The discovery of older buildings relics under Wrocław Cathedral in 1997 and 1998, initiated investigations of early mediaeval architecture in Silesia, which took place until the year 2007. As a result not only the processes of development of main strongholds – Niemcza and Wrocław – were examined but also the remains of hitherto unknown sanctuaries were discovered – stone churches in Niemcza and Gilów (late 9th c.), in Wrocław (early 10th c.) and on the hill of Gromnik (c. mid. – 10th c.). Three of them are similar to Moravian churches, hall like with a choir annex, and the fourth is a gable roof rotunda. Most likely these were sanctuaries of oldest slavonic rites (of Cyrillic-Methodian type). One of them, in Wrocław was rebuilt and enlarged to the cross scheme like the church in Libica (Czech) about 965 and changed into the Latin one. In this church the mission bishopric for christianisation of Silesia and south part of Poland was organised. Later, in 1000 the church became the first cathedral of Wrocław bishopric, in the new created Polish Church – Metropolis. Many discoveries were made by use of georadar.
The study focuses on the concept of the church in the theology of the bishop of Bohemian Brethren, Jan Augusta (1500-1572). It inquires into the continuity of his ecclesiology with the theology of his teacher, Luke of Prague, and traces the influence of other Czech and European reformatory theologians, Matěj of Janov, Martin Luther and Martin Bucer. The study consists of three parts. The first part deals with the issue of soteriological relevance of the church in Augusta’s ecclesiology. The second part pursues the primary sources for the study of Augusta’s concept of the church and the context of their origin, namely Augusta’s controversy with the Utraquist priests. It also argues for a hypothesis that the anonymous treatise Dialog, to jest, Dvou formanů rozmlouvání [“Dialogue, or a Conversation between Two Carters”], printed in 1543 and generally attributed to Adam Šturm, was in fact written by Jan Augusta and represents an important source for the study of his ecclesiology. The third part examines the essential features of Augusta’s ecclesiology, his special distinction between the manifest and hidden church and his stress on the concept of the church as a visible, concrete and personal community assembled in the name of Christ and filled with his Spirit.
The article „Pre-Reformation theology of Jan Hus” presents, in its first part, life and work of Jan Hus, showing engagement of the Czech theologian in the Czech reformation-national movement of the 16th century. The second part focuses on presenting the content of Jan Hus’s most important theological work – the treaty De ecclesia – pointing, among others, to the use by him of the notion of church as a communion of the chosen and criticism of reducing the concept of church to its institutional form. The third part shows, how Jan Hus’s person and work were received by the Wittenberg Reformation, and especially by Martin Luther who, in his attitude towards the Czech reformer, underwent certain evolution from initial aversion to accepting the reformation movement as a continuation of the work started in Prague.
The relief tympanum in the recently uncovered portal of the basilica of the Cistercian abbey in Plasy in western Bohemia is an important addition to the stock of twelfth century sculpture. This study examines its iconography and its visual sources in the context of the typology of Byzantine and Italian artefacts of the seventh to the twelfth centuries extending into the imperial symbolism of ancient Rome. The motif of the cross with two trees was widespread in the sculpture of the regions on the road north from Rome to Lombardy, to which Czechs travelled in 1158–1162 in the service of Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa and from where they carried off various treasures. Relationships between the ruler of Bohemia Vladislav II and the Byzantine emperor Manuel Komnenos enabled the transmission of models from the east, and the association of the motif with staurotheques. The related triumphal and paradise symbolism of the cross was used in the context of the campaign preceding the Third Crusade. An active role was taken in this by the son of the funder of the Plasy monastery, and its patron and builder, Duke Bedřich. The meanings of motifs of the pillar, star, flower and polygram are conceived as an adaptation and actualisation of classical models (and transcultural ‘natural’ symbolism) with the help of biblical metaphors and Christian exegesis, followed in artistic traditions of the early Middle Ages. Attention is also paid to the perception and the decoding of the meanings in an environment with an undeveloped visual culture, with lingering references to paganism, and limited by the regulations of the Cistercian Order. The symbolism of the relief signals to visitors that this is the threshold of a sacred sphere, but also mediates their involvement in the performative connections of the portal and church and an appeal to participation in rituals. The topical references to the ethos of the ongoing Crusades are connected with timeless religious meanings, including the fundamental paradox of Christian art (the portrayal of the unportrayable). The cross without the Crucified and the pillar-Christ avoid the problem of the (non) identifiability of the image and its prototype. More easily than figural images, abstract forms reorient attention to the meaning’s essence - the invisible and unportrayable divinity.
