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1. Term To speak theologically and architectonically about church architecture is to reflect on all the places in which Christians meet in the name of Jesus for cultic services and catechesis, table fellowship and the exchange of gifts and ministries. These include not only parish churches and centers but also churches associated with baptisteries, houses, castles, cemeteries, and pilgrimage sites; cathedrals; crypts; and chapels in villages, castles, high-rises, colleges, universities, and retrea…

[German Version] (May 2, 1886, Mansfeld – Jul 7, 1956, Berlin), poet. The son of a minister, Benn studied theology, philosophy, and medicine. He received a grant from the academy for military education and collaborated on expressionist publications (relationship with E. Lasker-Schüler. He practiced as a hospital doctor in 1912, as a military doctor from 1914 to 1917, and …

[German Version] I. In Principle – II. History – III. Present Heritage I. In Principle 1. Architecture, an esp. complex system of signs, has the task – in regard to religion, the most difficult task – of creating spatially optimal circumstances for future situations. Since the significance of a construction component results from its situational/epochal function ( utilitas) in relation to construction and material, special attention has to be paid to rites and atmosphere. Serious theories of arch…

Since the tenth century, the ecclesia cathedralis has been the bishop’s church, as it still is in France, Spain, England, and Sweden. The term “cathedral” (Gk. kathedra; Lat. cathedra) originally meant “seat,” then “teaching chair [of the bishop].” In the Eastern Orthodox Church the cathedral is the main church of a city, though the term is not used in the Russian Orthodox Church. In Germany, Dom (from Lat. domus ecclesiae, “house of the Christian community”) or Mu¬nster (cf. Eng. “minster”) is often used instead of the cognate Kathedrale. In the Roman Catholic Church the appr…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Israel – III. Christianity I. Religious Studies The term comes from the Lat. “altare,” which is derived from “adolere,” “burn” (thus already Sextus Pompeius Festus, De verborum significatione, v. 14: “altaria sunt in quibus igne adoletur”). In addition to “altare/altaria”, the common term “ara” (from “areo,” “burn”) has the same meaning. Accordingly, the Roman altar could be defined as “place of fire” or “sacrificial hearth.” In Greek, there are a number of alternating terms. Of these θυμέλη/ thymélē and θυσιαστήριον/ thysiastḗrion (fr…

[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Church History – III. Dogmatics – IV. Liturgical History – V. Practical Theology – VI. Missiology I. New Testament 1. Background Sacred meals are common to all religions. Before examining them in the context of the NT, it is necessary first to inquire into their background in the OT and in Judaism, whereupon it becomes evident that sacrificial meals play no role in them. Only the dai…