The Visitation is the visit of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, . It is also the term for a Christian feast day commemorating this visit, celebrated on 31 May in the West (2 July in calendars of the 1263–1969 period and in the modern regional calendar of Germany) and 30 March in the East.

Event

Mary visits her relative Elizabeth; they are both pregnant. Mary is pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist.

Mary left Nazareth immediately after the Annunciation and went to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, to attend her cousin Elizabeth. Catholics believe that the purpose of this visit was to bring divine grace to both Elizabeth and her unborn child. Even though he was still in his mother's womb, John became aware of the presence of his Divine Saviour; he leapt for joy as he was cleansed from original sin and filled with divine grace. Elizabeth also responded and recognised the presence of Jesus. Thus Mary, now for the first time, exercised her function as mediatrix between God and man. (See external links.) Elizabeth remarks to Mary: "And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb. And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed [is] she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord ()." It is also at this point, in response to Elizabeth's remark, that Mary proclaims the Magnificat (My soul doth magnify the Lord), , for which reason this canticle had traditionally been reserved for this feast day.

In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the Visitation is the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.

Feasting

Western Christianity

This feast is of medieval origin. It was kept by the Franciscan Order before 1263 when Saint Bonaventure recommended it and the Franciscan chapter adopted it. The Franciscan Breviary spread it to many churches. In 1389 Pope Urban VI, hoping thereby to obtain an end to the Great Western Schism, inserted it in the Roman Calendar, for celebration on 2 July. In the Tridentine Calendar, it was a Double. When that Missal of Pope Pius V was replaced by that of Pope Clement VIII in 1604, the Visitation became a Double of the Second Class. It remained so until Pope John XXIII reclassified it as a Second-Class Feast in 1962. It continued to be assigned to 2 July, the day after the end of the octave following the feast of the birth of John the Baptist, who was still in his mother's womb at the time of the Visitation. In 1969, however, Pope Paul VI moved it to 31 May, "between the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (25 March) and that of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (24 June), so that it would harmonize better with the Gospel story."

Roman Catholics who use a pre-1969 calendar and Anglicans who use the 1662 Book of Common Prayer celebrate the feast on 2 July. So does the entire Catholic (and Lutheran) Church of Germany, using the post-1969 calendar of Pope Paul VI (but with the variations permitted in the German Regional Calendar).

Eastern Christianity

The celebration of a feast day commemorating this event in the Eastern Orthodox Church is of relatively recent origin, dating only to the 19th century. The impetus to establish a feast day in the Liturgical calendar of the Orthodox Church, and the composition of a service to be included in the Menaion, were the work of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin (†1894), head of the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. The Gorneye Convent in Jerusalem, which was built on the traditional site of the Meeting of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) and St. Elizabeth, celebrates this Feast on 30 March. (Julian Calendar 30 March corresponds, until 2099, to Gregorian Calendar 12 April.) If 30 March falls between Lazarus Saturday and Pascha (Easter), the Visitation Feast is transferred to Bright Friday. Celebration of the Feast of the Visitation has not yet been accepted by all Orthodox jurisdictions.

See also

Magnificat

Mariology

Rosary

References

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Meeting of the Mother of God and Saint Elizabeth – Orthodox icon and synaxarion

colspan=3|Mary visits ElizabethLife of Jesus: Conception of Jesus
	New TestamentEvents

Category:Catholic liturgy Category:Christian festivals and holy days Category:Eastern Christian liturgy Category:Joyful Mysteries Category:Gospel of Luke

ca:Visitació da:Mariæ besøgelsesdag de:Mariä Heimsuchung es:Visitación eo:Vizito de Maria fr:Visitation de la Vierge Marie ga:Cuartaíocht hr:Pohođenje Blažene Djevice Marije is:Þingmaríumessa it:Visitazione della Beata Vergine Maria he:הביקור li:Maria Visitatie hu:Sarlós Boldogasszony nl:Maria-Visitatie ja:エリザベト訪問 no:Maria Besøkelsesdag nn:Maria besøksdag pl:Nawiedzenie Najświętszej Maryi Panny pt:Visitação ru:Встреча Марии и Елизаветы sv:Jungfru Marie besökelsedag th:การเสด็จเยี่ยม wa:Notru-Dame del plovinete

