НИКИТА ХОНИАТ СРЕЩУ МАНУИЛ I КОМНИН: ПОЛЕМИКА, СВЪРЗАНА С ИСЛЯМА, В КОНТЕКСТА НА ВИЗАНТИЙСКАТА ТРАДИЦИЯ

Author(s): Dimitar Yordanov Dimitrov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2016

Byzantine society had very complex relations with the Islamic Eastern neighbors. Islam, to be sure, started and continued to be menace for Byzantium for the all long eighth centuries they used to coexist. However, Byzantine society needed a certain period of time to accept Islam as another religion, standing against Christianity in the East. After the first Byzantine revenge acts against Judaism a long tradition was formed with two main streams. The first of them envisaged Islam as a demoniac pseudo-religion (or anti-religion), the second being milder and ready to accept the Islamic neighbors not as a whole, but rather as different states, culturally not so different from Byzantium, with diplomacy playing role for keeping balance in the East. Thus, the Byzantine Real politik appeared as a phenomenon, what provoked crusaders to accuse Byzantium as being traitor to the Christian cause in the East. In that context should we pose the interesting incident at the end of Manuel I Komnenos’ reign (1143 – 1180). Both Church and society were provoked by the decision of the Emperor to lift up the anathemas against Allah from the trivial ritual of denouncing Islam. This formula was used generally by Muslims who converted to Christianity for whatever reason. Manuel sent twice tomoi for approval, provoking no less than an angry reaction in the Church and society. Thus, two main concepts made a stand against each other, a more traditional one and another, more practical, political, if not to say tolerant. For Manuel and his followers, who were not missing, as we know from Choniates, the doctrine of Muhammadwas just a deviation, untrue enough, of the unified Biblical tradition implying, anyhow, the existence of one and only God, Creator of the world. His opponents, Choniates being definitely among them, refused even to listen to such an interpretation. This radically harsh view on Islam corresponded with the anathemas against Islam in Choniates’ Treasure of Orthodoxy. Although in that particular case Choniates took side with the traditional opposition against the Emperor, in his History he used to be more delicate observer of Muslims, especially when comparing them with the Latins who became “champions” of his wrath.

ИЕРОТОПИИ НА ЮЖНОМ УРАЛЕ: ПУТИ И МЕХАНИЗМЫ САКРАЛИЗАЦИИ ПРОСТРАНСТВА

Author(s): Tatiana Saveleva / Language(s): Russian Issue: 19/2021

We consider the process of taming space, turning a profane place into a sacred one, mythologizing, overgrowing with legends and rituals on the example of objects in the southern Urals: Arkaim, the rock complex “Steppe Madonna”, makeyevskaya arbor, the island of Faith, etc. We distinguish three types of “sacralization” of space: political, commercial, and spontaneous. We note the commercial type of sacralization in Arkaim. The spontaneous type includes the sacralization of other listed objects. We note a tendency to hierotopical elements of the cultural landscape. It 45 reflects, first, the desire of modern man to understand the past, a protest against the Erasure of national identity, and secondly-an eclectic picture of the human world, including both elements of traditional religion and pagan components.

УСПЕНИЕТО НА СВ. ЙОАН БОГОСЛОВ В ЮЖНОСЛАВЯНСКИТЕ КАЛЕНДАРНИ СБОРНИЦИ

Author(s): Plamena Kostova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 19/2021

The paper focuses on The Assumption of John the Theologian (BHG 916), which commemorates the feast of the Saint on 26 of September in the South Slavic calendrical collections. It researches the dissemination of this text in the South Slavic milieu. A comparison between the witnesses was according to which a preliminary systematization of the manuscripts in which the text has been copied is suggested.

ОСНОВНИЯТ ВЪПРОС НА ЕТНОЛОГИЯТА

Author(s): Konstantin Rangochev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 20/2021

The main question of ethnology is: What is the attitude of the researchers (ethnologists, folklorists, anthropologists, and in general researchers in humanities) towards the spiritual word, that is, towards the religious and mythological believes and ideas. What is their answer to the fundamental question if there are two worlds, material and spiritual, or is there only one world, the material one? A researcher could take only one of these two positions. A constituent premise for solving this question is the understanding that the Bulgarian, the so-called “folklore person”, till recent time is homo religiosus, that is a person who lives in and through the religious world. If ethnologists do not have this view point, how could they interpret the phenomena of present-day Bulgarian folklore culture?

