Zakład Pascala – argumentacja i działanie

Author(s): Marek Wójtowicz / Language(s): Polish

The central topic of the following monograph is, as the title itself might indicate, Pascal’s Wager. This argument, proposed in his “Pensees” (“Thoughts”), constitutes one of the most profound ideas of the French philosopher. It is, however, heavily contested and discussed up until this day. The contemporary reflection on the Wager touches upon not only the conventional philosophical and theological dimensions, but also the rarely noticed mathematical or decision-making aspects. The monograph presents a comprehensive background for Pascal’s argument, foregrounding it in the context of Pascal’s biography as well as his anthropological and religious views. Moreover, the monograph touches upon the most significant – usually extremely critical – comments on the Wager which have been formulated over the last 350 years. Research presented in the monograph focuses upon the contents of the 451st passage of “Pensees”. In this study, the “canonical” version of the Wager – usually considered to be the most faithful to Pascal’s intent by his commentators – becomes the subject of detailed and critical analysis. The discussion concerns the particular claims comprising Pascal’s argumentation, which are of varied and diverse character. The strictly philosophical inquiries are connected with philosophy of religion (particularly with the analysis of the stance advocating the lack of possibility of solving the problem of God’s existence or nonexistence) as well as ethics (numerous objections to the Wager are ethical in nature), while the theological inquiries focus on the possible outcomes of wagering whether or not God exists as well as the issue of faith. Moreover, a considerable part of the monograph is devoted to research concerning the mathematical, probabilistic side of Pascal’s argument as well as decision-making in uncertain conditions. The characteristic feature of the interpretation of Pascal’s Wager presented in the monograph is the focus on the last, usually completely disregarded, part of the argument. It discusses actions that – according to Pascal – should be undertaken by a person convinced of the validity of the assumption that God exists. This addendum significantly affects the totality of Pascal’s concept. This new interpretation of the Wager is analysed according to the validity of reasoning as well as the philosophical consequences. The later parts of the monograph discuss the extent of impact of Pascal’s argument, both in relation to philosophy and religion and outside of that relation. That impact remains incredibly varied. There have been numerous attempts at both undermining the Wager once and for all as well as perfecting its original argument in order to successfully refute the objections raised against it both in the past and nowadays. Moreover, numerous concepts openly draw from the argument proposed in “Pensees” in order to resolve various problems concerning decision-making with regard to bioethics, ecology, medicine, and psychotherapy.

BIBLIJOM I KUR’ANOM DO JEDNOGA BOGA STVORITELJA

Author(s): Marko P. Đurić / Language(s): Bosnian

This book is based on the pursuit of true interreligious dialogue. At a time when radical and extreme ideas tend to tensions and conflicts between religions and different religious denominations, but also schools of thought in general, it is extremely important to emphasize the need for unity and harmony among people, especially the heirs of religious traditions. God Almighty teaches us that in relation to others we always keep in mind the value and dignity of man as such, without abandoning the principles of humanity as love of man and justice. This simple message of all messengers of the Word of God throughout history, to our great regret, has been the subject of forgery by their opponents, but also by the alleged promoters of the faith. To try to remove the veils of stupidity, negligence and ignorance, and to turn to the true effort to understand man, and then to understand what God has told him. Respect for man, nature and the divine laws that govern it, will allow us to get to know each other better and be more friends, to give up mutual tension and conflict. In this we can be helped by relying on a common religious tradition, that of Abraham / Ibrahim. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the three arms of a sacred religious tradition based on the belief in One God, the Eternal, the Almighty, the Omniscient, the Creator of the World, the Righteous, the Good, the Omnipresent, the Holy Being. God in our common tradition transcends space and time, and forever remains incomprehensible to His creatures. And, again, he is equally the Director and Manager of the World.

Политическите послания в турските сериали по българските телевизии и "Нетфликс"

Author(s): Zhana Popova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 10/2021

The text presents the main conclusions based on the study of the political messages in the Turkish series broadcasted on Bulgarian television and on Netflix. The main political messages in the series, showed on Bulgarian television, are the responsibility for decisions, connect with the life of a woman and a child. Among the important political topics are: migration, education abroad and returning home, conflicts between rich and poor.

Странстващи идеи по пътищата на хуманитаристиката. Изследвания по фолклористика, културна антропология и славистика в чест на доц. д-р Катя Михайлова. София: Издателство на БАН „Проф. Марин Дринов“. Т. 1, 2020. Т. 2, 2021

Author(s): Albena Georgieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2022

Book review

The 'Doubled-Sided' Chapel at Pyrga (Cyprus, 1421-1424).

