Abstract: By the later third century, when it began to be widely persecuted, the Christian community of believers had already created within the Roman Empire the basic forms of church organisation. The big councils, which were used as arenas for opinions and as a stage for the development of the church, were all held in the Greek East and only superficially concerned themselves with the modest Christianity of the West. The liturgy had its first flowering in the period 500-700 and it grew out of the variety of prayer and church services which had evolved under Byzantine influence. The Acacian and Henotikon schisms were a legacy of the fifth century, in which the papacy was embroiled up to the end of the century. The synod in Rome had a special position because it brought together all the bishops in suburbicarian Italy. The churches in the West were self-assured in their Christian belief and respected Rome as the city of the apostle.

Abstract: Yugoslavia's socialism was always a special case when compared with other states in the eastern part of Europe, and so was its religious policy. In the 1960s, Yugoslavia adopted a rather liberal stance towards its religious communities. The state interfered less in the internal affairs of the churches than it did in most states in the Warsaw Pact. Even Croat Cardinal Franjo Kuharic, who was otherwise very critical towards Tito's Yugoslavia, had to admit in 1987, The Pope freely appoints bishops, without the intervention of the government. The church is free in its inner administration: there is no numerus clausus, neither for priests nor for the order's candidates. The bishops appoint and transfer priests without hindrance, without government interference. Bishops, priests and believers are free to gather in church rooms and don't have to apply for special permits. The orders can exist and function, although within the frames of law. The freedom of motion in- and outside the country is not hampered, though it may happen that-in our conviction, without justification-priests' passports are taken away. The freedom of the religious press is also one of the positive facts.

Abstract: Anti-Catholicism in America: The Last Acceptable Prejudice. By Mark S. Massa, S.J. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 2003. x + 245 pp. $24.95 (cloth). Recent headlines about the misdeeds of various Roman Catholic priests and bishops, which have focused so much attention on the failings of the American church and its hierarchy, have proved to be a boon to scholars interested in anti-Catholicism. The year 2003, for example, saw the publication of two significant (and almost identically titled) books on this subject: Philip Jenkins's The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice and Mark Massas Anti-Catholicism in America: The Last Acceptable Prejudice. As Massa, a Jesuit, notes in the conclusion of his book, one of the unfortunate features of the current uproar over clergy sexual abuse is its "availability as proof positive for those . . . already uneasy with Catholicism that their fears were well placed" (p. 195). Still, as his book ably demonstrates, the embarrassments of the present day also offer an exceptional opportunity for probing the nature of anti-Catholic prejudice. Massa, who directs the Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University, is well qualified to undertake this study, and he has produced an engaging account that guides readers through several centuries of American religious history. Fears of papal Christianity, he shows, were so thoroughly imbedded in the hearts and minds of the first English settlers in the New World that it is difficult to separate anti-Catholicism from the origins of the American nation. "Break the Pope's Neck," for instance, was a popular game among children in Puritan New England, and when these same boys and girls memorized the alphabet, they began with the admonition to "Abhor that abhorrent Whore of Rome" (p. 19). Although violent acts of anti-Catholic hatred peaked in the mid-nineteenth century, as recently as the 1980s television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart openly condemned Roman Catholic teachings, warning Catholics that unless they renounced their church's "errant doctrines" (p. 141) they risked eternal damnation. While most mainline Protestants in the twentieth century neither shared the theological assumptions of their Puritan ancestors nor sanctioned the views of flamboyant preachers like Swaggart, they nevertheless remained highly suspicious of the Roman Catholic Church. It is no surprise, then, that one of the most egregious modern expressions of anti-Catholic bigotry-Paul Blanshard's American Freedom and Catholic Power (1949)-was published by Beacon Press, the stalwart liberal publishing house in Boston, and received accolades from establishment figures such as John Dewey, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Given all the evidence presented, one must agree with Massa's contention about the widespread nature of anti-Catholic prejudice among non-Catholic Americans. Although Massa approaches his topic primarily from a historical perspective, he also employs the insights of theology and sociology to add further nuance to his argument. …

Abstract: This comprehensive edition makes available two of the most important sources for population studies in the early modern period. The bishops' returns of 1563 and 1603 represent the earliest census-type information that has survived in England and Wales. The 1563 returns, surviving from twelve dioceses, record the number of households; the 1603 documents, from nine dioceses, were intended to survey religious nonconformity and estimate the number of communicants in each parish. A full introductory essay explores the origins of both surveys, and illustrates their significance for local and demographic historians, and those concerned with social and economic history, government and the church.

