Theodosius of Vyatka – the Confessor of Ivan the Terrible: Portrait against the Backdrop of the Era

On the base of the different historical sources (chronicles, acts and household books of the Russian monasteries) the author examines the biography of the confessor of Ivan IV Theodosius of Vyatka. In the works of predecessors (A.A. Zimin, R.G. Skrynnikov, B.N. Florya) only some facts of his biography were mentioned. The study shows that Theodosius had no connections with influential groups in the Russian Church of the period. The historical sources have nothing to say on his close contacts with the Joseph Volokolamsk Monastery, the Kirillo-Belozerskii Monastery, Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (until he became the abbot of the last one). Before his acquaintance with the tsar, Theodosius worked his way from monk to elder monk to abbot. In the second half of 1566 – first half of 1567 he became the head of a significant Moscow monastery — the Andronikov Monastery of the Saviour. No later than in autumn 1567, Theodosius became acquainted with the tsar. During the tsar’s conflict with metropolitan Phillip (Kolychev), Theodosius was included in the commission that investigated Phillip’s activities at the Solovetsky Monastery (along with prince V.I. Temkin-Rostovsky and bishop of Suzdal Paphnutius). The materials gathered by the commission were used at the Church Council in the autumn of 1568. As a result, Phillip was condemned and displaced. Soon afterwards, Theodosius became archimandrite of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (about 1569/70-1572). Quite close relationship was established between him and the tsar. Because of that Theodosius – a representative of the black clergy – became the confessor of Ivan IV in about 1572. (At the time it was the lot of the white clergy representatives, usually protopopes of the Kremlin Annunciation Cathedral.) Wishing to see Theodosius as his confessor, the tsar had broken from this tradition and reestablished the practice of an earlier time (the confessors of Vasily II and Ivan III were the abbots of the monasteries of Moscow and the Moscow region). Being the closest person to the tsar, Theodosius knew the desires of his penitent and followed the eye of the tsar. When at the turn of the 1570s the tsar showed an interest in Vologda, fitting out a reserve residence there, Theodosius made donations for requiems for the soul of Josef, the bishop of Vologda, and to the Spaso-Kamenny and the Spaso-Prilutsky Monasteries. Till tsar’s death, Theodosius remained very close to Ivan IV. The tsar didn’t want to be parted from him. Thereby Theodosius headed no diocese in that period, as it meant leaving the capital. After the death of Ivan IV, he was consecrated as bishop of Ryazan, probably, in October of 1585.

Theory and Praxis: An Evaluation of the 1958 “One and Undivided” Mission Policy of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa 60 Years Later

The year 2018 marked the 60th anniversary since the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) resolved to be a “One and Undivided” church in 1958. It was at the peak of apartheid when the MCSA was brave enough to embark on a journey of oneness. This was a mission policy seeking to unite Methodist people of all races in the midst of segregation in South Africa. This paper, therefore, seeks to evaluate the implementation of this mission policy over the past 60 years. The paper will interrogate the inclusion of black clergy into critical positions in the church, the Black Methodist Consultation, and the formation of geographic circuits and cross-cultural stationing as means of achieving the mission statement. The important question in this study is: Looking back, 60 years later, is the MCSA now “One and Undivided?”

The Difference Denominations Made: Identifying the Black Church(es) and Black Religious Choices of the Early Republic

ABSTRACTScholars of African-American religious history have recently debated the significance of the black church in American history. Those that have, pro and con, have often considered the black church as a singular entity, despite the fact that African Americans affiliated with a number of different religious traditions under the umbrella of the black church. This article posits that it is useful to consider denominational and theological developments within different African-American churches. Doing so acknowledges plural creations and developments of black churches, rather than a singular black church, which better accounts for the historical experience of black religion. In this piece, I analyze four different denominational and theological traditions that blacks followed in the early Republic: the Anglican–Episcopalian, the Calvinist (Congregational–Presbyterian), the Methodist, and the Baptist. Each offered a unique ecclesiastical structure and set of theological assumptions within which black clergy and laity operated. Each required different levels of interaction with white coreligionists, and, although some tended to offer more direct opportunities for reform and resistance, all groups suffered differing constraints that limited such action. I argue that the two bodies connected to formalist traditions, the Episcopalian and Calvinist, were initially better developed despite their smaller size, and thus disproportionately shaped black community and reform efforts in the antebellum United States.

MONASTERIES IN THE XII – THE FIRST HALF OF THE XIII CENTURY ON THE RIGHT BANK OF THE MIDDLE DNISTER

The article considers the problem of the formation and evolution of Christian monasteries in the cities of the right bank of the Middle Dnister. Whereas the black clergy was very significant in their layer. The Monasteries on the specified territory, as well as on the territory of South-West Rus, appeared in the middle of the XII century. It is shown their importance as a part of the city in spreading the Christian ideology. Also were considered the cave monasteries of the Dnister canyon. The cave monasteries began to operate in the Dnister canyon already from XIth, as it was indicated by the group of researchers. As the first “Cloister” for the monks served the rock shelters, mainsails, caves, widely represented in the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. For the installation of the monasteries usually are used the group of the caves and separately placed underground cavities could be settled by the the desert monks who were associated with Byzantine monastic traditions. The structure of the monastery could include the settlements. Probably the monasteries of XII – early XIII century owned so many lands with attached peasants, which was required only to meet their needs and not for benefication. The Orthodox Monasteries of the XII – early XIII century were placed in the territory of ancient rusian cities or in nearby suburbs. Therefore, these sacral objects should be taken as a essential sign that a one or another inhabited locality in XII – early XIII century was a real city. In ancient rusian cities the black clergy in addition to its core missionary activities led an active social life. Key words: monastery, black clergy, monastery, yeremit monasteries, kenovian monasteries, cave monasteries, Zenkivtsi on Prut river, Vasyliv, Kuchelmin.

Bureau Clergyman: How the FBI Colluded with an African American Televangelist to Destroy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This article explains how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) partnered with African American minister Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux to discredit and neutralize Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. The Elder, the nation's first minister (black or white) to have his own weekly television show, colluded with the Bureau to shape public opinion against King and cast doubt upon King's religious commitments and activities. Michaux was, what I call, a Bureau Clergyman: a minister who was an FBI “Special Service Contact” or on the Bureau's “Special Correspondents Lists.” Far from secret informants, black and white male clergy in these official Bureau programs enjoyed very public and cooperative relationships with the FBI and were occasionally “called into service” to work in concert with the FBI. The FBI called upon Michaux and he willingly used his status, popular media ministry, and cold war spirituality to publically scandalize King as a communist and defend the Bureau against King's criticisms. In the end, the Elder demonized King, contested calls for black equality under the law, and lionized the FBI as the keeper of Christian America. The story moves the field beyond the very well known narratives of the FBI's hostility towards religion and reveals how the Bureau publicly embraced religion and commissioned their clergymen to help maintain prevailing social arrangements. Michaux's relationship with the FBI also offers a window into the overlooked religious dimensions of the FBI's opposition to King, even as it highlights how black clergy articulated and followed competing ideologies of black liberation during the civil rights movement.