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Nature, happiness, and ‘person’ are the three vertices defi ning the field of Robert Spaemann’s philosophical interests. Spaemann has extensively discussed these realities in his three major works: Natürliche Ziele. Geschichte und Wiederentdeckung des teleologischen Denkens, Happiness and Benevolence, and Persons: The Difference Between “Someone” and “Something.” Spaemann holds that a teleological approach to life following its natural and autonomous goal, opens up the normative aspect of being in which the human person becomes coresponsible for the finality of other beings. The processual ontology developed by Spaemann concludes with the ethics that seeks to combine antiquity with Christianity: not only does it refrain from abandoning the concept of human happiness as the goal of life, but it expands this ancient idea by introducing the Christian concepts of love and benevolence as the sources of genuine happiness. Benevolence and responsibility are possible beyond the natural egocentric self-centeredness. Owing to the transgression of her ego the human being in a ‘natural’ way transcends her own nature, thus becoming a ‘person.’
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The Epistle to the Romans (Germ. Römerbrief, 1919 and 1922) and Church Dogmatics (Germ. Kirchliche Dogmatik, 1932-1967) are the two most important Karl Barth’s works –milestones on the path of his theology development. And it had a great influence for whole 20th century theology – Evangelic and Catholic. Phrase used in the title – „theology of the Word of God”—is especially appropriate in a context of a whole theological thought of the citizen of Basel, including The Epistle to the Romans and Church Dogmatics. For K. Barth theology was man’s response to the Word of God. The Word requires response, as it focuses on Jesus Christ– the only revelation of wholly different and transcendent God.
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The purpose of the article is an attempt to indicate, based on the implications of the in the social sciences developed biographical perspective, the convergence in the theological description of the eschatological purification and judgment of God on the Catholic and Protestant side. The abovementioned research perspective exposes, among others, durability of individual biography, the importance of self-discovery and inalienable responsibility for maturation to fully own identity. This type of categories have found reception, both in the Catholic and Protestant theology, without having abandoned their doctrinal assumptions and being able to formulate complementary and converging statements. The post-conciliar Catholic theology explains the eschatological purification as a process of personal maturation for meeting with God, as well as transforming man’s encounter with God as Judge. In the more recent Protestant theology one can find such interpretations of God’s judgment, which demonstrate its processual character and purifying sense in the perspective of individual life history.
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The data contained in the works about the problem of death as the final personal decision allow also to talk about the ecumenical dimension of the Ladislaus Boros’ concept. It says that death is a possibility to take a final decision in which a man stands for or against God. It was the beginning to focus on the moment of death and adapt it to the concept of immediate change where the moments following and preceding interlock each other to create unity. German Protestant theological literature contains a critical look at the problem of death as the ultimate personal decision. Jungel Eberhard understands human death as “a fundamental passivity of human life.” Rudolf Bultmann follows the structure of the human being settlement. Werner Elert emphasizes that in death the man’s separation from God finds its deadly intensification, death is return in nothingness until creatio ex nihilo in the “day of judgment.” Paul Tillich emphasizes, however, that even after death, there is still the development of the individual by cleaning from distorted acts of earthly existence. Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls the death as “an act” human. Wolfhart Pannenberg believes that despite death the fellowship with God is opening to all people in suffering and dying. To summarize the above issue it should be emphasized that the German Protestant theologians do not explore at all the details of the concept of death as a final personal decision. However, this concept is very clearly the importance of ecumenism.
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The category of communio belongs to the most important concepts of systematic theology. It refers to the internal life of the Trinitarian God, the relationship between God and man, the mystery of the person of Jesus Christ, the Church and all Christian realities. Today the revelation of God is also perceived as the reality of communication and communion. Communio theology was initially and most widely developed during the post-conciliar times as communio ecclesiology, bearing also the ecumenical importance, but this development was marked also by the broader dogmatic theology, founding its growth so far in Trinitology, sacramentology, Christology, anthropology, theology of creation. As a specific “gold mine” communio includes huge potential that is waiting for exploration primarily in systematic theology, but not only, as it also reaches pastoral theology.
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This paper discusses the issue of the relationship between the Church and liberation in the theology of Edward Schillebeeckx. The author first describes the negative contrast-experience. He then presents the basic dimensions of Christian salvation according to the great Dutch theologian. Emphasis is placed upon the concept of the Church as the sacrament of the liberation.
