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The Catholic Church wrote beautiful pages in Polish history during the Second World War. One of the most beautiful pages of this history of the Church during this war was written by priests of the chaplains. The Polish nation suffered a dramatic shock caused by Hitler’s aggression, which was additionally increased by aggression on 17 September with Soviet aggression against Poland. The tragedy of this situation is intensified in the eastern territories of the Second Polish Republic, both against the soldiers of the September campaign and civilians as a result of deportation and deportation into the Siberian lands. The ministry and activities of Polish chaplains have been included in all of this Polish drama. Thanks to religion, strong faith, great attachment to national tradition, the Polish population persecuted and deported managed to defend human dignity as well as Polishness. The challenge posed to chaplains living in Soviet Russia was extremely difficult and difficult. However, they always tried to be present among the civilian population, and then when the Polish Army began to form, act in the ranks of soldiers. Both, whether among the Polish civilians or among soldiers, they focused their efforts on matters related to morality, religion, faith, cultural life, and caring. Issues related to the organization of the Polish Army in the USSR, the activities of this Army in the Middle East and the Polish II Corps have significant literature, but the issues of military pastoral activity have not been studied in a similarly intense way. Therefore, below we will try to bring closer the activities of the military pastoral ministry in these military formations.
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In the 16th–17th centuries the Ottoman conquerors of the occupied territories of Hungary gradually established their own intitutions. Together with the military, dervishes also appeared and generally settled outside the defended city walls. Owing to the sparsity of source material, the lives and activities of these dervishes and their monasteries are less known. The present study attempts to collect and present all the data concerning the Bektaşi convents in Ottoman Hungary. Five monasteries are known to have existed that undoubtedly belonged to the Bektaşi order: two in Buda, one in Eger, another one in Székesfehérvár and one in Lippa. It is most likely that the convent of Yağmur Baba in Hatvan, that of Muhtar Baba in Buda, and perhaps that in Szolnok also had Bektaşi affiliations. This relatively small number may probably be augmented in the future, since many more Babas had monasteries and shrines in Ottoman Hungary, whose biographies and affiliations still await further research. Obviously, the political elite in Ottoman Hungary considered it important to support the Bektaşi dervishes; they fostered the building of convents and provided them with endowments. Thus, in addition to the pronounced presence of the Bektaşis in literary monuments, and the reputation of Gül Baba preserved throughout the centuries, the presence of Bektaşi convents in Hungary also testifies to the significant role played by this dervish order in the cultural life of Ottoman Hungary.
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In the present article fourteen fragments of the cycle of stories Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā in Old Turkic which are housed in Berlin and St. Petersburg are identified as belonging to a story which was formerly unknown in Turkic literature but can now be related to several parallel versions in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist works. Whereas the overall story in the Avadāna is similar to the other versions, the Old Turkic legend shows several unique features. The main character Kāmapriya, who has killed his own mother, tries to annihilate his misdeed by entering the Buddhist community but is subsequently discovered by a young arhat who possesses the “eye of meditation”.
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This article focusses on discussing the reason of existence of factors ( dharma ) in the three time periods ( trikāla ) as it is recorded in the Vaibhāṣika * Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣāśāstra and in the Sarvāstivāda works that postdate this text. The origin of this discussion is traced back in the earliest Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma works. Also the Chinese Sanlun philosopher Jizang (549–623), in his “ Shi’er men lun shu ”, a commentary on Nāgārjuna’s * Dvādaśadvāraka “ Shi’er men lun ”, raises this discussion. Here, references are made to the vibhāṣā literature. The treatment of the subject in the “ Shi’er men lun shu ” reveals (1) that the Chinese Sanlun (and Madhyamaka) philosophers were familiar with this discussion in Sarvāstivāda philosophy; (2) that they criticised the Sarvāstivāda viewpoint; and (3) gives evidence for a rise of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy and a place of origin of Nāgārjuna in the North of the Indian subcontinent.
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Loin d’être une méthode conçue dans le but de persuader, la rhétorique arabe est liée à deux questions de prime importance pour la théologie islamique: les attributs de Dieu et l’inimitabilité du Coran. Dès lors, il est nécessaire d’aller chercher les origines de cette rhétorique dans les débats théologiques opposants les Muʿtazilites aux Achʿarites. La rhétorique a eu dans la pensée islamique la fonction de mettre en lien les mots et les sens comme la théologie se chargea de définir le lien entre l’essence et les attributs. Les Muʿtazilites, niant les attributs ont développé une conception de la rhétorique centrée autour des mots et de leur usage dans la langue arabe. Quant aux Achʿarties, affirmationnistes qu’ils sont, ont accordé l’importance aux sens et à leur dépassement de l’usage fait de la langue. L’influence greco-chrétienne s’est faite inviter dans ces débats, particulièrement chez les Achʿarites, par l’intermédiaire du concept du kalām nafsī , notion stoïcienne de parole intérieure précédant la parole extérieure.
