The Council of Nicaea, the Origin of "The Trinity,"
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Religious Tolerance and Anti-Trinitarianism: the Influence of Socinianism on English and American Leaders and the Separation of Church and State
University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Honors Theses Student Research 5-6-2021 Religious Tolerance and Anti-Trinitarianism: The Influence of Socinianism on English and American Leaders and the Separation of Church and State Keeley Harris University of Richmond Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses Part of the Political Science Commons, and the Religion Law Commons Recommended Citation Harris, Keeley, "Religious Tolerance and Anti-Trinitarianism: The Influence of Socinianism on English and American Leaders and the Separation of Church and State" (2021). Honors Theses. 1577. https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1577 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Religious Tolerance and Anti-Trinitarianism: The Influence of Socinianism on English and American Leaders and the Separation of Church and State By Keeley Harris Honors Thesis Submitted to: Jepson School of Leadership Studies University of Richmond Richmond, VA May 6, 2021 Advisor: Dr. Kristin M. S. Bezio Harris 1 Abstract Religious Tolerance and Anti-Trinitarianism: The Influence of Socinianism on English and American Leaders and the Separation of Church and State Keeley Harris Committee members: Dr. Kristin M. S. Bezio, Dr. George R. Goethals and Dr. Douglas L. Winiarski This research focuses on a sect of Christian thinkers who originated in mid-16th century Poland called Socinians. They had radical Christian views built upon ideas from humanism and the Protestant Reformation, including Anti-Trinitarianism and rejecting the divinity of Christ. -
Basic Training Manual 1 Introduction
Basic Training Manual 1 Introduction Congratulations! You are in the Lord‘s army now! If you reflect on the natural army, it includes a period of time spent in basic training (preparation). That is what this course is designed to do: prepare you for your new life in Christ, prepare you for your purpose and for spiritual warfare. You have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. This is the greatest and wisest decision you have ever made. By doing this, you have been placed in the plan of God and His perfect will for the Saints. As a new convert, you are starting a new life spiritually, and this will call for some changes in your daily walk. You will need help along the way. Like a new born baby, you will grow in Christ gaining knowledge of God, learning daily the regimen and lifestyle of a good Godly soldier. This course consists of eleven lessons designed to equip and empower you for success spiritually and naturally. The course can be used for group or self-paced individualized instruction. We pray the enriching blessings of the Lord God over your life. God bless and congratulations on making the BEST decision of your life in receiving Jesus as your Savior. Basic Training Manual 2 Table of Contents Lessons Page Lesson 1: Salvation 4-13 Lesson 2: Sanctification 14-18 Lesson 3: The Holy Ghost 19-26 Lesson 4: The Word of God 27-42 Lesson 5: Prayer and Fasting 43-54 Lesson 6: Witnessing 55-61 Lesson 7: Obedience 62-68 Lesson 8: Faith 69-79 Lesson 9: Church Doctrine and Ordinances 80-89 Lesson 10: Stewardship 90-96 Lesson 11: Spiritual Growth 97-101 Note Pages 102-106 Biography of Bishop Lawrence M. -
Exiling Bishops: the Policy of Constantius II
University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Classical Studies Faculty Publications Classical Studies 2014 Exiling Bishops: The olicP y of Constantius II Walter Stevenson University of Richmond, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/classicalstudies-faculty- publications Part of the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Stevenson, Walt. "Exiling Bishops: The oP licy of Canstantius II." Dumbarton Oaks Papers 68 (2014): 7-27. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Classical Studies at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Classical Studies Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Exiling Bishops: The Policy of Constantius II Walt Stevenson onstantius II was forced by circumstances to all instances in which Constantius II exiled bishops Cmake innovations in the policy that his father and focus on a sympathetic reading of his strategy.2 Constantine had followed in exiling bishops. While Though the sources for this period are muddled and ancient tradition has made the father into a sagacious require extensive sorting, a panoramic view of exile saint and the son into a fanatical demon, recent schol- incidents reveals a pattern in which Constantius moved arship has tended to stress continuity between the two past his father’s precedents to mold a new, intelligent regimes.1 This article will attempt to gather -
Eusebius and His Ecclesiastical History
