Studia historiae ecclesiasticae
Journal Data
| Type | JOURNAL |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Unisa Press (ZA) |
| ISSN | 1017-0499 / 2412-4265 |
| Wikidata | Q96732931 |
| OpenAlex | S4306531039 |
| MAG | 4306531039 |
| Website | https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/SHE/issue/archive |
| Total publications | 12 |
| Coverage period | 2015 - 2024 |
| Language | EN |
| Access | Open Access |
| Indexing | DOAJ indexed |
| Cited by | 3 |
| Impact factor | 0.167 |
| h-index | 1 |
Studia historiae ecclesiasticae is dedicated to ecclesiastical history, which falls under both religious studies and social/cultural history. Both fields are explicitly listed as related areas, making this a cognate venue with regular anthropological intersection
African cultural and philosophical studies · African history and culture analysis · African history and culture studies · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · African studies and sociopolitical issues · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Christian Theology and Mission · Contemporary Christian Leadership and Education
Burial sites as Contested Memorial Terrain
Abrahamic religions emphasise remembering their origins, how they began, where they come from, and possibly where they will keep the flock moving forward without losing focus. “Then Joseph made the sons of Israel (Jacob) swear [an oath], saying, “God will surely visit you and take care of you [returning you to Canaan], and [when that happens] you shall carry my bones up from here.” (Gen 50:35 Amplified Version). Against this backdrop, this articl…
The Naming of Independent Churches in the 21st Century
South Africa is a democratic country, wherein every individual has the right to belong to any religious community. Churches in the Bible were not given specific names, but the church’s location was used to refer to that church. Mainline churches named their churches using doctrinal convictions, and some used the names of their founders. However, leaders of charismatic churches in South Africa are more creative in naming churches, using names that…
The Leven House Factor in the Birth of Digo Mission and Christian Empire in East Africa
Leven House, as it exists in the 21st century in Mombasa city of Kenya, remains one of the most historic buildings in eastern Africa. In our focus on both the birth of the Christian Empire in East Africa (that stretches from the Kenyan Coast to the Democratic Republic of Congo), and the Digo Mission that began in 1904, Leven House becomes a critical issue. As the Anglican Diocese of Mombasa commemorated 114 years of the Digo Mission (1904–2018) i…
The Role of the Church in Socio-Economic Transformation
This paper consists of five parts. Firstly, a brief historical background of reformation will be discussed as an exercise to remember reformation. Secondly, we review the role of the ecumenical church (SACC) prior to democracy in South Africa. The purpose for focusing on the role of the church from this period is that it gives us a model to follow in our involvement in socio-economic transformation. Thirdly, the social and economic challenges fac…
Sacred Heritage and the Politics of Similarity
The sacred is not static, for even in a religious context notions of what is sacred evolve and change. Sacred objects can be desacralised and even resacralised with new meanings, while new forms of the sacred can be derived from secular forms. This paper examines an ambivalent dimension in the formation of the sacred, in which similarities in attributes and symbolic representations can become the source of conflict when they appear to have been a…
Basarwa in Botswana
This article is concerned with the way in which perceptions and name giving contribute to the socio-economic circumstances of a named group. The understanding of the Basarwa as a people in Botswana as well as how they have been perceived in history by “new invaders†—including Christians—is used as an example. This article explores the influence of the attitudes or perceptions of “invaders†on the original inhabitants of the sub-continent. It is di…
Mau-Mau war rituals and women rebels in Kirinyaga county of Kenya (1952-1960)
The Mau-Mau war of independence in Kenya was fought after the returnees of the first and Second World Wars (1919Wars ( -1945)), who were mainly Christians, succeeded in politicising the black majority in the then Kenyan colony to demand justice across the colour divides, as a religio-ritual duty which climaxed in oaths. The first stage of the war was seen in the change of contents in the African ritualistic dances that young men and women had got…
Ubuntu
Modern/charismatic Pentecostalism as a form of ‘religious’ secularisation in Africa
This paper argues that although Pentecostalism seems to be reviving Christianity in Africa, judging by the number of people attracted to this brand of Christianity, there is an extent to which its practices and beliefs are secular. Perhaps it is this ‘secularisation’ that remains a pull factor of this kind of Christianity. To do so, the paper begins with a brief review of the secularisation theory, reaching a conclusion that secularisation involv…
The Church and Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
The snail-pace of social and economic development within sub-Saharan Africa is of major concern not only to the development community, but to all who have the continent’s well-being at heart. Various attempts (many rather elusive) at diagnosis and prescription of the right antidotes to the problem have been made for decades. This paper, however, shares Jeffrey Sachs’s optimism in End of Poverty with the point of departure being that organised rel…
Memory and commemoration as a subject of enquiry for African Christianity scholars
Little attention has been paid to the Christian churches in memory studies in southern Africa. Using new and existing research, the paper proposes a first approach to this new field of enquiry, with special reference to southern African Christianity. The churches embody their memories in liturgies, canonisations, monuments, commemorative events and name-giving practices. They utilise what French historian Pierre Nora calls lieux de mmoire (sites …
Sacralisation and the Colonial-Indigenous Encounter in Southern African Christian History
The role of the Dutch Reformed Churchâ€TMs mission policies in the development of apartheid ideology has in recent times come under increased scrutiny. In terms of the formulation of missionary theory within the DRC, the controversial figure of Johannes du Plessis played a significant role in the early twentieth century. In addition to his work as a mission theorist, Du Plessis was a biblical scholar at Stellenbosch University who was found guilt…
Burial sites as Contested Memorial Terrain
