Chrystianizacja Połabia i Pomorza (X–XII w.).

Author(s): Stanisław Rosik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2017

This paper outlines the processes of Christianisation taking place in Polabia and Pomerania between the tenth and twelfth centuries. It looks at actions aimed at converting the communities and subsuming them under the structures of church organisation, closely related to the monarchy. These were shown on the basis of accounts that originated in milieus involved in the Slavonic missions: The Chronicle by Thietmar, the Bishop of Merseburg (d. 1018); The Chronicle of the Slavs by Helmold of Bosau (d. 1177); and the hagiography of St Otto of Bamberg (d. 1139), composed during two decades after his death and including St Otto’s report on his first Baltic mission from 1125.

The Papacy and the Czech Lands. A History of Mutual Relations, ed. Tomáš Černušák, Biblioteca dell’Istituto Storico Ceco di Roma/Institute of History, Rome–Prague 2016, ss. 382

Author(s): Ziemowit Kraska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2017

ALTE ZEITEN, EBENSO VIELE GESCHICHTEN RUSSISCHE APOKRYPHEN UND GEISTLICHE VOLKSGESÄNGE AM SCHNITTPUNKT VON URALTEN KULTUREN

Author(s): György Orosz / Language(s): German Issue: 1/2012

Ancient Times and Their Many Stories. Russian Apocrypha and Religious Folk Songs at the Intersection of Ancient Cultures.The Kiev-centred Old Russian State converted to Christianity in 988– 989. The conversion of eastern Slavs did not happen in a moment however; rather it took place gradually and was the effect of a long and complex process of development. Christianity started to take root in Kiev Rus well before the 10th century. It is known that at the beginning of his reign Prince Vladimir Sviatoslavich I was dedicated to Pagan creed and even tried reforming it in order to consolidate the unity of his state. Christianization, the so called ‘state christening’ was confined to towns first, as testified in a 11th century report by Ilarion, the first Russian speaking Metropolitan of Kiev: ‘The sound of the apostolic trumpet and the Gospel filled all the towns…’ The population of villages became intrinsically and spiritually truly Christian only later, in the 15th–17th centuries. The Pagan-Christian religious syncretism of the period is often called ‘double faith’, which is not the best term to describe a spirit and consciousness in the process of Christianization. In the name of its elastic mission strategy the clergy had significant initiatives contributing to Pagan-Christian syncretism. This unique consciousness and spirituality created its own ideal of beauty and determined the characteristic features of the culture of Russia before the Mongol invasion.

DER ADLER DER GESCHICHTE MOTIVE ZUM KULTURELLEN GEDÄCHTNIS DER ARMENIER

Author(s): Jürgen Gispert / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2011

Monuments serve to compress events and inform us about the way a culture deals with its past, as reflected in the Genocide Monument in Armenia’s capital, which was built in memory of the 1.5 million Armenians murdered in 1915. The associated museum displays documents from countries that have thus far acknowledged the Genocide. Each of these documents presents an inherent problem internationally, however, which is intensified by the very absence of some, namely those of Turkey and the USA. The present decision-making process around a European Union-wide law, concerning genocide denial, embraces the dimension of political memory. The current discourse on Genocide recognition must therefore be identified as bipartisan. In the first part, I will contrast the Brussels’ legal petition, attempting indirectly to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, with the EU-centred policy of cultural memory. The motives underlying the Armenian submission can be explored in another way on behalf of Armenian culture. These motives become more apparent in my discussion of the background to a memorial tablet on the Sardarapat monument, which was built in memory of the Armenian battle against Ottoman invaders in 1918.