Author(s): Vladimir Agrigoroaei / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2022

Après avoir reconfirmé la datation de Camille Enlart (vers 1421 ou 1421-1424) et identifié le comman-ditaire (l’évêque de Limassol Barthélemy Gui) dans une inscription fragmentaire, la présente étude explore: d’une part, les modèles des inscriptions en langue vernaculaire française de Pyrga (Chypre); d’autre part, la lo-gique du programme iconographique et le contexte culturel que sous-tend cette dernière. Dans la première par-tie, l’analyse des inscriptions de la chapelle prouve que le concepteur du décor peint a suivi un modèle manuscrit, sans doute un psautier avec un grand cycle d’enluminures. L’étude évoque trois termes de comparaison célè-bres: le Psautier de la reine Ingeburge (Chantilly, Bibliothèque du Musée Condé, 9 – tournant du xiiie siècle), le psautier de l’évêque Henri de Blois (Londres, British Library, Cotton Nero C iv – vers 1160) et le livre d’images de Marie de Rethel (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, n. acq. fr. 16251 – vers 1285). Dans la source manuscrite reconstituée, les inscriptions en ancien français étaient probablement transcrites en tant que tituli, d’après une typologie tripartite: noms de fêtes religieuses, groupes nominaux ayant une fonction analogue et légendes sous forme d’énoncés introduits par l’adverbe coument. La langue des inscriptions de Pyrga, un français d’Outremer, présente les traits particuliers des scriptae chypriotes de la fin du Moyen Âge. De plus, on constate que la déco-ration de la chapelle inscrit le monument de Pyrga dans la catégorie des chapelles royales de l’Europe occidentale (xive et xve siècles). Le transfert du codex à la paroi concerne non seulement les images, mais également les textes qui accompagnent ces dernières. L’auteur s’intéresse ensuite à la disposition symétrique de la décoration dans les deux travées de la chapelle, ainsi qu’à la manière dont cette disposition accentue l’Uniatisme catholique-orthodoxe. La logique dos-à-dos de la décoration émule celle des icônes à double face – termes de comparaison directs pour la chapelle – notamment leur choix d’apparier deux scènes : la Crucifixion / la Mère de Dieu. Le con-cepteur du décor peint souhaitait évoquer l’osmose de deux églises: une église latine, orientée vers l’Est; la sug-gestion d’une église byzantine, orientée vers l’Ouest. Cela explique le choix particulier de la décoration des voûtes (christologique pour la travée Est et mariale pour la travée Ouest), la double représentation de l’An-nonciation (pour marquer l’orientation des deux églises) et le choix d’une composition de type pala d’altare pour la paroi Est, tandis que la paroi Ouest imite la décoration des templons byzantins. L’osmose des deux églises est indiquée de manière encore plus claire par le choix de représenter les martyriums des saints Étienne (signifiant l’Orient) et Laurent (signifiant l’Occident) au-dessus des entrées latérales. Ce serait une allusion à l’osmose des corps de ces saints dans la Coniunctio corporum sanctorum Stephani et Laurentii (bhl 4784b). Après une réévaluation du texte fragmentaire (aujourd’hui perdu) de l’inscription dédicatoire, il est évident que la dédicace proprement dite concernait l’Assomption de la Vierge. Qui plus est, l’osmose Est-Ouest était de nou-veau indiquée par la représentation dans un même cadre de la Dormition de la Mère de Dieu (sujet à connotation byzantine) et du Couronnement de la Vierge (thème occidental par excellence). Les textes littéraires des xive et xve siècles confirment la fixation chypriote de l’appariement de la Mère de Dieu avec la Passion du Christ, de même que plusieurs autres choix de la décoration de Pyrga. La signification de la décoration devait être multiple, en rapport avec la triple utilité du bâtiment: chapelle funéraire (pour Barthélemy Gui), chapelle royale (pour le couple Janus de Lusignan-Charlotte de Bourbon) et point d’entrée au monastère de Stavrovouni, qui hébergeait des reliques de la Sainte Croix.

Royal Doors of Maramureș beyond their appearances.

