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[German Version] The liturgical dramas or plays on the theme of Christmas or Christ's Nativity event, the goal of which was the glorification and adoration of God. The initial pedagogical function was to teach the faith through by presenting sacred history and to encourage appropriate moral behavior in a mode accessible to the otherwise illiterate Christian populace. The earliest forms of liturgical dramas were the annual retelling of the scriptural events during the La…

[German Version] I. History of Religions – II. Dance, Gesture, Movement and Religion – III. Dance, Gesture, Movement and the Christian Tradition I. History of Religions In contrast to pure movement, dance consists of intentional, differentiated, recurring and rhythmic elements. Initially, natural rhythms such as the beating of the heart, rainfall or animal sounds were imitated and translated into movement. In early forms of culture, da…

[German Version] The term liturgical art identifies the “tangible expressions of the Christian liturgy – all the objects, vestments, (Vestments, Liturgical) paraments (Vestments/Paraments), liturgical vessels, and instruments fundamental to the celebration and aesthetics of Christian worship. Traditionally liturgical art has distinguished between movable and immovable objects. The principal immovable object is the altar, while the principal movable object is the cross (Cross/Crucifixion). A careful s…

[German Version] I. Ancient Near Eastern Art – II. Greco-Roman Art – III. Christian Art I. Ancient Near Eastern Art The earliest datable representations of animals in ancient Near Eastern art stem from the Mesolithic Period, and the oldest representations of the human form from the Neolithic Period (reworked male skulls or imitations of the same, cf. Kenyon; stylized or three-dimensional figurines of sitting, corpulent women). Anthropomorphic ¶ (Anthropomorphism) deities are usually distinguished from humans through attributes (for the exception of the “naked…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. New Testament – III. Church History – IV. Dogmatics – V. Practical Theology – VI. History of Liturgy – VII. Law – VIII. Missions – IX. Art I. History of Religion From the standpoint of the history of religion, baptism is not a general type of rite (Rite and ritual) but a lustration ritual that is carried out not only in Christianity but also in historically related religions such as …

[German Version] I. History – II. Christian Liturgy – III. Practical Theology – IV. Art History – V. Music I. History 1. Origins. “Christmas,” the nativity feast or birthday celebration of Christ on Dec 25, comes from Middle English Christmesse, Christ's Mass; cf. Dutch Kerstmis. The German Weihnachten, “holy nights,” refers to the twelve days between Dec 24 and Jan 6. The Lat. natalis, dies nativitatis, or nativitas domini nostri Jesu Christi is reflected in Span. navidad, Ital. natale. Gk ἡ γενέθλιος ἡμέρα τὰ γενέθλια, ἡ κατὰ σάρκα γέννησις τοῦ κυρίου/ hēgenéthlios h…

[German Version] I. Names and Terms – II. Religious Studies – III. Ancient Near East and Old Testament – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI. Philosophy of Religion – VII. Fundamental Theology – VIII. Dogmatics – IX. Judaism – X. Islam – XI. History of Art and Literature I. Names and Terms 1. Devil The secular Greek noun διάβολος/ diabolos comes from one of the meanings of the verb διαβάλλω/ diaballō, “separate, sever,” which led to meanings such as “accuse, slander, deceive.” From the Greek noun came Latin diabolus, from which the English …