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The article presents H. Kołłątaj’s ideas of the process of the development of religion in the historical context. Its main thesis is the conviction (where he agrees with N.A Boulanger) that the original cult from the earliest of days was deism limited to the faith in the Supreme Being i.e. the natural religion not laden with the ceremonial, liturgy and dogmas. Religion degenerated into polytheism after the Deluge, which he treats as a historic event. In this way, Kołłątaj builds a bridge between the prehistory of mankind and his contemporary times, projecting, popular in his days, religious awareness – the natural religion, the cult of wisdom, deism – into the remote past. Kołłątaj’s religious research, considering the historic development of societies, in this respect is characterized rather by ahistorism and a tendency towards apriorism through acceptation of predetermined schemes.
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The article begins with a comparison of Descartes’ theory of object with its scholastic predecessors. In Descartes’ thought the object is restricted to its human figure, while Augustine, Henry of Ghent and Duns Scotus describe this concept primarily in the horizon of the divine thought. Even if Descartes leaves out the theological meaning of object, its new epistemic subject becomes the ground of the new relation named absolute whose certain features resemble the theological one. However the danger of the ontic univocity which thus appears, is eliminated by Cartesian theory of the eternal truths formulated in 1630 in letters to Mersenne.
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This article presents the increasingly popular phenomenon of vegetarianism from the perspective of moral theology. After synthetically describing the different types of vegetarianism, this study identified what motivates people to refrain from the consumption of meat and animal products. Vegetarians’ sensitivity to the fate of livestock as well as their ascetic motivations do not incite any moral objections, but rather can be considered a moral ideal. Responsibly practicing vegetarianism poses no threats to human health. The main objections to vegetarianism pertain to the ideologies and doctrines that motivate people to practice it; for, these ideologies oppose a Christian understanding of creation.
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In the Kingdom of Poland in the second part of the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish community played an important role in social, cultural and scientific life. Doctors of Jewish origin very often worked together with Polish doctors. They were members of scientific and social associations; they belonged to the editorial boards of scientific journals; they published in social and professional periodicals. A huge involvement on the part of representatives of the Jewish medical profession was visible as far as popularization of knowledge was concerned. In cooperation with Polish doctors, they took on strictly medical problems, but they also dealt with hygienic, social and educational issues. They were active members of organizations and initiators of numerous social campaigns of a protective, educational and instructive nature. Cooperation in social and educational areas allowed them to carry out a number of bold initiatives, and it contributed to increased integration of the populace, especially in larger cities.
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The article presents the pastoral activity of Father Andrzej Koprowski SJ as part of the Jesuit academic pastoral presence at the Catholic University of Lublin in the 1970s. It contains information taken from the files of the Communist Security Services of the Polish People’s Republic. These documents show that the new style of pastoral care proposed by the Jesuit was not accepted. The religious authorities therefore directed Koprowski to a leadership position in Warsaw, which turned out to be a springboard to the central authorities of the Jesuits in Rome.
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The presented study describes six songs devoted to the Holy Mother of Częstochowa, from the Collection of Religious Catholic Songs to Be Sung in Church or at Home which was published in 1871. In the semantic layer, these songs show a strong relation between the religious Catholic attitude and Polish national matters. The pilgrims, while singing these songs, committed their intentions to the Holy Mother, praying for the prosperity of Poland, which did not exist on the maps of Europe, for its independence and also for their peaceful and happy personal life.
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The article concerns emotions and their influence on creativity. It presents a multi-faceted approach to the research problem, which is deeply rooted in the trend of empirical research. Firstly, the authors include a short definitional presentation of emotions, and then they proceed to present general views on creativity and how it is understood in modern science. At the same time they only deal with rudimentary description and general discussion. The research analyses lead to the conclusion that emotions are complex phenomena and their role is fundamental for a person’s activity and creativity.
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Philosophy of history practiced in the early modern period and nowadays in Poland appears to be one of the principal trends of Polish philosophical thinking. This thought encompasses various themes and is anchored in realism and Thomistic personalism. Polish representatives of philosophy of history do not disregard theology of history and perceive Christian faith as a historical reality. Therefore apart from philosophy of history they develop theology of history where the understanding of the past of your own nation is a crucial element. In this context the thought of Thomas Aquinas inspires to view history from the philosophical and theological perspective. Franciszek Sawicki, Franciszek Manthey and Czesław Bartnik in their research answer the question about the sense of time and history and the significance of historical processes. They originate from the school of traditional Thomism but they also have a thorough knowledge of modern philosophy Thanks to them we may speak of philosophy of history in Poland which deserves reflection and which is the source of the thought of St. John Paul II. Among them the reflection of Franciszek Sawicki deserves special attention. For Sawicki, Thomism is important as a value which organises his own presentation of the problem. It is, by no means, the repetition of the old tradition as Sawicki frequently refers to the modern thought. The question about the reference of Polish philosophy of history to Thomism is principally realized through personalist references and building social ethic based on philosophy and theology of nation where solidarity and participation are dominant. The abovementioned philosophers, F. Sawicki in particular, focus on the question about man in their reflection on history. For all of them it is Christianity that demonstrates the right form for references among people, the discovery of truth, moral and social activity as well as social and supernatural life, human autonomy and its relation to God.