Abstract: This essay examines the Catholic Church's pastoral letter on homosexuality, Always Our Children. While its primary audience was the parents of gays and lesbians, the letter also had to address gay and lesbian Catholics and conservative bishops. A key task for the letter was acquiring the imprimatur, or silent assent, of bishops. The letter used three strategies to attain this assent: strict definition of purpose, an almost exclusive use of previous institutional rhetoric as supporting material, and the deflection of responsibility for the issue at hand onto outside groups. The letter ultimately failed to persuade its audiences and was revised because of tensions in its characterization of gays and lesbians.

Abstract: 1. A new kind of religious life 2. Creating an alternative community: spiritual values and the search for meaning 3. The spiritual quest: reading and writing about God and salvation 4. Necessary relationships: desire for God and each other 5. Defining the ideal: words of praise for fools and bishops, women and martyrs 6. Epilogue.

Abstract: This book traces the emergence of religious factionalism within an urban community, from Elizabeth's reign until the outbreak of the English Civil War, focusing upon early modern England's second city, Norwich, but placing it in the context of England as a whole. Typically, Tudor and Stuart Norwich has been viewed as a centre of radical puritanism, but through careful study of its rich municipal archive as well as hitherto untapped diocesan and parochial material, the author offers a more rounded account of Norwich's religious life, which considers the appearance of groups at odds with the godly. The first section explores how and why the Reformation flourished in Norwich. Later chapters address the fortunes of the city's puritan movement in relation to successive anti-Calvinist bishops - notably Samuel Harsnett and Matthew Wren - and their local allies (both clerical and lay) during the 1620s and 30s. Reacting to godly complaint, Norwich's anti-puritan tradition evolved into something approaching 'civic Laudianism' in borough affairs under Charles I.

Abstract: The history of the Anglican Communion indicates that North America has been a peculiar laboratory for developments the entire Communion has come to embrace. Contrary to the assertions made in the Windsor Report, the colonial churches in North America were not the object of Canterbury's special concern, and no contact between the churches can be found for thirty years after the new church's launch. The movement for what became the Lambeth Conference began in the General Convention of 1853, and was later echoed by the Canadians. Much of what the churches of the Communion value in governance and ecclesiology originated in North America, as both Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical voices in England testify. Purely spiritual episcopacy, synodical government, and the sending of missionary bishops lead North American contributions to Anglican life. While history does not guarantee the rightness of the Canadian and Episcopal decisions, it suggests that they continue to be of significance for the evolution of the Communion. It is impossible not to respect the care and thoroughness with which the Windsor Report was prepared. Its point of view is consistently and thoroughly applied to the task the committee understood itself to have. At the same time, it is possible to have reservations about some aspects of the Report, and I have expressed my own theological concerns elsewhere,1 as has Professor Andrew Linzey of Oxford in a similar vein.2 We both see in its recommendations the seeds of a curial church of a kind foreign to Anglican tradition. We both stand amazed that the Report does not examine the entire sweep of the scriptural story to contemplate the phenomena of prophecy and conscience, denial and resistance. The present reflection, however, is concerned with how we in North America may understand our own story as a part of the Communion. Given the Anglican emphasis on precedent, the Windsor Report's reading of history is more critical than the comparative heat of the current sexuality debate may suggest. Linzey has shared his observations on the Report's history of the ordination of women, pointing out that purported methods of consultation and procedure were established after ordination of women was already here to stay. Others have emphasized the Report's silence on whether or not a woman bishop could be elected, as she would not be acceptable to all members of the Communion.3 Further, the Windsor Report nowhere reveals that the Virginia Report, to which it so often appeals, was denied recognition by the Anglican Consultative Council, so it is in reality nothing other than a very interesting proposal from the previous century. The Windsor Report suggests the development of canon law for the whole Anglican Communion, but Norman Doe has already pointed out that in present structures there is no group or individual competent to impose law on the membership.4 What has not received much attention is how the Report reads Anglican history on its way to proposing a new relationship among member churches and a new role for the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Report begins its proposal with the suggestion that because the Archbishop of Canterbury has actively cared for the entire Anglican world throughout its history, he or she therefore ought to be its chief magistrate, and the spirit of the English church ought to shape the life of the Communion worldwide. From the beginning, the Archbishop of Canterbury, both in his person and his office, has been the pivotal instrument and focus of unity; and relationship to him became a touchstone of what it was to be Anglican. It was to the Archbishop of Canterbury that American Anglicans first turned to seek consecration of new bishops after the American War of Independence. Thereafter it was successive Archbishops of Canterbury who consecrated bishops for Canada, the West Indies, India and the developing English colonial territories, and it was to Archbishops of Canterbury that these churches tended to turn for assistance both in spiritual and political matters when problems arose (para. …

