"Biografiile" Sfantului Maxim Marturisitorul si contextul istoric al epocii sale

Author(s): Vicențiu Românu / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 01-03/2017

In modern Romanian theology, Father Dumitru Stăniloae is the first theologist who started capitalizing, by their precious translations and comments, for almost half a century, on a part of the theological and spiritual works of the great Byzantine and erudite monk of the 7th century in the person of Saint Maxim the Confessor, thus ranging under the neopatristic trend, dedicated to the „maximology” commenced during the first half of the 20th century. Within the four tomes of maximian works, the Romanian theologist casts some light on the sizes and profound significances of the confessor monk Maxim’s thinking in relation to contemporary theology, however, concerning Their life, the scholared Romanian theologist compiles short biographic notes.

"Continuities and discontinuities. Educational program of The Planned Parenthood Association in Krakow (1957 – 1993)"

Author(s): Barbara Klich-Kluczewska / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2014

The article presents the program of sexual education prepared and offered by Krakow Branch of the Planned Parenthood Association in the wider context of socio-political situation in Krakow (1956 – 1989). Since the beginning of the Association’s existence, the special attention was paid to the development of educational program, which concerned the different aspects of „family life“. The article is going to answer the questions about its goals, the educational tools used to achieve them and its social targets. To accurately determine the position of the Association in the city‘s community I will analyse its foundation and activities in wider context of the pre-war traditions of the organisation and the activities regarding premarital counselling undertaken by the Krakow Catholic Church.

"Foaia Diecezana" - 130 de ani de aparitie

Author(s): Constantin Cilibia / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 01-03/2017

The Diocesan Sheet magazine, through the articles printed, enjoys an even greater popularity within believers, priests, not only from the Caransebeș Bishopric, but the entire country. The editorial team consists of church, but also laic personalities with a good theological preparation. It is led by our inexhaustible Bishop, Dr. Lucian Mic, of Caransebeș, who is undertaking great efforts for the magazine to appear periodically and in exquisite graphic conditions. From what we have seen so far, the Diocesan Sheet magazine is highly appreciated, not only within the Caransebeș Bishopric, the Banat Mitropoly, but also within the Romanian Patriarchy. We see its presence everywhere, thus confirming that it complies with current requirements and exigencies.

"GLOBALIZACIJA" RIMSKOG CARSTVA I ŠIRENJE KRŠĆANSTVA.

Author(s): Anto Popović / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 19/2003

This article explores some of the factors which enabled Christianity become a world religion in a relatively brief span of time. As well as looking at the culture of the time, it examines the contribution of military, legal, monetary and communication factors in the Roman Empire. These factors were a cohesive force which made a vast empire, of many ethnic groups (nations), cultures and religions, into a unified social-political and economic-cultural space. All these factors bear marks of the Roman Empire and Greco-Roman civilization, and therefore they may be treated under the heading "globalization" of the Roman Empire. In their oral and written address to their audiences and in their mutual correspondence, the first proclaimers of the Good News made extensive use of the advantages of these "globalizing" factors on their missionary journeys. However, the crucial and the most important driving force behind the rapid spread of Christianity was the self-awareness of the first Christian proclaimers of their universal mission, their finn belief in the saving power of the Gospel and their conviction that all peoples are in an urgent need of God's salvation.

"Gott hat sein Evangelium auch durch die Musik gepredigt". Martin Luther, die Musik und das Kirchenlied

Author(s): Wilhelm Hüffmeier / Language(s): German / Issue: 10/2016

The article presents origins of the Evangelical church music in the XVI century. Pastor Dr Martin Luther is regarded as the father this music. The poet H. Heine described the hymn “A mighty fortress is our God” as Mar-seillaise of the Reformation. Luther was brought up in his school musical circle and recommended teaching music at schools of all levels. The Reformer, apart from prefaces to all kinds of songbooks, wrote four texts dedicated to the essence of Evangelical song where we find a thesis that music is a good deed of the God -Creator Himself what makes that music in its very nature is a good instrument to proclaim the Gospel. In one of his letters Luther wrote indeed that apart from theology music is the best art bringing consolation for the heart. His first song, Luther wrote not earlier than in 1523 in parallel to the undertaken efforts to reform Evangelical liturgy. Apart from the so-called propaganda songs of Reformation Luther’s favourite songs were paraphrases of psalms. In addition, another form of religious song created in the times of Reformation are catechism songs. The article also depicts the person of Elisabeth Cruciger, the first Reformation singer. Reformation triggered a mighty movement that intro-duced national languages to the liturgy and church services. This movement also transformed music giving it specific feature of piety emerging from the spirit of Evangelical church reformation in the XVI century.

