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This collection of essays seeks to analyse historically these influences, connections, and impact from multiple points of view, such as but not limited to the links between war and rebellion, the issues of trust and religious violence, early modern university debates on war and peace, the problems engendered by intolerance and the difficult management of tolerance, the delicate matters of politico-religious accommodation and the implementation of peace in towns and contested territories, the reappraisals and changes in the narratives of military prowess and religious fidelity, the role of women in the religious conflicts in the long sixteenth century, the porous boundaries (imagined or real) which existed between enemies in times of war and the issues connected to the cohabitation with the Other in times of peace.

The period of Revolution and Toleration in England was filled with rapid change, political uncertainty, and ecclesiastical volatility. Still recovering from the strife of Civil War and a divisive Restoration, the relationship between the Church of England and Nonconformists remained deeply strained. Although Dissenters were granted the right to gather for worship under Toleration, their legitimacy was regularly challenged. Within this context, a variety of significant controversies arose in which James Owen, a Welsh Presbyterian minister, played a prominent role and was a leading voice for moderate Nonconformity.Along with a group of moderate Nonconformist friends like Edmund Calamy, Philip and Matthew Henry, and Francis Tallents, Owen defended a version of Protestant ecumenism. This was a theological conviction that (1) the unity of the Protestant Church was indispensable and (2) this unity was to be found in agreement on essential doctrines, not in sharing ecclesiastical structures. Owen, along with his associates, defended the Dissenters separation from the Church of England as biblically sanctioned and at the same time emphasized that such separation was not schismatic.Owens clear, biblically articulate, and historically informed writing made his contribution to the period of Toleration significant and influential.

The 17th and 18th centuries have been regarded as one of the most exciting periods in the history of Hungary and Transylvania. The wars of liberation to terminate the Ottoman occupation, the integration of the Transylvanian Principality into the Habsburg Empire after 150-years relative independence, the colonisation of the uncultivated lands during the Ottoman rule, the re-organisation of daily life and Prince Francis (Ferenc) Rakoczis independence war (17031711) indicated serious challenges for the Habsburg Court in Vienna. This period (16861711) felled serious duties to the Hungarian Catholic Church, too. Prior to these duties, the process of Counter-Reformation in Hungarys eastern and northern regions was getting increasingly under way: Orthodox Ruthenians and Romanians in Transylvania united with the Roman Catholic Church. The bishops, who were highly supported by the missionaries delegated from Rome in order to re-organise the Hungarian Catholic Churchs religious life, re-appeared at the seats of the abandoned dioceses after the 150-years Ottoman occupation and nearly 110-years pressure from the strong Protestantism supported by the Princes of Transylvania. The Armenians church-union in Transylvania must be, in fact, analysed in this church-historical context. The history of Armenians in Transylvania, escaping from Moldavia and Podolia between 1668 and 1672, should be regarded practically as an undiscovered area from both the Hungarian and international church-historical point of view. The church-union of the Armenians in Transylvania is primarily associated with Bishop Oxendio Virzirescos (16541715), an Armenian Uniate cleric educated at Collegium Urbanum in Rome, missionary efforts. In this work, I have tried to look for evident responses to these afore-mentioned problems, resting on the partly discovered and undiscovered sources as well as analysing critically a few of secondary literature.

There is a longstanding scholarly debate on the nature of prophecy in ancient Israel. Until now, no study has based itself on the semantics of the Hebrew lexeme nbi ("prophet"). This investigation by William L. Kelly discusses the nature and function of prophecy in the corpus of the Hebrew book of Jeremiah. It analyses all occurrences of nbi in Jeremiah and performs a close reading of three primary texts, Jeremiah 1.419, 23.940 and 27.128.17. The result is a detailed explanation of how prophecy works, and what it meant to call someone a nbi in ancient Israel. Combining the results of the semantic analysis and close readings, the study reaches conclusions for six main areas of study: (1) the function and nature of prophecy; (2) dreams and visions; (3) being sent; (4) prophets, priests and cult; (5) salvation and doom; and (6) legitimacy and authority. These conclusions explain the conceptual categories related to nbi in the corpus. I then situate these findings in two current debates, one on the definition of nbi and one on cultic prophecy. This study contributes to critical scholarship on prophecy in the ancient world, on the book of Jeremiah, and on prophets in ancient Israel. It is the first major study to analyse nbi based on its semantic associations. It adds to a growing consensus which understands prophecy as a form of divination. Contrary to some trends in Jeremiah scholarship, this work demonstrates the importance of a close reading of the Masoretic (Hebrew) text. This study uses a method of a general nature which can be applied to other texts. Thus there are significant implications for further research on prophecy and prophetic literature.

