We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
The history of men’s church choir in the Reformed Church of Cehu Silvaniei (Szilágycseh) dates back to more than a hundred years. Since its inception, it has taken a well-organised form, which like the presbyteries had its own management and financial fund. The men’s choir plays an exemplary role for singing culture in maintaining continuity, maintaining a repertoire of vocals preserved and passed on for decades, and in enhancing the quality of church and funeral services.
More...
In June 2020, 100 years have passed since the actual start of the demolition of the Orthodox cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Warsaw. The largest Orthodox temple in Poland has been open to the faithful for 3 years only. However, it has become legendary like no other, because of its “second life” – the fate of the cathedral’s equipment and usage of materials obtained during its demolition. The author describes ambiguous history of the fate of movable equipment and elements of decor of the temple, presenting examples of it further usage. Referring to the example of an iconostasis from an Orthodox church in Krzemień in Belarus, author shows the emerging “urban legends” regarding the use of equipment from the capital’s cathedral.
More...
The article tests the established view that Gennadios Scholarios, the first patriarch of Constantinople after the 1453 Conquest, used the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople as the seat of the Patriarchate for a few months in 1454 before moving to the building complex of the Pammakaristos monastery. After pointing out that all the sources that narrate the story of the installation of the Patriarchate in the famous Byzantine church date from the 16th century or later, the author examines sources contemporary with the events, including texts written by Scholarios himself. The aim of the article is to show that Scholarios officiated occasionally in the Holy Apostles and managed to salvage some of the relics it once held, but this does not mean that the church functioned as the official seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
More...
In the eastern territory of the Czechoslovak Republic, after its establish¬ment and after the end of the Great War, the Orthodox Church, suppressed by the adoption of what was called the Union of Uzhhorod (1646), started to revive. The evolving Orthodox movement, characterized by a wave of conversion of the population from the Greek Catholic Church to Orthodoxy, and often connected with the forcible seizure of the churches, parishes, and property of the Uniates, was faced by both the authori¬ties in Prague and locally with the aim of calming the situation and organizing the Orthodox Church. Bishop Gorazd (Pavlík) was also involved in this effort in the mid-1920s as the supreme representative of the Czech Orthodox eparchy. His involvement in Subcarpathian Ruthenia went through a development symbolized by terms as an observer, organizer, and beholder. This paper evokes his interventions in the development of those times and evaluates their quality. Bishop Gorazd came into contact with the Orthodox movement in Subcarpathian Ruthenia in the early 1920s. The focus of his local involvement dates back to 1926 – 1931, when the Ministry of Education entrusted him with the role of an unofficial government representative for this territory in the affairs of the Orthodox Church. At the same time, he served as a supervisor of Serbian bishops, who served as delegates to the Serbian Orthodox Church. The bishop made a significant contribution to the establishment of the Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo and to ensuring its economic operation. The accession of Bishop Damaskin (Grdanički) to the position of the first official patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Subcarpathian Ruthenia ended Gorazd’s official engagement, and he continued to have only friendly contacts with the local Orthodox community.
More...
The liturgical handbook Manuale musico-liturgicum (Editio latino-slavica) by František Žaškovský (Eger 1853) is the second published Latin-Slovak ritual, after the Cantionale Ritualeof 1681 by the Piarist Father Mikuláš Hausenka. The handbook contains liturgical chants and songs for the most important Holy Days and church ceremonies and is designed for organists and singers in the choirs of parish churches. It also includes 31 hymns to Slovak texts, of which 9 have organ accompaniment and two are adaptations for four voices. The editor, together with his brother Andrej Žaškovský, adopted and modified some hymns from older Slovak hymnals. Apart from that, they also created some texts and tunes of their own. The Slovak Catholic hymns with organ accompaniment had been published for the first time in 1847 (Martin Eliáš). As compared to M. Eliáš, the Žaškovský brothers worked out their organ accompaniment to the hymns in a more modern manner, using organ interludes in the mode of figurative passages between the lines or musical phrases. They attempted to resolve these interludes variably, in an attempt to avoid triviality and mannerism. Their ideal was rather a classical moderation and sense of proportion, and in this they stand somewhere between the classical school and the new sound ideal of another generation of organists in the second half of the 19th century.
More...
