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Patriarch Gavrilo left distinct impression on Russian secular and ecclesiastic dignitaries. On the basis of that positive impression, he managed to improve the position of the Serbian church before the Russian authorities in general. The fact that he was personally respected by Russian authorities probably led to a wrong impression about the results of his stay in Russia. Russians did respect him, but not more than they respected other patriarchs of that time. However, his decision to leave Russia, although he previously stated that he wants to settle there permanently, tells us that he could not fit into the Russian way of life. Specificity of relations among the Russian classes of that time was often an insurmountable obstacle for many immigrants in Russia. Apparently, he was not an exception.
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In this paper I’m trying to emphasize the crucial significance of Liturgy in church architecture. The inner area of the church should, in the first place, respond to the liturgical needs for which it was designed. By general overview of the development of church architecture, given in the introductory section, it is easy to come to a conclusion that in the history Liturgy had crucial impact on the inner architecture of the church. The overall objective of this paper is to underline the necessity that, even today, when new churches are being designed, one should always start from Liturgy and its needs. That is the way that leaves no room from mistakes.
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In the teaching of protestant denominations, concerning the possibility of establishing confessional fullness on the levels of dogmas and tradition, the entire complexity of understanding of inter- confessionalism with all its particular weaknesses (from the Orthodox point of view at least) is summarized by reduction on “common denominator”. This article, while dealing with crucial segments of ontological- dialectical issues searching for “long lost” unity, could, somewhat, approach the content which should be entitled “The Crossroads of Ecumenical Dialogue”. That would be an enormous and a detailed subject, ungrateful for time and space ahead of us, so we will restrict to semantic- theological partitioning of concepts and terms and their sense and meaning, to a certain section through reflections in order to discover various layers of senses and meanings.
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Andrew Louth gives a very brief summary of deification in Orthodox theology. He investigates the place of theosis in the tradition of the East, presenting it in relation to the other elements that comprise the mosaic of this tradition’s theology, and identifying three ways this doctrine functions within the overall Orthodox experience: (1) as a complement to the doctrine of the Incarnation in the economy and plan of God; (2) as a way to stress the real change involved in the transformation of the human nature; and (3) as a witness to the grounding of theology in the transforming encounter with God. Louth demonstrates that the doctrine of deification has “structural” significance in Orthodox theology and goes on to argue that it determines the shape of that theology.
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У другој половини XX века на сцену светске књижевности ступа нови облик литерарног израза који ce назива нелинеарна или хиперкњижевност, a један од њених најзначајнијих представника јесте Милорад Павић. Дело нашег најчитанијег савременог писца, као и његови огледи из области теорије књижевности, подстакли су нас на размишљање о литургијском језику Цркве. У нелинеарном роману, причa ce не креће непрекинуто праволинијски од почетка ка крају, већ ce одвија према одређеном кључу. На сличан начин, богослужбени текстови ce читају према кључу времена, односно календару. Постојање две његове стране, noкретне и непокретне, изображава дијалектику створеног и нествореног, као и божанско дело спасења творевине. Попут нелинеарног романа, који je y суштини дијалог писца и читаоца, и богослужење je дијалог, али не Бога са сваким појединцем, него са заједницом Цркве. To je слободни дијалог љубави Тела Христовог, којег изграђује Дух Свети, са Богом Оцем и Творцем. Нелинеарна књижевност, чији je истакнути представник Милорад Павић, подстиче на размишљања о литургијском језику Цркве. Попут нелинеарног романа, литургијски текстови ce такође читају према одређеном кључу, y овом случају no кључу времена чије две стране, покретна и непокретна, одсликавају дијалектику створеног и нествореног. Као и нелинеарни роман, богослужење je дијалог Бога као „Писца " са заједницом Цркве.
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From the initial community which consisted of only a few eucharisitc meetings, the Church quickly became an organism of universal proportions, which caused a consequential development of her organizational structure. This was especially the case after the reformation of social status of the Church and her later function within Eastern Roman Empire, but also in modem times. Besides identifying the precise historical organizational patterns and key factors that affected their evolution, it is also needed to determine their relationship towards essential ecclesiological foundations.
