Search

[German Version] (actually Ioann Ilʾič Sergiev; Oct 19, 1829, Sura – Dec 20, 1908, St. Petersburg). Already revered during his lifetime as a confessor gifted with insight and as a miracle-worker, he founded an important social and charitable ministry in Kronštadt grounded in a piety rooted in the divine liturgy (Worship: II, 7) and that led to the fostering of more frequent communion on the part of the laity. His sermons were highly regarded. The full theological value of his spiritual diary Moja žiznʾ vo Christe [My life in Christ] has still not been fully explored. His monarch…

[German Version] (c. 1360 – before 1427, Moscow), saint of the Russian Orthodox Church, the greatest Russian icon painter (Icons, fig. 3), and monk of the Andronikov Monastery in Moscow. In 1405 Rublyov was involved in painting the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin and its iconostasis. In 1408 he participated in painting the frescoes of the Cathedral of St. Vladimir on the Klyazma and designing its iconostasis, as well as the Andronikov Monastery. The “Stoglavy” council in 1551 d…

[German Version] Peter, Metropolitan, metropolitan of Kiev and first metropolitan of Moscow (before 1275, Volhynia – Dec 21, 1326, Moscow). In 1308 Prince Yuri of Galicia is reported to have nominated Peter to Constantinople for appointment as metropolitan of Galicia, but he was appointed metropolitan of Kiev instead. His predecessor Maksim had transferred the seat of the metropolitanate from Kiev to Vladimir; to avoid the constant hostilities of the ruling grand dukes of Tver, Peter transferred t…

[German Version] actually a term coined by Western liturgics for worship during the night preceding major feasts. The frequent mention of nighttime watching and prayer in the New Testament (Matt 14:23; 26:41 par.; Acts 16:25; Col 4:2 etc.) gave rise to corresponding liturgical observances, if in fact they do not themselves reflect such practice. In the Early Church, Tertullian and others attest to the practice of assembling at night for prayer (Tert. Ad uxorem II 4.2). Cyprian of Carthage mentions nighttime prayer (Cyp. Dom. orat. 35). Chapter 41 of the Traditio apostolica spea…

[English Version] I. Dogmengeschichtlich und dogmatisch Der Begriff S. bez. allg. diejenigen theol. Konzeptionen, die in einem geistl. oder ethischen Zusammenwirken des menschlichen Willens mit der Gnade Gottes einen ursächlichen Faktor des Heilsempfangs sehen (Pelagius/Pelagianer/Semipelagianer). Die Reformatoren haben auf der Linie Augustins den S. bekämpft und die in Gottes Gnadenwahl begründete Rechtfertigung ( sola gratia) als das alleinige Fundament des Heils begriffen. Trotz der »Gemeinsamen Erklärung« zur Rechtfertigungslehre durch den Va…

[English Version] I. Osten In allen östlichen orth. Kirchen der zwei, der drei und der sieben ökum. Konzilien gilt das betende Gedächtnis der Verstorbenen als zentrale praxis pietatis. Alle östlichen Liturgien enthalten in der Anaphora, d.h. an zentraler Stelle, Bitten für die im Glauben Entschlafenen. In der byz. Göttlichen Liturgie (: VI.) werden Prosphoren dargebracht, denen Partikeln entnommen werden, die dem Gedächtnis der Verstorbenen dienen und nach der Kommunion den eucharistischen Gaben be…

[German Version] I. Catholic The city church of Rome took over a pre-Christian field procession held on Apr 25 in honor of Rubigo, the feared divinity of cereal burning, probably in the 4th century; it was developed further under Gregory I. The procession ended at St. Peter’s, where the Eucharist was celebrated. This rogation was later given the name of litania maior, from the litany sung at it. It extended beyond Rome; in 470 it was mandated by Bishop Mamertus of Vienne because of the threat of a poor harvest, and rogationes or litaniae minores, prescribed for the whole of Gaul in 511, …

[German Version] I. Dogmatics In general, the term synergy denotes theological conceptions that consider spiritual or ethical cooperation of the human will with divine grace a causal factor in human salvation (Pelagius/Pelagians/Semi-Pelagians). The Reformers followed Augustine of Hippo in rejecting synergism, seeing justification based solely on God’s free grace ( sola gratia) as the only foundation of salvation. Despite the 1999 Joint Declarationon the Doctrine of Justification by the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation, it remains debatable whether an…

