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»Tarvelige« kirker til jævne folk: Den københavnske Kirkesag og Valdemar Kochs kirker
No full textI forbindelse med Københavns voldsomme befolkningsstigning i slutningen af 1800-tallet blev kirkebyggeri et politisk stridspunkt. Københavns Kirkefond lod en række nye kirker bygge, baseret på private indsamlinger blandt frivillige bidragydere. Fondet anså nye små kirker som et vigtigt virkemiddel i arbejdet for at redde »de vantro masser« fra socialisme og fritænkeri. Artiklen fokuserer på arkitekten Valdemar Kochs overvejelser om, hvorledes man kunne sikre de fattige for kristendommen ved hjælp af kirkernes arkitektoniske og kunstneriske udtryksformer. Med Kapernaumskirken som case illustreres, hvorledes det hyggelige hjem bliver en model for kirkerummets indretning og udsmykning. Koch designede sine »tarvelige« småkirker i en ydmyg og egalitær stil. Hans skønvirke-prægede blomstermotiver var direkte inspireret af samtidigt japansk og britisk kunsthåndværk og sigtede mod at påvirke de fattige til aktiv deltagelse i deres menigheder.
SummaryAs the Danish Capital of Copenhagen experienced a dramatic population expansion in the second half of the 19th century, the building of new churches became an urgent issue. As the old fortification area surrounding the city was opened for new settlement, no one seemed to think of building churches. As a result, the newly immigrated proletariat was left without proper access to ecclesiastical service at christenings, weddings, and funerals. By clever exploitation of this misconduct, charitable organizations, first of all The Copenhagen Church Building Society (Kirkefondet), succeeded in collecting private money to erect 19 churches between 1860 and 1910. Theologically, The Copenhagen Church Building Society was closely associated with the Inner Mission, an evangelical movement critical of the established church and dedicated to building more activist congregations among the new settlers. A means to reach this aim was to build small and modest churches for the poor. The Danish architect Valdemar Koch (1852-1902) became the architectural advisor of The Church Building Society (Kirkefondet) and built five out of the 19 new churches. He wrote extensively on the esthetic and architectural aspects of the building activities and was the architect of the foundation’s first permanent church, The Kapernaum church north-west of Copenhagen.The article focuses on the architectural expression of the churches and examines how the small new churches were built to accommodate the needs of the new parishioners. Not only as Sunday churches, but as »cosy [hyggelige] homes« to attract and win for Christianity an immigrant population, left to live under miserable conditions in tenement houses erected on the newly accessible grounds outside the city without proper public regulation. For this purpose, it was believed, small intimate churches decorated with »honest« art would be the best way to wring the individual away from the mass and establish a close relationship between the individual and the church. In this way the small churches were »modern« as they related constructively to a problem created by modernity by means of their historicist architectural expression.Using the Kapernaum Church as a case study, the article demonstrates how the »hyggelige« – cosy – small church was conceived as an educational and civilizing force in creating a new congregation. The architectural and decorative style used by Koch was historicism, an eclectic piecing together of various styles, roman, classical, and Renaissance elements, but consciously designed as non-monumental and egalitarian. The unique nature-motives of his church interiors were directly inspired by contemporary Japanese and British art. But whereas the British Arts and Crafts movement had a socialist orientation, Koch used his decorative style to lead the proletariat towards a Christian existence within the established society
Flensborgprovsten Emil Niese og de danske kirkegængere: Nationalpolitik mellem tyske og danske kirkefolk omkring år 1900
