Научни форуми. 2015 г.
Data about scientific events in the field of the humanities in Bulgaria in 2015
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Data about scientific events in the field of the humanities in Bulgaria in 2015
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In this paper I consider how theology impacted on the uprising philosophy in ancient Greece. In the first part of my text I analyze the concept of theology and philosophy and I want to know the relation between these two ideas. I am especially interested in point of the line separating theology and philosophy. The main question concerning it is when we could say about theology that it is already philosophy, and reversely – when we could say about philosophy that it is still theology in Greek meaning. For the better understanding of the answer of this question I analyze Hesiod’s theogony. Hesiod of Beotia is accepted as a poet and theologian and that is why I pay attention to him in the second part of my text.
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The notion of a “crisis of the clergy” as applied to a diocese in the Massif Central, does not seem to be a concept that can be understood solely in terms of its material dimension. The case of “native priests” demonstrates that the economic role of their communities diminished, in particular in the wake of an evolution of legislation as well as changes occurring at the heart of religious practices. If there was indeed a “crisis of the clergy”, this expression becomes more pertinent, if we understand well the place which society wished to accord to clergymen. A close examination of the role of parish priests or canons demonstrates the different kinds of recognition they were granted depending on the work they carried out. Utilitarianism seems to be the overriding concern.
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Dans lʼarticle „Décoration conférée à l’évêque dʼArad en 1926”, on présente, en utilisant la phaléristique, l’héraldique et la sigillographie, l’Ordre „Couronne de Roumanie”, au grade de Grand Officier, qui fut conféré à Grigorie Comsa, l’évêque d’Arad.
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Fatherhood and spiritual guidance subsidiarily affirm the monastic way of understanding anthropology itself. Actually, spiritual experience is acquired through living example, through the exercise of spiritual fatherhood, through the fiery words of Scripture and the Fathers. Moments of great encounters between the soul and God are very rare and fleeting in people’s lives. In many of the lives of the saints, these are ordinary realities, a stable nature. In this case, man fully lives this experience through Christ in the Holy Spirit. This experience of grace was something extremely sought after and desired in the Byzantine (even secular) society of the 13th-14th centuries. We propose in this study to identify the features of Syriac proto-Manism through pilgrimage as an ascetic form of repentance and through the spirituality contained in “Ktabâ dmasqatâ”.
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Highlighting some data about the Bishopric of Arad during the First World War.
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Guiding concepts in the social sciences are often presented in the abstract. Yet notions such as center and periphery are intimately tied to the historical contexts in which they are created. Thus, center and periphery in its original form was closely linked to the “modernization” theory that dominated the social sciences from the 1950s through the end of the 20th century. Recognizing such concepts in their historical settings facili- tates understanding their initial appeal and limits. The author narrates his own involvement with social theory, Islamic studies, and the rapprochement of anthropology and history, and development of the concept of centers and peripheries, especially as it was shaped by an ongoing multi-year social historical and anthropological project anchored in Bulgaria.
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This article is based on the introduction to the Religion and Culture Seminar of the Center for the Study of Religions, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. The seminar’s 2022–2023 interdisciplinary theme was “Center and Periphery in Religion and Society.” The text outlines the notion of center and periphery with the aim of framing a possible overall re-conceptualization, demonstrating why this notion remains highly relevant to our understanding of the intersection of religion and society. The analysis builds on preliminary notes on West Africa as an Islamic periphery to the Arab world. It then provides examples from the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The article argues that although a phenomenon looks peripheral from certain perspectives, this does not necessarily mean it is insignificant. In some cases, it might be more appropriate to speak of multiple interacting centers and peripheries rather than of one single center and a loose periphery.
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In the volume of essays “The Absolute - from disintegration to reconstruction”, the theorist and thinker Mircea Braga starts from the considerations of the philosopher George Steiner about the “disintegration" of the old existential platform of humanity, based on a mythical knowledge of man and of the universe. The new existential platform absolutizes human reason and proclaims the “death of God," to promote social and ideological mythologies that promised earthly heaven. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, the Absolute is reconstructed with the help of science that ascertains the infinity of worlds that make up the universe. Neurosurgery proves the existence of the soul and quantum physics proclaims the validity of multiple worlds beyond the limits of our perception. Including the “world beyond"! The Absolute is “reconstructed", therefore, on scientific bases, consolidating itself both theoretically and spiritually. Mircea Braga captures the way of coagulation of the concept of the possible world in the prosaic and poetic, religious and analytical imaginary, by appealing to scientific studies and literary texts from the Romanian cultural space.
