23194 research outputs found
Sort by
The Constantinople Council of 1872 and the Imposing of the Bulgarian Schism
Full text linkThe Revival of the Bulgarian people is closely connected with the publication of the Decree on February 27, 1870, which became the bearer of the people\u27s desire and hope for the formation of a legal solution to the matter pertaining to the Bulgarian Church. The ecclesiastical rights of the Bulgarians, granted at first, nevertheless became the subject of claim and dispute between the newly established Exarchate and the Patriarch of Constantinople. A dispute in which the consistent policy of the Bulgarians, in defending the acquired rights and freedoms, supported by their notorious perseverance, played an important role in the struggle to preserve the authentic form and text of the 1870 decree. The church leaders refuted the claim of the Patriarchate for the violated Orthodoxy of the Bulgarians and affirmed the Orthodox principle in the Exarchate church government
Dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Armenian Community in Bulgaria
Full text linkRelations between Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria and the Armenian community date back centuries and are based on deep historical ties. This is mainly due to the Armenian diaspora, which took place on Bulgarian territory for centuries, and to the amicable encounters between Bulgarians and Armenians over the centuries. Most recently, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has maintained healthy, fraternal inter-church relations with representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church at the official level. These relations were built and developed within the framework of the traditional inter-church relations between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox churches
Spiritual History of Poland: A Review
Full text linkA review of Grzegorz Górny, Duchowa historia Polski: Millenium dwu koronacji, 1025-2025 (Warsaw: Rosikon Press, 2016)
ISBN: 978-83-62981-46-
Exploring the Relationship Between Individual Value Priorities and Pathological Psychological Traits
Full text linkValues are central to the ways that humans evaluate the world and make decisions, and they play an important role in individual psychological functioning and well-being. Although human values are frequently used in psycho-therapeutic interventions in clinical practice, the precise nature of their relationship to psychopathology is unclear. This research explored the relationship between human values and psychopathology using the Schwartz basic theory of human values and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–3. Participants were recruited from a community mental health clinic. Data were analyzed to determine relationships between value priorities and clinical scales.
The study hypothesized positive associations between self-enhancement values and emotional dysfunction, and negative associations between self-transcendent values and emotional dysfunction. Additionally, it anticipated positive associations between openness to change values and behavioral dysfunction and negative association between conservation values and behavioral dysfunction.
Regression analyses were used to determine if select value dimensions have predictive potential in regard to pathological traits as measured by the clinical assessments. The power of this study was hampered by a small sample size; however, it still provided some relevant observations. Although reliability of the observed results varied, the direction of correlations largely aligned with the hypotheses. Overall, there was stronger evidence of meaningful relationships between openness to change and behavioral dysfunction, while there was not meaningful evidence that self-enhancement is associated with emotional dysfunction
Koester, Nancy. We Will Be Free: The Life and Faith of Sojourner Truth. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2023.
Full text linkProject Portfolio: Strengthening Marital Bonding in Indonesian Christian Spouses Through a Contextually Designed Marriage Enrichment Retreat Curriculum
No full textNumerous couples in our local church struggle to maintain their marital commitment and longing helps to overcome marriage hurdles. Regrettably, the denominations in our context, have not developed a coherent plan or roadmap for empowering and enriching married couples. While serving as a pastor, I witnessed countless couples in many congregations dealing with marital troubles in solitude without the required support from the church. I started developing a curriculum to satisfy this requirement in response to this circumstance. This project seeks to strengthen marital commitment, increase intimacy, and promote harmonious and loving relationships by applying biblical principles. A Marriage Enrichment Retreat Curriculum was developed to accomplish this. The program is designed as a three-day, two-night retreat in a welcoming environment, with programs that incorporate theological, spiritual, psychological, and mental health views, achieving cognitive, affective, and psychomotor aspects of human beings. The interactive activities in which participants will participate include reflective discussions, exercises in expressing affection, thoughts on the obligations of husband and wife, and spiritual moments such as foot washing and marital vow renewal. This initial focuses on married couples from our local church who have been married for five years. This project intends to expand to the denominational and interdenominational levels. The program, expected to be a sustainable model, will be implemented twice a year to ensure its long-term impact. This project\u27s research has demonstrated that a spiritual leader\u27s presence, attentiveness, and compassion significantly impact supporting couples in marital struggles. As a result, this retreat curriculum is expected to build a church culture that prioritizes the well-being of its congregation through the renewal and strengthening of marital relationships
Creation of a Pastor Care Team For Pacific District Mennonite Brethren Pastors
No full textAt the Redwood Mountain Grove in Kings Canyon National Park, the strength and resilience of sequoias provide a compelling example of the significance of communal interconnectedness. Despite their towering stature, these trees possess relatively shallow root systems that intertwine with neighboring trees to fortify their stability. This mutually beneficial relationship enables these giants to withstand formidable natural forces. Similarly, this paradigm offers pastors an invaluable lesson in fostering interconnections within their community as a strategy for a deeper connection. The grove’s interconnected root systems are a metaphor for the church’s vision of connectedness. It is an informative framework for pastors to cultivate a stable, interconnective relationship of care and unity in their congregations. Pastors have many reasons for contemplating resigning from the ministry, including isolation and loneliness. Recent surveys confirm that 56 percent have indicated leaving full-time ministry because of the stress of the job, while 43 percent say, “I feel lonely and isolated.”3
It is important for churches to develop an interconnection with their
pastors to provide holistic care. This dissertation explores the problem of pastors in Mennonite Brethren churches feeling isolated and burned out because the denomination lacks personal and communal care frameworks. Section 1 addresses the problem pastors and churches experience in caring for their pastors across denominational lines. Section 2 gives comparable solutions for addressing MB’s essential needs.
