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In the Nomocanon (Zakonopravilo) of Saint Sava, the medieval Serbian legal code-book, also known as Krmčija, the entire Prochiron, the Byzan- tine legal code containing provisions of Greco-Roman (Byzantine) law, had been taken over. With Prochiron, the provisions of the Roman inheritance law on the freedom to dispose of legacies and the distribution of inheritance originating from the law of Lex Falcidia, a Roman plebiscite dating from around AD 40, were also adopted in medieval Serbia.Translating the above mentioned provisions into Serbian, instead of accepting Greek or Latin legal expressions, Saint Sava often created many new legal terms, some of which influenced the creation of modern Serbian legal terminology, such as the expression for legacy. The aim of the paper is to draw attention to the contribution of Saint Sava to the creation of legal terminology in Serbia.
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The Reformation arose from society's reaction to the luxury, immorality and indifference of the clergy of the Catholic Church and returning to the original purity of New Testament Christianity. The Protestant culture supports the principle of equality and individualism. These were the basis for the development of capitalism. Various studies conclude that there is a strong link between Protestantism’s behavioral patterns, concepts of secular ethics and religious doctrines of Protestantism.
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Modern scholars consider that the worst year in the history of humankind was 536 CE. Since there was no separation between the Church and the State in the Byzantine Empire, the predominantly Christian population who had endured the calamities of the year was let down by both religious and political central institutions. When centralized institutions fail, local chaos often ensues. As is most often the case, the first to suffer are those most vulnerable – the poor and the lowly. Moreover, in the vacuum created by the disregard of the Church, masses of people looked for answers in religious superstition, while showing a disinclination to trust the science of the day. Others developed a sense of hatred and suspicion towards foreigners, whom they blamed for the ongoing calamities. The safety measures that saved the lives of many came from the local administrators or the people themselves, not from the central institutions.
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The history of the Church and countries with a majority Christian population is dotted about with good or bad opinions on the role of the Church in relation to the government or the State. Sometimes the Church is accused of interfering with the government or local authorities over issues that should be only under the State jurisdiction. Some Christians would consider it a normality because they see God as a supreme King over the whole world, and therefore his will stated in the Bible should be made law and prevail in every country. On the other hand, secular people oppose such ideas and try to exclude any ties of the Church in politics, economics, and social life. From Constantine the Great to medieval Europe, there was a constant tension between the secular kings and the popes or the Church leaders. Some popes were able to make kings submit under the Church leadership. Should this be normality nowadays? Are there any models that can shine a light on that? During the Reformation, the tension between Church and State leaders and princes came to a new climax. This study focuses on comparing the Church-State relationship as seen by Catholics, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and the Anabaptists during the Reformation. Did the reformers touch only the spiritual side of the European society or also its social, economic, and political side? So, is it worth letting or encouraging the Church to get involved in the affairs of the State? If yes, are there any models that our contemporary society should copy?
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15.1.1. Up to the founding of the state in 1918 15.1.1. Beginnings of Christianity 15.1.2. Croatia and Bosnia in the Middle Ages 15.1.3. The Reformation in the South Slavs 15.1.4 The Eastern Churches 15.1.5. The Ottoman Conquest and Islam 15.1.6. The Catholic Territories in the Baroque, Enlightenment and Nineteenth Century 15.2. Nach der Gründung Jugoslawiens 1918 15.2.1. Die orthodoxen Kirchen 15.2.2. Die katholische Kirche 15.2.3. Der Islam 15.2.4. Die übrigen Religionsgemeinschaften 15.2.5. Ökumenische Beziehungen und die Kriege der neunziger Jahre
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Romans 13:1–7 is among the best-known passages in the New Testament that addresses the submission of early Christians to the ruling powers of the day. Christians are to submit to the governing authorities, for they are ordained by God. Likewise, rebellion against the governing authorities means rebellion against God (Rom. 13:1–2). Yet Paul has in view only the ideal iteration of governance, in which rulers are “servants of God” (Rom. 13:4,6) and they reward the good and punish the evil. In times of tyranny and persecution, however, later ecclesiastics had to look back at Romans 13:1–7 from a different perspective: should Christians submit to unjust and despotic rulers? The answer that takes shape during the first two centuries of the Christian era (c. 167–250 CE) is a conditioned “Yes”. The approach of these writers is mainly positive and constructive. Christians are to respect tyrannical rulers at all time, even when they must be resisted. Christians are to obey tyrannical rulers whenever they act justly and in everything that is not contrary to their faith. Christians are to pray for tyrannical rulers sincerely and without ceasing. There are, however, limits to Christians’ submission to governing authorities. They are to resist any demand that goes against “the rules of Christian life”: a ruler that claims the honor that belongs only to God, acts against the will and word of God, or acts under the influence of the devil, is to be resisted. Yet there are also limitations placed on their resistance, as there are limitations placed on their obedience. Christians are to resist tyrannical rulers in a manner that is brave, yet respectful, righteous, and peaceful.
