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The article reveals the contents of the Old Believers’ written monument dating back to the period between the early and the mid-XVIII century, found in the collection of the manuscripts and early printed books of the National Museum Complex in Veliky Novgorod. The miscellany contains troparia and kontakia to selected saints, most of whom are associated with the Novgorod land. Conclusions are made about the connection of this monument with the hagiological research of the Old Believers of the XVIII century, as well as with similar written works (The Book of Descriptions of Russian Saints) and icon paintings (Icon of the Novgorod Miracle Workers), which were popular among the Old Believers. At the same time, with the help of comparative analysis, the specific features of the monument are revealed that distinguish it from The Book of Descriptions of Russian Saints. Assumptions are made about a possible compiler of the miscellany, his confession, and the place where the monument was created. The introduction of this miscellany into research circulation makes it possible to supplement information about the systematic work of the Old Believers on collecting hagiological and hymnographic materials dedicated to Russian saints, primarily from the pre- Nikon period.
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Objectives. The purpose of this preliminary study is to determine the relationship between religious beliefs, self-esteem, anxiety, and depression in Greek elders. Material and methods. Thirty healthy older adults, all members of the Greek Orthodox Church, participated voluntarily in this research. Participants completed four relevant self-report questionnaires: 1) Beck Depression Inventory, 2) State -Trait Anxiety Inventory, 3) The Royal Free Questionnaire for Religious and Spiritual Beliefs, and 4) Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. Results. Results indicated no significant differences on the basis of gender (p > 0.05). The vast majority of the participants (n = 25) stated a strong religious and/or a spiritual belief, as measured by the Royal Free Questionnaire for Religious and Spiritual Beliefs. High scores on the Royal Free Questionnaire for Religious and Spiritual Beliefs were moderately and positively correlated with increased self-esteem, as measured by the total scores in the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (p < 0.05). In addition to that, the Royal Free Questionnaire for Religious and Spiritual Beliefs scores were negatively correlated with depression, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (p < 0.05). The Royal Free Questionnaire for Religious and Spiritual Beliefs was negatively correlated with state anxiety (p < 0.05), as well as anxiety, as personality trait (p < 0.05), both measured by the State and Trait subscales of the Anxiety Inventory. Conclusions. This study shows that there is a number of statistically moderate correlations between religious beliefs and other mental health variables in older adults living in Greece. The findings indicated a need for further research in this field.
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In this paper, I will try to present the idea of economic triadology as it appears in St. Irenaeus, Tertullian and St. Hippolytus, during conflicts with the modalists of their time. Through comparative analysis, I will strive to highlight the particularities of their learning as well as common motives and argumentation. I will also point out the major shortcomings of the triadology thus established, as well as the elements that the Church will recognize as an authentic expression of her own tradition.
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The personality of Sandu Tudor, the founder, organizer and catalyst of the spiritual group from Antim has already been the subject of many research approaches, which appeared after 1990 and, at first glance, it can be considered as no longer able to offer the substance of an original study. However, in the following, the author proposes to raise a problem that has not so far found its solution, namely: was the „Rugul Aprins” („The Burning Bush”) Association legally constituted or not? Regarding the restoration of the image of „Rugul Aprins” – the group that gave rise to a real symbiosis between cult and culture, it is no longer as easy as in the case of the Cernăuţi moment, where, thanks to the memorialistic literature, the event can be faithfully reconstructed (from the names of the lecturers to the topics discussed). This time, the author will try to recover the route completed by the Rugul Aprins Association, from its establishment until it became outlawed, going on the wake of the new evidence located in the file no. 012956 from the Archive of CNSAS.
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In this study, we briefly outline the possible sources of a disputation written by the Transylvanian polyhistor Sámuel Kaposi and make reserved statements about the authorship and originality of this disputation. Our aim is to draw attention to this interesting text, which is perhaps the first Hungarian work dealing with spiritual desertion, a topic peculiar to English and Dutch Puritans.
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Review of: Zuzanna Bogumił - John P. Burgess. Holy Rus’: The Rebirth of Orthodoxy in the New Russia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017. 264 pp. ISBN 978-0-300-22224-1.
