“The Growing Tribes Will Follow Him / Into the Light – Where There Is God”: the “Slavic” Pontificate of St. John Paul II Cover Image

„Za nim rosnące pójdą plemiona / W światło – gdzie Bóg”. „Słowiański” pontyfikat św. Jana Pawła II
“The Growing Tribes Will Follow Him / Into the Light – Where There Is God”: the “Slavic” Pontificate of St. John Paul II

Author(s): Agnieszka Czajkowska
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Polish Literature
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: Slav; Slavdom; papacy; Saints Cyril and Methodius; Romanticism

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with the presence of issues of Slavdom in the thoughts and works of John Paul II as an expression of their roots in Polish Romantic literature. Its centre is the cult of St. Cyril and St. Methodius, who, in the Pope’s view, became an expression of the universalism, Greek heritage and Christianity of the Slavic peoples. A reminder of the importance of the Solon brothers had already been mentioned in the Paris lectures of Adam Mickiewicz and in a forgotten poem by Teofil Lenartowicz. This was associated with the need for Slavs to gain self-knowledge, as demanded by Norwid, Słowacki, Mickiewicz and others. The mission of the Slavic Pope fulfils the above postulates of the Romantic poets. John Paul II recalls the identity of the Slavs and their role in the papacy and a united Europe. It restores their dignity and is an indication of their future.

  • Issue Year: 68/2020
  • Issue No: 1S
  • Page Range: 371-385
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish