 9780813235325.) This collection of conference lectures provides valuable stimulation for further consideration of ecumenical issues from historical and systematic points of view. Particularly helpful are the historical studies of the medieval theological setting of Martin Luther’s deconstruction of certain elements of the theology he had learned at the university and in the cloister and his construction of the evangelical way of thinking that formed the center of his preaching and teaching. Several studies effectively present Luther’s own way of formulating the doctrines of justification, the Eucharist, and the Church; others offer insights into the ecumenical discussions and their implications for the life of the Church today. Two essays dedicated [End Page 198] to the relationship of Eastern Orthodoxy to sixteenth-century developments in the Western Church explore Luther’s references to Eastern churches in the Leipzig debate between Luther and John Eck in 1519. They point to possibilities for developing a trilateral discussion of ecclesiological issues. An essay on “The (Slight) Sensitivity to Eastern Christianity in Trent’s Condemnation of Luther on Marriage and Clerical Celibacy” seems out-of-place in the volume. Assessments of the state of Lutheran-Catholic dialogue in the light of sixteenth-century developments around Luther by Cardinal Kurt Koch, Eero Huovinen, Wolfgang Thönissen, and Kenneth Appold lay the foundation for further assessment of the issues discussed in other essays. Vital were questions raised by late medieval teaching on justification, sensitively sketched by Theodor Dieter. Lutheran (Timothy Wengert) and Roman Catholic (Michael Root) analysis of the Wittenberg professor’s understanding of the center of the biblical message provide perceptive insights into his teaching’s intention, structure, impact, and significance for today. Bruce Marshall’s detailed account of medieval teaching on the presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper and on the eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass sets forth the issues debated in the sixteenth century clearly. Essays by Lee Palmer Wandel and Robert Trent Pomplun present Luther’s critique of medieval doctrine and practice of the Lord’s Supper and Catholic response to this critique. Wandel correctly sees Luther’s understanding of the sacrament as verbal, that is, the promise conveying the forgiveness of sins in the body and blood “given and shed for you,” although the richness of his enhancing the earlier understanding of “promise” is missing. Nelson Minnich sets forth medieval “models” of the Church that gave rise to the actual situation in the 1510s and 1520s, as Luther’s appraisal of abuses in practice and flaws in fundamental concepts of authority, presented with skill by Dorothea Wendebourg, contested what remains the “evolving” and “responsive” formulation of the doctrine of the Church on the Roman Catholic side. Johanna Rahner incisively sets forth current Catholic discussion of ecclesiastical issues. The volume’s valuable resources for mutual exploration of how we best witness to Jesus Christ in the twenty-first century give basis for necessary further discussions. Unfortunately, the underlying differences in defining the orientation for theology, “the article of faith on which Christ’s church stands or falls”—for Luther, the justification of sinners through absolution and faith in Christ, for Roman Catholics the doctrine of the Church—are not clearly addressed. Nonetheless, the challenge of these perceptive presentations remains a task for the heirs of the Old Faith and the Reformation in our time. [End Page 199] Robert Kolb Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis Copyright © 2023 The Catholic University of America Press ...

Pemahaman dan Penghayatan Siswa/I SMP Stella Duce II Yogyakarta akan Makna Kehadiran Kristus dalam Ekaristi

This study aims to determine the extent of understanding and appreciation of the students of Junior High School of Stella Duce II grade 8th Yogyakarta on the meaning of Christ's presence in the Eucharist. The author assumes that the Eucharist as the pinnacle and source of Christian life should be a pattern of life and should permeate every Catholic. It must be admitted that in general people of all age groups are diligent in following the Eucharist. From the age group that participates in the Eucharist, the author is interested in conducting research on the adolescent age group, specifically for junior high school students. The object of the author's research is addressed to the students of Junior High School of Stella Duce II grade 8th who become acolytes and lectors. The main issue discussed is how the Catholic youth Stella Duce II Junior High School of grade 8th who are assigned to be acolytes and lectors know, feel, and experience the presence of Christ in their duties and participation in the celebration of the Eucharist. In this study, the authors used quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Eucharistic Adoration After Vatican II by Edward Foley

