World Church Research Articles

The Leopoldine Society, William Unterthiner, and the Tyrolean Friars in the United States

Abstract At the invitation of Bishop John Baptist Purcell, Wilhelm Unterthiner, a Tyrolean Franciscan priest, came to Cincinnati in 1844 to minister to German-speaking Catholics. For eighteen months he worked with Francis Louis Huber, a Bavarian Franciscan priest, at Holy Trinity Parish in Cincinnati, aided financially by the recently established Leopoldine Society. Significant international tensions arose; they both had to deal with major opposition from the growing Nativist movement, fueled in part by émigrés from the failed revolutions of 1848. This article is based on letters exchanged between Unterthiner and Franciscan superiors in Tyrol. After Unterthiner successfully recruited more friars from Tyrol, a new form of Franciscan life emerged under changed circumstances. The issues of inculturation and becoming a world church will be addressed in this article.

Arthur Grosvenor Daniells: from an Assistant to a Central Leader Seventh-day Adventist World Church

Arthur Grosvenor Daniells: from an Assistant to a Central Leader Seventh-day Adventist World Church

Locating the Struggle for Recognition in the Concept of the World Church

Locating the Struggle for Recognition in the Concept of the World Church

Empowering Women in Ecclesiastical Spaces: Insights from the World Council of Churches

This study delves into the responses of women amidst the dynamic shifts within the ecumenical movement from 1910 to 1948. Two pivotal developments marked the burgeoning presence of women in missions during the early 20th century. The Edinburgh World Missionary Conference of 1910 emerged as a cornerstone event within the ecumenical movement, attracting numerous women missionaries representing diverse missionary societies and church mission boards. Concurrently, the Woman's Missionary Jubilee (1910-11) underscored the fostering of camaraderie among women across First World and Third World churches. These events catalyzed the integration of women into the fabric of Protestant missions, leading to the formation of women's communities and their significant contributions to church establishment, development, and expansion. However, the establishment of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 1948 ushered in a period of diminished opportunities for women's participation. The predominant presence of male policy makers within the WCC, particularly within the influential Central Committee, which steered the Council between assemblies, reflected a systemic gender disparity. This shift prompted women to devise strategic approaches to bolster their roles within both churchand society. Consequently, this paper aims to delineate the strategic initiatives undertaken by pioneering women leaders of the early 20th century to enhance the status of women leaders within the ecclesiastical and societal domains.

A Prophet to the Peoples: Acknowledgements

It takes a village to write a book. This village includes not only the co-editors and contributors, but the editorial staff of the Journal of Moral Theology, the Catholic Theological Ethics in a World Church, as well as those who made Paul Farmer possible: his colleagues at Partners In Health, his family, and his patients.

Challenges on the Way to the Revival of Icon Painting – on Certain Aspects of the Canonical Norms

The article presents results of the research undertaken within the framework of the project #PHD-21-403 financed by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG). Revival of the modern Georgian icon painting started from the seventh decade of the 20th c. From the very beginning, national artistic form was a priority both in visual and musical ecclesiastic art; however, on the turn of the 20th to the 21st cc., general attitude towards national form proved to be quite critical. The problem emerged – which chanting and what icon painting is canonical for the Orthodox Church. Holy Synod of the Church of Georgia sanctioned Georgian polyphonic chanting. From the 17th c. onwards, canonical norms of the Georgian icon painting were influenced by the Church of Russia. Norms established there were obligatory for Georgian icon painting, as well as the norms of Russian church service. At present, widespread practice links norms of the canonical icon painting with the particular Russian and Byzantine style. Such an approach hinders development of the icon painting and, in its own turn, does not correspond to the world church law. As decreed by the Seventh Ecumenical Council, the main purpose of the icon painting is visualisation of the Gospel truth in such a way that the represented is perceptible, can serve as a model and should be venerated. Viewpoint of various famous icon painters concerning this issue coincides with that expressed in Georgia – development of modern icon painting requires establishment of the true criteria of the canonical norms; they should be linked with the theological purpose and not with any particular artistic style. This is the attitude of the Orthodox Church and the goal of the icon painting is striving for the modern ecclesiastical artistic language.

Stanfield‐Mazzi, Maya (2021) Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820, University of Notre‐Dame Press (Notre‐Dame), xvii + 432 pp, £40.00 hbk.

Stanfield‐Mazzi, Maya (2021) Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820, University of Notre‐Dame Press (Notre‐Dame), xvii + 432 pp, £40.00 hbk.

Ekklesiologi Martin Luther Sebagai Dasar Tata Gereja Aliran Lutheran di Indonesia

Martin Luther as a great theologian has left a theological view that has a wide influence in the world, especially for the Lutheran churches. Martin Luther's ecclesiology has also been used as the basis for the Lutheran church order. What did Luther believe about ecclesiology? This is what this research tries to examine, and Luther's view has become the basis for Lutheran churches to carry out church programs related to their marturia, koinonia and diakonia. Has anything changed after hundreds of years have passed and how do Lutheran churches live up to Luther's belief in church life? This is what is studied in the research conducted by the author. This is interesting because the great influence of a Luther has been recognized by the world church.

SEVERAL UNKNOWN SOURCES ON THE CHURCH OF IBERIA (GEORGIA)

The article discusses several unknown sources of the history of the Georgian Church. These sources belong to different periods. There are few foreign sources about the history of the medieval Georgian church, thus, these materials are important for a new understanding of many problems in the history of our Church. This Sources testify that the Iberian Church has always been actively involved in current events in the world church. The article also discusses the information of the Ethiopian sources about the Christianization of Georgia, this source is already known in Georgian historiography, but we discuss it according to archeological materials, this indicates that the information from this source about the construction of the first Christian church in Georgia is correct.

