History of Religion

This book is not a complete book: it is a book to be completed with the readers (parish priests and committed adults), for an adult catechesis that involves the participants. After a brief history of adult catechesis in Italy, the authors provide the keys to arrive at a pastoral project for the formation of adults. First of all, they outline a definition of adult faith in a well-defined place, the community. They point out its possibilities and difficulties, they indicate the centrality of the parish priest, as a continuous and intelligent presence that knows how to move the entire community "with new ministries, with activities connected to each other, with well-defined stages" (first part).
The second part follows with a description of the catechesis paths:
- path for young people and adults who ask for Christian initiation;
- path of new evangelization;
- path of mystagogy;
- path for the prophetic dimension of the community;
- path for the formation of pastoral workers.
In each path, the figure of the adult to whom it refers is outlined, the objectives to be pursued, the community experiences that help in the acquisition of the objectives, the determining thematic nuclei and the indications for correct communication.
The third part consists of an in-depth analysis of the thematic nuclei.
The fourth, didactic, gives the keys to organize an itinerary.
It would seem to be a technical book, and perhaps it is, because it does not offer pre-established paths, but guides to create together, parish priest and adult Christians, the most suitable path for their community. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Questo libro non è un libro completo: è un libro da completare con i lettori (parroci e adulti impegnati), per una catechesi degli adulti che coinvolga i partecipanti. Dopo una breve storia della catechesi degli adulti in Italia gli autori danno le chiavi per arrivare a un progetto pastorale di formazione degli adulti. Delineano anzitutto una definizione di fede adulta in un luogo ben definito, la comunità. Ne segnalano le possibilità e le difficoltà, ne indicano la centralità del parroco, come una presenza continua e intelligente che sa muovere la comunità tutta «con nuovi ministeri, con attività collegate fra loro, con tappe ben definite» (prima parte).
Segue, nella seconda parte, la descrizione dei percorsi di catechesi:
- percorso per giovani e adulti che chiedono l’iniziazione cristiana;
- percorso di nuova evangelizzazione;
- percorso di mistagogia;
- percorso per la dimensione profetica della comunità;
- percorso per la formazione degli operatori pastorali.
In ogni percorso viene delineata la figura dell’adulto a cui si riferisce, gli obiettivi da perseguire, le esperienze comunitarie che aiutano nell’acquisizione degli obiettivi, i nuclei tematici determinanti e le indicazioni per una corretta comunicazione.
La terza parte è costituita da un approfondimento dei nuclei tematici.
La quarta, didattica, dà le chiavi per organizzare un itinerario.
Sembrerebbe un libro tecnico, e forse lo è, perché non offre percorsi precostituiti, ma guida a realizzare insieme, parroco e cristiani adulti, il percorso più idoneo alla propria comunità. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Este libro no es un libro completo: es un libro para completar con los lectores (párrocos y adultos implicados), para una catequesis de adultos que involucre a los participantes. Después de una breve historia de la catequesis de adultos en Italia, los autores ofrecen las claves para llegar a un proyecto pastoral de formación de adultos. En primer lugar, esbozan una definición de la fe adulta en un lugar bien definido: la comunidad. Destacan las posibilidades y dificultades, indican la centralidad del párroco, como presencia continua e inteligente que sabe mover a toda la comunidad “con nuevos ministerios, con actividades conectadas entre sí, con etapas bien definidas” (primera parte).
La segunda parte contiene una descripción de los cursos de catequesis:
- camino para jóvenes y adultos que piden la iniciación cristiana;
- camino de nueva evangelización;
- camino mistagórico;
- camino para la dimensión profética de la comunidad;
- Curso de formación para agentes pastorales.
Cada recorrido traza la figura del adulto al que se refiere, los objetivos a perseguir, las experiencias comunitarias que ayudan en la adquisición de los objetivos, los núcleos temáticos determinantes y las indicaciones para una correcta comunicación.
La tercera parte consiste en un análisis en profundidad de los núcleos temáticos.
El cuarto, didáctico, proporciona las claves para organizar un itinerario.
Podría parecer un libro técnico, y quizá lo sea, porque no ofrece caminos preestablecidos, sino que orienta al párroco y a los cristianos adultos para crear juntos el camino más adecuado para su comunidad.

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The Masonic movement, originating from ancient spiritual guidance, has roots in mysticism and occultism. Various semi-Masonic societies, such as the Templars and Rosicrucians, influenced modern Masonry, introducing Eastern mysticism and symbolism. These societies, often with “Unknown Heads,” emerged in Europe, particularly in Austria and the Danubian Provinces, during the Middle Ages, contributing to the development of Freemasonry.

Jan Amos Komensky, a Rosicrucian and chaplain of the Bohemian Brothers, influenced Freemasonry, particularly in England. His philosophical and metaphysical views, as well as the spread of mysticism in Austria and Hungary, impacted the development of Freemasonry. The existence of a secret society, the “Magical Brethren,” with connections to the Templars and Rosicrucians, is also suggested, influencing Freemasonry’s origins and practices.

The text delves into the history of Freemasonry, highlighting the existence of a secret society predating 1440 known as the “Brotherhood of St. John.” This society, reformed in 1717, is distinct from the Templars and other Knightly Orders. The text also mentions the “Order of the Architects of Africa,” established in 1767 with the support of Frederick II, which emphasized hieroglyphics, history, and antiquities, and had a hierarchical structure with eleven degrees.