In 1611 Edmond Richer, the syndic of the Faculty of Theology of Paris, published a short but incisive defence of the conciliarist doctrine under the title De ecclesiastica et politica potestate. He claimed that this doctrine had been almost uninterruptedly followed by the University of the Paris since the time of the Council of Constance in the early 15th century. Within two years, at least six Latin, French or bilingual editions of the treatise saw the light as well as an English and a Dutch translation. The book was condemned at a meeting of the French bishops in March 1612 and its author was dismissed from his position of syndic of the Faculty of Theology a few months later. He withdrew from public life but remained influential. He continued to write in defence of the conciliarist doctrine and the so-called liberties of the Gallican Church until his death in 1631. He vehemently opposed Cardinal Bellarmines doctrine of the indirect power of popes in temporal matters but never subscribed to the doctrine of the divine power of kings. Most of his books were published posthumously.Philippe Denis retraces Edmond Richers career and examines his ecclesiological and political thinking. Without taking all the syndics opinions at face value, this volume commits itself to taking seriously Richers declared intention, which was to vindicate the teaching of the School of Paris and that of Jean Gerson in particular. Philippe Denis places the heated, sometimes aggressive, debates between Richer and his adversaries in the context of a double progression: that of the doctrine of an absolute monarchy, a form of government which had been developing since the troubles of the League, and that of the Ultramontane ideas, often disputed but supported with growing vigour, in France and elsewhere, in the context of the reception of the Council of Trent.Philippe Denis presents the English translation of his book originally published in French (Editions du Cerf in Paris, 2014).

Pál Ács discusses various aspects of the cultural and literary history of Hungary during the hundred years that followed the Battle of Mohács (1526) and the onset of the Reformation. The author focuses on the special Ottoman context of the Hungarian Reformation movements including the Protestant and Catholic Reformation and the spiritual reform of Erasmian intellectuals. The author argues that the Ottoman presence in Hungary could mean the co-existence of Ottoman bureaucrats and soldiers with the indigenous population. He explores the culture of occupied areas, the fascinating ways Christians came to terms with Muslim authorities, and the co-existence of Muslims and Christians.Acs treats not only the culture of the Reformation in an Ottoman context but also vice versa the Ottomans in a Protestant framework. As the studies show, the culture of the early modern Hungarian Reformation is extremely manifold and multi-layered. Historical documents such as theological, political and literary works and pieces of art formed an interpretive, unified whole in the self-representation of the era. Two interlinked and unifying ideas define this diversity: on the one hand the idea of European-ness, i.e. the idea of strong ties to a Christian Europe, and on the other the concept of Reformation itself. Despite its constant ideological fragmentation, the Reformation sought universalism in all its branches. As Acs shows, it was re-formatio in the original sense of the word, i.e. restoration, an attempt to restore a bygone perfection imagined to be ideal.

Kyle J. Dieleman focuses on the doctrinal and practical importance of Sunday observance in the early modern Reformed communities in the Low Countries. My project investigates the theological import of the Sabbath and its practical applications. The first step is to focus on how Dutch Reformed theologians conceived of the Sabbath. The theology of the Sabbath, I argue, moves over time from an emphasis on spiritual rest to participating in the ministries of the church to a strict rest from all work and recreation. The next step is to explore congregants actual Sunday practices. By attending to church governance records at the national, regional, and local levels the importance of proper Sabbath observance quickly becomes clear. The provincial synod records, classes records, and consistory records indicate that church authorities were adamant that church members faithfully attend sermon and catechism services, refrain from sinful practices, and abstain from recreational activities. Equally as telling as the observance demanded of church members is how church authorities responded. The church records portray these authorities as fretting over the disordered and unregulated nature of improper Sabbath observance. Having established the importance of the Sabbath in Dutch Reformed theology and lived piety, I argue the emphasis on Sunday observance is best understood as resulting from two main factors. First, the emphasis on proper Sunday observance is a result of the Reformed church authorities attempting to maintain the pious reputation of the Reformed faith and establish the identity of the Reformed Church amid multiple other confessional identities. Second, proper observance of the Sabbath was important because it ensured order within the church and society more broadly.