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St. Thomas Aquinas is referred to by Tradition as the Angelic Doctor due to his systematic studies on a number of questions concerning angelology. John Paul II, alluding to this title in Fides et Ratio, presents St. Thomas as a “master of the art of thinking and the model of practicing theology”, directing our attention to the exceptional and always relevant nature of Aquinas’ approach to the relation between faith and reason. As the Pope observes, the relevance of this approach is linked to the fact that erroneous perspectives in this field, in the form of fideism and the extreme rationalism which dominated the culture of modern Europe, have led to an acute crisis. According to John Paul II, the exceptionality of Aquinas’ approach lies in his skilful reconciliation of the supernatural and the rational character of the act of faith, and in his combining faith and reason into a unity, while respecting the indispensible autonomy of cognitive fields based on faith and purely rational reflection. Although there are no direct references to angelology in the encyclical, the presentation by the Angelic Doctor of the truths of faith, in this respect, constitutes a rewarding source of examples of fruitful cooperation between these two metaphorical wings of faith and reason, which in Fides et Ratio enable man to ascend to the heights of knowledge.
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The article presents the optimal conditions for the existence of autonomy in the public sphere. In the opinion of Jürgen Habermas, these conditions were most clearly revealed in the civic public sphere of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Autonomy of the public sphere is understood as an independent space for exchanging opinions among citizens who through communicating with one another are able to exert upward pressure on the power apparatus. The article begins with the presentation of autonomy as a kind of complementary freedom: negative and positive. In the next part, the main elements that constitute the public sphere of civic autonomy are outlined. These include: private property of free citizens, disclosure of information in the public sphere, freedom of speech and of the press and the possibility of unfettered association.
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The subject that is present in religious (theological) reflection is nature and the human being who belongs to it. In all religions, even the most primitive, there is a belief that man is different from the rest of the created world. He overcomes it, he is its centre. At the same time, people treat nature with respect, being convinced that it gives them life and that it gives an opportunity to contact the God/ gods. We can now encounter many religiously inspired environmental movements that critically evaluate Christianity, which in their view exploits nature. At the same time these people make instrumental reference to tribal and far-eastern religions. This does not mean that within Christianity there is no place for ecological sensitivity. This is confirmed by the fact that the issue of environmental protection is clearly present in Catholic social teaching.
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The article, which is based on the teaching of Benedict XVI, presents fundamentalism as a threat to civil society. Nowadays there are numerous tendencies of thinking in the terms of fundamentalism which are present in the sphere of religion, culture, politics and even economy. However, the form of religious fundamentalism that frequently results in terrorist attacks by Islamists enjoys the greatest publicity. In the teaching of Benedict XVI, there are numerous indications and deeper analyses of the phenomenon of fundamentalism, which endangers the contemporary concept of civil society. The Church always protects a person when it comes to personal dignity and human rights, as this attitude is a necessary condition of development, also in the global dimension. In this context it is equally important to state that human religiosity is directed towards God who is love, and this assumption excludes violence, thus creating a space for shaping truly human relations.
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Human rights hold an important place in Pope John Paul II’s teaching to diplomats. The dignity of the human person serves as the basis for the pope’s reflection on human rights. In his teaching, the pope taught diplomats how to understand, comprehend, and explain human rights. This publication aims to show in light of Pope John Paul II’s teaching that respect for human rights is a moral duty of diplomacy. For the pope, respect for human rights is, on the one hand, an appropriate platform for dialogue with the world and, on the other hand, a way to introduce Christian values into modern culture. John Paul II respected all diplomatic activities aimed at promoting human rights.
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This article details the pastoral ministry of Archbishop Kazimierz Świątek, who witnessed to Christ in Belarus as priest for fifty-two years and as an archbishop and cardinal for almost twenty years. After Soviet oppression in Belarus ceased and when Archbishop Kazimierz Świątek became canonically responsible for the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mińsk-Mohilev and the Diocese of Pińsk, the institutional Church and faith of the people barely existed in these locations. By the time Archbishop Świątek retired from his episcopal ministry, however, the ecclesiastical province had all the institutions necessary to function normally, and the churches were filled with the faithful. Given the exponential growth of the faithful and institutional Church under Archbishop,Świątek’s care, his pastoral ministry as a bishop merits particular attention and Archbishop Świątek himself deserves to be included among the long list of zealous bishops of the Church of Christ. Fr. Świątek’s earlier ministry as a priest has been analyzed in a previous article
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