« Je suis la Porte » : Ostium, la Tête, le Corps et la Porte de la justice. L’interprétation théologique de la présentation du Christ posé au-dessus du portail (I)

Author(s): Jasmina Ćirić / Language(s): French / Issue: 4/2016

The meaning of the portal and lunette above in Late Byzantine sacred architecture has never been regarded in historiography of Byzantine art through the theory of signs. The role of the portal is to mark one space unity as a physical object and to emphasize the importance of the crossing. Portals are the signs of the transitional and the dialogic essence not only for the Biblical metaphor of Christ as the One who holds the walls together, but also for the metaphor: “I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10, 9). Concealed (and thus revealed) in a lunette, the formless divinity is translated in the womb of the Virgin, who has rendered it dissembling from its very self, engendering a form for the formless through the folds of a garment, a veil of flesh, lapis angularis. Altogether, the conjunction of scripture, theology, iconography, and architecture created an appropriate symbol of portal for the translation of the Logos, who passed through the Virginal gates and entered the world of matter. Weaving a cultic veil for the Temple, the Virgin was poised, not simply on the visible entrance but on the threshold of Wisdom.

Witchcraft, sorcery and hand wringing in the life of Siberian peasants: on the materials of historical sources of the nineteenth century

Author(s): Yulia Putilina,Oksana V. USTINOVA,Natal’ya A. Shevchenko / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2018

In the nineteenth century, the Orthodox Church, authorities, investigative bodies and courts officially recognized the possibility of such phenomena as witchcraft, witcheries, hand wringing, sorcery and shamanism. This is confirmed by numerous reports, eyewitness accounts, messages, investigations and trials materials. Penalties for such “acts”, appointed by the courts, were often rather mild (church repentance, offertory, lashes, etc.). More severe measures were prescribed much more rarely (expulsion from a settlement, prison, etc.). The reason for this state of affairs was the complexity of proving that any manifestations of the “sufferer” were caused precisely by witchcraft or witcheries. It is shown that there were some peculiarities in the attitude towards the witchcraft among the population of the Siberian region. It is established that snakes and frogs, which were very common in the Siberian region, became the main attribute and material used in witchcraft, sorcery and witcheries. Herbs characteristic of the flora of the Siberian region were also used in the rituals. It is confirmed that witchcraft in the Siberian region was less common than in other regions of the country. This “mystery” was most often practiced by women and much less often by men.

Woodcut as Book Illustration in Moldavia in the 17th to 19th Centuries

Author(s): Elena Ardelean / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

In the activity of conservation restoration of the books printed between the 17th and the 19th centuries, where the front page is often deteriorated or even missing, the illustrations that accompany the text constitute a very important element in dating the respective printing, in locating the typography, etc. Although the engravers preferred to remain anonymous, however many of the engravings that can be found in these books are signed, discreetly by the authors, thus offering us an important instrument that we can use to obtain information necessary to the scientific documentation which accompanies every activity of conservation-restoration of a cultural good. This research wishes to present briefly the activity of the engravers who activated in the region of Moldavia and whose works we were able to find in the books preserved and restored in the laboratory of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology from Iassy.

Wplyw ojców Kościola na prawoslawne pojęcie obrazu Bożego

Author(s): Aleksy Kucy / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2016

The concept of the divine image in the patristic thought has a very rich tradition and a well developed semantics. In an exegetic interpretation one can find both a broad treatment of this concept and a very narrow one, the objective one. In the strict sense of this word, the Divine Image, on the image of whom was created man, is Christ, the Incarnate Logos, who has fulfilled the eternal, divine intent towards man and towards the whole creation, which was the divinisation and the state when God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28).