Missionary Cosmopolitanism in Nineteenth-Century British Literature

Missionary Cosmopolitanism in Nineteenth-Century British Literature

Review: Rubens in Repeat: The Logic of the Copy in Colonial Latin America, by Aaron M. Hyman; Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820, by Maya Stanfield-Mazzi

Review: <i>Rubens in Repeat: The Logic of the Copy in Colonial Latin America</i>, by Aaron M. Hyman; <i>Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820</i>, by Maya Stanfield-Mazzi

Catholicity and Translatability: Renewing Rahner on the World Church

Karl Rahner famously proclaimed that Vatican II marked the beginning of a new Christian epoch, that of the “world church” ( Weltkirche). He also proposed that the Catholic Church develop a global pastoral-strategic plan for the world church. This recommendation needs updating. This can occur through conversation with theologians engaged with Christianity in the Global South: Lamin Sanneh and Gemma Tulud Cruz. They offer ideas regarding the translatability and emerging inclusivity involved in the concrete, localized performances of ecclesial life that constitute the world church. Combined with Rahner’s rendering of the nexus between Christology and ecclesiology, these ideas can impel and guide attempts to think through and live out the church’s catholicity today.

North-South Partnership in God’s Mission: Joining Hands in the Construction of a Reconciliation Politics

This paper asks if there any hope today, in the midst of the pulls and tugs of current globalizing and counter-globalizing forces, of differing theological outlooks and intestine tensions, that the world Church can constitute a politics of reconciliation instead of one characterized by polarized confrontation. Employing the metaphor of “hands,” it proposes some needed steps towards the realization of that hope. Hands can join in reconciliation when they are open in confession and emptied of the manipulation of money, when all hands are welcome at the table, wounded as they are, and when they are raised in communal praise and supplication.

Understanding Diakonia in World Christian Churches : Focusing on Methodist, Baptist and Reformed Church

The word ‘diakonia’ is a Greek word widely used in the secular society of the Greeks. This word, therefore, appears many times in the New Testament. Today, the term diakonia is frequently used to mean ‘social ministry’, ‘social action’, ‘social engagement’, ‘social responsibility’ or ‘social work’. In order to study the understanding of diakonia of the World Christian Churches. I investigated how World Christian Churches understand diakonia. In particular, the study explored three main Christian Churches: Methodist, Baptist and Reformed Church. The Methodist movement seems to be a faith movement to achieve holistic salvation by socially linking evangelicalism and pietism. These values are an important source of how Methodism responds to the social issues of each age. Baptists have been making social efforts since the early Baptist World Congress with their interest in race, justice, human rights and religious freedom. They also seem to be making efforts for more professional and concrete diakonia practices using the aid organization of their congress. It appears that these organizations are engaged in ecumenical activities that are beyond Baptist churches, cooperating with other organizations and religions. The WCRC raised interest in the Reformed Church’s attitude to the world’s structural poverty issue. This church seems to be making an effort for a diakonia approach with interest in the definition of global economic injustice and ecological destruction. These world churches have continued their diakonia efforts, dealing with social needs and issues based on their beliefs and theology, although their emphasis on the realm and scope of diakonia practices are slightly different.

The RLDS Church, Global Denominations, and Globalization: Why the Study of Denominations Still Matters

The RLDS Church, Global Denominations, and Globalization: Why the Study of Denominations Still Matters

Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820

Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820

Colonial Church Clothing - Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820. By Maya Stanfield-Mazzi. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2021. Pp. 432. 186 illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $50.00 cloth; $37.99 paper; $37.00 e-book.

Colonial Church Clothing - Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820. By Maya Stanfield-Mazzi. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2021. Pp. 432. 186 illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $37.00 e-book. - Volume 79 Issue 2

A Call for a More Robust Word in Word and Sacrament

The relationship of word and sacrament rests at the very core of a Reformed theology of worship. However, the fundamental inseparability of the two has struggled to find balance within the practice of worship and preaching in congregational life. The last 50 years has seen a significant increase in sacrament practice within the Presbyterian Church. The effort has largely been sparked by the desire to establish a better theological balance of word and sacrament consistent with the ecumenical world church. During that same period, however, preaching’s engagement with the church’s sacramental life has not been well served by the discipline of homiletics. The teaching of preaching has significantly ignored the theological depth and rich imagery of baptism and communion. It is time to call for a more vibrant engagement with the word on the occasions when the sacraments are being celebrated. This essay offers an exploration of how the preacher can live into relatively recent liturgical change that elevates sacramental practice while honoring the Reformed theological heritage of word and sacrament.

Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820. By Maya Stanfield-Mazzi. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2021. xxi + 408 pp. $50.00 cloth.

Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820. By Maya Stanfield-Mazzi. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2021. xxi + 408 pp. $50.00 cloth. - Volume 91 Issue 1

Maya Stanfield-Mazzi, Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820, University of Notre Dame Press, Indiana, 2021, 408 pages, hardback, ISBN 9780268108052, $50.00.

Maya Stanfield-Mazzi’s Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520-1820 (2021) is the first broad survey that highlights some essential threads in the social and material history of textile production and usage within the context of the Catholic Church in Spanish America. This review highlights the publication’s contribution in interdisciplinary research in the field.