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The article discusses four priests from the teaching family of the Cibul family. The family came from the Liptov village of Vrbica. Two of the priests presented worked in the 18th and 19th centuries in the Košice diocese, two in the Spiš diocese. They were all blood relatives. Their work was very beneficial not only for God's people in the parishes where they worked, but also had an impact on the spiritual and cultural life in their surroundings. One of them was a religious, a military priest and the author of an unpublished catechetical manual. All of them made a significant contribution to the history of the two dioceses mentioned above.
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During the communist totalitarianism in Slovakia between 1948 and 1989, Christian dis-sent and the branching structure of the underground church represented a significant and most massive force opposing the regime. Its history is factually meticulously mapped, and the testimonies of direct actors are captured in numerous autobiographies and biographies. The present work surveys more than 400 previous book and journal publications on these topics. It then enriches previous knowledge by analysing, categoris-ing, and summarising the essential ideas from the legacy of committed Christian dissidents: their motiva-tions, values, lessons from living under pressure and persecution, as well as parallels with, and messages for, the present day. The ideas scattered throughout the many works of biography and memoir are thus neatly summarized and sorted into nine categories. The author has compiled them on the basis of in-depth research interviews with 11 representatives of Christian dissent active during the period of normalization (1968-1989).
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The Ecumenical community of churches and religious societies in the city of Košice has been witness of unity between churches for 30 years. The decades of walking together towards unity are filled with many activities. The article is one of several efforts to gradually map the history of the community from the first impulses to its beginnings to the current period. It represents the individual periods of the community and a gradual development of the three dimensions of the ecumenical movement – spiritual, theological and social.
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The existence of the propaedeutic class at the Priest Seminary in Košice as the first project of its kind in Slovakia provides an opportunity to examine the candidates who attended and shaped it over the course of seven years. The author's research attempts to present the profile of those who entered the propaedeutic program and examines them from the perspective of eight parameters – age, place of origin, family, siblings, attendance at a church school, time of entry into the seminary, altar serving, and the influence of a priest. The aim of the research is to confirm or refute the proposed hypotheses and to abstract the reality we live in from the profiles of the candidates. We will also attempt to outline further development paths for a positive response from young people deciding to choose a consecrated life – the priesthood.
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The document discusses the appointment of Mikuláš as the bishop of Jáger in 1330. Issued by Pope John XXII, the decree highlights the importance of pastoral care and the need for suitable leaders in the church. Mikuláš, previously a provost in Bratislava, was chosen for his education, moral integrity, and spiritual depth. The document emphasizes the Apostolic See's authority in appointing bishops and the careful consideration given to such decisions. It also mentions the transfer of the previous bishop to the archbishopric of Esztergom and the need to fill the vacancy promptly to avoid prolonged disruption. The decree is preserved in the Vatican's secret archive, with a copy in the Hungarian National Archive.
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The article discusses the depiction of the Virgin Mary as the Good Shepherd, drawing parallels with Jesus Christ's role as the Good Shepherd. It explores the rich iconography associated with both figures, particularly focusing on the narrative and representative themes. The concept of Mary as the Good Shepherd emerged in the 17th century, influenced by baroque pastoral themes and historical events involving the Capuchin order. The article highlights the vision of Brother Isidore of Seville, who described Mary in shepherd attire, which inspired subsequent artistic representations. This depiction was not common in earlier centuries, where Mary was often shown in regal attire. The article also touches on the spread of this iconography in Spain and Latin America, and its eventual decline and revival. The Good Shepherd theme underscores the protective and guiding roles of both Jesus and Mary for their followers.
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The article explores the historical and theological significance of the acclamation "Kyrie eléison" within the context of Christian liturgy. It argues against the common misconception that this phrase is merely a part of the penitential rite in the Roman Eucharistic celebration. Instead, it highlights its origins as a solemn acclamation with strong ties to the cult of the Sun in pre-Christian times. The article traces the evolution of "Kyrie eléison" from its pagan roots through its incorporation into Christian worship, particularly in the Roman and Byzantine rites. It also discusses the influence of solar worship on early Judaism and Christianity, emphasizing the symbolic transformation of the Sun into a representation of Christ. The work draws on significant scholarly sources, including the monumental "Missarum sollemnia" by Joseph Andreas Jungmann and "SOL SALUTIS" by Franz Joseph Dölger. The author suggests a return to the trinitarian structure of the acclamation to better reflect its original liturgical and theological significance.
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Activities of monastic schools in the 17th and 18th centuries is a very interesting issue.The history of students and alumni of these schools deserves special attention. The article analyzes issues related to the recruitment to monastic schools, the social and territorial origin of students, the number of schoolgirls, the age at which they started education, staying in neophytes’ monastic schools and the further fate of the students. All these issues allow to broaden current knowledgeabout the upbringing of women in modern times.Archival source edits and studies have been used to write the article. A full list thereof has been supplied in the bibliography. This paper presents the most important issues concerning students of monastic schools.