CS
Nedávno odkrytý západní portál baziliky kláštera cisterciáků v Plasích v západních Čechách s reliéfním tympanonem podstatně obohatil fond sochařství 12. století. Studie zkoumá jeho ikonografii a výtvarné zdroje v souvislostech typologie byzantských a italských artefaktů 7.-12. století s přesahy do imperiální symboliky starověkého Říma. Motiv kříže s dvojicí stromů byl velice rozšířen v sochařství regionů po cestě z Říma na sever do Lombardie, kam Češi dojížděli v letech 1158–1162 ve službách císaře Friedricha Barbarossy a odkud si po vojenských úspěších odváželi různé poklady. Přátelské kontakty českého panovníka Vladislava II. s byzantským císařem Manuelem Komnenem umožnily přenos vzorů z východu a asociace motivu se staurotékami. Související triumfální a rajská symbolika kříže byla využívána v rámci dobové kampaně předcházející třetí křížové výpravě, jíž se aktivně účastnil syn fundátora plaského kláštera a toho času jeho patron a stavebník kníže Bedřich. Významy motivů sloupu, hvězdy, květiny a polygramu jsou pojímány především jako adaptace a aktualizace antických vzorců (zahrnujících i transkulturní „přirozenou“ symboliku) pomocí biblických metafor a křesťanské exegetiky, sledované ve výtvarných tradicích raného středověku. Pozornost je věnována také problémům percepce a dekódování významů v prostředí s nerozvinutou vizuální kulturou, s přetrvávajícími odkazy na pohanství a navíc omezenou předpisy řádu cisterciáků. Reliéfní symboly signalizovaly pro příchozí návštěvníky přechod do sakrální sféry, ale také zprostředkovávaly jejich vtažení do performativních souvislostí portálu a kostela a výzvu k participaci na rituálech. Aktuální odkazy na étos právě probíhajících křížových výprav spojovaly s nadčasovými náboženskými významy, zahrnujícími i základní paradox křesťanského umění, tj. zobrazení nezobrazitelného. Kříže bez Ukřižovaného a sloup- -Kristus se vyhýbají problému (ne)totožnosti obrazu a jeho archetypu. Abstraktní formy zde snáze než figurální obrazy přesměrovávají pozornost k podstatě významu - k nespatřitelnému a nezobrazitelnému božství.
The musicians have their irreplaceable kścielni place in the liturgy, rites, and in the clergy and cultural activities and projects of the Church Catholic. For centuries, extremely hardworking, exceptionally talented interpreters, embellished liturgy, enriched the liturgical action, rituals and sacred culture. Many organists in Slovakia filled his Christian artistic mission in times of byawałego regime, which remained ideological censorship and limited freedom wyznanaia. After the fall of the Iron Curtain was established czasopprzestrzeń in which organists, singers, psalmists and conductors are free to develop their talent and primarily deepen the spiritual experience of the faithful of the church services, concerts, church music and church rituals.
Le Congo ancien constitue un cas intéressant d’un état africain dont les élites politiques, à l’époque où les Portugais atteignirent la côte congolaise vers la fin du XVème siècle, étaient favorables à la conversion au christianisme. C’est donc un des rares exemples dans l’histoire de l’Afrique précoloniale. Le christianisme devint la religion de la majorité des élites politiques du Congo. Grâce aux relations avec le continent européen une modernisation de l’appareil étatique congolais fut possibile. Le christianisme influença et entraîna également d’importants changements dans le domaine de l’idéologie et de la religion, car il était un des plus importants facteurs renforçant l’esprit d’appartenance des habitants du Congo à leur état. Cet esprit d’appartenance devint en effet, et ceci peu après avoir noué les premières relations, un des éléments de l’idéologie du pouvoir. La destruction des centres de culte provinciaux, soutenue par le clergé, était censée affaiblir les tendances décentralisatrices au sein de l’état. La nouvelle religion, ainsi que toute la structure ecclésiastique l’accompagnant, rendit possible aux détenteurs du pouvoir la mise en place d’une idéologie du pouvoir commune à tout l’état. Les prêtres jouaient également un rôle important dans la modernisation de l’appareil étatique. Ils dirigeaient des écoles où étaient formés les gens qui allaient exercer différentes fonctions dans l’appareil étatique. De même, grâce à la connaissance de l’écriture par ceux-là, la gestion de l’état devint plus efficace. Cette formation, qui comprenait certains éléments de l’éducation européenne, devint indice de la position politique. Paradoxalement, le déclin progressif de l’appareil étatique du Congo, qui commença après l’année 1665, n’était pas dû à la pression européenne, comme ce fut le cas dans la plupart des états africains anciens, mais résultait d’un affaiblissement des relations avec l’Europe, ce qui diminuait les possibilités de transformations s’inspirant des expériences européeennes, telle le renforcement de l’esprit d’appartenance à la communauté et à l’état.