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An important event for the Orthodoxy: The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church took place in Crete (June, 18–26.2016). It was attended by official delegations from ten local Orthodox Churches. Four local Orthodox Churches, namely: Patriarchate of Antioch, Moscow Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Georgia, and the Bulgarian Patriarchate withdrew from the participation in the Council. The incomplete representation of the Orthodox Churches at the Council is an evidence of unsolved problems and differences in the approach to canonical and theological issues. The article synthetically presents the history of activities aimed at convening Pan-Orthodox Council and ecclesiological problems, which caused the withdrawal of four local Orthodox Churches from the Council in Crete. Presented arguments may be helpful in understanding of existing theological differences and tensions in mutual relations of local Orthodox Churches.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the question of the ecclesiastical recognition of the other Christian communities in the context of nowadays discussions within the Orthodox communities, after the Holy and Great Council in Crete (2016). We will look closely at the relation between the Church unity and the unity of faith, as understood by the Orthodox Churches, as well as at the meaning of the “the historical name of other non-Orthodox Christian Churches” with which the Orthodox Church is not in communion, stated by the document Relations of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian world (ROCC). In the end, we will argue that ROCC if understood properly, could constitue the basis for the ecumenical dialogue on Orthodox.
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In our present times, a search for widespread certainty over a sound understanding of ecumenism must be acknowledged. While questions on the vision for communion among the Christian churches or on the commitment to witness and to social justice are more than justified, the appeal to “turn to God” reverberates strongly throughout the witness of (ecumenical) prophets today as it did in the past. Although a real process of entering into spiritual communion with one another takes time to happen until it becomes real and visible, ecumenism must continually start afresh from God. Ecumenism is above all God’s will that “all may be one” (John 17:21). All human efforts in the ecumenical movement are to find their origin and inspiration from God alone. The aim of this paper is a modest one. It seeks to place all ecumenical discourse in the light of the mystery of God who is the source of communion. In this light, recent discourse on reception, recognition, and spirituality should be grounded in God’s very nature and call to become one in him. This article features four main steps: 1. to contextualise the quest for Christian unity in postmodern times, 2. to emphasise the necessity of a relationship between ecumenism and Christian mysticism, 3. to learn from central concepts of the mysticism of the Church Fathers, and 4. to reconfigure ecumenism on prayer, trust and hospitality.
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The article aims to answer the question why ecology is also a theological question. The source of these inquiries are the documents of the World Council of Churches (WCC). Ecology is one of the theological issues, as long as the deliberations of the subject are based on theological anthropology, in which man is perceived as a collaborator of God in the deed of creation and as someone bearing moral responsibility for preserving the integrity of creation. Documents of the WCC contain deepen analyses of the considerable ecological threats facing the Earth as human habitat. On the basis of theological anthropology various WCC teams and commissions elaborate the position of the member Churches by means of many programs of studies.
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The image of Kingdom of God is often used in many theological interpretations and practical activities of the World Council of Churches. The way of using this category by the biggest ecumenical organizations reflects various theological orientations embedded in Protestantism, particularly in the Social Gospel theology. The Kingdom of God is being identified with an ideal political and social formula, for which striving is proclaiming to be a task to Christians. This provokes many observers to the sharp criticism. They accuse the Genevan institution of reducing Christianity to an ideological vision. The article presents the historical sketch of interpretations of the image of Kingdom of God in selected examples of the Protestant theology, it discusses the way how the World Council of Churches interprets this image, furthermore, it displays the basic motives of criticism concerning this interpretation.
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The article presents feminist ideas related to social justice which find their expression in ecumenical activities of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The first part shows the main theological and social concepts inspired by feminist movement and discussed during the 10th Assembly of the WCC; the second part presents their significance for the prospects of the WCC, especially in the context of difficulties within the WCC.
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In the article I attempt to verify practically a veritative argument in Edith Stein's life. That argument serves to substantiate the credibility of Divine and Christian Revelation by pointing at God, the Ultimate Truth that explains the meaning of human life and of all that has existed, as the source of any truth. Edith Stein found God, the highest Truth, by examining the truth and searching the sense of existence in her life. She unravelled her destination, her eternal life in unity with God, through encountering Him. Her searching the Truth and God were marked by the process of reaching tha absolute Truth, God of Revelation, the process of which has been a part of veritative argument's structure. Thus, the experience of Edith Stein may have been classified as the practical verification of the above argument.
