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A feuilleton addressing the growing phenomenon of cohabitation replacing marriage. The author refers to Søren Kierkegaard’s philosophy in order to possible existential determinants of this phenomenon.
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A feuilleton addressing the growing phenomenon of cohabitation replacing marriage. The author refers to Søren Kierkegaard’s philosophy in order to possible existential determinants of this phenomenon.
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The article starts with the question: Can God be angry with man? In attempting to explore the issue of God’s wrath. The problem of knowing God is taken as the point of departure. The existential “otherness” between God and man is one reason why God’s emotionality, including anger, cannot be discussed in isolation but only by analogy to man’s anger. Therefore, the explication of God’s “wrath” demands first of all asynthetic presentation of man’s anger, including its origins, types and functions. In the second half of the article, the author presents the notion of God’s wrath in a metaphorical sense, shedding some light upon its object and purpose. He explains the nature of God’s wrath toward pagans, who relied on human wisdom, and then toward Jews, who placed their trust in the value of the Law of Moses. The wrath of Christ is shown within the framework of the mystery of incarnation, the reality of the humanity of Christ, and His attitude toward certain categories of people. In its conclusion, the article first presents the way of “mitigating” God’s wrath, according to Aquinus, through the satisfaction for the sins of humanity performed by Christ in His passion and the sacrifice of the cross, and then compares this interpretation of overcoming God’s “wrath” with the viewpoints of other theologians.
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Following his election as the Bishop of Rome Pope Francis immediately entered the world of young people and won their trust. He has established with them a kind, yet challenging dialogue that made the Pope an important source of reference, a guide and a companion on the paths of faith and life. This article aims at presenting the main content of the papal teaching addressed to the young people as well as the tasks set by Francis to the young generation of Christians in the church and the world. The study involves analysis of official documents and speeches of Pope Francis that constitute yearly messages for the World Youth Day, homilies delivered during Palm Sunday celebrations (which is treated in Church as the World Youth Day at a diocesan level), speeches and homilies from Rio de Janeiro and Cracow World Youth Days as well as the letter addressed to the young people on the occasion of the presentation of the preparatory document of the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops dealing with the topic «Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment». The following issues were separated in the light of the above documents: 1) the Youth, 2) the Mission of the Young People in the Church, 3) the Mission of the Young People in the world.
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σοστόμου ήταν η αγάπη του προς τον Χριστό και την Εκκλησία. Για μια επιτυχημένη ποιμαντορία του ποιμνίου του, ο Άγιος Ιωάννης είχε την πεποίθηση ότι ουσιαστική είναι η διατήρηση της ενότητας των μελών της Εκκλησίας γύρω από Χριστό. Η εν Χριστώ ένωση των μελών της Εκκλησίας γίνεται σημαντική μέριμνα του Ιερού Πατέρα και συγχρόνως ουσιαστικό κίνητρο στο ποιμαντορικό του έργο. Η ένωση των μελών της Εκκλησίας με την Κεφαλή‑Χριστό, και εν Χριστώ με όλα τα υπόλοιπα μέλη της Εκκλησίας είναι ρεαλιστική και μυστηριακή. Πρόκειται για το μυστήριο της „εν Χριστώ“ και „εν Αγίω Πνεύματι“ ενότητας της Εκκλησίας. Για τον πιστό που κοινωνάει, η Θεία Ευχαριστία είναι το κατ’ εξοχήν μυστήριο της ρεαλιστικής και πραγματικής ενότητάς του με τον Χριστό και εν Χριστώ με τα υπόλοιπα μέλη της Εκκλησίας. Η εν Χριστώ ενότητα της Εκκλησίας και η έκφραση της οικουμενικότητάς της δια της Θείας Ευχαριστίας προϋποθέτει την ενότητα της πίστεως. Ο θησαυρός της αληθείας βρίσκεται μόνο στην Εκκλησία και οι ορθόδοξοι οί οφείλουν να το διατηρούν αμόλυντο από τις αιρετικές εκτροπές. Ο ορθόδοξος πιστός οφείλει να έχει ιεραποστολικό χαρακτήρα. Ο γνήσιος ορθόδοξος πιστός δεν είναι εκείνος που θεωρεί τον εαυτό του ορθόδοξο, αλλά αυτός που το αποδεικνύει στην πράξη, με τον τρόπο ζωής του. Σε καμία περίπτωση ο ορθόδοξος πιστός δεν πρέπει να δείχνει μίσος, εχθρότητα