Герой. Мит. Вотив

Author(s): Marina Koleva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

The article refers to the depictions of Greek myths on the sculptural monuments found in Lower Moesia and Thrace. The reliefs with the representation of the first of the Herakles Labours, the fight with the Nemean lion, are used as examples. The iconography of these sculptural pieces is studied in the context of similar images in Greek and Roman art. These votive reliefs are dedicated to Herakles by men of Thracian origin, which gives us the additional information on the recognition of the Greek myths and the classical iconography by the Thracian population in the Roman period.

Паметта за мъртвите: структуриране на сакралните пространства в ранновизантийските некрополи и градове (според паметниците от територията на съвременна България)

Author(s): Iva Doseva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

This article aims to pose some questions on the formation of the Christian value system: when did the attitude towards the dead changed, when did the attitude towards life and the saintly dead undergo a major alteration? This attitude is not only the very formation basis of a certain saint’s cults but it also has a powerful impact on the structuring of the urban as well as the extra-urban and church spaces. Ejnar Dуggve calls the commencement of the process of intrusion of the city of the dead into the city of the living, a problem of the cultural history. The short review of the development of the Christian necropoles, located in the vicinity of the fortified cities, is based on archaeological evidences. Isolated cases of urban burials are not left unmentioned. Another symptom of the undergoing change is the emergence of the practice of depositio ad santos, relating the intention of the faithful to find blissful rest next to the saintly relics. The burials under the church floors form yet another aspect of the general problem. The formation of the church crypts is analysed as well as the deposition of reliquaries there as late as the mid-fifth century. Some cases are commented showing examples of varying disposition ratio between grave, relics, martyrium and church.

Св. Георги Нови Софийски. Разпространение и аспекти на култа

Author(s): Ivanka Gergova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

St Georgе the New Martyr of Sofia/Kratovo was one of the first Balkan new martyrs after the Ottoman conquest whose cult was strongly developed and achieved wide dissemination. George was born in Kratovo in 1496–1497. When he was orphaned, left Kratovo and he went to Sofia. The local Muslims tried to draw the young man towards their faith, but he maintained his Christian beliefs. For this reason he was taken to court, condemned to death and burnt at the stake. The clergy and Christians buried them in the cathedral church of St Marina on the 11th February, 1515. From the very outset favourable conditions existed for the creation of a cult to the young mar- tyr. Priest Peio wrote an extensive life, service and prologue about the new martyr. The brief life of St Georgе the New Martyr tells how the relics of the saint were removed from the grave, later they were gradually scattered. There are references to a whole series of caskets containing relics of St George the New Martyr: in the Kremikovski Monastery, in the church of St George in Sofia; in Rila Monastery has five caskets containing parts of the bones of the saint; in the Hilandar Monastery. References to the relics of the Sofia martyr have also been found in the Serbian mon- asteries of Dechani, Studenitsa and Velika Remeta. Initially the cult of St George the New Martyr was local but not limited to Sofia. The service to the saint refers to believers from the surrounding area, who made pilgrim- ages to worship his relics. The earliest image of St George the New Martyr close to the centre of the cult can be found in the narthex of the church at the Bilinsky Monastery, which in my opinion dates from the 16th century. Soon after the establishment of the cult of the newly martyred saint in Sofia, the cult spread to the Hilandar Monastery on Holy Mount Athos. All the main elements required for a cult can be observed here – the presence of relics, texts and images. At the same time St George the New Martyr also became celebrated in his home village of Kratovo. In 1536–1537, Prince Dimitar Pepic of Kra- tovo became a patron of the Toplicki Monastery, in Demir Hisar region, and he paid for the murals in which St George the New Martyr is depicted. In the 17th century, images of the newly martyred saint continued to appear in the Demir Hisar and Kichevo region. The image of St George the New Martyr in the diocese of the Serbi- an Patriarchate of Pech became unusually popular after its restoration in 1557. Over the next decades and into the 17th century, dozens of churches over a large territory brought the image of the newly martyred saint of Sofia to the lay people and clergy. It can be stated with certainty that during the first century after the death of the saint, the majority of his images were created within the territory of the Serbian church. It is usually emphasised that the image of the newly martyred saint is an example to believers and protects them from abandoning the Christian faith. However, this is probably only a part of the truth. Of the large number of newly martyred saints, only this one can be found in Serbian churches and the reason for his choice must be connected with his Serbian nationality. The adherence to the cult of Serbian saints of all categories was an important element of the policy of the Patriarchate of Pech during the Ottoman Empire. The period between the 18th and 19th centuries marked a new stage in the devel-opment of the cult and its territorial spread. During these two centuries the cult underwent a real renaissance in the Bulgarian lands. In Sofia, where the cult had been maintained without interruption during the 19th and the 20th centuries, other traditional folk forms of reverence had developed. The guild of goldsmiths in Sofia, like those in Kratovo, Skopje and Pirot, accepted the newly martyred saint as their patron. From the second half of the 18th century to the end of the 19th century, a large num- ber of murals and icons of St George the New Martyr appeared in Sofia, frequently accompanied of St Nickola the New Martyr of Sofia. However, during this period in the Bulgarian lands the reputation of the martyr of Sofia went beyond the local boundaries of fame and reverence. He was included in the pantheon of those nation- al saints who played an important role in the leading processes of Bulgarian society– for national self-awareness and the struggle for the independence of the Bulgarian church. For a long time in the saint’s birthplace of Kratovo and the region, there was no mention of his worship. This was renewed or activated during the second half of the 19th century.