In the opinion of the author, the Bill meets the requirements specified in the Act on the Execution of a Legislative Initiative by Citizens. However, doubts are related to the question whether it is constitutionally permissible for a group of citizens to submit the analyzed project, because in accordance with the Constitution, relations between the Republic of Poland and the Catholic Church are determined by an international agreement concluded with the Holy See, while relations between the Republic of Poland and other churches and religious associations are determined by laws passed on the basis of agreements concluded by the Council of Ministers with their respective representatives. However, in a situation where changes in the provisions of the Act on the relations between the State and the Catholic Church in Poland do not constitute the basic matter covered by a given amending bill, it is acceptable that the initiative for such changes does not come exclusively from the Council of Ministers.
The Catholic Church in Africa develops, the number of believers grows, as does the number of priestly and religious vocations. That is why it is important to research the new communication trends in Africa in order to help the Catholic Church in its evangelization mission. Young priests, consecrated and lay people in Africa more and more often take advantage of social media in their work. The research was conducted using a questionnaire method and a free interview method. In order to execute the research in a precise and reliable manner, a trip to Kenya and Nairobi for a few weeks was organized. The research question was to determine how the Catholic Church in Kenya could make better use of social media for information, promotion and evangelization purposes. The research would be a contribution to the professionalization of published content in social media by people actively involved in the Catholic Church in Kenya.
In the Archives of the Archdiocese of Warmia in Olsztyn there are two doc-uments of the latter part of the 16th century including information on the parish in Wrzesina. One of them is the description from around 1580, whereas the other post-visitation protocol is of 1598. They are not too detailed, but allow to trace back the date of the consecration of the church and the altars and its equipment. They also offer information about the pastors and teacher and in the case of the 1598 Protocol also the attitude of parishioners to the parish priest. Much attention was paid to material matters as well. From the description of about 1580 we can also learn about the towns belonging to the parish.
The article aims at presenting the richness of the history of Wieliczki town and its region. Wieliczki, though it is a small town, was not saved by the currents of history. Many war storms and other catastrophes, which were experienced by its inhabitants, left the town ruined and destructed. Despite numerous natural and historical disasters the people of Wieliczki endured them, remained in their small fatherland, and produced many indelible marks of culture and art.
Title of the article means that the pastoral activity of the Church carries the potential of preventive measures against the crisis of marriage. Actualisation of this potential requires, first of all, adequate definition of marriage crisis as a situation in which the following factors coexist: factors that disrupt marriage, the need for an immediate change in the existing situation and the uncertain outlook for the future of the relationship. A derivative term related to a marriage crisis is the concept of crisis tendencies, which means the occurrence of one or at most two factors creating a marriage crisis. The concept of crisis tendencies is important from the point of view of prevention and pastoral commitment of the Church. This commitment can reverse the said tendency and help the marriage to avoid a crisis. One should point at the three elements of the pastoral commitment of the Church in the marriage crisis prevention. The first is to present spouses a model of marriage as their reciprocal gift of themselves. This model is important because it stems from the fact of their personal being. Secondly, it is necessary to show spouses the so called know how knowledge that are mechanisms of various fields of their married life. Here the Church should take advantage of the achievements of humanities. It is important that the choice of these solutions be integrated into the model. Otherwise instead of marriage prevention one shall face disintegration of marriage. Thirdly, a married couple should be informed each time of from which field a particular content comes from: whether it is the official teaching of the Church or a detailed solution offered by secular science. Synergistic approach is often impossible because of the socio-phenomenological model of the sacred-profane relationship by Durkheim and Eliade. That it why a good knowledge of the Second Vatican Council on the autonomy of the temporal is required.
The author emphasizes that the current legal status regarding the Eastern Old Believers Church is not unequivocal, it raises fundamental interpretation doubts. The Regulation of the President of the Republic of Poland of 1928 on the Attitude of the State to the Eastern Old Believers Church, which does not have a clerical hierarchy, is anachronistic, as it does not correspond to the current constitutional and international legal standards in the field of collective religious freedom. Numerous provisions of this legal act have lost their binding force. In order to reconcile the current legal status of the Church with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, it is necessary to adopt a new, individual statute.
Being agnostic and believing in science only, Emile Zola perceived churches as simple buildings, monuments to a dead religion that would certainly lose the battle against nature and science. The paper gives some examples of this vision in four novels, parts of the Rougon-Macquart cycle.
