Short oral presentation of the dissertation project “Dying Churches. An Ecclesiological Challenge”
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Description
At the 48th International Old Catholic Theologians Conference (IAThK) in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse (August 26-30), I presented my dissertation project “Dying Churches. An ecclesiological challenge” in the panel "New Research Projects".
In recent years, more and more voices have been heard in Europe and North America speaking of “dying churches” and the “death of the church” in the face of declining membership and church closures. In this dissertation, this metaphor will be examined and reflected systematically based on semantic and contextual analyses: How can the metaphor be taken further in Christological and pneumatological terms? What ecclesiological and ecumenical-theological implications arise from this? What dies when the church dies - and what is the relationship between the visible and the invisible church, the local and the universal church? How is the “dying” of churches conceivable in various ecclesiological models (e.g. local church ecclesiology, sacramental ecclesiology) or church self-understandings (“emergency church”)? What are the implications of the “mortality” of churches for ecumenism?
The work consists of four main parts:
- Semantic analysis of the terms “dying”, “death” and “church”
- Contextual analysis of testimonies from “dying” churches or churches threatened by “dying”
- Systematic reconstruction and further development of the results (from the perspective of Christology, pneumatology and ecclesiology)
- Reflection on the ecumenical-theological implications
In recent years, more and more voices have been heard in Europe and North America speaking of “dying churches” and the “death of the church” in the face of declining membership and church closures. In this dissertation, this metaphor will be examined and reflected systematically based on semantic and contextual analyses: How can the metaphor be taken further in Christological and pneumatological terms? What ecclesiological and ecumenical-theological implications arise from this? What dies when the church dies - and what is the relationship between the visible and the invisible church, the local and the universal church? How is the “dying” of churches conceivable in various ecclesiological models (e.g. local church ecclesiology, sacramental ecclesiology) or church self-understandings (“emergency church”)? What are the implications of the “mortality” of churches for ecumenism?
The work consists of four main parts:
- Semantic analysis of the terms “dying”, “death” and “church”
- Contextual analysis of testimonies from “dying” churches or churches threatened by “dying”
- Systematic reconstruction and further development of the results (from the perspective of Christology, pneumatology and ecclesiology)
- Reflection on the ecumenical-theological implications
Date of Publication
2024-08-27
Publication Type
Conference Item
Keyword(s)
Ecclesiology
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Old Catholic Theology
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Systematic Theology
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PhD project
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Dying Churches
Language(s)
de
Access(Rights)
metadata.only