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In 1962, the Bulgarian Church canonized Paisij Hilendarski. “Church Newspaper” devotes its entire issue from December of the same year to the event. It contains the lyrical poem “Paisij Hilendarski” by Mihail Kovachev, a researcher of Mount Athos and the Zograf Monastery. The report dwells on the question of what she managed to “say” in the difficult time of socialism.
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The sermon of Metropolitan Nicolae Bălan of Trasylvania at the consecration of the Coronation church of Alba Iulia on 8 October 1922 is a homiletical document of historical and spiritual value and best expresses the enthusiasm that animated the protagonists of the moment. In fact, Metropolitan Nicolae Bălan had been the main editor of the "Revista Teologică" (Theological Review) and professor of Theology at the Andreian Academy in Sibiu, an authentic Șaguna spirit and promoter of the culture of preaching. The Metropolitan's speech also reflects the relations between Church and State after the unification of 1918, when a Byzantine symphony was being created. Situated between historicism and the theology of history, Metropolitan Bălan's sermon inaugurated and highlighted a privileged place of memory, the Coronation Cathedral (1922), linked to the princely and royal past, and later, it would be he who would call it the Cathedral of Reunification (1948), after the tragic events that took place after the communist regime came to power. The centenary of the Coronation (2022) brings back the prophetic resonance of the words of one of the Metropolitan's sermons and the royal scent of the former cathedral.
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The coronation of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie at Alba Iulia on the 15th of October 1922 was to become one of those emblematic and historic moments in the process of Romania becoming whole. Consequently, this was the beginning of an ample and ambitious project, which aimed for the construction of a Coronation Cathedral, the preparation of the anointment ceremony of the two sovereigns, immortalising the enthronement of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, for which a special commission was established. As expected, the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Primate Metropolitan Miron Cristea, the future patriarch, received an extremely important role, that of conceiving the protocol and the liturgical structure of the religious services during the Coronation ceremony, the hierarch being given a free hand to sketch the project in the first stage. Gradually, however, in a political, religious and even quite complicated diplomatic context, Miron Cristea found himself faced with more or less camouflaged imperatives regarding the change or complete removal of certain ceremony elements considered unacceptable by King Ferdinand I. Consequently, the role the Primate Metropolitan expected the Romanian Orthodox Church to play in the Coronation ceremonies turned into a secondary one, an almost marginal one. It was proved that driving away from the „Byzantine Symphony”, the relations between Monarchy and the Church were entering a new phase of their relationship, one in which interdependence was no longer a sine qua non condition.
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In the last issue of Apulum journal, we tried to bring to light the essential data from the biography of priest Florian Rusan, the parish priest of the Maieri Alba Iulia Orthodox parish. He was a lesser-known clerical personality, and some data from his biography are unreliable. In the present material, we will try to present to the reading public a new side of his clerical career, that of a military confessor. Priest Rusan took care of the shepherding and guidance of the young Romanian soldiers with great dedication and solicitude. His mission was not easy. Florian Rusan faced many problems, and not a few times he had to call on his own resources. Among the problems he faced in his activity, one of the most important was the phenomenon of sectarianism. Florian Rusan managed to gather the soldiers around the church, taking care of their problems very carefully. He gave them numerous sermons and speeches through which he instilled in them the love of nation and country, as well as attachment to the Royal Family. The tireless priest also carried out his work at the military hospital in Alba Iulia or at the penitentiary.
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Andrei Scrima, Romanian Orthodox theologian, was born on December 1, 1925 and passed away in Bucharest, on August 19, 2000. In 1955, while he was a librarian at the Patriarchate, he met Mohammad Habib, Professor of political science, and Afzar Afzaluddin, Professor of history, both from the University of Aligarh, India. In 1956, the Indian vice-president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan came to Bucharest, where he heard Scrima reciting in Sanskrit. At the reception that followed, Radhakrishnan gave a speech, stating that Scrima was to go to India. Following this event, Andrei Scrima spent almost two years in Benares, India (April 1957-October 1959), during which he worked on a doctoral thesis, a work that has not been preserved, nor is there any evidence that it was defended in Benares.
