"Będziecie moimi świadkami po krańce ziemi" (Dz 1,8). Łukaszowa wizja świadectwa z perspektywy Dziejów Apostolskich

Author(s): Krzysztof Mielcarek / Language(s): Polish Issue: 28/2015

Because of the richness of Lukan theology regarding witness, the author was unable to cover all of its aspects. Thus the study touches only upon its major threads. Besides the obvious issues of the apostles role as witnesses, the content of their witnessing, and its recipients – the study presents some other personalities involved in transmitting the Good News of God’s salvation to humanity. Indeed, the greatest stress is placed on the testimony of God himself. Despite being a constant Mystery for humankind, He never ceases being involved in their history and witnessing to his salvific plans. Although there are only a few texts within Acts that connect the persons of the Trinity to witnessing, one should consider them as fundamental to a full Lukan theology of witness.

"In saeculo et ex saeculo". Characteristics of the secular institutes

Author(s): Andrea Michl / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

Secular institutes are a form of consecrated life that only came into being in the last century and therefore do not have a long history. For this reason, there are also only a few canonical and ecclesiastical documents. Since the characteristics of secular institutes, in contrast to traditional monastic communities, are rather unknown, this article aims to contribute to making them somewhat better known and to present the regulations on various elements, such as spirituality, community life, governance and asset management. However, the codified norms only form a legal framework here, which leaves concretisation to the institutes' own regulations, so that there is a wide range. What all institutes have in common, however, is the connection between action and contemplation, which is also their main characteristic.

"Vera iustitia et sanctitate praeditum…"

Az istenképűség tartalma a Heidelbergi Káté szerint

Author(s): György Papp / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2014

"Własny dar" sakramentu małżeństwa w katechezach Jana Pawła II

Author(s): Maciej Dalibor / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2019

This article presents the papal theology of the body within the scope which concerns the sacramental grace given to a man and a woman in the marriage. This grace, in a special way, concerns relationships created by a man because it is they that were deprived of the basic dimension of the unselfish gift by original sin. This gift was given to a man by the Creator and on the basis of this gift the man had to share himself with another human being. The incarnation of the Son of God was God's response to the mistrust that undermined the communion of God with a man, together with the essential human communion, that is, the marriage. Through the sacraments we have access to the fruits of the Passover of Christ. In the sacrament of marriage these fruits enable people to enter again into a dimension of the selfless gift of the self given to another person.

(Su)odnos naravne i sakramentalne ženidbe prema pobudnici Amoris laetitia

Author(s): Anton Tamarut / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 3/2020

The article presents and analyses the (co)relationship of natural and sacramental marriage according to the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris letitia. The first chapter draws attention to the fact that the very gospel of the family, within which the marriage covenant occupies a central place, is a historical and eschatological reality; it has its natural and sacramental level, its relief and dynamic history, gradual growth and development. The second chapter presents and analyses man’s creation in the image of God wherein lies the foundation of natural marriage. The expression the image of God is brought into direct connection with the pair »male and female.« The third chapter draws attention to sin, that is, to the mystery of Christ’s mystery of salvation as the basis for understanding the sacramentality of marriage. Reference is made to the central meaning of Jesus Christ – the image of God in the renewal of marriage and family, and the sacramental meaning of marriage and family is analysed in detail. The sacrament of marriage is viewed under the aspect of a gift, a sign and a vocation, or mission. The fourth chapter is devoted to the very (co)relationship between natural and sacramental marriage. Natural marriage in relation to the sacramental is seen as a natural foundation, an open beginning, as »seeds that are still waiting to grow« (AL, 76), or as a sprout that »should be lead to the sacrament of marriage« (AL, 293).

(Sustainable) Development Through Deliverance (Ministry) in West Africa?

Author(s): Stanisław Grodź / Language(s): English Issue: 9/2021

One might wonder what both matters named in the title have in common because they belong to two rather different world perceptions. In the conclusion of his latest book (2015) Paul Gifford still insisted that development – conceived according to the Western secularised perception – was hardly possible there, where people continue operating within the “enchanted” worldview. It seems, however, that this “impossibility” may actually become possible, although through quite a surprising twist of mind called “decolonisation of development”.

75 éves a Barmeni Teológiai Nyilatkozat

Author(s): Tamás Juhász / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2009

Vor genau 75 Jahren haben Vertreter der Deutschen Evangelischen Kirche auf ihrer Bekenntnissynode in Barmen (Wuppertal) die berühmt gewordene Theologische Erklärung kund gegeben. In der Abfassung des Textes hatte Karl Barth den Löwenanteil. Die Erklärung besteht aus 6 kurzen Thesen, jede These hat einen „Predigttext“. Auch die positiven Sätze sind kräftig, kategorisch, aber sie werden durch die Verwerfungen, durch die angefügten negativen Sätze erheblich gekräftigt. Die Erklärung zeugt davon, daß die deutschen Protestanten – ein Jahr nach der Machtergreifung Hitlers! – erkannt haben: eine totale Diktatur verletzt nicht nur hie und da die Juris diktion der Kirche, sondern greift den christlichen Glauben selbst, in seinen Wurzeln an. Die biblische Wahrheit leuchtet, angesichts der Irrwegen und Lügen des totalen Staates noch klarer auf.