The historical experience of the Nazi era and the former GDR caused that nowadays the public in Germany gives particular attention to the Constitutional State (Rechtstaat). In everyday routine the Constitutional State appears particularly under the slogan of legal protection, judicial control as excercised by independent judiciary, the fair trial, the judicial hearing and the stages of appeal. The author describes the topical problem of the Constitutional State, the tension between the legal certainty and justice, parliament and jurisdiction, and illustrates his discussion with practical examples. Like any other societas constituta et ordinata thus also the Church needs judicial authorities to settle its internal conflicts. The author reports the efforts that are made to reduce the evident deficit in the legal protection (e.g. in the areas of labour law and penal law) mainly on the level of local Church.
This paper investigates the relationship between the Church and the State with particular reference to Edo State Government of Nigeria during the Lucky Igbinedion era – May 1999 – May 2007. Applying the tools of historical and phenomenological research, the work reveals attempts by the government to manipulate the Church to feather its political nest by courting the friendship of Church leaders who were believed to command the obedience of their followers. The study shows that some clergy engaged in praise singing for the government in order to enjoy patronage and be identified with the cream of the society, the political class in particular. While this paper does not suggest political apathy among Church leaders, it calls for caution as exposing the Church to the vicissitude of politics could derail it from its avowed mission – the salvation of souls.
The guild mason was the creator of a group of about ten similar to each other churches built in the area between the Vistula and the Bug River. This paper provides an overview of the state of research on his work and its analysis and a polemic with earlier view, regarding him as an executor of architectural projects by Jan Michał Link. Churches bulit by Lenartowicz are characteristic due to a simple composition of floor plan, decorative composition of shapes and unusual elaboration of the architectural decoration, implemented entirely in brick and plaster.
For long, the military was a cog in the wheel of democratic governance in Nigeria. Its intrusion into the politics of the nation resulted to its domination of the political space and imposition of arbitrary rule for an aggregate period of 29 years out of the nation’s 47 years of existence. The last disengagement of the military from politics was effected on 29, May 1999. The Fourth Republic was thus inaugurated, heralding yet another phase in the nation’s quest for democratic governance. The restoration of democratic rule was not achieved on a platter of gold. The military junta was subjected to intense domestic and international pressure. Along with myriad civil society groups, the church added its voice to the clamour for democracy. But inspite of its visible role in this struggle, the efforts of the church remain unsung. This study is intended partly as a redress for the marginal attention paid to the patriotic struggle of the church, but more significantly, it is an attempt to illuminate the increasing concern of the church with the secular welfare of its flock.
The article presents the results of the analysis of the names for churches in the diocese of Kielce. The examples are sorted because of that, they refer to: the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Family, the Mother of God and the Saints of the Catholic Church. The studies show that the names of the Saints are the most popular names of churches in the chosen area. The second group of the ecclesionyms, which enjoy increasing popularity, are the names referring to the Mother of God. The rest of the names seem to be rather rare. The ecclesionyms can be treated as the mirror in which the people see the tendencies of their faith. It is also possible to maintain that the names of the churches are kind a way to interpret the religiosity and spiritual world of the society.
‘Lord’s punishment’ and ‘Lord’s miracle’ in the oral stories about the violation of sanctities in the texts of Contemporary Ukrainian Rural TraditionThe article deals with the investigation of a concept of ‘Lord’s punishment’ and ‘Lord’s miracle’ in the folk oral stories about violation of the sanctities in modern Ukraine. It is based on a large amount of data collected in different Ukrainian regions in rural environment in 2007-2013. The most representative ninety texts were involved in the research. They could be divided in two main groups due to their plots: 1) the violation of a temple (church or chapel is turned into a grain, vegetables or techniques store, club-house, school; communist activists dance at the altar or defecate inside of the church); 2) the destroying or burning a temple itself. In the number of texts the motives of ‘Lord’s miracle’ and ‘Lord’s punishment’ act in a certain unity. Thus, in one case, the motive of