Reviewed by: Eucharistic Adoration After Vatican II by Edward Foley Michael Brummond Edward Foley Eucharistic Adoration After Vatican II Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 123 pages. Paperback. $16.95. The Church in the United States is currently in the midst of a National Eucharistic Revival intended to deepen the faithful's understanding of Jesus' Eucharistic presence, and to intensify devotion to, and worship of, the Eucharistic Lord. This is therefore an opportune time to reflect on the relationship between Christ's presence in the liturgy and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament outside Mass, a question with a somewhat checkered history. Pope Benedict XVI wrote in Sacramentum Caritatis that, shortly after the reforms of Vatican II, "the inherent relationship between Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was not always perceived with sufficient clarity. For example, an objection that was widespread at the time argued that the eucharistic bread was given to us not to be looked at, but to be eaten. In the light of the Church's experience of prayer, however, this was seen to be a false dichotomy" (Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 66). Two years later, however, Fr. Richard McBrien could still write that, given the reformed liturgical rites now more accessible to the laity, "there is little or no need for extraneous Eucharistic devotions. The Mass itself provides all that a Catholic needs sacramentally and spiritually. Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward" ("Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration," National Catholic Reporter, September 8, 2009). Edward Foley's Eucharistic Adoration after Vatican II continues this conversation, seeking to offer historical foundations and sound theological principles by which to ground liturgically centered Eucharistic spirituality and devotion in a post-conciliar Church. Fr. Foley is a Capuchin and retired professor of liturgy and music at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and author of over thirty books. Much of his work is practical in orientation, directed toward liturgical praxis, and this book is no exception. Foley notes that while the council brought in its wake far-reaching liturgical reforms, "my multiple experiences of Benediction and other Eucharistic devotions [End Page 117] after the appearance of these innumerable reformed rites seems to be identical to what had been in place in the 1950s" (viii). This book is his attempt to articulate the relationship between Vatican II and contemporary Eucharistic adoration and other devotions. Unlike McBrien, however, for Foley, "a foundational belief behind this writing is that devotions of every kind contribute in a unique and essential way to my personal faith and that of the wider church" (ix). The book begins with a succinct history of Eucharistic devotions from the biblical and patristic ages through the reforms of Vatican II, considered both within the liturgy itself and as they eventually developed in extra-liturgical contexts. Written in a compelling and accessible manner, this chapter highlights not only the theological issues and controversies that prompted varied forms of Eucharistic devotion, but also the role played by cultural influences, other pious practices such as the veneration of altars and relics, and the desire of the lay faithful to see the consecrated host. In this historical survey, Foley naturally highlights the norms contained in Sacrosanctum Con-cilium. Unencumbered by excessive detail or minutiae, this historical review may be too concise for the trained academic, while being of greatest interest and value to the curious non-historian of liturgy. It is also refreshing that Foley generally refrains from value judgements regarding devotional excesses throughout history. "Instead, these ancient testimonies provide a vital context for pondering the present" (1). The chapter concludes with the pointed summary of the historical data, "Eucharistic devotions are honored preparations for and extensions of the Eucharistic liturgy" (34). The second chapter draws from the liturgy itself as a primary source, along with the dogmatic teachings of the Church, to formulate five theological principles to guide authentic Eucharistic devotion. Such devotions, Foley argues, will 1) center on Christ and 2) his Paschal Mystery as a visible sacrament of God's love; they will 3) have an ecclesial or communal dimension; and these devotions ought to 4) draw us to be missionary disciples, and 5) call us to reverence...

Ruben A. Bühner. Messianic High Christology: New Testament Variants of Second Temple Judaism

Ruben A. Bühner. <i>Messianic High Christology: New Testament Variants of Second Temple Judaism</i>

A inserção social do pentecostalismo no Brasil

Pentecostalism has become, in the history of the Protestant religious tradition, a chapter of indisputable relevance. Through not dogmatic or academic paths, he established himself as a clear representative of the pneumatological interpretation of the Christian presence in the world, without the necessary dependence on theological categories but for a simple and popular reading of the sacred books, for this very reason, he effectively expanded his influence on all continents being recognized as a legitimate member of world Christianity. In his secular history He highlighted the free examination of the Scriptures and in this regard he was prodigal in the implantation of communities and denominations that do not cease to multiply, as for example in Brazil. From this movement of spiritual renewal, of morality customs and hermeneutic freedom, since the 1980s, the neo-Pentecostal variant with more daring and freedom of action in society, using them as media and especially direct participation in the political field, emerged attitude that is becoming generalized across the entire Pentecostal spectrum and in historical Protestantism.