Carmichael argues that Johannes Cocceiuss theology of the Sabbath serves as a window through which one can view more clearly his federal theology or covenant theology. Covenant theology was the most distinctive feature of his theology. Moreover, Cocceius spent a notable portion of his life engaging in the Leiden Sabbath Controversies from 1655 to 1659, which played a key role in the split of the Reformed Dutch Republic into two socio-political blocsCocceians and Voetians. So far scholars have tended to overlook this critical phase in Cocceiuss theological development. Carmichael sheds light on it by looking at the theological texts that Cocceius wrote that absorbed his attention during this significant period. Casey Carmichael examines first the evolution of the problem of the Sabbath in Cocceiuss theological traditionReformed Orthodoxyin Chapters 24 and second the development of Cocceiuss doctrine of the Sabbath, structured around the Leiden Sabbath Controversies, in Chapters 58.

Sandra Bihlmaier constitutes a historical and philosophical analysis of Philipp Melanchthons concept of method and philosophy. By means of a detailed inquiry into Melanchthons textbooks of dialectic and rhetoric it uncovers the emergence and development of a notion of method which underlies an encyclopedic understanding of philosophy. The work reveals both the traditions of rhetoric and dialectic which Melanchthon builds on in his own works, as well as the Reformers own original reinterpretation of these traditions. Moreover, the reinterpretation and transformation of essential concepts taken from traditional accounts is thematized against the background of the canon of arts and sciences, which undergoes a fundamental change during the European Renaissance. The understanding, configuration, and the applicability of this canon is deeply influenced by this original concept of method.Philipp Melanchthons concept of method and philosophy is central to the understanding of 16th century definition of philosophy. Melanchthons attempt to integrate into a former theoretical discipline, both the aspect of usefulness, as well as a degree of general applicability in human affairs, testifies to the fertility of his philosophical program. Also his project is highly relevant for an understanding of philosophy which transgresses contemporary idiosyncratic categories of philosophical knowledge and draws attention to two fundamental historiographical aspects. First, it cautions historians and philosophers against transferring current definitions of philosophy to works which emerge from different historical, social and intellectual traditions. Second, it raises the awareness of the reader regarding his own understanding of philosophy and of its underlying presuppositions.

The book honours the Rev. Dr. Robert A Kolb, retired Director of the Institute for Mission Studies and Missions Professor in systematic theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and perhaps the leading authority on the development of "Wittenberg Theology" in the English-speaking world. At the same time, his teaching and writing, which continues without flagging, has emphasized the importance of translating and retranslating the historic Lutheran faith in terms that address contemporary issues and contemporary people. In this volume, colleagues and co-workers address and push forward Kolb insights into the history of the Reformation era and on the impact of those Reformation issues (and quarrels) on the life of the church in the world today.With contributions by Charles Arand, Lubomir Batka, Amy Nelson Burnett, Irene Dingel, Mary Jane Haemig, Scott Hendrix, Erik Herrmann, Werner Klan, David Lumpp, Mark Mattes, Daniel Mattson, Richard Muller, Paul Robinson, Robert Rosin, and Timothy Wengert.

In 1561, a Eucharistic controversy erupted in Danzig of the sixteenth century, sparked by disagreements on the real presence and the practical treatment of the Eucharistic elements. It was one of many inner-Lutheran struggles over the Lords Supper in the years following the Reformation and therefore Bjorn Ole Hovda supplements the scientific studies on that topic. Different understandings of the presence of Christ during the Lords Supper formed different religious norms of practice. On the one hand, the controversy is here analyzed as a discussion on doctrine between opposing ecclesiastical factions, set in the context of reformatory theology and liturgical practice. The theological discussions had important practical and cultic implications. One the other hand and in contrast with the most of earlier works the study seeks to treat with equal seriousness the wider societal and political aspects of the controversy. Hovda shows how deeply embedded the Eucharist was within broader discourses of culture, society and politics. Far from being just an abstruse ecclesiastical matter, it was a question of great sociopolitical interest and potency. The Eucharist served both as the prime symbol of Christian unity, as well as a confessional border stone between rivaling groups.Other important aspects of this wider analysis are tensions between the ordained ministry and the city council regarding authority, internal social tensions within the city, as well as the strategic interests of the city in its relations to the Polish crown, the Hanseatic league and the emerging new trading powers, among others.Through a close study of one particular controversy, light is cast on a variety of issues with relevance to the broader field of Reformation studies, especially concerning the centrality of the Eucharist.