Към историята на християнството в София през ХІХ век Една непубликувана икона на св. Николай Нови Софийски и св. Георги Нови Софийски от Музея за християнско изкуство в Криптата на храм-паметник „Св. Александър Невски“

Author(s): Ralitsa Russeva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

The icon has a strange history, marked by a number of unknown facts and is a sad example of the attitude towards Christian values and commemorations in Sofia following the Liberation of the Ottomans. The icon belongs to the collection of the National Institute of Archaeology with Museum, NAIM (Inv. No 924). It features jointly Saint Nicholas the New Martyr of Sofia, the Holy Archangel Michael (C) and St George the New Martyr of Sofia. The icon is dated to the late eighteenth or the early nineteenth century. According to this publication, the icon was commissioned by the Church of The Holy Archangel Michael in Sofia, which was the centre of the cult of Saint Nicholas the New Martyr of Sofia. It was placed over a reliquary holding the relics of both saints or on the iconostasis. Its origin from the Church of The Holy Archangel Michael explains the unusual composition of the figures of the two new martyrs of Sofia coupled with Archangel Michael. In all likelihood, later representations of St Saint Nicholas the New Martyr of Sofia were iconographically modelled on the image of the saint on this icon. The icon was painted at a workshop, working for the churches in Sofia in the early nineteenth century and probably, in the late eighteenth century. The icon-painters were highly skilled, using seventeenth- century models and most numerous and admirably rendered were their icons representing mounted warrior saints.

Образите на св. Теодор Студит в България и техният балкански контекст

Author(s): Elka Bakalova,Tsvetan Vassilev / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

Saint Theodore the Studite is undoubtedly one of the most prominent representatives of Orthodox monasticism. He is known primarily as an abbot of the famous Studion monastery in Constantinople, as a monastic reformer, theologian and ardent enemy of heretical iconoclastic policies in the Byzantine Empire. The sources about him emphasize above all his adamant character, his brilliant abilities as a preacher and his willingness to champion the rights of the church, even at the price of deep personal sacrifice. As a writer he is pointed out mainly with his polemic against Iconoclasme, but he is also the author of other sermons, letters and hymns. He is credited for the creation of important works of Byzantine hymnography. We especially highlight this aspect of the work of Theodore the Studite, because it turned out to be particularly essential in the representation of the saint in monumental painting. Our task here is to present the images of St Theodore the Studite in the monuments in Bulgaria as compared to similar images (mainly unpublished) from other churches in the Balkans from the period XII–XVIII c., as we add to the presented material in the study of Doula Mouriki. We have discussed the images of the saint in the Boyana church (1259), in the church of “St Stephan” (a New metropolis) in Nessebar (1599), “St Athanasius” in Arbanassi (XVII c.) and the church “The Nativity of the Virgin” of the Rozhen monastery from 1732. We pay special attention to the texts of the scrolls held by the saint. The texts inscribed on the scrolls held by St Theodore vary. This fact indicates that the image of this saint often was associated with a particular aspect of the iconographic program in which his portrait was incorporated. According to the findings of Doula Mouriki, which are confirmed by the reviewed by us monuments and texts written on the scrolls held by the saint “in so far as church decoration is concerned, Theodore appears in his role of great doctrinal personality in the icon controversy, the preacher of ideal life within monastic communities, and the composer of pertinent ecclesiastical hymns.” In addition to many new examples of frescoes in Bulgaria and other Balkan countries we should point out the especially included image of St Theodore the Studite with the corresponding hymn in the composition of the “Tree of Jesse” from XIII c. on.