Abstract: In English Protestant apologetics of the seventeenth century, John Spurr shows, Church history was a major part of controversies over the canon of Scripture, the significance of the Greek and Latin Fathers, and the development of Christianity in the British Isles. Such debates illustrate the breadth and centrality of historical reflection within English Protestantism but also reveal the partisan uses of church history and, in particular, how theological and intellectual pedigrees for seventeenth-century positions were constructed from the testimony of eminent divines of the immediate and distant past. Such uses of the past are evident in both published works and private marginalia. Not only does this material attest to the seventeenth century’s acute sense of the past as a series of personal testimonies, but it also endorses current views of seventeenth-century English religion as a fluid and even negotiable set of spiritual options, personal allegiances, and historical affiliations. 99. Moderation a Vertue, 79. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.104 on Sat, 18 Jun 2016 06:46:29 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Abstract: There is some evidence that a kind of hospital already existed towards the end of the 2nd millennium BC in ancient Mesopotamia. In India the monastic system created by the Buddhist religion led to institutionalised health care facilities as early as the 5thcentury BC, and with the spread of Buddhism to the east, nursing facilities, the nature and function of which are not known to us, also appeared in Sri Lanka, China and South East Asia. One would expect to find the origin of the hospital in the modern sense of the word in Greece, the birthplace of rational medicine in the 4th century BC, but the Hippocratic doctors paid house-calls, and the temples of Asclepius were visited for incubation sleep and magico-religious treatment. In Roman times the military and slave hospitals were built for a specialised group and not for the public, and were therefore not precursors of the modern hospital. It is to the Christians that one must turn for the origin of the modern hospital. Hospices, originally called xenodochia, initially built to shelter pilgrims and messengers between various bishops, were under Christian control developed into hospitals in the modern sense of the word. In Rome itself, the first hospital was built in the 4th century AD by a wealthy penitent widow, Fabiola. In the early Middle Ages (6th to 10th century), under the influence of the Benedictine Order, an infirmary became an established part of every monastery. During the late Middle Ages (beyond the 10th century) monastic infirmaries continued to expand, but public hospitals were also opened, financed by city authorities, the church and private sources. Specialised institutions like leper houses also originated at this time. During the Golden Age of Islam the Muslim world was clearly more advanced than its Christian counterpart with regard to the magnificent hospitals which were built in various countries, institutions which eventually became the true forerunners of the modern teaching hospital.

Abstract: Latin American Iglesia, Justicia y Sociedad en la Nueva Espana. La Audiencia del Arzobispado de Mexico, 1528-1668. By Jorge E. Traslosheros. (Mexico City: Editorial Porrua Mexico and Universidad Iberoamericana. 2004. Pp. xvi, 219. Paperback.) While most historians and lay readers are acquainted with the Inquisition, few know well the tribunals of the episcopal churches. Known as audiencias, they were part of each bishopric and were the bishops' working tools in their effort to exercise their roles as arbiters of personal faith and social customs. The audiencia of the Archbishopric of Mexico, capital of the viceroyalty of New Spain, receives full attention from Jorge Traslosheros in the period between its inception and mid-seventeenth century, when it reached full possession of its jurisdiction. Like other audiencias, the one presiding the vast central area of New Spain reviewed legal cases on chantries, wills, and pious deeds. It exercised justice as applied to the clergy, and reviewed all contested cases related to personal sins, divorce, and contested marriages. Under its charge were also cases of transgression against the faith by the indigenous people who, officially, were not under the Inquisition's purview. The audiencias were not controlled by the Council of the Indies or the Inquisition, although they complemented the work of the latter. According to Traslosheros the philosophical and religious frame supporting the existence of these tribunals was the emergence of a missionary monarchy in Spain in the sixteenth-century whose goal was to establish a confessional society oriented toward eternal salvation. Bishops and archbishops were entrusted with the task of overseeing the moral and religious life of that society. The audiencias were one of three tools at the bishops' disposal to exercise their task, with sacramental confession and the episcopal visitations to their dioceses being the other two. Traslosheros argues that without fully understanding the essence of law and justice in the period under review we could fail to understand the reasons behind the audiencias' procedures and verdicts. Perhaps the most important feature of the concept of law in those days was its corporative character. Each sector of society received punishment differently, and the aim of the executor of justice was to set an example for the individual as well as for the rest of society that could, in the long run, facilitate the reconciliation of the person's soul to the Church's doctrine. …

