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The greatest authorities of the Reformation era were familiar with 40 writings in Latin written by Andreas Volanus, cursed by Rome son of Silesian and Polish noblemen.
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This article considers the reiteration of St. Simon Stock’s mystical vision in the paintings found in the Lithuanian Carmelite Churches of the 17th and 18th centuries. It ascertain that their painters strived to preserve the traits of the original prototype picture especially those of Carmelita monks’ figures. Therefore the faces of St. Simon Stock are similar and express similar devout emotions in all of them. But in comparison with the images found in other European countries Lithuanian paintings depict Holly Mother with the child Jesus Christ giving the scapular to Carmelita monk while in other paintings the figure of Christ is absent. In all other aspects the Lithuanian paintings copy the pictures of famous European painters and manifest no much unconventionality.
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Šunskai parish archives were taken away by the Soviet government and only incidental bishops’ visit reports survived in the parish archives. However, the 1914s inventory survived in Poland the Lomza diocese archives stored along former Seinai diocesan documents, dating back to the Bishop Antanas Karosas exile from Sejny. Not every visitation report fully reflects and discusses parish status. Some reports are missing the Parish inventory. Sometimes instead a visit report there is found only the bishop’s brief statement of the visit to the parish and the giving of the sacrament of confirmation. The Šunskai parish visitations revealed the relatively stable material and spiritual condition of the parish. A regular visit to the parish by the bishop or by his assistant often had a large number receiving the sacrament of Confirmation. Sometimes the bishop’s visitation, if not solemn, was confined only to the granting of this sacrament. It seems that quite a modest visitation took place in 1941, when World War II started. The bishops’ visit report provided us with the parish image as it was.
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Church doctrine concerning church property is discussed in this article. The Church needs material means in implementing its apostolic mission. Church magisterial and legal canons declare that priests use material wealth modestly. Transparency and a determined order should exist in all accounts of all church property. The mission of the church is based on spiritual values; material ones are needed to maintain the cult, the priests and do good works – to support those in need. Church did much to support science, art and culture. It established many universities. The article also discusses the new institutions, established after the IInd Vatican Meeting: the activity of a purser in the Diocese, economical services in the Diocese and economical services in the Parish. The role of ordinary people in administrating Church property is also touched upon. Several canons require that the administrators of Church property obey the civil laws of that country, if they do not contradict the birthright. Inescapably, we face the problems of property return in the Republic of Lithuania. The laws of the democratic Republic of Lithuania consider religious communities as juridical persons. The main laws of civil authorities provide information about the return of Church property and its use for the Church.
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The article traces the development of the iconography of St. Anthony of Padua from the thirteenth century and its characteristic features in the Lithuanian Baroque art. The traditions of the representation of the saint in the Western Europe were determined not only by his biographical facts but also by the abundance of the miraculous legends and the awareness of the spirituality of the talented preacher. In Lithuania, the iconography of St. Anthony acquires peculiar features in its form. Yet, the profound meaningful content of the Lithuanian representation of the saint is in broad agreement with Western traditions. The prevalence of one particular iconographic type (The Vision of Infant Jesus) was determined by the spread of the devotional practices related to the Franciscan friar in the country and to the unanimous awareness of his charisma, i.e. an active life of proclaiming Christ and a close personal relation with Him.
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Jan Kowalik spent his emigration years in northern California, where he improved his professional skills. His life is inextricably linked with the history of the very diverse Polish diaspora over the San Francisco Bay and ethnic pastoral care. The article describes the Polish diaspora in California, which began to arrive in San Francisco Bay in the 1840s. Then, as a “labor emigration,” being the core of the Polish diaspora in California, it reached its peak in the 1920s, and was powered after the Second World War. In addition, the article shows the importance of the Catholic Church and pastors, especially the Society of Christ, to migrants.Jan Kowalik became a chronicler of parish life and launched many initiatives promoting Polish culture. The most visible form of his activity was publishing activity. As the editor of “St. Adalbert Catholic Parish Bulletin” (published since April 23, 1976), in 1977 he began publishing his own column, “Polish Traces over the Bay,” dedicated to the past of Poles in California. In January 1979, he started to publish “God's Sowing.” The author of the article broadly discusses both publications, pointing out their authors and editorial collaborators.