[German Version] I. Eastern Christianity – II. Western Christianity I. Eastern Christianity The prayerful remembrance of the deceased is regarded as a central praxis pietatis in all eastern Orthodox churches of the two, three, and seven ecumenical councils. All eastern liturgies include prayers for those who have died in the faith in the anaphora, that is in a central position in the service. In the Byzantine Divine Liturgy (VI), prosphora are offered from which pieces are taken in memory of the deceased and mixed with the eucharistic gifts after Communion to s…

[German Version] I. Western Theology – II. Orthodox Theology – III. Present Ecumenical Discussion I. Western Theology 1. The Problem. In the churches of the West, the statement in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed that the Holy Spirit (Spirit/Holy Spirit: VI, 2) “proceeds from the Father” adds “and the Son” (Lat. filioque). The Orthodox churches rejected this addition (see II below). Although the Filioque clause was not directly responsi-¶ ble for the schism of 1054, it came to epitomize the alienation between the East and West. 2. History. Augustine was authoritative for t…

[German Version] I. Invocation – II. Epiclesis I. Invocation In order to get into touch with a given deity, one must know the procedure whereby one gets that deity's attention, how to get to the locus of its presence, and how to invoke an epiphany or visit the image representing it. There are also forms that are not necessarily tied to the deity's local presence, such as prayer, imprecation, …

1. AllgemeinP. (von lat. praedicatio, ›Bekanntmachung‹) bezeichnet die öffentliche Verkündigung im Rahmen des christl. Gottesdienstes. Diese lässt sich in zwei Gattungen einteilen: (1) die Homilie (griech. homilía; lat. tractatus, ›Rede‹, ›Erörterung‹), d. h. die Auslegung zuvor verlesener Bibel-Texte (›Lesung[en]‹) – ein Brauch, den das Christentum vom Judentum übernommen hat; (2) die Kanzelrede (lat. sermo, ›Rede‹), die ein Thema systematisch entfaltet und sich am Kirchenjahr (lat. sermo de tempore, ›P. über die Zeit‹), an den Heiligenfesten ( de sanctis, ›über die He…

1. EinleitungDas G. (lat. oratio, preces), religionswissenschaftlich gesehen die »dialogische Zuwendung eines Menschen zu seinem Gott, um ihm das eigene Dasein in seiner Bedürftigkeit oder Zufriedenheit als den Wirkungsbereich ›dieses‹ Gottes darzustellen« [3. 32], ist eine grundlegende Kommunikationsform des Menschen. Das G. ist sowohl Ausdruck persönlich-individueller (privates G.) als auch institutionell organisierter Praxis (liturgisches G.; vgl. Gottesdienst), wobei beide Bereiche einander in den verschiedenen Religionen a…

1. IntroductionFrom the perspective of the academic study of religion, prayer (Latin  oratio, preces) is the “dialogical approach of an individual to his or her God, in order to represent their own existence to him in its neediness or satisfaction as the sphere of action of  this God” [3. 32]; it is a fundamental form of human communication. Prayer is an expression of both personal, individual practice (private prayer) and institutionally organized practice (liturgical prayer; see Worship). Both types of prayer influence and partially shape…

1. Overview Preaching (from Latin  praedicatio, “proclamation”) denotes public proclamation in the setting of Christian worship. It can be divided into two genres: (1) the homily (Greek  homilía; Latin  tractatus, “speech,” “exposition”), that is, the interpretation of previously read Bible texts (“lections”) – a practice adopted by Christianity from Judaism – and (2) the sermon (Latin  sermo, “speech”), which develops a topic systematically and is based on the church year (Latin  sermo de tempore, “sermon on the season”), the feasts of the saints ( de sanctis, “on the sai…

