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Since the end of the ninth century in many Christian countries in Europe already existed special representatives of the Holy See for the set- tlement of church-political problems, which were resolved according to the rules of canon law and international law. The purpose of these pope delegates, of different degrees of competence (depending on the time and political and social circumstances) is the regulation of relations between the Church and individual states so that the former could effectively ful- fill its mission of evangelization. Whilst the aim of Vatican diplomacy (of various degrees) is to create favorable conditions for the functioning of the local Church, insomuch in relation to the dogmatic and disciplinary issues the decisive vote belongs to the general assembly of bishops under the leadership of the Pope, so the general council. Both the one and the other form of activity is an eloquent manifestation – throughout history – of the renewal of religious and ecclesiastical life, initiated by the Holy See.
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Papal diplomacy has always concentrated on carrying out tasks focused on expanding the space for Roman Christianity. Poland, which has been in the group of Christian countries since the second half of the X century from the beginning became present in the orbit of the Holy See’s interests and had very frequent relations with it. Their point of interest lied in political issues, among which were a few centuries long Polish-Teutonic relations, Turkish threat, a calling to join the Holy League, and the Polish mediation in the aspirations towards a union between Rome and Moscow. After Reformation and crystallization of the permanent papal diplomatic service, it turned out that priorities were aspirations towards reinstating Catholicism in Poland’s neighbouring countries: Sweden, Saxony and continually current hopes for a union with Orthodox Russia. Besides these issues other important matters included internal affairs of the Church in Poland: in middle ages – nominations of bishops, keeping Poland in papal obedience; from 16th century introducing Tridentine reforms and a new vision of bishops’ service.
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Russia proved to be a difficult terrain for the Vatican diplomacy, especially since, due to the partiotions of Poland, crowds of Catholics of both the Latin and Greek rite fell under the reign of the Orthodox ruler. As it was not possible to establish in the Russian Empire regular nunciature, the Holy See, in this period of particular importance, send their ambassadors to the court of Russian tsars. In the years 1783-1804 this function was held by: Giovanni Andrea Archetti (1783-1784), Lorenzo Litta (1797-1799) and Tommaso Arezzo (1803-1804), and each of them had a specific purpose of the mission. Generally, however, it has been about the canonical regulation of the church’s administrative structure, adapted to the political borders of the Russian Empire, and to give people freedom of religious practices and opportunities for contacts with the Holy See.
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Uniate Church in the Republic of Poland was established as a result of the Brest Union in 1596. During the following centuries it evolved towards Latin Church. Mainly on the basis of the adopted by zamoyski synod (1720) resolutions it underwent widespread Latinizing and Polonization. It concerned the dogma, liturgy, church services, rituals, laity and clergy. The interiors of the churches were changed, iconostasis, sacrificial tables and altars equipped according to the Greek rite were removed. The main and side altars, confessionals, pulpits, organs and other Latin utensils were introduced instead. The actions of the Basilian congregation were of equal significance. As a result of those changes the Uniate Church gradually wondered off from the eastern rite bringing itself closer to the Latin one. The Polonization was in full swing. Old Slavonic was replaced by Polish. From that moment on this was the language of prayers, sermons, religious singing and communication with the priests. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries Polonization of the Unite Church was advanced. The prestige of the clergy and of the Church as an institution didn’t raise, what was expected at the moment of introducing the union, the same could be said about its economic situation. All that was leading to the fall. The situation was worsened by the fact that the church founders, most often of the different faith weren’t interested in supporting financially the churches of their serfs. The sad picture of the Uniate Church emerges from the deans’ inspections from the end of 18th and the beginning of 19th century. In the Bialystok district constituting the religious and ethnic borderland Latinizing and Polonization of the Uniate Church were the most intensive.