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The article traces the development of the iconography of St. Anthony of Padua from the thirteenth century and its characteristic features in the Lithuanian Baroque art. The traditions of the representation of the saint in the Western Europe were determined not only by his biographical facts but also by the abundance of the miraculous legends and the awareness of the spirituality of the talented preacher. In Lithuania, the iconography of St. Anthony acquires peculiar features in its form. Yet, the profound meaningful content of the Lithuanian representation of the saint is in broad agreement with Western traditions. The prevalence of one particular iconographic type (The Vision of Infant Jesus) was determined by the spread of the devotional practices related to the Franciscan friar in the country and to the unanimous awareness of his charisma, i.e. an active life of proclaiming Christ and a close personal relation with Him.
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The article traces the development of the iconography of St. Anthony of Padua from the thirteenth century and its characteristic features in the Lithuanian Baroque art. The traditions of the representation of the saint in the Western Europe were determined not only by his biographical facts but also by the abundance of the miraculous legends and the awareness of the spirituality of the talented preacher. In Lithuania, the iconography of St. Anthony acquires peculiar features in its form. Yet, the profound meaningful content of the Lithuanian representation of the saint is in broad agreement with Western traditions. The prevalence of one particular iconographic type (The Vision of Infant Jesus) was determined by the spread of the devotional practices related to the Franciscan friar in the country and to the unanimous awareness of his charisma, i.e. an active life of proclaiming Christ and a close personal relation with Him.
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In the iconographical program of the Basilica of The Blessed Virgin Mary’s Birth of Šiluva the main three interlacing themes are developed: Mother of God who gave the birth to the Saviour, Jesus Christ who established the Church and the Church. These three themes are also supplemented by other subjects from Old and New Testaments whish are important for whole iconographical program. The essence of the church interior decoration consists of three altars ensemble, which is located in the space of presbytery and side naves, four altars by pillars, pulpit and baptistery and also loft stand in the space of central nave. The iconographical program of this church is realized of the sculptor Tomas Podgaiskis. The iconographical program contains dramatization, beautiful visual effects, baroque dash which matches with seriousness of Classicism.
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The study deals with the negotiations during the final phase of the Council of Trent (1563). It points to important moments that led to the successful completion of council reforms and maps various problematic elements that the Council had to deal with. The last part of the study is devoted to an overall evaluation of the Council from both historical and legal perspectives. It provides a comprehensive basis for understanding the origination and orientation of individual reform decrees, as well as the participation of the main actors in conciliar negotiations in their enforcement and subsequent implementation.
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W artykule przedstawiono powstanie ruchu wolnych chrześcijan w Polsce przed rokiem 1918 i odzyskaniem narodowej niepodległości. Była to kontynuacja wcześniejszego ruchu braci plymuckch zapoczątkowanego w Dublinie w 1830 roku. Początek działalności braci wolnych w Polsce związany jest z ożywieniem religijnym na przełomie wieków w niezależnych kręgach: neopietystycznych luteran na Śląsku Cieszyńskim oraz mariawickich rzymskokatolików w centralnej Polsce. Artykuł prezentuje sylwetki założycieli i istotne wydarzenia, które doprowadziły do powstania pierwszych zborów braci na Śląsku oraz Zrzeszenia Zwolenników Nauki Pierwotnych Chrześcijan w Warszawie.
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In the iconographical program of the Basilica of The Blessed Virgin Mary’s Birth of Ðiluva the main three interlacing themes are developed: Mother of God who gave the birth to the Saviour, Jesus Christ who established the Church and the Church. These three themes are also supplemented by other subjects from Old and New Testaments whish are important for whole iconographical program. The essence of the church interior decoration consists of three altars ensemble, which is located in the space of presbytery and side naves, four altars by pillars, pulpit and baptistery and also loft stand in the space of central nave. The iconographical program of this church is realized of the sculptor Tomas Podgaiskis. The iconographical program contains dramatization, beautiful visual effects, baroque dash which matches with seriousness of Classicism.