[English Version] I. Kirchengeschichtlich 1.  Begriffsgeschichte Der Orthodoxiebegriff (vgl. auch Orthodoxie: I.) stammt aus dem hell. Judentum. So empfiehlt Flavius Josephus »τη`n̆ ο᾿ρϑη`n̆ δο´ξαn̆ περι` Θεου˜/tē´n orthē´n do´xan peri´ Theou´« anstelle der griech. Mythen und überliefert, daß die Essener die anderen Juden als »ε῾τερο´δοξοι/hetero´doxoi« betrachtet hätten (Flav.Jos.Apion. II 256; Bell. II 129). Dieser Sprachgebrauch griff seit dem 2.Jh. auch auf das Christentum über. Entscheidend für seine kirchl. Ausprägung wurde 843…

[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Dogma and the History of Dogma – III. Art History I. New Testament Christ's descent into hell, i.e. his descent to the underworld, the realm of the dead, is, as Descensus ad inferos, one of the christological statements of the early and medieval church's confession of faith (Apostles' Creed, Athanasian Creed; Confession (of faith): III). Nonetheless, the NT does not offer a single certain text for this notion; at most, 1 Pet 4:6 may be interpreted as preaching by Jesus to the dead, before his resurrection (cf. Ign. Magn. 9.2; Gos. Pet. 10.41f.; Iren. H…

[German Version] I. Catholic Theology – II. Orthodox Theology – III. Protestant Theology I. Catholic Theology The semantic field of mysterium in Catholic theology exhibits two characteristic poles; though they cannot be separated, there is some tension in their relationship. One pole is the dialectic of God's revelation and hiddenness in his action of revelation and salvation. This semantic pole has its roots in the biblical use of the term (esp. in the Pauline, deutero-Pauline, and trito-Pauline ¶ material), but it is still dominant in formal scholastic usage in the 1…

[German Version] I. Church History – II. The Branches of Orthodoxy – III. Orthodoxy throughout the World – IV. History of Orthodox Theology I. Church History 1. Terminology. The term orthodox (cf. also Orthodoxy: I) goes back to Hellenistic Judaism. Flavius Josephus, for example, commends τὴν ὀρϑὴν δόξαν περὶ Θεοῦ/ tḗn orthḗn dóxan perí Theoú instead of Greek myths and reports that the Essenes viewed other Jews as ἑτερόδοξοι/ heteródoxoi ( Apion. II 256; Bell. II 129). ¶ This idiom passed into Christian usage in the 2nd century. The critical moment for its ecclesiastica…

[German Version] I. General Russia (Russ. Rossiya) has been known by that name only since the early 18th century (Peter the Great). Previously the name Rus’ had been in common use; the earliest documents used it to designate both the land and its people. The origin of the term Rus’, a feminine singular noun, is disputed; etymologically it most likely derives from Finnish Ruotsi (“Sweden”). The historical and geographical heartland of Russia can be defined as the territory of the upper Dvina, the upper Volga, and the upper and middle Dnieper. The southern step…

[German Version] I. History – II. Systematic Theology I. History The term “Mariology,” used to refer to theological interest in the Mother of Jesus Christ (Mary) − and to the systematic subdiscipline of dogmatics that developed out of this interest − first appeared in the title of the work Summa sacrae Mariologiae by Placido Nigido (Palermo 1602, 21623); the variant “Marialogy” was introduced by Vincent Contenson (see below) in 1669. Thereafter, the concept disappeared until the 19th century. The matter itself has, for christological reasons, been t…

[German Version] I. Literature – II. Music – III. Orthodox Liturgy I. Literature Historically, the term ode (Gk ᾠδή/ ōdḗ, “song”; cf. the derivative lit. forms of the palinode, “poetic retraction,” and parody, “mock song/poem”) was increasingly reserved for a formal song or poem of exalted emotion ( carmen). Pindar (apart from four books of epinicia [victory songs], only frgms. extant) was the poetic muse of Horace (IV 2), whose four books of carmina ( odae), though little read in the Latin Middle Ages, provided a model for the Latin and vernacular strophic lyric poet…

1. Katholisch 1.1. Sachbestimmung und BedeutungIn kath. Perspektive ist G. bzw. Liturgie (griech. leitourgía, »Dienst für die Gemeinde«) ein Sammelbegriff für jene Feiern, in denen die Kirche mittels eines rituellen Geschehens des Heilshandelns Gottes in Jesus Christus gedenkt und ihm Lobpreis, Dank und Bitte darbringt. Dabei bildet die Messe (die sakramentale Vergegenwärtigung von Tod und Auferstehung Christi) Mitte und Höhepunkt. Während weitere als Sakrament bezeichnete G. Stationen im Lebenslauf begleiten (z. B. Taufe, Eheschließung, Krankensalbung), zeichnet die Ta…