"Hours of trial" in the life and activity of Polish sercans in the post-war years

Author(s): Sławomir Kamiński / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2004

"Godziny próby" w życiu i działalności polskich sercanów w latach powojennych.

"Krakowskie" woluminy z dawnej biblioteki bernardynów na Karczówce pod Kielcami

Author(s): Piotr Kardyś / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 134/2020

The article presents the conclusions concerning the "Cracow" provenance of some volumes originating from the former Bernardines library in Karczówka, which are currently stored in the Major Seminary in Kielce. Since the beginning of its functioning (the begining of the 1630s), the convent of the Friars Minor, the Observants was in the posession of the old prints (including liturgical manuscripts probably) donated by the province monastery authorities, Cracow canons as well as university professors. The identification of the specific items of the collection has been possible due to preserved provenance entries as well as other entries indicating the particular item’s purpose.

"Majko pomozi mi da ispravim matematiku i da budem s Bojanom". Etnološka analiza zidnih natpisa u crkvi sv. Petra i Pavla u Osijeku

Author(s): Jasna Čapo Žmegač / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 5/1993

The author proposes to interpret messages addressed in the past few years to St. Mary, the mother of God, in the chapel of St. Mary of Lourdes in the church of St. Peter and Paul in Osijek, in eastern Croatia. Their specificity resides in the fact that they are written on chapel walls. Taking into account the specific means by which they are written - on a wall - and the specific contents which they exhibit - prayers addressed to St. Mary - the author first discusses the appropriate genre into which they can be ranged. She concludes that wall inscriptions from the Osijek chapel cannot be considered graffiti since they do not exhibit some of their characteristics: their receivers are not anonymous, they are not a result of opposition or of a wish to transgress, or to make up for the communication deficit of some segment of the population, and their content is different. The analysis and interpretation of 1000 wall inscriptions from Osijek is based on their transcription. Throughout the text they are being contrasted with prayers found in Trsat (a North Croatian pilgrimage center) and analyzed by the same author, and, where possible, with prayers from Thierenbach, a pilgrimage center in Alsace, analyzed by Genevieve Herberich-Marx. It is hypothesized that some characteristics of the Osijek inscriptions are linked to the means by which they are written. These are the pronounced anonymity of messages, the age of the population writing them - youth of High school age, and, linked to their age, the motifs of addressing Mary - mainly school problems, problems with partners, meeting somebody, etc. These motifs are in sharp distinction to the motifs presented in Trsat and Thierenbach (health, general help, happiness and protection predominate) where, presumably, people of middle and older age have left messages for St. Mary. The messages in Osijek are very concrete and specific: help is sought immediately and for a definite problem, e.g. to meet one's lover today; not to get a bad mark in the test to be written tomorrow. The author concludes that while to Trsat people come in organized trips and seemingly with no predetermined motives for prayer; to the Osijek church people come deliberately, to pray for a specific motif. The youth in Osijek are turned upon themselves for, in the majority of cases, they pray for themselves and not for other people, as was the case in Trsat. Nevertheless, a special category of prayers is identified in Osijek - prayers for all those who suffer -in villages, towns and Croatian regions struck by the 1991/92 war. Finally, prayers point to Mary's presence in people's lives as helper, savior, giver, protector etc. In quite a number of prayers people address themselves to God, attributing him the same powers as to Mary. St. Mary is not called Mary of Lourdes or of Osijek as is the case in Trsat and in Thierenbach, both important pilgrimage centers in which Mary is thought to be miraculous. This is explained by the ignorance of youth that the statue around which they write messages on chapel walls represents the miracle of Lourdes and by the fact that the statue has not proven miraculous among the inhabitants of Osijek. Regarding the differences and similarities of prayers in Croatia and in a French center, the author concludes that the main difference lies in the way Mary is called and addressed, but that otherwise, prayers from Trsat and Thierenbach have much more similarities than the prayers in two Croatian centers. The reason in all probability lies in the age of visitors and indirectly in the form of the prayer and function of the church.

