Ludic role of religious rituals

Author(s): Tudor Cosmin Ciocan / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2015

This paper was made as part of a wider research I made about rituals and their meaning and roles they are playing in the religious system of thinking. The way they are thought, displayed, precisely followed as instructed and believed, makes them a powerful social act that has been always provided by any religion, and also a tool for religion to make the human society what it is today. After I speak about what is a ritual and its religious content in general, I am enumerating roles and functions of play and theatre in particular have, both for profane and religious purpose. Do we still use play/games as adults because they are rewarding, they give us pleasure? They are used as means of relaxation, or for continuing the age of childhood; or it is in our nature to play games in everything we do? In this paper I have emphasized play as adaptive potentiation or adaptive variability useful both in therapy, as in religious ceremony. The relation and comparison of rituals with play is due to the fact that playing is the most engaging behavior performed by man and animals, and it can be found as foundation of almost any ritualist activity.

„W MOCY DUCHA ŚWIĘTEGO. KSIĘGA PAMIĄTKOWA DLA JEGO EKSCELENCJI KSIĘDZA BISKUPA EDWARDA BIAŁOGŁOWSKIEGO Z OKAZJI XXV ROCZNICY ŚWIĘCEŃ BISKUPICH”, RED. P. MIERZWA, M. NABOŻNY, RZESZÓW 2013, S. 496, ISBN 978-83-936516-0-3

Author(s): Waldemar Pałęcki / Language(s): Polish Issue: 18-20/2013

Transhumanizm czy humanizm? Krytyczne spojrzenie na nową ideologię

Author(s): Marian Falenczyk SAC / Language(s): English,Polish Issue: 1/2018

The western world is slowly recognizing the threats resulting from the new ideology called transhumanism that started thirty years ago in the United States. The ideology of transhumanism draws from rapidly converging technologies such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, cognitive science and genetic engineering. Transhumanism wants to be a positive response to postmodernism and nihilism sweeping developed countries. It aspires to ignore the natural law and current anthropology. It aims to cover all dimensions of the human being to ensure unlimited earth-life extendibility, happiness and unfathomable pleasure. Transhumanism takes aim to eradicate current civilizations and cultures, rejects history, nationality, family and religion. Instead transhumanism wants to introduce global culture and civilization for a human as a product of biotechnology. Transhumanism reduces the human to a material dimension and intentionally confines him to this dimension. The progress of the new ideology appears difficult to stop and its catastrophic impact on humans and society is difficult to foresee. We must therefore explore the field of philosophy; mostly through returning to the metaphysics of existence by St Thomas Aquinas, through affirmation of biblical anthropology and finally through a comprehensive return to contemplative theology.

Baptismal Memrāʾ of Anonymous Author of the Ninth Century

Author(s): Francis Pittappillil / Language(s): English,Polish Issue: 51/2018

“Exposition of the Church Services” (ECS) is a 9th century liturgical commentary, the first and integral liturgical work about the East Syrian liturgy after the great liturgical reformation of Patriarch Išo’yahb III. Though the Author of the ECS comments on the various memrē of the Church of the East, we shall pay attention mainly to the baptismal memrā, which is the most remarkable among the memrē commented on by the Author. At first, we shall discuss the different terms and methods of baptism together with the manuscripts and editions of East Syrian baptismal liturgy. The baptismal memrā contains nine chapters and an analysis of the content of each chapter provides us with a clear outlook about the content of the text. The Author highlights the Pauline theology that explains baptism as a participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. The Author speaks about three anointings upon the candidate: pre-baptismal rušmā, anointing of the whole body and the post-baptismal rušmā. He emphasizes the pouring out of the consecrated water before the post-baptismal rušmā. He sets the baptismal rite within the framework of Eucharistic celebration, and the reception of the Eucharist by the baptized is presupposed in the commentary. A lucid idea is depicted in the commentary about the rights and duties of the sponsors too. In short, the baptismal commentary of the Anonymous Author of the 9th century provides us with a holistic view about the East Syrian rite of baptism.

