By Miller, Benjamin, 2020 -- "Is the language of Scripture abstract, compared to the presence of Christ in the eucharist? Does divine presence and self-disclosure become more abstract just because it occurs in the realm of language rather than in…
A Capstone project submitted to the Faculty of the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Religion and Culture.
By Diana Moreland, 2020 -- What is a healthy congregation in the Episcopal Church? In April 2001, a research report on New Church Development commissioned by the Episcopal Church classified health or success as a “new church reaching a large enough…
By Harre, Jeffri, 2019 -- Story is one of the primary ways in which Christianity has been transmitted through generations. Formation leaders, spiritual directors, and clergy frequently stress the importance of storytelling in sharing our faith. Yet…
This thesis presents the process of inculturation as an effective means to render the Christian faith more meaningful and practical to people in their local cultures. The historical survey of the evangelization process among the Makua people and many…
Mhema, Oraph Joseph (2021) -- "This thesis presents the process of inculturation as an effective means to render the Christian faith more meaningful and practical to people in their local cultures. The historical survey of the evangelization process…
By Hubbard, Joe. (2021) -- "This conversation around the nature of “mission,” the church’s role in it –as well as the role of the “missionary” and the role of the “missionized” –emerges from the complicated context of my own journey. It…
By Lin, Wen-En, 2019 -- There is consensus among New Testament scholars that the kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus’ message in the Synoptic Gospels. This thesis seeks to demonstrate that self-sacrificial love and social service to those in…
By Vijayathasan, Daniel Jeyaruban (2021) -- In the 19thCentury, as a result of the American Presbyterian and Congregationalist Missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission, the river of God’s love flowed into Jaffna, Ceylon…
By Jean Cotting (2020) -- "Within the context of Native American boarding schools, the main objective of the founding Christian churches and later the government was assimilation of students. That is to say, unlike the conventional definition of…
The name of Andrew the Apostle appears thirteen times in the Gospels and Acts, and he is the generative character in four crucial episodes of Jesus’s ministry. But his role as an apostle is muted in the New Testament, in the Church, and in…
By Evancho, Nicholas, 2018 -- "Because the foundation of medieval philosophical and conceptual thought was the context of Christian doctrine and practice, when inquiry began into the workings of the natural world it was done from the same…
Is it possible to have only one conception of sin? Of salvation? Derek Nelson in Sin: A Guide for the Perplexed observes that with a variety of approaches, we are able to “see, in relief and detail, features of sin that might be otherwise obscured.”…
On November 20, 1774, a young, itinerant Methodist minister, William Duke, rode into Alexandria, Virginia, and preached to a small group of local people. He recorded in his diary that he had “formed them into a new society.” No pomp and circumstance,…
By Amanda Bourne, 2020 -- The use of modesty topoi by early modern women writers has frequently been studied, but very rarely have these literary devices been explicated in light of the theological traditions which dictated their use. This study…
The Prologue of the Gospel of John previews the theological framework which guides readers through the book. This thesis identifies in the Prologue three paradoxes pertaining to Jesus’ identity, mission, and purpose and traces them through the…
By Guimond Pierre-Louis, 2020. In Haiti, the relationship between Gospel and culture tends to disrupt relationships and even communities, portraying a church that is more French than Haitian. It is often argued on the account of the Bible that once…
By Walker, Demarius J. (2021) -- "My project starts with Jesus’ questions to his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” The question is as pertinent today as it was over 2000 years ago. The question invites us into the prophetic…
This Capstone Project is designed to celebrate the triumph of The Episcopal
Church as it moved through the crisis of HIV/AIDS in North America in the last third of the twentieth century. My objective is to tell a story about how the Episcopal Church…
Bondo Diocese is one of the Anglican dioceses that has made history in the life of the Anglican Province of Kenya through its progressive support of the quest for the ministry of women’s liberation. This diocese was the first to ordain and consecrate…
A site-specific immersive exhibition allowing guests to explore their (a)theism in community while engaging all five senses at different exhibits, in an amazing historical building on the campus of Virginia Theological Seminary. Guests can expect to…
By Shanthakumar, Sureshkumar (2020) - Abstract During Sri Lanka’s long civil war, religion was an important part of the collective identity and social narrative of many participants. Though the war was not strictly a religious conflict, understanding…
The Diocese of Alaska is the largest diocese in The Episcopal Church (TEC) by geographical size. The 6,072 members of its 48 constituent congregations are spread out over an area larger than the total combined size of California, Texas, Montana, and…
By Pace, Allison, 2019 -- "Every person with a disability deserves every accommodation possible because we are all created in the image of God. I am inspired to write on this topic because of my experience working with children with disabilities and…
Thesis (MA)--Virginia Theological Seminary, 2021.\"Prepared in fulfillment of the Master of Divinity program at Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia."
Advisor: Stephen L. Cook. Readers: Katherine Sonderegger, Victor H. Matthews.