"Ó, Várad! Ó, Erdély! Ahol édes hazánk földjén a szent király lábai nyomdoka máig fenn van!"

Barokk kori prédikációrészletek Szent László király tiszteletére

Author(s): Norbert Medgyesy S. / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 06/2017

"Parafia Frysztak w latach 1918-1945", Krzysztof Szopa, Tuchów 2005.

Author(s): Józef Mandziuk / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 13/2006

"Sophia" Discourse from Antiquity to Christianity

Author(s): Yevhen Kharkovshchenko / Language(s): English / Issue: 56/2019

Sophia doctrine was evolved in European philosophical and religious creativity and was developed in the pre-Christian period (Socrates, Parmenides, Plato), was represented in Gnosticism (Valentinus) and Neoplatonism (Plotinus), in the writings of prominent theorists of Christianity – the Fathers of the Church (Athanasius the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Macarius the Great, Gregory the Theologian), the ancient teachers of Christianity (Hilarion, Klim Smoliatich). The doctrine of Sophia, The Wisdom of God is shown in the Proverbs of Solomon Biblical Book, and also in the non-canonical books of the Old Testamentum – Solomon’s Wisdom and the Jesus’ the son of Syrah Wisdom. The Sophia doctrine as mysterious wisdom is described in Kabbalah. It was also reflected in the temple architecture and iconography of the Orthodox East, in the wider use of it at the spiritual and moral level. This doctrine has got a systematic form represented by the doctrine of sophiology in medieval mysticism (M. Eckhart, J. Böhme, E. Swedenborg), and “philosophy of unitotality” (V. Solovyov, S. Bulgakov, P. Florensky). These periods of the Sophia doctrine’s development are inherent in such ideas as a natural philosophy’s theme of understanding the world as the integration, anthropological doctrine of the relationship between nature and the absolute, the existence of God in its close association with the world.

"Избави ме од нечистоте дела мојих..."

Author(s): Vesna O. Marković / Language(s): Greek, Ancient (to 1453),Serbian / Issue: 1/2019

Romanos the Melodist, the greatest poet of Eastern Church, inspired by metric forms of Syrian spiritual literature created the most perfect Byzantine poetic genre – a Kontakion. This is a highly complex literary form which belongs to tonal and syllabic versification, with a distinctive metric scheme. A Kontakion is characterized by vivid description of biblical events, with plenty of extremely dramatized situations and well-developed monologues and dialogues. The parts which depict human character, passions and suffering are particularly impressive. However, the implications and messages of a Kontakion are not dark, but optimistic, owing to the fact that they are oriented towards human salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance and hope for forgiveness. Romanos the Melodist’s hymns possess deep inner duality and apart from inspiring and motivating, they clarify, interpret and teach. As a knowledgeable and skillful interpreter of Holy Scripture, he gives an excellent exegesis through his heroes’ lines. The translated and analyzed Kontakion in this writing is one of the most successful and poetic Roman’s Kontakia. It is a masterpiece in respect of perfect metric units with a refrain and regular rhyme.

(Arhi)Episcopul Justinian Chira Maramureşanul – aşa cum l-am cunoscut –

Author(s): Ioan Dâmbu / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 05/2021

The article evokes Archbishop Justinian Chira who was highly regarded since he was abbot of the Rohia monastery, as a man with a holy life. Many people saw him as a gentle, balanced, good, wise, loving man, a devoted servant of God and of His Church, living an austere life discretely and naturally. He had an internal discipline that worked flawlessly and it was seen in his words and behavior. Bishop Justinian was a true bibliophile. He was a book lover and very eager to advise monks to read and educate, reminding us of the aura and preoccupations of the first monks.