The Presence of Christ in the Eucharist κατ' οὐσίαν. On the interpretation and the source of a fragment from the Homily of George Scholarios and its impact on the Eucharistic doctrine of the Greek Orthodox Church

The Homily On the mystical body of our Lord Jesus Christ by George Gennadios II — Scholarios (ca. 1400 — paulo post 1472) was the first original Orthodox theological text to use the word μετουσίωσις (transubstantiatio) as an ex professo Eucharistic term and to adopt the doctrine associated with it. In this paper I propose a new reading of the fragment, in which Scholarios writes that God communicates with the faithful in the Eucharist by substance (κατ’ οὐσίαν). I argue that this fragment was a paraphrase of the third paragraph of chapter 61, book four of Thomas Aquinas’ Summa contra gentiles and should not be interpreted in the context of Palamite theology as has been proposed hitherto. I find support for my case in the manuscript Taurinensis XXIII (C-II-16), a compilation encouraged by Scholarios in 1432 and which contained the translation of the Summa contra gentiles by Demetrios Kydones. In addition, I outline the post Scholarium history of the expression κατ’οὐσίαν (secundum substantiam), which played a key role for the later development of the Eucharistic doctrine of the Orthodox Church in the post-Byzantine period.

Gudina Tumsa’s Contributions to Theology

Gudina’s way of doing theology is important because it is both contextual and universal. The dynamics are universal, the focus on relationality is universal, the holistic emphasis is universal, while at the same time these dynamics intentionally take seriously the here and now of particular individuals and particular peoples and engage their specific social settings so seriously that the end result turns out to be deeply contextual--but contextual in a way that does not set one part of the church against another. There can still be a common witness to the centrality of the power and presence of Christ and the ongoing activity of God in the world. &#x0D; The kind of theology Gudina practiced continues to be of great value for all who confess the Christian faith, today and on into the future. We honor him best by appreciating and learning from his theology.

Joel Banman, Reading in the Presence of Christ: A Study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Bibliology and Exegesis (London: T&amp;T Clark, 2020), pp. xi + 228. £85.00

Joel Banman, Reading in the Presence of Christ: A Study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Bibliology and Exegesis (London: T&amp;T Clark, 2020), pp. xi + 228. £85.00

Christian Social Activism and Rule of Law in Chinese Societies, edited by Fenggang Yang and Chris White.

<i>Christian Social Activism and Rule of Law in Chinese Societies</i>, edited by Fenggang Yang and Chris White.

UNAMUNO ve “ÇAĞDAŞ HIRİSTİYANLIK”

“This article/research that I translated from Hasan Hanefi examines, in terms of Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno, the ancient Christianity throughout the history. While Hasan Hanefi, here, researched Christianity beliefs in the presence of Ancient Christians, on the one hand, he criticizes of it, on the other hand, from own viewpoint, aims for explanation of it. Hasan Hanefi, also here, compares the Christianity beliefs established by the institution of papacy with philosophies of his age in which includes schools like communism, socialism and existentialism. According to what Hasan Hanef said, Unamuno follow such a conclusion: the contemporary Christianity has lost that noble ore and effect arising from jesus son of mary, who is prominent with/stamped with the life, the dynamism and regeneration and the spritual ressurrection; whether individually or socially, it has become such a thing that loses it’s effect and power on spirits. We also may said: Our author Hasan Hanefi, in terms of essence and nature of Christianity, make comparisons between the philosophies and trends of his age and philosophies that will come later and have an impact on humanity, especially on Europeans… After all this, definitely, he concludes such a result: Some philosophies is closer to, in it’s essence and nature, the Christianity religion and the message of jesus, than the Christianity religion institutionalized throughout the history! and he maintains his explanations: that Christianity religion has lost, especially throughout scholastic ages, it’s nature and divine character and, no matter where and when one lives, except a blind devotion, has become a mechanic belief ineffective on human sprit!.”

