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Christocentrism is typical to J. Matulaitis theological heritage. The Blessed J. Matulaitis treated Christian life in terms of faith and from the point of view of Christ's person. His christocentristic perspective underwent gradual formation. If in Fribourg Matulaitis often repeated Deus in omnia inferre, so in Vilnius period his main slogan was Christum in omnia inferred. It is a clear slip from “abstract” faith to more personal relation between a human person and the Savior. According to him, christocentrism discloses God's kenosis and immanence. Furthermore, God incorporates his divinity in Jesus' person, making human person very noble. In Jesus' person we see the image of serving God, who becomes a model of thought and activity to Matulaitis. Thus the image of God and Man becomes the model of love. Love, as seen by Matulaitis, is a dynamic and developing process, directing a human being to God and perfecting him as a creature. So realization and actualization of love must start from the human person. Matulaitis claims self-education to be the most important cultural, intellectual, scientific and spiritual activity. Only a highly-educated and mature personality can understand social dynamics, different challenges and arrange the solution of the problems. This way Matulaitis stresses the importance of individual education and its development. Individuality, nurtured in the light of faith, becomes the enrichment of all the society and standoff to egoism. In the nurturing of human individuality, the dimension of human integrity is very important. In Matulaitis times, there flourished definite dualism, distinguishing between human body and soul. Matulaitis considers a human being as undivided oneness, with equally valuable bodily and spiritual springs. So the mystery of Incarnation enables him to speak about the value of human body, what was not common to the Church of those days. Describing the positiveness of a body and the material world in general, Matulaitis encourages the believers to take an active part in solving severe social problems of those times. As the most important task, he points to the education, training and exercising of the society. Christ's concern about human social life inspired the Blessed J. Matulaitis with the same spirit. He understood that spiritual, cultural and ideological human education forms value-system, which later gives background to social, cultural, economical and political lives of any country. This attitude enabled him tirelessly to take care about the education and training of the society. Theological christocentrism and the imperative of love acquired in Matulaitis great tolerance and forgiveness to all the people with different ideas, feelings and beliefs. The ideas of a dialogue and ecumenism are very vivid in his theology. The analysis of the model of St. Trinity's life and St. Paul's theology, especially in 1 Cor 9, 20-22, helped him to become a herald of unity, tolerance and ecumenism. During his
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The name of Zenonas Ivinskis associates with a huge amount of his work as a historian - articles, books. However, Zenonas Ivinskis was not only a historian. Archival documents, memoirs reveal the fact, that he took an active part in social and political life of the country. It should be mentioned that historians still pay little attention to this aspect of Zenonas Ivinskis life. Zenonas Ivinskis public activity can be divided into three stages. The first one: his experience during the years of the First Lithuanian Republic (1918-1940). The second one is related to the resistance to the first Soviet (1940-1941) and Nazi (1941-1944) occupations; and the last stage: the public activity of Zenonas Ivinskis in exile (1944-1971). The engagement of a future famous Lithuanian historian into public life is related to his childhood and youth. In his memoirs, Z. Ivinskis confesses that religiousness of his parents and membership of Lithuanian youth Catholic organization "Ateitis" were the crucial factors that had shaped his world-view. The activity of “Ateitis” is based on five principles: Catholic and Lithuanian identity, the values of intelligentsia, family and social activity. As a member of “Ateitis”, Zenonas Ivinskis gained basic skills in public activity. He practiced writing articles which were published in the press of “Ateitis” Federation; took part in various debates, gave lectures, and arranged different meetings and conferences. The years of occupations reinforced the commitment of Zenonas Ivinskis to the Lithuanian state and its society and he became an active member of Lithuanian resistance movement against the Soviet and Nazi regimes. Zenonas Ivinskis contributed to the work of Provisional Government of Lithuania, initiated the publishing of an underground newspaper "Į laisvę" (Toward Freedom); by communicating with Lithuanian officers who collaborated with the Nazi he warned Lithuanian students about the danger of