(Not) Developing a Reference of the Second Vatican Council in Slovakia (The History and Operation of Movements and Lay Associations)

Author(s): Damian Saraka / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

Church movements and lay associations are one of the admirable fruits of the Second Vatican Council. However, it was not simple to inject the recommendations and regulations of the council into the life of the Catholic Church. In Eastern Europe and especially in former Czechoslovakia the Catholic Church had to confront a massive external conflict against totalitarian communist regimes which openly restrained implementing the fruits of the council into practical life. The Greek Catholic Church, which was prohibited by the totalitarian regime in Czechoslovakia for 18 years, became caught in the centre of that conflict. Despite the period of darkness and many conflicts, there came a period of freedom and blossoming of new movements and communities, which involve new forms of communication with modern people and answer their need for strong and personal experiences with God. However, also in the middle of the free society and continuous activity and blossoming of movements there are internal conflicts, which are the consequence of adolescence, development of structures and applying of charismas of particular movements and communities in the Catholic Church environment. It is the period of adolescing to ‘Church maturity’ which cannot be without conflicts. Despite the conflicts, church movements and lay associations are the answer to dramatic calls of the present-day period induced by The Holy Spirit.

(Post-) Modernity and Christian Culture in the Context of the Personalism of Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński

Author(s): Ryszard Ficek / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Need to indent here, a rough analysis of the situation in the world is enough to realize the here and throughout modern Christianity, as well as the foundation on which today’s culture of the Western world is based. No wonder that many Christian intellectuals view it as multidimensional, highly complex, with sometimes bothersome and destructive symptoms. Undoubtedly, the Christian roots of cultural reality related primarily to Europe are correlated with the birth of the modern idea of scientific rationality, which brought humanity great opportunities, but also serious threats.Thanks to the idea of rationality, Europe has developed a culture that, especially now—in a way previously utterly unknown to humankind—is trying to exclude God from the sphere of public consciousness. Of course, the existence of God can be denied entirely or made it impossible to prove, assuming that—faith or nonbelief—it is a matter of purely subjective choice. Nevertheless, in both cases, in the opinion of many modern ideologies of (post-) modernity, God should not be of significant importance to the whole reality of public life.Thus, presenting the role of anti-Catholicism in the classical approach to (post-) modernity, as well as the tradition of Catholic anti-modernism, will allow for a more constructive display of the spirit of the conciliar aggiornamento, which is unfortunately related to the more general crisis of contemporary times of the 1970s and 1990s. It was during this period that one could notice both a retreat from “modernity” as a concept that “sensitizes” the paradigm of the cultural reality of that time, and “postmodern” religious revival understood as a challenge to articulate a living Christian tradition inscribed in the global complexity of the contemporary world. Contrary to the temptation to isolate oneself from external influences, and therefore the awakening cognitive dissonance, aspects of the current paradigm of (post-) modern reality may be essential and useful in shaping a constructive dialogue with the contemporary world, as well as in promoting Catholic culture that forms the identity of Christianity today. Therefore, the main aim of the above article is to display the fundamental issues concerning (post-) modernity and how they influence significant theological problems, especially in the context of the personalistic vision presented by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. It applies primarily to such vital matters as the problem of truth, hermeneutics, the specificity of a functional language, and their mutual correlation. In this sense, contemporary theological discourse can be significantly enriched by taking into account many aspects of contemporary postmodern theory, especially concerning culture. An essential condition for this, however, is to take into account the undoubted achievements of previous epochs. However, the fundamental task of Christians is to create the reality of authentically humanistic culture, capable of shaping the human person under his vocation. It is possible due to the sphere of personal and social values which, in forming man, condition the transformation of the entire cultural reality of the world from the perspective of “new heaven and a new earth” (cf. 2 Pt 3:13; Rev 21:1).