The Order of African Architects, a Freemasonry branch, operated in silence and freedom, studying history and promoting tolerance. They amassed a valuable library and archives, protected by the King and prominent figures.

CITATION INFO:
‘The Continuing Quest for ‘Eucharistic Origins’ and the Implications of this Research for Theologies of the Eucharist,’ in Ethna Regan and Alan J. Kearns eds, Critical Questions in Contemporary Theology: Essays in Honour of Dermot A. Lane (Peter Lang, Oxford, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York 2024), pp. 57-66.

Aspects of Ancient Greek Cult II: Architecture – Context – Music is an interdisciplinary and international conference drawing participants from across the fields of Classical Archaeology, Classical Philology, Ancient History, Architecture and Musicology. The purpose of the conference is to foster a joint, trans-disciplinary investigation of aspects of ancient Greek cult.

The keynote speakers are Erik Hansen, Professor emeritus, the Royal Danish
Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Mark Wilson Jones, Senior
Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Bath and Dominique Mulliez,
former Director of École Française D’Athènes. Final remarks will be delivered by Richard Hamilton, Paul Shorey Professor Emeritus of Greek at Bryn Mawr
College and founder and Senior Editor of the Bryn Mawr Classical Review.

Sin duda que las ambiciones, guerras y atropellos de los señores de este mundo hacían imprescindible una adecuada capacidad de defensa de todo lo que para la Cristiandad en su conjunto representaba la Sede Apostólica. Así lo comprendieron algunos de los señores de este mundo, empezando por Constantino que cedió a la Iglesia parte de su patrimonio romano (donde se ubicarían las basílicas de San Pedro y San Pablo). Se constituye así lo que se llamó el Patrimonium Petri, que se fue acrecentando o disminuyendo en función de las intenciones de tal o cual noble o príncipe del entorno. Es el año 750 cuando, de hecho, comienza lo que se llama el poder temporal de los papas: para defenderse de las asechanzas del caudillo longobardo Astolfo (r.749- 756), el papa Esteban II (r.752-757) pide ayuda a Pipino el Breve de Francia (715-768), quien derrota a Astolfo y otorga al Papa el feudo sobre Roma y su entorno.
Transcurren más de mil años de efectivo o formal poder temporal con avatares, más o menos edificantes a tenor de las pasiones y presiones de unos y otros, casi siempre nacidos de la escasa fidelidad a la recomendación de “…dar a Dios lo que es de Dios”. Era un poder temporal que se hacía notar en las directrices de todos los centros de cultura de la Cristiandad: en teoría, hasta el llamado Renacimiento (siglos XIV y XV), las principales academias y universidades europeas hacían girar todo el saber pensar, saber hablar e, incluso, saber hacer en torno a la idea de un Dios, principio y fin de todas las cosas.

מחקר זה מוקדש לתיאור של פרק בתולדות ההלכה באירופה הנוצרית של ימי-הביניים. הוא מתאר מושג הלכתי אחד – 'חזקה שאינה פוסקת'. מושג זה 'נולד' בעמק הריין של ראשית המאה ה-13, בתשובה הלכתית אחת ויחידה פרי עטו של ר' שמחה משפיירא. לטענתי, מושג זה מגלה דמיון מפתיע למושגים הרווחים במשפט הכנסייתי באותה תקופה. לו היה מתקבל, הוא היה פוטר את בתי-הדין הרבניים מהצורך לזמן עדי ראייה בכל הליך משפטי. במקום זאת, הוא היה מאפשר להם להסתמך על שלל ראיות קלושות וזמינות בהרבה – שמועות, מוניטין אישיים ומנהגים מקומיים.

. . . believe in God, believe also in me . . . -John 14.1 "Authoring Authority" analyzes the ways texts function to generate social cohesion while at the same time advancing the power interests of their authors. The study is a comparative, critical, and interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary excavation of the religion-making efforts of the first-century Christian Apostle Paul and the nineteenth-century Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith. This comparison defamiliarizes and recharacterizes the heroes and originstories of the dominant (and my own) tradition to force important questions about scholarly perspectives, interests and deferences (protection, exceptionalization), self-reflexivity, and politics. The project's critical orientation deploys insights and models from a range of disciplines to "read" these texts for what they signify and how they function in nascent social formations. The texts of these men were presented as if their contents were other than the products of embedded social actors (e.g. "it really is God's word" 1 Thes 2.13) contending for limited resources such as discursive authority and social power. These charismatic narrators harnessed the authority of pre-existing texts and traditions and integrated them with contemporary perspectives and sentiment. Their texts and performances offered a contingent construal of reality as ultimate reality-which served the power needs of their authors and the existential needs of their communities of subscribers. The dissertation begins with the articulation of an analytical framework appropriate for the critical and comparative academic study of religion. Chapter two contextualizes the lives of these men within cultural settings that provided motivation, made available vocational training and, ultimately provisioned social opportunities for them as adept charismatics. Chapter three directly illuminates the range of techniques embedded in texts, both implicit and explicit, of claiming power and developing a following. The final chapter wrestles with the functional role of deception in social formation and human life. v CONTENTS ABSTRACT .