being mobilized to the German army. The resistance movement against the Soviet and Nazi occupations formed the ties of friendship and solidarity between the members of this movement. These ties were crucial in the future public activity of Zenonas Ivinskis. Z. Ivinskis thought about exile (or emigration) as a significant part of Lithuanian nation in the metaphysical terms. He reflected exile as a purgatory, where the sins of Lithuanians could be cleansed. Such a hopeful world-view reinforced active work in the sociopolitical sphere. During the first years of exile Zenonas Ivinskis continued the work he started in the pre-emigration period. It should be mentioned, that at the beginning of the emigrational period Zenonas Ivinskis was more active as a public man or a politician than a historian. He worked in the spheres of charity, education, public and political work. Historical knowledge of Zenonas Ivinskis was used to design the borders of future independent Lithuania. As a member of "Ateitis" Federation in exile Zenonas Ivinsk
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The role of the brothers in the monasteries had been changing over the years. Usually, only brothers belonged to the first monastery communities. Priests served them. As time went on, when the monasteries played a larger part in evangelical and missionary work, the monasteries changed their role. In new monasteries, for example, among the Jesuits and Piarists most members were priests. They took on the primary work of the monastery. There were not many brothers in those monasteries. Besides, they had fewer rights than priests; for example, they could not take on higher obligations. Brothers usually served priests by doing physical work. This happened similarly in the Marian congregation established in the second half of the 17th century - “to help the rectors in the work of the parish.” At first, there were not many brothers in the Marian congregation that pursued evangelical work. Later, they played a larger role in helping the priests and working on the monastery farm. Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis held a different point of view on brothers in the renewal of the Marian order. He had noticed a change in the demography of the followers of the Gospel and also knew that several groups within society held negative views on priests. Therefore, he wanted to include well-prepared brothers in the evangelical work. In order for this to happen, there had to be appropriate evangelical structures in the place. Matulaitis wanted brothers to visit workers in their homes. In his opinion, brothers could not only distribute charity to the workers and their families, but they could also encourage them to read good books, attend Mass, and provide other services. In this way, the Church wanted to suppress anti-church agitation, which was especially active among the workers. Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis wanted the brothers to participate in Catholic communities among the workers. Brothers were to provide a good example in both words and action. This important work of brothers was reflected within the entire structure of the monastery. According to the laws established by Matulaitis in this project, brothers had equal rights with priests. Unfortunately, the superiors of the Church did not approve of this idea. It seemed that the idea of Matulaitis would quickly be realized in Lithuania. Unfortunately, this did not happen. In the renewed monasteries, there were more candidates to priesthood than to brotherhood. But this situation quickly changed. In the late 1920s and early 1930s there were many candidates to brotherhood in the monasteries. At one point, about 50 brothers lived in the Marijampolė monastery. They were doing agricultural jobs in the monastery and in the Marian printing house. They also worked as carpenters, shoemakers, and tailors. They served not only the residents of the monastery, but also the town. Unfortunately, the work of the brothers was relegated to caretaking. In opposition to the ideas offered by Blessed Matulaitis, the brothers were not include
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On the base of Marian Fathers' Congregation and Magisterium of the Church sources we can notice strong connection between Immaculate Mary the Mother of God and the mystery of God's Mercy. In the dimension of granting with Divine Mercy graces and Mary's own experience of mercy, the first place takes her preceding, anticipatory redemption in the very moment of her conception. Grace of the Immaculate Conception became the beginning of next Mary's privileges and mysteries like her virginal maternity, maternity of the Church, Assumption and the glory of the Queen of Heaven and earth. As a predicator of God's Mercy, Mary adores this mystery and promulgates its message in the joyful hymn Magnifcat. Mother of Divine Mercy Incarnated adores God who had granted mercy to her and to the whole world. In the sign of Vilnius icon, Mother of Mercy of Dawn