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Рец. на кн.: Шмеман А., прот., Флоровский Г., прот. Письма 1947—1955 годов / сост., пред. П. Гаврилюка. М.: Изд-во Православ. Свято-Тихон. гуманит. ун-та, 2019. 446 с. / Review to: Schmemann A., archpriest, Florovsky G., archpriest. Letters of 1947—1955 years, comp. by P. Gavrilyuk, Moscow: St.-Tikhon’s Orthodox University for the Humanities Publishing House, 2019. 446 p.
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Father Daniil Sandu Tudor remains one of the most solar personalities in the perimeter of Romanian spirituality, a figure that indelibly imprinted the Romanian intellectuality, both the secular and the ecclesiastical one, through the conviviality of the Rugul Aprins (The Burning Bush). But in the following, as the title of the present study also states, the author intends to deal only with the issue of Sandu Tudor's reception during the Second World War, when, as it is known, he was mobilized. File no. 013495, vol. 1 and 2, Criminal fund, located at the Archive of the National Council for the Study of Security Archives (A.C.N.S.A.S.), represents a collection of disturbing documents that offers many clear (the author considers them as so) details related to this subject. From the first sheet of the aforementioned file, vol. 1, represented by the Cover of the File no. 1811/1950, of the Bucharest Court, the Third Criminal Section, „Posteucă Dumitru and Teodorescu Alexandru”, the mention „War crime” shocks. Of course, this raises multiple questions. In the following, the author will use an evolutionary, chronological x-ray of the data, meant to offer the potential reader a systematic form of exposing the conduct of the investigation and of the trial of the Monk Agaton.
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The article considers the significance of the personality of Archbishop Ambrose (Shchurov), who managed the diocese of Ivanovo (Ivanovo-Voznesensk) and Kineshma in 1977—2006 for the formation of the Orthodox intelligentsia in the Ivanovo region in 1990—2006. The memoirs of its representatives are given, reflecting their personal experience of communication with the Arch-pastor. Archbishop Ambrose was for many years a member of the editorial Board of the scientific journal “Intelligentsia and the world”. The article is devoted to the 90th anniversary since the birth of this Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, who made a considerable contribution to building dialogue between the Church and the intelligentsia in the region, and many Church representatives of intelligentsia.
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The venerable Nicetas Stethatos lived and worked in a very difficult period for the Church of Christ. He was a very fruitful theologian writer. The most frequent themes in his writings are dogmatic issues popular in the time he wrote. On the Confession of Faith is a very significant work, in which the author expresses his Orthodox faith, written in accordance with his past experience. Theology must be experimental and experienced to be a true celebration of God. That is why — in this modest contribution to the history of the Christian Church — the Orthodox faith in Constantinople in the mid-11th century was translated into Serbian with a comparative original.
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Based on a systematic and problem-chronological approach, and drawing on materials from federal and regional archives of the Russian Federation and works of Russian and foreign scholars, this article identifies the theological foundations of veneration for holy relics and their roles and value for believers. This sets up a study of the causes and consequences of the campaign for the disclosure of holy relics in the European North of Russia, believers’ actions to protect the relics of revered saints, and results of this struggle. Questions about the origin of the cult of relics, their early Christian or ancient origins, and the evolution of ceremonies connected with them are the focus of modern studies. The understanding of the term “relics” and the idea of their sacred status have undergone significant evolution in the history of the Russian Church. Understood differently in Orthodox theology and among ordinary clergy and parishioners, the cult of relics became one of the most important directions for atheistic and anti-clerical policy of the Soviet government in its first years. An inspection of the contents of shrines was supposed to reveal the corruption of the saints, and thus to expose “the centuries-old deception of the working people by the clergy” and thus to nullify the influence of the Church. Data on how the majority of believers responded to this policy are analyzed. The article concludes that the fight against relics as an important element of anticlerical measures led to apparent success, but failed to achieve the main goal — to eliminate the cult of saints and martyrs as such.
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The author carries out a discourse analysis of journalistic articles by well-known Russian emigrant historian, theologian, and public figure Anton Kartashev in order to understand his attitude to the schisms of the Russian Orthodox Church caused by the Russian Revolution, and to clarify his methods for shaping his readers’ perceptions of these events. This analysis reveals a complex correlation of political, religious, and historical argumentation. From the very beginning, political arguments were pushed into the background by a statement of apolitism, which initially extended to Russian emigrants. Subsequently, he abandoned apolitism as a principle of activity in exile in order to consistently pursue a policy of intransigence with the Bolsheviks. Political argumentation remained in the background compared to historical and religious facets, since the church should not interfere in politics. He consistently historicized contemporary experiences, based on a historical perspective, to give an assessment of the political orientation and concrete actions of the hierarchs. This created an illusory opportunity to maintain the legal subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate, which increasingly depended on the Bolshevik regime. He saw the post-revolutionary history of the Russian Orthodox Church as a series of schisms that weakened it. This gradually brought a precise religious argument to the forefront in substantiating specific measures to preserve the canonical structure of Western European parishes headed by the Metropolitan Eulogius, at the break with the Synod of Bishops in Sremski Karlovtsi and with the Moscow Patriarchate.