ή κακία προς τους αιρετικούς, όπως δεν πρέπει να δείχνει προς ολόκληρη τη οικουμένη. Ο ορθόδοξος χριστιανός οφείλει να προσεύχεται για την φώτιση των πλανημένων και για την επανόρθωσή τους. Υπάρχουν πκαι νοσήματα που καταστρέφουν την ενότητα της Εκκλησίας από μέσα της. Πάθη όπως η φιλαρχία, η κενοδοξία, η φιλαργυρία, η φιλοδοξία, η πλεονεξία, η φιλαυτία και άλλα παρόμοια διαλύουν το δεσμό της Εκκλησίας. Με πόνο ψυχής, ο Ιερός Χρυσόστομος συγκαλεί όλα τα μέλη της Εκκλησίας ν καταπολεμήσουν μαζί όλα τα νοσήματα της ενότητάς τους και παροτρύνει σε μια ενάρετη ζωή εν τω συνδέσμω της αγάπης και της ειρήνης. Λέξεις-κλειδιά: Εκκλησία, Σώμα Χριστού, ένωση, ενότητα, ποιμαντορία, ποιμαντορικό έργο, αίρεση, σχίσμα, νοσήματα, φιλαρχία, αρετή, αγάπη, ειρήνη.
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The passions-virtues dialectics is evident in the binomial pride-humility, for pride, seen as selfishness, is the source of all passions and humility, as self-overcoming is concentration of all virtues. Humility is the Christian antidote against pride, which is the most resistant of passions. Humility is a Christian specific virtue. Only in Christianity man comes to know himself, coming down from the shaky height of pride onto the stable ground of humility. By humility man knows what he really is and in Christ only. A less emphasized intake for the virtue of humility in the act of self‑knowledge is what we call its epistemological function, determined in probing human abyss, through interplay with God. Like the being of any virtue, also the being of humility or humble thought is sprung from God. The direction and meaning of true spiritual order are established by humble thought. Philokalic parents strongly underline the gnoseological relationship between humility and human exaltation, seen in terms of perfection. Between repentance and humility there is an inbred kinship, both bearing the stamp of permanence. Because not only humility but repentance as well bears the feature of a permanent work within the soul. Genuine repentance is that which creates, not destroys man; that which replaces sin with virtue, not that who simply destroys man and sin altogether! The Christian religion has bound the famous dictum of Greek philosophy: “Know thyself!” with humility before God. For only the humble one before God’s infinity truly knows himself, and conversely, too. The conclusion to draw is crystal-clear: I cannot know myself, much less God, if I do not permanently climb the ascetic stairs, through sustained efforts, whereby humility and repentance constitutetwo exponential pillars.
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In any Orthodox Christian life, the most important moment is when he receives the Holy Communion. In the Orthodox religion, the Christian approaches to the sacred vessel to get his Communion, only after he undergoes a serious and thorough preparation: he must have the Sacred Holy Confession, a time for fast and praying, for merciful deeds and the day before taking the Holy Communion, he has to read the Holy Canon in order to receive the Sacred Eucharist. The present study refers to this precise Canon and it tries to “read” its theological, mystical, monastic and poetic meanings. Despite its importance in the Orthodox cult, nevertheless, this Canon has not been assigned in the entire Romanian Theological Literature, at least until the present moment, an analytical study that would be helpful for an accurate understanding of it. Why do we have to understand this hymnographic text? Firstly because its authors are among the greatest Theological Saints of the Orthodox Church and the most faithful living souls. Secondly, this Canon has to be understood as it enables us to perceive the “Sacred Mystery”, the Holy Communion that is the very body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are offered to us as a gift for our deification, they are divine and deifying as the text itself tells us. Thus, in order to assert to this astonishing peak of holiness, the Christian needs a secure path which is this Canon precisely. It is structured in two parts (one that includes the Canon itself and 9 odes or “canticles” and another one made up of 11 prayers), and it is composed on a double dialogue basis (the Christian talks to Our Lord Jesus Christ directly, but he also speaks to himself, to his soul). The Canon has to be comprehended better, it must be read care fully and it must be filtered through the spiritual life of each Christian who dares to approach “with fear and trembling” to receive the Holy Eucharist.