CULTURE OF FEASTS TODAY. COMMEMORIAL RITES OF NATIONAL AND CALENDAR FEASTS

Author(s): Gábor Barna / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2011

The traditional ritual year which was characterized by Christian feasts for centuries on one hand, and the cosmological, agrarian (economic), individual, family, and local communal holidays on the other, has been rapidly changing between 1945 and 1956 during the first Socialist/Communist years. A new system of the ritual year was established according to the new ideology and power situation: the so-called Socialist ritual year. It was characterized by international, Soviet and national-communist feasts, refusing the religious holidays. Some softening were introduced only after the 1956 Hungarian revolution. The main Christian feasts were again accepted (Christmas, Easter). This Socialist period with its Socialist feasts lasted for 45 years when in 1989/1990 the legal power system was changed. After the election in 1990 the totalitarian Socialist ideology with its symbolic holidays has mostly disappeared. New national feasts were created e.g. the memorial day of the 1956 revolution which was a prohibited alternative feast during the Socialist period. Patriotic holidays have regained their importance. The symbols of the feasts have been totally changed. The traditional Christian ritual year has been partly restored, but in a rather secularized society. Christmas, Easter have been commercionalized. Local feasts have emerged which serve first of all the restoration of the civil society and express the local identity. The paper deals with the process of changes in Hungary showing the role of the holidays and the ritual year in society.

“DID YOU BRING NEW SONGS?” THE ROLE OF CONTEMPORARY CATHOLIC MUSIC IN HUNGARY

Author(s): Kinga Povedák / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2011

Contemporary Christian music appeared in Hungary in the 1960s. In a unique period of Hungary when religion was suppressed and rock and roll was denounced, the merging of the two, Christian rock music was even more disapproved during the communist regime. For many, contemporary Christian music was more than simply music; it indicated opposition against the political system. Therefore contemporary Christian music was an alternative music not only from a clerical but also from a political point of view. This article tries to analyze the function of contemporary Christian music in listeners’ religious folklife, their experience during listening to contemporary Christian music.

IN SEARCH OF MORAL BALANCE: CONVERSION AND CHURCH ADHERENCE IN THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DURING THE POST-SOVIET PERIOD

Author(s): Tünde Komáromi / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2011

In this paper I return to the question of church adherence and conversion adding ethnographic depth to my discussion with the intention of making some generalisations. In a previous paper (KOMÁROMI 2011a) I reflected on the relationship between possession and conversion and I presented the cases of two women. Beginning with this paper I would like to broaden the perspective on conversion and relate the processes involved more generally to life crisis situations, conflicted relationships, severe illnesses or death and mourning.

THE REGION OF PODKARPACIE AS A MELTING-POT OF CULTURES AND RELIGIONS

Author(s): Wojciech Bedyński / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2011

This article is based on ethnographic research conducted by me in 2004–2010, alone in the beginning, then with a group of students from the University of Warsaw. The study initially involved only the memory of Jews among the elderly population of Podkarpacie. Later I expanded the topic on the ethnic relations, cultural and religious conditions in the multiethnic society. I will not, however, present here the outcomes, but will share some reflections which I had during my fielwork. Why did I choose this particular region? Podkarpacie constituted a unique area in terms of the complexity of the ethnic mosaic, even for East-Central Europe. In this multicultural world a specific relationship between ethnic groups emerged, each of which had its own specific socio-economic function. This system, created and perpetuated over the centuries of common existence, was the result of two factors – on the one hand, the internal characteristics of a single group, on the other hand, the impact of other groups.

ON BEING A WITCH AND A MAGICIAN TODAY

Author(s): Kamila Velkoborská / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2011

The concepts lying behind the words “witch” and “magician” have undergone a significant change in the past 60 years. While keeping much of the traditional connotations, the labels have attained new meanings in the new context of contemporary pagan and magical practice, which correspond with the actual needs, lifestyles and lifeviews of their contemporary bearers. The goal of the paper is first to describe the traditional concepts lying behind the terms “witch” and “magician” and second, to trace, capture and describe the transformation of these concepts in the last half of a century. The fieldwork data used in the paper come from my long-term research of neo-paganism and magical practice in the Czech Republic.

RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE IN THE CROSS-BORDER REGION OF TORNIO RIVER VALLEY

Author(s): Helena Ruotsala / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2011

The aim of my paper is to discuss the cross-border region of the Tornio River Valley between Finland and Sweden as a religious landscape. The present state border between the two countries was defined in1809, at a time when the border was not between Finland and Sweden, but between Sweden and Russia, and it dramatically severed the Finnish-speaking area in the river valley. First I will discuss the shared religious heritage in this area, the Laestadian Movement. Then I shall discuss the position of the Orthodox religion focusing on the Orthodox Church in Tornio (Finland). The church was built after Finland became part of the Russian Empire. In conclusion I shall focus on the role of religion/church in contemporary life in the cross-border area. Or, how the church is taking into account the profound changes in this cross-border area? Before I turn to my cases, I shall present a brief historical account of this area, because the contemporary situation must be seen in the light of historical and political change. This article is part of my research project in which I am focusing on everyday transnationalism, as experienced by town dwellers.

ЕВАНГЕЛЬСКОЕ СЛОВО В ПРОПОВЕДЯХ ФЕОФАНА ПРОКОПОВИЧА

Author(s): Daria B. Tereshkina / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2018

The article offers an analysis of the use of the Gospel text in the sermons of Theophan Prokopovich. It became evident that Theophan Prokopovich made much less references to the New Testament in his published works than to the Old Testament, which may result from his greater adherence to the Law than to Grace. The Gospel word by Prokopovich becomes a source of abundant and multidimensional allusions, often distantly related to its original meaning. In his sermons, Prokopovich seemed a skilled orator and cunning politician rather than a theologian. Prokopovich used the Gospel word to glorify the authorities and to justify their deeds manifesting, thus, a true talent of philologist skilful in the art of eloquence.

KÖNYVSZEMLE

Author(s): Zsolt Simon,Ferenc Krisztián Szabó,Levente Takács,Vencel Tóth,Attila Jakab / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2008

Review of: 1. OĞUZ SOYSAL: HATTISCHER WORTSCHATZ IN HETHITISCHER TEXTÜBERLIEFERUNG. Handbuch der Orientalistik 74. Brill, Leiden–Boston 2004. 1034 l. by: Simon Zsolt 2. SABINE ANSELM: STRUKTUR UND TRANSPARENZ. EINE LITERARURWISSENTSCHAFTLICHE ANALYSE DER FELDHERRNVITEN DES CORNELIUS NEPOS. (Altertumswissentschaftliches Kolloquium 11. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2004. 204 l.) by: Szabó Ferenc Krisztián 3. MARÓTI EGON: FECI QUOD POTUI. TETTEM AMIT TUDTAM. A NYOLCVANÉVES MARÓTI EGON TISZTELETÉRE. Szerk. Hoffmann Zsuzsanna. Lectum Kiadó, Szeged 2007. 316 l. by: Takács Levente 4. XERAVITS GÉZA: KÖNYVTÁR A PUSZTÁBAN. BEVEZETÉS A HOLT-TENGERI TEKERCSEK NEM BIBLIAI IRODALMÁBA. Pápai Református Akadémia, Pápa – L’ Harmattan, Budapest 2008 (269 l. + 4 ábra) by: Tóth Vencel OFM 5. BIRGER A. PEARSON: ANCIENT GNOSTICISM. TRADITIONS AND LITERATURE. Fortress Press, Minneapolis 2007. xv + 362 l. by: Jakab Attila 6. WILLIAM TABBERNEE: FAKE PROPHECY AND POLLUTED SACRAMENTS. ECCLESIASTICAL AND IMPERIAL REACTIONS TO MONTANISM. (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae. Texts and Studies of Early Christian Life and Language, 84) Brill, Leiden–Boston 2007, xxxvii + 485 l. by: Jakab Attila

EGY JEROMOS-IDÉZET SZENT GELLÉRTNÉL — ÉS A BOGUMILOK

Author(s): Balázs Déri / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2008