Gate (Ostrobramska, Aušros Vartų) is “the radiant sign” of mercy for us (cf. John Paul II, VS 120). As a merciful Mother of Church or other words God's Mother of Mercy, Immaculate Virgo potens, Salus et Protectio - with the great power practices mercy towards the people. For that they call her Refuge of sinners, Advocate, Consolation and Health of sick. As a Mother of Merciful Jesus and Mother of Church she participates in our salvation cooperating with Christ in works of His mercy and also, trough the matter of her revelations, she teaches us how to pray for God's mercy and to take deeds of mercy in atonement of our sins and the whole world. The precedence and priority of Mary's apostolate consists in it, that she is an immaculate beginning of the Christianity and the Church. That is - in my opinion - the meaning of the Holy Mary's sentence: "I am an immaculate conception" that she told to Saint Bernardette in Lourds. The conception - it is the beginning of human being. The Holy Mary's beginning was contemporaneously her baptism, the granting her with plenty of sanctifying grace, the renovation and sanctification. For that Mary is the first Christian and the very beginning and an immaculate beginning of the Christianity. This first gift of Divine Mercy, which was an Immaculate Conception, brings the fruits that are two great missions of Holy Mary: God's maternity and maternity of the whole Church, towards the all of baptized. Therefore Mother of Mercy - the first witness of Divine Mercy Incarnate and His first apostle is also in the human and earthly dimension - the immaculate beginning of the Church, of the Church for whom - in the absolute dimension - Jesus Christ is a Founder, Head, God and Lord. Mary is a Most Holy Mother of the new People of God, who are a new created by the Divine Mercy (cf. 2 Cor 5: 17; Ga 6: 15), washed with Christ's Blood, regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3: 5; Jn 3: 5), and who aspire yet - following in Mary's footsteps - to become the saint and an immaculate, "holy and without blemish before Him” (Eph 1: 4).
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There are two different types of preventions of risky sexual behavior of adolescents, which are formulated from the perspective of aims and achievable results: pedagogical prevention and sex or sexual education. Pedagogical prevention of risky sexual behavior is the harmonization of processes of chastity and moral sexual education (chastity education seeks to help an adolescent to control sexual desire; moral sexual education develops sexual identity and harmonious relationships (based on respect and parity) between persons of different genders). This pedagogical prevention is aimed at internal factors causing early sexual relations and therefore it helps to prevent causes of early sexual relations, concurrently creates prerequisites for physical and psychological health care as well as reduction of problems of social welfare and ensures development of a mature personality. Sex or sexual education is the secondary prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS/HIV and teenage pregnancies, based on sex education and is aimed at preventing or minimizing of the consequences of early sexual relations. Sex education is based on reproductive health which contradicts to the holistic concept of health, idealization of contraceptives, a theory of social gender identity which denies the importance of the nature, separation of the two dimensions of sexuality: expression of love and procreation. Pedagogical prevention is an interdisciplinary subject inseparable from education of morality, religion, science, citizenship, healthy lifestyle, etc. Therefore pedagogical prevention is efficient only if all the subjects are in accordance with the principles of chastity and sexual education. But nowadays pedagogical prevention is insufficient and sex education is more clearly developed. The scientific problem of the article is: to establish the purity or pedagogical prevention of risky sexual behavior of adolescents from the aspect of principles of chastity and moral sexual education and highlighting the elements of sex education in educational process. Documental analysis attempts to answer the question raised as a scientific problem. The documents chosen for the evaluation relate to the process of pedagogical prevention of risky sexual behavior of adolescents. The analysis revealed that in the main documents regulating the work of educational system and in the "Programme of Family Preparation and Sexual Education" (2007) there is no contradiction between the principles stated in them and principles of chastity and sexual education; but there is a contradiction between these principles in the examined school textbooks
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It is necessary to begin from the point that human existence always supposes relationship with the world where language appears the only way to be therein. However, primarily human being is not well provided. Moreover, he does not possess his world so immediately and clearly, as the animals possess their own location in the wild. Hence, language is the first human s step to this location, to his own world which discloses itself only in the utterance. Language allows us to nuance all our impressions and designate each of them by a particular name. It originates an ordered and a structural whole of human habitation by naming the world's creatures, things, phenomena, as well as plenty of features and aspects. Entities of the world are essentially constituted by language in human reality. Besides, every word and every utterance always reveals a particular view as well as interpretation of a certain entity. Only that world which has a name discloses itself as an ordered whole which, on the other hand, always covers something that is not said. It is the main principle of Aoyoc in a pure sense. It shows us the expansion of human world until the boundaries that are defined by language. In the article, the language as world-view is investigated according to the language researches of A. Maceina, M. Heidegger, W. von Humboldt and other authors' reflections concerning language. The investigation of language that is presented in the article allows us to arrive at these conclusions: The analysis of similarities between interjection and word as well as their differences has shown that interjection as well as word belongs to the plane of subjectivity. In contrast, the word always strives to transcend the plane of subjectivity by making a motion towards externality. Thus, the word belongs to the domain of subjectivity and simultaneously reaches the world where it realizes itself in a concrete sense. Interjections are the merest emotional reactions which carry instinctive cries: they have instinctive origin. Hereby, the word is ambivalent. It includes both: the interjection and the sense. In consideration on language and its links with the thinking, it is necessary to infer that the word stands at the beginning of thinking. Every process of thinking begins with naming of an object. Hence, human thinking is not wordless or empty, on the contrary, it is always lingual. Every language represents the world-view of the nation which uses it. On the one hand, the naming of a particular thing always represents a nation's view on this thing. However, this naming cannot include all possible features of this thing. It reveals only one visual angle, and it accentuates only one experienced nuance of the thing that arises from this perspective. Accordingly, this thing is named by a particular word. Similarly, all other possibilities of viewing are not eliminated; they are simply concealed. The variety of visual angles of the same things and the distinctions between them c
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The article discusses activities and material well-being of Kaunas deanery churches at the second half of the 17th century. The main sources of the study are church visitations from 1668-1669 (made on the initiative of Vilnius bishop Aleksandras Sapiega) and 1674-1676 (made on the initiative of Vilnius archdeacon Gratianopol bishop Mikalojus Slupskis) as well as inventories of certain churches from the second half of the 17th century. Severe consequences of the 1654-1667 wars with Russia and Sweden for the churches of Kaunas deanery are analyzed, material well-being of the churches and their altars discussed, priests of the churches, as well as spiritual, educational and charitable activities are described. According to the data of Vilnius Diocesan synod (1669), Kaunas deanery had the biggest number of parishes in Vilnius diocese. There were 17 parochial churches and 2 filial churches (filia) in Kaunas deanery: Kaunas, Kaunakiemis, Jieznas, Stakliškės, Aukštadvaris, Semeliškės, Žiežmariai, Žasliai, Paparčiai, Karmėlava, Lapės, Gegužinė, Skaruliai, Vandžiogala, Rumšiškės, Užuguostis (filial church of Stakliškės), Darsūniškis, Prienai, Birštonas (filial church of Prienai). Until 1654, there were only 5 parochial churches built of bricks in the deanery: Kaunas, Aukštadvaris, Skaruliai, Lapės and Paparčiai. All the other churches were wooden. All churches of Kaunas deanery were considerably devastated and their material well-being was almost totally destroyed during the wars of 1654-1667. 9 wooden churches were totally burnt down. After the war, priests were engaged in major repairs. Temporary churches similar to barns were built in the place of the destroyed ones (szoppa alias casa). During the 1660s and 1680s new wooden churches were built in Prienai, Stakliškės, Semeliškės, Žiežmariai, Žasliai and Rumšiškės, whereas in Jieznas and Kaunakiemis they were built of bricks. Parishes of Kaunas, Prienai and Stakliškės became the richest in Kaunas deanery. Temporary churches had only one altar. Bigger churches usually had three altars. The most popular in the deanery were the altars and paintings devoted to the Virgin Mary. This proves the historical fact that at the second half of the 17th century the cult of the Virgin Mary was widely spread in Vilnius diocese. The symbols of Trinity also were used. Among the saints, the most popular were St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Ann, St. Michael Archangel and others. Almost half of all the churches were under the patronage of the Ruler. In the lands of the Ruler, with his privity, noblemen often established foundations. The most famous supporters of the churches in Kaunas deanery were noblemen from the families of Lackiai (foundation of Aukštadvaris, Lapės and Užuguostis churches), Pacai (foundation of Jieznas church), Skorulskiai (foundation of Skaruliai church), Rostovskiai (foundation of Vandžiogala church) and Beinartai (foundation of Paparčiai church). The churches of Aukštadvaris (foundation by Jonas Alfonsas
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The article focuses on the characteristic features of cooperation between Lithuanian SR KGB and the Polish People's Republic Interior Ministry Security service applied for the Church persecution in the 60s. Lithuanian Catholic Church, especially the archdiocese of Vilnius, as well as some priests and lay people from other dioceses were in rather close contacts with Polish Catholics. Therefore, the cooperation between the security service institutions of both countries was strengthened in order to watch over the Catholic environment and prevent contacts between Lithuanian and Polish Catholics. Lithuanian Catholic Church was ideologically opposed to the government and an independent institution, therefore, exceptional KGB invigilation was applied. Lithuania was the only USSR Republic where Catholicism prevailed. The main aim of security service institutions was the invigilation of clergy, forcing priests to cooperate with security service. As Lithuania borders with Poland, the country where the position of Catholic Church was very strong, KGB paid a lot of attention to Polish Church and the contacts between Lithuanian and Polish priests. The contacts between the Catholics of both countries were under extreme surveillance and control because of the existing strong relations between Lithuanian and Polish Catholic Churches. Recent years have witnessed a lot of research dealing with soviet policy in connection to Lithuanian Catholic Church. Still, there is no research in either Poland or Lithuania on the role of PPR Security service and Lithuanian KGB cooperation in persecution of Lithuanian Catholics. The aim of this article is to disclose certain aspects of cooperation between KGB and PPR Security service aimed against the Lithuanian Catholics of the 60s. The cooperation between the USSR and the so-called socialist countries became livelier in the period under the research (the second half of the 50s - the beginning of the 60s) and intensified the contacts between KGB and security services of these countries. The USSR KGB and PPR IM Security service cooperation, starting with the 60s, acquired a form of regular consultations between the executives of these services and collaboration of departments, administering invigilation of emigration and the Catholic Church. These two spheres often intermingled as Poles and Lithuanians in the West established contacts with the Catholic Church in Lithuania or Poland. In addition, Polish and Lithuanian Catholic organizations were active in emigration. After the 2nd World War evacuation from Lithuania to PPR, a lot of clergy, members of religious communities and lay people left Lithuania. After Stalin's death, the liberalization of regime encouraged these people to renew the contacts with the relatives in Lithuania, as well as with the members of religious communities. They also started collecting information about the situation of religion in Lithuania, tried to supply with prayer books and religious literatur
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Father K. Višinskis was considered the central figure in the fulfillment of the desires of the benefactor Countess P. Butlerienė. Even before the council passed the decision for benefaction in 1749, he was already recognized as a friend of Bishop Teodoras Cartoriskis. The bishop's brother, Archduke Mykolas Cartoriskis, who maintained a continual relationship with the Butleris family, admired the characteristics of both Višinskis and his monastery. Francis was very devout from his early years. Because his father had raised him poorly, he lacked selfconfdence and seemed to be lost in life. He knew that his family had persecuted Father Papčinskis and that his brother Juozas and others contributed to the dissemination of the Marians. At a decisive moment in his life, Francis converted and joined the Marian order with the desire to repair what Juozas had ruined. A letter to his brother Valerijonas shows that the reasons for the conversion and joining the Marian order were similar to the visions of the Apostle St. Paul: the Mother of God appeared to Francis and asked - Francis, why do you persecute me? From that