Les sources des citations peintes sur les phylactères des saints de la rangée inférieure de la façade de l’église de la Résurrection de Dieu du monastère de Suceviţa

Author(s): Constantin I. Ciobanu / Language(s): Bulgarian,French Issue: 1/2015

Образите на св. 40 мъченици в арбанашките църкви oт ХVІІ век

Author(s): Elena Popova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

The Presentation of the Forty Martyrs of Sebasteia in medallions is typical for the monumental programs of Postbyzantine churches in the Balkans. In Bulgaria their images were especially concentrated in the church murals dated from 17th century located near old metropolis Turnovo, mainly in the village of Arbanassi. In St Demetrius church (1621) 9 images were remained and partly identified, in St Athanasius (1667) – 8, in the church of the Virgin monastery (between 1684 and 1692) – 17, in the old chapel of Kilifarevo monastery (second part of 17th century) – 24; probably in the Nativity church also some of the Forty Martyrs were depicted in medallions but without forming any detached rows. Functions of the presentations. There are three general types of functions of the painted images of the Forty Martyrs of Sebasteia in the monumental programs: 1. Liturgical; 2. Preventive; both of them are universal in the all Orthodox area; 3. Historical – it is peculiar to the mural decoration of the churches in Arbanassi, connected with the royal cult to the Forty Martyrs of Sebasteia in Turnovo dated from 1230 when in their holly day tsar Ivan Asen II won the battle of Klokotnitsa and ordered a temple dedicated to his celestial patrons to be built in his capital. Iconography and identification of the martyrs. There are a great many discrepancies of the names of the Forty Martyrs in all the Greek and Slavonic aghiographical and panegyric literature dated from the time preceding our depictions in Arbanassi up till now. Indications of the iconography of their images in the old Ermineias (16th – 18th cc.) are not in unity also. So the works of the painters in 17th century are full of contaminations and incorrect inscriptions. A brief attempt for identification of every personal image presented in medallion on the south wall of St Demetrius church in Arbanassi may be an illustration of the problems.

Светците епископи от наоса на църквата „Св. Георги“ във Велико Търново

Author(s): Maria Kolusheva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

The frescoes on the northern wall of the nave of Saint George’s Church in Veliko Tarnovo date from 1616. In the topmost register, a frieze of the images of thirteen bishops in full length has been preserved. Previous publications on the frescoes differ with regards to the saints’ identity; in the current text we aim to add to or correct these previous identifications. At the same time we offer a possible explanation for the presence of such a great number of saint hierarchs’ images outside the altar, in the nave of the temple. This is a rare feature, typical for a limited number of mural monuments that were created within three decades. Together with the frescoes at Saint George’s six examples in total exist: the frescoes in the Kurilo Monastery (1596); Seslavtsi Monastery (1616); the second layer of frescoes in the Dragalevtsi Monastery (the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century); besides the frieze in Dobarsko (1614), a similar frieze can be found in the monastery church in the village of Zhurche, Demir Hissar region (1617). Even more rarely such lines of bishops are positioned in the narthex of some monasteries: Holy Trinity Monastery near Plevlya (1592), Podgumer Monastery (1596), Ilientsi Monastery (end of 16th and the beginning of 17th century), as well as in the narthex of the Saint George’s Church in Veliko Tarnovo (first half of the 17th century).

За св. Петка, образите с крила и грешките

Author(s): Margarita Kuyumdzhieva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

The article discusses the possibility of the existence of images of St Parascheva of Epivates (St Petka) with wings. The question came up in connection with an image from St Petka Church (1636) in the city of Vidin, Bulgaria, which has been previously wrong identified by the author as winged St Parascheva. In order to clarify the problem, a brief survey of the development of the saint’s imagery is made with special attention to 15th and 16th century examples kept today in Polish and Ukrainian museums. Some details concerning the earlier stages of the visual aspect of St Parascheva’s cult are examined and a correction is made concerning the image from the church in Vidin and another image from St Petka Church (1580) in Trnava, Serbia, which was indicated in the literature as an image of St Parascheva with wings. As a result of the research it is established that to represent St Petka with wings has not been a common practice in Orthodox art. The one and only instance of the winged St Parascheva, known to the author, comes from a much later epoch, being represented in the 19th-century paintings of St Constantine and Helena Church (1865) in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, but it remains an exotic exception even in the practice of those times. The hypothetic image of St Parascheva with wings is juxtaposed to the image of the winged St John the Baptist, which became something habitual in Orthodox art, on the basis of some common connotations of their images revealed in hagiography and hymnography. In addition, the text includes some considerations on the factors that trigger the emergence of a certain iconographic type and on the mechanisms of visualization of hymnographic motifs in medieval art.

Muzyka chóralna Andrzeja Koszewskiego (1922-2015) i jej aspekt liturgiczny

Author(s): Joanna Cywińska - Rusinek / Language(s): Polish Issue: 47/2016

A. Koszewski was one of the most outstanding Polish composers of the last century. He passed away on 17 February 2015. The most prominent of his works are choral pieces which were briefly characterized and classified according to various criteria. The attention is also given to his sacred music. The author presents arguments for its use in the liturgy. Based on the literature and two masses in a different stylistics it was shown that sacred music of A. Koszewski has got all the qualities of liturgical music. Considering its high artistic level and its deep spiritual expression, the music should be performed not only during concerts but also during the liturgy.

«ТАЙНЫЙ» АСКЕТИЗМ СВ. РАДЕГУНДЫ: КОНСТРУИРОВАНИЕ СВЯТОСТИ В АГИОГРАФИИ РАННЕГО СРЕДНЕВЕКОВЬЯ

Author(s): Nataliya Yurevna Bikeeva / Language(s): Russian Issue: 3/2016

This paper critically examines the hagiographical image of St. Radegund, the patroness of Poitiers, Frankish queen, and the foundress of one of the first convents, in the Vita written by Venantius Fortunatus. The author of this paper concludes that the hagiographers represented ascetic practices and, thus, saint-hood itself differently. It depends on many factors: the author’s personality, inner intentions, and self-interest; hagiographers’ social status and their potential auditory. Special attention is paid to the motif of “secrecy” in the description of the ascetic practices of Radegund, as well as to the explanation of V. Fortunatus’ attention to the aspect of the holiness of Radegund. Similar motives for secrecy are not found, either in other Vitae by V. Fortunatus or in the spiritual biographies of other holy women of the period compiled by different authors. In our opinion, this is largely explained by the following reasons: 1. Firstly, the hagiographer wanted to glorify the heroine and to establish and promote her cult. The motif of secrecy was one of the ways to emphasize the Christian virtues and humility of Radegund. 2. Furthermore, V. Fortunatus wanted to show that he knew something that was hidden from others. Thus, the motif of “secret” asceticism is used to emphasize the influence and significance of the Vita’s author. 3. Finally, the writing of the sacred biography of Radegund might have promoted V. Fortunatus’ own career. He became the bishop of Poitiers a few years after the writing of the life of Radegund, the famous and powerful queen-nun of this region.

Alt kültür gruplarında suç ve toplumsallaşma ilişkisi: Karaman Çingeneleri örneği

Author(s): İsmail Güllü,Kerim Yildirim / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 1/2016

In this study, the relationship between crime and the socialization process in Gypsy subculture is examined. This is is a qualitative study analysing the relationship between crime and the socialization process among Gypsies in different parts of Karaman between the years 2014-2015, especially the “Yeni” neighborhood known as Abdali district. In-depth interviews helped us to group Gypsy families into four different family types. It can be said that during unique socialization process of Gypsy subculture, Gypsy individuals’ attitudes to crime is shaped in the context of its unique dynamics through their families, relatives and friends. Unlike other social groups, the Gypsy subculture allows forming a habitus conducive to be involved in crime. Although they have common social characteristics with Gypsies living in different parts of Turkey, Gypsies in Karaman have a distinctive lifestyle and habitus due to their unique socialization process.

Personifikacje cnót w dramacie liturgicznym „Ordo Virtutum” Hildegardy z Bingen i na romańskich kolumnach kościoła św. Trójcy w Strzelnie

Author(s): Debora Wiąckiewicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 04 (31)/2016

Composed by Hildegard of Bingen in the Rhine-Hessen region in the middle of the 12th century, the liturgical drama Ordo Virtutum depicts a symbolic internal struggle for the fate of the soul between the virtues and the devil and is originally transposed into the language of low-relief found in the church owned by the Canonesses Nuns convent in Strzelno, a little town situated on the border of Kujawy and Wielkopolska regions in Poland. The aim of this article is to present how two visions of the same concept complement each other in an intriguing way, although they are expressed by two separate, yet merging languages of music linked with the text and low relief. Most of the musical and literary personifications of both Ordo Virtutum and low reliefs featuring figures in Strzelno are still comprehensible, despite being created eight centuries ago. They introduce the audience to the world of medieval sermons, theological treatises, lectures on ethics and moral theology. Both works show a holistic vision of the world, held by people of the medieval era. In that vision what is spiritual, mystical and elusive for the outward physical senses intertwines and is closely linked with what is tangible, material and directly perceptible. Hildegard’s music praised not only the works of God but also the virtues as deeply human attributes, linked with effort and choices of a free human being, capable of establishing a relationship with God. The column of virtues in Strzelno introduces to the sacred sphere a multitude of figures that become an icon of widely accessible perfection. It seems that both artists aimed at educating their audience as beauty was supposed to ennoble by giving the strength to the truth so that it could lead to good, also the ultimate good — God.

Jüdische Legenden in der Historiographie des Karmeliterordens zwischen 1240 und 1696 - Zwei Beispiele zur Jonas- und Elijas-Tradition.

Author(s): Piotr Nyk / Language(s): Polish,German Issue: 1/2014

Jewish Legends and old rabbinical Traditions could be find in the Hystoriography of the Carmelite Order. In its Beginnings in Europe the Legends served to defend the biblical Identity of the Order. The Article deals with a Study about two Examples of Jewish Legends: 1. Jonah as the Son of the Widow, 2. Elijahs Water-Miracle (10 Springs Gushing from his Fingers).

BİLİM-DİN ÇATIŞMASI TEZİNİN DOĞUŞU VE BİR İSLÂM SAVUNMASI: AHMET MİDHAT EFENDİ VE “NİZÂ-I İLM Ü DÎN” ADLI ESERİ

Author(s): Mustafa Yildirim / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 30/2016

In the nineteenth century, in the face of weakening religious institutions, materialist and positivist thoughts had risen in Europe. Starting in the second half of the century, these ideas affected the Ottoman intellectuals of the Tanzimat period. In a time which saw a process of disintegration, refutations were written against those who claimed that Islam was the reason for the recession of Muslim countries. The last quarter of the century was dominated by Ahmet Midhat’s struggle of idea against missions and materialism. He translated John William Draper’s 1874 attack on the Catholic Church, History Of The Conflict Between Religion and Science into Ottoman Turkish. In his critical edition, He criticized some of Draper’s mistakes concerning Islamic thought and the Prophet of Islam. His primary objective in this work was to protect the youth of the Ottoman Empire from materialism.