This book is a natural continuation of previous works arising from a number of research projects in which one of the co-authors was principal investigator and the other a member of the research team.1 The goal of the projects was to identify and compile all available historical sources on Slavic pre-Christian religion, and to determine whether it was possible to reconstruct the religion from these sources. Slavic pre-Christian religion is at a disadvantage with respect to other religions of ancient Indo-European peoples: Slavs did not leave any direct written evidence of their religion. Like the other Indo-European peoples, their culture was originally non-literate, but in their case they did not adopt writing until they adopted Christianity. That is why the evidence which has reached us on their religion is all indirect, late and necessarily with an ideological bias, as it was produced within the framework of monotheistic religions, whether by Christian or Muslim authors.

This volume maps the international academic debate on secularity. It places seminal contributions from within ‘Western’ academia alongside less well-known texts from various parts of the world; in several cases this is the first time that they have been translated into English. The volume demonstrates that the academic debate on secularity was and is a global debate, with contributions from many regions. The collected texts relate to each other either directly or indirectly by referring to similar arguments – whether reinforcing or criticising them – and thus create a discourse. When speaking of global secularity, we therefore do not insinuate a uniform ‘world secularity’ resulting from the alleged global diffusion of ‘Western’ norms, ideas and concepts. It is rather a web of relations that is constituted via various different references. These references are not evenly distributed: the development in ‘the West’ is often the point of reference to which positions from other regions relate, to which they connect, or from which they distance themselves. But the references are not completely unidirectional: We also present texts from Europe that underline the multidirectionality of the process, even early on. Thereby, the volume offers the reader the material with which to trace these global exchanges and references.

This volume seeks to chart and elucidate the diverse relationships between the religious and secular spheres in regions of Asia that were significantly influenced – sometimes even dominated – by Buddhist discourses, ideas, and institutions. These regions include South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), East and Southeast Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam), Inner Asia (Buryatia, Mongolia, Tibet), and the Himalayan region (Bhutan). These regions were connected by communicative networks long before the global modern age. They constituted an intricately entangled discursive sphere, shaped by the cross-regional spread of concepts and ideas from Buddhism and, in East Asia, Confucianism. The volume sheds light on the prehistory and development of culturally specific forms of secularity, and related concepts, in Asia. It comprises a wide range of texts spanning approximately 2000 years; in many cases this is the first time that they have been presented in English. The texts here are not merely reproduced, but are also introduced and contextualized. Through these materials, the volume highlights the fact that distinctions akin to those between the ‘religious’ and the ‘secular’ were already prevalent in premodern Asia, laying the groundwork for the various forms of secularity which took shape in the modern period.

У статті на основі опублікованих джерел, архівних матеріалів та інтернет-ресурсів розглянуто традиційну великодню звичаєвість українців. Аналіз низки новітніх фольклорних текстів та інтернет-зображень засвідчує виразну апеляцію до традиційних символів і моделей відзначення свят народного календаря, котрі розгортаються у новій площині.

En 1913, Zacharie Le Rouzic publia une amulette gravée, accompagnée d'une brève description et d'une illustration. L'objet avait été trouvé en 1892 à proximité des trois dolmens de Mané Kerioned (Plouharnel, Carnac, Morbihan). Compte tenu des progrès réalisés depuis environ 25 ans dans l'identification et l'interprétation des gravures néolithiques dans le Morbihan, une nouvelle évaluation de ce petit objet est proposée ici, en tenant également compte des cupulettes qui s'y trouvent. La forme et
l´ensemble des gravures de la petite plaque en schiste, qui pourrait peut-être considérée comme une amulette, présentent des correspondances avec le corpus des gravures et des arrangements récurrents de cupules rencontrés en Bretagne entre la fin du Mésolithique et le Néolithique moyen. Le programme du planétarium "Stellarium" permet d'illustrer facilement l'éventail des résultats. Les conclusions présentées sont une évidence supplémentaire que les superstructures intellectuelles en général et les contextes cartographiques astronomiques en particulier ont peut-être été reléguées un peu trop precipité par certains représentants de l'archéologie préhistorique en Europe dans le domaine de l'inexplorable. Cela peut paraître étonnant au vu de l'importance culturelle incontestable des symboles astraux évidents, du proche Orient pré-métallique (entre autres aussi des constellations de cupulettes sur des sceaux cylindriques) jusqu'en Asie de l'Est.

ABSTRACT
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This document includes my formal letter to the Washington State Bar Association responding to questions posed by Disciplinary Counsel in ODC File No. 24-01883. At issue is whether a lawyer acting under a religious calling — through a faith-based legal ministry — can be disciplined for advancing legal arguments in accordance with ecclesiastical purpose.
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This response explains the structure and mission of the Church of the Gardens and SLAC (its legal auxiliary), and how my role as Church Advocate is defined not by commercial contract but by spiritual calling.
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The attached preliminary responses (Exhibit A) offer a question-by-question reply and contextualize my representation of those the Church exists to serve.
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I am publishing this not only to respond publicly and transparently to state authorities, but also to preserve a record of conscience-based legal advocacy. My hope is that others around the world — lawyers, judges, believers, and seekers of justice — will read, reflect, and discern for themselves whether a lawyer may also be a minister of truth.

Abstract:                                                                                                                                   
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Submitted as Exhibit B in response to ODC File No. 24-01883, this document outlines the founding mission of the Church of the Gardens — a faith-based organization dedicated to pursuing truth, resisting injustice, and advocating for those harmed by systems of power. Adopted in 2015, the Mission Statement affirms that law, when wielded with conscience, can be a sacred tool for restoring justice and dignity.                                                             
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This statement describes the Church’s vision for a ministry rooted in action — including legal advocacy against corruption, government abuse, and structural inequality. It frames this work not as secular litigation, but as a form of service to God and neighbor.
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Publishing this exhibit makes clear that my representation of clients through the Church was never about personal gain. It was, and remains, about answering a spiritual calling — to confront what is unjust with truth, and to do so in love, faith, and fidelity to the mission I accepted.