Abstract: Over twenty-live years have passed since the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States issued the pastoral letter To Teach As Jesus Did.’ For many years, this document has inspired Catholic educators to think of teaching as ministry and to model their own behavior after Jesus. That Jesus was a teacher is clear from the many gospel stories told about his large following, his engaging parables, and his use of poignant and relevant examples. Some have even called him the master teacher.2

Abstract: This article delves deeply into the official papers of The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences' (FABC) to reveal a uniquely Asian ecclesiology. This “new way of doing church” is rooted in six predominant propositions: (1) the Asian Church is called to be a “communion of communities” that is (2) shaped by, and responds to the immense diversity and pluralism of Asia, (3) under girded by a commitment and service to life, (4) inspired by an overarching vision of harmony, (5) oriented toward a threefold dialogue with Asian cultures, religions and the poor, and (6) seeking to build the Kingdom of God in Asia.

Abstract: This article examines in a wider context the relations between church and state in Rhodesia from the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965 to the Pearce Commission in 1972. The major points of church–state conflict during this period centred around UDI, Proposals for a New Constitution for Rhodesia of 1969, Rhodesia's Land Tenure Act of 1969, and the 1971 Anglo-Rhodesian Proposals for a Settlement of Rhodesia's constitutional problems. While the Catholic Bishops of Rhodesia spoke with one voice on these vital issues, there were differences of opinion within and across Protestant denominations. Nevertheless, through their umbrella organisation, the Christian Council of Rhodesia, the Protestants made common cause with the Catholic Bishops in their opposition to the Rhodesian State on various issues.

Abstract: From the basic ideas and terms, to its structures and practices, this book offers a plain-speaking introduction to Roman Catholicism. It covers: * Roman Catholic beliefs and traditions * practices and devotional life - rituals, prayer, mass * Church structures and authorities - from Vatican to parish church * Church hierarchies and people - from bishops to the laity * the role of the Church in society. With a glossary, further reading sections and an appendix on the history of the Papacy, this is the perfect guide for anyone wanting to understand more about Roman Catholicism.

Abstract: This paper focuses on the historical record of Scottish missionaries and subsequently the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian in relation to government in Malawi. It considers their relationship to the colonial government, reactions to the Central African Federation and then to the increasing authoritarianism of Hastings Banda. Over the whole century between Harry Johnston's declaration of a British Protectorate over Malawi in 1891 and the issuing of the Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Letter in 1992 the churches have often provided the most effective civil opposition to the extremes of government. In the early colonial period this opposition came most actively from the Scottish missionaries of both the Blantyre and Livingstonia missions.

Abstract: In the previous half century the world witnessed dramatic cultural upheavals Factions of the right and left fought many political battles pitting traditionalism against progressivism, each side arguing for its vision of a virtuous society in the changing cultural landscape The emerging struggle in many regions of the world over legal recognition of homosexual unions is one of the latest manifestations of this conflict It pits liberal coalitions against their socially conservative and frequently religious opponents in the latest theater of what might be called a global culture war [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the United States, the debate over gay marriage and the methods employed in pushing for and resisting its realization were major factors in the 2004 presidential election The issue has played a substantial role in the national political life of many other countries as well While homosexual unions have been realized without substantial controversy in some nations, they are a topic of frequent and heated debate in many others Few countries have fully incorporated homosexual unions into their marital laws, while a larger number have established a more limited menu of partner benefits for same-sex couples Some countries have uniform national policies while others have differences between regional substates In other countries, homosexuality is still treated as a mental illness or even as a crime This wide range of attitudes and policies toward homosexual partnerships reveals a great deal about social and cultural differences among regions of the world and about the conflict between tradition and modernity that shapes global politics The persistence of the movements for partnership rights and the political forces that resist them within and across various societies demonstrate that this struggle is not one that will be resolved easily or soon It is thus important to examine the dynamics of the conflict in different regions of the world in order to understand whether and, if so, how gay marriage is politically feasible Scandinavia: The Beginning Denmark was the first country to establish a partnership law for same-sex couples Axel and Eigil Axgil, two Danish activists, became the world's first legally recognized gay couple in Copenhagen on October 1, 1989 Called "registered partnerships," their enactment represented a major shift in Danish attitudes toward homosexuality and the first real victory in the struggle for the recognition of gay unions The law was known as the "Danish Registered Partnership Act" and provided almost all of the same benefits as standard marriage, or as the law puts it "the same legal effects as the contracting of marriage" However, there were notable differences: same-sex couples were not allowed to adopt children or to receive artificial insemination, nor could they have their commitment ceremony held in a church Denmark has since legalized gay adoption, but several of the other differences between registered partnerships and heterosexual marriages persist The controversy in Denmark over church recognition of these partnerships is an interesting one, and it reveals much about the religious element of the conflict over same-sex unions Denmark has an official state church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which receives support from the Danish government The country is split into 12 dioceses, each managed by a bishop In 1997, in response to the expressed desires of many of the church's gay members, the bishops established a commission to study whether homosexual partnerships should receive the church's blessing The commission found that there are no "theological or moral objections to homosexual practice that are tenable," and the bishops decided to allow pastors to bless unions, but did not create a standard ritual or mandate such blessings There was substantial disagreement from conservative theologians about this decision …