No full textIn South Schleswig, Danish almost disappeared as the church’s language from the 1600s. Only in the small Helligandskirke in Flensburg were the services kept in Danish. Until 1850, these Danish services were overshadowed by the German ones. After this, the services were employed as part of the national political struggle. In the 1850s, Danish religious life was expanded as a part of the redanicization of the Duchy of Schleswig. They were given status as »Denmark’s first independent congregation«. Following the German victory in the war of 1864, the Danish religious life in Flensburg was allowed to exist in a reduced version, but led a difficult existence. It was dependent on the balance between on the one hand the church’s recognition that there was a needfor services in Danish and on the other the purely political notion thatDanish services were just a cover for political ambitions and as such should be discontinued. In 1900, the German church halved the amount of Danish services. The Danish churchgoers responded with demands for restoration of the free Danish congregation of the 1850s and continuation of the discontinued services. This resulted in a conflict between the Danish churchgoers and the German church which lasted for several years. German politicians regarded the services as a cover for Danish political ambitions. People of the German church, including the German leader of the church in Flensburg, the rural dean Niese, also regarded the Danish requests from a German political point of view - and at the same time the people of the church could not quite deny that there was a purely religious need for Danish services. In this field of tension, the Danish services survived until 1921 as part of the German state church and on conditions set by this. Not until the freer conditions under the Weimar Republic was the Danish-speaking religious life separated from the German church and the foundation was built for the independent »Danish Church in South Schleswig« of today. The separation of the Danish services from the German church in 1921 as well as the prelude since 1588 are signs of the church’s problems in the nationally and linguistically divided borderland between Denmark and Germany
Ekstraordinære bededage i Danmark 1551-1686
No full textFrom 1551 to 1686 a total of 73 »Extraordinary penitence- and prayerdays« were held in Denmark. Through repentance, penance and prayer, these churchrituals aimed to appease God’s anger and avoid catastrophes perceived as divine punishments (e.g. war, hunger, plague). The prayer-days were originally instituted as a ritual supporting and integrating post-Reformation practices. They increased in frequency especially during the Nordic Seven Years’ War and were afterwards, from the 1580s onwards, a common, if irregular, holiday. Extraordinary prayer-days were on average held biannually until 1686, when a new annual holiday known as Store Bededag, Great Prayer-Day, was introduced to replace them. Each extraordinary prayer-day lasted three consecutive days (from 1673 onwards three consecutive Fridays), during which church attendance and daytime fasting were mandated by law. They were normally held in spring. Often regarded by historians as rigid, orthodox and unchanging, the prayer-days were in fact eminently adaptable, since the choice of Biblical excerpts to be used could be varied infinitely. The theme for each prayer-day sermon was decided by the bishop of Zealand and distributed among the clergy; usually, he would pick verses from both the Old and New Testament in a manner fitting the general political background at the time. Broadly speaking, in times of war, martial Bible texts were selected, while verses emphasising morals were preferred in peacetime. In 1626, Christian IV suffered a major military setback during Denmark’s involvement in the Thirty Years’ War. Interpreting this as God’s punishment of a sinful population, the practice of prayer-days was extended by establishing »ordinary prayer-days.« They were to be observed every Friday in the towns, and the first Wednesday of every month in the rural parishes, making them an exceptionally common expression of penitential theological thought (Bujichristentum). These ordinary prayer-days were held until well into the 18th century
Saxo og Rigsdagen i Besançon: »Da han (Octavian) var færdig, sagde kejseren, at det var for at gøre ende på denne strid, at han havde kaldt alle provinsernes konger sammen til denne drøftelse og at det efter hans mening ikke ville være rigtigt at modsætte sig deres afgørelse.«