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This article addresses the causes of the moral and political decline of the Kingdom of Judah, which led to its conquest by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Speaking of the history of the kingdom of Judah in the last days of its existence, the last four kings were very wicked, totally against their father, King Josiah. They did not respect the word of the Lord at all, nor the word of the prophet Jeremiah, without having a vision of their time, going against the current of the time, which led things to a national disaster. Thus in 586 BC, Jerusalem was conquered, the temple was burned and completely destroyed and the people taken into slavery, so for 70 years Jerusalem was a ruin. No one believed it could ever be rebuilt. In the last 20 years of the Kingdom of Judah's existence lived and worked the great prophet Jeremiah, who understood that Babylonian suzerainty was a thing ordained by God, counselling the king and the people to understand this. Unfortunately the prophet's messages were not heeded, and in the end, things went according to the predictions of the prophet Jeremiah.
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In the Gospel of Luke, we find several canticles, particularly in the Infancy narratives. Three main characters of the Gospel praise the Lord in wonderful hymns that are preserved and used in the Orthodox Liturgy until today: The Megalynarion of the Lady (1: 46-55), the Evlogetos of Zechariah the Priest (1:67-79), and the Nyn Apolyeis of Simeon the Elder (2: 29-32). This paper proposes to focus attention on the hymn of Simeon and the role this character plays in the Lucan narrative. If we consider the three praying persons, we see that both Zechariah and Mary are progenitors of their respective sons, John and Jesus, so Simeon takes on the particular aspect of bearing witness to the birth of the Savior, not as a father, but as a believer who exults his faith and hope. This article studies the narrative context of the hymn, focusing on the importance of Simeon to whom St. Luke dedicates a significant paragraph in his work and whom the tradition of the Church rescued as a model reader of the Holy Scriptures and as a witness of their promises. In a further step, the paper analyzes the three distiches that compose the hymn and its Old Testament allusions and quotations to highlight its message for contemporary readers. Each of the three couplets are studied based on the analysis of the original Greek Text and after consulting a selected reference bibliography. In Luke's eyes, all the effects ofChrist’s incarnation are brought together in this passage of the presentation of Mary's Firstborn. The aged man sees in this newborn child the fulfillment of the promises of olden days. Luke presents Simeon as a model of a believer who is blessed when he blesses and who reflects the light before his eyes.
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A spiritual movement for the spiritual revival of the Romanian Orthodoxy, which began as a call to battle of evangelical nature, against swearing and drunkenness, the most common cancers of society in the era, but also a fight, following strict rules, against sins in general, it became an authentic missionary work of proclaiming the Word of God and entering the depths of the soul of the Christians, renewing the fallen life and establishing the high principles of Christian living, according to the model of the life of the first Christians, becoming a movement of soul – spiritual – revival in the Romanian Orthodox Church. It works to proclaim and spread the Word of God in order to be reborn again. This new life or rebirth could only be reached by learning, living and proclaiming the crucified Christ.
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Raised in the spirit of the Holy Gospel by his parents, studying at highschool from Roman and Bucuresti, well known then as the creator of Romanian geography teaching, important educator and science man, Simion Mehedinti will preach through his writings and his entire life that, in his opinion, only the Church’s teaching can fully train a man so that he can succeed in life and to gain eternity. Well knowing that the duty of a Christian is to multiply talents, which he plenty had, Simion Mehedinti focused his writings on supporting the youth training so they would gain solid information about the history of their nation, continuously working to improve their professional and moral life and to become the luminary of their nation. Simion Mehedinti is convinced by the fact that the man who believes in God manages to help his brother to reach his best and through this the entire nation can be raised from indifference and the ordinary life. Taking in consideration Simion’s Mehedinti belief that “literature and art are not just useless play, but the supreme effort to remove the dissonances of ordinary life and to gradually lift the soul of the nation” we can understand why most of his work is dedicated to the values of Christianity. The purpose of this study is to answer to several questions like: How was Mehedinti's pedagogy understood by his contemporaries? What Christian pedagogical principles can be found in the works of scholar Mehedinți? What are the qualities of a good educator?