This article explores the meaning of the root k-f-r in the Quran, questioning the practice of translating the noun kāfir as “infidel.” It argues for a distinction between the idiomatic phrasal verb kafara bi-, which does mean to reject or disbelieve, and the simple intransitive verb kafara and its deverbal nouns, which are used in the Quran in a large number of different ways. This polysemy is explored through contextual readings of Quran passages. It is argued that the noun kāfir, unlike the verb kafara, is used only with regard to adherents of traditional polytheism and is not deployed in an unmodified way with regard to Jews and Christians. The possible influence on the Arabic kafara of Greek and Latin conceptions is also broached.
More...
In Slovakia, book printing showed a significant development only in the 16th century. Printing facilities were established mainly in the eastern part of Hungary. They were founded with the support of the aristocratic court where the printer should operate. Many of them focused on the Protestant church, were persecuted, and therefore did not last long. In the Lyceum Library, there are two slovacical preserved works from two printers in Bardejov. These are mostly theological printed works that predominate in the 16th-century fund. The works' content focuses on the worship of paintings in churches, which many priests wanted to remove. Some of the works mentioned in the article affect our history only marginally, but they are still an important source. Works stored in the Lyceum Library are interesting for their content but also for their owners. The books were donated to the library by professors and students of the library and by many important families, whether it was the Podkonický or Pongrátz family.
More...
The military Catholic clergy operating on the Italian front emphasized the sacramental pastoral acts. However, their activities did not end here. On the contrary, their scope was also used in other areas. In addition to blessings (military funerals), they were responsible for the organization, implementation and material provision of commemorations, religious devotion, the program during public holidays, lectures, edifying or educational activities. They organized collections for the help and needs of Slovak institutions, which suffered from a lack of funds during the war. These were mostly charitable or children's homes and school facilities. The organization of audiences with Pope Pius XII, who often and gladly blessed Slovak soldiers, deserves great attention. Slovak Catholic clergy were also usable as translators between Slovak commanders and the local government and the population. Their usability in the front conditions of Italy aroused an awareness of urgent cooperation. It should be noted that the Catholic military clergy carried out their many activities with great responsibility and precision.
More...
The permanet communion with Christ offers a very complex perspective regarding the cosmological understanding of the world. In this concern, the believers receive a new life and also a new understanding in their personal existence. Through act of the Incarnation the entire world is transfigurated and man become also an important part of this process. Moreover, the history receives a different kind of interpretation because the divine events are present in it. The most relevant prouve is the liturgical life of the Church. In the Holly Liturgy and also in the Holly Sacraments we can always find the permanet proof of the eternal life.
More...
The aim of this study is to include the dynamics of recent biblical research in Orthodox and Western, especially Protestant, theological spheres. Both Orthodox and Western biblical theology have their own course of research, which can be inspired by the achievements of both sides. Thus, we see that Orthodox biblical studies have been lately focused on receiving and developing of the exegetical method, and in that sense they can incline to the experience of the West, particularly the historical-critical method. On the other hand, Western biblicists try to convey to the present time the meaning of biblical texts or their supplements, which is closely related to the Orthodox biblical experience. The solution to these problems can be found through a mutually complement with ecumenical connotations.
More...
The conception of Conquest is part of the so-called Deuteronomistic History (DH). There are many evidences that the Book of Joshua have originated in the seventh century in Judea as the “political program” of Emperor Josiah. The Assyrian conquest of the north and the placing of Judea in the vassal position, according to this tradition, were the result of the neglect of the obligations arising from the Sinai alliance. It was necessary to follow the Lord fully, to eradicate idolatry, and thus to gain God’s favor. In that context, the Book of Joshua had a paradigmatic character, saying that when a chosen people truly follows the Lord, no one can oppose it. Once upon a time, God’s people, adhering to the laws of Sinai, managed to overthrow Hanan, and only in this way they will be able to defeat the Assyrians — this was the key theological message of Josiah’s religious reform, expressed in the spirit of the Deuteronomistic History. Conquest as presented in the Book of Joshua and in some parts of the Book of Judges, Numbers, and Deuteronomy is part of the theological reinterpretation of Israeli identity. We can conclude that Joshua is in fact a metaphorical portrait of Judean King Josiah and that the story about the Conquest of Canaan creates a plan for future conquest but also serves as an example of the right relationship of the chosen people with their God.
More...
