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[German Version] From the very beginning, the understanding of the relationship of women and men in the church was influenced by contemporary ideas. However, the impulse for women's equality inherent in the Christian view of humanity was always effective too. Nonetheless, women had to fight, step by step, for their access to the vote and to offices in the church (Emancipation). Besides the well-known biblical passages (1 Cor 11:2–16; 14:33–35; 1Tim 2:8–15; Haustafel , e.g. Col 3:18–25), they had to deal with arguments from natural law or the so-called orders of ¶ creation (Creation, Or…

[German Version] The office of general superintendent arose, like that of the superintendent, during the Reformation in the context of the visitations, the main difference being that the general superintendent ¶ (Ger. Generalsuperintendent) is responsible for a larger area. The general superintendent is entrusted with the supervision and spiritual guidance of a larger region that may comprise several superintendencies or even the entire regional church. The general superintendent is often a member of the administrative authori…

[German Version] Church work in the sense of this article is carried out by agencies (organizations or institutions) affiliated with the church that are not part of it in the legal sense. Such agencies include especially ¶ diaconal institutions (Diakonia) as well as organizations involved in activities like Christian journalism, mission, and development aid. In the Protestant sphere, they are mostly outgrowths of Pietism and the revival movement (Revival/Revival movements). As Wasse suggests, German usage has tended to associate Werke (“organizations”) with a membership st…

[German Version] The term Dienstgemeinschaft (“service community”) is used by Catholic and Protestant churches in Germany to express the special bond that links the staff of the church, both paid and volun-¶ teer. The term seeks to express the biblical background of this cooperative endeavor. The community rests particularly on shared celebration of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 10:17; Eucharist: V; Intercommunion), the variety and unity of the gifts of the Spirit (e.g. 1 Cor 12f.), the great commission (Matt 28:19f.), and the comm…

[English Version] I. Kirchenrechtlich R. bez. die Pflicht v.a. von Geistlichen, am Dienstort zu wohnen und ggf. eine Dienstwohnung, meist ein Pfarrhaus, zu beziehen. Davon zu unterscheiden ist die Präsenzpflicht, d.h. die Pflicht, sich nur unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen (Urlaub, spezielle Genehmigung) längerfristig vom Dienstort zu entfernen. Beide sind im kath. und ev. Kirchenrecht ähnlich geregelt; hier wie dort soll die stabilitas loci die jederzeitige Erreichbarkeit des Amtsträgers sichern, s…

[German Version] I. History – II. Legal Status of Daughter Parishes I. History In the Western church, from the 12th century on separate chapels were established for preaching and administration of the sacraments. They were meant for those who lived in villages far from the parish church or those who could not (afford to) rent a pew. They were also an effective means of extending the church's outreach where it was difficult (or impossible) to establish new parishes. Often found in …

[German Version] I. Church Law Residence obligation is the requirement that people, especially clergy, live at their place of employment and if necessary move into an official residence, usually a ¶ parsonage. This obligation must be distinguished from mandatory presence, i.e. the obligation not to be away from one’s place of employment for extended periods except as specifically provided (vacation, special permission). Canon law and Protestant church law treat this obligation similarly. In both, stabilitas loci is intended to make sure the clergy can be reached at any…

[German Version] I. Law – II. History I. Law There does not necessarily have to be a comprehensive regulation of elections in the church, including for example the number of those to be elected and the time periods and forms in which the elections are to be conducted. Free churches and minority churches still manage without such regulations today; among Christians, in individual cases a fair procedure is possible on the basis of consensus. In Protestantism in the course of t…

[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Church History – III. Dogmatics – IV. Practical Theology – V. Church Law – VI. Catholic Church – VII. Orthodox Church I. New Testament Neither “deaconess” nor “diaconate” is an appropriate term for the NT era, and “deacon” should not be used as an exact translation of διάκονος/ diákonos, since the three terms only later underwent an institutionalization that did not exist in NT times. The occurrence of the terminology in the NT can be differentiate…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Church History – V. Dogmatics – VI. Ethics – VII. Practical Theology – VIII. Church Law – IX. Judaism – X. Islam I. History of Religion In the following comments the term community will refer exclusively to a religiously motivated association of people. From the standpoint of the history of religion, the formation of communities is more the exception than the rule. The fact that associations such as tribes, as well, howe…