name	David Oyedepo
birthname	[David Olaniyi Oyedepo]
birth date	September 27, 1954
birth place	Omu Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria
occupation	Pastor, Author, Educationist, Minister
nationality
spouse	Faith Abiola Oyedepo
children	David Oyedepo Jnr, Issac Oyedepo, Love Oyedepo, Joyce Oyedepo
residency	Ota, Nigeria
religion	Pentecostal Christianity
website	DOMI
footnotes	}}

David O. Oyedepo, affectionately called Papa by his followers (born September 27, 1954) is a Nigerian Christian author, Preacher and the founder and Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church World Wide also known as Winners Chapel and its affiliated International churches known as Winners Chapel International, with headquarters in Ogun State, Nigeria. He is also the senior pastor of the acclaimed Faith Tabernacle,a 50,000 seat church auditorium reputed to be the largest church auditorium in the world by the Guinness Book of Records. The Winners Chapel network of churches is present in over 300 cities in all states of Nigeria, as well as in over 63 cities in 32 African Nations, Dubai, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Oyedepo has been seen as one of pioneers of the Christian charismatic movement in Africa and has been referred to as one of the most powerful preachers in Nigeria. He was named in 2011 by Forbes magazine as being the richest pastor in Nigeria, worth around $150 million, and it has been hinted that he exploits his followers.

Early life and history

On September 27, 1954 David Olaniyi Oyedepo was born in Osogbo but is a native Omu Aran, Kwara into a religiously mixed family: his father,Ibrahim,was a Muslim healer and his mother,Dorcas,was a member of the Eternal Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (C&S;), a branch of the Aladura movement in Nigeria. he was raised by his grandmother in Osogbo, who inculcated into him the virtues of Christian life via the early morning prayers which she do attend with him. She taught him the importance of tithing. David was “born again” in 1969 through the influence of his teacher, one Ms. Betty Lasher, who took special interest in him during his high school days. He studied architecture at Kwara State Polytechnic and worked briefly with the Federal Ministry of Housing in Ilorin before resigning to concentrate on missionary work. Oyedepo also gained a Ph.D in Human Development from Honolulu University, Hawaii, United States of America.

According to him, he received a mandate from God through an 18 hour long vision in May 1981 to 'liberate the world from all oppression of the devil through the preaching of the word of faith'. This is the inaugural vision that led to the founding of the LFCWW, first called Liberation Faith Hour Ministries, in 1981. Two years after, on 17 September 1983, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, ordained David and his wife, Florence Abiola Akano (now known as Faith Abiola Oyedepo) to become pastors also officially commissioned the newly started church of Oyedepo. Five years after, Oyedepo was ordained a Bishop.

Oyedepo's church started in Kaduna, but moved to Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria in September 1989 to start a new branch of His Church, after receiving an instruction from God to reach out to the population in Lagos. This Church has gone on to become the International head quarters of His Church.Due to the increasing flow of people into His Church with crowds spilling over to adjacent roads, and on decks of uncompleted buildings nearby and people standing for hours to listen to His teachings, it became necessary to search for a larger place.This led to the building of the renowned Faith Tabernacle.

Oyedepo is the wealthiest preacher in Nigeria with a net worth of USD $150 million. Oyedepo owns four private jets and has homes in London and the United States. Oyedepo is an acclaimed author and publisher who has written over 60 titles apart from periodicals. He is also Chairman/Publisher of Dominion Publishing House (DPH), a publishing arm of his ministry. DPH has over 4 million prints in circulation to date. Through him, Covenant University, Landmark University, Faith Academy and Kingdom Heritage Schools have been established to equip the youth for impact.