How does John Calvin view the church? And how does the pivotal event of Pentecost influence his view on the church? In his commentary on the Acts of the Apostles Calvin shows how Pentecost and the preaching of the Gospel gives rise to the church.For Calvin the new and peculiar aspect of Pentecost is articulated by the phrases I will pour out and on all flesh (Acts 2:17).The first phrase ("I will pour out") leads to a discussion of the Holy Spirit who leads the church and the believers by the Word and his secret guidance. All gifts flow from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the study focuses on Calvins view on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and on their use in church. The author argues that the gifts of the Spirit are the basis of Calvins interpretation of Christian church.The second phrase ("on all flesh") leads to a discussion of the inclusion of the Gentiles in the church. The author treats different ecclesiologic topics of importance: He analyses the most important aspects of church that Calvin identifies in the book of Acts. His reflections are aiming at a convincing theological appreciation of the sacraments, in particular of the sacrament of baptism.By addressing Calvins thoughts as elements of his historical context and including contemporary impulses to these issues, the author is able to present conclusive arguments for his main claim: Calvins commentary on Acts enriches and qualifies Calvins own systematic ecclesiology as found in his main doctrinal work, the Institutes.

Stefan Lindholm examines the Christology of Jerome Zanchi (151690), a leading 16th century reformed scholastic theologian. The study as a whole is bound together by doctrinal topics, themes and trajectories important to the 16th century, Christological debates as well as by philosophical issues and arguments. The first part is concerned with research in reformed scholasticism and Christological method, the second part with the hypostatic union and the third part with the consequences of the union.

Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus are amongst the most influential ancient writers. In his long scholarly career, Per Bilde (19392014) published various essays, studies and articles examining early Judaism and the historical Jesus from the angle of the work of Philo and Josephus. Many of the articles contain in-depth treatment of primary sources, and thus are of great value for scholars to come. The studies in this volume have yet been compiled by Per Bilde himself. They are now edited posthumously with contributions from Steve Mason (Groningen) and Mogens Muller (Copenhagen) responding to Bildes work.

It has often been noted that the Protestant Reformation of the early sixteenth century witnessed a revived interest in the scriptural notions of prophets and prophecy. Drawing from both late medieval apocalyptic expectations of the immanent end of the world and from a humanist revival of biblical studies, the prophet appeared to many as a suitable role model for the Protestant preacher. A prominent proponent of this prophetic model was the Swiss theologian and church leader Heinrich Bullinger (15041575). This study by Daniel Timmerman presents the first in-depth investigation of Bullingers concept of prophecy and his understanding of the prophetic office. It also engages with the history of the Zurich institute for the study of the Scriptures, which has become widely known as the Prophezei.

The contributors of this volume demonstrate how a highly developed expertise in interpreting Biblical and cognate literature is a substantial part of the overall discourse on the historical, literary, social, political, and religious dimensions of trauma in past and present. This idea is based on the assumption that trauma is not only a modern concept which derives from 20th century psychiatry: It is an ancient phenomenon already which predates modern discourses. Trauma studies will thus profit from how Theology - specifically Biblical exegesis - and the Humanities deal with trauma in terms of religion, history, sociology, and politics.

This work offers a comprehensive examination of how Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) -- a great philologist, pedagogue, and theologian of the Reformation -- used Greek patristic sources throughout his extensive career. The Cappadocian Fathers (here identified as Gregory Thaumaturgus, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzen, and Gregory of Nyssa) were received through the medieval period to be exemplary theologians. In the hands of Melanchthon, they become tools to articulate the Evangelical-Lutheran theological position on justification by grace through faith alone, the necessity of formal education for theologians in literature and the natural sciences, the freedom of the will under divine grace, exemplars for bishops and even princes, and (not least) as models of Attic Greek grammar and biblical exegesis for university students. The book is organized around Melanchthons use of Cappadocian works against his opponents: Roman Catholic, the Radical Reformers, the Reformed, and in Intra-Lutheran controversies. The author places Melanchthon within the context of the patristic reception of his time. Moreover, an appendix offers a sketch of the "Cappadocian canon" of the sixteenth century, with notation of the particular sources for Melanchthons knowledge and the references to these works in modern scholarly sources. While often accused by his critics (past and present) of being arbitrary in his selection of patristic authorities, too free with his quotations, and too anxious for theological harmony, this work shows Melanchthon "at work" to reveal the consistent manner and Evangelical-Lutheran method by which he used patristic material to proclaim "Christ and his benefits" throughout his multifaceted career.