The Break-up of Early World Christianity and the Great Ecumenical Failure

Christianity has from its beginning been global in principle, and for many centuries was so in practice. In the first six or seven centuries of Christian history, Christian presence spread across the greater part of the then known world – the vast landmass that constitutes Europe, Asia and Africa – and constituted a world Christianity which was multicentric, multilingual and multicultural. But the doctrinal disputes of the fifth century led to the alienation of large numbers of Coptic- and Syriac-speaking Christians from those who thought and spoke in Greek and Latin, and the ecumenical tragedy of the sixth century saw the great multicultural church divided along lines of language and culture. We are now in a new age of world Christianity – an even larger and more diverse reality than that of the first Christian centuries, but like it, multicentric, multilingual, multicultural. The acid test for Christianity in the twenty-first century will be whether the break-up of that first age of world Christianity can now be repaired.

Uzak Doğu'dan Yansımalar: Çin'deki Katolik ve Nesturî Varlığının Karşılaştırılması

Orta çağda Batı Avrupa'dan Fransisken rahipler ve Suriye'den Nesturî rahipler, kendi Hıristiyan mezheplerini ve doktrinini yaymak ve bölgede kiliselerini kurmak için Uzak Doğu'ya gittiler. Benzer hedefleri paylaşsalar da, Fransiskenler ve Nesturîler farklı ikna yöntemleri kullandılar, bu nedenle misyonerlik çalışmalarının sonuçları ve mirası, önemli ölçüde birbirlerinden farklıydı. Moğol bozkırlarındaki mezar taşlarının da kanıtladığı gibi, Nesturîler Uzak Doğu'da dikkate değer ölçüde başarılıydılar; ancak kendi ülkelerinde (Mezopotamya), ironi bir şekilde, giderek marjinalleştirildiler. Buna karşılık, Katolik Fransiskenler ve Uzak Doğu'ya giden diğer Avrupalı seyyahlar, benzer misyonerlik başarısı elde edemediler ve 14. yüzyılın ortalarından sonra bölgede neredeyse hiç izleri kalmadı. Bununla birlikte, kendi ülkelerindeki okuyucuları için yazdıkları seyahatnameler ve mektuplar, hem Orta Çağ'ın sonlarında Avrupa’yı dışa açma hırsları üzerinde hem de on yedinci yüzyıl Çin'indeki Katolik misyonunun dönüşü üzerinde büyük bir etkiye sahipti. Özetle, Nesturîlerin mirası Orta Asya’daki taş anıtlardı ve Fransiskenler ise Batı'da ilham verici metinler bıraktılar. Uzak Doğu'daki Hıristiyan misyonerlik faaliyetinin ilgili uygulamalarının karşılaştırılması, ortaçağ kültürler arası seyahatin hem menşe bölgelerini hem de varış bölgelerini çeşitli şekillerde nasıl etkilediğini daha iyi tanıtabilir. Bu nedenle, Orta Çağ'ın sonlarında Uzak Doğu'daki Hıristiyan varlığı ortadan kalksa da bu misyonerlerin geldiği toplumlar için kalıcı sonuçlar doğurmuştur.

A Virtue-Based Model of Christian Presence: A Trialogue of the Texts of the Epistle to Diognetus, James Davison Hunter and Eka Darmaputera as a New Imagination of the Three-Duties of the Church

This article is an intertextual reading of three models of Christian presence from three texts, namely The Epistle to Diognetus, an extra-canonical text of the second century; the text To Change the World by James Davison Hunter, an American sociologist; and the views of Eka Darmaputera, an Indonesian theologian. The findings of the three texts are analyzed using Alasdair MacIntyre’s concept of virtue, which rejuvenates Aristotle’s idea of virtue ethics. Through intertextual analysis of these three texts, the findings related to Christian presence are used to construct a model of virtue-based Christian presence. This virtue-based model of Christian presence is used as the basis for building an image of the three-duties model of the church, namely koinonia, diakonia, and marturia. This effort aims to answer the struggle of balancing the model of church presence between internal and external factors.