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Poland and Polish nationalism are widely identified with Catholicism. However, the populationof the Polish state was not homogenous ethnically and religiously – in 1921 the number of ethnic/confessional minorities reached the high level of over 30 percent. The Second World Warwas a fundamental change in Polish history – the new people’s republic, formed after 1945, hasbeen a totally different state from the Second Republic of Poland, which existed 1918–1939.Unfortunately, very little is known about the impact of Churches (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox)in shaping the Polish, Ukrainian, Belorussian and German nationalisms during the wartime as wellas the attitudes of clergymen towards the German occupants.
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As portrayed in Chronicles 11 – 12, King Rehoboam was both a good king and a bad one; wise and foolish, a strong leader of a prosperous country as well as a weak leader of a declining one. Although he was a skilled diplomat, his arrogance brought the wrath of God upon himself and his nation. The Chronicler clearly attempts to depict King Rehoboam within his own context, while acknowledging his temperament and proclivities. This paper provides a detailed examination and analysis of the Chronicler’s presentation of King Rehoboam and the Kingdom of Judah.
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The condition of the Catholic Church in the early 20th century on the territory of today's Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina was extremely complex and very different from the situation today. This article analyzes church circumstances at that time examining demographic facts regarding Catholics, church organization, and legal regulation of relations between Church and state at the time. Catholics lived as a small community in Montenegro and Serbia. Their situation in Montenegro was governed by a contract between the state and the Holy See (1878) and they had an archdiocese with headquarter in the city of Bar. On the other side, the legal status of the Catholic Church in Serbia, where there was no diocese, was not resolved until 1914, when a concordat with the Holy See was signed. However, this concordat was not implemented due to the outbreak of the First World War. In the region of today's Croatia, Catholics were a majority almost everywhere. The legal status of the Church, which was organized in three major metropolitan districts (Zagreb, Zadar, Gorica), was arranged firstly through a concordat between the Holy See and Austria-Hungary in 1855, and later under special laws enacted in 1874. In order to regulate the position of the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Catholics represented about 18 percent of the population, the Austro- Hungarians in 1881, before the establishment of new dioceses and the appointment of new bishops, signed a special agreement with the Holy See. All of these agreements with the Holy See, except the one of 1855, which ceased to be valid after 1870, signed by individual countries and implemented at the beginning of the 20th century are presented here in the original language and in translation.
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Between 5 and 9 October 2015 I conducted preliminary research at the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich (Musikabteilung). Its purpose was to carry out a more detailed examination of a part of the collection of music items associated with the vocal-instrumental ensemble active in the 18th century at the Cistercian Abbey of Obra, items currently kept in Munich. Over the course of five days I carried out an in-depth analysis of 26 musical manuscripts. The Obra collection encompasses 181 manuscripts, including 16 sets (between two and six compositions in one manuscript). They originated mostly in the 18th century. The choice of manuscripts from the collection was inspired by my previous research into music items from Wielkopolska, and a desire to confirm, explain or revise some my research hypotheses. We know that the Obra manuscripts currently kept in Munich are not the complete collection the Obra ensemble used. The question is explained in the article. The analysed manuscripts can be divided into three groups: – Wojciech Dankowski’s autographs: Mus.ms. 5025, 5027, 5030, 5096, 5121; – compositions by other authors for whom Dankowski acted as a scribe: Mus.ms. 5017, 5063, 5066, 5083, 5084, 5110, 5417; – other compositions: Mus.ms. 4996a, 5060, 5061, 5070, 5090, 5094, 5098, 5102, 5122-1, 5122-2, 5139, 6594, 6596, 6597.The analysis of the selected manuscripts clearly demonstrates that there is a need for further research. The Obra collection should be examined in detail as a whole and compared wit h other music collections from Wielkopolska, especially with the one from Grodzisk Wielkopolski frequently mentioned in the article. The collection should also be digitised to make it accessible to scholars. My analysis of the 26 manuscripts has shown unequivocally that the musical manuscripts from Obra are an important part of the musical culture of 18thcentury Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and must be returned to it as quickly as possible through research.