Church, Family and School - Factors of Religious Education

Author(s): Ioan Popa-Bota / Language(s): English Issue: 14/2019

When we are talking about education, generally, we refer to a formationprocess that is speccific to humans. That, as education consists into a dialogue between persons, soit involves at least two individuals: one that is the communicator and the other one that receives themessage. But when we are talking about religious education, the factors involved in it multiply,because in this equation there are factors of divine and human nature.From the divine side, GodHimself and His Teandric Institution, the Church, which He established on earth for this verypurpose, are involved. From the human side, by virtue of teandria, the Church is involved, and withit: the family, the school and the religion teacher, as well as the pupil, that is the subject receiving theeducation. This paper aims at presenting the specificity of each of these factors and their correlation,so that the purpose of religious education is fulfilled.

Reflecții asupra cercetării inconștientului spiritual în pastorație

Author(s): Călin Drăgeanu,Nicolae (Natanael) Zanfirache / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 02/2020

The unconscious is one of the concepts of high interest, both for science and theology. The interest shown for the study of the unconscious is found in works conducted by specialists in philosophy, psychology, psychoanalysis and neuroscience. At the same time, in theology it is found predominantly in patristic writings but without an explicit mention of the name of the unconscious, which the science uses. The increased interest in this concept is justified by the complexity of this little-known dimension of man. Also, as the unconscious dimension is of both psychological and spiritual nature, the development of the study of the unconscious in theology is a necessity. This paper sheds light on the most relevant considerations regarding the study of the spiritual unconscious in the pastoral work. In this sense, the paper deals with the most relevant perspectives on the metaphysics of the mind because the unconscious is often associated with the mind and the psyche, as well as some aspects specific to the unconscious in philosophy and psychology. Also, the most relevant aspects of the spiritual unconscious and its dimensions, the “theophilic” unconscious and the “misotheistic” unconscious, were analysed, in order to identify the most important opportunities regarding the study of the spiritual unconscious in the pastoral work.

Catéchismes catholiques en France aux XV-XVIII siècles. Une approche analytique

Author(s): Vasile Creţu / Language(s): French Issue: 1/2021

Understanding contemporary catechetical debates and challenges requires taking an analytical look at the creation and evolution of the catechism centred on faith concept, which was established in the 16th century and which served as a model for four centuries. This study gives an approach on the creation of catechism as a manual and as a specific pastoral practice dedicated to children. Furthermore, it presents the main lines of the catechism of the Council of Trent and the main aspects of the catechism of the 17th and 18th centuries. The 16th century was the century of the Reform. This process was directly experienced by the population, who witnessed it as a real breach for the Christianity, a simultaneous political, social and religious breach, all these four characteristics being closely linked at that time. Today, we certainly find it difficult to imagine this breach. But historians such as Jean Delumeau tell us that this Reform, as well as the following Catholic Reform constituted the response to a challenge: a changing world which is transforming radically. From this fascinating period, let us retain the elements, which seem essential to us to understand the atmosphere around the evolution of the diffusion of the faith “elements” and in particular the setup of the catechism framework, as well as its content. The new methods of printing and distributing books bring about a new relationship to knowledge. Along with humanism, the idea of personal faith is being developed. Salvation by collective membership in the Church is no longer enough. It is in this context that the first catechism manuals will be born. The manuals included the theological elements considered essential, generally organized in five chapters: the articles of the Credo (the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Credo), the Sunday prayer, the Pater Noster and the Ave Maria prayers, the commandments of God and of the Church.

