Gathering together thoughts and visions of experienced practitioners, academics, educators and strategic leaders from around the world, this edited volume sheds light on the nature of chaplaincy and its role and significance within ever-changing contemporary healthcare systems.A wide range of issues central to spiritual care delivery are covered, including reflections on what it feels like to be cared for by a chaplain through illness; the nature of chaplaincy as a profession; and ...

The conversion of Lutz Löb and Jenny van Gelder from Judaism to Roman Catholicism dramatically changed the lives of the extended Löb family. This scientific-historical study traces the personal and spiritual journey of Lutz and Jenny from their baptisms in 1907 through the lives of their children. The story benefits from historical documents and pieces of oral history from the only one of their eight children who survived the Nazi era, Paula van Broekhoven-Löb. The abbess of Koningsoord Ab...

The Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, commonly known as The Ninety-Five Theses, were written by Martin Luther in 1517 and are widely regarded as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Luther used these theses to display his displeasure with some of the Church's clergy's abuses, most notably the sale of indulgences; this ultimately gave birth to Lutheranism. Luther's popularity encouraged others to share their doubts about the Church and to protest a...

Luther's Small Catechism was written by Martin Luther and published in 1529 for the training of children. Luther's Small Catechism reviews The Ten Commandments, The Apostles' Creed, The Lord's Prayer, Holy Baptism, The Office of the Keys & Confession, and The Sacrament of the Altar. It is included in the Lutheran Book of Concord as an authoritative statement of what Lutherans believe.The Small Catechism is widely used today in Lutheran churches as part of youth education and Confirmation. ...

The riveting story of the Germania and its incarnations and exploitations through the ages.The pope wanted it, Montesquieu used it, and the Nazis pilfered an Italian noble's villa to get it: the Germania, by the Roman historian Tacitus, took on a life of its own as both an object and an ideology. When Tacitus wrote a not-very-flattering little book about the ancient Germans in 98 CE, at the height of the Roman Empire, he could not have foreseen that the Nazis would extol it as "a b...

A new comprehensive biography of this hugely important Christian martyr, 60 years after his execution at the hands of the NazisBonhoeffer has gained a position as one of the most prominent Christian martyrs of the last century. His influence is so widespread that even 60 years after his execution by the Nazis, Bonhoeffer's life and work are still the subject of fresh and lively discussion. As a pastor and theologian, Bonhoeffer decided to resist the Nazis in Germany, but his resista...

The heart-pounding history of how Pope Pius XII—often labeled “Hitler’s Pope”—was in fact an anti-Nazi spymaster, plotting against the Third Reich during World War II.**“A groundbreaking new history of the Vatican-German Resistance. . . . Writing with the craft of a novelist and the conscience of a meticulous scholar, Riebling has produced a masterly account.” —**National ReviewThe Vatican’s silence in the face of Nazi atrocities r...

'Gripping ... An exquisite conversation between two people who know each other, like each other, and have mutual respect for one another' - Catholic TimesSince resigning from the papacy in 2013, the first Pope in over 700 years to do so, Pope Benedict has lived quietly in a convent in the Vatican gardens in Rome. He has devoted himself to a life of prayer and study and has vowed to remain silent, until now.So much controversy still surrounds Pope B...

The true story behind the film The Nasty Girl: A memoir by a German woman who uncovered her hometown's war crimes and complicity with the Nazis.Nestled along the Danube in southern Germany, Passau is a pleasant tourist destination known for its historic buildings and scenic views at the intersection of three rivers. But for decades, the small Bavarian city suppressed an intimate association with Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.Born in Passau in 19...

"With great erudition and profound engagement [this history] has made it possible for us to come closer to understanding Prague." ―Larry Wolff, The New York Times Book ReviewPrague is at the core of everything both wonderful and terrible in Western history, but few people truly understand this city's unique culture. In Prague in Black and Gold, Peter Demetz strips away sentimentalities and distortions and shows how Czechs, German...

One of the most dramatic explorations of a German town in the grip of anti-Semitic passion ever written.In 1900, in a small Prussian town, a young boy was found murdered, his body dismembered, the blood drained from his limbs. The Christians of the town quickly rose up in violent riots to accuse the Jews of ritual murder—the infamous blood-libel charge that has haunted Jews for centuries. In an absorbing narrative, Helmut Walser Smith reconstructs the murder and th...

This account of the ill-fated 1534 uprising of the Anabaptists in Muenster, Germany is "as hard to put down as a gripping piece of fiction" (Alasdair Heron, Professor of Reformed Theology at the University of Elrangen, Germany).He was only a Dutch tailor's apprentice, but from 1534 to 1535, Jan van Leyden led a radical sect of persecuted Anabaptists to repeated triumphs over the combined powers of church and state. Revered by his followers as the new David, the cha...