the miracle precedes the motive of the punishment. In the other case, God shows His miracle some time after the punishment came. Anyway, the motive of Lord’s punishment is the main concept in the majority of the texts selected. It is separated in two plots: the punishment immediately gains upon the defiler (defiles) or it reaches them later. It this case it overtakes as a long agonizing death or can reflect the life of the defiler’s children and even grandchildren. The destroying of the church means the annihilating of the whole world order in the traditional worldview of the village-dwellers that influences their everyday life till nowadays. „Kara Boska” i „cud Boży” w narracjach o profanacji świątyń w tekstach współczesnej ukraińskiej tradycji chłopskiejArtykuł podejmuje temat badań nad motywami „kary Boskiej” i „cudu Bożego”, występującymi w ludowych narracjach o pogwałceniu świętości na współczesnej Ukrainie. Opiera się na dużej ilości danych zebranych w różnych regionach Ukrainy w środowisku wiejskim w latach 2007-2013. Badaniami objęto 90 najbardziej reprezentatywnych tekstów. Można je podzielić na dwie główne grupy według ich fabuły mówiącej o: 1) naruszeniu miru świątyni (kościół lub kaplica staje się składem ziarna, warzyw bądź sklepem, klubem, szkołą; działacze komunistyczni tańczą przy ołtarzu lub załatwiają potrzeby fizjologiczne wewnątrz kościoła); 2) zburzeniu albo spaleniu samej świątyni. W niektórych tekstach motywy „cudu Bożego” i „kary Boskiej” współdziałają ze sobą. I tak, w jednym przypadku motyw cudu poprzedza motyw kary. W innym zaś przypadku Bóg dokonuje cudu dopiero po jakimś czasie od nałożenia kary. Tak czy inaczej, motyw „kary Boskiej” stanowi główny nurt większości wyselekcjonowanych testów i przejawia się dwuwątkowo: w jednym wątku kara bezpośrednio i niezwłocznie dotyka złoczyńcę (złoczyńców), w drugim spada na nich dopiero później. W tym ostatnim wypadku przedstawia się jako długa wyczerpująca agonia, która może też przechodzić na następne pokolenia – dzieci, a nawet wnuki złoczyńcy. Zburzenie kościoła oznacza anihilację całego ładu na świecie w myśl tradycyjnego światopoglądu wieśniaków a swym wpływem sięga do ich codziennego życia aż do dziś.
The article deals with the investigation of a concept of ‘Lord’s punishment’ and ‘Lord’s miracle’ in the folk oral stories about violation of the sanctities in modern Ukraine. It is based on a large amount of data collected in different Ukrainian regions in rural environment in 2007-2013. The most representative ninety texts were involved in the research. They could be divided in two main groups due to their plots: 1) the violation of a temple (church or chapel is turned into a grain, vegetables or techniques store, club-house, school; communist activists dance at the altar or defecate inside of the church); 2) the destroying or burning a temple itself. In the number of texts the motives of ‘Lord’s miracle’ and ‘Lord’s punishment’ act in a certain unity. Thus, in one case, the motive of the miracle precedes the motive of the punishment. In the other case, God shows His miracle some time after the punishment came. Anyway, the motive of Lord’s punishment is the main concept in the majority of the texts selected. It is separated in two plots: the punishment immediately gains upon the defiler (defiles) or it reaches them later. It this case it overtakes as a long agonizing death or can reflect the life of the defiler’s children and even grandchildren. The destroying of the church means the annihilating of the whole world order in the traditional worldview of the village-dwellers that influences their everyday life till nowadays.
PL
Artykuł podejmuje temat badań nad motywami „kary Boskiej” i „cudu Bożego”, występującymi w ludowych narracjach o pogwałceniu świętości na współczesnej Ukrainie. Opiera się na dużej ilości danych zebranych w różnych regionach Ukrainy w środowisku wiejskim w latach 2007-2013. Badaniami objęto 90 najbardziej reprezentatywnych tekstów. Można je podzielić na dwie główne grupy według ich fabuły mówiącej o: 1) naruszeniu miru świątyni (kościół lub kaplica staje się składem ziarna, warzyw bądź sklepem, klubem, szkołą; działacze komunistyczni tańczą przy ołtarzu lub załatwiają potrzeby fizjologiczne wewnątrz kościoła); 2) zburzeniu albo spaleniu samej świątyni. W niektórych tekstach motywy „cudu Bożego” i „kary Boskiej” współdziałają ze sobą. I tak, w jednym przypadku motyw cudu poprzedza motyw kary. W innym zaś przypadku Bóg dokonuje cudu dopiero po jakimś czasie od nałożenia kary. Tak czy inaczej, motyw „kary Boskiej” stanowi główny nurt większości wyselekcjonowanych testów i przejawia się dwuwątkowo: w jednym wątku kara bezpośrednio i niezwłocznie dotyka złoczyńcę (złoczyńców), w drugim spada na nich dopiero później. W tym ostatnim wypadku przedstawia się jako długa wyczerpująca agonia, która może też przechodzić na następne pokolenia – dzieci, a nawet wnuki złoczyńcy. Zburzenie kościoła oznacza anihilację całego ładu na świecie w myśl tradycyjnego światopoglądu wieśniaków a swym wpływem sięga do ich codziennego życia aż do dziś.
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