The present study points out that a passage in the exegetic work of Saint Gerard, bishop of Csanád (Hungary) (Gerardi Moresenae aecclesiae seu Csanadiensis episcopi Deliberatio supra hymnum trium puerorum, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, Clm 6211, 123v —124r , ed. Gabriel Silagi, in CCCM 29, 1978, lib. VII, 971—994) is partly a word by word quotation, and is partly a paraphrase from Tractatus sive homiliae in psalmos of Saint Jerome (S. Hieronymi presbyteri Tractatus sive homiliae in psalmos, in Marci evangelium aliaque varia argumenta, ed. D. Germanus Morin, CCSL 78., 1958, p. 281). It was formerly thought by several medievalists, based on this locus, that the author, on writing about Manichaeans and “Greeks”, might have alluded to the Bogumilism as a contemporary heresy in the Balkan. (Moreover, the entire work is considered an anti-heretical tractate, by the interpretation of this and similar loci.) Since the passage is a mere quotation of an antic text, it cannot be a proof of the spreading of Bogumilism in Hungary in the 11th century. Finally, Saint Gerard’s additions referring to his own age do not mean that he applies Jerome’s text concretely to a certain heresy, but they warn the reader only to the incessantly present danger of heretical thinking. (This was at that time, in the early Christian Hungary, the actual threat of relapse to paganism.)

I Continue to Enjoy Life: The Threatened Value of Old Age and the Discovery of Its Meaning

Author(s): Paweł Bortkiewicz / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

The article addresses the value of old age as a criterion for seeking the meaning of life. Such an approach contradicts not only contemporary postmodern culture, which emphasizes vitality and youthfulness, but also the utilitarianism that dominates contemporary secular ethics. Specifically, this approach considers human life in terms of quality of life, which results in an arbitrary refusal of some quality and the simultaneous right to exist. In this regard, the personalistic approach in bioethics that Pope John Paul II’s teaching, life, aging, and death expemplify affirms that old age is an inalienable sphere of the value and sanctity of human life.

Imperial Order and Local Variation: The Culture of Ghost in Early Imperial China

Author(s): Mu-chou Poo / Language(s): English Issue: 2-4/2003

This paper proposes to provide an outline of the development of the concept of ghost in early Imperial China. I will first give a brief account of the emergence of a discourse on ghost in early China, then I will discuss the religious milieu of early imperial China, concentrating on both the establishment of the imperial order and official religious rituals, and the idea of ghost persisted in people's daily life that developed according to local traditions. I will examine how the official and the private idea of ghost interacted or overlapped with one another. Lastly, I will introduce the appearance of the literary ghost at the end of the Eastern Han, as a prelude to the Six Dynasty ghost literature.

X VE XI. YÜZYILDA İSLAM FELSEFESİNDE YAPILAN ADÂLET TAKSİMLERİ: FĀRĀBĪ, EBŪ’L-HASAN EL-ĀMİRĪ, İBN MİSKEVEYH VE RĀĠIP EL-İSFEHĀNĪ ÖRNEĞİ

Author(s): Ramazan Turan / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 2/2017

The justice has been one of the most cited concepts throughout human history. Although the justice has been examined with different meanings and appearances, no consensus has been reached on its definition. The distinctions made on justice make it easier to understand. It can be said that the first systematic classification of justice in philosophy started with Aristotle (d. 322 BC). Aristotle's classification of distributive and rectificatory justice has been adopted by subsequent philosophers. al-Fârâbî (d. 339/950), al-Âmîrî (d. 381/992) and Ibn Miskawayh (d. 421/1030) have adopted this classification of Aristotle. al-Fârâbî's natural justice, Raghıp al-Isfehânî's (the first quarter of the 11th century) absolute and qualified justice classification, and Ibn Miskawayh's natural, legal, optional and Divine justice are the original classification of these philosophers. These justice classification of Islamic philosophers who are mentioned have also been adopted by philosophers who have follow them. In addition, the similarites between Ibn Miskawayh's four justice classification and Western Medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas’s (d. 1274) four law distinctions were also noted in this article.