1. EinleitungDas griech. Wort theología (Rede bzw. Lehre von Gott und den göttlichen Dingen), mit dem Aristoteles die höchste Stufe der Philosophie, die sog. Metaphysik, bezeichnete ( Metaphysik 11, 7, 1064 b 1–3), wurde in der christl. Spätantike zunächst für Aussagen über das Wesen Gottes gebraucht, während sein Wirken in der Welt als Schöpfer und Erlöser unter den griech. Begriff oikonomía (»Hausverwaltung«) im Sinne von Heilsordnung gefasst wurde [2. 1081 f.]. Im 12. Jh. nahm Th., wenn nicht rein philosophisch als Synonym von Metaphysik, sondern für die chr…

1. IntroductionThe Greek word  theología (discourse/teaching concerning God and divinity) was used by Aristotle for the highest level of philosophy, so-called metaphysics ( Metaphysics 11.  7, 1064 b 1–3). In late antiquity, Christians used it initially for statements about the nature of God, while using the Greek word  oikonomía (household management) in the sense of “order of salvation” for God’s action in the world as Creator and Redeemer [2. 1081 f.]. In the 12th century, when theology was used for Christian theology rather than purely philosophically as…

1. Catholic 1.1. Scope and meaningIn the Catholic context, public worship, specifically liturgy (Greek leitourgía, "congregational act of worship"; German Gottesdienst, "divine service"), is a general term referring to gatherings in which the Church performs rituals to commemorate salvation granted by God through Jesus Christ and offers him worship, thanks, and prayer. The Mass (re-enacting in sacramental form the death and resurrection of Christ) is the central focus and epitome of this practice. The term "ac…

[English Version] I. Alte Kirche Der Titel Patriarch (P.) ist anscheinend zuerst vom antiken Judentum (: I.) verwendet worden, und zwar für die bibl. »Ur«- oder »Stammväter« (vgl.4Makk 7,19; 16,25; TestXII; Ber 16b) sowie für das rel. Oberhaupt (hebr.: Nasi) der jüd. Untertanen der Römer, seit und solange es dieses zentrale Leitungsamt gab (erster P. wohl Jehuda ha-Nasi, zur Zeit der Severischen Dynastie [193–235]; in Cod.Theod. XVI 8,29 [30.5.429] wird dann der excessus [das »Erlöschen«] des jüd. Pa…

[English Version] I. Allgemeines R. (russ. Rossija) setzte sich als Bez. erst seit Beginn des 18.Jh. (Peter der Große) durch. Bis dahin war der Begriff Rus' gebräuchlich, der bereits in den ältesten Zeugnissen sowohl zur Bez. des Landes wie seiner Bewohner verwendet wurde. Der Ursprung des Begriffes »Rus'« (fem. Sg.) ist umstritten, etym. läßt er sich am wahrscheinlichsten aber auf das finnische Ruotsi (dt. »Schweden«) zurückführen. Als hist. und geographischer Kernraum R. kann das Gebiet der oberen Dvina, der oberen Wolga, und des oberen und mittleren Dnepr'…

[English Version] I. Historisch Der Abendgottesdienst im Kontext der Ordnung der Tagzeitenliturgie (Stundengebet) ist in den Westkirchen von unterschiedlichen Traditionen geprägt. Die Gemeinden versammeln sich zu Wortgottesdiensten, in denen bestimmte Psalmen gesungen, bibl. Lesungen vorgetragen, Predigten gehalten und Bittgebete gesprochen wurden. Mönchsgemeinden beziehen diesen Gottesdienst in ihre Ordnungen des den Psalter durchgehenden Cursus der Psalmenlesung ein (»Psalterium currens«). Eine T…

[German Version] I. Early Church The title patriarch appears to have been first used by early Judaism (I), with reference to the both the ancestral biblical figures ( 4. Macc. 7.19; 16.25; T. 12 Patr.; Ber. 16b) and the religious leaders of the Romans’ Jewish subjects (Heb. nasi ), throughout the history of that central religious office. The first such patriarch was probably Judah ha-Nasi, during the Severan dynasty (193–235); Cod. Theod. XVI 8.29 (May 30, 429) records the excessus (“termination”) of the Jewish patriarchate. In Christianity, the Montanists (Montanism; cf. Jerome, Ep. 4…