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The agreement between the USA, Great Britain and the Soviet Union contributed to the new arrangement of political map, especially in central and eastern Europe. Because of this the Holy See became interested in social and religious situation of territories occupied by Soviet Union, where Joseph Stalin established Temporary Government of National Unity in Lublin. Vatican, however kept diplomatic relations only with government in exile in London which didn’t have much influence over developments in that part of Europe. In this situations the Holy See ,with the help of their legates, made attempts in London and Washington to guard its influence and to lead to freedom of actions of Roman Catholic Church on Polish territory. Great role in making those attempts had representatives of the Holy See, archbishop William Godfrey and Amaletto Giovanni Cicognani who systematically informed Vatican on practical decisions of anti- Hitler coalition and tried to influence governments of western allies in the matter of Polish sovereignty and independence. In the summer of 1944 the Pope Pius XII saw only two options: either Poland and other eastern European countries become soviet republics with all disastrous consequences or the West will introduce in these countries anti – communist regimes. To back the West in this, the Pope thought it necessary to demonstrate that that he didn’t consider compromise with Stalin and that he didn’t want to send an Apostolic Nuncio to Warsaw. The dedication of the Pope Pius XII to Polish matters was voiced 15th November 1944, when during the audience to Polish people he mentioned basic human freedom of Polish nation and called for recognition of Poland as a country, which contributed to victory and peace in Europe. However in history of Europe and Polish church Yalta Conference became a real change in political map of Polish country and Church on territories occupied by the Soviet Union. Yalta resolutions London were questioned by government in exile, which keeping diplomatic relationships with Vatican, tried to influence international opinion with the aim of freeing Poland from Soviet occupation. Despite difficult situation many diplomatic attempts were made by Polish ambassador in Vatican Kazimierz Papée and a Papal Nuncio in Poland residing in Rome Filippo Cortesi. They both attempted to look for help to avoid conformation of Poland to Soviet Russia. The Secretariat of State of the Holy See also tried by the means of diplomatic channels in the USA to change Yalta resolutions to Polish advantage. In the consequence neither American administration nor British failed to do anything to change the political and social situation on the territories occupied by the Soviet Union. It is also necessary to mention that until November 1944 the Holy See attempted to do a lot for Polish nation. But after this date it also accepted political state and division of Europe after Yalta Conference. It can be assumed that cessation of diplomatic efforts in Polish matters was dictated by concerns about persecution of Roman Catholic Church on territory of Poland . It is also worth stressing that the Holy See officially didn’t question Yalta decisions and after exhausting all diplomatic means they accepted this historic fact as an element of the division of world.
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The above article is an attempt of the sedevacantism problem elaboration, this is the period when the whole Church or the single diocese is left without the Pope or the Bishop. Sedevacantists claim that the Pope and the subordinate clergymen were not elected legally and validly since the death of Pope Pius XII, that is why the activity of present church structures and their dioceses do not have a legally binding power. The hole elaboration comprises of five points that include: sedevacantism description, its existence in the world and Poland, presentation of the chosen sedevacantism mediums (mainly the internet ones) and subject concerning the views on the society functioning of this trend followers. The author of this short article deliberately resigned from the theological presentation and evaluation of possible advantages and disadvantages of sedevacantism, focusing only on opinions promoted by other columnists.