Recenzie

Author(s): Samuel Červeňanský,Tomáš Pastucha,Patrik Griger,Michal Marťák,Pavol Jakubčin,Peter Olexák,Miriama Filčáková / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 1/2022

Reviews of: 1. Kovár, Branislav. „Sila zániku: Kolapsy starovekých a stredovekých spoločností“, Bratislava : Premedia, 2020. 264 p. ISBN 978-80-8159-896-8; 2. Slepička, Martin. „Úcta k svatému Jeronýmovi v českém středověku. K 1600. Výročí církevního otce svatého Jeronýma“, Ostrava : Repronis s.r.o., 2021, 235 p. ISBN 978-80-7329-464-9; 3. Vodička, Ondřej. „Exil českého a moravského duchovenstva za husitských válek“, Praha : NLN, 2019, 275 p. ISBN 978-80-7422-703-5; 4. Laslavíková, Jana. „Mestské divadlo v Prešporku na sklonku 19. storočia. Medzi provinciou a metropolou“, Bratislava : Hudobné centrum; Historický ústav SAV, 2020, 356 p. ISBN 978-80-89427-47-5; 5. Kázmerová, Ľubica. „Príbeh učiteľa. Jozef Sivák v školských službách 1918-1944“, Bratislava : Historický ústav SAV; VEDA, vydavateľstvo SAV, 2019, 108 p. ISBN 978-80-224-1749-5; 6. Ilievová, Ľubica et al. „Prvá ošetrovateľská škola v Bratislave v prizme pastoračnej charizmy Kongregácie milosrdných sestier Svätého kríža“, Trnava : Teologická fakulta Trnavskej univerzity, 2020, 182 p. ISBN 978-80-8191-271-9; 7. Šmíd, Marek-Petráček, Tomáš. „Vatikán a druhá světová válka“, Brno : Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 2021. 163 p. ISBN 978-80-7325-518-3; 8. Glossová, Marta. „Nespôsobilý na vysokoškolské štúdium“. Previerky a vylučovanie študentov slovenských vysokých škôl v rokoch 1948-1960. Bratislava : Ústav pamäti národa, 2021. ISBN 978-80-8933-594-7.

Sprawozdanie z sympozjum naukowego Synodalność w życiu i misji Kościoła, Kraków, 5 maja 2022 roku

Author(s): Leszek Poleszak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2022

Report from the scientific symposium Synodality in the life and the mission of the Church, Krakow, May 5th, 2022

Theology of Education and Philosophy of Education in Dialogue

Author(s): Zuzana Svobodová / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

Theology of Education in the Second Vatican Council’s Gravissimum Educationis

Author(s): Stuart Nicolson / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

Theology of education regards the growth in the journey with God and being with God and others. Gravissimum Educationis (GE) calls for moral learning in education, and specifically Christian education so Christians grow in God, become more Christ-like (theosis) and an active participant in society, thus bringing Christianity to the world. The document also encourages different theological means of communicating the faith to educate Christians and reach out to others. This paper identifies both of these themes in GE, focusing on the early sections of the document.

Activitatea parohială și consângenitatea familiei preoțești Pop-Bociat din Clopotiva secolului al XIX-lea

Author(s): Cosmin Panturu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 12/2021