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The mural paintings that decorate the vaults in the church of the Holy Cross in Kaunas are already known in Lithuanian art criticism; still they have not been analyzed as individual objects or clearly attributed. This article aims to explore these works of art in aspects of form and content and also to determine their possible date and authorship. Research showed that in 1898 Tyrolean artist Jonas Kerle created seventeen compositions, Kerle’s compositions cover the older frescos on the decline that date back to the end of the 17th c. - the beginning of 18th c. They are united by iconographic programme, whose main theme is the Mysteries of Jesus Christ. Only the painting in the main dome representing the Prophet Elijah, founder of the Carmelite order, was created in the second half of the 18th c. by order of the Carmelite friars.
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This article gives an analysis of the sculptural compositions of the Beatitudes located in Vilnius’s Sts. Peter and Paul church. These baroque stucco figures have not yet been studied from the sacral perspective. The plasticity of the works has been discussed only distantly and their significance in the iconographic scheme of the church has not been evaluated. Made by The influence of Ripa’s emblems’ collection “Iconology” has not been considered important for the creators of the sculptures, P. Perti and G. M. Galli. While analyzing the object, I discovered that the sculptural cycle of the Beatitudes was a significant component of the iconography of Antakalnis church. The sculptures, located in the main nave, were created independently, but in harmony with other iconographic themes. I argue that the arrangement of the stucco figures was decided by C. Ripa’s “Iconology” canon. The analysis shows that the sculptures reflect the aim of ecclesiastical art which is to spread religious knowledge among the fold.
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The mural paintings that decorate the vaults in the church of the Holy Cross in Kaunas are already known in Lithuanian art criticism; still they have not been analyzed as individual objects or clearly attributed. This article aims to explore these works of art in aspects of form and content and also to determine their possible date and authorship. Research showed that in 1898 Tyrolean artist Jonas Kerle created seventeen compositions, Kerle’s compositions cover the older frescos on the decline that date back to the end of the 17th c. - the beginning of 18th c. They are united by iconographic programme, whose main theme is the Mysteries of Jesus Christ. Only the painting in the main dome representing the Prophet Elijah, founder of the Carmelite order, was created in the second half of the 18th c. by order of the Carmelite friars.
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This article gives an analysis of the sculptural compositions of the Beatitudes located in Vilnius’s Sts. Peter and Paul church. These baroque stucco figures have not yet been studied from the sacral perspective. The plasticity of the works has been discussed only distantly and their significance in the iconographic scheme of the church has not been evaluated. Made by The influence of Ripa’s emblems’ collection “Iconology” has not been considered important for the creators of the sculptures, P. Perti and G. M. Galli. While analyzing the object, I discovered that the sculptural cycle of the Beatitudes was a significant component of the iconography of Antakalnis church. The sculptures, located in the main nave, were created independently, but in harmony with other iconographic themes. I argue that the arrangement of the stucco figures was decided by C. Ripa’s “Iconology” canon. The analysis shows that the sculptures reflect the aim of ecclesiastical art which is to spread religious knowledge among the fold.
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The article is an attempt to summarize previous academic achievements of Fr. Professor Stanisław Urbański in conjunction with his 30th anniversary of work at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw. He is the creator of the Polish school of spirituality. His studies contributed to the discovery of number of new schools of spirituality in the Polish context. In his publications he touches, among many others, issues of theology of spirituality, mysticism and hagiography.
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This article gives e concise overview about the ecclesiastical monuments of medieval Shkodra. Before the Ottoman conquest, the City of Shkodra (Skodra/Scutari) had many churches and chapels and the researchers qualified it as an important centre of Albanian Catholic clergy in the Middle Age. The churches of Shkodra were thick-walled and so far we know this city had a large number of churches and monasteries. Besides the aforementioned churches, I have found traces of other anonymous churches, about which we don’t know today what was their name. Among them there are others, which cannot be localized, where they were in the city.