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After 1990, religion is present in all spheres of private life in Romania, becoming again one of the major identity factors. Of all its forms of expression, Confession is the greatest theological and ritual complexity. Despite its importance, it has been little or not all studied. This article is actually an invitation to the study of sociological and anthropological Confession, with the purpose of presenting its unique and important role within the whole contemporary religious fact.
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From the very beginning of the organization of monastic life of community by writing Rules of living coenobitical by St. Basil the Great or St. John Cassian, caring for the sick and wounded, both those from among the dwellers of the monastery and foreigners, has become one of the commandments that had fulfilled by every monastic community. This commandment, which springs from the love of God manifested in the love of neighbor, was based largely on the unity of faith professed in communion of prayer and in the instances of good. No wonder, therefore, that the first hospitals appeared in porch monasteries are known as infirmaries, and monks and nuns understood the suffering Christians to give not only spiritual but also medical assistance. On track of this tradition for centuries of the Church monks and nuns from Romanian Orthodox Church monasteries have opted to serve the health of Romanian soldiers during the First World War service that seek to point out this study.
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Nothing is more beautiful and more sublime than the bond of love between fathers and sons, especially after parents have passed away! This is a love - reflection of the God’s great and never‑ending love for us, humans; love is stronger than death. But not many parents succeed in planting in the children’s hearts this sublime form of love. Only those who proved worthy to receive in their soul and life sparks of God’s love manage to succeed. Such father was Father Stăniloae! A good and loving parent, but righteous and attentive to how children should understand mother and father’s sacrificial love. At 110 years since the birth of her father and 20 years after going to the Lord, in the International Symposium at Galati, Mrs Lydia Stăniloae evokes the image of the priest, teacher and theologian Dumitru Stăniloae, as seen through the child’s eyes from back then and portrayed by her mature and grateful love of today.
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This presentation focuses on the topic of the faith of the first Christian Emperor, Constantin the Great, a consequence of his direct challenge trough the holy vision of the Cross and his conversion to the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. The event is interpreted in the light of his life as described by Eusebios and some modern theological visions on the problem of miracle and divine vision. The event is real and it must be understood in the logic of God’s Revelation and human faith in order to evangelise the world and to extend the Christ’s Church as a sign and a symbol of the Kingdom of God to come, fully in the eternal and heavenly life.
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The Mystery of the Holy Unction is one of the seven Sacraments of the Church which enjoys a special appreciation among believers. In this Holy Sacrament, the Church prays by her servants for the healing and recovery of bodily and spiritual helplessness of the believers and for the forgiveness of their sins. Orthodox Church has two types of Unction order, an individual one, for one person, called ”self” Unction and a second order, for the public, in which the entire Christian community can participate to so called ”communal” Unction; to both statutes, the participation of at least two priests is absolutely necessary. So, the Holy Sacrament of the Unction brings body and soul help to those who receive it, that is healing the diseases and remission of sins.
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The Sacrament of Holy Unction is the Sacrament of healing our souls and bodies. The fact that this sacrament is present today in our society proves that it fulfills its purpose for which it was ordained, which is the healing. An analysis of social and philanthropic perspective of this Sacrament reveals that our healing comes from God, the Greatest and the Highest, for us not to be healthy in order to fulfill our selfish individual desires, but for a higher purpose, which is to living respecting His commandments, because when we do not, we mocks us, the evil and when we do, we serve God with all thankfulness.
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