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The life and creative path of archpriest Alexander Vasil’evich Smirnov (1857–1933), a famous ecclesiastical writer, professor of theology, and political leader in the Orthodox Church was analyzed. The focus of this article is on the evolution of his worldview and professional career in the era of revolutionary changes in the late Russian Empire. As a representative of the clergy, he studied at theological educational institutions (Simbirsk Ecclesiastical Seminary and Kazan Ecclesiastical Academy) and worked mainly in secular institutions (Kazan and St. Petersburg universities). During the First Russian Revolution, he actively participated in political discussions. He was one of the founders of the “Church and Public Life” magazine (1906–1907), where liberal professors of the Kazan Ecclesiastical Academy expressed their views. Then he was a deputy of the State Duma of the fourth convocation (1912–1917). As part of this activity, he theorized the issues of “Christian socialism” and the new synthesis of ecclesiastical and secular education. He was interested in biblical studies, critical analysis of the Old Testament’s apocrypha. Since A.V. Smirnov had a rich political and artistic experience, he contributed considerably to the intellectual space of the Church and the social reformation of the early 20th century. This paper marks the start of work on A.V. Smirnov’s biography as a researcher.
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The article is the second part of a dilogy devoted to the interpretation of Pushkin’s Kamennoostrovsky cycle. Pushkin's last cycle is a kind of testament of the poet. Essentially, as already noted in scientific literature, this “testament” has not yet been adequately read or understood. The first part of the work presented my reading of this “testament,” while the second article proposes the completion of the work based on a new understanding of “I have erected a monument not made by hands,” the last ode in the Kamennoostrovsky cycle. The catharsis that the lyrical hero of Pushkin already experienced in the very first work of the cycle, “trembling joyfully in the raptures of emotion,” can also be experienced by the reader as he goes through the trials of the Passion Week before Easter. This can happen if the reader, enriched with spiritual experience, consistently overcomes his own temptations on the path to liberation from the old (sinful) part of himself, together with the author of the Kamennoostrovsky cycle. This would be a true catharsis for the reader, following the author of the cycle, a kind of poetic mimesis of Easter Sunday, conveyed in this case as a paraphrastic “overcoming” of the Horatian (classical) attitude by Pushkin’s rootedness in the Russian spiritual tradition. This kind of pilgrimage becomes possible for the reader if Pushkin's cycle is considered in the larger context of Russian Christian culture. In cases when the dominant values of this culture are improper for the reader and the researcher, or their significance for understanding Pushkin’s poetics is ignored or underestimated, one can hardly count on an adequate understanding of the poet’s artistic world.
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The poem “The Grand Inquisitor” is part of the novel The Brothers Karamazov, written by Ivan Karamazov about Christian freedom of will and told by him to his brother Alyosha, who rightly perceived it as an Orthodox theodicy. The article presents an intertextual analysis of the precedent texts used by F. M. Dostoevsky in the poem “The Grand Inquisitor.” Specifically, it interprets the meaning of direct quotations from the New Testament, especially its last book, the Revelation of John the Theologian, and the translated apocrypha “The Walking of the Virgin in Torment”; medieval Western European mysteries paraphrased by V. Hugo; poetic quotations from the works of A. S. Pushkin, V. A. Zhukovsky, and F. I. Tyutchev, which linked together the axiological concepts of the narrative text. Appeals to the precedent texts of world literature contribute to the disclosure of the poem’ multifaceted symbolism, which glorifies the human spiritual freedom as an act of faith, and helps generalize and deepen its axiological discourse. The author analyzes the speech and behavioral tactics of the Grand Inquisitor that are based on the equivocation typical of the “black rhetoric” techniques. In contrast to the Grand Inquisitor’s distortion of causal relations and the concepts of good and evil, and his denial of the idea of Christian freedom, direct and indirect quoting of texts that are a part of the world heritage creates a text rich in axiological meanings, designed to influence the reader’s spiritual space, enriching it and orienting it to the correct understanding of eternal truths.