No full textThis article deals with the Imperial Diet at Besançon in the beginning of September 1162 and Saxo’s account. The purpose of the diet at Besançon was the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa’s intention to solve the papal schism between Alexander III and Fredericks own candidate Victor IV Saxo is the most important source that deals with the diet, yet it must not entirely be taken for face value. This is mainly due to the fact that Saxo has his own agenda, and has »edited« his own version of the events. Saxo uses a lot of effort to depict his king as being the victim of the Emperors deceit - Valdemar the Great is described as the ideal »rex iustus« while the Emperor is the incarnation of the »rex tyrannus«. In reality the Danish delegation had its own agenda, in which the schism only played a minor part. After the Emperor’s conquest and sacking of Milan it must have appeared wise to the Danish king to swear the promised oath of fealty to the Emperor, who was at the height of his powers. At the same time the diet was a perfect opportunity to improve diplomatic relations with the neighbouring German princes in order to be able to deal with Norway and the Wendish tribes. The main problem with Saxo’s account is that it lacks any reference to the general political situation in Europe, the negotiations between the Emperor and the French king Louis VII or the imperial triumphs in Italy. Most importantly he simplifies the frontlines drawn by the schism. According to him it would seem that the Empire was a monolithic structure, where the Emperor was able to command everyone, clergyman and layman, to do his bidding and support him in his backing of Victor IV. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Empire was deeply divided, a conglomerate of different territories and bishoprics with widely diverging agendas. Bishops in the Empire could be staunch supporters of the imperial cause, either because they were imperial puppets or because they genuinely believed that Victor IV was the true pope. They could be traditional Augustinians who supported a balance between regnum et sacerdotium, but some were adamant in their support of Alexander III. When it comes to the fringes ofthe Empire, the Emperor could rally less and less support. This is very clear when it comes to the kingdom of Burgundy, but also in Italy only the bishops situated closest to subjugated Milan supported the Emperor openly. Apart from Denmark, ofthe European countries only Bohemia backed the imperial cause. The weakness of the imperial position became apparent already shortly after the diet when important bishoprics fell from the imperial cause and in 1165 the Emperor had to use force in order to secure the necessary support for the new antipope Paschalis III. In Saxo’s account we only meet a threatening Emperor and a schismatic German clergy - the reality was far more complex
J.C. og kirkelovene 1922
No full textAls die Liberalen (Venstre) 1901 die Wahlen zum Folketing gewonnen hatten und die Regierung bilden konnten, leitete J.C. Christensen seine Zeit als Kirchenminister ein mit der Vorlage einer Reihe von wesentlichen Kirchengesetzen, die den Mitgliedern der Volkskirche Einfluss auf interne kirchliche Angelegenheiten geben sollten, mit dem Ziel, ihr Interesse für diese Angelegenheiten zu fördern. Als die Liberalen 1920 die Regierungsmacht wieder gewonnen hatten, könnte man glauben, dass J. C. seine Tätigkeit als Minister in der gleichen Weise beschließen möchte, indem er für die Durchführung einer Reihe von weitgehenden Kirchengesetzen sorgte, die den Kirchengemeinden noch mehr Einfluss gaben. Aber so war das nicht. Als J.C. voraussehen konnte, dass die Liberalen bei der Wahl zum Folketing am 5.5.1920 wieder die Regierungsmacht übernehmen würden, schrieb er im Voraus an Niels Neergaard, den Wirtschaftsexperten der Partei, und forderte ihn auf, die Bildung einer neuen Regierung auf sich zu nehmen, die aus etwas jüngeren Ministern bestehen sollte. Für diese Aufgabe fühlte J.C. sich als eine in der Politik zu umstrittene Person. Er sah wahrscheinlich auch voraus, dass man, wenn die Restriktionen der Kriegszeit allmählich aufgehoben würden, einen Wirtschaftsfachmann an der Spitze der Regierung brauchte. Außerdem wären die Liberalen auf die Unterstützung der konservativen Volkspartei angewiesen, und eine Voraussetzung dafür wäre, dass diese Partei nur einen geringen Einfluss auf die Politik der Regierung gewinnen dürfte. So war die Lage Anfang der zwanziger Jahre. J.C. hätte keine Lust, diesen Kampf zu führen, noch die nötigen Kräfte dafür. Neergaard wies aber mehrmals die Aufforderung zurück, denn für ihn stand es fest, dass J.C. unbedingt Chef der Regierung werden sollte, eine andere Lösung sei unmöglich. J.C. blieb aber fest bei seinem Vorschlag, und schließlich gab Neergaard nach, aber nur unter der Voraussetzung, dass J.C. Mitglied der Regierung werden sollte, denn ohne ihn würden sie geschwächt dastehen. J.C. willigte schließlich ein, hob aber sein Interesse an der Durchführung einiger Gesetzes-vorlagen bezüglich der kirchlichen Verhältnisse in Nordschleswig hervor. Nordschleswig war der