Around the Bloc: Russian Patriarch Gives Blessing to Bombing Campaign in Syria
Orthodox Church head backs Moscow's ‘defensive war’ in Syria, as activists slam Russia’s alleged use of cluster bombs.
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Orthodox Church head backs Moscow's ‘defensive war’ in Syria, as activists slam Russia’s alleged use of cluster bombs.
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In the first half of the17th century, the stalls with the paintings in their backs showing episodes of the life of St. Bridget of Sweden were introduced into the chancel of the church of the Bridgettines in Lublin. The first series depicted seven paintings on the north wall and one on the east one at the high altar, the other series was made up of one picture on the east wall and six in southern wall. However, those who were present in the church watched only the fragment of the cycle, as they were allowed to be only in the area especially marked for them.A brief analysis of the iconographic representations shows that the scenes of the cycle, arranged in historical narrative, additionally provided the content that in the particular fragment was intended for specific groups. The nuns staying in the upper or lower choir saw the images around the high altar; the pictures both encouraged the Bridgettines to take the right path of spirituality and showed that the monastic rule was given to St. Bridget by Jesus in a supernatural way. Nuns’ fathers confessors – the Bernardines or Dominicans - benefited from the stalls in the chancel - they could watch the cycle as a whole and appreciate the effectiveness of Bridgittines’ path of spirituality. Novices had their place in the only chapel of the church. They looked at those fragments which depicted the hardships of religious life; the aim of the images was to discourage novices from joining the monastery, which was in accordance with the traditional attitude towards them in that religious order. The faithful who gathered in the only side aisle in that church could see the paintings which showed the life of the Bridgettines.
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The famous notes in the Bible of Płock are the oldest documented written texts created on the Polish territory. A great deal of false information which grew up around them was repeated by the next generations of historians without proper research. First, there is no indication that, according to Berhson, the cards 239v and 240R-v in the Bible of Płock were left blank, where later our notes were made. Secondly, the notes of the miracles and the liturgy of the cathedral were not made in the margins of the Code, which is often incorrectly presented in different studies, but in two columns, like the text of the Bible before and after them. The notes of the miracles were made by the same scribe, but in a different handwriting than the entire Code: either the Code was created in 1148 and the notes of the miracles were added later or the Code was created at the same time when the miracles happened and the notes were included at the time of writing the Code or the Code was created later and the notes were also added later. There are many indications that the notes of the miracles were included during the preparation of the Code. In any case, the Code was probably created in 1148 or about that date and a vivid description of the miracles seems to indicate that the notes were made shortly after the events themselves, or after 15 August 1148 or early 1149. The first miracle was the healing of a woman, named Wojuchna, of paralysis on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 15 August 1148, and the other one concerned the relics placed in an ostrich egg under the ceiling of the Cathedral of Płock and saving them miraculously when they fell down. Since the notes were not made in the margins the Code, but placed in a string of columns of the biblical text which was copied then, it confirms clearly that the Bible of Płock was copied in the local scriptorium. This means that in the middle of the twelfth century there existed a scriptorium in Płock, where biblical and liturgical books were copied for the cathedral liturgy and the local school. The notes were probably made by order of the then Bishop of Płock, Alexander of Malonne and it is possible that they were made by the director of the scriptorium, mentioned in the first note-Azo, though due to missing elements, it cannot be confirmed. The other note mentioning a scholar Zacharias confirms the existence of a school attached to the Cathedral in Płock in the middle of the twelfth century.
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The article attempts to show the collections of Rev. Jan Wiśniewski (1876-1943). Rev. Wiśniewski was strongly influenced by a spiritual atmosphere of Sandomierz - the place of his seminary studies and the ecclesiastical environment interested in the past and souvenirs of the past. The first teachers at the seminary were role models and support for him. Rev. Wiśniewski donated the Diocesan Museum in Sandomierz remarkable artistic and patriotic collections, astonishing in terms of richness and diversity. His collecting interests were rooted in the nineteenth century, in the atmosphere of developing patriotic thoughts and awaking interest in the history of his own country, which was in captivity. In addition to the collector’s activities, Rev. Wiśniewski was involved in extensive research activities. As an amateur historian, he edited and published 15 volumes of Monografia dekanatów (A monograph of deaneries) and Historyczne opisy kościołów (Historical descriptions of churches). Initially, Rev. Wiśniewski amassed his collections in Radom, and then in Borkowice. At the presbytery in Borkowice he arranged a "museum of national remembrance." He lent his collections on numerous exhibitions. The preserved source materials indicate the extensive contacts of Rev. Jan Wiśniewski with collectors, antiquarians, art dealers and bibliophiles, among them were many outstanding figures. Rev. Jan Wiśniewski’s collection gave rise to the foundation of the Diocesan Museum. It was created on the basis on his private collection, as his personal idea was, from the beginning, to make the collection available to the next generations.
