Ortodokse og orientalsk-ortodokse kirker

Superb storytelling and sound research offer a fun and fascinating glimpse into the Fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The timeless truths of Orthodoxy permeate our everyday lives each and every moment. The author submitted these twelve articles to The Word, the periodical of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, and the magazine published five of the essays.

The radical socio-political changes in the wake of the fall of communism in many predominantly Orthodox countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe have triggered an intense interest in formulating a specifically Orthodox Christian political theology in various forms. The present volume focuses on these developments, but also offers a panorama of the evolution of Orthodox political theologies across time, from early Byzantium until today. The contributions examine their historical background, consider their specific parameters, and critically assess their particular features. Given that political theology has a much more robust history within Western Christianity, some contributions contextualise the topic more broadly by comparing Orthodox with Western Christian political theologies. Considering that the analysis of the Orthodox side has been mostly neglected or ignored in the past, this volume aims at filling a serious gap in the related research.

This book brings together essays on Orthodoxy and anarchism by prominent Orthodox theologians and scholars.

These are two letters of correspondence between the two Caucasian Sees in Georgia and Armenia regarding the presence of a Nestorian priest in their midst. There are some allusions drawn to issues of Christological doctrine, particularly that of the Council of Chalcedon and with imperial pressure to accept its canons coming from the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Synod of Partav was a council of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the 8th century that dealt with question regarding the authority and role of bishops and priests within the church, as well as concerns regarding the ritual integrity of many of the church's practices. These were compiled into twenty-three separate canons under the direction of Sion I, who was then reigning patriarch over the Armenian church.

Widely regarded as a premier journal dedicated to the study of Syriac, Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies was established in 1998 as a venue devoted exclusively to the discipline. An organ of Beth Mardutho, the Syriac Institute, the journal appears semi-annually and will be printed in annual editions. A peer-reviewed journal, Hugoye is a respected academic source for up-to-date information about the state of Syriac studies and for discovering what is going on in the field. Contributors include some of the most respected names in the world of Syriac today.

The Donation of Constantine is a forged Roman imperial decree by which the 4th-century emperor Constantine the Great supposedly transferred authority over Rome and the western part of the Roman Empire to the Pope.

Dynamius the Patrician lived at a turning point in western civilization where the fragments of the old Roman Order were beginning to fade without the edifice of empire to support them. In his time as a legate, Dynamius, appears to have interacted with the of the significant political agents in the region and was influential enough to support some of his own agency with his friend Pope Gregory I the Great. His letters are addressed to those who might be able to sway the welfare of the church in his own age.

This document contains the words of the famous Frankish saint, Burgundofara, relating the the nunnery that she had founded on her father's aristocratic lands and with the blessing of the reigning Frankish king. This work contains both the original Latin, as well as the English translation.

The council of Markabta was the third ecumenical council for the Church of the East, and one that would be held in response to the lack of central authority within the eastern church. Mar Dadisho is responding to various episcopal authorities within the realm who refuse to bow to his royally sanctioned authority. Moreover, this council marks that no Persian bishop can request assistance from bishops within the Roman Empire without the expressed consent of the patriarch in Seleucia-Ctesiphon.

The original forests of the central and northern highlands of Ethiopia are almost entirely confined to the "sacred groves" surrounding the churches and monasteries of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. In Ethiopian tradition sanctity starts from the Tabot on the altar of the church and extends to the outer periphery of the compound. Church forests serve as shade and shelter for the sacred, and are seen as integral parts of the churchyard.The Act of Gebre Menfes Qiddus (GGMQ) is an original Ethiopic hagiographic text. It depicts the life and struggle of the saint in the wilderness of forests and mountains. Hagiographic texts like GGMQ are in Ethiopia not mere historical records, but texts linked to the daily liturgical services that shape and mould the perceptions and actions of their readers and listeners. The aim of the thesis is to analyse how GGMQ presents the relation between the saint and the natural environment in order to see if there is a correlation with how the Ethiopian tradition has preserved the church forests and has considered these to be sacred spaces representing the wilderness. The aim is achieved through a close reading of the text and its intertexts using four selected themes as analytical instruments: ascetic estrangement, coexistence with non-human creation, identification with the angels and reconciliation of opposites. The analysis, and the fact that the GGMQ is one of the most venerated texts, read and heard with great liturgical solemnity, show that there are good reasons to believe that the constant reading of GGMQ has made and makes a significant impact upon the readers' views on the mutual co-habitation of human and non-human creation and the development of an awareness of the need to preserve the wilderness and non-human creation.

Identity has become a central theme in a globalised world, both in politics and in the humanities, and the Syrian churches cannot escape it either. Christianity also exists as an identity that can in some ways compete with or even contradict theological understandings as a witness. But how should religious leaders deal with the fact that their churches are as much faith communities as identity markers? This volume does not offer the all-encompassing answer to this central question, but it provides keys for reflection and discussion beyond the circle of clergy and theologians, showing why the Syriac tradition matters for global Christianity. The volume contains contributions by Naures Atto, Bishop Antoine Audo SJ, Sebastian Brock, Mar Theophilose Kuriakose, Archbishop Paul Matar, Philip Nelpuraparambil, Andreas Schmoller, Baby Varghese and Dietmar W. Winkler.