[German Version] I. History The evening service of the Western churches in the the Liturgy of the Hours has been shaped by various traditions. Congregations gather for a liturgy of the Word in which certain Psalms are sung, Bible lessons are read, sermons are preached, and prayers are offered. Monastic communities include this service in their systematic recitation of the entire Psalter in course ( Psalterium currens). A tradition associated with house churches and cathedral churches adopted the practice of hailing the newly-lit lights of evening – among Chris…

1. Einleitung 1.1. Allgemein R. I. ist im heutigen Verständnis die Lehre von den relig. Bildinhalten und, in Absetzung von der profanen Ikonographie, ein Sammelbegriff für eine inhaltsbezogene Auseinandersetzung mit Kunstwerken religiöser Thematik. Zugleich ist die R. I. die Methode zur Annäherung an relig. Bildinhalte, die sich im nzl. Europa v. a. im christl. Bereich finden (›christl. I.‹; vgl. aber auch Islamische Kunst und Architektur).In der Nz. erlebte die Kunst mit christl. Thematik tiefgreifende strukturelle Änderungen. Für den Bereich der Griechi…

1. Introduction 1.1. Concept and historical backgroundReligious iconography in the current sense is the study of the meanings of religious images and, as distinct from profane iconography, refers generally to engagement with the content of works of art on religious themes. It also denotes the method for studying the content of the religious images found in (mostly Christian) early modern Europe (“Christian iconography”; but see also Islamic art and architecture).Christian-themed art underwent profound structural changes in the early modern period. For the Greek …

[English Version] I. Begrifflichkeit In bes. Maße ist die Trinitätstheol. gekennzeichnet durch ein spannungsvolles Ineinander von bibl.-narrativer und philos.-spekulativer Sprache. Der Ausdruck trinitas begegnet erstmals bei Tertullian (Prax. 2,1–4) als Übers. des griech. τρια´ς/triás (urspr. »Dreiheit«). Im Dt. haben sich neben dem Fremdwort »T.« die Begriffe »Dreieinigkeit« und »Dreifaltigkeit« etabliert. Für die Benennung der göttlichen Einheit (Gott: V.,1.) haben die Auseinandersetzungen des 4.Jh. den aus der antiken Philos. stammenden Terminus ου᾿σι´α/ousía …

[English Version] I. Religiös-kulturelle Zeitschriften In der 2. Hälfte des 19.Jh. erlebte das deutschsprachige Zeitschriftenwesen einen großen Aufschwung. Für 1890 waren 3203, für 1900 bereits 5231 und für 1914 6689 Einzeltitel erfaßt. Die Z. wurde zum Leitmedium in Wiss. und Kultur. In der Theol. stieg ihr Anteil an den Gesamterscheinungen zw. 1800 und 1908 von 8,3 auf 26,5%. Zw. Fachzeitschriften und Gemeindeblätter schob sich im Zuge der Differenzierung der Zeitschriftenprofile der Typus der rel…

[English Version] I. Katholisch Mit dem Begriff Weihe (W.) werden unterschiedliche liturgische und kirchenrechtliche Termini wiedergegeben: ordinatio, dedicatio, consecratio, benedictio. Dies zeigt, daß der Inhalt des Weiheverständnisses weit gespannt ist. Gemeinsam ist die Glaubensüberzeugung, daß ein Objekt der irdischen Wirklichkeit in bes. Weise mit Gott und dem Heilswirken in Christus in Verbindung steht. Diese Verbindung ist schöpfungstheol. angelegt, sie wird durch eine Weihehandlung (Wh.) s…