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The fall of Kievan Rus sparked a great historical struggle - between Lithuania and Poland, and then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Moscow - also for control over faith. Thus, it was not only a question of who would become the dominant subject of "gathering the Russian lands", but also of who would create the ‘holy’ orthodox dominion in the East. As is commonly known, Moscow achieved a triumph over Vilnius and Warsaw by making Orthodoxy the instrument of its idea of the "Third Rome" and its expansion to the West, to the eastern territories of the Republic of Poland. However, another aspect of this instrumentalization is less noticeable - namely that the structures and cadres of the Orthodox Church of Poland became a kind of ‘reservoir’ that allowed Russia and its characteristic “Tsartodoxy" (tsarskoslaviye) (in its struggle with the Chinese Empire, Islam and local forms of faith) to the extension of imperial rule, both in its political and civilizational dimensions (spiritual or intellectual), far beyond the Urals, to Siberia and the Far East. Today, however, we are dramatically and violently experiencing, along with the regaining by Orthodoxy in Ukraine of its original, autonomous ecclesiastical identity, the disintegration of this essentially imperial religious project as an essential element of unification and sacralization of the "Russian world" (russkiy mir).
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The article describes five altar designs that were discovered in the Na Piasku Monastery of Calced Carmelites in Kraków. Absence of any information about the origin of the drawings makes it impossible to determine which specific church they were intended for. The discovered drawings can be dated to a period from the beginning of the 18th century to the 1770s. They feature various artistic solutions and were made by different artists. Assuming they were intended for churches in what historically was Małopolska, they significantly increase the number of sketches preserved and published in the literature. One of them is evidently a work of by a German-speaking artist, while the others seem to be the works of guild woodcarvers (or carpenters) or monastic artists. They might have been part of a collection of sketches that could have belonged to Brother Grzegorz Kaczyrek, a Carmelite repeatedly mentioned in the archives of monastery in 1742–70 as the maker (and designer) of retables in the Na Piasku Church.
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The author interprets prayer letters sent to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska in the 1970s. He presents them as a historical source, although he takes into account the perspective of ethnology and sociology. He presents the origins and features of the sanctuary. He characterizes the content of the letters. He describes social pathologies he writes about the importance of the Catholic Church for the faithful. He quotes a number of letters. She emphasizes that they mainly represented women's point of view. He concludes by emphasizing that the religious attitude, among other things, reflected the dilemmas of everyday life and was far from the so-called "big story." Which is not to say that this religious attitude in the future did not influence the social changes initiated by the second conclave in 1978.
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Methodologically connecting the experience- and interpretation-based aesthetic approach to popular culture (Juraj Malíček) and the pragmatist aesthetics (Richard Shusterman) on one hand and the views of what is called arch-textual thematology (Mariana Čechová) on the other, the paper seeks to observe the ties between arch-texts, in particular the final book of the New Testament — the Book of Revelation, and ‘pop-texts,’ i.e. such popcultural works of art (films, TV series, literary texts, comics etc.), within the frame of which the end of the world images appear in one way or another and which can be labelled with the agnomen ‘pop.’ Various appearances of a reanimation of the apocalypse-theme in various (popcultural) works of art become in the paper, an example-based exposition of the topic, referentially object of interest — from catastrophic films directed by Roland Emmerich and the post-apocalyptic comic book series Y: The Last Man written by Brian K. Vaughan to TV series like, for instance, Ragnarok (from 2020) and literary works like the pre-apocalyptic novel trilogy written by Ben H. Winters or other iconic genre fiction (for example, Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel The Road).
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In 2006, on the banks of the Kyichu River near Lhasa, the Tibetan artist Gade placed a Buddha statue made by him from ice into the water and then he documented as it slowly melted. The action, which quickly gained international fame, has been interpreted in many different ways, but all agree that the work and the process illustrate the Buddhist teaching of cyclical rebirth and existence (samsāra). In addition, in the same year, several Tibetan artists (Tsering Nyandak, Yak Tseten, Benchung) produced similar works which, although involving different media, gave rise to analogous conclusions. Interestingly, Atta Kim, a South Korean photographer, also exhibited an ice Buddha statue at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York in 2011. However, in this case the melting process allowed the viewers themselves to actively participate in an attempt to realise the nature of samsāra through recycled water. While it is debatable how such works can be interpreted as Buddhist art, there is no doubt that they can be understood primarily in Buddhist terms, even if they express this in their own particular way.