Author(s): Alexandru Baboș / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2022

Dans les églises de rite byzantin, les ‘portes royales’ de l’iconostase se distinguent par leur richesse, leur étrangeté et leurs mystérieux ornements. Malgré le rôle décoratif essentiel qu’ils jouent, la finalité de ces traits caractéristiques demeure souvent obscure. Le manque d’explication cohérente devient ainsi l’un des défis scientifiques les plus stimulants à relever, afin d’en clarifier la signification. Étant donné que les recherches en ce sens sont encore absentes du panorama critique de l’histoire de l’art post-byzantin, mettre l’accent, dans une analyse du symbolisme des ‘portes royales’, sur une province lointaine telle que le Maramureș pourrait surprendre. La présente étude se propose toutefois d’interpréter la décoration des ‘portes royales’ au sein du cadre strict de l’espace rituel et culturel byzantin dans le territoire des Carpates du Nord à l’époque prémoderne, en s’appuyant, pour ce faire, sur des écrits religieux contemporains des objets étudiés. Puisque ces écrits, à travers les traductions en langue vernaculaire, ont influencé la culture populaire de la région, la décoration des ‘portes royales’ doit être interprétée en clé mariale. Aussi, tous les traits caractéristiques, les détails et les significations de ces portes illustrent la porte du ciel, attribut caractéristique de la Mère de Dieu dès l’incarnation du Christ. Il semblerait donc que le thème central en soit l’Annonciation. Ainsi, l’étude se propose de montrer la manière dont ce thème a été amplifié et diversifié sous forme de cycle iconographique composé de quatre parties, que l’on peut observer à la fois en peinture et en sculpture. Les sculptures témoignent d’un emploi particulier du langage métaphorique, exprimé d’une manière allégorique et emblématique, à travers laquelle les ‘portes royales’ sont transformées en pièces centrales et complexes de l’iconostase. Plusieurs prophéties concernant la Venue du Sauveur grâce à une vierge ont été choisies et représentées dans la sculpture des ‘portes royales’ de la région des Carpates du Nord, qui devient le centre d’un développement iconographique particulier. Sans doute, les disputes religieuses ont-elles façonné la culture spirituelle des croyants orthodoxes des Carpates, à l’époque turbulente de la pré-modernité. À cet égard, la rhétorique du langage artistique visuel se pose en miroir des témoignages apportés par les documents, les inscriptions et les collections folkloriques des communautés de rite byzantin. Situé à un carrefour de civilisations, l’art sacré de Maramureș contribue à une meilleure compréhension de la signification et de l’évolution de ces ‘portes royales’ à l’époque post-byzantine; mais il nourrit également l’étude de l’histoire de l’art européen dans son ensemble.

Les livres grecs anciens de la Métropole de Moldavie et de Bucovine conservés dans la bibliothèque «Dumitru Stăniloae» de Iaşi.

Author(s): Lidia Cotovanu / Language(s): French Issue: 6/2022

The Library of the Orthodox Metropolitan See of Moldavia and Bucovina in Iaşi preserves over a thousand copies of old Greek books. There are only ten manuscripts in this collection, one of which was com-missioned by Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia. The collection consists mainly of Greek prints of various origins, some of which can be traced back to the library of the Princely Academy of Iași, succeeded by the Mihăileană Academy. Other volumes originate in the library of the Theological Seminary of Socola, founded by Veniamin Costachi Metropolitan of Moldavia, who donated his personal library to the Iași foundation. Sev-eral references come from the private collections of high hierarchs, while some books were collected from various Moldavian monasteries, especially from those who used to be metochia of the Greek Patriarchates and the great monasteries under their jurisdiction. This article evaluates the importance of the prints according to their dating, place of publication, owners, and contents (generally didactic books, but also polemical books of a religious nature). It also seeks to reconstruct the historical context of their circulation in Moldavia and the circumstances in which they came into the possession of the Metropolitan See of Moldavia and Bucovina. The analysis provided takes into account prosopographical investigations, the history of the Moldavian educational institutions, and the examination of the notes (mostly in Greek) on the prints.

The Musical Instruments in the Early Vernacular Translations of the Psalms (4).

Author(s): Vladimir Agrigoroaei,Chapel Alessia,Fabienne Toupin / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2022

This paper represents a continuation of previous publications: “The Musical Instruments in the Early Vernacular Translations of the Psalms. Collective Research” (Museikon, 3, 2019, p. 67-140—hereafter abbreviated as Musical Instruments 2019); “The Musical Instruments in the Early Vernacular Translations of the Psalms (2): Collective Research” (Museikon, 4, 2020, p. 257-302—hereafter ab-breviated as Musical Instruments 2020); and “The Musical Instruments in the Early Vernacular Trans-lations of the Psalms (4): Collective Research” (Museikon, 5, 2019, p. 91-107—hereafter abbreviated as Musical Instruments 2021). The current paper represents the finalisation of this group of articles.