Abstract:                                                                                                                                   
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This document, submitted as Exhibit C in response to ODC File No. 24-01883, contains the foundational Statement of Faith adopted by the Church of the Gardens in 2015. It outlines the Church’s belief system and the theological framework that informs its legal ministry — including the conviction that confronting systemic corruption and injustice is a sacred duty.
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The Statement affirms that faith is not confined to private prayer or ritual, but must be lived out through active resistance to institutional wrongdoing and defense of those who are oppressed. For the Church of the Gardens, legal advocacy is one such act of faith.                                                                 
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This document is published to demonstrate that my representation of individuals like the Niczyporuks was not incidental or commercial — it was central to my role as a Church Advocate, serving under a religious mission. It is offered here as part of a transparent record of ecclesiastical purpose and professional integrity.

Celem publikacji jest opracowanie form upamiętnienia postaci Sługi Bożego, ks. Franciszka Strugały, którego życie i działalność stanowią istotny element dziedzictwa duchowego oraz kulturowego. Osoba ta, poprzez swoje czyny, nauczanie i świadectwo wiary, odegrała znaczącą rolę w historii wspólnoty, do której należała, a jej przesłanie pozostaje aktualne i inspirujące również dzisiaj. W artykule podjęta została próba przedstawienia różnych możliwości upamiętnienia tej wyjątkowej postaci, zarówno w przestrzeni materialnej – poprzez pomniki, tablice pamiątkowe czy nazwy ulic – jak i w wymiarze niematerialnym, obejmującym inicjatywy edukacyjne, wydarzenia rocznicowe czy działania popularyzatorskie. Analiza uwzględni przykłady upamiętnień w regionie oraz ich wpływ na społeczność lokalną i szerszą opinię publiczną.

Los libros que aparecen mencionados entre los bienes personales de las mujeres de la nobleza moderna permiten realizar un análisis de sus lecturas y de la creación de bibliotecas personales y familiares. Este trabajo pretende realizar un acercamiento a los textos que formaron parte del universo lector de las damas pertenecientes a diversos linajes aragoneses en la España Moderna con el objetivo de abrir el abanico de fuentes relativas a las lecturas femeninas nobiliarias. Al estudio de los inventarios, se sumará el trabajo sobre las referencias utilizadas por mujeres escritoras en sus obras y los títulos de libros que aludieron a las damas en sus dedicatorias para plantear la relación entre poder y lectura en los conjuntos femeninos de la élite durante los siglos XVII y XVIII.

Open access on https://hdl.handle.net/2268/323988

This article looks at the profile and cultural background of the Florentine ambassador Averardo Serristori (1497-1569). Serristori was one of Como I de' Medici's most influential ambassadors: for over twenty years he represented Tuscan interests both at the papal court and with the Emperor Charles V. While the phenomenon of literary ambassadors was particularly widespread in early Cinquecento Italy, scholars who have studied Serristori have often described him as a scholar and a man of letters. A detailed analysis of his dispatches, however, qualifies this assertion. What is really true of his literary, linguistic and legal skills? Was Serristori the bearer of a humanist culture that set him apart from other Florentine diplomatic agents? Was it his ‘cultural baggage’ that led him to take on the role of ambassador?

Ce document a été généré automatiquement le 21 septembre 2020. © Archives de sciences sociales des religions Claude Calame, Bruce Lincoln (Ed.), Comparer en histoire des religions antiques. Controverses et propositions Liège, Presses universitaires de Liège, coll. « Religions », 2012, 146 p. Benoît Vermander RÉFÉRENCE Claude Calame, Bruce Lincoln (Ed.), Comparer en histoire des religions antiques. Controverses et propositions, Liège, Presses universitaires de Liège, coll. « Religions », 2012, 146 p.

Iran is a land with a rich history in foreign relations. Due to the antiquity of the “Government” institution in Iran and its reliability over the centuries, a rich legacy has emerged in the field of foreign relations of this country with other realms. Despite this, since the rise of the Safavids (early 10th AH/16th AD), Iran's foreign relations also changed and entered a new arena. In the field of research on Iran's foreign relations during the Safavid era, most of the works have focused on Iran's relations with the great neighboring realms or European states (such as the Ottoman Empire, Mughal Empire, Portugal, England, and Netherlands/Dutch), and this issue has caused the lack of attention to Iran's relations with other lands. One of these lesser-known fields is the foreign relations of Safavid Iran with Sweden. Despite the limited perception of the Swedes by Iranians in the pre-Safavid period, Iran's official relations with Sweden were established and flourished during the reign of Safavid Šāh Sulaymān (1666-1694) and Šāh Sulṭān Ḥusayn (1694-1722AD).
  Now the question is, what reasons and motivations made Iranians and Swedes willing to establish relations in the late 17th century? Also, despite some initial successes, why did these relationships remain fruitless? In this article, an attempt has been made to answer the above questions by adopting a descriptive-analytical approach and using the qualitative research method. It seems that a set of bilateral economic and political motivations made Iran and Sweden, and especially the Swedes, inclined to establish relations. However, obstacles such as distance, dissatisfaction of rival states and internal and external challenges of the two realms (especially the involvement of Swedes in the “Great Northern War” and the challenge of Safavid court with the Ġilzāyid uprising) caused the mentioned relations to not reach a clear result

The conventional image of the religious landscape of early modern Europe
is characterised by the master narrative of the Reformation developing into
Lutheranism and Calvinism and the Tridentine Counter-Reformation. In
contrast, this chapter emphasises the pluralistic reality of religious situations across early modern Europe, leading to a more diverse picture that pays attention to Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and factions within Protestantism as well as Catholicism.