A béranyaság helyzete Romániában

Author(s): Sándor Béla Visky / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2019

Több milliárd dolláros üzletággá nőtte ki magát a világban a béranyaipar. Hogyan illeszthető egy ilyen szenvtelen közgazdasági megállapítás a megszülető emberi élet misztériumához? Az alábbiakban röviden ismertetem a béranyaság jelenségét, valamint az ezzel kapcsolatos alapfogalmakat, ennek romániai jogállását és gyakorlatát más országok szabályozásának kontextusában, végül pedig néhány etikai szempontot fogalmazok meg a problémaegyüttesre nézve.

A bibliai „Ne ölj!” parancsolat Emmanuel Lévinas filozófiájában

Author(s): István Bacsó / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2019

Die persönlichen und kollektiven tragischen Erfahrungen des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts haben den französischen Philosophen Emmanuel Lévinas dazu geleitet, das bekannte biblische Gebot wieder ins Licht zu bringen. Der Imperativ, du sollst nicht töten hat in der Philosophie von Lévinas eine paradigmatische Funktion. Auf einer Seite unterstreicht Lévinas die göttliche Originalität des Verbotes, auf der anderen Seite betont er, dass diese Aufforderung fürs jeweilige Ich gültig ist, denn auf dem Gesicht des anderen steht immer zu lesen: Du sollst nicht töten!

A BOCSÁNAT TŰFOKA – ACUMEN VENIAE

Author(s): S. Béla Visky / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2020

Mad Forgiveness. Vladimir Jankélévitch (1903–1985) was a professor of moral philosophy at Sorbonne University for three decades, starting from 1951. He wrote thousands of pages on the essential issues of human life, on virtues – the reality of wisdom, courage, loyalty, sincerity, justice, fairness, modesty, humility, moderation, abnegation, forgiveness, love –, and their opposites, lying and baseness, in an age where these topics were not seen as fashionable at all. Below, I present his thoughts on forgiveness and provide my own translation of the two final chapters of his work Le pardon.

A bűn eredete

Author(s): László Varga / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2007

The origin of sin is a universally commonly discussed problem of theology. It can be clarified only from the original texts of the Bible. There we find a clear answer by its diverse teachers: Sin originates from bodily desires. In our terminology, bodily desires are the biological instincts. In the animal world instincts are specifically restricted. They are only active in necessary times and conditions; they assurae the harmony of nature. Man’s instincts are free; they are always active and biologically unrestricted. The millionaire works for more money, women are able and ready to copulate even while being pregnant, the lust for power is limitless, and even world domination can not fulfil it. Remaining uncontrolled, instincts can destroy all human societies. They must be controlled morally. Man is personally responsible to keep them under God-given moral control. That is the dignity and tragedy of being human. Instincts are biological forces, morally neutral, but by nature self-centered. Godgiven morals are always altruistic. Under the guidance of strong morals, instinct is the force that brings good economy into reality, secures family life, a well trained society. When instinct escapes from under the control of morals, it is a guideless, selfcentered, always active force, which is able to destroy every social human activity, even personal life. Human morals are always questionable. My rules are as valuable as anyone else’s. Only God-given morals can be unquestionable. That is the meaning of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: Man is free to do as he wishes, but moral laws are not under man’s will. To do what moral say is the personal and social responsibility of man. So there is a permanent battle between the moral convictions and the urgings of the instincts striving to get from under it. Consequently sin is the act of self-centered instincts getting out from under the guidance of the God-given moral rules.

A bűn kollektív dimenziójának azonosítható sajátosságai a Szentírásban

Author(s): István Bakos / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2021

This study attempts to sketch the biblical and Christian ethical dimensions of collective crime by analysing biblical texts and terminology relevant to the topic. The definition and critique of collective crime was born in Germany in the aftermath of political, philosophical and legal debates after the second world war. The concept expressing the essence of the notion – namely that the whole community can be considered guilty for the crimes committed by individuals or a smaller group within the community – has led to several Neroic acts, having served as a legitimate ideological basis for dictatorships, extermination camps, war crimes, conceptional proceedings, and victimisations. Therefore the 20th century definition of collective crime cannot be sustained any longer either legally, or morally. It is clear nonetheless that some thoughts behind this concept are also familiar from the Bible, which is aware that the consequences of individual crimes affect an entire nation. However, the view which penalises the innocent for crimes committed by others, is foreign to the conceptual world of the Bible. In this study I point to biblical and ethical principles providing guidelines for dealing with collective crime and collective responsibility.

A bűn, bűnbánat, megbocsátás. Gondolatok Fazakas Sándor könyvéről

Author(s): András Lajos Kiss / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2021

The present writing discusses analytically Sándor Fazakas’s book entitled We have sinned… The church in the context of historical and social sins. It is known that in the darkest decades of the last century, the Christian churches were in the focus of different totalitarian oppressing regimes. Under these conditions it seemed to be impossible and/or senseless to interpret questions of social and private sins from the viewpoint of church organisations, church leaders, or laic believers. Sándor Fazakas is breaking taboos when exposing – beyond the hard to judge victims’ destiny – the moral and theological facets of the collaboration with the oppressive regimes. Based on his vast knowledge of history, theology, philosophy, and sociology, the author offers worthy of considering aspects for the difficult task of encountering the past, avoiding at the same time the nowadays rather common ad personam accusations.