nördliche Teil der Herzogtümer, die Dänemark nach dem Krieg 1864 an Preußen hatte abtreten müssen, dessen Bevölkerung aber bei der Volksabstimmung nach dem Friedensschluss für Dänemark gestimmt hatte. Unter der preußischen Verwaltung hatte sich der Landesteil auf kirchlichem Gebiet in eine etwas andere Richtung entwickelt als Dänemark; die Nordschleswiger wünschten sich nun eine Annäherung an dänische Verhältnisse, wenn auch mit Berücksichtigung ihrer besonderen Entwicklung. Deshalb schlug J.C. vor, dass ein kirchlicher Ausschuss gebildet werden sollte, der unter Teilnahme gewählter Vertreter der Bevölkerung Nordschleswigs und Vertreter der Kirche aus dem alten Dänemark Vorschläge zu einer Ordnung machen sollte, die die sehr unterschiedlichen kirchlichen Verhältnisse berücksichtigte, die es seit 1864 südlich und nördlich der Grenze gab. Südlich der Grenze war der örtliche Einfluss auf die Kirche größer. Die Kirche hatte hier das Recht der Gemeinden behalten, den zu den Pfarrhäusern gehörigen, oft recht großen Grundbesitz zu besitzen und zu verwalten, während der kirchliche Grundbesitz in Dänemark im Jahre 1919 per Gesetz überwiegend zur Parzellierung freigegeben worden war. Die Finanzen der Kirche waren auch durch die sozialliberale Regierung zentralisiert worden. Die Gesetzesvorlage über den kirchlichen Ausschuss stieß sowohl bei den Sozialisten als auch bei den Vertretern der Sozialliberalen auf Widerstand. Sie hatten den Verdacht, dass J.C. hierdurch die Entwicklung der Kirchenverfassung weiter betreiben wollte, die er 1901 als Endziel der Kirche aufgestellt hatte. Dies könnte geschehen, wenn das Gesetz den Minister ermächtigte, andere Themen als die im Gesetz angegebenen aufzugreifen. J.C. erwähnte in einem Schreiben an den Vorsitzenden des Ausschusses, was vor allem Gegenstand der Arbeit des Ausschusses sein sollte: die Wahl der Vertreter der Kirchengemeinden und deren Verantwortung für Kirche und Friedhof, sowie eine freiere Wahl der Pfarrer und eine Regelung für die Gehälter der Pfarrer. Der Ausschuss sollte seine Arbeit zum 31.12.1921 beenden, was an sich bedeuten würde, dass nur Verhältnisse, die eng mit den Gemeinden verbunden waren, behandelt werden könnten, und nicht etwa eine von oben gesteuerte Beaufsichtigung der Kirche. Am 16.2.1921, dem Tag, an dem die Arbeit des Ausschussesveröffentlicht wurde, legte J.C. 9 kirchliche Gesetzesvorschläge vor, deren Inhalt in mancher Hinsicht davon geprägt war, dass sie ein Werk des Ausschusses waren. Die Kirchenvorstände bekamen hier das Recht zur Teilnahme an der Wahl des Pfarrers. Früher hatten die Kirchenvorstände in Nordschleswig zwischen 3 Kandidaten wählen können, die ihnen von der Obrigkeit mitgeteilt wurden. Die neuen Kirchenvorstände bekamen auch die Verantwortung für die Finanzen der Kirche und die Aufsicht über sie, den Friedhof, den Pfarrhof und über die Nutzung des dazugehörigen Bodens. In Nordschleswig konnte Grundbesitz bei Parzellierung verpachtet, nicht aber verkauft werden. Die Kirchenvorstände bekamen das Recht, 2 Laienmitglieder für den Probsteiausschuss zu wählen, dessen Aufgabe es war, mit dem Probst als Vorsitzendem die Ausführung der den Vorständen übertragenen Aufgaben zu beaufsichtigen. Diese Bestimmung rief Proteste der Opposition hervor, denn dadurch wurde eine ganz unnötige finanzielle Kirchenverfassung aufgebaut. Die Kirchenvorstände wurden auch berechtigt, an der Wahl des Bischofs des Bistums teilzunehmen. Die Opposition hatte die Bischöfe zu Staatsbeamten gemacht, die die Aufsicht über die Pfarrer als deren geistliche Vorgesetzte führen sollten. 1912 hatte es Einigkeit in Bezug auf das Kirchenvorstandsgesetz gegeben; nun bekamen sie Aufgaben, die die Gemeindegrenzen überschritten, und somit war es ein Schritt in Richtung einer Kirchenverfassung. Die Vorlage des Gesetzesvorschlags zur Bischofswahl veranlassteden Sozialdemokraten Fr. Borgbjerg, eine Tagesordnung einzubringen, die zum Inhalt hatte, die Behandlung der Gesetze einzustellen und statt dessen einen Ausschuss damit zu beauftragen, das Verhältnis zwischen Staat und Kirche zu behandeln. Dies wollten die Sozialliberalen nicht, denn sie meinten, dass man Nordschleswig zu diesem Zeitpunkt eine kirchliche Ordnung schuldete, die nicht von einer eventuellen Trennung von Staat und Kirche gestoppt werden sollte. Der Sprecher der Konservativen, Professor Oskar Andersen, hatte die Vollmacht seiner Partei zu einer Stellungnahme bekommen. Die Trennung sei ihm 1916 als eine Möglichkeit erschienen, sagte er, jetzt drehe es sich aber darum, die Durchführung der kirchlichen Vorschläge zu sichern, denn sie bedeuteten Fortschritt. Sonst