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Because this year (more precisely on August 11th) is the 565th anniversary of the transition to the eternal ones of John Hunyadi, but also because the famous ruler by state and by army of origin Romanian meant a lot to the history of Banat, I decided to draw up this modest study in his memory to be printed in this remarkable publication. John Hunyadi was one of the greatest European political and military leaders of the 15th century, standing out as the initiator and commander of the anti-Ottoman fight. He was born around 1407 as the son of Vojk, “soldier of the royal court”, son of Şerbu (an important Romanian knyaz in the Haţeg land), and Elizabeth of Marginea, descendant of lesser noblemen from Hunedoara (migrated probably into Transylvania from the Banatian district of Marginea) who had embraced Catholicism, the faith in which her children, including Hunyadi, were raised. Most of the narrative and official (diplomatic) historical sources of his time and subsequently confirmed its Romanian roots. Marco Antonio Bonfinio (Bonfini/Bonfinius), an Italian scholar, wrote in his chronicle that John Hunyadi’s father was Romanian, one of those who “inhabit the land of the Getae and the Dacians, descendants of the Roman settlers, as proved by the language they speak”. The great Italian scholar, Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, who would later become pope Pius II, wrote that John Hunyadi “whose name far outshines the others did not increase so much the glory of the Hungarians, but especially the glory of the Romanians among whom he was born”. In his times, it was known that Hunyadi “was not a Hungarian but a Romanian of a lesser nobility”. In the 19th and 20th century many Banatian scholars took a keen interest in the origin, personality and deeds of John Hunyadi. We mention here: Nicolae Stoica of Haţeg, Damaschin Bojincă, Iosif Bălan, Victor Motogna (a Banatian by adoption), Patriciu Dragalina etc. Worthy of remark is Damaschin Bojincă’s monograph about the great Christianity’s hero called The description of birth and heroic deeds of very famous and all Scurtă prezentare biografică a lui Iancu de Hunedoara 91 over Europe of the wonderful hero John Corvinus of Hunyadi. Half of this study deals with the matter of John Hunyadi’s Romanian origin. On 18 October 1409 John Hunyadi’s father was ennobled and received Hunedoara possession with surrounding villages from king Sigismund of Luxembourg (1387-1437). After having served his apprenticeship at some laymen and clergymen’s courts and even monarchs as well, John took part in the anti-Ottoman fight in the south of Hungary, leading his own detachment of 6-12 cavalrymen. Around 1428-1430 he married Elizabeth Szilágyi, a Hungarian noblewoman of high rank from Solnacul de Mijloc county (or Slavonia) whose family were supporters of Sigismund of Luxembourg. They had two children, Ladislau and Matthias (the future king of Hungary between1458-1490). With the support of his wife’s family, John entered the retinue of Sigismund (emperor 149 of Germany since 1410) and he served Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan, in his anti-Venetian campaign. In this period John Hunyadi completed his military education and training and studied the new military art of Italy from the condottieres. In 1434 he accompanied his monarch at the Council of Basel, Switzerland. In 1436-1437 he joined Sigismund of Luxembourg in his campaign in Bohemia (Czechia). Although king “de jure” Sigismund was to become king “de facto” as the country people, townspeople and lesser nobility wouldn’t acknowledge the German suzerainty. At that time, John was already leading his own detachment of 50 troopers. On 9 December 1437 Sigismund of Luxembourg died and Hunyadi went to Alba Iulia to attend the coronation of Albert of Austria (1438-1439) as king of Hungary. Then he returned to Bohemia where he spent the remainder of the year 1438, so he did not take part in the suppression of the peasant revolt in Transylvania (1437-1438). Although king Albert of Austria was acknowledge by a group of noblemen from Czechia, the Hussites were against him, preferring Casimir, the brother of the Polish king, as their sovereign. John Hunyadi and his brother were engaged in king Albert’s warfare with the Bohemians and their Polish allies. In 1438, during peace negotiations, king Albert promoted Hunyadi to Ban of Severin, a dignity that he shared with his brother. He was soon in the ascendant. On 7 March 1441 king Vladislav I rewarded him with the title of voivode of Transylvania, position retained until 1446. During this time he was also Comes of Temes and Comes of the Szekely. His sovereigns recognized his merits by granting him vast estates in Transylvania, the Banat and eastern Hungary. All these brought him great revenues, John Hunyadi being the greatest landowner in Hungary at the time. In 1445 he became Captain General