[English Version] I. Zum Begriff V.a. in der ökum. Diskussion (Ökumene) wird gern vorausgesetzt, daß mit dem Stichwort a.S. ein urspr. und klar definiertes Merkmal des kirchl. Amtes bez. würde. Allerdings kommt die Vorstellung, daß zu den Kennzeichen der Kirche eine lückenlos bis auf die Apostel zurückgehende Kette von Amtsträgern gehört, die jeweils durch Handauflegung eines anderen legitimen Amtsträgers in ihr Amt gekommen sind, erst relativ spät auf und ist auch nicht die urspr. Bedeutung des zugrundeliegenden griech. und lat. Begriffsfeldes. Die Termini griech. διαδοχη´/di…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Church History – III. Survey of the Christian Confessions – IV. Systematic Theology I. Religious Studies For an overview of Christianity at the end of the second millennium of its development, it is reasonable to give a comparative presentation against the background of the world of religion. It must be remembered, however, that “religion” is not an immutable, ahistorical quantity: it is variable and controversial. The modern concept of religion is …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Judaism – IV. Early Christianity – V. Church History – VI. Liturgical and Practical Aspects I. Religious Studies The words “feast” and “festival” (cf. fête, festa, fiesta, Fest, etc.) derive from the Latin festus ( dies). They refer to the calendar and also evoke the notion of the divine: a feast day is a special day set aside and dedicated to a certain supernatural being. “Feast” or “festival” can therefore be understood as synonyms for religious celebrations. To speak,…

[German Version] ¶ I. Terminology To an unusual degree, the theology of the Trinity is characterized by a strained combination of narrative biblical language and speculative philosophical language. The word trinitas was first used by Tertullian ( Prax. 2.1–4), as a translation of Greek τριάς/ triás (orig. “threeness”). To denote the divine unity (God: V, 1), the 4th-century debates showed that the term οὐσία/ ousí (“Essence”; see also Divine essence) borrowed from Greek philosophy was theologically legitimate. The term ὑπόστασις/ hypóstasis (Hypostasis) was sometimes used i…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. The Christian Cult and the Mysteries – III. Art History I. Religious Studies Modern discussion of the Greek mysteries goes back to the material collected by the Dutch scholar Jan de Meurs (1619), which served as the main source for I. Casaubon's argument that the Early Church borrowed but changed some terminology and institutions from the mysteries ( Exercitationes, 1655). The belief that there was a specific religious phenomenon, “the mystery cults of antiquity,” that could be compared directly with the practice…

[German Version] I. Terminology Especially in ecumenical discussion (Ecumene), there is a widespread assumption that the expression apostolic succession denotes a primitive and clearly defined attribute of ecclesiastical office. However, the notion that the marks of the church (Notae ecclesiae) include an unbroken chain of office holders going back to the apostles and that each of these office holders was placed in office through the laying-on of hands of another legitimate office holder appeared on the scene rel…

[German Version] I. Religio-Cultural Journals – II. Journals of Religious Studies – III. Christianity – IV. Judaism – V. Islam I. Religio-Cultural Journals During the second half of the 19th century, the publication of German-language journals experienced a tremendous upsurge. While the year 1890 saw the publication of 3,203 individual titles, the number had grown to 5,231 by the year 1900 and to 6,689 by 1914. Journals became the preferred medium in academia and culture. In the field of theology, the proportion …

[German Version] I. Greco-Roman Antiquity – II. The Orthodox Church – III. Practical Theology I. Greco-Roman Antiquity Mystagogical theology is a useful term for the doctrine of the so-called “Platonic underworld,” the main features of which are: a dualistic view of the cosmos (Dualism); a clear distinction between an absolutely good supreme being and an often feminine demiurgical principle; a negative view of material existence; a fundamental change from philosophical to mythical discourse, and belief in a s…

[German Version] I. Catholic Church – II. Orthodox Church – III. Protestantism – IV. Canon Law I. Catholic Church The term consecration is used to render various liturgical and canon law terms: ordinatio, dedicatio, consecratio, benedictio. This demonstrates that the content of the notion of consecration extends broadly. Common is the conviction of faith that an object of earthly reality is connected in a particular way with God and the saving work in Christ. This connection is related to the theology of creation, it is appropriated symbolically through an act of consecration and manifest in word. Thus, certain objects and implements (Liturgical implemen…