wäre er »allzeit bereit«, das Verhältnis Staat - Kirche zu erörtern. Ein anderes Problem war, dass gefordert wurde, dass man sich für die kirchliche Wählerliste zur Wahl des Kirchenvorstandes anmelden sollte. Es sollte ganz einfach sein; eine einmalige Anmeldung, schriftlich oder mündlich, genügte. Bei den eifrigsten Grundtvigianem und bei den Sozialisten rief dies Widerstand hervor. Bei einigen großen grundtvigianischen Versammlungen forderte man freie Teilnahme an jeder Wahl ohne Anmeldung; das gleiche verlangten einige Kopenhagener Pastoren. Es gab wenige Wähler in den großen Gemeinden in der Hauptstadt; man sollte die Mitglieder der dänischen Volkskirche ernst nehmen und ihnen ein freies Wahlrecht zustehen. Aber J.C. war entschieden dagegen. Wenn das die Bedingung für die Verwirklichung der Gesetze sein sollte, so sagte er auf einem Parteitreffen, dann würde er zurücktreten, denn man werde nicht als Mitglied der Kirche geboren, so wie man als Mitglied der Gesellschaft geboren werde. Die Wiedervereinigung Nordschleswigs mit Dänemark machte die Errichtung eines neuen Bistums für diesen Landesteil notwendig. Bei dem übergroßen seeländischen Bistum mit Sitz in Kopenhagen, das man schon 1904 vergeblich zu teilen versucht hatte, musste nun die Teilung stattfinden; für eine Person war die bischöfliche Aufsicht nicht zu bewältigen. J.C. schlug ein neues Bistum für Seeland mit Sitz in Roskilde vor. Der Kopenhagener Bischof sollte die Hauptstadt, Nordseeland, Bornholm, die Färöer und Grönland behalten. Diese Lösung würde Kosten in Höhe von ungefähr 30.000 Kronen bedeuten. Die Zeiten waren finanziell angespannt, man musste sparen. Aus diesem Grunde schlug der Sprecher der Liberalen zusammen mit anderen Vertretern dieser Partei vor, dass das kleine Bistum Lolland-Falster aufgelöst und in das neue seeländische Bistum eingefügt werden sollte. J.C. war entschieden dagegen, denn man konnte nicht zwischen der 2. und 3. Behandlung ein Bistum auflösen, ohne die Betroffenen zu Worte kommen zu lassen. Mit den Stimmen der Opposition wurde aber der Vorschlag angenommen, während alle anderen Vorschläge etwa in der vorgeschlagenen Form beschlossen wurden - außer dem Vorschlag, der sich um die zwei neuen Bistümer drehte. J.C. war erbittert. Könnte man darin einige Anzeichen dafür sehen, dass Moltesen und andere Vertreter der Liberalen eine politische Annäherung an die Sozial-liberalen suchten? Aber das Landsting wies den Gesetzesvorschlag in der Formulierung von J.C. zur abschließenden Behandlung zum Folketing zurück. Dort hatten einige Vertreter der Liberalen ihre Meinung geändert und waren für die Errichtung der zwei neuen Bistümer; es reichte aber noch nicht für eine Mehrheit. Entscheidend wurde, dass bei der Abstimmung 6 sozialdemokratische Abgeordnete mit dem Vorsitzenden an der Spitze im Urlaub waren (anlässlich eines Kongresses?); drei weitere Mitglieder waren einfach abwesend. Damit war aber die Mehrheit für die Auflösung des kleinen Bistums Lolland-Falster verschwunden. Die letzte Abstimmung fand in der ersten Aprilhälfte statt. Am 15. August trat J.C. als Kirchenminister zurück, und Jacob Appel übernahm das Ministerium. Er wurde damit der erste Kirchenminister, der das Gesetz zur Bischofswahl in die Wirklichkeit umsetzen sollte. Die ersten Bischöfe sollten Anfang des Jahres 1923 gewählt werden, und man befand sich nun in der besonderen Lage, dass innerhalb kurzer Zeit fünf neue Bischöfe gewählt und ernannt werden sollten. Das neue Gesetz enthielt die Bestimmung, dass wenn ein Kandidat eine Zweidrittel-Mehrheit erreichte, der Minister verpflichtet war, diesen zu ernennen. Bei keinem der fünf Wahlgänge erreichte ein Kandidat diese Zweidrittel-Mehrheit. Jacob Appel folgte aber dem Rat des sozial-liberalen Kirchenpolitikers Th. Poulsen und ernannte nach jeder Wahl den Kandidaten, der die meisten Stimmen bekommen hatte. Dadurch wurde eine Tradition begründet, die man seitdem weitergeführt hat
To danske konvertitbrødre fra Aalborg i begyndelsen af 1600-tallet
