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The story of the Bosnian “krstjane” (“christians”) has been over simplified by those who see the period from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century as a glorious time in which the duelist church and state worked together and prospered.In fact, the krstjane efforts to replicate early Christianity and follow an apostolic path were often obstructed by churchmen and politicians in Rome and Hungary who mounted crusades against them, such as the crusades of 1235-39, when Bosnia was devastated and thousands were either burned at the stake or led away into captivity.
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This article is a critical assessment of a book by Tadeusz Bartoś entitled Koniec prawdy absolutnej (The End of Absolute Truth). Bartoś’s intention is to free Aquinas from Thomists’ overly scholastic interpretation of his work and to present the medieval theologian as a precursor of postmodernism. Bartoś’s relationship to Saint Thomas is ambivalent. Although he affirms the genius of Aquinas, and in particular the value of his apophatic theology, Bartoś criticizes Thomas for, among other things, the inconsistency and even failure of the synthesis he attempted. Bartoś cares about reaching the contemporary person, who has a postmodern sensibility. He thus denounces Thomists and, more generally, the abuses which arise from the belief that one can possess absolute truth. Bartoś affirms the value of the leading postmodernist thinkers and the notion of the end of metanarratives. This article’s critique of Bartoś’s book focuses on the weaknesses of the postmodern worldview he adopts. To Bartoś apply all of the observations that A. Bronk has made of the methodological and substantive problems of postmodernism. The foremost of these is a lack of critical perspective on postmodernism’s own philosophical postulates. Bartoś does not undertake such critical reflection, nor does he seem to recognize the need for it. He appears unaware that his own critique of others’ positions, which is often ambiguous and authoritarian, emerges from a dogmatic position not subject to the radical relativity and impermanence he applies to others’ views. Bartoś tries to assert general truths and make assessments of the history of Thomism that are in some sense objective while denying others the right to do the same. The ideas advanced by Bartoś could lead, in practice, to an uncritical acceptance of the worldwide cultural revolution now being carried out in the name of postmodernism, which, as M. Peeters has pointed out, is driven by ideology and threatens human freedom and culture in the broad sense. Bartoś’s book is an interesting example of a superficial reading of Saint Thomas. Its arguments may become part of the eclectic mix of postmodern ideas. Yet it is essentially a deconstruction of the theology of Aquinas and his belief in the truth revealed by Christ. Any ultimate truth is submerged by Bartoś in the quicksand of apophatic skepticism. He attempts to convince his readers of the necessity of rejecting a priori any possibility of the revelation of ultimate truth. That would include, among other things, the mystery of the Incarnation.
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The thesis of the decisive influence of Catholic theology on so-called Orthodox “school” theology in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the seventeenth century has long been established in the historiography of the subject. Less attention has been paid to the genesis of specific texts of the Western tradition, which were not only a source of inspiration for writers from the Orthodox world, but were literally translated, only to be considered in later years as homegrown Orthodox works. When carrying out word-for-word translations it was necessary for Orthodox writers to develop translation techniques that could effectively ”mask” what they had borrowed. An interesting example of this sort of translation is the first handbook for confessors, entitled Mir s Bogom čeloveku (Kiev 1669), which was prepared by the Kiev Lavra archimandrite Innocenty Gizel (d. 1683). This work is mostly a compilation of three treatises by the Polish Dominican Mikołaj Mościski (1559–1632): Elementa ad S. Confessiones (1603), Examen approbandorum ad S. Confessiones excipiendas (post 1621) and S. Artis poenitentiariae tyrocinium (1625), complemented by excerpts from the Summa of Theology of Thomas Aquinas, the decree ”On justification” of the Council of Trent, the Roman Catechism, the Decree of Gratian, and various essays of the seventeenth-century Catholic moralists. Mir s Bogom was the first attempt in the Orthodox literature of the Metropolate of Kiev to present the basics of Christian teaching. It stressed the practical aspects of the faith. It was novel in its attempt to create and standardize terminology dealing with the sacraments and the doctrine of sin. The work of Gizel gained great popularity in Russia and formedthe basis for a number of manuscripts and printed manuals on how to celebrate the sacraments. Through Mir s Bogom, many fragments of the works of Western theologians were incorporated into Orthodox literature.