[English Version] I. Allgemein P. (von lat. praedicare, »öfftl. bekannt machen«) ist geistl. bzw. rel. Rede im Unterschied etwa zur Gerichtsrede, der polit. Rede oder der Festrede. Sie hat ihren Ort im Gottesdienst der Gemeinde (Kasualien), bei verschiedenen kirchl. Anlässen (Evangelisation, Andacht, Weihe/Weihehandlungen etc.) und vielgestaltig in den Medien (s.u. VI.). Die Kommunikation in der P. läßt sich elementarisiert darstellen als Geschehen im Dreieck von Prediger, Text und Hörer (s.u. IV. …

[English Version] I. Kirchengeschichtlich Der Begriff S. hat im christl. Sprachgebrauch eine doppelte Bedeutung: eine weite, die dem ntl. Begriff μυστη´ριοn̆/mystē´rion (»Geheimnis«) entspricht und sich als Bez. von Glaubensgeheimnissen allg. behauptet hat, und eine engere im Sinne bestimmter gottesdienstlicher Handlungen, die dem Gläubigen Anteil an der von Christus bewirkten heilbringenden Gnade geben. Während die ma. Schultheol. des Abendlandes das engere Verständnis der S. in wachsender Präzisierung und Differenzierung des Be…

[German Version] I. General Preaching (from Lat. praedicare, “proclaim publicly”) is spiritual or religious speech, in contrast, for example, to forensic speech, political speech, or celebratory speech. Its setting is the worship of the community (Ministerial offices), church activities such as evangelism, dev…

[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, …

[German Version] I. Phenomenology – II. History – III. Dogmatics – IV. Practical Theology – V. Ethics – VI. Orthodox Church – VII. Judaism – VIII. Art History – IX. Asia, Africa, Latin America I. Phenomenology The term liturgy has been used for Christian worship since the end of the 16th century; by the end of the 18th century, it had gained general acceptance. In secular usage, Gk λειτουργία/ leitourgía means work done in public service (from λαός/ laós, “people” [Laity] and ἔργον/ érgon, “work”); the LXX used it for the temple cult. It appears only 15 times in the New Testament (e.g. Heb 9:21; Acts 13:2). It is used synonymously with such terms as munus, opus Dei, officium divinum, cultus, and celebratio. The synonymous term worship m…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Church History – III. Fundamental Theology – IV. Orthodox Law – V. Eastern Poetry – VI. Islam – VII. Buddhism – VIII. Taoism I. History of Religion The canon can be defined as a complex process of se…

[German Version] I. Concept – II. Religious Studies – III. Early Christianity – IV. Early Church to the Reformation – V. Modern Era – VI. Orthodox Churches – VII. Asia, Africa, Latin America – VIII. Systematic Theology – IX. Ethics – X. Practical Theology – XI. Ecumenical Discussion – XII. Law I. Concept 1. Theology The loan-word, church, which in common parlance can mean both the Christian worship service and the building dedicated to its performance as well as the constituted social configuration of Christian faith in t…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Archaeology – III. Old Testament – IV. Judaism – V. Christianity – VI. Missiology – VII. Funerary Art I. Religious Studies A burial manifests and represents the culture-bound nature of personality and religious traditions that shape community; consequently, it is also a key to the metaphysics of cultural and civil religion. The history of research in religious studies is associated on many levels with the problem of burial. Studies examine agreements and differences …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies and History of Philosophy The dogmatic definition of the Holy Spirit as a person within the one divine substance (Trinity/Doctrine of the Trinity) presupposes not only a particular philosophical context but also a religio-historical horizon. A formative influence on the conceptualization of the Holy Spirit was exercised by the various anthropomorphic interpretations of elemental anthropological or normative qualities in the context of polytheistic interpretations of …

[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 …

[German Version] I. New Testament – II. Church History – III. Dogmatics – IV. Liturgical History – V. Practical Theology – VI. Missiology I. New Testament 1. Background Sacred meals are common to all religions. Before examining them in the context of the NT, it is necessary first to inquire into their background in the OT and in Judaism, whereupon it becomes evident that sacrificial meals play no role in them. Only the dai…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Early Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI. Systematic Theology – VII. Practical Theology – VIII. Law – IX. Missiology I. Religious Studies Over the course of history, the word office has been used for a wide variety of functions. In every case, however, what is peculiar to the term is that it refers to an activity independent of the unique personal characteristics of the officeholder. In the context of religious studies, what first comes to mind is the office…