Pious Russian Soldiers, Devout Cretan Donors, and the Church: Transfer and Reception of Russian Icons and Ecclesiastical Utensils on the Island of Crete.

Author(s): Katopi Sofia / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2022

Cet article se propose d’étudier, dans leur contexte, différents accessoires ecclésiastiques russes, tels que des épitaphes, des vêtements de prêtres et des objets eucharistiques, qui se trouvent dans les églises et dans les monastères de la préfecture de Réthymnon - district passé sous le contrôle russe entre 1897 et 1909 - et qui datent de l’époque de l’Autonomie Crétoise (1898-1913). A la lumière des relations entre la Russie et les institutions socio-politiques crétoises; en tenant compte du fait que la Russie n’entretenait pas, avec cette île, des liens commerciaux aussi développés qu’avec les autres secteurs de la Grèce, l’auteure s’intéresse aux mécanismes de transfert et d’acquisition d’objets liturgiques russes, ainsi qu’à la reconstitution d’une cartographie. Aussi, les découvertes sont-elles étudiées dans le contexte des stratégies politiques - clés du soi-disant « soft power » déployé par la Russie impériale pour asseoir son pouvoir dans la région - employées afin de préserver et soutenir l’orthodoxie contre la propagande catholique et protestante.

Icon Goldsmiths, Pious Widows, and Holy Maidens. Adventure Narratives of Greek Monks Travelling in Late Imperial Russia.

Author(s): Tasos Kostopoulos / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2022

L’article explore un aspect peu étudié de la réception de l’art religieux russe par les communautés orthodoxes balkaniques du xixe siècle: l’image de la Russie et de ses peuples, que les moines collectant les aumônes (zeteia) avaient relayée, à leur retour, dans leurs monastères d’origine et/ou aux communautés environnantes. L’objectif principal des voyages entrepris par ces moines était de convertir une partie considérable de dons et bénéfices collectés en une variété d’objets ecclésiastiques précieux et/ou revêtements d’icônes. La présente étude analyse trois récits différents de deux de ces voyages, effectués dans les années 1860 et au début des années 1890 par des moines athonites. Elle explore également deux approches dans cette collecte d’aumônes (traditionnelle vs entrepreneuriale) et la manière dont le regard porté par les voyageurs en question sur la société russe, ses institutions religieuses, ses moeurs et ses habitudes, a pu en être affecté.

Museographic Objects, Saints, and Sacred Places: Saint Antony Pechersky, Esphigmenou Monastery (Mount Athos), and the Museum of Christian Antiquities (Athens).

Author(s): Katerina Seraïdari / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2022

L’article nous présente la manière dont trois histoires, avec des finalités très différentes, s’avèrent en réalité interconnectées. La première histoire est celle de saint Antoine Petchersky (xe-xie siècle), père du monachisme russe et fondateur de la Laure des Grottes de Kyïv; la deuxième concerne un monastère du Mont Athos, où ce saint aurait vécu pendant un certain temps au xie siècle; la troisième nous parle d’un objet qu’il aurait porté. La présente étude permet d’explorer la rivalité entre Grecs et Russes au Mont Athos dans la seconde moitié du xixe siècle. Elle permet également d’interroger la question des ‘faux’ objets et la pertinence culturelle de ces derniers.

Products of Russian Visual Culture in the Treasury of Rakovica Monastery in Belgrade (17th – 20th Centuries).

Author(s): Ivana Ženarju Rajović / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2022

L’article présente une série d’icônes et d’objets liturgiques provenant du trésor du monastère Rakovica à Belgrade, en Serbie. Plusieurs exemples, datant de différentes périodes, témoignent de l’influence culturelle russe sur le milieu local serbe. Le monastère possède six icônes peintes dans le Palais des Armures du Kremlin à Moscou vers la fin du xviie siècle. Ces icônes, qui comptent parmi les témoins conservés les plus anciens, nous renseignent sur les relations serbo-russes au sein de la vie religieuse de Belgrade. D’innombrables guerres ont jalonné l’existence du monastère Rakovica, ce qui explique que le trésor soit aujourd’hui relativement modeste. Il comprend, par exemple, quelques icônes russes des xixe et xxe siècles, principalement des artefacts produits en série, sans valeur artistique significative. Toutefois, les revêtements en argent de trois de ces icônes nécessitent une analyse approfondie. Aussi, le trésor comprend-il plusieurs livres liturgiques imprimés à Moscou ou dans la Laure des Grottes de Kyïv, de même que deux objets liturgiques.