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The “False Donation of Constantine” (Latin, Donatio Constantini), or more correctly, the “Decree of Constantine” (Constitutum Constantini) was regarded throughout the entire Middle Ages as an authentic act of the Roman Emperor Constantine I “the Great” (306–337), transferring the prerogatives of imperial power and some unspecified western territories of the Empire to the possession of the Papacy. This document, at different stages of its functioning, was used by the Frankish higher clergy (who were responsible for its fabrication) in its efforts to become independent from local monarchic powers (IX century), the Papacy fighting for primacy in Christendom with the Empire (XI–XIII centuries), as well as by the French legists demonstrating independence of the Kingdom of France from the Papacy (XIV century). Only in the first half of the XV century did humanists such as Nicholas of Cusa and Lorenzo Valla question the authenticity of the Donation on the grounds of its stylistically awkward use of the Latin language, internal contradictions, and logical shortcomings. The forgery comprises two parts: the first part (§1–10) includes the statement of the Christian faith professed by the Emperor and a personal account of the circumstances of his conversion; the second one (§11–20) describes in detail the elements of emoluments (i.e., payments for offices) and powers granted by the Emperor, elevating the Pope and the Church to the highest rank within the Empire. The Latin text of the original document is presented in the article alongside its Polish translation.
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In presenting the evolution of the concept of grace in patristic and medieval theology, Otto Herman Pesch reveals a misunderstanding underlying the Lutheran-Catholic dispute over justification. Grace as habitus and qualitas was introduced to Christian theology to raise a final barrier against Pelagian temptations. With the passage of time, and contrary to the original intention, a transformation of the concept of grace took place in theory as well as in pastoral practice, so that people began to believe that it was necessary for man to perform, by natural means, a meritious act (meritum de congruo) in order to receive the grace necessary for salvation. This led Luther to oppose the concept of grace as habitus – for the same reason, ironically, for which this concept was introduced (that is, he opposed a Pelagian model of salvation). After having explained the historical misunderstandings involved in this theory of grace, it can be asserted, as the author argues, that there is no contradiction between the actual teaching of the Council of Trent and Luther’s famous thesis, Sola gratia. ‘Only grace’ surely stands at the foundation and the beginning of man’s relationship to God. This, however, does not contradict the fact that God’s influence produces a real effect in creation and brings to the individual an experience of reconstituted freedom – that is, an experience of completely personal freedom that is, at the same time, entirely the result of God’s grace.
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La théologie morale orthodoxe reste toujours un domaine peu présent dans la littérature théologique polonaise. Or, les défis moraux qui se dressent devant le christianisme dans le monde contemporain nous obligent à aborder cette problématique aussi bien dans le cadre du dialogue oecuménique. L’article traite de l’histoire de la présence de la théologie morale orthodoxe dans les oeuvres catholiques. Il est possible d’y distinguer trois périodes. La première englobe les oeuvres antérieures à la deuxième guerre mondiale et se caractérise par une attitude comparative. Les oeuvres soulignent la différence entre l’éthique catholique et l’éthique orthodoxe. La seconde période a commencé avec le renouveau apporté par le Concile Vatican II et se caractérise par une attitude oecuménique ; les auteurs tendent alors à souligner les ressemblances. La troisième période ne fait que commencer dans la littérature polonaise. Elle a pour but une analyse critique de la théologie morale orthodoxe elle-même. L’article est basé essentiellement sur les oeuvres du théologien italien Basilo Petrà. Pour considérer la théologie morale orthodoxe de façon critique l’auteur préconise l’analyse des questions suivantes : les sources de la théologie morale, avec une prise en considération particulière de l’interdépendance entre la liturgie et l’éthique ; la relation entre la théologie morale et l’autorité ecclésiale ; la question de «l’économie ecclésiale» ; une nouvelle compréhension de la théologie morale comme d’une éthique qui n’est par une éthique autonome mais bien une éthique chrétienne de par sa nature. Ces sujets, étudiés de façon critique, ont pour vocation de servir à créer une communauté de discours dans le sein de la théologie orthodoxe, ce n’est qu’alors que cette éthique pourra entrer en dialogue avec d’autres confessions et sera à même de soulever les défis du monde moderne.
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Reformation anniversary in Eastern Europe? What is going on? Where did the idea come from? What do our eastern neighbors have to do with this? So much!
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The aim of this paper is to analyze the phenomenon of modern apocrypha from the perspective of cultural studies. The term ‘apocrypha’ is usually associated with early Christian and Gnostic texts, but the tradition of unorthodox writings is also continued in modern Western culture. It is not easy to formulate a comprehensive definition of apocrypha by analyzing this phenomenon only from the perspective of literary, historical and religious studies. The phenomenon of apocrypha is so complex that it should be described based on a kind of methodological bricolage. This method should allow one to understand the role that apocrypha play in modern culture. Many scholars have noticed that it is not possible to point to clear and obvious criteria that would allow us to assign a given text to the category of apocryphal writings. Most typologies of texts which are epistemologically valuable and which help scholars to identify certain features of apocryphal writings do not take into consideration the cultural qualities of non-canonical, unorthodox narratives. From the perspective of cultural studies, modern apocrypha can be seen not only as literary or religious texts but also as an important element of cultural autocommunication. As an element of cultural metacognition, apocrypha can also be regarded as a medium of cultural memory and collective identity.