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Bringing peace and quiet, music has always been an integral part of human life. Church music, in particular, creates strong bonds between people, uniting them all into a single body, with a single will and though of praising God. To enhance his feelings and emotions, man weaved music with prayer, because music represents a strong catalyst for communion with God. Music is a way out from daily routine and raising the soul to God, away from everyday worries and challenges. In the Romanian space, the practice of church music is closely related to the appearance of Christianity. Over time, church music schools have emerged especially in Țara Românească and Moldova, to prepare new protopsaltai and continue Byzantine tradition. The 19th century brings hrisantic reform, a simplification of the Byzantine music system, reform that will open new perspectives for Romanian church music.
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The aim of this paper is to discuss the many functions of the letters in sev¬eral late medieval Franciscan Observant chroniclers. Through a comparative analysis of several chronicles originating from early sixteenth century Observant circles, I il¬lustrate the main uses of letters in historical narratives, from their heavy presence and function as vehicles of information to a quasi-absence thereof. The integration of letters in chronicles contributes to the understanding of ideas of accuracy in a late medieval narrative: while chronicles that embed a smaller number of letters may raise questions about their reliability, those that include or simply mention a substantial number of let¬ters appear to have aimed at providing a more precise account of events. In light of this diversity of usage, a question arises: what motivated certain chroniclers to prioritize the accuracy of information conveyed through letters, and conversely, why did other chroniclers favor a narrative discourse uninterrupted by epistolary documents? In the first part of the paper, I discuss several key features of epistolography in chronicle writ¬ing. Then, I move to the main areas in which we see letters at work: network formation, communication, decision making, moral instruction, transmission of knowledge, nar¬rative, and character building. Finally, I examine how chronicles can be used to reveal new features of medieval epistolography.
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The recently canonised Dutch Carmelite Titus Brandsma (1881–1942), World War II martyr, mystic, Catholic journalist and historian of spirituality, was also – what is less known – a talented poet. The article recalls his early occasional poetry, written in Dutch and Frisian between 1898 and 1906 for members of his immediate family. Its literary characteristics are presented, demonstrating that this poetry is a valuable testimony to the saint’s views on human life from an eschatological perspective, including topics on the family, marriage, and the relationship between children and parents. This justifies recognising St. Titus Brandsma’s occasional poetry as an expression of his unique poetic theology of the family. The article also includes an English translation of a hitherto untranslated poem by St. Titus Brandsma.
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Modular and transnational educational delivery are two types of structures for theological schools that often are found together, especially in theological schools outside of the West. Many examples of positive and negative aspects of each of these have been presented in literature and research. Some of these examples have come from the experience of educators at non-Western schools, while others have approached the subject from a contextual and theoretical basis. This article seeks to show the need and usefulness of modular transnational education by analyzing the history and context of a theological school. To this end, the example of the Baptist Theological School in Serbia will be considered with the goal of evidencing the natural suitability and benefits of modular lay education as well as transnational instructors
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На први циклус студија Православног богословског факултета „Свети Василије Острошки” у Фочи, у академској 2022/23. години уписана су 273 студента. У току речене академске године, школовање на првом циклусу студија успјешно је окончало осам студената, док је пет студената успјешно одбранило мастер радове на другом циклусу студија.
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The spread of Christianity in the Balkan Peninsula acted as one of the catalysts for the formation of the cultural structures of each nation. Alongside the beliefs and rituals of Christianity, it can be observed that the beliefs and rituals of paganism were not totally erased but coexisted under a new cover. That was the moment for the birth of folk Christianity. Under the prism of folk Christianity, paganistic rituals, old beliefs, and customs were reshaped to some degree so they could follow the principles and beliefs of Christianity. A part of the cultural structures reshaped by folk Christianity were the traditional fairytales and legends. This paper will give a brief example of the transformation by presenting a few narratives, giving their synaptic structure and underlining their original paganistic elements and how they were transformed into Christian elements.
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