WSPÓŁCZESNE ROZUMIENIE TRADYCJI W TEOLOGII PRAWOSŁAWNEJ A KATECHIZM METROPOLITY FILARETA

Author(s): Artur Cieśla / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 15/2016

Over 190 years have passed since the first edition of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Catechism („Prostrannyj Hristianskij Katehizis Pravoslavnoj Kafoliceskoj Vostocnoj Cerkvi”), and no new official explanation of faith have been elaborated, which resulted in a discrepancy between the view of Tradition between the contemporary orthodox theology and the definitions and explanations contained in the Catechism. The article brings the reader closer to the modem three-level understanding of Tradition in the Orthodox Church and the relation between Tradition and Scripture. It also showsdifferent forms of Tradition that have always been passed on by the Church, and confronts them with the definitions presented in the Catechism, in order to show the need to develop a new explanation on tradition. The Polish edition of the Catechism in 2001 omitted the introductory part on Tradition, which proves that the editor was aware of how out-of-date the presented knowledge was.

WYKAZ ZAWARTOŚCI STUDIÓW TEOLOGICZNO-FILOZOFICZNYCH DIECEZJI RZESZOWSKIEJ „RESOVIA SACRA” ZA LATA 1994-2014

Author(s): Marcin Nabożny / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 21/2014

XENITEIA ȘI SEMNIFICAȚIA SA ASCETICĂ ÎN MONAHISMUL TIMPURIU

Author(s): Daniel Lemeni / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 04-06/2019

This paper explores the theme of xéniteia in early Egyptian monasticism. This ascetic practice was understood as a voluntary alienation, and from this perspective it was considered as a permanent way of life. Moreover, this spiritual exercise was the highest way of Christian life, and it was represented by Desert Fathers. Briefly, in this paper we will point out major meanings of monastic xéniteia, an essential feature of the ascetic tradition.

Y a-t-il un corps du péché et de la maladie? La Paresse et la Peste dans l’iconographie religieuse Roumaine (XVIIIe-XIXe siècles)

Author(s): Cristina Bogdan / Language(s): French / Issue: 20/2015

L’étude se propose d’analyser l’image de la Paresse et de la Peste dans le discours iconographique de l’espace roumain des XVIIIe-XIXe siècles. Le péché capital et la maladie par excellence de l’imaginaire collectif roumain acquièrent des corps dans la décoration de certaines églises en bois du nord de la Transylvanie. Les peintres itinérants transportent parfois d’un édifice a l’autre, proposant des variations sur le même thème. La personnification de la Peste apparaît aussi sur d’autres supports (icônes sur verre de Transylvanie, dessins sur les pages des manuscrits contenant la Vie et l’Hymne acathiste de Saint Charalampe, le protecteur contre l’implacable maladie). A l’aide des enquêtes sur le terrain, qui ont conduit a la construction d’un corpus d’images, nous proposons une analyse d’anthropologie historique, afin de surprendre les points de contact et de divergence dans la figuration des deux entités négatives. Placés sous le signe du féminin (imposé par l’appartenance des deux mots qui désignent la Paresse et la Peste en roumain a ce genre), les personnages exhibent sous les regards des contemporains leurs contours détériorés par le temps et souvent obnubilés par la perte du code de lecture visuelle.

Z dziejów białoruskiej prawosławnej prasy na emigracji. Czasopismo „Carkoŭny Świetacz” (1951–1988)

Author(s): Marzena Grzybowska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 16/2016

After World War II the United States was one of the largest centres of Belarusian emigrants in the West. Belarusian Orthodox emigration, which composed the majority among emigrants of Belarusian nationality (80%) was divided internally. Belarusian emigrants of the Orthodox faith were within the jurisdiction of two church organizations: the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Belarusian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The largest Belarusian parish in the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was the parish of St Eufrozyna Polocka in South River (New Jersey), where Nicholas Lapicki was the parish priest. There were conducted organizational, religious, cultural and educational activities, including publishing one. In 1951–1988 the journal ‘Carkoŭny Svetač’ was issued, at first by pr. Nicholas apicki and since 1976 by pr. Sviataslav Kovš, the next parish priest of St Eufrozyna Polocka in South River. It belonged to one of the longest published religious periodicals of the Belarusian diaspora in the 20th century. In the journal the texts with religious, social, historical and cultural content were published. Thanks to the ‘Carkoŭny Svetač’ it is possible to reconstruct in detail the history of the Orthodox life of Belarusian emigrants in America.