СВ. ТЕОДОР, ТОДОРОВА САБОТА – ПРАЗНИК НА ЉУБОВТА

Author(s): Blagitsa Stojanova / Language(s): Macedonian Issue: 20/2021

In the eastern part of R. N. Macedonia, under the slopes of the mountain Plachkovica is the city of Vinica. With exceptional natural wealth and predispositions, it has always been a place where many civilizations, traditions and cultures intertwined and complemented each other. The celebrating and respecting of the religious holidays, among which the holiday dedicated to St. Theodore is especially important, are part of the rich Vinica tradition. Theodore’s Saturday or Todorica is a holiday dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Theodore. This Orthodox Christian holiday does not have a permanent date but is celebrated on the first Saturday of Easter 306 fasting, i.e. on the first Saturday after Procka (the Holiday of forgiveness). Although Theodore’s Saturday is a church holiday and this is indicated by many customs that are performed in the church, on this day there are also many customs performed that originate from much older times. In our region, in Vinica, this holiday is marked by two significant events. One of the events is connected with the church where on this day all newlywed brides (wedded from March of the previous year to this year’s) gather together with their mothers-in-law, the young daughters-in-law bow to their mothers-in-law and kiss their hands and their mothers-in-law give them presents. This custom has been practiced for years. The second event is related to the event “Theodore’s races” where people take part in sports games with a competitive and fun spirit, which were practiced by our ancestors hundreds of years ago. People from 7 to 77 years old take part in these races. This is also the most massive event held in Vinica. Proof that this saint was revered a long time ago in these parts of the country, is the “Terracotta icons” St. Theodore from the 5th – 6th century found at the archeological site Vinichko Kale.

Руската богослужебна книга в българските земи след Кримската война (по материали от архива на Найден Геров) II част

Author(s): Antoaneta Kirilova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2021

The article is a continuation of a study published in 2012 in the journal “Historical Review” under the same title. Here the author summarizes data on Russian liturgical books delivered to the Bulgarian lands at the request and with the assistance of the Russian Vice Consul in Plovdiv Naiden Gerov. The information was found in the archive fund of N. Gerov in the Bulgarian Historical Archive at the National Library “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” (NBCM–BIA) after the publication of the study, published in 2012.

Four-Meter Phrases in Middle Byzantine Chant (I)

Author(s): Ierodiacon Avraam Bugu / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

The purpose of this article is to bring evidence that Old Byzantine Chant – like other music genres and according to a general metric principle observed by the majority of music theorists (up to the beginning of the 20th century) – is metrically structured, usually in cycling phrases of four Common Time measures. This metrical principle could be a key for understanding and deciphering the old neumatic notation.

The Kastoria 8 Asmatikon – A Middle Byzantine Enigma

Author(s): Gregory Myers / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

Since its discovery in 1965, the 14th-century Kastoria 8 Asmatikon has attracted scholarly attention. Distinguished by its two rows of neumes: a row of Middle Byzantine signs overlaid by a system of great hyperstases, its existence suggests that it bridges stages of notational development and chanting practices from an earlier period. Particularly noteworthy, its system of large signs could also provide a key to the Palaeoslavonic kondakarian musical notation which disappeared earlier in the 13th century.

Концептуални аспекти относно Бог и спасението в ученията на гностицизма и богомилството

Author(s): Georgi Belogashev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2022

Article aims, through a comparative analysis, to explicate the Gnostic and Bogomil religious-philosophical conceptual grounds for the possibility of acquiring knowledge saving man from the dualism of being. The tasks of the study are to indicate the reasons for the search for such knowledge, which provides a form of human existence that will lead man to salvation. To achieve the tasks, the study begins by establishing the connections of Gnosticism and Bogomilism with historically preceding spiritual-religious communities and their concepts, the relations with Christianity and the grounds for their designation as Christian heresies are indicated, the conceptual parallels between Gnosticism and Bogomilism in their cosmological understandings are indicated and their consequences for man, the way out is indicated, which overcomes the unnatural state of being and the subsequent opportunity available to man for union with God.