1 Eusebius and His Ecclesiastical History Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History (HE) is the most important of his many books. It created a new literary genre that would have a long and influential history. In an often-quoted statement, F. C. Baur called Eusebius the father of ecclesiastical his- tory, just as Herodotus was the father of historical writing in general.1 The Ecclesi- astical History is our single most important source for recovering the history of the first three centuries of Christianity. And it is the centerpiece of a corpus of writings in which Eusebius created a distinctive vision of the place of the Christian church in world history and God’s providential plan. A book of such significance has attracted an enormous body of commentary and analysis driven by two rather different motives. One was the value of the HE as a documentary treasure trove of partially or completely lost works. For a long time, that was the primary driver of scholarly interest. The past two generations have seen the emergence of a second trend that focuses on Eusebius as a figure in his own right, a writer of exceptional range, creativity, and productivity, and an actor on the ecclesiastical and political stage.2 How, for example, did current events shape the way Eusebius thought and wrote about the church’s past? And what can his con- struction of the past tell us in turn about Christian consciousness and ambition during a time of enormous transition? Seen from that angle, the HE becomes not a source for history but itself an artifact of history, a hermeneutical redirection that will be applied to other works of Christian historiography in this book.3 1. -
CHAPTER 4 the CHURCH in the THIRD CENTURY Roman
The Early Church Christopher K. Lensch, S.T.M. Western Reformed Seminary (www.wrs.edu) CHAPTER 4 THE CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY Roman emperors in the first half of the century Severi dynasty 1. Septimius Severus (193-211) [already discussed under second century] renewed persecution in AD 200: Leonidas (Origen’s father) beheaded Potamiaena (young girl) boiled in oil Petpetua and baby burned; her slave Felicitas killed also died on campaign in Britain 2. Caracalla (211-217) brutal and cruel; murdered family members, including brother Geta; favored the army; built baths; extended Roman citizenship to all, in order to tax all; dropped persecution in middle of reign; was assassinated by his army on a Parthian campaign 3. Macrinus (217-218) prefect of the guard; removed by Caracalla’s cousin and his family 4. Heliogabalus (218-222) cousin of Caracalla, controlled by his mother Soaemias and grandmother Maesa (Caracalla’s aunt); real name was Elagabalus; Latin authors name Heliogabalus 14-year old priest of Syrian sun god; brought Syrian “Baal” (conical black stone) to Rome; unbelievable sexual depravity; grandmother convinced him to adopt cousin Alexander; slain by Guard 5. Alexander Severus (222-235) 4.1 14 years old; well trained and prepared; ruled by mother; temperate and modest, opposite of Heliogabalus; private chapel icons: Jupiter, Orpheus, Apollonius, Abraham, Christ; *put golden rule in house and many public buildings; very efficient administrator, lowered taxes; weak against Germans, bribed them; assassinated in tent by army, under Maximinus Anarchy; army control 6. Maximinus (235-238) huge soldier (they say 8 feet tall); hated culture and education; never entered Rome; confiscated property of upper classes; murdered by soldiers he punished 7. -
The Well-Trained Theologian
THE WELL-TRAINED THEOLOGIAN essential texts for retrieving classical Christian theology part 1, patristic and medieval Matthew Barrett Credo 2020 Over the last several decades, evangelicalism’s lack of roots has become conspicuous. Many years ago, I experienced this firsthand as a university student and eventually as a seminary student. Books from the past were segregated to classes in church history, while classes on hermeneutics and biblical exegesis carried on as if no one had exegeted scripture prior to the Enlightenment. Sometimes systematics suffered from the same literary amnesia. When I first entered the PhD system, eager to continue my theological quest, I was given a long list of books to read just like every other student. Looking back, I now see what I could not see at the time: out of eight pages of bibliography, you could count on one hand the books that predated the modern era. I have taught at Christian colleges and seminaries on both sides of the Atlantic for a decade now and I can say, in all honesty, not much has changed. As students begin courses and prepare for seminars, as pastors are trained for the pulpit, they are not required to engage the wisdom of the ancient past firsthand or what many have labelled classical Christianity. Such chronological snobbery, as C. S. Lewis called it, is pervasive. The consequences of such a lopsided diet are now starting to unveil themselves. Recent controversy over the Trinity, for example, has manifested our ignorance of doctrines like eternal generation, a doctrine not only basic to biblical interpretation and Christian orthodoxy for almost two centuries, but a doctrine fundamental to the church’s Christian identity. -
ABSTRACT the Apostolic Tradition in the Ecclesiastical Histories Of