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The participation of the Catholic Church in the systemic changes in Poland is unquestionable. The significant role of church hierarchs, middle- and lower-level pastors in accelerating the erosion of the communist dictatorship in Poland over the years, and especially in the last decade of the Polish People’s Republic, is unquestionable. Analogous processes of political, social, economic and cultural changes taking place in neighboring countries where Catholicism was the dominant religion were also stimulated to a large extent by representatives of the clergy. However, the issue of the importance of the Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union for the systemic changes at the end of the 1980s remains slightly more complicated. Therefore, the article compares two powerful Churches, Catholic and Orthodox, from the point of view of analogy and diff erences in the role, influence and importance of these institutions for the collapse of both authoritarian systems.
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Biography of one of the priests (members of the Society of Jesus) living and working in the Vilnius region in the first half of the 20th century; persecuted by the Soviet authorities for his pastoral activities; one of the confessors and spiritual directors and the author of one of the first studies on the life and spirituality of Sister Wanda Boniszewska CSA – a Polish mystic and stigmatic.
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The primary purpose of this article is to describe and analyse the statements and actions of the Catholic Church in Poland with regard to the war in Ukraine in 2022. The subject of the analysis included both the public statements of the leaders of the Catholic Church and the actions of Catholic communities to help refugees in Poland and the activity and provision of aid in the territory of Ukraine. The issues of war and peace occupy an important place in the social teaching of the Catholic Church. It was therefore important to obtain an answer to the question to what extent the statements and attitudes of the representatives of the Catholic Church in Poland coincided with the underlying principles of the social teaching of the Catholic Church relating to the issues of war and peace and with the statements of Pope Francis. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that the representatives of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Poland, and especially the community of the believers strongly condemned Russia’s aggression and engaged themselves in helping the attacked side in a comprehensive manner and a variety of ways.
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The Franciscan Ecological Community at St Casimir the Prince Church in Cracow was founded in the autumn of 1984. The article aims to present the history and activities of this specific organisation, which brought together members of various ages and social backgrounds, focused on ecological, educational, and charitable activities, and played an important role in informing and forming society.
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RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This article takes up the concept of “homo politi‑cus” and seeks a contemporary understanding in the context of a globalized world.THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: In the classical under‑standing, “homo politicus” was the member of a municipal or national civil society who is aware of his or her responsibility towards the community and contributes to it productively. Today, the population is confronted with the fact that the world has become a “global village”. In this context, “homo politicus” can’t be limited to a national identity because contemporary challenges do not recognize national borders. This means that globalization demands a corre‑sponding critical‑global perspective on political responsibility, how to achieve a just and peaceful future. The article is conceived theoretically‑analytically and hermeneutically. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The article reflects on different conceptions of the term “homo politicus”, it addresses the temptation of a na‑tionalistic narrowing and analyses the concepts of state and nation for a design of “homo politicus”. In the literature, an alternative concept to “homo politicus” is found in the form of “citizenship”. Finally, the article discusses the ambivalent role of religions with regard to a trans‑national perspective, but also points out their spiritual potential. RESEARCH RESULTS: The result of the reflections is to develop the idea of “homo politicus” towards a trans‑national cosmopolitan citizenship. Many religions have the spiritual potential to promote this development. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS:Global or cosmopolitan citizenship is a key aspect of “homo politicus”. It means that everyone is a global citizen and can claim certain rights (e.g. the right to education, a decent standard of living, etc.), but also has duties towards the global community, e.g. by being aware of the impact of one’s actions on the present and future of humanity, striving for a sustainable way of life.
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RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This paper raises the question of how religious education may address the variety of worldviews.THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The concept of worldview seems to be able to reconcile religious education with a society that is both secular and religiously plural. Such education, however, is defined by its focus on religion. Even when religion is seen as sub-category of worldview, religious education still does not include secular worldviews.THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: It therefore first clarifies the concept of worldview by relating it to the German term of “Weltanschauung”. Worldviews represent a comprehensive perspective on the world that originates from an individual’s aesthetic and intuitive understanding of daily life and gives meaning to this life. Then, it delineates the basic didactic characteristics of three models of religious education, namely the denominational, the pluralist-informative, and the interpretative-dialogical models. Based on these models, the paper finally discusses the challenges and obstacles of religious education which attempts to address the plurality of worldviews.RESEARCH RESULTS: The analysis shows that none of the models is able to comprehensively grasp this plurality. The advantages and disadvantages of each of the three models, however, indicate that the main tasks of worldview-conscious religious education are to clarify the constitutive rationality of worldviews and to find a balanced representation of both organized and personal worldviews via classroom interaction.CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The realization of these tasks is basically the job of the teacher and does not at all depend on the model of religious education itself.
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