,„Și încă a pustiit şi sfânta mănăstire”. Mănăstirea Govora și un gest de putere de la mijlocul secolului al XV-lea

Author(s): Ramona Neacşa / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: XXXIII/2015

This paper analyses the destruction of the Govora Monastery by the boyar Albu the Great in mid fifteenth-century Wallachia. The main contention of the article is that this sacrilegious act was embedded in the struggles between different Wallachian noble groups competing for power. Thus, by devastating the monastery, Albu the Great was trying to strengthen his own position, while undermining that of the founder of the monastery, no other than Vlad the Devil, the lord of Wallachia. The Govora monastery played an important role in supporting and legitimizing Vlad’s rule, therefore any act of violence directed against it was actually aimed to its founder. A locus of history and legitimacy, the monastery had a significant capital of symbolic power that could be manipulated, destroyed or, on the contrary, restored. This is precisely what happed with Govora in the second half of the fifteenth century, when Vlad the Devil’s descendents took care to restore the family monastic foundation. Thus, Vlad the Impaler punished Albu the Great and his entire kin and, afterwards, Vlad the Monk and Radu the Great re-established the monastic estate by buying back two of its former villages, Glodul and Hinţa. The purpose of this article is to suggest that the fifteenth-century Wallachian monasteries were not solely a network of religious and economic centres, but also hubs of political power.

100-lecie kościoła pw. św. Jana Chrzciciela w Trzciance

Author(s): Edwin Klessa / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 5/2017

16. SZÁZADI, KÉSŐ RENESZÁNSZ ÖLTÖZETŰ LEÁNYKA SÍRJA BOLDVÁN

Author(s): Ilona Valter / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2012

The actually standing Calvinist church of Boldva is of a royal founding. The building functioned as a Benedictine abbey around 1175–1180. The archaeological excavations conducted between 1976 and 1982 uncovered 68 graves within the church. A 14–16 years old girl lay in grave no. 21 in perfectly preserved renaissance clothes. She probably died in 1567 or 1568 and she was a member of the Putnoky family of the Rátót clan. This family owned Boldva until 1570, and then the Basó family owned it for about 160 years. The girl’s uncle Mihály Basó lay in grave no. 14 and her mother Klára Basó in grave no. 17.

16–18. századi ötvösmunkák a dévai és hátszegi gyülekezetekben

Author(s): Mária Kovács / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 4/2007

Goldschmiedearbeiten aus Reformierten Kirchengemeinden Deva und Hatszeg (16–18. Jahrhundert). Die Goldschmiedearbeiten die in dieser Artikel verarbeitet sind auch heute Eigentümer der gemeinden aus Reformierten Kirchenkreis Hunyad–Zaránd. Ich versuchte alle mögliche Informationen versammeln und so ein Überblick von die künstliche Richtungen der reformierte Patronen dieses Gebietes in 16–18 Jahrhunderten machen. Leider in vorigem Zeit hat man sehr wenig mit diese Theme beschaeftigt. Unsere Analyse will neben der fachmaessige Beschreibung auch ein Spiegel für die alltaegliche Leben, Gebrauche und Fachniveau der vorigen Jahrhundertes sein. Die verarbeitete Goldschmiedearbeiten kommen aus 8 verschiedene Kirchengemeinden und sie sind heute in Deva und Hatszeg. Sie sind so ornamental, wie förmlich sehr heterogen: Werke von unbekannten Meistern aus dem 15–16 Jahrhundert, Objekte der Meister aus Kronstad, Hermanstadt und Klausenburg. Neben dem spaetgotischem Kelch finden wir ein renessantischer Pokal, auch barockzeitliche und klassische Objekte.

170 de ani de la Hirotonia întru episcop a Sfântului Andrei Şaguna (18 aprilie 1848). Analiza istorică şi canonică a documentelor

Author(s): Mircea-Gheorghe Abrudan,Răzvan Perșa / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 04/2018

The life, activity and work of Saint Andrei Şaguna, the Metropolitan of Transylvania, are well-known due to the special academic researches led by Romanian and foreign historians and theologians. However, official archives and libraries from Romania and from abroad still possess many original sources regarding the Transylvanian Metropolitan’s life and activity that can bring clarifications about his work and will contribute to a more complete outline of his pastoral and theological activity. Our work explores two such very important documents regarding the appointment of Archimandrite Andrei Şaguna as the Transylvanian Orthodox Bishop by Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria on February 5, 1848 and his ordination by Metropolitan Iosif Raiacici in the metropolitan cathedral of Karlowitz (Sremski Karlovci) on April 18, 1848. Our research reviews these two important documents in the historical, canonical, and political context of the period.