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Michał Plater-Zyberk was born in 1937 in Vilnius in a family of patriotic and independent traditions. He was soon orphaned as a teenage boy and was also the subject of first repression – in 1954 he was prevented from starting his studies due to his origin and lack of affiliation with the Communist Youth Union of Poland. Only in the so-called. Thaw in 1956 was admitted to study at the Szczecin University of Technology. After graduation, he started working in state railroads, with whom he remained involved throughout his professional career. Since the sixties he has co-created an independent environment of secular Catholic intelligentsia, St. Andrzej Bobola at ul. Post Office in Szczecin. At the same time he was active in the Polish Tourist-Touring Society. In the seventies, he co-organized family church counseling and supported various independent initiatives. By signing petitions and making your private apartment available to opposition parties. For social activities and relationships with the Church he was faced with further repressions: in 1967 he was suspended in the rights of the tourist guide, and in 1978 degraded from the occupied position. In 1980 he was a co-founder of the Szczecin Catholic Club and co-organizer of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union Solidarity in the Pomeranian Regional Railways Board. He became the chairman of the union cell at his workplace and entered the regional authorities of Solidarity. He died suddenly during a holiday trip to Zakopane in February 1981. In 1986 his name was accepted by the Szczecin Catholic Club in recognition of his co-founder.
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The paper deals with the topic of an acheiropoietes (an image “not made by hands”) and, more broadly, with the motif of the so-called true or natural image. Such images were known to ancient Greek thinkers (Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Plotinus), but their importance grew significantly in the Christian theology of icons which treated Christ as the perfect image of His Father. In modern times true images mostly function in folklore and they are also referred to in modern art. From the perspective of the philosophy of representation, a true image is an interesting utopia of perfect mimesis – it comes into being in a natural, not artificial way, whereas a copy is regarded as equivalent to the original.
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Carnal hermeneutics shows that pre-thematic bodily hermeneutics can complement cognitive hermeneutics. The thematization of sacramental imagination is an essential part of such an approach. Carnal hermeneutics finds new ways of showing how imagination inhabits our bodies and reflects on the emancipatory possibilities that are hidden in the process of maintaining and crossing the various boundaries that constitute our identity. Carnal reading is both reception and creation, i.e., it is not a reading into something but a reading from something. The act of interpreting Paul Celan’s Tenebrae is an exercise in a diacritical hermeneutics of communion and prayer, which contributes to the self-awakening of existence by elucidating the fundamental structures of our understanding of being.
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Gianni Vattimo, who is both a Catholic and a frequent critic of the Church, explores the surprising congruence between Christianity and hermeneutics in light of the dissolution of metaphysical truth. As in hermeneutics, Vatimo claims, interpretation is central to Christianity. Influenced by hermeneutics and borrowing largely from the Nietzschean and Heideggerian heritage, the Italian philosopher, who has been instrumental in promoting a nihilistic approach to Christianity, draws here on Nietzsche’s writings on nihilism, which is not to be understood in a purely negative sense. Vattimo suggests that nihilism not only expands the Christian message of charity, but also transforms it into its endless human potential. In “The Age of Interpretation,” the author shows that hermeneutical radicalism “reduces all reality to message,” so that the opposition between facts and norms turns out to be misguided, for both are governed by the interpretative paradigms through which someone (always a concrete, historically situated someone) makes sense of them. Vattimo rejects some of the deplorable political consequences of hermeneutics and claims that traditional hermeneutics is in collusion with various political-ideological neutralizations.
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Logos magazine and the Lithuanian Branch of the International Association of St. Thomas Aquinas mourn the death of the long-time patron of Lithuanian Thomists, Dominican Brother, Prof. Dr. Abelardo Lobato. He used to visit Lithuania, take part in international thomistic conferences and teach at the annual Thomas Aquinas summer school. His book Human dignity and destiny as well as a number of articles were translated and published in Lithuania. Father Abelardo will remain in our memory as a teacher and sincere friend, ardent researcher and propagator of the ideas of Thomas Aquinas.