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In 1928, society of the thriving borderland city of Baranowicze Poleskie launched a commendable initiative, the aim of which was to create another pastoral centre in that city for the local faithful of the Roman Rite. Those initiatives were made with great care for the spiritual good of the local faithful. The Executive Committee of the Church Construction appointed for that purpose in Baranowicze, then renamed the Citizens’ Committee of the Church Construction, did not take account of church law and practice in its structure. With a lay person being in charge, it did not receive approval of the ordinary of the Diocese of Pińsk, and thus efforts to build a church could not be carried out in accordance with expectations. It was not until 1934- when the parish priest and dean of Baranowicze, Rev. Jan Borysiuk, became the president of the Committee, that the relations with the diocesan ecclesiastical authority were normalised-that authority was the one which took decisions regarding the ongoing construction work in the new pastoral centre in Baranowicze. Long-term efforts on the creation of a new parish in that town resulted in erection- on 23 January 1937- the parish dedicated to Our Lady Queen of the Polish Crown and the appointment of its first parish priest Rev.Antoni Kohutnicki.
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In the current education system the importance and role of didactics (general didactics/ speciality didactics) and the didactic methodology of the teaching-learning-assessment process are well known. Therefore, beside several defining features that indicate the didactic dimension, in the sphere of education we note a number of issues that require a multidimensional approach to the learning contents. In other words, given the "scientification" of the contents, in the current education system they can no longer be taught / assimilated from the perspective of a single didactics. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explain, on the one hand, the idea of alternative didactics and, on the other hand, its role in the teaching-learning-assessment system.
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The article deals with the problem of presentation the animals in the saints’ lives (hermits), i.e. the animals who are the participants of the miracles. The lives of the saints – one of the narration mode ofanimals along with the myth about birds and beasts, fairy tales of crafty animals, moral tales (apologues), medieval bestiaries, epic poems and satirical short stories of the animal kingdom. The analysis has shown that the animals presented in the lives of the saints are one of themost important mode of expression of the miracles that occur with the saint. As the result of the eremitic life of the saints, the animals become a society for the saint, the participants, sometimes the reason for the performing a miracle, as well as the catalyst for showing the holiness.
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Dante’s Paradise is the place where the soul arrives after having passed through the long path of sacrifice and difficulties which is meant to bring purification in order to be saved. It is the purged space of perfection and pure happiness, where the believers who have washed their clothes in the blood of the Lamb are in harmony, together with the angels, continuously praising the saving and triumphant Holy Trinity. It is the feast of the bog weeding, of the union between Christ and His Church, it is the divine Liturgy which is the union of the saints’ and the angels’ voices who worship the divine glory.
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From the first Christian centuries, martyrdom represented the most acute expression of suffering for the defence of faith in Jesus Christ. The violent death suffered by those who kept a firm faith in the sacred values they confessed marked the whole Christian world from East to West, and offered an example of infinite courage and above all an undeniable model of holiness. This paper is a research on different forms of martyrdom and the artistic expressions used in their visual representation in the Middle Ages, briefly recalling some of the most remarkable creations of Christian art.
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Religion and religious beliefs have continued to play an important role in the evolution of the ability to cooperate at the level of large groups. It seems that natural selection favors selfishness rather than cooperative tendencies. Therefore, we suggest that cultural selection was necessary for the evolution of pro-social forms of behavior. Cooperation is connected with conflicts, which are used to develop in-group cooperation. Here I show the possible impact of religion and religious beliefs on the development of an ability to cooperate, and to generate conflicts which are strictly connected with the possibility of in-group cooperation.
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This paper examines a few aspects of religiousness presented in various narratives offered by Polish authors of the Camino memoirs. The parameters that determine the individual dimensions of religiosity are self-confession, religious practices, religious knowledge, religious ideology, religious morals, religious experience, and religious community. This paper adopts an analytical approach to varied source material including literature and popular and scientific texts created by authors that walked the Camino de Santiago themselves.
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The paper deals with the evolution of votive offering from Antiquity to the present day as the expression of faith in God and divine thanks for a miraculous cure. Votive offering, asking / thanking for health and cure, is a thousand year old tradition still practised nowadays. Information collected by interviewing worshipers and priests in Lithuania was summed up. Unique stories of a miracle cure are provided. Votive offerings were analysed as part of our rich cultural heritage and the fine arts. The tradition of votive offering was viewed as the expression of a belief in miracles. The assumption that the placebo effect is present in a miraculous cure was made. The majority of votive offerings have an artistic value, being part of our cultural heritage they are deposited at museums, churches, private collections.
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The methodology proposed in this article is that of historical research, which is understood as the formulation or identification of a research topic, followed by literature review and sources’ collection, assessment of the sources in an order that is logical and/or chronological, information and findings’ synthesis, and finally the narrative exposition of the research results and the finding of a general conclusion that draws on the finds of each segment of the research. Regarding the formula “instances of kingship” in the title, the concept of ideology plays an important role in the current research as one of the premises of the study is that power relations are embedded in it. The term ideology is to be taken in consideration in its political meaning, which is why I have chosen the formula “ideology of power”. The premise of the current thesis is that political behaviour is shaped by pre-existing ideology, which is not always logical yet it holds great meaning for the society under examination. The concept of political power includes a suite of levels of analysis: the discussion of the transformation of power (whether it is conferred, delegated, shared or limited), the way power is exerted (either through consent or coercion), what power relies on (coercion or influence) and possibly whether it flows from authority, legitimacy, or right. The source to be used in the purpose of discerning the characteristics of royalty in Norway is Sverris saga, which represents a unique source among the kings’ sagas, since it is entirely dedicated to the rule of one king.
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