Abstract: In the sixteenth century, government strategy towards religious dissidents in the Low Countries consisted not only of persecution but also attempts to reconcile 'heretics' with the Catholic Church. At certain times, a 'general pardon' was issued giving heretics the possibility of reconciling collectively with the Catholic Church, and then getting a secular pardon for their lese-majeste. In spite of a counter offensive on the part of the reformers, the King and especially the bishops, inquisitors and parish priests succeeded in obtaining an impressive number of reconciliations.

Abstract: Spain was, at that moment, a nation that had just achieved political and religious unification. In 1492 the Catholic kings completed their reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. The last emir of Granada had definitively crossed the Straits of Gibraltar, taking his followers with him. Granada had become a Christian city and the mosque had been transformed into a cathedral. A policy of religious education and of converting Muslim inhabitants had been immediately begun throughout Andalusia. The same year, 1492, the Jews of Spain were ordered to convert or leave the country. 1492 was also the year Christopher Columbus discovered the West Indies, soon to be named "America." The political and religious authorities of Spain that is, the Catholic kings, the bishops of Spain (in particular the powerful archbishops of Toledo and Seville), and the Inquisition then began to concentrate on effectively controlling the subjugated men and territories. They would no longer permit the inhabitants of the Spanish empire not to be Christian. In the sixteenth century, Charles V, Catholic king of Spain and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, reigned over Spain, the Netherlands, Franche-Comte, parts of Germany and Italy, and half the American continent. How can the world from the western Mediterranean to the Atlantic and the Pacific; from Flanders, Germany, Naples, Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville to Veracruz, Mexico, and the Andes be managed? This was the question that the Spanish powers had to answer in order to grow and endure.

Abstract: This thesis concerns a religious actor in the civil society in times of violent conflict. During the British Mandate period in Palestine, Jewish, Muslim and Christian children studied together at Anglican missionary schools. At this time Jerusalem bore all the imprints of ethnic and religious separation and division. The Anglican educational project became part of the efforts made by the Anglican Church to promote conflict handling and peace in Palestine. The thesis analyses what were the beliefs, values and practical aims behind this educational effort. One of the students was young Edward W. Said. In this thesis, his theory of ?Orientalism? has proved a useful tool for critical evaluation of the discourses of the Anglican Church in Palestine in general and the activities of the Anglican schools in particular. The book also deals with what was Said's own learning context, the early foundation of his personal and scholarly development. Were the Anglican schools merely the instrument of British educational and imperial policy or did they provide, in this particular multicultural context, some further quality? The source material on which the analysis is based includes reports, letters and articles written by the Anglican bishops in Jerusalem as well as British teachers in Jerusalem working for two Anglican mission organisations, Jerusalem and East Mission and Church Ministry among Jews. Also material from outside is included, i.e. articles from the local press and reports of the British administration. Two lines of interpretation are emphasised: one focusing the Anglican discourses and activities as part of that Western Orientalism which regards the British spiritual and political superiority to be self-evident, the other taking seriously the efforts of the Anglicans trying to be an informal ?third party? who promoted peace and interreligious dialogue in civil society. The conclusions of the thesis emphasise the ambivalence found in the discourses as well as the importance of a ?space in between? for moving beyond the dichotomy ?us-versus-them?. In particular the concept of ?friendship? is taken into account in this matter, a concept which the Anglican representatives in Palestine on the one hand used in order to legitimise asymmetric power relations. On the other hand it was also connected to openness and responsibility for the Other.

Abstract: In December 2003 the House of Bishops' Group on Issues in Human Sexuality published their ‘discussion document’, Some Issues in Human Sexuality: A Guide to the Debate (London: Church House Publishing, 2003). The document is a guide to the theological debate on questions that have arisen in response to the 1991 House of Bishops report, Issues in Human Sexuality (see p. ix). This article is a contribution to the discussion. I first question whether the document is a ‘guide’ and whether the quarrels between Anglicans are best designated a ‘debate’. Then within the limits of a single article I illustrate from the first three chapters grave problems of omission, of biblical interpretation, and of ethical development.