ABSTRACT The Apostolic Tradition in the Ecclesiastical Histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret Scott A. Rushing, Ph.D. Mentor: Daniel H. Williams, Ph.D. This dissertation analyzes the transposition of the apostolic tradition in the fifth-century ecclesiastical histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret. In the early patristic era, the apostolic tradition was defined as the transmission of the apostles’ teachings through the forms of Scripture, the rule of faith, and episcopal succession. Early Christians, e.g., Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen, believed that these channels preserved the original apostolic doctrines, and that the Church had faithfully handed them to successive generations. The Greek historians located the quintessence of the apostolic tradition through these traditional channels. However, the content of the tradition became transposed as a result of three historical movements during the fourth century: (1) Constantine inaugurated an era of Christian emperors, (2) the Council of Nicaea promulgated a creed in 325 A.D., and (3) monasticism emerged as a counter-cultural movement. Due to the confluence of these sweeping historical developments, the historians assumed the Nicene creed, the monastics, and Christian emperors into their taxonomy of the apostolic tradition. For reasons that crystallize long after Nicaea, the historians concluded that pro-Nicene theology epitomized the apostolic message. They accepted the introduction of new vocabulary, e.g. homoousios, as the standard of orthodoxy. In addition, the historians commended the pro- Nicene monastics and emperors as orthodox exemplars responsible for defending the apostolic tradition against the attacks of heretical enemies. The second chapter of this dissertation surveys the development of the apostolic tradition. -
THE EXEGETICAL ROOTS of TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY MICHAEL SLUSSER Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa
Theological Studies 49 (1988) THE EXEGETICAL ROOTS OF TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY MICHAEL SLUSSER Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa. N RECENT YEARS systematic theologians have been showing increased I interest in studying the doctrine of the Trinity. An integral part of that study should be an exposition of the origins of the doctrine. The question of origins can be posed in an analytical fashion, as Maurice Wiles has done: .. .we seem forced to choose between three possibilities: either (1) we do after all know about the Trinity through a revelation in the form of propositions concerning the inner mysteries of the Godhead; or (2) there is an inherent threefoldness about every act of God's revelation, which requires us to think in trinitarian terms of the nature of God, even though we cannot speak of the different persons of the Trinity being responsible for specific facets of God's revelation; or (3) our Trinity of revelation is an arbitrary analysis of the activity of God, which though of value in Christian thought and devotion is not of essential significance.1 I think that this analytical approach is in important respects secondary to the genetic one. The first Christians spoke about God in the terms which we now try to analyze; surely the reasons why they used those terms are most relevant to a sound analysis. The main words whose usage needs to be fathomed are the Greek words prosöpon, hypostasis, ousia, andphysis.2 Prosöpon is the earliest of these terms to have attained an accepted conventional usage in early Christian speech about God, and therefore the chief determinant of the shape which the complex of terms was to take. -
Bishop William Rollinson Whittingham: Growth in the Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland, 1840-1850
W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1989 Bishop William Rollinson Whittingham: Growth in the Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland, 1840-1850 Monica E. McConnaghy College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the History of Religion Commons Recommended Citation McConnaghy, Monica E., "Bishop William Rollinson Whittingham: Growth in the Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland, 1840-1850" (1989). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625546. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-xfg2-w085 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BISHOP WILLIAM ROLLINSON WHITTINGHAM: GROWTH IN THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN MARYLAND, 1840-1850 A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts b Y Monica E. McConnaghy 1989 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts TV/Wr Monica E. McConnaghy Approved, May 1989 oyd ner / David L. Holmes Department of ReLigion Ludwell H. tP6hnson, III To my brother Alex for his unending encouragement and love TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................ V ABSTRACT .................................................... vi INTRODUCTION . 2 CHAPTER I ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA . -
An Introduction, Phonological, Morphological, Syntactic to The
AN INTRODUCTION, PHONOLOGICAL, MORPHOLOGICAL, SYNTACTIC, TO THE GOTHIC OF ULFILAS. BY T. LE MARCHANT DOUSE. LONDON: TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 1886, PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, BED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. PREFACE. THIS book was originally designed to accompany an edition of Ulfilas for which I was collecting materials some eight or nine years ago, but which various con- siderations led me to lay aside. As, however, it had long seemed to me equally strange and deplorable that not a single work adapted to aid a student in acquiring a knowledge of Gothic was to be found in the English book-market, I pro- ceeded to give most of the time at my disposal to the " building up of this Introduction," on a somewhat larger scale than was at first intended, in the hope of being able to promote the study of a dialect which, apart from its native force and beauty, has special claims on the attention of more than one important class of students. By the student of linguistic science, indeed, these claims are at once admitted ; for the Gothic is one of the pillars on which rests the comparative grammar of the older both Indo-European languages in general, and also, pre-eminently, of the Teutonic cluster of dialects in particular. a But good knowledge of Gothic is scarcely less valuable to the student of the English language, at rate, of the Ancient or any English Anglo-Saxon ; upon the phonology of which, and indeed the whole grammar, the Gothic sheds a flood of light that is not to be got from any other source. -
Organizational Structures of the Catholic Church GOVERNING LAWS
Organizational Structures of the Catholic Church GOVERNING LAWS . Canon Law . Episcopal Directives . Diocesan Statutes and Norms •Diocesan statutes actually carry more legal weight than policy directives from . the Episcopal Conference . Parochial Norms and Rules CANON LAW . Applies to the worldwide Catholic church . Promulgated by the Holy See . Most recent major revision: 1983 . Large body of supporting information EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE NORMS . Norms are promulgated by Episcopal Conference and apply only in the Episcopal Conference area (the U.S.) . The Holy See reviews the norms to assure that they are not in conflict with Catholic doctrine and universal legislation . These norms may be a clarification or refinement of Canon law, but may not supercede Canon law . Diocesan Bishops have to follow norms only if they are considered “binding decrees” • Norms become binding when two-thirds of the Episcopal Conference vote for them and the norms are reviewed positively by the Holy See . Each Diocesan Bishop implements the norms in his own diocese; however, there is DIOCESAN STATUTES AND NORMS . Apply within the Diocese only . Promulgated and modified by the Bishop . Typically a further specification of Canon Law . May be different from one diocese to another PAROCHIAL NORMS AND RULES . Apply in the Parish . Issued by the Pastor . Pastoral Parish Council may be consulted, but approval is not required Note: On the parish level there is no ecclesiastical legislative authority (a Pastor cannot make church law) EXAMPLE: CANON LAW 522 . Canon Law 522 states that to promote stability, Pastors are to be appointed for an indefinite period of time unless the Episcopal Council decrees that the Bishop may appoint a pastor for a specified time . -
Martyrs, Saints & Prelates of the Syriac Orthodox
Martyrs, Saints & Prelates of The Syriac Orthodox Church Volume I Fr. K. Mani Rajan, M.Sc., M.Ed., Ph.D. The Travancore Syriac Orthodox Publishers Kottayam - 686 004 Kerala, India. 2007 1 Martyrs, Saints & Prelates of The Syriac Orthodox Church (Volume I) By Fr. K. Mani Rajan, M.Sc., M.Ed., Ph.D. First Edition 2007 Copyright Reserved All rights reserved. No reproduction or translation in whole or part is allowed without written permission from the author. Price Rs. 100.00 U.S. $ 10.00 Typesetting and Cover Design by: M/s Vijaya Book House, M.G.University, Athirampuzha Printed at: Dona Colour Graphs, Kottayam Published By: The Travancore Syriac Orthodox Publishers Kottayam - 686 004 Kerala, India. Phone: +91 481 3100179, +91 94473 15914 E-mail: [email protected] Copies: 1000 2 Contents Preface Apostolic Bull of H. H. Patriarch Abbreviations used 1. St. John, the Baptist .................................................. 2. S t . S t e p h e n , t h e Martyr ................................................................................ 3. St. James, the Disciple ............................................... 4. St. James, the First Archbishop of Jerusalem ............ 5. King Abgar V of Urhoy ................................................ 6. St. Mary, the Mother of God ....................................... 7. St. Peter, the Disciple ................................................. 8. St. Paul, the Disciple .............................................................................. 9. St. Mark, the Evangelist ............................................