An act of worshiping apostles Paul and Barnabas by citizens of Lystra, which was described in Acts of the Apostles, could not be understood properly without introducing the cultural background as well as religious. Lystra was a province, mostly habited by barbarians, in contrast to its surrounding, where Romans and Hellenes were the dominant populations. For people from that area, worshiping gods in human bodies was custom. We can find justification for that statement in well-known creation of Publius Ovidius Naso known as Metamorphoses, in which he describes appearance of Zeus and Hermes in human bodies. Author of Acts describes one specific situation of misunderstanding (deification of Paul and Barnabas) which was expected to happen during early period of spreading of Christianity and its contact with hellenistic polytheism. He interprets the cult of Zeus and Hermes in christian code: Contrary to hellenistic gods who can show themselves as humans, christian missioners Paul and Barnabas are just mediators of only-existing God. Implication is following: People of Lystra should recognize that God “in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways”, but now they “should turn from these vanities unto the living God”.
More...
Chrysostom was not a preacher of Christian communism, but a preacher of the union of all people in Christ, the communion of church, Eucharistic, unity of unity of faith and love, but also in all material goods. One of the constant topics of his socio-ethical preachings (and his preaching was almost always of such character) is the problem of social injustice, material and social inequality, the problem of wealth and poverty, the greed of property greed. If we look at the Old Testament prophetic movement, as much as it was initiated by the pluralism of Israel, it also appeared as a prophetic reflection and response to a concrete theological-social problem, represented in an unequal distribution of goods and a system of social inequality. The era in which Chrysostom enters the historical scene is the era of a society based on slavery principles, and the global characteristics of the empire of that time have greatly influenced Christian communities and interpersonal relations. In these and such circumstances, St. John appears as a “social prophet” of his time, and his criticism and condemnation of society, typologically educate the prophetic methodology and way of addressing. The author’s intentions of this work is a historical-critical review of Chrysostom ‘s perception of the social concept of the Old Testament prophets, that is, his actualization and contextualization of the prophetic message, transformed in Christ’s gospel commandments of love for God and for the fellowmen.
More...
The paper deals with the issue of the Christology of St. Augustine, analyzing the position of personality and substance in ontology. Augustine’s notion of ontology is presented as the union of two issues of being — personality and substance, using the example of Christology. Likewise, personality has the primary ontological position in the ontology of St. Augustine. It is emphasized that only such ontology could have expressed Christology in the same manner as the Council of Chalcedon, that followed later, did. This gives Augustine a place in the rank of the church fathers.
More...
Serbian ruler Stephen the First Crowned (1196–1227) interpolates in The Life of Saint Symeon the episode of his brother's embracing of the monastic life in the ninth chapter of his writing. In this manner he connects the spiritual experience of his father with the similar experience of his brother, whose escape from the political power to the Mount Athos triggers identical behaviour of his father. In depicting of this episode, the author exploits numerous allusions to motifs, expressions and terms characteristic of the Johannine literature within the corpus of the New Testament books. The intention of the author is to present Rastko Nemanjic's leaving the world in light of the Johannine apocalypticism, as the perfect example of following Christ, who also departed from the world (Jn 13, 1). The immediate reason for Rastko's departure is the apocalyptic vision of the Jerusalem above of his father, Stefan Nemanja. This vision incites in Rastko's soul yearning for the monastic life at the Mount Athos, which is articulated in his prayer to Christ in terms of the Johannine „high” christology, especially from the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel.
More...
The ascetic experience and practice of mental prayer of Elder Joseph the Hesychast in this work are interpreted from the perspective of contemporary psychoanalytic theory. It starts form the phenomenological theory of perception and relation between dualism (invisible-visible, inside-outside, mind-body) and totality. In his letters, Elder Joseph the Hesychast reported on the internal contents that he had experienced in relation to the body; therefore, interpretations of these processes according to the theory and case studies of psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Melanie Klein have been presented. The understanding of a prayer through the terminology of Lacan’s Mirror stage has also been submitted. Owing to the rhythm of a mental prayer by which the control over the body is achieved, as a constant that maintains a clear distinction between the phantasmatic and the real, Elder Joseph the Hesychast’s prayerful speech is exceptionally stable in the big A. This furthermore allows overcoming the phantasmatic relation а-а’ and achieves the possibility of establishing the communication between A and S. Only in this way is it possible to touch the starting position S – the only one in which the subject is in its being.
More...
Book review of: Fr. Ioan Chirilă (coord.), Paula Bud, Stelian Pașca-Tușa, Bogdan Șopterean, Vechiul Testament în scrierile bibliștilor ortodocși români – ghid bibliografic [The Old Testament in the Writings of Romanian Biblical Orthodox Scholars] (Cluj-Napoca, Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2018).
More...