Place of worship

In 1998,Oyedepo set forth to build a new building to accommodate the increasing number of worshippers. This resulted in his Church's acquisition of the initial facility, known as Canaanland, which serves as the headquarters of His Church.It is the home of the 50,000-seat capacity auditorium, the 'Faith Tabernacle', which is reputed to be the largest Church auditorium in the world. This was a feat also recorded by the Guinness Book of Records.

The speed of the construction of Faith Tabernacle was breath-taking, considering the size of the building. Construction of this gigantic project was completed within 12 months, which experts claim could only have been a miracle, because such a project should normally take a minimum of three years to complete. Reports also claimed that this building was built debt free. This 50,000-seat edifice was dedicated on September 18, 1999 under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Canaanland is in Ota, a suburb of Lagos and is the estate and campus, that houses The 50,000 church building, the church secretariat, the church's youth chapel, a primary school called Kingdom heritage model school, a full boarding mission secondary school called Faith Academy, with over 1,500 students and the its University facilities which accommodates over 7,000 students, fully resident in ultra-modern hostel facilities, with fully equipped faculty buildings and numerous staff housing facilities.Canaanland campus also has for profit establishments operated by the church such as a bakery, a bottled water processing plant, a petrol station, various restaurants and shopping stores, several residential houses that provide for the over 2,000 church employees, and guest houses.Four banks are also present on this Estate, three of which are branches of external commercial banks and one which is a community and micro-finance Bank and operated by the Church.

Christian ministry

The teachings of Oyedepo has put him in the category of what is commonly called the Word of Faith Movement. He has referred to principal exponents of the Faith Movement such as Kenneth Copeland, Gloria Copeland,the late Kenneth Hagin, T.L Osborn, Smith WigglesWorth as well as renowned Nigerian preachers Enoch Adeboye and the late Benson Idahosa as mentors.

The teachings of Oyedepo are grouped under a range of topics called '12 pillars of faith', which include: Faith, The Word, Prosperity, the Holy Spirit, Praise, Consecration, the Supernatural, Wisdom, Prayer, Success, Vision and Healing. The Overall focus of His teachings centre around Faith in God's, Prosperity and Miracles.He teaches that faith in the word of God is the key to a life of God's blessings and security of the works of the devil.His teachings on prosperity are aimed at empowering people to live free from poverty, particularly the African continent. He describes his own teaching on prosperity as “covenant software for programming yourself into victories and triumphs." His Church (Winners Chapel) also operates a Bible training programme known as Word of Faith Bible Institute for members and non-members alike to develop knowledge of Christian principles and to develop leaders and future pastors.This institute is run in major branches of the Church.

Oyedepo who operates like the “Chief Executive Officer” of a conglomerate,is the President of David Oyedepo Ministries International (DOMI). DOMI is the umbrella organisation comprising Living Faith Church World Wide (a global network of churches), World Mission Agency (WMA); the global missionary arm of the church's operations, Dominion Publishing House; the publishing arm of the church, Covenant University, and the Social Development Missions projects (made up of hospitals, maternity homes, schools, etc.

Oyedepo is also a strong critic of corruption in Africa as a whole and poor leadership in government.

Criticisms and controversy

Oyedepo has received much criticism from many in the Christian community as focusing on prosperity. This is largely based on the biblical passage "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:23-24, Mark 10:24-25, Luke 18:24-25). Indeed based upon this passage, despite Oyedepo's donations to the poor, it would seem that he eminates a positively anti-Christian message, due to his vast personal wealth. Oyedepo is rated as one the world richest pastors based on all his debt free self owned assets as well as those of the church he leads. By 1998, he was already one of the 10 richest pastors in the world according to him. According to Oyedepo himself, the richest pastor in the world presently is Kenneth Copeland who has given out 27 jets to different pastors as at 10th April 2011. Bishop Oyedepo is arguably among the top three richest pastors in the world especially considering his mentor 'Enoch Adeboye'.