No full textTwo Danish convert brothersfrom Aalborg at the beginning ofthe 17. Century From Aalborg came two convert brothers: Theodor (Didrik) and Nicolaus (Niels) van Ginchel. Theodor was educated at the University of Cologne and was a Papal Scholar in Braunsberg and Vilnius 1607-10. In 1617 he entered office as a priest in the archbishopric of Salzburg. He had many problems, changed parish and had to resign 1623, because he had made a woman pregnant. In 1629 he returned and applied for office as a priest. He worked for some time as a curate, but had new problems and decided to become a Dominican. Nothing more is known of him. The second brother turned up in Rome in connection with the foundation of the S. Congregatio de Propaganda Fide 1622. In two memorials he described the current state of the Roman Catholic Church in Denmark and Norway as most deplorable, stating that immediate measures would have to be taken to remedy the situation. He put forward different proposals, among others the establishment of a special seminary for training Danish and Norwegian students who wished to or could be induced to become Catholic priests. His proposals were discussed at the sessions of the Propaganda; the final decision included an intended mission to Denmark and Norway, falling within the authority of the Apostolic Nuncio to Brussels. At the end of April 1622 the Dane was dispatched to Spain to procure the help o
Missionshusene - om baggrunden for deres opførelse: - H.C. Andersen og kristendommen
No full textThe Mission Houses of DenmarkAround 1900 in many parishes in Denmark a Mission House became the centre of a great part of church-related activities like Sunday Schools, Bible Studies, Prayer Meetings and Foreign Missions. In this article the number of the Mission Houses is investigated for the first time and it is shown to whom they belonged and in which regions of Denmark the Mission Houses were most common. The Mission Houses were built and run by people related to five different Missionary Associations, none of which had any formal connections to the Danish Folk Church. The great majority of the Missions Houses, though, belonged to the Inner Mission Society which was dominated by Folk Church pastors and had strong links to the Folk Church. The relationship to the Swedish »Mission Houses«, the Norwegian »Prayer Houses« and the British »Chapels« and »Missions Halls« is discussed and the habit of giving the Mission Houses biblical names is seen on an international background, too. The initiative to build the Mission Houses of the Inner Mission Society differed from parish to parish. Some times a Mission House was built on a completely local or even private initiative. Other houses were built with support from a larger area. In some cases even the Inner Mission Society itself gave financial support in order to have a house built for missionary work in a strategic important city. There were three main reasons to build a Mission House: 1) A desire to spread the Gospel more effectively to people in the local area by Sunday Schools and evangelistic meetings and by having a place for strengthening the fellowship among the believers. In the rapidly growing population of Denmark in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, a Mission House was often built in a suburb or in a newly cultivated heather district without any Folk Church. In this way the Mission Houses were preparing the way for the Folk church to people in these areas. 2) Often a Inner Mission House was built in order to stop the influence of the Free Churches, mostly Non-Lutheran, that were growing in Denmark in these years. 3) Often a Mission House was built in order to secure the biblical and pietistic profile of the old Danish revivals against the more national and cultural influence from the Grundtvigian branch of the revival. Even within the Folk Church there was a lot of competition: In many Danish parishes a Mission House was erected shortly before or after the building of the Assembly House of the Grundtvigians
Valdemar Ammundsen - Kirkehistoriker og formidlingsteolog
No full textValdemar Ammundsen. Church historian and theologian of mediation
Valdemar Ammundsen (1875-1936) was Professor of Church History in the University of Copenhagen from 1901-1923 and Bishop of the Diocese of Haderslev, South Jutland, from 1923 until his death. As a church historian, he was dedicated to maintaining a liberal and catholic position, in that he sought to remain loyal to his own Lutheran background while at the same time sustaining an open-mindedness to other confessional traditions. This openness was evident in his publications on the theology of Martin Luther, but even more so in his important monograph on 19th-century church history. Chief hallmark of this book is its balance between the inner dynamics of church life and the interaction of the church with society and culture as a whole. Moreover, Ammundsen, while affording due attention to leading established theologians, also kept an observant eye upon tendencies in societies towards structural change and upon tendencies towards popular spiritual awakening among the laity. A major concern of his was to preserve an understanding of the linear chain of