The Jacobite Arab Synaxarium is a hagiographical volume on the life of the saints of the Jacobite church. This is commonly a collection of the saints that would be venerated in the Arabic or West Syriac churches, traditionally part of the Syriac Orthodox Church. This synaxarium stands apart from other calendars of saints, as it is composed specifically for this church tradition, and has not previously been available in the English language. This second volume consists of the second month of the Coptic calendar- Paopi, corresponding roughly to the month of October.

Licinianus, one of the last bishops of Byzantine Africa offers his pastoral advise to his peer, and African deacon, as well as to Pope Gregory I in Rome. Much of his interest appears to be in discussing the nature of the soul, philosophical concerning relating to the material world, as well episcopal issues such as ordination.

This ecumenical council of the Persian church had only three canons, but it sought to reform issues specifically with the clergy and the prohibition of marrying multiple women. This would be the largest gathering of bishops in the Persian church since the Council of Markabta some fifty years earlier.

This second council of the Persian church was of a far smaller scope than its predecessor ten years prior. The intention was to both reduce some of the tensions that existed between them and the church in the Roman Empire, and to re-state some of the church canons which had been instituted under Mar Isaac, but had yet to be fully enforced by other episcopal authorities.

This work is composed by the Pope is response to an ongoing dispute taking place with the bishopric of the city of York. The local Mercian king, Aethelred, was on hand to arbitrate the dispute between two rival bishops and the chaos that ensued because of it. It is a landmark in the history of the early English church.

The concept of purity is one that has often raised questions regarding its true purpose and practicality in our society. Can one be truly pure in our world?Do I need to withdraw from the world in order to be pure? Does purity mean I'll lead a boring life? Fr Tadros Yacoub Malaty presents this text on purity, clarifying how the life of purity is ultimately a gift from God that allows us to be united with Christ. Learn how a life of purity is truly a life of interior freedom, whereby one can live in Christ and for Christ without the chains tying us to the world. The book includes both an examination of the concept of purity, as well as answers to common youth questions surrounding purity and the spiritual life.

This is the first volume of the book of Armenian saints for the month of Navasard. Each entry contains the account and hagiography about a saint that is sentinel to the Armenian Apostolic Church. For the month of Navasard specifically, emphasis is placed on St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Bartholomew, the alleged founder of the ancient church, and various Imperial martyrs that faced their death during the height of the Diocletian persecution.

Questions concerning sacred spaces and their relationship to ritual is of interest to historians of religion and others as well. How sacred spaces emerge and are constructed and what relationship they have to rituals are some of the areas that are dealt with in this study in relation to Syriac Orthodox liturgy. The purpose of this study is to create a better understanding of how the Sedr¿ of Entrance has been practiced in earlier periods and architectural contexts and to investigate what role the entrance rite may have had in constructing the sanctuary as sacred space and the worshipping community as church. The Sedr¿ of Entrance is a prayer employed during the rite of entrance into the altar in Syriac Orthodox Eucharistic liturgy. This study uses ritual theory to frame the rite of entrance and studies the intersection of ritual text, action and place. Two research questions are addressed: a) How is the rite of entrance into the altar, in the Syriac Orthodox liturgy, performed during the 9th-13th centuries? b) How does the rite of entrance construct the sanctuary as sacred space and the worshipping community as church? The study builds on historical material, manuscripts from the 9th to the 13th centuries, architecture, and other historical textual material. The rite of entrance is framed with ritual theory. Theological analysis is also used to support the ritual theory. The themes of the dissertation include, among others, the relationship between ritual process, ritual place, and the ritual body. It also explores the role of language in the ritual process.

Mediation and the Immediate God pursues a long-debated question: How can we say both that God has a direct relationship with each Christian, and that He uses others in order to bring us to health and glory? Edith M. Humphrey explores the ubiquity of mediation in the Christian life, and in life in general, as well as the paradox of mediation alongside the Christian confidence that each of us can be directly "taught by God" because of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Mediation, says Humphrey, is understood best as an ecclesial matter (showing the nature of the Church) and not as part of a soteriological debate.

The stories of Fr Arseny and his works in the Soviet prison camps have captured the minds and hearts of readers all over the world. In this second volume readers will find additional narratives about Fr Arseny translated from the Russian edition. These short stories about the life and impact of Fr Arseny during the cruel oppression of the Soviet years are vivid, stirring, and ultimately inspiring.

The First Word on the Orthodox Church is written for enquirers into Orthodox Christianity, as well as those who may already be Orthodox, but who wish to deepen their understanding of the Orthodox Faith. At once accessible to any reader with the faintest awareness of Christianity, yet academically sound and spiritually reliable, it seeks to present Orthodoxy in terms that are recognisable and relatable from human experience. As part of The First Word series, this book serves as an introduction only. That is, the treatment it gives to any particular aspect of the Orthodox Church is by no means exhaustive, but it seeks to lay down the basis for further exploration for those who wish it, even while it provides enough information to satisfy those who want to make it the only stop in their consideration of the Tradition. "Father Jacob and the St Sergius Press have provided a much needed and brilliantly clear set of introductions to Eastern Orthodox life and doctrine. The scholarship here is deftly given through lucid imagery and elegant writing - the hallmarks of fine teaching." - Archpriest John A. McGuckin, Nielsen Emeritus Professor of Byzantine Church History