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[German Version] (Nov 1, 1864, Darmstadt – Jul 5 or 18, 1918, Alapaevsk), Grand Princess of Russia, formerly Princess Elizabeth of Hesse and the Rhine, a saint of the Orthodox Church (feast: Jul 5). The daughter of Ludwig IV of Hesse (1837–1892) and older sister of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, she became prominent by performing social work that was exemplary for its time and has become the model for many diaconal institutions that have newly arisen in Russia's spiritual rebirth since 1988. After the death of her mother, Princess Alice of Great Britain …

[German Version] (Aleksij Mal'cev, Mar 14, 1854, eparchy of Jaroslavl' – Apr 15/16, 1915, Kislovodsk), Russian theologian, son of an archpriest. In 1878 Maltzew completed his studies at St. Petersburg theological academy. He was ordained priest in 1882, and in 1886 became archpriest and chaplain at the Russian embassy in Berlin. He published a German-Slavonic edition of all important services of the Orthodox Church, with liturgical studies and confessional writings (e.g. in Germania, 1898/99). In 1890 he founded the Brotherhood of St. Vladimir, which in 1895 set up …

1. Early Church Tendencies 1.1. Two Fundamental Convictions Two fundamental convictions concerning the nature of the church, which are of great significance for the later development of church government, become evident in the NT writings. 1.1.1. The church has its origin in God’s actions in Jesus Christ. It is ekklēsia, or the people of the end time chosen and sanctified by God, to whom belongs the sphere of the sacred. Because he alone exercises his dominion over the church through the Holy Spirit, the church does not stand at the disposal of any human control or power (1 Cor. 3:16–17). Th…

1. Protestant and Roman Cathlic Church membership and adherence are related to the theological and institutional understanding of the church. Church membership has both spiritual and legal dimensions. 1.1. ¶ On the Protestant view, the church is the communion of saints instituted by the Holy Spirit. Church membership, then, is essentially being part of the communion of saints. It begins with the work of the Holy Spirit, who brings one into this fellowship through the preaching of the gospel. Baptism is incorporation into the…

1. Europe 1.1. Seventeenth Century The Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), which ultimately became a struggle for hegemony in Europe on German soil, also formed the apogee of the period of confessionalism (Denomination 4) and its many crises. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) at once gave modern Europe its basic law (F. Dickmann) and the new era a new outlook. A period of greater stability was created, resting on greater rationality in both foreign and domestic affairs and resulting in more power for absolute …