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[German Version] I. Theology – II. Ethics I. Theology The kingship of Christ means the dawning of the kingdom of God in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, in which he has been given power over all powers. His dominion over all areas of life – still latent, still contested – is proclaimed in his community. The Roman Church observes the last Sunday of the church year as the Feast of Christ the King (Christ the King, Feast of; DS 3675–3679). 1. In the New Testament, the earliest Christian confession of faith, “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Rom 1:4; 10:9; Jesus Christ: I; Ky…

[German Version] I. History and Theology 1. Terminology. For programmatic theological reasons, the Reformed churches rejected the exonym Calvinist churches. They referred to themselves as Reformed churches because they did not think of themselves as new churchdoms alongside the one holy church but as a part of that church, albeit as part of it renewed according to God’s Word in Holy Scripture. In speaking of themselves, therefore, they eschewed references to a theological founder or a particular place of origin. The 17th-century formula ecclesia reformata semper reformanda means …

[German Version] I. Church History In Christian usage, the term sacrament has two meanings: a broad meaning corresponding to the New Testament term μυστήριον/ mystḗrion (“mystery”), used as a term for mysteries of the faith in general, and a narrower meaning in the sense of certain liturgical actions that enable believers to share in the salvific grace effected by Christ. While medieval Scholastic theology in the West developed the narrower understanding of sacraments with increasingly precise and subtle definitions, …