Abrahamic religions emphasise remembering their origins, how they began, where they come from, and possibly where they will keep the flock moving forward without losing focus. “Then Joseph made the sons of Israel (Jacob) swear [an oath], saying, “God will surely visit you and take care of you [returning you to Canaan], and [when that happens] you shall carry my bones up from here.” (Gen 50:35 Amplified Version). Against this backdrop, this articl…
Memory and commemoration as a subject of enquiry for African Christianity scholars
Little attention has been paid to the Christian churches in memory studies in southern Africa. Using new and existing research, the paper proposes a first approach to this new field of enquiry, with special reference to southern African Christianity. The churches embody their memories in liturgies, canonisations, monuments, commemorative events and name-giving practices. They utilise what French historian Pierre Nora calls lieux de mmoire (sites …
Sacralisation and the Colonial-Indigenous Encounter in Southern African Christian History
The role of the Dutch Reformed Churchâ€TMs mission policies in the development of apartheid ideology has in recent times come under increased scrutiny. In terms of the formulation of missionary theory within the DRC, the controversial figure of Johannes du Plessis played a significant role in the early twentieth century. In addition to his work as a mission theorist, Du Plessis was a biblical scholar at Stellenbosch University who was found guilt…
Modern/charismatic Pentecostalism as a form of ‘religious’ secularisation in Africa
This paper argues that although Pentecostalism seems to be reviving Christianity in Africa, judging by the number of people attracted to this brand of Christianity, there is an extent to which its practices and beliefs are secular. Perhaps it is this ‘secularisation’ that remains a pull factor of this kind of Christianity. To do so, the paper begins with a brief review of the secularisation theory, reaching a conclusion that secularisation involv…
The Church and Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
The snail-pace of social and economic development within sub-Saharan Africa is of major concern not only to the development community, but to all who have the continent’s well-being at heart. Various attempts (many rather elusive) at diagnosis and prescription of the right antidotes to the problem have been made for decades. This paper, however, shares Jeffrey Sachs’s optimism in End of Poverty with the point of departure being that organised rel…
Memory and commemoration as a subject of enquiry for African Christianity scholars
Little attention has been paid to the Christian churches in memory studies in southern Africa. Using new and existing research, the paper proposes a first approach to this new field of enquiry, with special reference to southern African Christianity. The churches embody their memories in liturgies, canonisations, monuments, commemorative events and name-giving practices. They utilise what French historian Pierre Nora calls lieux de mmoire (sites …
Sacralisation and the Colonial-Indigenous Encounter in Southern African Christian History
The role of the Dutch Reformed Churchâ€TMs mission policies in the development of apartheid ideology has in recent times come under increased scrutiny. In terms of the formulation of missionary theory within the DRC, the controversial figure of Johannes du Plessis played a significant role in the early twentieth century. In addition to his work as a mission theorist, Du Plessis was a biblical scholar at Stellenbosch University who was found guilt…
Ubuntu
Mau-Mau war rituals and women rebels in Kirinyaga county of Kenya (1952-1960)
The Mau-Mau war of independence in Kenya was fought after the returnees of the first and Second World Wars (1919Wars ( -1945)), who were mainly Christians, succeeded in politicising the black majority in the then Kenyan colony to demand justice across the colour divides, as a religio-ritual duty which climaxed in oaths. The first stage of the war was seen in the change of contents in the African ritualistic dances that young men and women had got…
The Role of the Church in Socio-Economic Transformation
This paper consists of five parts. Firstly, a brief historical background of reformation will be discussed as an exercise to remember reformation. Secondly, we review the role of the ecumenical church (SACC) prior to democracy in South Africa. The purpose for focusing on the role of the church from this period is that it gives us a model to follow in our involvement in socio-economic transformation. Thirdly, the social and economic challenges fac…
Sacred Heritage and the Politics of Similarity
The sacred is not static, for even in a religious context notions of what is sacred evolve and change. Sacred objects can be desacralised and even resacralised with new meanings, while new forms of the sacred can be derived from secular forms. This paper examines an ambivalent dimension in the formation of the sacred, in which similarities in attributes and symbolic representations can become the source of conflict when they appear to have been a…
Basarwa in Botswana
This article is concerned with the way in which perceptions and name giving contribute to the socio-economic circumstances of a named group. The understanding of the Basarwa as a people in Botswana as well as how they have been perceived in history by “new invaders†—including Christians—is used as an example. This article explores the influence of the attitudes or perceptions of “invaders†on the original inhabitants of the sub-continent. It is di…
The Leven House Factor in the Birth of Digo Mission and Christian Empire in East Africa
Leven House, as it exists in the 21st century in Mombasa city of Kenya, remains one of the most historic buildings in eastern Africa. In our focus on both the birth of the Christian Empire in East Africa (that stretches from the Kenyan Coast to the Democratic Republic of Congo), and the Digo Mission that began in 1904, Leven House becomes a critical issue. As the Anglican Diocese of Mombasa commemorated 114 years of the Digo Mission (1904–2018) i…
The Naming of Independent Churches in the 21st Century
South Africa is a democratic country, wherein every individual has the right to belong to any religious community. Churches in the Bible were not given specific names, but the church’s location was used to refer to that church. Mainline churches named their churches using doctrinal convictions, and some used the names of their founders. However, leaders of charismatic churches in South Africa are more creative in naming churches, using names that…
Burial sites as Contested Memorial Terrain
Abrahamic religions emphasise remembering their origins, how they began, where they come from, and possibly where they will keep the flock moving forward without losing focus. “Then Joseph made the sons of Israel (Jacob) swear [an oath], saying, “God will surely visit you and take care of you [returning you to Canaan], and [when that happens] you shall carry my bones up from here.” (Gen 50:35 Amplified Version). Against this backdrop, this articl…