Z problematyki przekładu starej literatury kręgu Slavia Orthodoxa na język Polski (cz. 2)

Author(s): Agata Kawecka,Ivan Petrov,Małgorzata Skowronek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2010

The text constitutes the second part of the publication cycle addressing the problems of translation of the Old Church Slavonic literature into Polish together with the bibliographic date. The first part was devoted to translations from the second part of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. The following article and the bibliography (annex) comprise the period from the beginning of the 19th century until the end of the first half of the 20th century (1806-1948). Old Church Slavonic literary texts, discovered and popularized at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries and acknowledged as particularly precious literary cornerstones of the oldest Slavic literary output, were translated into many modem languages including Polish. Polish translations from the 19th and the first half of the 20th century mainly focus on three basic texts: Vic Tale of Igor's Campaign, The Nestor's Chronicle as well as on one of the oldest masterpieces of the original Old Church Slavonic literary output St Methodius' Life. The article briefly presents the history of translations of the above-mentioned and also other works. Bibliographic materials in the annex comprise texts translated and published as a whole (or their large excerpts published with the title referring to a given work).

Z przeszłości parafii unickiej w Wieprzowie pw. Narodzenia Najświętszej Marii Panny w świetle osiemnastowiecznych wizytacji kościelnych

Author(s): Janusz Adam Frykowski / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2015

Today Wieprzów is a tiny country village that administratively belongs to Tarnawatka commune in Tomaszów district in Lubelskie Province. This place was established by Wallachian settlers in the at least sixteenth century. Originally belonging to the Duchy of Belz, the village, together with the Duchy, was incorporated into the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland in 1462. After the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Wieprzów was annexed by the Habsburg Empire, then it became a part of the Duchy of Warsaw and following the joint resolutions of the Congress of Vienna it was given to Russia. Due to the fact that Wieprzów at the time the present research focuses on was mostly inhabited by Russian people, there was an Orthodox parish, which became a Greek Catholic parish following the Union of Brest. During its functioning it organizationally belonged to the Deanery of Tyszowce and then Tomaszów. As an independent parish it existed until almost the eighteenth century. At the end of that century it was annexed to the parish of Protection of the Most Holy Virgin Mother in Podhorce and then to the parish of St. George in Tomaszów. As a branch Orthodox church it survived until 1875, which means until the liquidation of the union on the land of the former Kingdom of Poland. Having analyzed post-visitation protocols, it might be deduced that it was a wooden church poorly equipped with ecclesiastical utensils. There was also a bell tower and a cemetery by the church. It has been determined that a paroch (parish priest) had some arable land as well as grassland at his disposal to support himself, furthermore, he collected various ecclesiastical fees from his parishioners. He also had a small presbytery and ancillary buildings. Regarding the time period this paper deals with, the author found out personal information about two parochs as well as the approximate number of parishioners that varied between 45 and 145.

Zachodnia i wschodnia tradycja wykonawcza śpiewu sakralnego: aspekt estetyczny

Author(s): Ievgeniia Lazarevych / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 4/2016

Fundamental differences between Kyiv-Pechersk choral style and Western model of performance of religious chants can be considered in various contexts and at several levels. One should take into account diversity of church rules (canon), mentality, even geographical location and physiological capabilities of voices of the singers coming from a particular area. The performance practice is also connected with such factors as cultural traditions, language, way of life and social issues related to faith. It is therefore understandable that, after a short period of a fragile cultural unity of the Church, different traditions emerged. The author argues that the way of singing is directly dependent on the fundamental philosophical and theological ideas, originating from the Church canon. Then, the differences between chant performance in two main branches of the Christian Church seem to be a consequence of the distinct ways in which the theological doctrine, dogma of the Church, the temporal and spatial principles of worship and art developed in Roman Catholic and Byzantine Orthodox traditions. The two different perceptions of communication with God and its influence on church singing are considered by the author as an exemplary case.