Република Седемте съединени острова – първа гръцка държава в революционна Европа

Author(s): Svetla Glushkova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2022

The Greek-inhabited Ionian islands were key in Mediterranean trade. They came under Venetian rule at the end of the 14th century. The Ionians lived in a stratified society enjoying personal freedoms, brought together by their Orthodox religion. At the end of the 18th century, the Ionian islands were dragged into the complex political relations between the big countries in Europe and the Ottoman Empire. In June 1797, the islands were occupied by the French army, but soon after that, they came under Russo-Ottoman protection. A republic with a moderate constitution was established, which was later replaced by one after a Venetian model, retaining noble titles and privileges.

ASPECTE ALE IDENTITĂȚII CONFESIONALE PE CELE DOUĂ MALURI ALE NISTRULUI ȘI ROLUL ACESTEIA ÎN PROCESUL DE REGLEMENTARE A DOSARULUI TRANSNISTREAN

Author(s): Marius Spechea / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2022

Religious identity represents one of the most sensitive topics, especially in the context of a conflict, so religious identity and confessional aspects can be bridges for resolution and de-escalation, or on the contrary, they can block and stiffen the regulatory process. The confessional reality on the two banks of the Dniester has so far not been analyzed from the perspective of the regulatory process, but more from the historical perspective of the evolution of religious life in the Transnistrian region. The Soviet period made it practically impossible to discuss religious life in the region, it was almost annihilated. But even in the context of special and internationally unregulated political realities after 1991 and which still bear strong traces of the Soviet period, religious and confessional life developed and diversified. In this situation, a series of questions arise regarding the specifics of religious and confessional life as well as confessional freedoms in the region, as well as the role they may or may not have in the effort to regulate the Transnistrian file.In general, the confidence-building measures considered and are undertaken by international actors, but also by the authorities on the two banks of the Dniester, where they have focused in recent years especially on elements specific to human security and less on elements of national security and state consolidation, as many expected or counted on in the regulatory process, a fact that somewhat displeased the political decision-makers. In the context of the war in Ukraine, the negotiation format has stalled, and the process of settling the Transnistrian file has entered a very dangerous minefield. That is why it is important to analyze the opportunity or, on the contrary, the risk, that religious identity can generate the continuation of measures to strengthen trust and maintain dialogue, especially when political channels of communication close.

СОЦИАЛНАТА ДЕЙНОСТ В ХРАМ „СВЕТИ ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ“ В КВ. КНЯЖЕВО ПРЕЗ ПЪРВАТА ТРЕТА НА ХХ В.

Author(s): Dilyan Tsvetkov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 21/2022

After the liberation from the Ottoman Empire, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church began to actively care for Christians in Bulgaria. The Church does not limit care giving to the spiritual needs of people; it also provided material help by developing broad social activity. Both the high clergy and the ordinary clergy and Christians are active units in this activity. The period before the Second World War was a time of comprehensive development of church activities for those in need of medical help, shelter and care.

Кой е адресатът на писмото, включено под № 16 в документалната сбирка Ponemata diaphora

Author(s): Iliya Iliev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2022

The collection of texts known under the title Ponemata diaphora, composed probably before the end of the 14th century, represents part of the decisions of various ecclesiastical legal cases taken personally by Archbishop Demetrios Chomatianos (1216–1236) or by the Synod of the Church of “all of Bulgaria” with headquarters in Ohrid. The content of the documentary material reveals the colorful picture of the daily life of the Bulgarians of that era – their joys, sorrows and daily cares for home and family. One of the most interesting documents in the collection is the one included under No. 16, representing a letter reply to an unnamed ruler – Theodore Comnenus or Ivan II Asen.

Two Unpublished Ottoman Firmans from the Serbian Monastery of Visoki Dečani

Author(s): Slobodan Ilić / Language(s): English Issue: 3-4/2022

The paper presents two previously unpublished firmans of Mehmed III and Mustafa II from the archive of the Serbian monastery of Visoki Dečani. The two documents offer an insight into the social and economic position of the Serbian Orthodox church under the Ottoman rule, and the life of the Christian subjects in the Ottoman Balkans.