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The Scriptures provide the fundamental material for Orthodox ecclesiology, but the dogmatic and central phrase of the Nicene Creed is also very important, in which the Church is defined as a central mystery of the Christian faith. Orthodoxy refuses to concur with a conception of the Church that has become increasingly common in the West since the Reformation – and that is the tendency to strictly demarcate the heavenly and the earthly church into separate entities. It applies, against this dichotomous understanding, the typological understanding of the Incarnate Lord’s unity with his own body. The Church, as the apostle clearly taught, is the mystical Body of Christ. Orthodox thought has also used the typology of the Holy Trinity in its ecclesiology. The Church is, then, to be understood as the icon of the Holy Trinity also.
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The intellectual work of Metropolitan Amfilohije is extremely extensive (dozens of books and hundreds of articles in several languages) and very diverse, not only as a theological, philosophical, scientificresearch, literary, and translation work, but in a special way when it comes to the disciplinary structure of theology. From the standpoint of the epistemic foundation and justification of the opinion and actions of Metropolitan Amfilohije, his three fundamental starting points could be singled out. First, the personal experience of faith as the experience of a personal God in life and history. Secondly, in the spirit of the anthropological orientation of modern European thought, his theological thought starts from the triadology from which Christology originates and then from this anthropology (or theanthropology), so that anthropology got not only its foundation but also a certain purpose. Third, through the prism of Christologically based anthropology, he approaches the problems of modernity and then interprets the devastating position of man today (conditio humana) in contrast to man’s destiny, to what man could be and what he should be in the normative sense, namely how to be not just an individual but a person.
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The paper discusses the difficult position of the Serbian Orthodox Church and clergy in Bosanska Krajina after the 1858 Rebellion in Krajina. Though the reforms introduced by the Porte granted the right to reconstruct and build new Orthodox churches, Muslim extremists hindered these initiatives in many towns and places, including Bosanska Gradiška, Bosanska Dubica, Prijedor, Banja Luka, Bihać, Bosanski Petrovac and Glamoč. The Rebellion in Krajina of 1858 left the Serbian Orthodox Church in Bosanska Krajina devastated. Dozens of churches were set on fire or torn down, including the two monasteries–pillars of the Orthodoxy in Bosanska Krajina–Rmanj from the 15th century and Moštanica from the 16th century. Many priests had been arrested or killed. The year later, in 1859, the Safer Order settled relations between the Turkish authorities and Serbs, however, the groups of powerful Muslim leaders continued to obstruct the attempts to reconstruct destroyed churches and build new ones. In the Bihać area, Tahir–bey Kulenović and Mustaj–bey Alajbegović from Kulen–Vakuf lead one such group and in Banja Luka Nazif–aga Djumišić. Later on, the relaxation of the Porte stands and political efforts of the deputy in the Orthodox Peoples’ Assembly in Constantinople Gavro Vučković Krajišnik in the 1860s and 1870s resulted in reconstruction of destroyed and construction of new churches in Bosanska Krajina, in Ramići near Ključ, Gorinja, Bukovača and Kolunić near Bosanski Petrovac, Bihać, Jezero near Bihać, Banja Luka, Stari Majdan, Oštra Luka near Stari Majdan, Glamoč, Bosanska Gradiška, Bosanski Novi, Hašani near Bosanska Krupa, Prijedor, Busnovi near Prijedor and Sanski Most. Monasteries Rmanj, Moštanica and Liplje from the 15th century near Kotor Varoš had been reconstructed. The Orthodox church started to stregthen its position with establishing of the Orthodox seminary in Banja Luka in 1866 that became the main defence from the Muslim extremism and, even more important, increasing Catholic proselitism.