Educational endeavours

Oyedepo's socio-economic endeavours include founding educational institutions based on Christian principles for primary, secondary and tertiary stages of formal Education to empower the young generation,develop the human capacity and improve the educational system in Nigeria and Africa. This has led to the establishment of kingdom heritage model schools in different cities in Nigeria for primary education, Faith Academy; a missionary full boarding secondary school was opened to students on October 25, 1999 and Covenant University.Covenant University was opened to students on October 21, 2002 and was adjudged to be the best private university in Nigeria as of 2005. On March 21st 2011, Landmark University, Omuaran Kwara State (another educational institution founded by the Ministry) officially opened the doors to her pioneer students.

Book publishing

Oyedepo's church also operates its own publishing house,called Dominion Publishing House(DPH), commissioned on December 5, 1992 which has published over 60 Christian, inspirational and motivational books, mini books, magazines and other resources. Some of His Best Selling books include:

Pillars of Destiny

Exploits in Ministry

Walking in Dominion

Possessing your possession

Exploits of Faith

Anointing for exploits

Walking in the Newness of life

Maximise destiny

Commanding the supernatural

Winning invisible battles

Success Strategies

Success systems

Towards Excellency in life and Ministry

Excellency of Wisdom

Breaking Financial Hardship

The Release of Power

Excellency of Wisdom

''Born to Win

''The Miracle Meal

''The Healing Balm

''The Blood Triumph

''Keys to Divine Health

''Fulfilling Your Days

''Breaking the Curses of Life

''All You Need to Have All Your Needs Met

''Emergence Of The Glorious Church

Family life

In 1982 he married Florence Abiola Akano (now known as Faith). They have four children together (David Jr, Isaac, Love and Joys). David Jr and Isaac Oyedepo were ordained as Pastors in May 2007 by Kenneth Copeland. David Jr pastors the London Branch of His Church with His wife, Kemi while Isaac Oyedepo is the present Resident Pastor of Winners' Chapel International in New York, USA.

References

External links

Official Website

Winners Chapel London

Winners Chapel New York

Covenant University

Dominion Publishing House

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Nigerian clergy

cs:David Oyedepo

Johann Ludwig Bach (born 4 February 1677; buried 1 May 1731) was a composer and violinist.

He was born in Thal. At the age of 22 he moved to Meiningen eventually being appointed cantor there, and later Kapellmeister. He wrote a large amount of music and regularly oversaw performances, both at Meiningen and neighbouring courts.

He was a second cousin of Johann Sebastian Bach, who made copies of several of his cantatas and performed them at Leipzig. The cantata Denn du wirst meine Seele nicht in der Hölle lassen, BWV 15, once thought to be by Johann Sebastian, and listed as BWV 15 in Wolfgang Schmieder's catalogue of his works, is now thought to be by Johann Ludwig.

External links

Diskographie der Bach Werke - Johann Sebastian Bach - Bach-Familie: Johann Ludwig Bach

Category:1677 births Category:1731 deaths Category:Baroque composers Category:German composers Johann Ludwig

an:Johann Ludwig Bach de:Johann Ludwig Bach es:Johann Ludwig Bach eo:Johann Ludwig Bach fr:Johann Ludwig Bach it:Johann Ludwig Bach hu:Johann Ludwig Bach mr:योहान लुडविग बाख nl:Johann Ludwig Bach ja:ヨハン・ルートヴィヒ・バッハ no:Johann Ludwig Bach ru:Бах, Иоганн Людвиг

Name	Todd Bentley
Birth date	January 10, 1976
Birth place	Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Evangelist
religion	Charismatic Christianity
Spouse	Shonnah Bentley (? – 2009)Jessa Hasbrook Bentley (2009 – present)
Footnotes	}}

Todd Bentley (born 10 January 1976) is a Canadian Christian evangelist. He was the key figure of the Lakeland Revival. After a brief period of retirement connected with the breakdown of his marriage and subsequent re-marriage, he has returned to ministry.

Biography

Early life

Bentley was raised mainly in Gibsons, British Columbia, a small community on the western coast of Canada. Bentley's parents divorced while he was a child and he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. At the age of 15, he was convicted of sexual assault, and at age 17, Bentley was hospitalized after an overdose of amphetamines and hallucinogenic pills.At age 18 Bentley changed his lifestyle completely, due to his conversion to Christ, and it was soon after this that he began his Christian ministry.