KÖNYVSZEMLE

Author(s): László Takács,Tibor Grüll,Tamás Adamik,Erzsébet Kiss / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2006

Review of: 1. ANNEO CORNUTO: COMPENDIO DI TEOLOGIA GRECA. (TESTO GRECO A FRONTE.) Saggio introduttivo e integrativo, traduzione e apparati di Ilaria Ramelli. Milano 2003. 608 l. by: Takács László 2. COMMENTUM CORNUTI IN PERSIUM. Recognoverunt et adnotatione critica instruxerunt W. V. Clausen et J. E. G. Zetzel. Monachii et Lipsiae in aedibus K. G. Saur, Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana MMIV. 202 l. by: Takács László 3. DAVID NOY—ALEXANDER PANAYOTOV—HANSWULF BLOEDHORN: INSCRIPTIONES JUDAICAE ORIENTIS. VOL. I. EASTERN EUROPE. (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 101.) Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck 2004. 397 l. by: Grüll Tibor 4. WALTER AMELING: INSCRIPTIONES JUDAICAE ORIENTIS. BD. II. KLEINASIEN. (TSAJ 99.) Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck 2004. 650 l. by: Grüll Tibor 5. DAVID NOY—HANSWULF BLOEDHORN: INSCRIPTIONES JUDAICAE ORIENTIS. VOL. III. SYRIA UND CYPRUS. (TSAJ 102.) Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck 2004. 284 l. by: Grüll Tibor 6. EDWARD CHAMPLIN: NERO. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Massachusetts) — London (England) 2003. 346 l. by: Takács László 7. PESTHY MONIKA: A CSÁBÍTÁS TEOLÓGIÁJA. A kísértés fogalmának története az ókorban. Kairosz Kiadó, Budapest 2005. 446 l. by: Adamik Tamás 8. SZAKRÁLIS KÉPZŐMŰVÉSZET A KERESZTÉNY ÓKORBAN I—II. Összeállította, fordította, a jegyzeteket és a bevezető tanulmányt írta BUGÁR M. ISTVÁN. Catena, a Pécsi Tudományegyetem Patrisztika Központja, a Paulus Hungarus és a Kairosz Kiadó közös sorozata. Budapest 2004. 286+212 l. by: Kiss Erzsébet

Paradoxes and gaps of Polish regulations on the use of assisted reproductive techniques

Author(s): Błażej Kmieciak / Language(s): English,Polish Issue: 7/2017

At the end of June 2015 the Treatment of Infertility Act was adopted in Poland. This legislation mostly refers to the problem of the use of assisted reproduction techniques (in vitro). Adoption of the law was considered by some experts to be a special moment. Finally, in Poland, the functioning of IVF clinics was regulated.The adoption of the Treatment of Infertility Act also met with criticism. Although the introduction of regulations concerning the functioning of clinics was considered as a positive action, however, it was also emphasized that legalization of these procedures would lead to the emergence of numerous problems.In Poland, in vitro – in recent years – has been implemented not only through the Act but also through the health scheme adopted by the minister of health and health schemes adopted by the councils of different cities (Częstochowa and Łódź).This paper attempts to analyse these documents. This analysis will refer to two key phenomena: a gap and a paradox. The aim of the presented reflections is primarily to show how the adoption of these rules can complicate the biological reality. The presented discussion and analysis will refer mostly to the Polish legislative reality.

Transgender issue in contemporary Iran: A theological reflection

Author(s): Jaroslav Franc / Language(s): English,Polish Issue: 7/2017

The Islamic Republic of Iran is recognised as a theocratic political system with a touch of democratic elements. Since the last decade of the 20th century it is the only Islamic republic with sophisticated system for sex-change operations and procedures related to this issues. This unique situation was developed on the ruling of Ayatollah Khomeini concerning the Fereydoon Molkara’s case. He was born as a man and later identified himself as a woman. Current legal regulation in Iran not just allows sex-change procedure, it is recommended and even expected by the religious authorities that anyone who identifies himself with the other sex than he was born with would undertake the sex-change procedure. The paper deals with the historical and theological context of the issue.

Sigrid Müller, Piotr Jan Morciniec (red.), Pränataldiagnostik. Anregungen zum Weiterdenken. Prenatal Diagnosis. Stimuli for Further Reflection, Facultas, Wien 2017, ss. 140.

Author(s): Janusz Podzielny / Language(s): Polish Issue: 7/2017