moment forward, Father Kazimieras always sensed the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary in his life and often prayed to her. He established the practice at the Balsamao Convent to leave an empty seat for the Virgin Mary in the choir. He presented himself completely as a servant to the Virgin Mary. He tattooed the signs of the Cross and the Immaculate Conception on his shoulders. He was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to Father Stanislovas in all of his hardships and deeds. The above mentioned incident influenced not only his personal devotion, but also his missionary work. These changes are documented in the introduction to the work Aušros žvaigždė (Morning Star). This work outlines the practice of devotion to Mary, which is achieved through the most important element - the adherence to the virtues of Mary. When the virtues are practiced in the community of the monastery, Mary graces them with her mystic presence. Father Kazimieras admonished those who resisted the devotion to Mary and insisted only on devotion to Christ. He based his sentiments on the teachings of the Church Magisterium and speculative, biblical, and patristic arguments. In his devotion to Mary, Father Kazimieras wanted to spread the cult of the Immaculate Conception throughout the world. With this in mind, he travelled to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ukraine and Portugal. He thought about Brazil. He was even prepared to travel to India so that through work and contemplation he could sacrifice his life to Mary. In search of theological connection between Eve and Mary, I emphasize the meaning of Mary's obedience in the life of the Church. Mary is unique in her example of obedience in the service of God. In Canaan Galilee, Mary said: “Do whatever he tells you to do” (John 2: 5). Striving to follow Mary's example of obedience, we must heed the Gospel of the Lord and
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H.-G. Gadamer explores influence of natural sciences on methodology of humanities and their social status. According to him, classical natural sciences impose on all other kinds of cognition modern conception of the nature of cognition that is claimed to be the only “scientific” method together with all methodological requirements that are inherent to all natural sciences and authority of cognitive standard. However the modern natural science with all its methodology is theoretical model of only one kind of cognition. All the time simultaneously the other kinds of cognition have always existed: humanities, arts and religion, - the ones that for many people are much more significant than natural science in their real, human everyday life. Gadamer does not agree with the superiority that is given to natural sciences. First of all, according to his opinion, humanities in their nature differ in essence from the natural sciences; accordingly they cannot follow their method. Therefore Gadamer analyses humanities and peculiar humanitarian understanding that is specifically inherent to them, and pursues the liberation of humanities from oppression of cognition of modern science. Having revealed hermeneutical understanding that is characteristic to humanities, having defended the rights of humanities to the equivalent co-existence beside natural science, Gadamer transfers his discussion to the universal topic of cognition itself. The main object of the investigation in the article is the essential components of hermeneutical understanding - unique normativity of hermeneutical understanding, that newly thematizes cognitivity that is essential to any human cognition together with their mutual relationship. Adequacy of evaluation of the role that aspect of normativity plays not only in Gadamer's hermeneutical understanding but also in the conception of all human thinking in general both with its consequences to any epistemological theory have been chosen to be the main problem of investigation. The main aim of the article is to reveal the influence of normativity to hermeneutical understanding and describe the most important aspects of the transformation that traditional conception of human cognition in general undergoes. Analysis is directed at discernment of those separate elements of hermeneutical understanding, description and discussion of their mutual relationship. The first part of the article is dedicated to the consideration of normativity of hermeneutical cognition. Phenomenon of human understanding is not indiscrete, one can distinguish several aspects of understanding - cognitivity, normativity and reproductivity - that are substantive, different with their functions and equivalent in their significance. Classical, modern epistemology that is based on experience of natural sciences confines to the cognitivity of human cognition. It renders to normativity the role of extraneous function of production that does not have any influence on the proc