Zapłodnienie pozaustrojowe w dyskursie teologiczno-bioetycznym Kościołów chrześcijańskich w Słowacji

Author(s): Artur Aleksiejuk / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 4/2018

Louise Joy Brown was born on July 25th, 1978. She was the first child conceived by means of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET). This year marks forty years since the birth of the first “test-tube baby”, i.e. a child conceived outside her mother’s organism. Over the last four decades, in vitro fertilization and other related artificial reproductive techniques have practically become standard medical procedures. Presently, it is estimated that the number of children conceived by in vitro fertilization has significantly exceeded 7 million people since this method was first applied. ESHRE’s reports indicate that more and more children are born by means of this method every year. The number of doctors and clinics specializing in vitro fertilization is increasing along with the number of people seeking their assistance. Many reliable sources indicate that this trend is being maintained. However, the subject of the conducted research throughout a two month stay in Slovakia was not the evaluation of the effectiveness and beneficence of in vitro fertilization as a method of treating infertility. The main objective of the research project assumed the analysis of the bioethical discourse conducted by Christian Churches in Slovakia on issues related to in vitro fertilization that is practically unknown in Poland. The research project is an essential part of extensive research conducted by the author on the reception of this issue in Christian bioethical discourse in an ecumenical context.

Zarys dziejów Gruzińskiego Kościoła Prawosławnego i Apostolskiego

Author(s): Doroteusz Sawicki / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 4/2018

Georgia is strategically located between the Black and Caspian Seas. For centuries, the Roman Empire, Persia, the Byzantine Empire, Arabia, Turkey and Russia all fought for control over these areas. This has also determined both the political and religious development of this country. Christianity first appeared in Georgia in the Apostolic Age. The Apostles Andrew and Bartholomew, Sts. Gregory of Armenia and Nina of Byzantium made great efforts to spread the message of the Gospel in this land. Christianity finally became the state religion of Georgia in the 4th century (Eastern Georgia, Western Georgia in the 5th century) during the reign of Prince Mirian. The greatest development of the state took place during Bagrationi Dynasty (11th to 13th centuries). At that time, the state’s territory reached the coast of the Caspian Sea and the Church was elevated to the rank of Patriarchate. State and ecclesiastical independence was restored in the 20th century. Today, the Patriarchate of Georgia is made up of 50 dioceses and 5 million faithful.

Zasięg osadnictwa ruskiej społeczności etniczno-wyznaniowej w Wielkim Księstwie Litewskim od końca XVII do połowy XVIII wieku (w świetle materiałów wizytacji generalnych cerkwi unickich)

Author(s): Dzianis Liseichykau / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 3/2017

The article attempts to reconstruct the Slavonic-Baltic border in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the end of the seventeenth to the mid-eighteenth century. It presents the basic methodological approaches to the problem: a linguistic analysis, studies of toponymical and anthroponomical data, and the use of archaeological evidence. The network of parishes of the ritus graeci, in their vast majority Uniate, but also Orthodox ones, was used as the most precise determinants for the research into the area of the Ruthenian ethnic and religious community in the region. To this end, protocols of general canonical visitations from the 1680s to 1760s were used. The documents made it possible for us to determine a clear linear border of the Ruthenian ethnic and religious settlement within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the analysed period.

Zdrowie człowieka i przyczyny jego utraty według antropologii prawosławnej

Author(s): Piotr Pietkiewicz / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 20/2018

The state of man’s health is a multidimensional notion and a dynamic phenomenon changing with time. Describing a man as healthy we mean that the person in question is in a state of relative stabilisation and interior harmony of various spheres of his being: physical, psychological and spiritual. The notion of man’s health, existing in the Orthodox anthropology, is inseparable from the state of human nature that the first man – Adam – was given. The latter was supposed to lead or rather develop it, in synergy of his free will with the grace of God, to perfection. The Christian way of experiencing and living with illnesses is full of humility, patience and hope in God. Faith helps to understand and make the illness meaningful. A believing man sees the period of loss of health as a time of trial and conversion, when through repentance one can renew his relationship with God. State of health is an aim that can be achieved only in the perspective of eternity and as such should be a subject of continuous commitment and unceasing care of all the people.