Section 3 proposes a solution: guidelines for holistic care through a Pastoral Care Team (PCT), which will provide a foundation for pastoral caregiving culture. Sections 4 and 5 outline the development of the proposed website, which will provide a framework for holistic care through a PCT. Section 6 includes reflections on writing, developing, and executing this project
A Conversation Starter on the Sociological Factors Impacting Black Women Leading in White Religious Spaces in Houston, Texas
No full textThis Doctoral Portfolio is an exploration into the factors the play a role in limiting the opportunities for Black women to lead in white religious spaces. As Black women seek to serve and answer the call on their lives, they are faced with navigating implicit and explicit biases that negatively impact their ability to lead.
With 15 years of experience working, serving, and leading in White Religious Spaces, I have experienced interactions, conversations, and decisions that have created a distrust in the leadership and congregation. My experience is not unique as the women in my Stakeholder Group have had similar experiences. These experiences have a detrimental effect on Black Women in predominately white religious spaces. From a need to understand the disconnect from the teachings of Christ and the actions of Christians, I sought to research what causes Christians to create and be unwilling to change these hostile, exclusive environments. I set out to answer the question: What factors lead to this behavior? What is the root cause of decision-makers failing to support, nurture, and promote Black women in white religious spaces? The research NPO; A conversation starter on the sociological factors impacting Black women leading in white religious spaces in Houston, Texas seeks to answer these questions.
This Doctoral Project is a carefully curated Website and the first episode of a Documentary which will be further developed into a six episode production. The website was created to provide resources, information, and support for Black women in white religious spaces as well as decision-makers seeking education and resources. The website will also provide access to the first episode of the documentary which is a moderated roundtable discussion of Black women sharing their experiences working and serving in white religious spaces
The Mystery of Water Baptism: A Metaphorical Exploration of Water Baptism and the Black Male who, due to Historical, Political, Societal, and Cultural Domination, May Experience the Justice of Jesus in the Water
No full textThere are many definitions of water baptism. A definition that is like the Biblical form of baptism and the context of this essay is the immersion or ‘dipping’ into a body of water. In the Christian church, this is viewed as a ceremonial ritual mimicked after the event when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:29-34). In some ecclesial settings, the water is lightly sprinkled on the person’s forehead.
Many Christian writers assert that the Jordan River was unholy until Jesus’s Baptism. The theophany at the Jordan River transcended the value of the River. Spiritually, this event would set the tone for all baptisms to follow. With one exception, the sinless God-man representing God to humans and humans to God, Jesus himself had no sins that needed to be forgiven (Acts 2:38). Jesus’ identity as the Son of God was confirmed.
This dissertation seeks to initially explore the many facets of water in the beginning. The motifs of water in the Creation, water in Noah’s Flood, and water in The Red Sea is theologically and metaphorically a symbol of water Baptism exemplifying the justice of God. Metaphorically, the Earth was immersed in the waters as in baptism (Genesis 1:2).
This paper explores how the waters of baptism are necessary in the life of the Black Male who like the earth in the beginning also metaphorically experiences a perpetual baptism due to societal and cultural domination. Spiritual cleansing, rebirth, and freedom from systemic issues and socio-political constraints, through the waters of Baptism, are eschatologically possible when the Black Male is resurrected with Christ out of the waters of Baptism.
It may be determined if through water baptism Jesus metaphorically grants justice for suffering, a new identity, and new birth
Black Women Healing from Gender-Based Violence: Christ-Centered Approaches for Transformative Holistic Wellbeing
No full textThe Women’s Leadership and Resource Center states, “Gender-based violence against Black women has always existed in the US. From historical accounts of chattel slavery to analyses of present-day society, Black women have endured multiple forms of violence including labor …, sexual …, medical … and … exploitation.”32 This dissertation will provide important research about gender-based violence against Black women and girls and will conclude with Christ-centered approaches for transformative holistic wellbeing. Do laws that prevent violence enable more violence? In the fact sheet published by the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, it is noted that, “Experiences of abuse do not end with incarceration. Women’s loss of bodily autonomy while in prison—from strip searches to being under constant surveillance—echoes their experiences of harm in their homes and communities. Black women and girls are also subjected to gender-based violence while incarcerated.”33
What about violence in biblical texts such as in Genesis 34 involving Dinah, Tamar’s rape in 2 Samuel 13:1-22, or the concubine woman whose name is not mentioned in Judges 19-20 who was gang raped? The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) helps in understanding the varying degrees of violence, in that, “Violent victimization includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.” Table one in this report details victimizations including domestic violence, intimate partner violence, stranger violence, violent crime with an injury, and violent crime with a weapon. The ministry opportunity will serve humanity, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, or religion.
32 UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center, University of Illinois Chicago. n.d. Gender-Based Violence against Black Women | Women’s Leadership and Resource Center | University of Illinois Chicago (accessed October 7, 2024).
33 National Black Women’s Justice Institute. “Black Women & Girls, Gender-Based Violence, and Pathways to Criminalization & Incarceration.” National Black Women’s Justice Institute, 2022: 2