Brief Scholarly Reflections on Ukraine.

Author(s): Kohut Halyna,Taisiya Leber,Waldemar Deluga,Svitlana Valeriyivna Olianina / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2022

IMPROVING WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EVOLUTION IN KENYA: THE CASE OF NAIROBI AND KAKAMEGA COUNTIES

Author(s): Sylvester Ngome Chisika,Chunho Yeom / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

This study aimed to investigate the progress of women's empowerment through employment opportunities in Nairobi and Kakamega Counties in Kenya between 2013 and 2017. Despite the increasing policies that aim to mainstream social equity and equality, there is still a significant gap between policy commitments and practices. The study evaluated whether the implementation of devolved governance in the two counties has improved women's empowerment. The study's framework included an in-depth review of policy documents, official records, and reports from official websites to understand women's economic empowerment status in Nairobi and Kakamega. The study analyzed qualitative and quantitative data from County Integrated Development Plans and other secondary sources. Specifically, it examined compliance with the 30% gender rule, requiring women to hold at least 30% of all elective and appointive positions. The study found that Nairobi commands the largest share of formal sector wage employment in Kenya, and women's access to employment opportunities remains slightly lower than men in both counties. Despite implementing the 30% gender rule, the study revealed the need for more comprehensive policies that promote gender equality and women's economic empowerment in both Nairobi and Kakamega.

The Manufactory of Old French Psalters.

Author(s): Chapel Alessia,Vladimir Agrigoroaei / Language(s): English Issue: 7/2023

Pentru a înțelege mai bine relațiile intertextuale dintre psaltirile franceze medievale, întoarcerea la o sursă fundamentală precum Psaltirea de la Oxford (manuscrisul Oxford, Biblioteca Bodleiană, Douce 320) este esențială. Astfel, unul dintre scopurile acestui articol este cel de a pune bazele unui studiu al modificărilor de natură textuală reprezentate de numeroase ștersături care reflectă procesul de redactare și spun povestea acestui manuscris. Deoarece studiul este de amploare, a fost necesară segmentarea lui în mai multe publicații. În această primă etapă, după o introducere care analizează relațiile manuscrisului Douce 320 cu alte manuscrise din familia sa (de exemplu, Londra, British Library, Arundel MS 230), autorii discută ștersăturile legate de fluctuația vocalelor și diftongilor în ortografia anumitor cuvinte. Analiza tratamentului dentalelor finale ocupă apoi secțiuni referitoare la anumite forme verbale ale modurilor indicativ, conjunctiv și participiu. Acestea sunt completate de studii privind ștergerea unui -e- interconsonantic în formele de viitor și oscilarea între -r- și dublu -rr- în formele de viitor ale verbului estre. În cele ce urmează, ștersăturile și/sau corecturile legate de dentale permit de asemenea să fie abordată problema declinării, nu numai în cazul participiilor, ci și a mai multor substantive și adjective. Cercetarea se concentrează apoi pe studii de caz: ștergerea unui –n final în enfer(n), iur(n) și car(n); ezitările scribului legate de ortografia conjuncției car; înlocuirea frecventă a lui q cu c în cuvântul quer/cuer; ezitarea între folosirea conjuncției mais sau a conjuncției acertes; precum și multiplele opțiuni de a traduce sufixul latin –tio. O paranteză deschisă cu privire la anumite adăugiri și/sau corecturi sugerează posibilitatea ca manuscrisul Douce 320 să nu fie o traducere autografă a Psaltirii St. Albans (păstrată la Hildesheim, Dombibliothek, St. Godehard 1). Scribul ar fi folosit mai degrabă o sursă latină cu o glosă vernaculară interliniară. Această deducție pare să fie confirmată și de utilizarea unei liniuțe de unire, pe care copistul o folosește pentru a compensa erori probabile de transcriere. Ipoteza aceasta este susținută mai ales de cercetarea asupra câtorva „ștersături lungi”. Ele par a privi unități de transcriere a căror modificare este legată de structura și interconectarea textuală cu o sursă care prezintă atât un text latin, cât și o glosă interliniară. În încheierea acestei părți, după ce au prezentat, spre comparație, exemple preluate din Psaltirea Winchester și Psaltirea Arundel, autorii propun reconstituirea unui segment de text care ar putea fi mai aproape de sursa manuscrisului Douce 320. Articolul se încheie cu o comparație cu precedentele în limba engleză veche și cu o transcriere a fragmentelor de la Maidstone, Centrul și Biblioteca de Istorie Kent, Fa/Z1 (fragmentul Faversham i). Continuarea cercetării este prevăzută pentru următorul număr al revistei Museikon.