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The personality of a child and of a young person, their values, world-view and behavior first of all and mostly is usually formed in a family. Their religious identity as an integral aspect of personal identity is created in a family as well. Family has always played an important role in its formation, especially in a traditional society: it was conveyed from generation to generation, thus its change was complicated. In modern society, on the contrary, it is rather frequently chosen consciously, it becomes multi-dimensional, even loses its transcendental dimension and is transferred into ethical, cultural, social sphere. It is influenced not only by micro-social background, but also by mezzo- and macro-social factors. In this process, a family becomes only one of many social factors, forming a person's religious experience and practice as well as religious identity. All this determines a variety of theoretical and empirical analysis of this phenomenon, introduces new layers of research. The problem of the present research is linked to the scientific interest in the factors of religious experience and practice as well as religious identity, the most common models of approach to religion and of religious practice, peculiarities and types of religious socialization in a family. It has been sought to discuss theoretical and empirical assumptions in the research of the phenomena mentioned above, to empirically distinguish between the prevailing factors and models of religious experience and practice both in Soviet times and at present. To achieve this, we based our assumptions on the theories of the construction of social reality, religious identity and institutionalization of religion. It has been assumed that the expression and elements of personal religious experience and practice are determined by the prevalent attitude to religion in the family and by the formation model of the earliest religious experience and practice. In order to analyze this, the analytic method of scientific sources, in-depth interview (N=28) and content analysis were applied. The interviewees were objectively sampled: we sought to compare religious experience, practice and their factors among the indifferent, "active" and "passive" Catholics (it was measured by involvement into religious-ecclesiastical activity) and among the clergy and religious. Education, age and place of residence were taken as optional sampling criteria. It was assumed that their earliest religious experience, practice and socialization occurred in Soviet times, thus, 25 were chosen as the lowest age limit as it was essential to experience at least minimally the suppression of religious freedom that existed in Soviet times. Within the frames of research the most characteristic factors of religious experience and practice have been traced: micro-social environment (family, friends, and parish community); information (religious and theological books, homilies, catechesis, courses media); changes in publ
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The German occupational authorities clamped a strict information blockade on the Warsaw ghetto. Despite that, the ghetto population had access to information about the fate of the Jews in other parts of Poland thanks to private letters, deportees and escapees from other towns and especially to girls liaising with underground organisations who illegally travelled across Poland. Janusz Korczak maintained contacts with underground fighters and must have been aware of the murder of inhabitants of various localities in Poland. It can be inferred from his latest notes, however, that until the end he did not accept the possibility that the people taken out of Warsaw during the huge campaign of the summer of 1942 were in for instant extermination.
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Among the thousands of victims of Lvov’s holocaust was the famous Polish lawyer, professor of Lvov University Maurycy Allerhand. He was assimilated into the Polish society, however, he was an active member of the Jewish community. Since Hitler’s invasion of Lvov, the Professor began to write down his observations, which were saved by Professor Stefan Stasiak. In his diary, Allerhand described pogroms staged by Germans and Ukrainians, wrote about moving to the ghetto. He also wrote about the organization and activity of the Judenrat and about legal problems. The notes end in February 1942. We know that the Professor was alive in August 1942 with his family in the ghetto. In August his son, daughter in law and grandson Leszek escaped from the ghetto. Professor Allerhand with his wife and grandson Józef stayed inside the walls. Their further fate is not documented in written sources. Professor Allerhand’s disciple, Karol Koranyi, wrote after the war, making a reference to an unidentified eyewitness, who survived the Janowska Concentration Camp in Lvov, that Professor Allerhand was moved in August 1942 to the camp and was killed there by Ukrainian policemen.
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