Храм „Св. Пророк Илия", с. Беласица (Елешница), Петричко

Author(s): Vladimir Dimitrov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2016

The paper focuses on a monument painted by the Minovs family of iconographers in the National Revival period. I came across it after publishing my study on the heritage of this family of icon-painters. The church is located in the village of Belasitsa (Eleshnitsa) in the region of Petrich and is dedicated to the Holy Prophet Elijah. The text presents the murals and the icons at the church.

Król Saul jako przykład osoby chorej psychicznie w Starym Testamencie

Author(s): Klaudia Rosińska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 23/2016

Mental illnesses are an enormous problem in the contemporary world. An increasing number of people suffer with psychiatric disorders and almost every family has members with some such difficulty. This dissertation presents an analysis of the mental state of Saul, the first king of Israel. Saul’s case is certainly complex, and simultaneously provides a greater certainty of the first king of Israel’s psychological problems. Three illnesses appear to be most likely in his case: schizophrenia, a delusional syndrome, or bipolar disorder. Three criteria have been adopted to make a better identification of the illness that affected Saul. The first criterion is related to the subject’s age at the onset of symptoms. This criterion eliminated schizophrenia as the first symptoms of Saul’s illness appeared after he was thirty, which does not usually occur in cases of schizophrenia. The second criterion pertains to the type of delusions experienced by Saul. They were paranoid, relatively logical and without hallucinations. This type of delusion attests to the likelihood that Saul suffered from paranoid syndrome. The final criterion is related to the changeability of the king’s behaviour. Consequently, it revealed that the changes were not significant enough to be identified as a bipolar affective disorder. Since a direct confrontation with the patients and observation of their behaviour is impossible, these considerations are only an analysis of symptoms described in the Bible. It is unknown how accurately they were described by the author, and thus a diagnosis cannot be certain in the end. The case of Saul also reveals that rejection and isolation are at the foundation of psychological illnesses. The risk of mental illnesses significantly increases in the contemporary world when so many people do not feel accepted or loved.

Pozorny smutek sprawiedliwego w Księdze Mądrości

Author(s): Marcin Zieliński / Language(s): Polish Issue: 23/2016

The article analyzes the issue of the suffering of a righteous man in the part I of the Book of Wisdom. It is often treated by the exegetes as a sad reality that affects the just, yet after a careful analysis it turns out to be apparent. The text’s analysis shows that the author intentionally avoids joining suffering with life of the just, and emphasizes that a pious, virtuous life and divine providence defends the just against suffering. The only case of suffering experienced by the just (Wis 8,9) is considered as the result of mistakes of which there is no one to be free, even a sage. Suffering can be removed by enacting the instruction of wisdom, which reveals herself not as a comforter but as the one who respects and teaches. The article also suggests the influence of the stoic thoughts which portrays the just as a true sage who lives virtuously and consequently, does not suffer.

Kwestia kapłaństwa kobiet we współczesnym Kościele

Author(s): Justyna Groblewska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 23/2016

Article “Issue of the priesthood of women in contemporary Church “is an attempt of the answer to a question what place of the woman is at the Church in the perspective of aspirations which are occurring in the society and in Christian ties. We will trace justifying of the explicit stance the Church in it so, we will portray the genius of the woman emphasized in documents of John Paul II as well as his proposals briefly for the execution of tasks put by community of the Church for the woman in order next to go to kobntynuacji of this thought at Benedict XVI and his response to the ordination, bishop of women at the Anglican church. We will also analyse the issue of the statute of women at the Protestant church, as well as we will mention feminist demands. We will present the history of holy orders of women at the end to portray the reply of an Orthodox church to demands of aspirations to the priesthood by women briefly.

Biblijne obrazy nieba w późnej liryce Juliusza Słowackiego. Kilka uwag badawczych

Author(s): Monika Kulesza / Language(s): Polish Issue: 23/2016

This article is dedicated to the poetic images of heaven in the late poetry of Juliusz Słowacki. Until now, researchers used to relate these images and interpret them in the context of the “Genesis” philosophy of the poet. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the late Słowacki’s lyrics, not intended for publication, show quite different pictures of heaven which seem to be similar to those in the Bible and standing somewhat in contradiction to the Genesis philosophy.