The presence of the crucifix in comical literature is a special case of an encounter of the sacred and the profane. It appears in several French medieval texts, where it is associated with sexuality or with food, it is treated with familiarity and even casualness, which is not meant to outrage the public, but to make people laugh. The profanation with which we are dealing here has many aspects, depending on whether it can be assigned to a particular personage or to the author, since it is included in the story itself. In the former case, much can be justified by simplicity, but the intentions of the personage do not always seem pure. In the latter case, contrary to expectation, the sacrilege is not necessarily associated with anticlericalism. However, what is the most interesting is the question of the reception of this kind of texts in a profoundly Christian society.
This paper explores the iconography of the Volto Santo – a crucifix worshiped at the cathedral of Lucca, Italy, and the reception of this iconographic type in the medieval art. The aim is to investigate the role of robes covering the body of crucified Christ in the scenes of the Passion. First of all, the origins and meaning of different Christ’s garments are discussed in relation to the debates on the nature of Christ and around the Eucharist. Still, as the Volto Santo is usually dated to the 12th century and it presents Christ in the tunica manicata with the cingulum, which can be identified as a clerical costume, the meaning of Christ’s garments in the context of the Gregorian Reform, celibacy, and the concept of the third gender is also presented. Afterwards the practices of dressing the Volto Santo in the ceremonial vestments as a manifestation of its worship are analyzed. These vestments along with the altar, where the Volto Santo was presented to the faithful, are the most important elements of the iconography of the representations of the Volto Santo in the mural paintings. What draws attention in these images is the ambiguous position of Christ nailed to the cross and standing on the altar at the same time. That produces ambivalent sensual experience: the impression of uncourting Christ turns into a recognition of the particular cult object and vice versa. Moreover, the robe covering the body contributes to a fluid gender identity of the figure. It may be concluded that the robes of the crucified Christ play several roles: they cover the suffered body, they are an attribute of the ruler or priest, but above all, they manifest Christ’s corporality. The faithful confronted with these images found his or her somatic identity with Christ.
Artykuł omawia dzieje kultu siedemnastowiecznej figury Chrystusa Ukrzyżowanego z kościoła parafialnego pw. św. Jakuba w Słupi (dekanat bielski, diecezja płocka). Podjęto tu próbę rekonstrukcji dziejów zabytku, prześledzono rolę tego wizerunku w pobożności wiernych na przestrzeni dziejów oraz wskazano jego walory artystyczne. Omówiono również sposoby jego ekspozycji i zmiany aranżacji wnętrza, w którym go przechowywano.
EN
This article presents the fate of the cult of the seventeenth-century statue of Christ Crucified from the parish church St. James in Słupia. This article attempts to reconstruct the history of this monument. The text traces the role of this image in the devotion of the faithful throughout history. Here, too, his artistic values and ways of displaying and changing the arrangement of the interior in which he was stored were indicated.
Rada Rodziców Zespołu Szkół Sportowych nr 1 w Krapkowicach przeprowadziła wśród rodziców szkoły ankietę, zawierającą pytanie: „Czy przeszkadza ci krzyż w wychowawczej przestrzeni szkolnej?” Akcję tę publicznie napiętnował Opolski Kurator Oświaty, wszczynając postępowanie w trybie nadzoru pedagogicznego. Autor niniejszej opinii wykazuje, iż Rada Rodziców, rozpowszechniając przedmiotową ankietę działała w ramach posiadanych kompetencji. Reprezentuje ona bowiem rodziców we wszystkich sprawach związanych z funkcjonowaniem szkoły, a w trakcie procesu opiniotwórczego może zwracać się do rodziców z pytaniami i petycjami. Pytania te mogą dotyczyć nawet kwestii światopoglądowych, gdyż Rada Rodziców nie jest organem władzy publicznej, a tym samym nie jest zobowiązana do zachowania bezstronności światopoglądowej.
EN
The Council of Parents of the Complex of Sports School No. 1 in Krapkowice conducted a survey among the school parents, including the following question: “Do you mind, that a crucifix is hang in the area of school education?” This action was publicly denounced by the Opole School Superintendent, who initiated proceedings under pedagogical supervision. Author of this opinion proves that the Council of Parents is acting within its competencies while spreading the survey in question. This is because it represents the parents in all matters relating to the operation of the school, and in the opinion-forming process, it may refer to parents with questions and petitions. Those questions may concern even ideological issues, as the Council of Parent is not a public authority, and therefore is not required to maintain worldview impartiality.
The paper presents the course of decrucification action in Sandomierz County located in former Kielce voivodeship. The action was planned by communist authorities and legally based on the Circular no. 26 of the Ministry of Education dated 4 August 1958. In order to present the course of the action, the author needed a query of source materials: KP PZPR and Department of Education of PPRN in Sandomierz, security force act and local Bishop Curia. The author shows all stages of decrucification action carried out on a country level. The first one were preparations, consisting of meeting KP PZR executive, trainings for school directors and state institutions. Another stage was to remove crosses from common schools and state institutions, which did not take place without argument. At the end of the decrucification action, summaries and evaluation concluded that removal of crosses had gone without major problems. In order to present a full picture of the described action, the author presented an outline of the introduction process of Circular 26 by Ministry of Education on 4 August 1958 and discussed the school network of Sandomierz County. The paper is another attempt to show the ways communist authorities fought the Catholic church after the II World War.
The present article looks at the place and purpose of the Cross in the Roman Catholic Sanctuary. Liturgical regulations concerning this matter have their basis in Sacred Scripture. A Cross with an image of the crucified Lord on the altar is a reminder, that the essence of the Eucharist is the holy Sacrifice of Christ on Golgotha. The Crucifix is also a reference point which helps us deepen our spiritual participation in the Mass. For this reason, placing the cross in the middle of the altar seems to be a meaningful way to emphasize the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist. Christ present in the tabernacle and the image of the crucified Lord on the Cross together point to the paschal unity of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, as it is seen in the Mass.
PL
Artykuł ukazuje miejsce i cel krzyża w prezbiterium. Przepisy liturgiczne dotyczące tej kwestii mają swoje uzasadnienie w słowie Bożym. Krzyż z wizerunkiem Chrystusa ukrzyżowanego na ołtarzu przypomina, że istotą Eucharystii jest najświętsza ofiara Chrystusa złożona na Golgocie. Jest on również punktem odniesienia dla głębszego przeżywania mszy świętej. W związku z tym umieszczenie krzyża na środku ołtarza wydaje się wymownym podkreśleniem ofiarniczego wymiaru Eucharystii. Wraz z Chrystusem obecnym w tabernakulum wizerunek Chrystusa na krzyżu wskazuje na jedność paschalną Jego męki i zmartwychwstania, które urzeczywistniają się w czasie mszy świętej.
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