The township of Clopotiva from Hațeg County benefited from two complex studies on village life, completed in the first half of the 20th Century, under the auspice of the Romanian Academy, titled: Clopotiva: a village from Hațeg, two volumes published in 1940, in Bucharest, under the supervision of Ion Conea; together with: Anthropological Research in Hațeg Country: Clopotiva, A Monography, published in Bucharest, 1958, under advisement from Șt. M. Milcu and Horia Dumitrescu. These are references to places, habits, traditions, and family genealogies during that period, also recalling some particulars of the religious life up to that point in time.In that community there was a traditional medieval stone church. At the middle of the 16th Century, the edifice was taken over by the reformist church. However, disputes between Calvinist “Magyar Nemeși” [refers to Hungarian (Magyar) nobility] and the orthodox village congregation (latterly, The United Church) were avoided by switching ownership back and forth until the year 1759, when there was a canonic visit by bishop Petru Pavel Aron. The edifice no longer served its religious function, and was demolished in 1860, while a Calvinist church was built the same year, which was transferred to the Orthodox Church in 1957, under the protection of Pious Saint Paraskeva. Romanians were compensated for the donated edifice through a land donation from the reformed vice-chairman Pogány Iános. On that land, the present-day church was built between 1768-1770, dedicated to St. John The Baptizer, under the shepherding of united priest Ioan Popa. The church turned orthodox after 1948.This paper aims to face readers with the parochial activity in the same location - this time during the 19th Century - focusing on the Pop-Bociat religious family, which managed to leave a significant imprint (spiritual and material) on the shepherded religious community. Using novel published documents from various national archives, it was possible to recreate the blood relationship between clerics Mihail and Avel Pop-Bociat, the latter promoted parish priest in Grădiște (Sarmizegetusa) and dean of Ulpia Traiana.Of course, this presented study can be continued with dates lost in other archives, patiently waiting to be of a use which can be an enhancement - either by confirming, or contradicting hereby presentation.

Sprawozdanie z 54. Tygodnia Eklezjologicznego zorganizowanego przez Koło Naukowe Teologów Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego Jana Pawła II w Lublinie

Author(s): Michał Pierzchała / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2 (32)/2022

Do tradycji Wydziału Teologicznego Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego Jana Pawła II w Lublinie należy „Tydzień Eklezjologiczny”, który odbył się po raz 54. w dniach 17-19 maja 2022 roku i został zorganizowany przez Koło Naukowe Teologów KUL (dalej: KUL KNT) pod hasłem „Kościół Świętych”. Sympozjum rozpoczęło się uroczystą Eucharystią pod przewodnictwem Ks. Abp. Stanisława Budzika Metropolity Lubelskiego i Wielkiego Kanclerza KUL. Ksiądz Arcybiskup podkreślił w homilii, że Chrystus jest źródłem i dawcą wszelkiej świętości, oraz wskazał, iż Kościół ukazuje powołanie do świętości jako powszechną drogę, i zaprosił, aby wołać o świętych i nimi się stawać przez bliskość z Chrystusem i Jego Kościołem.

LA FEDE IN GESÙ, FONTE DI APOSTOLATO E MISSIONE NELLA COMUNITÀ ECCLESIALE

Author(s): Călin-Daniel Paţulea / Language(s): Italian Issue: 28/2022

We go to the encounter with Christ with disinterested, enlightened, unlimited faith. This is how the faith of a true Christian must be: it must have as its center not one's own self, but the infallible word of God. We believe because God is true and because He has spoken. We believe in faith, not because we can control its truth directly, but only relying on God, who in his sublime intelligence can neither deceive nor deceive us, and who in his great goodness wanted to reveal truths inaccessible to the human intellect alone. The individual and the community must strengthen their faith with a profound study of the revealed truths, adequate to their intelligence and responsibilities.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF METROPOLITAN VENIAMIN COSTACHI TO THE SUPPORT OF LAIC PRINTING

Author(s): Mirela Beguni / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 31/2022

A particularly important figure in the history of the Church, Metropolitan Veniami Costachi contributed to the regeneration of Romanian culture in the first half of the 19th century through a prodigious activity of translating and printing books in Romanian language. Interested by any activity that could have helped the development of Moldavia, the hierarch supported not only the printing of church writings, but also a series of secular writings, especially in the field of history.

THE EFFORTS OF THE SCRIBAN BROTHERS (NEOFIT AND FILARET) IN THE EVENTS PRECEDING THE UNION OF THE ROMANIAN PRINCIPALITIES

Author(s): Adrian Duțuc / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 32/2023

Neofit and Filaret Scriban, two very well-known Romanian clergymen, had an important contribution in that defining historical episode for what is today called Romania. Although they did not have a main role in the unfolding of the events that led to the Union of the Romanian Principalities, the Scriban brothers had an indisputable role. By their erudition recognized by all, by the fact that they were factors in the formation of public opinion through their writings and speeches, Neofit and Filaret can undoubtedly be considered as having a well-deserved place among the makers of the Union of 1859. What some historians called the "current of the Scribans" is an indisputable historical fact, an expression that demonstrates the fact that these two Romanian clerics left a contrasting imprint of their personality, culture, patriotism and faith.

CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES IN THE PEDAGOGY OF SIMION MEHEDINȚI

Author(s): Ioan Puiu / Language(s): English Issue: 33/2023

The Holy Fathers, desiring that young people enjoy a joyful life on this earth, but also be heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, paid particular attention to their formation. Through their writings dedicated to young people, the Holy Fathers have shown that they are called to follow the life of Christ, the greatest Teacher of all time, and that an education which helps the young person to live here beautifully but also to acquire Eternity with God is a true art. St. John Chrysostom understood by the art of education that permanent concern for the salvation of the soul entrusted to him for formation, the purpose of education being the preparation for eternal life. The Holy Fathers emphasize that education must help the young person to know and cultivate in his life the Christian virtues, and this is greatly strengthened by the model provided by those who form the young person. The great Romanian teacher and scholar of the last century, Simion Mehedinți, born into a genuine Christian family and having relatives who were priests, understood the particularly important role that knowledge and living the faith plays in the full formation of the young person. Through his writings, conferences and all his teaching activity, Mehedinți worked for the moral edification of young people, being fully convinced that the foundation of the young person's formation must be the Holy Gospel which "like a spring of clean water, which quenches thirst, is a fountain of wisdom for young and old, for the learned as well as the unlearned, for the rich as well as the poor .... and he who hears her words and weighs them carefully cannot fail to become wiser, better and happier". This study aims to present some of the Christian principles on the formation of young people drawn from the works of Simion Mehedinți and to answer questions such as: What is the role of the family in the formation of young people? What are the duties of a true educator? What Christian principles are found in Simion Mehedinți's work?

EDUCATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH THROUGH CATECHESIS. MOTIVATION AND METHODS

Author(s): Alexandru Baciu / Language(s): English Issue: 33/2023

Increasingly, we see that the contemporary man, in order to define his role in society, seeks to progress as much as possible professionally, seeks to keep up with the "fashion" in terms of technology, is assimilated by the commercial side of society. All these factors lead to his dissipation. The spiritual side is often neglected or treated with indifference. This way of life is especially aimed at young people, those who are just starting out, who can easily be moulded to the demands of the times. With all these temptations from the outside, the Church comes with a superior proposal, urging young people to a different knowledge, a perfect one, the experience life in God. The Saviour Jesus Christ says: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). We often hear in society, especially in the media, the idea that the Church, as an institution with social concerns, (unfortunately consumer society cannot perceive it as a divine-human reality) is unable to communicate with the young people within it. This paper aims to establish some frameworks to demonstrate that the Church is concerned with the spiritual and even intellectual formation of young people through catechesis. From its experience of more than 2000 years since the "moment of Pentecost", the Church has always known how to listen, to guide, to teach, to correct mistakes, to offer people what no other human institution has offered, a different kind of existence. A superior existence in Christ.

Psychologiczne rozważania o roli kobiety w Kościele

Author(s): Dorota Kuncewicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2023

The question about the role of a woman in the Church is asked in the context of the world and triggers its problems. And the modern world has difficulty accepting roles, requirements and interdependence, but also in appreciating every day, arduous effort aimed at the common good. The context for answering the question should also be the parallel definition of the roles of other members of the community - men, priests, nuns. And of course, there remains the question of why the question is asked and whether the answer is consistent with the one given in real life.

Simposio scientifico internazionale — 1 dicembre 2023. “La Lega Aquilina Croata e l’Azione Cattolica”

Author(s): Ante Belić / Language(s): Italian Issue: 1/2023