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This article argues that the mechanisms leading to the establishment of the system of Jewish self-identification during the Second Temple period – e.g. circumcision and Passover – were possible only thanks to the contacts of the Jews with others, both in Palestine and in the diaspora. In the monar-chic period, the local population in Palestine mostly employed rituals of self-identity within families and small clans, as well as the subjects of the monarch. The turning point in the history of the Judeans occurred in the 6th – 5th centuries BCE during the Babylonian Exile and in the diaspora of the Persian period. The Judeans and their descendants coexisted during this period, largely peacefully, with different populations. These experiences of intensive contacts with ‘others’, possible only thanks to deportations and migrations, shed light on the process of establishment of the system of self-identity of the Jews during the Second Temple period.
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Over the past years, there has been a significant increase in mobile applications with religious content. Whether we are talking about Holy Scriptures or the Quran, about liturgical or theological content, digital resources are made available by many interesting applications. The question is, are these applications accurate? How many of them are affiliated with Church institutions? How important would such an affiliation be? What is the situation in Romania, in the Romanian Orthodox Church? In the Romanian-Orthodox digital space there is an abundance of mobile applications, over 20, of which only one is institutionally affiliated. The presence in Romania of many mobile applications developed by private individuals that do not display the source of the liturgical and biblical text is a major concern for the accuracy and authenticity of the information presented. In the first study of this kind in the Romanian literature, we will analyze different examples in order to better understand the functionalities of these applications, but especially to confirm or reject our hypothesis that in the religious environment, an institutionally assumed application is more valuable for keeping the Church teaching unaltered, compared to an application which is the result of a private initiative or even a commercial project. Therefore, we compare the Romanian Orthodox applications with similar applications belonging to a Church that currently has the most complete panel of mobile applications. These are not only fully functional and officially assumed by the Anglican Church, but are constantly updated and maintained.
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The worship of the Orthodox Eastern Church involves a multitude of references hints and images of the Old Testament, in all the sequences (liturgies) and hymns. Particularly in the Holy and Great Week, the texts of the Old Testament are used with particular emphasis. On Holy Monday and on Holy Tuesday there is use of the texts of the Old Testament. Holy and Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday remind us of the eschatological meaning of Pascha. In this paper we are going to analyze the real and deep influence of the Old Testament to these days of Holy Monday and Tuesday and why the Orthodox Church chose to use the Old Testament although the Jews refused Christ and led him to death. The goal is to show that Orthodox Greek Christians use these texts from the Old Testament because they have no hostile attitude against Jews.
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“Glory to Your people Israel [or faithful people?]” (Luke 2:32). The oral dilemma of a problematic liturgical expressionIt is well known that the radical leftist ideology of Marxism and real socialism constitute not only a fragment of world history, but also a chapter of Jewish history. Ordinary Jews were also victims of communism. The most serious problem is posed by the quasi-religious character of the communist party in Romania. Our thesis aims at demonstrating that the oral mistranslation of the final part of “The Hymn of Simeon the God-receiver” from the Romanian Orthodox Vespers is due to an anti-Semitic involvement of the clergy, under the pressure of Soviet agents. They changed the phrase: “...a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel” into the following simulacrum: “...a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your faithful people”. This amendment gave birth to the idea that only Christians could be saved and that the Jewish people would go to hell. The good news is that the amendment of the biblical text in Luke 2:32 was done only at the level of oral communication in the Orthodox Cult; the texts for Liturgical Services kept the biblical mention of “people Israel”. However, the consequences of this intervention still subsist: an article published on January 31st, 2012 in “Lumina newspaper”, the official daily publication of the Romanian Patriarchy, repeated the mistranslation of “people Israel” from the Oral Tradition. Therefore, we must solve this huge liturgical error in order to uproot anti Semitism, as it endangers human rights, tolerance and freedom, which are specific to the Covenant that God made with peoples around the world and especially with the people of Israel.
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We see the practice of nocturnal prayer incorporated in the daily prayer-rite of Early Christianity. The primary focus of this study is how this practice arose and how it evolved in the Biblical era. There are two topics of major importance in the rabbinic age regarding the practice of prayer: the intention of formalizing prayer, and the endeavor to define the rules for appropriate words. There was no prayer book in the biblical period, though the main practices were present before the age of destruction of the second Temple. The study discusses some of the evolutionary dimensions of this practice, such as the cosmology with heavenly creatures, connection of the sleeping patterns and nocturnal religious activity, and the legitimization of fixed daily prayer by rooting the practice in the Bible, and also by reinterpretation of sacrifice. Though the ritualized practice of nocturnal prayer could be found mainly in the later cultic settings (e.g., the Qumran community), the study argues that the practice of nocturnal prayer was not uncommon within the Second Temple period, and thus, in the case of Jesus.