Zmiany zapisów kanonów w księdze I Normy ogólne Kodeksu prawa kanonicznego dokonane na mocy motu proprio De concordia inter Codices

Author(s): Ginter Dzierżon / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 15/2017

The presented article discusses the reasons justifying the introduction of changes in motu proprio De concordia inter Codices. According to the analyses, replacing the term “Ecclesia ritualis sui iuris” with the term “Ecclesia sui iuris” in cann. 111–112 of CIC as well as adding to can. 112 of CIC a new § 3 concerning the effectiveness of transfer to another Church is fully justified. In the first case, terminology used in western legislation was correlated with terminology used in eastern legislation which is more adequate for system solutions. In the other case, a loophole existing in CIC was removed. The author believes that what arouses controversies is adding to the structure of can. 111 of CIC a new § 2 regulating the question of church membership of achild in asituation where one party of a mixed marriage is a catholic. He states that in this case the argument used by the canonists who point out the practices of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches is unjustified. He thinks that introducing the rule now codified in can. 111 § 2 of CIC not only stands against the agreement in ecumenical dialogue but is also incoherent with normative code solutions concerning one’s membership in a community of faith (cann. 96, 204 § 1 of CIC). According to the author, such an ambiguous legal status will lead to a situation in which the norm codified in art. 1 § 2 motu proprio De concordia inter Codices will not be applied rigorously but only in appropriate conditions.

Znaczenie formuły diofizyckiej „ek dyo fyseōn” oraz schematu Logos-sarks w koncepcji chrystologicznej św. Cyryla Aleksandryjskiego

Author(s): Andrzej Charyło / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2019

The article presents the most important elements of St. Cyril of Alexandria’s theology concerning his teaching of the hypostatic unity of the two natures in one person of the God-man Jesus Christ. The main purpose of this publication is a creative and systematic analysis of the meaning of the diophysical formula „ek dyo fyseōn” and the scheme Logos-sarx in the Christological concept of the Egyptian hierarchy. One of the most eminent representatives of the intellectual circle of the Alexandrian school, St. Cyril wanted to express the immutable truth of the incarnate Logos, who being of one essence with God the Father, became a real man. The body accepted by the Word was not anything foreign for Him, but it is His own body that participates in the hypostasis of the Son. St. Cyril proclaimed the real, personal, ontological unity of Christ, in whom two full, true natures are united, which is a teaching consistent with the later Chalcedonian confession of faith.

Zusammenfassungen

Author(s): Еditorial Board Art Studies / Language(s): German / Issue: 3/2002

Summaries of the articles in the issue.

Związki kulturowe monasteru supraskiego z kulturą serbską w XVI wieku

Author(s): Antoni Mironowicz / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 19/2017

In the 16-th century the monastery of Suprasl was the second monastic center of the Orthodox Church in the Great Duchy of Lithuania after the Kiev-Caves Monastery. In the history of the Byelorussian culture the monastery in Suprasl occupies unique place. The best achievements of many branches of culture have been concentrated in it. They mirror close contacts with the religious and cultural heritage of other Slavonic nations. The monastery became a place of the reciprocal permeating of various religious trends. Also, here, many national cultures influenced each other. An example of this reciprocal permeating of cultures was the architecture and interior decorations of the Annunciation monastery church. The uniqueness of the architecture of this building consists in the mixing of the Gothic and Byzantine styles. The direct connections of Suprasl with Byzantine and Serbian culture may be proved by the monumental frescos in the Annunciation Church. They were painted by a group of painters under the supervision of Nektorius the Serb (Serb Nekhtarioosh). These frescos were a testimony to dogmatic Orthodoxy. The monastery of Suprasl was visited by many outstanding writers, religious leaders and political notables. This monastery was also visited by the Patriarch of Constantinople – Jeremiash II, the Serbian and Bulgarian patriarch - Gabriel, and many other Church dignitaries from Balkans. In the 16-th century, the monastery of Suprasl became a major ecclesiastical center of all the Slavic nations. The monastery while being the major center of Orthodox theological thought, still remained open for new trends in philosophical thought. During the 16-th century the monastery of Suprasl was in close relationship with Bulgaria, Serbia, The Great Duchy of Moscow and Holy Athos Mount. This found its reflection in sacral art, publishing and literature.