The Nabatean sages of al-Filāḥa al-nabaṭiyya (Nabatean agriculture) were in sectarian conflict with a faction called the Sethians. The identity of these Sethians has not yet been established in the scholarship; they may well be a fictional group devised by one of the work's anonymous Syriac compilers, or its fourth-/tenth-century translator Ibn Wah . shiyya (d. ca. 318/930). The Nabatean agriculture presents them as a group of pagans with Jewish characteristics, such that they resembled and possibly preceded the Kentaeans who lived in Sassanian southern Mesopotamia in the fifth century CE. The Nabatean Sethians appear to be related to certain groups among the Sabians of the Sawād in southern Iraq, mentioned in classical Arabic sources, but not to the Mandaeans. Although the Nabatean agriculture may only be used as a historical source with great care, its account of the Sethians may prove valuable to further understand the religious landscape in southern Sassanid Iraq, the history of Mandaeaism, and the development of late antique Sethian attitudes. The Sethians may also advance insight into the several editorial layers of the Nabatean agriculture itself.

A biographical sketch of the eighteenth century evangelist George Whitefield claims: ÒHis voice had the range of an organ and with it he could reduce grown men to tears by the mere pronunciation of the word ÔMesopotamiaÕÓ (Hallo 1980: 1). Perhaps a Judean exile who sat down in the land Òbetween the rivers,Ó hung his harp upon the willows and remembered Jerusalem (see Ps 137) would also be moved to tears at the mention of ÒMesopotamia,Ó but not because of the wordÕs acoustic power. It was from this region, drained by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, that the Assyrians came to obliterate the northern kingdom of Israel and the Babylonians came to demolish the southern kingdom of Judah. In terms of geopolitical ebb and flow, the Israelite monarchies were simply crushed by revived Mesopotamian superpowers (Bright 1972: 267). The Bible and Mesopotamian documents agree that the Israelites were defeated by superior military forces. However, the biblical record penetrates to a deeper level of causality: The Israelites were defeated by superior forces because they neglected and disobeyed YHWH (= Jehovah), 1 their God. Having forsaken him, despised His covenant and polluted His temple, they were forsaken by him. According to Ezekiel, when YHWHÕs temple was filled with abominations (Ezek 8), His glorious Presence departed in the direction of the Mount of Olives (Ezek 9:3; 10:4,18-19), the way David had gone when he fled from Absalom (2 Sam 15:23ff). 2 At the Mount of Olives, the divine Majesty lingered (Ezek 11:23) Òas though loath to abandon the city altogetherÓ (Greenberg 1983: 191). As He was leaving, the sound of the wings of the cherubim which bore him away was Òlike the voice of God Almighty when he speaksÓ (Ezek 10:5). The The tumultuous final years of the monarchy are richly documented. Historical sources include especially (1) the biblical books of 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, (2) inscriptions from Syria-Palestine, Assyria, and Babylon, (3) accounts of Herodotus and Josephus, and (4) archaeological evidence. Although the sources differ in purpose and orientation, 3 they are complementary and there is a high degree of agreement between them in terms of what happened on the surface level (Stern 1975: 30; cp. Mitchell 1991a: 343). Some problems remain, such as the chronological relationship between SennacheribÕs invasion, HezekiahÕs last fifteen years, and the beginning of ManassehÕs reign. 4 But problems like this do not seriously affect our understanding of the period. After a period of prosperity for the independent kingdoms of Israel in the north and Judah in the south (Mitchell 1991a: 322), the beginning of the end came with the accession of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 B.C.) to the Assyrian throne. Because his campaigns in the west threatened Syria and Israel, they put their old animosities aside, made a defensive alliance and attempted to force Judah to join with them. To avoid fighting against Assyria without being replaced by a puppet ruler set up by the Syro-Israelite alliance, Ahaz of Judah sent a huge gift to

Torreparedones se ha convertido en los últimos años en uno de los yacimientos arqueológicos más importantes de Andalucía, gracias a los trabajos llevados a cabo en los años 80-90 del siglo pasado, por un grupo de arqueólogos de las universidades de Córdoba, Complutense de Madrid y Oxford y, sobre todo, a las investigaciones que viene desarrollando el Ayuntamiento de Baena desde 2006. Uno de los sectores mejor conocidos y de mayor interés científico lo encontramos en el santuario meridional ibero-romano donde se documentaron restos de dos edificios destinados al culto. Ambos debieron construirse en época romana, el primero en el período republicano (o a finales de la época ibérica) y el segundo, en época altoimperial durante el reinado de Claudio, quedando abandonado a fines del siglo II d.C. Destaca el hallazgo de 350 exvotos de piedra que representan tanto figuras humanas como miembros del cuerpo. Se ignora el nombre de la divinidad indígena (¿Tanit?) que, en época romana, se sincretizó en-DeaCaelestis/Juno Lucina/Venus Verticordia/Salus. Su imagen era un betiloestiliforme, una columna con capitel foliáceo colocado en la pared norte de la cella.