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The area of the Hum land was by the end of the 12th century in the jurisdiction of the Ston Catholic bishop. Beside Latin, Slavic, being dominant in this region, was also used in liturgy. As the diocese was situated at the crossroads of the East and the West, there was a "mixture" of the Western and Eastern rites. At the end of the 12th century, when the Hum land came under the rule of Prince Miroslav Nemanjic, the bishop of Ston was exiled. With the establishment of the Serbian Orthodox Archbishopric in 1219 these areas came under the influence of the Eastern Church. Its founder Rastko (Sava) Nemanjic appointed an episcope in Ston who recognized his jurisdiction and established the Hum episcopate. On the ground, things did not change due to the closeness of languages and church rites. There were no clashes over the church rites. The Bishop of Hum in Ston and Rat, and the Benedictines of the monastery of St. Mary on Mljet coexisted in this area. Due to unstable political situation the Bishop of Hum in the mid-13th century moved the seat of the eparchy to the monastery of St. Peter in Lim. In the mid 80s the appointment of the bishops of Ston was renewed. The Catholic Church recognized the diversity of languages and rites so that Catholic bishop and eastern "Raska" monks and priests, who celebrated the service in the Slavic language and, probably, eastern rites, could coexist again. When Ston and Rat fell under the rule of Dubrovnik, a major change occurred. Dubrovnik wanted to see the residents of Ston and Rat more tied to the Republic and blocked the Ston-Korcula bishop's jurisdiction in Ston and Rat bringing the priests and friars (foreigners?) from Bosnian vicariate, who introduced "Roman" rites and Latin in liturgy. It caused a conflict between Dubrovnik and the Ston-Korcula's bishops, which was resolved by the Holy See. Dubrovnik, in order to win this dispute, took all the credit for Catholicism. They even labeled the residents of Ston and Rat as "schismatics" representing thus to the Holy See the credit of Dubrovnik in their conversion. The same was done by the Franciscans after they were deprived of their congregation in Ston and Rat. Unlike Dubrovnik and the Franciscans, the bishops of Ston and Korcula did not see them as schismatic. Believers in Ston and Rat because of the turbulent political situation and the lack of care of their shepherds were certainly religiously neglected so that such negligence could be characterized as "schismatic" and later as "heretic".
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The most important questions facing Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century were undoubtedly the relations between the Church and communist state. One of the projects of legalization of the Church in the Soviet Union was created by Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) of Nizhny Novgorod, the deputy Patriarchal locum tenens (1925-1937) subsequently Patriarchal locum tenens (1937-1943) and Patriarch of Moscow (1943–1944). His famous Declaration of Loyalty, dated 1927 July 16/29, originated in the views of patriarchal locum tenens about the role and place of the community in the public sphere. Sergius’s acquiescent or even servile attitude was still one of components of the internal organization of the community and its external relations with the authorities. The spiritual basis expressed in the document and accepted by party dissidents became an element of the internal organization of the community and its external contacts with state authorities. The Russian Church led by Metropolitan Sergius never rejected the Church party line which was already chosen in the 1920’s. This text discusses the sources of Sergius’s convictions and actions undertaken until the moment of the publication of The Declaration.
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Church of Our Lady of Candles was built in the seventeenth century. Until 1946 this temple belonged Lviv Archdiocese of the Latin rite. After independence Ukrainian state and the resumption of the structures of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine began efforts to return the church to its rightful historical owner – Lviv archdiocese. However, the city government hostile to the Catholics of Latin – because they have Polish roots – mentioned temple mischievously transferred ownership of the community of the Greek Catholic Church. From the Greek Catholic hierarchy is the good will that the church was returned to the Latin Church in Ukraine. But according to the Ukrainian legislation, the registered community of the faithful it is the decision-maker on this issue, because it is now the legal owner of the church. If could have been expect from a Greek Catholic hierarchy more decisive stance and activities and to exclude political reluctance authorities of Lviv to the Roman Catholic Church, there are possibilities for the legal (even in the absence of state reforms in the lame Ukrainian judicial system) for the triumph of justice – the recognition of property rights of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv to the Church of Our Lady of Candles in Lviv.
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L’articolo costituisce uno studio sulla relazione di S. Teresa di Gesù con la sua opera: il Carmelo Scalzo. Alla luce della dottrina cattolica sui fondatori degli istituti religiosi si cerca una risposta alla domanda se Santa Teresa d’Ávila sia riformatrice del vecchio Ordine Carmelitano o fondatrice di una realtà nuova.
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