The last third of the 19th century witnessed a considerable increase in the active participation of women in the various Christian missions. Katharina Stornig focusses onthe Catholic case, and particularly explores the activities and experiences of German missionary nuns, the so-called Servants of the Holy Spirit,in colonial Togo and New Guinea in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. Introducing the nuns ambiguous roles as travelers, evangelists, believers, domestic workers, farmers, teachers, and nurses, Stornig highlights the ways in which these women shaped and were shaped by the missionary encounter and how they affected colonial societies more generally. Privileging the sources produced by nuns (i.e. letters, chronicles and reports) and emphasizing their activities, Sisters Crossing Boundaries profoundly challenges the frequent depiction of women and particularly nuns as the largely passive observers of the missionizing and colonizing activities of men. Stornig does not stop at adding women to the existing historical narrative of mission in Togo and New Guinea, but presents the hopes and strategies that German nuns related to the imagination and practice of empire. She also discusses the effects of boundary-crossing, both real and imagined, in the context of religion, gender and race.

This volume consists of fifteen of the authors essays, including two that have never been published before. The essays date to the last decade and a half, and all reflect in some manner the authors ongoing interest in literary operations of classification and their social implications, particularly the production of distinctions which create social inequality in the world of the text, and have the potential to generate hierarchical social relationships in contexts where biblical texts might have had an impact on real people. In these essays, the author explores themes such as gender, sexuality, purity and pollution, sanctification, death and afterlife, foreignness, and disability with particular attention to the roles distinctions such as honored/shamed, feminine/masculine, mourning/rejoicing, unclean/clean, alien/native play in creating and perpetuating social differences in texts. Rites of status change such as circumcision, shaving, purification, burial or disinterment, sanctification and profanation of holiness are a focus of interest in a number of these essays, reflecting the authors on going interest in the textual representation of ritual. Most of the essays examine texts in their historical setting, but several also engage the early history of the interpretation of biblical texts, including the phenomenon of inner biblical exegesis. The essays are divided into five sections: Rites and Social Status; Gender and Sexuality; Disability; Holiness, Purity, the Alien; Death, Burial, Afterlife and their Metaphorical Uses. The author introduces each of the sections, contextualizing each essay in his larger scholarly project, reflecting on its development and reception and, in some cases, responding to his critics.

The Christian experience in modern Europe is fragmented. It shows great diversity in various geographical contexts and, historically, a considerable alternation of extremes, high or low tides of engagement. One aspect of the Christianity in Europes past is its mission history. The spread of Christianity from the West as one of its most important results into the continents of the Global South has been deeply ambivalent in character. On the one hand, the mission from the West helped to build the historical foundations for Christian education, "adolescence" and maturation to responsible "adulthood" in a global, diverse, segregated and pluralistic world. As a mature global player, Christianity was in a prime position to contribute to peaceful conflict resolution, in the religious, social and political fields. On the other hand, the darkness and utter insufficiency of the encounter between the European, Christian "self" and the many "others" worldwide brought along problematic projections of different beliefs attacked in a hostile way as "alien" and, inevitably, as "conquered". The consequences, particularly for the "primal other" the indigenous people were often disastrous. Werner Ustorf has been a leading missiologist worldwide for thirty years. This book not only analyses the interaction between mission and individual, the construction of the "self" and the "other" in a mission context, but also proves the analytical strength of theology in conceptualizing future Christian experiences in Europe. Ustorf illustrates that apart from traditional dimension of faith, a non-religious interpretation and critical trust in transcendence, is crucial for the formation of the new interculturation of Christianity in Europe. Thus, this book demonstrates how mission history can be transformed to a research concept for a global and pluralistic Christianity.