PATRIARCH KIRILL AND METROPOLITAN HILARION ON RELIGIOUS CONFLICT AND SECULAR WAR IN UKRAINE: A DIACHRONIC STUDY OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS’ MESSAGES

Author(s): Alar Kilp / Language(s): English Issue: 20/2022

This paper analyses the public messages of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and Metropolitan Hilarion 30 days before and one hundred days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 (hereinafter: invasion). The findings demonstrate that the main speaker for the Russian Orthodox Church (hereinafter: ROC) on issues related to secular and religious conflicts in Ukraine was Metropolitan Hilarion in the pre-invasion phase and Patriarch Kirill after the invasion had started. Their messages were identical on themes related to the ‘Russian world’ (e.g., that spiritually fraternal peoples do not fight, that war in Ukraine takes place on the Russian territory, or that Russia’s involvement in wars in history and the present day have aimed to liberate or protect spiritually fraternal peoples). They both condemn Western values, blame the West for the imposition of post-Christian values on both Russia and Ukraine, and consider the West to be the cause of both historic and present conflicts with Russia. Patriarch Kirill’s messages change mostly after 3 April 2022 when themes (such as ‘Lenin, divider of historical Russia’, ‘approval’ of Nazi ideology in Ukraine) used by Putin and Lavrov to legitimate the invasion appeared not extensively, but still one by one into Patriarch Kirill’s discourse on Ukraine. In the same period, Hilarion decreases his involvement in public discussions of war in Ukraine and becomes more amicable regarding those Local Orthodox Churches which have recognized the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine (hereinafter OCU). Hilarion’s discourse of the role of the ROC in ‘wartime’ also started to focus on the humanitarian mission and on a proper distance between the mission of the Church and the role of the state. Patriarch Kirill, instead, connected the Church and religion to the Russian effort more directly. He used several frames (e.g., ‘internecine strife’; peace conditioned by the unity of Russians and Ukrainians; war in defence of Russian independence; religious blessing makes [Russian] troops victorious) and a rhetorical style (e.g., religious demonization of the enemy) to emphatically contribute to the legitimacy of the Russian war effort and to the strategic narratives of Putin’s regime. The latter are virtually missing in the discourse of Hilarion.

За ролята на православното духовенство в дейността на гръцките училища в село Арбанаси, Великотърновско

Author(s): Veselin Goranchev / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

The study examines some of the additional social activities representatives of the Orthodox clergy as teachers and churchwardens at the local school in the village of Arbanassi in the period from the end of the 18th century till the 1870s. The personalities of three priests are presented – Simeon, Marin, and Ivancho, who performed the functions of teachers. In addition, the activities of four priests – trustees at the school (manciple priest Atanas, sakellarios priest Marin, priest Nicolas and skevophylax priest Hristo), are elucidated.

Фонетические особенности адаптации христианских имен в марийском языке

Author(s): Aleksandr Pustyakov / Language(s): English,Russian Issue: 1/2018

This article deals with the forms of Christian names used by Marispeaking people in the Middle Volga region. It provides a general picture of the phonetic modifications made in Mari versions of Russian Christian names when they were adopted. At the beginning of article information is given on Russian-Mari contacts and the development of the Orthodox religion on Mari territory. The author reveals phonetic mechanisms of adaptation, which enabled Christian names to be integrated into the onomastic system of the Mari language. The data of adopted personal names used in analysis is not exhaustive; it does, however, allow one to show certain phonetic inflections in adopted names. Part of the phonetic modifications are systematic and some appear inconsistent while even others can be taken as individual cases.

The Sense of an Ending and the Imagination of the End: Apocalypse, Disaster and Messianic Time

Author(s): Ewa Niedziałek / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2022

Apocalyptic visions go beyond Christian eschatology and permeate our present imagination. Not so much with already bygone symbolism or the terror of bloody carnage, as with the vague sense of an ending, fuelled by historical conditions – the Holocaust, the nuclear crisis, or the more contemporary global threats of a viral pandemic or climate change. The 11th issue of Colloquia Humanistica is devoted to various understandings of the end, introduced by the topics of apocalypse, disaster and messianic time. The articles gathered in the volume may be read separately as examples of analysis of several end-time-directed narratives, but they also constitute a whole that may indicate the specific features of thinking about the end.

Исторический взгляд на актуальную политическую проблему. Фирмилиановый вопрос

Author(s): Biser Georgiev / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1-2/2023

Book Review

Красимира Мутафова. Религия и идентичност (християнство и ислям) по българските земи в османската документация от ХV–ХVІІІ век.

Author(s): Gergana Georgieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023