Oliver Jens Schmitt, Biserica de stat sau biserica în stat? O istorie a Bisericii Ortodoxe Române (Bucharest: Humanitas, 2023), 457p.

Author(s): SZABÓ Csaba,Dragoş Ursu / Language(s): English Issue: 7/2023

Echoes

Author(s): / Language(s): English Issue: 7/2023

Св. Георги в грузински културен контекст

Author(s): Nino Abakelia / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

The article briefly evaluates the vast literature relating to the worship of St. George in Georgia and draws on the ethnographic data collected by the author in the years 1977 to 1987. It explores the worship of St George in the Caucasus Georgia both in the past and present. Consequently, it discusses such categories as religious practice, belonging to the parish and territory, identity and, sharing holy places, epithets of the Saint, hybrid cults, etc. The materials used are: written historical sources, ethnographic data attested in the writings of Christian Missionaries (Christopher Castelli, Jean Chardin, Arcangelo Lamberti, etc.), the ethnographic data gathered (during 2018-19) among Internally displaced persons, and contemporary emic and etic researches undertaken by anthropologists of the 20th and 21st centuries. The argument of the present contribution is based upon a series of ethnographic observances that present traditional feasts of the saint and their transformations in the light of current political processes. Accordingly, detailed ethnographic field data and observations are contextualized in time and space, using the explorations and studies of anthropologists and historians. The article tries to show how once traditional Christian site (lieux de mémoire in Pierre Nora’s sense) with its real environment and with is firm identity is deterritorialized and transformed into a shared place of mixed and ambiguous pilgrimage place through the political processes and hybridization.

Религиозност в трансформация: народни и нормативни религиозни практики в Източна Грузия

Author(s): Ketevan Khutsishvili / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

Georgian everyday life is highly tied up with the rich religious traditions that have been developed as a result of the centuries-long synthesis of pre-Christian and Christian practices and worldviews. The Soviet period caused the fragmentation of the traditional religious knowledge and the practice moved to the household level and was paganized. In the post-Soviet period, the burst of religious sentiments and search for identity increased the involvement of big masses to religious practices. The transformations were accompanied by a process of individualization of religion, which has led to a change of forms of religiosity. Based on the ethnographic data of East Georgia, the article discusses the correlation of the normative, vernacular and resistant forms of religiosity. Historical-comparative and parallel analyses are used to research two examples of religious practice: Lomisoba and Berikaoba. Lomisoba is analyzed as an example of hybrid, massive, collective holiday. Berikaoba is more local, not connected to a sacred site, performative festival. It is argued that the contemporary processes are having an impact on the religiosity and the religiosity of certain groups is trying to be defined in new forms. All the old and new forms of religiosity are explicitly displayed and played out in contemporary Georgia. At the same time there are some hidden, or rather implicit practices.

Шедьовърът на Руставели – ренесансова поема или средновековен роман?

Author(s): Yordan Lyutskanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

The article introduces to the late medieval romance in verse Vepkhistq’aosani by Shota Rustaveli – the central artefact in Georgian cultural self-awareness and the top item of ‘high’ Georgian cultural export. It briefly presents its narrative content, indicating the correlation of two plot-lines (initially through enframing, after some point though horizontal interlacing). It briefly introduces to the main fluctuations and 20th-century tendency in translating the work’s title, interpreting the fluctuations as indicative of aesthetic differences, and the tendency as an indication of the ‘cultural market’ success of the Soviet-Georgian (in its ideological and aesthetical basis –a Stalinist and socialist-realist) image of Rustaveli’s masterpiece. It presents two influential to dominant claims of Georgian Rustvelology – that the work is a poema (and not a novel/romance) and that it displays, at least partially, Renaissance outlook and poetics, – considering these claims as tools (1) of Soviet “Culture Two” to allot a proper place to Georgian nation within the alternative modernity of the USSR and its premodern background-under-construction, and (2) of Soviet-Georgian cultural nationalism to define a usable past in post-Soviet conditions; and (3) as beliefs. It revitalises the option to contextualise the work of Rustaveli (and, indirectly, Georgian cultural identity) in non-Eurocentric terms, providing some factographic and theoretic clues from the field of macrohistory (J. Abu-Lughod et al.) and a methodological one from sociology of arts (P. Bourdieu).