Even though the criminal records of juvenile offenders in Canada are normally protected from public disclosure, in 2001, the now-defunct Report Newsmagazine, disclosed Bentley's teenage criminal activities, calling his behavior "heinous." Bentley later said that the Report Newsmagazine article was, in substance, true: "'They were sexual crimes,' Bentley admits. 'I was involved in a sexual assault ring. I turned around and did what happened to me. I was assaulted too.'" This led to heated debate in the Christian media, asking whether Report NewsMagazine had acted correctly in publicizing Bentley's crimes, and whether this affected Bentley's position as an evangelist.

Fresh Fire Ministries

In 1998, the Fresh Fire Ministry group asked Bentley to give his testimony at one of their weekly meetings. Soon after, Bentley took over the leadership of the group, which became more of a revival movement. The religious services became focused on renewing the faith of believers and converting nonbelievers and began to highlight Bentley's vibrant preaching style, music, and dramatic descriptions of salvation and judgment. Bentley's talent for this kind of preaching made him popular as a guest evangelist and speaker. He traveled to India, Africa, and South America taking part in religious crusades and revivals.

Leadership of Lakeland Revival

Beginning on April 2, 2008, Bentley was invited by Stephen Strader, pastor of Ignited Church, Lakeland, Florida, to lead a one-week revival. The revival quickly became a religious and media phenomenon, attracting up to 10,000 attendees nightly with Bentley as the primary preacher. In addition to showcasing Bentley's evangelism, the revival featured colorful light shows and power-chord Christian rock music. The Ignited Church also took a multimedia approach to publicizing the event, posting webcasts online. The revival streamed live via Ustream – which received over 1 million hits in the first five weeks of transmissions. After the initial weeks, GOD TV, a religious satellite channel, decided to pre-empt its primetime programming and broadcast the Lakeland meetings nightly.

The revival brought in thousands, and with that many other revivalists. At one point, Bentley began to pray for and commission many of them to duplicate his model for modern day revival. Ryan Wyatt was one. Another was Evangelist Hamilton Filmalter, who was commissioned by Bentley to begin the Portland Outpouring. Filmalter teamed up with Reverend Aaron Winter the founder of Hearts of Fire International Ministries and they began to witness many of the same things that were taking place in Lakeland. However, by the time these other revivals turned up in other cities, Bentley had stepped down from Fresh Fire Ministries.

Bentley was criticized in mainstream media and on internet blogs for occasional violence done to participants, in the tradition of Smith Wigglesworth. Todd Bentley was known to forcefully kick, hit, smack or knock over participants. In one incident, a man was knocked over and lost a tooth. In another, an elderly woman was intentionally kicked in the face. Bentley held that the Holy Spirit led him to such actions, saying that those incidents were taken out of context and adding that miracles were happening simultaneously.

On 9 July 2008 ABC News' Nightline broadcast an investigative report on Bentley focusing on his faith healing claims, finances, and criminal past. Following the report, Bentley took time off from the revival but returned on 18 July 2008. Five days later, Bentley and Strader announced that Bentley would be leaving the revival permanently and that his last day would be 23 August 2008.

An important aspect of many of the meetings that Bentley has led, involves prayer for miraculous healing. The New Testament records many incidents of Jesus healing the sick; belief in its contemporary practice is important for Pentecostal and charismatic Christians. Healing testimonies were common at the Lakeland meetings. The hope of supernatural healing explains some of its popularity, as there were many first-person accounts of miracles. The lack of medical corroboration of the healings was questioned by mainstream media; the Nightline report concluded that "not a single miracle could be verified."

Divorce issue

Bentley announced his separation from his wife, Shonnah, in August 2008, and resigned from the Board of Fresh Fire. A statement released by the remaining Board members said "Todd Bentley has entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff", and that he would 'refrain from all public ministry for a season to receive counsel in his personal life'.