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The earliest inroads of Islam on the northern edges of today's Cameroon came from northern Africa. They led all the way from Arabian Egypt and Libya still in the times of the Berbers. Early islamification yielded Moslem states, created mainly in the area of Lake Chad. This first onset was connected primarily with acquiring slaves and new subjects. The next inroad of Islamic infiltration came from Fulani infiltration of territory in northern Cameroon, beginning in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century the Fulani conquered northern Cameroon, although numerous enclaves of the Kirdi peoples evaded their authority. The Fulani achieved much greater mastery over the Kirdi during the time of French and German rule. They took advantage of their dominant political position and of their cooperation with the colonizers. In this way they brought about the greater islamification of these lands, but they did not win the majority of the population to their religion. In the mid-20th century Catholic and also Protestant missionary activity began a robust development in Kirdi territory. Their activity was restrained by the Fulani leaders. Additionally, favoritism of the Fulani and Islam in northern Cameroon continued after Cameroon gained independence in 1982. The intense rivalry began, however, to give place to a more peaceful coexistence, and even cooperation in many areas of social life. The time had arrived for a difficult dialogue, a dialogue which continually struggles with the past, with prejudice, and with a lack of understanding among many religious and political leaders.
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“Death is generally seen as the cessation of the connection between our mind and our body”. Most people believe that death takes place when the heart stops beating. Death occurs when the subtle consciousness finally leaves the body to go to the next life. “In order word death is the termination of all biological functions that sustain the living organism.” According to Catechism of the Catholic Church, “death is the separation of the soul from the body.” At the moment of death, the soul separates from the body.One particular belief that cuts across all cultures and religions is that all human beings must die and ought to be buried as a sign of respect and farewell. The question is what is the nature or rather what should be the nature of the burial and funeral rite of a deceased person? Do all human beings have the same or common burial and funeral rites or do our burial and funeral rites vary according to our religion, faith, beliefs, culture, age and understanding? Catholic Church teaches that death is a transformation and not the end of life. It is the teaching and belief of the Catholic Church that there is a resurrection and life of glory in heaven where those who have done well while on earth see God face to face.Catholic Church also teaches and believes that on the last day, both the body and the soul will rise to see the glory of God. For this reason, the body of a dead Catholic deserves some respect and dignity. This corpse should be given the respect and dignity it deserves during burial. However, this is not always the case especially in Igboland, Nigeria. There are some syncretistic and fetish beliefs and practices associated with some Catholic burials and funerals in Igboland.This paper therefore sets out to bring to light these syncretic, paganistic and fetish practices and beliefs associated with Catholic burials and funerals in Igboland. It will also offer some theological implications of these practices as well as the possible ways through which they can be curtailed and stopped.
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In the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church on the festivals of saints there is a number of customs and religious rituals related to the agrarian work. In the spring one of this kind of celebration in the folk religion was the Feast of St. Mark's (25.04), when people prayed for abundant harvest and protection from all natural disasters, as well as Rogation Days celebrated before the feast of the Ascension (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday). These customs have their origins in the fifth century in Gaul (France), from the sixth century they were also practiced in Rome. During supplicatory procession the faithful stopped at the roadside chapels and crosses, chanting litanies, and from the ninth century this was “Litany of the Saints”, antiphons and psalms in honor of a patron saint or other saints who enjoyed a particular devotion in a given parish or diocese. The procession ended in a church, where Mass was celebrated.Currently in Poland the feast of the Ascension is celebrated on the Sunday before Pentecost. Rogation Days are also called days of prayer for good harvests and in the intention of countries suffering starvation. It is recommended to organize supplicatory processions and celebration of the votive Mass on Monday “in the period of sowing”, on Tuesday – “the sanctification of human labor” and on Wednesday – “for the hungry.”
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A religious post for the rural population has always had a special significance. It was practiced as a manifestation of deep faith, as well as preparation for the contact with the sacred and the changes that took place in the life of the individual or the community. It always had its reasons, had to take place at the appointed time and referred to a specific group of people who kept orders determined by religious principles and traditions of the community. All these aspects have been addressed in this text to show the specificity of fasting practices implemented by members of folk culture.
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