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In Lithuania this year, before the ceremony of beatification took place and Archbishop Teofilius Matulionis was declared a martyr on 25 June 2017 in Vilnius, a scientific conference “The Importance of Martyrium in the Life of the Church in the Context of Totalitarian Ideologies of the 20th Century” was held specifically in the honour of the Archbishop Teofilius Matulionis. One of the reports of plenary sittings addressed Bishop Teofilius Matulionis’ impact as a chaplain to the Benedictine community. Reminding the forgotten fact that Bishop Teofilius Matulionis was appointed to the Benedictine Sisters from 1936 to 1943 as a chaplain after various service, i.e. vicar, missionary, in places where he was not only a good listener for sinners, a prayer man, but also a manager, administrator. At the same time, he had already experienced the fate of a prisoner in two different places: Butyrka’s undergrounds and the Sokolniki Correction House, and eventually expelled to the Solovki Islands. That means Bishop Teofilius Matulionis was assigned to the Benedictine Sisters with a strong and magnanimous faith, with the experience of the test of faith. At that time, the existing Martyrium community, which was being restored after a break-up in Ciobiskis and Kaunas, was home to 13 sisters. Even with such a small number of nuns, the monastery still had internal problems. The jurisdiction there was unclear and not defined, material situation in the community was difficult due to debt, and the condition of monastery buildings was also poor. Therefore, it can be considered that the Benedictine Sisters community faced considerable challenges at that time. In the presence of Bishop Teofilius Matulionis, the Martyrium Community Chaplaincy experienced its golden age throughout a period of almost 400 years. The meaningful activities of the Sisters Benedictines of Kaunas were observed and evaluated in the society. Even during the difficult occupation era vocations did not stop, the girls responded to God’s vocation and chose a monastic life. As most of the families were impoverished due to war, not all the candidates were able to bring a dowry. Therefore, with the permission of Bishop V. Brizgius, it was decided to accept the candidates without a dowry also. Chaplain’s activity was a twofold spiritual renewal of the community. The first one concerned the liturgy of vows, which is the one related to monastic life, i.e. their rites, the revival of these rites. The second was the introduction of the Eternal Adoration of St. Sacrament by establishing the brotherhood of the Eternal Sacrament Adoration, not forgetting Mercy, every day praying in front a copy of the picture of Merciful Jesus. Restoring the church was carried by raising the remains of monks and re-burying them, by sanctifying the cross to commemorate the 500 years of Christening. Permanent adoration became the main feature of Benedictines’ spirituality in those days (except for the Saint Benedictine sisters of Kaunas), not only from other congregations, but also from all Benedictine communities. This adoration in the church of St. Nicolaus was temporarily interrupted only during the Soviet occupation. The spiritual life has been especially strengthened by the St. Sacrament adoration, which was some sort of compensation for active apostolic Benedictine activities. The adoration testifies to the fact that Benedictine sisters maintained the features of the contemplative monastery. St. Sacrament adoration was another feature of the Kaunas Benedictine Spirituality which cannot be found in any other Benedictine community. At the same time throughout the period when Bishop Teofilius Matulionis was a chaplain in the martyrium community, it is possible to distinguish the qualities of Excellency from the written and oral sources of the sisters: Greatly Honorable, All-Beloved, Holy Scripture, beautifully interpreting the greatness of the religious vocation and joy for the devoted souls, eloquent, able to persuade, everyone carefully followed the rites, emphatic, always saw God’s Providence, a lovely Father who was simple, calm, shining with his extraordinary authority, showing heartfelt respect, modesty. Dear Mother in a short speech expressed the joy of the monastery to His Excellency that he agreed to take on this rather difficult position – to patronize our monastery. His Excellency replied that he did not expect such a job, but, being requested by God, he took it, though timidly. The Blessed Archbishop Teofilius Matulionis was a man of God (cf. Gal 2:20) who worked a lot for the Catholic Church and Lithuanian society. The article presents a further unreported biographical detail – chaplaintion at the Benedictine Sisters Monastery of Kaunas. The merits for the Benedictine spiritual life of sisters are evaluated, emphasizing the life of the community at the time of the golden age when Bishop Teofilius Matulionis served and lived in the monastery. The study used unpublished archival sources and manuscripts of the Sisters stored in the Benedictine Archives.
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