of Hungary and in 1446 he was rewarded by king Vladislav I with the captaincy of the fortress of Belgrade. In June 1446 he found himself at the peak of his political career when he was elected as Regent-Governor of the kingdom of Hungary by the Diet. Supporter of the centralization of political power, on the external plan John Hunyadi consequently sought to create a system based on 92 Altarul Banatului tightening the ties between the three Romanian principalities in order to form a united anti-Ottoman front. At the same time he aimed to launch a Christian crusade to oust the Ottomans from Europe. In 1442 he defeated the Turks at Sibiu and Ialomiţa. In 1442-1443, during the famous expedition known as “the long campaign”, John Hunyadi crossed the Balkans advancing as far as Zlatita where he scored a brilliant victory over the Turks, then in 1445 obtain a new victory over them in a campaign undertaken along the Danube, but he was defeated in the battles of Varna (1444) and Kossovopolje (1448). 150 After his resounding victory against the Ottoman armies led by sultan Mohammed II (1444-1446; 1451-1481), in July 1456 in the famous Battle of Belgrade, John Hunyadi died of bubonic plague in his camp at Zemun, near Belgrade, on 11 August 1456. He is buried in the Roman Catholic Cathedral “St. Michael” of Alba Iulia. His funeral plaque was engraved with John of Capestrano’s words: “The light of the world has passed away”.
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Semantics and functions of images that represent Georgia’s patron saints are examined in this article as exemplified in the Georgian Rhapsody, a collection of stories by O. Nikolayeva, stories by M. Saradzhishvili (from the books Do not rush to condemn and Next to you), Exile, a short story by V. N. Lyalin, and Wonderful journey to Orthodox Georgia by O. Rozhneva. Referring to episodes from the hagiography of Georgian saints in the texts in question allow us to trace the spiritual history of Georgia since the time of adoption of Christianity. The detailed list of saints is present in the books of О. Nikolayeva and О. Rozhneva. Even though only particular periods of Georgia’s history are reflected in the stories of М. Saradzhishvili and V. N. Lyalin, the country’s patron saints participation in the life of their characters in Georgia’s recent past or present day is undeniable. For example, Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina performs a guardian function and her appearance during the Soviet years provides spiritual support to the female character of V. N. Lyalin’s story. First and foremost, a patron in combat, Saint George the Trophy Bearer is also a patron of the family. Venerable David of Garedzha is both an example of humility and a patron of the hearth and home. With his gift of prophecy, Blessed Gabriel (Urgebadze), mentioned in the book by О. Rozhneva, also assists on the path of personal salvation. Whereas О. Rozhneva’s book is exclusively focused on depicting Orthodox Georgia and its saints, the work of О. Nikolayeva provides a more comprehensive image of Georgia, including a vast stratum of the country’s cultural characteristics. In О. Nikolayeva’s book the saints represent a significant facet of Georgia’s image.
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Developing course of scientific thought, in all cultures and civilizations, started from conceptions of religion and theological beliefs. This rule applies to Serbian people as well. In the periods of symphony (respect) in relations between church and state, primarily in the Middle Ages, there was a rise of considerable results in the various fields of social life. In the times of disharmony between them such results were missing and often caused frequent sufferings of ordinary people. While scientific theories founded on different bases and needs of temporal authorities and as such were undergoing many changes, religious theories have had a continuity measured by thousand years. While world knowledge comes and goes, and changes, goodness and other human virtues, on the other hand, present constant, eternal values. Taking into account man’s need for both knowledge and goodness in order to be well balanced and harmonious, there is a need for nourishing of religious contents. To that end textbooks for catechism – special types of textbooks for religion (bible study) were created. The paper also considers their educational values in craving child’s personality, and their elevation to virtue. Apart from the notes on the creation of the first catechesed and a short survey of their first developing course in Europe, special emphasis is put on the consideration of catechesis content in Serbia, with a stress on particular details. Educational values of catechesis conter by Kiril Živković, 1757 (a manuscript variant) and archimandrite Gavrilo Popović, 1848 (in printed form) are more pronounced.
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