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One of the most obvious somatic signs of emotional reactions is a change in complexion (mainly paleness or redness), which can also be found in the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament. Their exact translation and interpretation, however, are debated. We start with the analysis of Nah. 2:11, in which the meaning and etymology of the term פָּארוּר (11bβ) are unclear, and the interpretations are controversial. In my view, the question of meaning can be answered not by an etymological approach but rather by the closer examination of the structure of the text and the identification of the conceptual metonyms and metaphors in it. The philological question relates to the possible translation of these physiological phenomena, and the anthropological question concerns the possible cultural differences in the conceptualization of certain emotions (particularly fear and shame). The topic of the change in facial colour concerns other biblical and extra-biblical texts. Some passages from the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel are important, while from the ANE context the Ugaritic Baal myth and the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon seem to be relevant.
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Walter Brueggemann’s Theology of the Old Testament evoked a lot of criticism. His trial metaphor as a methodological frame is generally welcomed. But we recognize that the courtroom situation presented in Brueggemann’s way can be seen as a hermeneutical model for referentiality, that is to say: when we do not have any empirically verifiable evidence about God, the only chance for us is to accept the testimony of the biblical text. The rhetoric of the accepted testimony will constitute the reality after this. This opinion of Brueggemann is sharply criticized by many scholars. The present essay tries to answer ‒ in a modest way ‒ some of these judgments and concludes that the reality generated by the testimony can be known and understood better if its rhetoric is primarily analysed through literary study.
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Service meant exorcism besides preaching and healing. According to Mk 3:15, Jesus calls his disciples so that they would be with him, preach the gospel, and exorcise demons. The authority of the disciples over unclean spirits (Mk 6:7) refers to their sharing in Jesus’s mission (Mk 1:22.23.27). Exorcism promoted the expending of God’s kingdom and the weakening of Satan’s power. In Mk 6:7, Jesus mentions exorcism as a concrete task for his disciples, what was fulfilled by them (6:7). We can learn from Mt 9:8 and 10:1 that the disciples were entrusted with power to cast out demons. Lk 9:1 mentions the same command. According to the report of Luke, the seventy(-two) disciples cast out demons too, although they did not receive explicit command for this in 10:9.Matthew is the only one who mentions that Jesus ordered his disciples to raise the dead (Mt 10:8). Thus, this belonged to the ministry too. The synoptic gospels do not mention anywhere that the disciples would carry out this command. But several reports mention that Jesus raised people from the dead. He answered the question that John the Baptist transmitted by his disciples by saying that the dead are raised up (Mt 11:5), so he truly carried this out as well. Some congregations of the early church had some difficulties with this command. The book of Acts reports in two cases that the disciples used this exceptional gift (Acts 9:36ff and 20:7ff). In order that the possession of this important power would not cause them any harm, when using this gift, the disciples were to ask nothing in return.Service is connected with suffering because mission supposes both. Jesus came to serve and suffer among the people, which is why he prepares his disciples for the future suffering. The disciples do share in Jesus’s mission, in his power and his authority, but in his destiny too. Following includes breaking with the family and profession, giving up the possessions, homelessness, self-denial, bearing the cross, persecution, and suffering. Mark’s congregation was persecuted. Therefore, it was a consolation for them that Jesus had suffered earlier and finished victoriously the battle against death. Jesus did not conceal the reality from his disciples and warned them that they had to flee too, they might be whipped and some of them might be executed because all of these form part of the mission. To follow him did not mean to study the Torah under his direction but to identify with his suffering.
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The article evokes the collaboration with the writer and hierarch Bartolomeu Valeriu Anania in the revision of the Bible. Father Anania’s activity is characterized by a perfect twinning between cult and culture. During his work on the Bible, he did not refuse any invitation, did not neglect the appearance of other works, and did not diminish in any way the responsibilities and concerns of his pastoral care. Working visits, interviews and collaborations, liturgy and sermon did not suffer from delays, improvisation or haste. Compared to the writing activity, working on the Bible becomes all the more difficult as it does not allow you to do it anywhere, except in the laboratory equipped for this activity. It’s a liturgy you can’t do outside the church. From Văratec, the biblical workshop was transferred to Cluj, in the episcopate building, then from here, it was transferred further, in the tranquility of Nicula Monastery, where the final shape of the Holy Book will be completed. Father Anania’s effort to compile the commented Bible is a true and daring escalade of a high peak of faith.
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The interest for having the biblical text in Romanian has alwaysdominated the conscience of the Romanian people. The first biblical manuscriptsfound in the north of Transylvania, at the end of the 15th century and thebeginning of the 16th century (1480-1500). The New Testament of Bălgrad(1648), the first complete edition in Romanian was followed by the Bible ofBucharest. After almost a century after its release, the bishop Samuil Micu Clainmade a new translation known as the Bible of Blaj (1795). The Bishop Filotei ofBuzău printed five volumes, between 1854-1856, known as the Bible of Buzău.Andrei Şaguna (1808-1873), started printing a new edition followed by others inthe next years.
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