Within the archive of the secret monastic communities of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery (Moscow) of the 1920s–1950s, such texts with dates as collections of sayings of the monastery's abbot, Bishop Bartholomew (Remov), and the liturgical diary of Schiarchimandrite Ignatiy (Lebedev) attract the biggest attention. In the case of the first text, dates next to sayings (together with the content of the sayings themselves) serve as a key to understanding the genesis of these collections. We see that they were compiled, on the one hand, from quotations from the sermons of Bishop Bartholomew’s and, on the other hand, from his responses to the revelation of thoughts. Both texts were formed in the context of the practice of spiritual guidance characteristic of the vysoko-petrovsky communities. Within the framework of this practice, an increasing attention to the words of the spiritual leader was formed, as well as the desire to write them down and to regularly reread them. Such attention to the word of the leader is vividly illustrated by the collections of Bishop Bartholomew’s sayings. Along with the attention to the statements of the mentor, to his verbal instructions, within the practice of spiritual direction, there was also close attention to his actions, to his behaviour, so to speak, to his silent instructions. The liturgical diary of Schiarchimandrite Ignatiy is evidence of such attention. Both texts under consideration appear to be products of that ascetic tradition which the vysoko-petrovsky preceptors endeavoured to preserve under the most unfavourable conditions.

В составе архива тайных монашеских общин Высоко-Петровского монастыря 1920–1950-х гг. наибольшее внимание привлекают такие датированные памятники, как сборники изречений настоятеля монастыря епископа Варфоломея (Ремова) и богослужебный дневник схиархимандрита Игнатия (Лебедева). В случае первого памятника даты рядом с изречениями (вместе с содержанием самих высказываний) служат ключом для понимания генезиса этих сборников. Мы видим, что они составлялись, с одной стороны, из цитат из проповедей высоко-петровского настоятеля, а с другой стороны, из его ответов на откровение помыслов. Оба памятника сложились в контексте практики духовного руководства, характерной для высоко-петровских общин. В рамках этой практики формировалось повышенное внимание к слову духовного наставника, стремление зафиксировать его и регулярно перечитывать. Такое внимание к слову руководителя ярко иллюстрируют сборники изречений епископа Варфоломея. Наряду с вниманием к высказываниям наставника, его словесным наставлениям в рамках практики духовного руководства формировалось и пристальное внимание к его действиям, к его поведению, так сказать, к безмолвным наставлениям. Свидетельством такого внимания и является богослужебный дневник схиархимандрита Игнатия. Оба рассмотренных памятника оказываются порождением той аскетической традиции, которую высоко-петровские наставники стремились сохранить в самых неблагоприятных условиях.

Muitos teistas argumentam que a ocorrencia de milagres e prova cabal da existencia de Deus. Partindo de algumas ideias de Wittgenstein, pretendo mostrar que essa postura teista e equivocada, dado que a essencia do fato milagroso seria o deslumbramento e posterior mudanca de vida que ele pode ocasionar no observador e nao um fenomeno inexplicavel, sendo mais compreensivel ao postularmos a existencia de um autor divino para ele. O milagre nao prova a existencia de Deus, mas proporciona uma possibilidade para que o observador aceite uma cosmovisao religiosa. Por outro lado, dizer que um fato nao e milagroso, pois explicacoes cientificas ou filosoficas desmistificam-no, tambem e equivocado. Tentarei mostrar que a aura divina de um evento nao precisa necessariamente desaparecer apos encontrarmos uma explicacao para ele. Por fim, mostrarei que esta compreensao wittgensteiniana dos milagres pode ser considerada compativel com a tradicao crista, contrariando uma primeira impressao que ela n...

Il 17 marzo 1993, era un mercoledì, lo ricordo assai bene, nel tardo pomeriggio incontrai per la prima volta il prof. Rino Avesani. Avevo appuntamento con lui in piazza della Chiesa Nuova, a Roma naturalmente. Ero stato appena nominato Preside della Scuola Superiore di Studi Medievali e Francescani della Pontificia Università Antonianum e la mia prima, obbligata, preoccupazione fu quella di prendere contatto con i docenti indicati sommariamente, in modo approssimativo, in una sorta di lista cartacea del programma della stessa Scuola. Decisi di usare il criterio alfabetico e contattai per primo proprio il prof. Avesani. Elegantissimo, indossava uno spezzato non spezzato. Tanta signorilità mi mise subito a disagio. Io non indossavo l'abito religioso e certo ero tutt'altro che elegante, ma lui fu davvero accogliente. In seguito, dopo che eravamo divenuti amici, mi comfessò, con un po' di ilarità, la sua meraviglia per il fatto che non avessi il saio francescano almeno al primo incontro; meraviglia destinata a rimanare tale per molti anni, nonostante i suoi reiterati e affettuosi ammonimenti. Avevo con lui da parlare del corso di "Latino medievale" da tenere presso la nostra Scuola e, per l'occasione, mi ero anche un po' documentato sul suo conto. Ben poco di ciò che avevo appreso della sua persona servì in quel primo incontro. Mi salvò dal mio imbarazzo il deciso riferimento al lavoro di padre Cenci, padre Cesare Cenci, altro veronese (nato a Costalunga Monteforte d'Alpone più precisamente nel 1925 e Rino Avesani nato a Quinzone nel 1931), a noi carissimo in vita ed oggi in paradiso. Ho ancora chiaramente impresso nella mente quell'incontro: ebbi modo di parlare di un francescano conventuale Giovanni Giocondo, veronese vissuto a cavallo dei secoli XV-XVI, che avevo incontrato qualche tempo prima in un lavoro seminariale con il p. Cenci, appunto. Avesani si meravigliò e, concentrandosi per