A Case of Sceptically-based Christian Moralism: Isidore of Pelusium’s Epistles 1217 and 773 (II, 273)

Author(s): John A. Demetracopoulos / Language(s): English Issue: 28/2022

Scholars have claimed that Isidore of Pelusium’s Epistle 1217 forms a contribution to biblical exegesis. This seems inaccurate, for a closer examination of the text shows that what Isidore states is that certain things in the world (not in the Bible) are patently knowable, other things are not but nevertheless can be known by drawing conclusions from evident knowledge, whereas some things simply are beyond our reach. Actually, this insurmountable limit is, in the last resort, a positive element, because it gives us a moral lesson, teaching us humility. The true meaning of the Epistle is revealed mainly through its direct textual sources, which include passages from Sextus Empiricus, Philo of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea, and John Chrysostom. In addition, the main point of Epistle 1217 is contextualised in Isidore’s thought by comparing it to certain other letters he wrote, primarily Epistle 773 (II, 273), which, as shown, is a development of Epistle 1217.

A Comprehensive Introduction to Synodality: Reconfiguring Ecclesiology and Ecclesial Practice

Author(s): Jos Moons / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

This article contributes to the growing body of literature on synodality with a comprehensive introduction. Firstly, the author observes the link between the synodal approach promoted by Pope Francis and the Second Vatican Council. With the help of Myriam Wijlens’ term ‘reconfiguration,’ he then discusses the theological foundations of a synodal understanding of the Church. Synodality recontextualizes the bishop’s responsibility by situating it within the community of the faithful. In addition, as the Holy Spirit is the main actor in the synodal process, all the faithful, including bishops, have to listen to what He is saying, a task that requires discerning the spirits. In the third place, the author focuses on the reconfiguration of ecclesial practice. In a synodal way of proceeding, the traditional virtue of obedience is complemented by various other virtues, such as speaking out, listening with interest, and a deep openness to the Spirit’s newness. Finally, the author identifies practical issues that need attention.

A Covid-19 világjárvány által kiváltott paradigmaváltozás a missziói ekkléziológiában

Author(s): József Steiner / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the life of the churches and the local congregations. The Hungarian experiences fit into the international trends. The ongoing paradigm-shift in mission-ecclesiology has become even more complex. The pandemic amplified some of the ongoing changes and, at the same time, has brought about new phenomena. This study describes these changes and provides suggestions that could strengthen the churches in order to effectively fulfil their mission even under the current circumstances.

A feltámadás nem, lélekvándorlás

Author(s): Péter Sebestyén / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 04/2015

A Fifth Mark of the Church?

Author(s): Thaddaeus Lancton / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

In addition to the four marks of the Church, mercy has been emphasized since the pontificate of St. John Paul II as essential to the authentic fulfillment of the Church’s identity and mission. A Christological and pneumatological understanding of these marks of the Church leads to a proper grasp of the Church in relation to mercy. The Church is merciful not de facto because of her works of mercy on behalf of the poor or sinners. Rather, she is first the recipient of unprecedented Divine Mercy, poured forth in the gift of the Holy Spirit, and so shares that same Spirit of Mercy with others through her sacraments, preaching, and service. The Church’s mission of mercy thus extends beyond the myriad of manners to alleviate human misery. In union with Christ, her Bridegroom, the Church is to communicate the one gift of Divine Mercy, the Holy Spirit, to all.

A globalizáció kihívásai – keresztyén társadalometikai válaszok

Author(s): Elek Rezi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 5/2019

The first part of the study deals with the positive and negative effects of globalization. The process of globalization has effects on the environment, on culture, on religions, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical wellbeing in socie- ties around the world. The second part presents important and timely Christian social ethical answers to the challenges of globalization. These answers involve respect for life and Christian ethical values.

A hit megvallásának terminológiái a Szentírásban

Author(s): György Papp / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2018

Az előadás első felében azt szeretnénk megvizsgálni, hogy Szentírás milyen közlést kifejező igékkel írja körül a hit megvallásának folyamatát, ezeket milyen szövegösszefüggésbe és élethelyzetbe ágyazza bele, illetve hogy ez milyen teológiai következményekkel jár. Ez a vizsgálódás hozzájárulhat ahhoz, hogy a hitvallást mint műfajt pontosabban tudjuk körülírni és elhatárolni más szövegtípusoktól. Az előadás másik fele arra keresi a választ, hogy milyen bibliai gyökerük van azoknak a kifejezéseknek, amelyek az ókeresztyén teológiai irodalomban jelölték a hitvallás fogalmát. Ezáltal egyrészt jobban megértjük az óegyház hitvallásról alkotott felfogását, másrészt pedig hozzájárulunk a jelenkori hitvalláskép értelmezéséhez.