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[German Version] The history of the church in the Caribbean falls into several periods: Spanish Catholic colonial Christianity, beginning in 1492, and Anglican colonial Christianity, beginning in 1620; the period of modern Protestant missions (Herrnhuters, Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians), beginning in 1732; the founding of independent African Christian groups alongside traditional religious groups, primarily from the dawn of emancipation in1833 to the coming of indepen…

1. In the United States 1.1. Introduction Black churches in the United Sta…

[German Version] I. Church History 1.…

[German Version] I. History of Religions – II. Jewish Diaspora – III. Christian Diaspora…

[German Version] I. Terminology The German word Gottesdienst (“worship,” lit. “service of God”) is attested since the 13th/14th century as a German translation of Latin cultus (Cult/Worship). It came into common use in the 16th century, especially in Luther’s works. Starting with an ethical understanding of the word, Luther himself used it as a technical term for the common celebration of the Word of God, as it evolved from the evangelical reform of the Catholic sacrifice (IV) of the mass. For centuries the term Gottesdienst remained limited to this specific form of worship of the Protestant churches. After Vatican II, the Roman Catholic Church adopted it on a grand scale (e.g. by the creation of a Roman Congregatio de Cultu Divino [Ger. Gottesdienst, Eng. Divine Worship] et Disciplina Sacramentorum replacing the former Congregatio Rituum [or Caeremoniarum]). The Eastern churches continued to use the traditional term Divine Liturgy, referring only to the Eucharist (III, 3). This short survey reveals that the meaning of the term worship has varied both historically and geographically; its inherent ambiguity makes any absolute and universal differentiation of related terms very difficult even in the context of a particular church. The term Gottesdienst has a wealth of over…