historical eras and successive historical turning-points; but he would never permit the inheritance from past centuries to stand on its own without his paying similar attention to perceived challenges in his own time. Chief testimony to this is his monograph concerning the European churches during the initial period of World War I, a monograph written in the midst of the horrors of war, with the clear intention of creating an ecumenical understanding of the obligation of the churches of Europe to act as mediators. His professional analysis of the role of the churches in facing the socio-economic shifts and dislocations of modern times led him to a lifelong involvement in the Student-Christian movement and in other early ecumenical conferences. As a result of his dislike of theological rigorism and obstinacy in church politics he also adopted, as church leader, a position marked by broad church inclusiveness. Accordingly, he much admired the popular revivalist movements which had been dominant in Danish church life since the middle of the 19th century - the pietistic Inner Mission and the more cultural and liberal Grundtvigian movement - while also criticizing tendencies towards exclusivity. Notwithstanding such endeavours towards dialogue and unification around the centre he became, to his own astonishment and disappointment, one of the prominent objects for criticism expressed by the young theologians who were adopting a theology of crisis inspired by Søren Kierkegaard and German dialectical theology. As Bishop of the Diocese of Haderslev he made a chief concern of his policy of bridge-building in the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein, which was reunified with Denmark after the plebiscite in 1920. However, his strategy of mediation met with a regrettable setback when fanatic Nazis used his liberal policy as a cover for their propaganda. Bishop Ammundsen’s alertness to the dangers of Nazism brought him into the front line of ecumenical initiatives, intended to express support for the struggles of church-led opposition in Germany, and to create an ecumenical understanding of the dangers inherent in a policy of radical antisemitism and aggressive German militarism. His activities brought him into close cooperation with the Anglican Bishop of Chichester, George Bell, and with Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In his last years Ammundsen grew increasingly disappointed over mounting fanaticism and polarization in Germany and the failure of the outside world to mediate
User Interface Technology as a case study: Reducing perceived workload by highlighting congruence between day-to-day work and exam topics
No full textThe User Interface Technology (UIT) course at the Department of Computer Science (DIKU) blends lab skills, programming skills, and theoretical analysis in 8 weeks of work on a final group project. Students historically have complained about a too-high workload; by highlighting congruence between day-to-day activities and their final exams and projects through lecture activities, restructuring projects, and providing rubrics, I saw students report the same amount of time spent on coursework (16-24 hours per week for >= 60 % of students) and a lower perceived workload (from 3.8±.73 in 2023 to 3.4±.64 in 2024, both on a 1–5 Likert scale). They also saw greater connections between individual sub-elements in the course (from 3.4±1.15 in 2023 to 3.8±.94 in 2024, also on a 1–5 scale) and gave qualitative feedback supporting the congruence as important. Overall, the intervention appears to have been successful and will be reused and iterated upon in future years.The User Interface Technology (UIT) course at the Department of Computer Science (DIKU) blends lab skills, programming skills, and theoretical analysis in 8 weeks of work on a final group project. Students historically have complained about a too-high workload; by highlighting congruence between day-to-day activities and their final exams and projects through lecture activities, restructuring projects, and providing rubrics, I saw students report the same amount of time spent on coursework (16-24 hours per week for >= 60 % of students) and a lower perceived workload (from 3.8±.73 in 2023 to 3.4±.64 in 2024, both on a 1–5 Likert scale). They also saw greater connections between individual sub-elements in the course (from 3.4±1.15 in 2023 to 3.8±.94 in 2024, also on a 1–5 scale) and gave qualitative feedback supporting the congruence as important. Overall, the intervention appears to have been successful and will be reused and iterated upon in future years