Dogu kilise ve manastirlarinda kayit tutma gelenegi oldukca onemli ve devamli bir sekilde uygulanmistir. Ozellikle kiliselerde basta vaftiz olmak uzere nikâh, vergi ve olum gibi genis bir yelpazede birey-toplum iliskisini esas alan kayitlar tutulmustur. Bu kayitlarda, bireyden yola cikarak topluma yonelik bilgileri bulmak mumkundur. Diyarbakir Mar Petyun Keldani Kilisesi’ne ait Olum Defteri (defter’ul mevta) , kayitlarin tutulmaya baslandigi 1882’den 1955’e kadar kilisede kullanilmaya devam edilmis, bu tarihten sonrasinda da terk edilmistir. Makalemizde, Diyarbakir Mar Petyun Keldani Kilisesinde bulunan “Olum Defteri” baglaminda Diyarbakir Keldani toplulugunun 1882-1955 tarihleri arasindaki sehirdeki durumu ortaya konulmaya calisilacaktir.

In the sixties the Securitate and the party leaders found out and
realized the immense prestige that Eliade enjoyed in U.S. They understood that externally, it was more useful the redeeming of Eliade to improve Romania’s image than ignoring him. Thus they developed a plan in this respect that provided the following: the reintegration and the reconsideration of the writer in the Romanian literature, the granting of various degrees, the establishment ofcontacts with him in the U.S. through intelectuals sent from Romania or Embassy members, interviews, all of this just to lure him back in the country.

This chapter explores the introduction and expansion of foreign religions in Africa, particularly Christianity, as a lasting legacy of European colonialism. It traces how pre-colonial African societies, which predominantly practiced indigenous polytheistic religions, experienced significant religious and cultural transformation through colonial encounters. European colonizers, motivated by religious imperialism, propagated Christianity as a tool for spiritual and ideological control, often dismissing African traditional religions as inferior or pagan. The chapter outlines the historical development of Christianity in Africa—from early Christian influences in North Africa to the vigorous missionary activities during the 19th-century colonial era—highlighting the roles played by various denominations and missionary societies. It details the involvement of missionary efforts in countries like Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria, showcasing figures such as Samuel Ajayi Crowther who were pivotal in translating the Bible, establishing churches, and promoting Western education and literacy. Despite initial resistance and environmental challenges, missionaries facilitated the spread of Christianity, altered African societal structures, and introduced Western values and systems. The chapter argues that Christianity, while now a significant part of Africa’s religious landscape, represents a relic of colonialism, embedded within broader historical processes of cultural disruption, identity transformation, and colonial domination.

English figurai and narrative representations of penance are assessed for their rhetorical function in the teaching of penance and their intended influence, as representational modes, upon lay understandings of penitential theory. Central to the argument is the view that the anatomised or schematic figurai res functions in Middle English works of religious instruction as a paradigmatic memory image which both structures the text and works to "move" the reader's affoetus towards a more pious disposition. Culturally and ideologically homologous with the distinctio and figurai res (generally drawn from Scripture), the paradigmatic memory image performs a vital bridging role between the understanding of doctrine and its realization in practical terms. Furthermore, the use of such schematic imagery contributes towards the integration of penance with other elements of doctrine such as the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Pater noster, and seven vices and virtues. Tie remedial role of penance as a dynamic mechanism to extirpate vice is made more explicit and efficacious by the sophistication and sensitivity to audience needs with which such integrated materials were compiled. The use of the exemplim i.e. exemplary narrative in the representation of penance is considered for its mnemonic utility in moving the af foetus. However, unlike the schematic image, the use of the exemplum for the teaching of penance requires the addition of a didactic moralisation to ensure that the audience does not misinterpret the narrative. A variety of methods for the employment of moralisations is identified, and their usefulness, in terms of doctrinal consistency and possible audience responses, is assessed. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to my supervisor Dr. Ian Johnson for his guidance, enthusiasm for all things medieval, and ready encouragement. For a term of supervision and frequent consultations on matters ranging from computer software to reading Piers Plomimi I would like to thank George Jack. I would also like to thank Professor Ralph Hanna III for valuable discussion and comments on an early draft of materials. My thanks also go to Professor Michael Alexander for his initial interest in my research proposal and continued interest in my progress. I owe a good deal to Dr. John Haldane for a term of teaching on medieval scholasticism and in particular the thought of Thomais Aquinas. I would also like to thank my undergraduate history tutor. Dr. Harry Leonard, for his constant support and the conviction that this project would succeed. Dr. John Walton and his wife Jane have provided me with good fellowship, excellent meals, and a "second home" during my studies at St. Andrews. Finally, I am especially grateful to my mother, Marilyn Wilcox, for her readings of various drafts, financial support, and companionship as a fellow research student. Declarations it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. / signature of candidate J I was admitted as a research student and as a candidate for the degree of M.Phil. (Mode A) in May 1988; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University between 1989 and 1991. jM l .. date signature of candidate I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate to the degree of M.Phil. (Mode A) of the University of St. Andrews and that he is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. date 5 I, Karl Gilbert Wilcox, hereby certify that this thesis which is approximately words in length has been written by me, that