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This paper will seek to apply its prism of intellectual optics to a comparative analysis of historical ambiences in which the Church has over time found itself stranded, with special emphasis on the means in which the Christian ethos manifests itself throughout sporadic key moments in history upon which the further course of Church history rests. Throughout the paper, the contemporary secular ambient in which the Church resides today, with special emphasis given to the social role and importance of the Church during crucial historical events. Manifestations of the deeds of the Church have echoed in the sphere of politics as well, and these deeds can be considered a form of political activism. We have wirtnessed some examples of intertwining of Church and government since the very dawn of Christianity, and it is a peculiar phenomenon which we believe has not been given sufficient academic scrutiny. Politics was present in Judea, in Rome, in Byzantium — everywhere, across space and time, politics has influenced the Church, and vice versa. This could lead to a sort of societal harmony and order rarely seen in the annals of world history, but it could also lead to sporadic conflicts between the two types of government: spiritual and temporal. Byzantium, for instance, is a prime example of this, as it is the archetypal Christian nation. Throughout other, more secular periods, we see the Church in former SFRY struggling to maintain itself against the tides of thenprevalent Marxist ideas. These historical dilemmas should provide us with an example of how the Orthodox Churches of today have the capacity within them to influence the course of history for the better. Hence, the key question which these examples and archetypes should provide an answer to is in which way the sociopolitical actions of the Church can be done in the spirit of the Gospels, especially in the era of liberal and secular society?
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This paper is a contribution to the research into the life of His Beatitude Dositej (Dositheus), Primate of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, who served as vicar to Patriarch Vikentije (Vicentius) of Serbia from 1951 to 1958 with the title of Bishop of Toplica. That was a time when the resolution of the Macedonian church issue was stranded between the interests of the state and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Bishop Dositej was the candidate of the Initiative Board for the organization of the Orthodox Church in Macedonia for the office of archpriest in one of Macedonia’s eparchies until 1958 when, at the Second Clergy and Laity Assembly, the Ohrid Archbishopric was restored as Macedonian Orthodox Church and Dositej was enthroned as its first primate.
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Christianity played a very important role in shaping the Byzantine Empire and its civilization. It was deeply incorporated in all areas of Byzantine society and had a great impact not only on the imperial ideology and economy but also on diplomatic relations with neighbouring peoples. Because of this, the church became an instrument by which the state maintained or renewed its imperial hegemony, thus turning the priests into agents for the state, serving the basileus in Constantinople. Although they were often involved in the foreign affairs of the imperial government through religious missions, this was not the only duty assigned to them by the state. Sources indicate that church officials were involved in broader political and diplomatic activity in the Balkans in the 10th century, including serving as ambassadors of the Byzantine ruler. This is also proof that Byzantine diplomacy did not always act spontaneously by enacting ad–hoc decisions but probably carried out its activities at least occasionally following prior consultation within an informal advisory body. It further implies that the people who were actively involved in the foreign affairs of the Byzantine Empire, at least during the 10th century, had a certain level of knowledge and skills and a capacity for strategic thinking, which of course was rudimentary seen from today’s point of view. The involvement of priests in solely diplomatic missions with clear political objectives, where their education and oratorical skills would be used to the utmost, and their complete exclusion from missions of a military character, is yet another example of how Byzantine diplomacy was implemented in the field, as well as a clear indication that some basic principles and methods did exist and were upheld by the imperial government during this process.
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The review of: Thomas Mark Németh: Josef von Zhishman (1820–1894) und die Orthodoxie in der Donaumonarchie Kirche und Recht, Band 27, Plöchl Druck GmbH, Freistadt, 2012, 411 s., ISBN 978-3-901479-78-6.
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The purpose of the article is to present the activities of Jan Lewiarz as the organiser and restorer of the Orthodox Church in south-eastern Poland. There are several versions of the biography of Jan Lewiarz, which do not make it possible to say whether he actually was ordained a priest. However, he became one of the most important people in the Orthodox Church in Poland. His activity, joined with close cooperation with state authorities, led to the taking over of many properties and temples which belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church. Many of them became the basis for the creation of new Orthodox parishes in south-eastern Poland.
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Review of the study of DSc. Vidka Nikolova “Priests and sextons in Bulgarian chant and language”, dedicated to the authorship of the chant “Angel vopiyashe” (“Angel cried”) from 1911. The author proves that its creator was a priest Konstantin Deunovski, father of Peter Deunov.
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The article analyzes how the main representative of the Romanian New Wave – Cristi Puiu – uses the visual space of an apartment for staging and presenting the visible and hidden spheres of reality. His film Sieranevada, focusing on a family meeting on the occasion of religious ceremonies commemorating recently deceased senior family member, shows the possibilities of using the language of realism to appeal to the spirituality present in everyday life and to unveil Transcendence.
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