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[German Version] (Apr 1, 1776, Hanau – Jul 25, 1853, Lübeck), influential revival preacher and reformer in Lübeck, who became doctor of theology in Berlin in 1817. Turning from a devout Enlightenment (II,…

[German Version] (c. 340/345–400). Amphilochius was the cousin of Gregory of Nazianzus and a student of Libanius. After practicing law in Constantinople c. 365–371, he became an ascetic. In the fall of 373, he became metropolitan of the new ecclesiastical province of Lycaonia, which he reorganized and strengthened (church discipline, new dioceses, conflict with pagans and heretics, etc.). As an ally of Basil the Great, he contributed significantly to the victory of Basil's doctrine of the Trinity (Neo-Niceanism) in Asia Minor – for example, by his Epistola synodica against the …

[German Version] 1. Theodosius Andreas (Jan 3, 1817, St. Petersburg – Sep 23, 1889, Tartu [Ger. Dorpat], Estonia). Harnack studied at Dorpat from 1834 to 1837; after three years as a private tutor, he also studied at Berlin, Bonn, and Erlangen. He became a Privatdozent in 1843. From 1848 to 1852 and again from 1866 to 1875 he was professor of practical theology at Dorpat, from 1853 to 1866 at Erlangen. In 1852/1853 he taught systematic theology at Dorpat. He was orphaned at 15; in 1857 his first wife…

[German Version] ( Bruderrat), designation for the leadership bodies of the Confessing Church ( Bekennende Kirche) at all levels. At first prevalent in especially the (pietistic) community movement ( Gemeinschaftsbewegung), after 1933 it emanated from the emphasis on collegiality and from the ideal of a …

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[German Version] (Deutsche Evangelische Kirche, DEK). In the history of the attempts to replace or modify the structure of German Protestantism determined by regional churches, the time after 1933 offered a paradigm of fundamental significance. The idea, propagated to a degree from the 19th century onward, of a national church acquired new relevance following the National Socialist overthrow of the state (National Socialism), above all through corresponding demands of t…

[German Version] I. History This institution, founded in 1948 (a German Federal Church with eight member churches) has a prehistory rooted in the 19th century which presupposes the confessional division of German Protestantism from 1529 to 1648. It is based on the axiom that, according to …

[German Version] (born probably in Tarsus, died 397). As a member of the political elite in Constantinople, Nectarius was appointed bishop of the capital by Theodosius I after the retirement of Gregory of Nazianzus, although he was a layman and …

[German Version] I. City and Bishopric – II. University I. City and Bishopric As part of his missionary efforts in the southern part of West Saxony, in 793/795 Ludger established a fortified monastery ( monasterium; hence the name Münster since the 12th cent.) within the older town of Mimigernaford, which became the center for the bishopric established in 805, in the 9th century already incorporating a system of parishes. Beginning in the 11th century, a market town with a church (St. Lambe…

[German Version] I. Definition of the Term as a Problem for the History of Religions – II. Old Testament – III. Jewish Apocalypticism – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI. Dogmatics – VII. Islam – VIII. Art History I. Definition of the Term as a Problem for the History of Religions As a phenomenon in the history of religions, apocalypticism represents a form of revealed communication distinct from other types such as prophecy …

[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Church History – III. Dogmatics and Canon Law – IV. Missiology I. New Testament The NT contains no evidence of the episcopate in the traditional Catholic sense (a single bishop at the apex of a hierarchical clerical ministry functioning as head of a Christian community), but it does use the word ἐπίσκοπος ( epískopos; the etymological source of bishop…

[German Version] I. Background – II. Establishment – III. Fundamental Difference: Two Types – IV. Schism in the Confessing Church (Bekennende Kirche; BK). “Bekennende Kirche” was the self-designation of those who, from 1934, appeared alongside and in opposition to the administrative bodies dominated by the Deutsche Christen (“German Christians”) at the levels of the Reich, the state, and the community, with their own forms of org…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Church History – III. Dogmatics – IV. Practical Theology – V. North America – VI. Missiology I. Religious Studies Generally speaking, the term laity (from Gk λαος/ laós…

[German Version] I. History As it developed in the Early Church and the Middle Ages, the term synod (from Gk σύνοδος/ sýnodos, “assembly, being together on the way”) cannot be separated from the term council. Only in 19th- and 20th-century Protestantism is a separate treatment warranted; in that context – with roots going back to the 16th century – the synod represents a new constitutional phenomenon (Church polity: IV, 2; V, 1.c). Its antecedents include medieval diocesan synods (as extensions of the provincial syn…

[German Version] The Pneumatomachi, a group found primarily in Asia Minor, had a traditional binitarian doctrine of God, rejecting the divinity of the Holy Spirit (Spirit/Holy Spirit). They were an outgrowth of the “middle way” that evolved after 358, made up of followers of Origen and Eusebius. Within this new group of Homoiousians, some opposed the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit in speaking of the divine essence. This accentuation of doctrinal differences with the Niceans, who were a distinct minority in…

[German Version] I. New Testament Social structures that entrusted older individuals with functions on behalf of the community were widespread in the ancient Mediterranean world. In the memory of Israel, they were particularly important in the early history of the people (Num 11– 1 Sam 30:26ff.; 2 Sam 2:4; 12:17; Elders in the Old Testament). Their entrustment with local and regional judicial functions continued (reflected in Deut 19:12; cf. 11QT XLII 13f.) albeit often in diminished form. In the Ne…

[German Version] I. History, Constitution, and Structure – II. Works and Institutions (EKD; Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland) …

[German Version] I. Primitive Christianity – II.

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Early Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI. Systematic Theology – VII. Practical Theology – VIII. Law – IX. Missiology…