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[German Version] I. Early Church and Middle Ages – II. Protestantism (Germany) – III. Roman Catholic Church after Trent – IV. Orthodox Church – V. Non-Catholic Churches outside Germany I. Early Church and Middle Ages The New Testament contains scattered statements about the personal qualifications required of someone holding ministerial office in the church (e.g. 1 Tim 3:2–13; Tit 1:6–9) but says nothing about their training. Since the gospel implies understanding and address persons, the question of the theological education and…

[German Version] Ghana, formerly a British colony (Gold Coast) on the West Coast of Africa (map) and with a land space of 238,533 km2, consists of terrain plains, scrubland, rain forest, and savanna. It gained independence on Mar 6, 1957. Ghana was the first Black African country to achieve independence in modern history. While colonial historiography presents Ghana as a nation created by British administration out of congeries of tribes, current historiography states that early on there was the Greater Ashanti, which…

[German Version] (Oct 16, 1909, Bona Sakrim, Mende, Sierra Leone – 1986), Anglican priest (from 1943) and pioneer African theologian (Third World theology: II). He received his education and his life’s work in Church Missionary Society institutions, and was principal of Fourah Bay College (1962–1974) and vice-chancellor of the University of ¶ Sierra Leone (1970–1972). Mende culture, into which he was socialized from infancy, became praeparatio evangelica for incarnational African theology, emphasizing the uniqueness of Christ. Liturgy and liturgical innovation…

[German Version] The stretch of land on the West coast of Africa, covering a stretch of 320 km and a width of 10 km on both sides of the Lower valley of River Gambia, was a British colony until its independence in 1965. Its population of 1,025,867 (1993) is multi-ethnic: Mandingo or Mandinka (42%), Fulani (18%), Wolof (16%), Jolan (10%), Serahuli (9%), and Aku, who are descendents of freed slaves. From 1965 until 1970 it had a monarchic government within the Commonwealth. In 1970 Gambia became a r…

1. General Situation Guinea-Bissau, a republic on the west coast of Africa, is bounded to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean, by Senegal to the north, and by Guinea to the east and south. This small country contains over 27 ethnic groups speaking 22 languages. The official language is Portuguese, and Creole is the language of trade. Guinea-Bissau’s first encounters with Europe came when Portuguese traders arrived in 1446 and Roman Catholic missionaries followed in 1462. More striking was the slave trade, which the Portuguese carried out in the 17t…

1. General Situation The Ivory Coast (or, its preferred form, Côte dʾ;Ivoire), a West African republic, became a French protectorate in 1842, a French colony in 1893, and in 1960 gained its independence. Its first contacts with Europe were with the Portuguese in the 15th century, followed by the Danes and French, who traded in ivory and slaves (Colonialism). The country has been created out of more than 60 ethnic groups speaking as many native languages. The largest groups are the Baoulé (23 perce…

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea was a Spanish colony until 1968, when it gained its independence. It consists of mainland Mbini (formerly Río Muni), between Cameroon to the north and Gabon to the south and east, the island Bioko (formerly Fernando Póo), and some smaller islands. Spanish is the national language. Petroleum, timber, and cocoa are the basic exports. In spite of good prospects at the time of independence, Equatorial Guinea has become economically depressed and is today one of the …

1. Political Situation Ghana, known until 1957 as the Gold Coast, is a West African nation being welded out of congeries of loosely knit tribes. Ethnic pluralism and its encirclement by francophone Africa cause tensions for this former British colony, raising issues of national unity and security that have preoccupied successive governments. Its religions include African traditional religions (Guinea 2), Christianity, and Islam (mostly the school of the Malikites and the Aḥmadı̄yah sect). Since independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Ghana has had five civi…