Some of Bentley's Christian contemporaries called for Bentley to step down in the wake of the scandal, stating that Christian leadership is incompatible with marital unfaithfulness. In response, a committee made up of Rick Joyner, Jack Deere, and Bill Johnson was formed to oversee the process of spiritually restoring Bentley's family. In November 2008, the Board of Fresh Fire announced that Bentley was not submitting to the process. On March 9, 2009, Rick Joyner announced that Bentley had remarried.

A 2009 Charisma magazine interview with Rick Joyner refuted adultery claims while characterizing the relationship as wrong and premature. Joyner told Charisma that the new couple was committed to their marriage and would “continue to serve the Lord in the best way that they can.”

Theology

Bentley highlights scriptural passages in his sermons. He emphasizes that spiritual or supernatural encounters in an individual's life are gifts from the Holy Spirit. He has stated that his priority is to help people experience the presence of God. He wants the "Holy Spirit to manifest His glory in such a way that people can't deny the presence of a living God and they have a true born-again experience". He also says: "Miracles and healings are evidence [...] they are signs of the Kingdom, and if we don't have signs then all we have is a bunch of theology."

Bentley's testimony includes an account of visiting Heaven and meeting with Paul the Apostle. He has also preached about an encounter with an angel he called 'Emma' at an Assemblies of God church in 2001. The female angel gave him a vision of gold coins, and Bentley states this was a sign of his future financial stability. In response to criticism about the Biblical inspiration of a female angel, Bentley wrote that it was God's choice, and not his own, that an angel appeared to him in that manner.

Pastor Strader of Ignited Church who invited Bentley to Lakeland said: "We watch over everything. Everything that happens on the platform is scriptural [...] The nightly message has been totally 100 percent nothing but Jesus. People are saved, people are healed, and Jesus is being glorified. [...] Even some of my so-called friends are questioning my integrity, but they never come to the services. It's not fair just to watch [them] on TV."

Joel's Army

Bentley has sponsored an internship program called 'Joel's Army' in addition to having the words "Joel's Army" tattooed across his sternum with military dog tags demonstrating a level of commitment to the Latter Rain doctrine of the Manifest Sons of God, (or Man-Child Generation) as preached by William M. Branham and George Warnock. The program's doctrine was associated to an interpretation of Revelation 12 that in the last age before Jesus returns, there will be a generation of especially endowed Christians who will be able to do many miracles, and will usher in the reign of God. This is in the tradition of William M. Branham and the healing revivals of the 50s, overlapping with Latter Rain Movement theology. Bentley's association with Paul Cain, an associate of Branham and himself a healing evangelist of the 50s, is a further connection to the movement. Joel's Army has been connected to Dominion Theology and Fivefold ministry thinking, and has been described as a "rapidly growing apocalyptic movement" prophesied to become an "Armageddon-ready military force of young people with a divine mandate to physically impose Christian "dominion" on non-believers.

Appearance

Bentley's physical appearance has been noted for being very unconventional for that of an evangelist. He has dozens of tattoos, multiple facial piercings, and a preference for t-shirts over ties. Bentley's preaching style is also flamboyant, known for mannerisms like shouting 'Bam!' during his delivery.

Bibliography

The Journey into the Miraculous (Shippensburg: Destiny Image, 2008)

The Reality of the Supernatural World: Exploring Heavenly Realms and Prophetic Experiences (Shippensburg: Destiny Image, 2008)

Kingdom Rising: Making the Kingdom Real in Your Life (Shippensburg: Destiny Image, 2008)

See also

Apostolic-Prophetic Movement

Bill Johnson

Paul Cain

Rick Joyner

James Goll

John Paul Jackson

References

External links

Fresh Fire Ministries

Todd Bentley resigns from Fresh Fire Ministries

Todd Bentley's restoration

Todd Bentley & the End-Times Apostasy a critical look at Todd Bentley's ministry and teachings

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian people convicted of child sexual abuse Category:Canadian television evangelists Category:Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity Category:Christian mystics Category:Christian revivalists Category:Converts to Christianity Category:Members of the clergy convicted of rape Category:People from Gibsons, British Columbia

et:Todd Bentley simple:Todd Bentley