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This study presents the adoption context of the corrected calendar within the Romanian Orthodox Church. The implementation of this measure in the Diocese of Bessarabia led by Bishop Gurie Grosu, the problems arising from the introduction of the corrected calendar, as well as the way in which the Bishop of Bessarabia and the administration from Chisinau implemented the decisions of the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, will be the main issues debated within this study. The adoption and introduction of the corrected calendar in 1924 by the Romanian Orthodox Church, although necessary, would lead to the appearance of strong opposition in many dioceses. Some of the strongest opposition to the adoption of the corrected calendar were manifested in Bessarabia and involved several factors, including political ones. During the interwar period (until 1937), the diocese of Bessarabia was led by Bishop Gurie Grosu, one of the most illustrious hierarchs within the Romanian Orthodox Church, with a particularly significant contribution to the promotion of the native language, culture and values during the tsarist period, and since 1917, an ardent supporter of the national movement and the Union with the Motherland. Gurie Grosu (archbishop between 1920-1928 and metropolitan between 1928-1936) sustained the adoption of the calendar in his diocese, despite the opposition of many believers, even some of his advisers. Moreover, several monasteries (Răciula, Tabora and Hirova) showed their opposition to the new calendar, demanding that divine services to be performed according to the "old calendar". In order to clarify the significance of the Calendar reform, Bishop Gurie Grosu made many canonical visits, published several pastorals, brochures, circulars, etc., collaborated with different socio-professional categories (teachers, bishops and clergy from the Kingdom, politicians, gendarmes, primary-school teachers etc) for the purpose of enlightening the believers. Given the apparent opposition and ignorance of some clerics related the Bessarabian archbishop’s decisions, the church administration in Chisinau was forced to take some firm measures, such as transfers or even excommunication. The issue of adopting the corrected calendar would be a “thorny issue” until the suspension of the Metropolitan Gurie (November 1936) and after.
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The period in which the Church Fund is administered by the State (1919-1931) is described as being particularly inefficient. In 1935, Metropolitan Visarion Puiu was elected in Bucovina. A hierarch with a special organizational vocation, who comes from the Episcopal Throne of Bălți, a diocese he re-established, with great effort, but with notable results. One of the greatest achievements of Metropolitan Visarion Puiu of Bucovina is the efficiency of the administration of the Church Fund. And thereby ensuring the resources for the entire missionary, cultural and philanthropic activity. In 1935, when Metropolitan Visarion Puiu took over the Church Fund, it had a total budget of 108,000,000 lei, and in 1940, when he was forced to leave his position, he left behind an efficient institution, with a budget larger by 333 %. Through this article, we propose a constructive and edifying foray into the activity of Metropolitan Visarion Puiu of Bucovina, analyzing concrete and lesser-known aspects of his work, in the service of God and people, accomplished through hard work and good stewardship of the talent received.
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The liturgical chant is the one that completes the prayer in the Orthodox Church, it being inherited from Byzantium, and in the territory of the Romanian countries it has known both periods of stagnation and evolution. The church singer or the teacher takes over not only the duties of a liturgical cantor, but he becomes in Moldova a scholar of the community and a landmark in the formation of new generations. Thus, observing this increase in the influence of the church singer, the Metropolitanate of Moldova decides that his activity should be carried out in an organized manner within the administrative-canonical limits. For this reason, two directions of research appear that deserve the reader's attention: the problem of schooling and the problem of teachers' salaries.
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The 19 th century was dominated by the struggle of Romanians from all over the world to gain independence, to forge unity and to develop the cultural and economic life of the country. As far as the Church in Moldova and Wallachia is concerned, this period is characterized by the revival of church life, the removal of the foreign element from the Romanian Orthodox Church, the flourishing of theological literature, the unification of church organization, the accomplishment of the great reforms after 1859 and the official recognition of autocephaly in 1885.The history of the Monastery "All the Romanian and Athos Saints" Bucium, Iasi, is closely related to the history of the Romanian Hermitage Prodromu on Mount Athos, whose metoch was until the archpriesthood of the Metropolitan of Moldavia Pimen Georgescu (1909-1934), who will call the metoch of Iasi, "Bucium Hermitage", being marked by the period in which Saint Antipa from Calapodești was itsadministrator (1856-1859), but also by the hosting of the miracle-working icon of Our Lady "Prodromița" for a short period of time, after it was wonderfully painted on June 28, 1863. During his time as a priest at Bucium, the Abbot Antipas of Calapodesti showed a genuinely Christian way of life, which was confirmed by the piety and honour he received, both from ordinary people and those in positions of leadership, metropolitans, bishops, abbots and dignitaries, his words further evidenced his spiritual discernment, love of God and neighbour, humility, obedience, asceticism and care for the holy things.
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In the context of studying the history of the liturgy, to comprehend and experience it, the Antiochene Anaphoras represents a significant area that has yet to receive adequate scholarly attention. This article aims to provide the Romanian theological community with a translation of one of these Anaphoras, known as “The Second Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles”, distinct from the first anaphora bearing the same name. Although the text of the critical anaphora was published in 1940, so far it has not garnered much attention from scholars.
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Romanian liturgical sources often mention that there are over seventy Syriac Anaphoras, though they seldom delve into precise details about this subject. Some Romanian references, however, have undertaken the study of a subset of these Anaphoras and have furnished texts for a few of them. This article intends to provide a concise introduction to these Anaphoras, outlining the general structure of the liturgy within the Syriac tradition. Additionally, it will list the names of the Syriac Anaphoras, accompanied by references that facilitate access to their English-translated texts, thus enabling further scholarly examination.
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