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The materials of the Saxonian Civil Code of 1863/65 reveal an intensive debate about the importance of religion for private law. The Institutes for Legal History at Freiburg and Heidelberg University will fully publish these materials. The drafting of the provisions for matrimonial law shows the substantive influence of the Lutheran Evangelical Church. Large parts of the final version of the matrimonial law in the Saxonian Civil Code were based on the ecclesiastical law of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Civil Code also included special deviations from the Evangelical Lutheran law for Catholics and Jews. The Saxonian lawmaker chose a hybrid solution for matrimonial law: ecclesiastical law in the shell of civilian law. Such a solution was anachronistic since many particular laws in the German Confederacy had already introduced civil marriage to a certain degree. The most outdated Saxonian provision was the prohibition of matrimony between Christians and Jews. The Saxonian Act on Dissidents (1870) and the German Personal Status Act (1875) soon introduced civil marriage also in Saxony and eliminated almost all religious provisions in the Saxonian Civil Code.
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The paper discusses an anonymous poem “Apologeticus” (published in Vilnius 1582) being the first direct evangelical statement in a polemics about the Confederation of Warsaw. Not only was it a defensive response to previous Catholic speeches, but also an offensive monition directed to them and provoked by the 1581 Vilnius turmoil. The objects of Calvinian attack are the Pope (alongside of the Jesuits and Stanisław Hozjusz), the Polish clergy, Polish renegades, worship of the saints and of Holy Mary, Catholic idolatry, and celibacy. The arguments, essentially conditioned by historical “there” and “then” (Vilnius between 1581–1582), with time in the writings of evangelic polemists ceased or even did not appear at all. Thus, such writings were not characterised by such intensity of emotions unfriendly to the Catholics as visible in the poem in question. Provided Piotr Skarga is “a warrior of Counter Reformation,” the unknown author of “Apologeticus” may be per analogiam referred to as “a swashbuckler of Reformation” due to his anti-Catholic invectives.
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In Austria, the concept of civil marriage and of a divorce irrespective of the spouses’ religious affiliations had not been introduced earlier than 1938. Previously it aroused a lot of controversy between the Social Democratic and Christian Social Party without any hope of solution. In this situation, the Social Democratic Governors of some Austrian Lands, particularly of the Land of Vienna, applied a section of the General Civil Code to grant a dispensation from the impediment of ligamen (§ 83 ABGB), which meant that they allowed an already married person to remarry. Many juristic problems resulted from this practice, and the attempt of the Austrian Constitutional Court to solve the problem as a “conflict of jurisdiction” made the dispute even worse. In 1938, the Nazi regime introduced the concept of civil marriage, and of divorcibility of marriages also in Austria. The Marriage Act of 1938 has remained valid in Austria to this day.
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This text is a reply to E.A.J. Honigmann and presents another point of view on Shakespeare’s Catholicism. H. Hammerschmidt-Hummel defends her thesis and tries to convince that her book is based on reliable studies and historical sources. She proves that a secret Catholic code in his plays is the most important key to understanding his whole output. Her arguments are based on two evidences: the known or presumed “Catholic sympathies” of the dramatist’s family, friends and patrons and the “Catholic attitudes” embedded in the plays.
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Culturologically, a feast is a compendium of a kind, encompassing and evincing all elements of cultural identification when it comes both to a community or an individual. Such elements encompass also all the symbolic archetypes associated with the national mentality. Studying the ways in which they are being realised can help to establish the mechanisms of how cultural phenomena are produced. Or taking the liberty of paraphrasing the biblical saying: ’Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them ‘, there would be similar moral strength and a more clear tendency to the words ‘Wherefore by celebrating their feasts ye shall know them’. This problematics manifestly has its effect on arts to further miraculously translate into the society too, transforming into a creative urge, needed for artistic output.
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The spiritual writers of Christian Syria emphasised the necessity of a radical purification of the heart. Purity of the heart is necessary for the so-termed “pure prayer” which Eastern Christianity considers an important aspiration for a Christian life. Syriac authors used the shafyut lebba concept to describe the complete clarification of the heart. The mysterious Qurbana – an internal transformation – must occur in the heart of every person. Qurbana – this is a concept used by Syriac writers with multiple meanings to express the mystery of the Eucharist. The transubstantiation of bread and wine at the time of the Eucharistic celebration is the symbol of the analogical process in a person’s heart. Syriac teachers compare the Christian prayer with the sacrifices of the Old Testament: when the sacrifices pleased God, God would send fire from heaven to burn them up as a sign of acceptance. God would accept sacrifices due to the purity of a person’s heart not because of the sacrifice itself. It is the same with prayer: when it comes from a pure heart, God accepts it and sends the fire of the Holy Spirit, which transforms the believer and fills him/her with the spirit of holiness. The clarified heart and the pure prayer rising from it have an epiphanic effect – the presence of God is manifested. Nevertheless, a full-fledged, personal manifestation of God is only possible if the believer has achieved an absolutely “pure prayer”.
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