Celem tego tekstu jest ukazanie tematyki nauczania Jana Pawła II podczas I podróży apostolskiej do Polski (2-10 czerwca 1979) poprzez analizę wypowiedzi papieskich w perspektywie aksjologicznej. Cel ten był osiągnięty przez refleksję nad kontekstami przedmiotowej pielgrzymki do Polski (filozoficzno-teologiczny, historyczno-polityczny i sekuritologiczny). Następnie przez opracowanie koncepcji procesu badawczego i przeprowadzenie badań w wyodrębnionych dziesięciu tematach (Bóg, człowiek, Kościół, kultura, pamięć, pokój, Polska, religia, stosunki międzynarodowe, życzliwość). W badaniach użyto analizy treści, analizy dyskursu i analizy hermeneutycznej. W toku badań wyodrębniono dziesięć tematów (wartości), które poddano szczegółowemu procesowi analizy w perspektywie teologiczno-politologiczno-sekuritologicznej. Ważnymi odniesieniami okazały się dane o proweniencji historycznej – historia PRL i Kościoła.

DAVID BLACKBOURN Jesus College, Cambridge LESS than a month before Bismarck's dismissal as German chancellor, the Reichstag elections of February I890 destroyed the parliamentary majority of the Kartell parties -National Liberals and Conservativeswith whose support he had governed. The number of Reichstag seats held by these parties fell from 22I to I40, out of the total of397; they never again achieved more than I69. To the multitude of problems left by Bismarck to his successors was therefore added one of parliamentary arithmetic: how was the chancellor to organize a Reichstag majority when the traditional governmental parties by themselves were no longer large enough, and the intransigently anti-governmental SPD was constantly increasing its representation? It was in this situation that the role of the Centre party in Wilhelmine politics became decisive, for between I890 and I9I4 the party possessed a quarter of the seats in the Reichstag, and thus held the balance of power between Left and Right. The impact which the Centre would have made by aligning itself with the left-wing parties -Progressives and SPDwas clearly demonstrated later: during the war, when these three parties moved firmly against the imperial government by supporting Erzberger's Peace Resolution in I9I7; and in the I920S, when the same three parties provided the backbone of Weimar democracy. Centre, Progressives and SPD together had a potential parliamentary majority at all times between I890 and I9I4. An alliance during that period might not have wrung immediate concessions from the Kaiser and his ministers; but it would have subjected the autocratic constitutional practices of the Reich to severe and permanent pressure. Such a German parallel to the 'Gladstonian Coalition' 1 of Celtic fringe, progressive middle-class and urban workers might have forced ministers from its own ranks on the Kaiser, twenty years before war eventually brought this about: it would certainly have called the hand of those in governmental circles who threatened a coup d'etat. The Centre, however, chose to join forces with the Progressives and SPD 1 Cf. A. Rosenberg, Imperial Germany, translated by I. F. D. Morrow (London, I93I), p. I8. The possibility of such a coalition was regarded as a major danger by Bismarck, and by his successors, like Hohenlohe. C. zu Hohenlohe, Denkwiirdigkeiten der Reichskanzlerzeit, ed. K. A. von Muller (Stuttgart, I93I), p. 45I f. 1955-63), II, 191-11 In the Wiirttemberg constituency III (Heilbronn), for example, Centre and Conservative Agrarians fought together against Progressives, National Liberals and SPD K. Jacob, ' Landtagswahlen und Reichstagswahlen in Wiirttemberg ', Siiddeutsche Monatshefte i (I907), 5I7 f.; G. Kittler, Azss dem dritten wvirttemnb. Reichstags-Wahlkreis. Errinnerungen und Erlebnlisse (Heilbronn, 19I0), pp. 142-3; Th.Heuss, Erinnerungen 1905-1933 (Tiibingen, I963), pp. 59-64. 12 Thus Felix Porsch, an important Prussian Centre leader, warned Kopp during the I893 crisis over the military bill that the spirit of the Kulturkampf years had declined, and that Centre men now weighed matters up very carefully, where once they had followed blindly. H. Gottwald, Zentrum uind Inmperialismnus, Diss. (Jena, I966), p. 129.

The purpose of this article is to present the main educational institutions and centers in ancient (Biblical) Israel after the Babylonian exile and their characteristics. It also sheds light on how the Bible has inspired the process of education and upbringing.

This special issue of Kiva is dedicated to our friend and colleague John Philip Carpenter, who passed away far too early at the age of 67, following a long-term illness exacerbated by COVID. John received an MA from New Mexico State in 1992 and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 1996. John was a firm believer in thinking big in all dimensions, leaving a legacy of expansive scholarship and extensive collaboration. He was the rare archaeologist who could deftly synthesize details of classic ethnography, linguistics, copious amounts of archaeological data, as well as studies from diverse natural sciences into grand narratives that covered huge expanses of territory and time. In concert with his wife and fellow scholar Guadalupe (Lupita) Sánchez, John (co)directed investigations on some of the most renowned sites and collections of Northwest Mexico from Guasave, Sinaloa to La Playa, Sonora. His work spanned an equally impressive temporal depth from the Paleoindian, Fin del Mundo site to nineteenth century ranches and quite literally everything in between and a theoretical range from the hunters and gatherers of the Pinacate to the complex polities of Casas Grandes. His ongoing and recently concluded projects sought to weave together disparate threads of data on late precolonial trade and exchange that required excavations across multiple Mexican states, often providing the first comprehensive investigations in a century if not simply the first ever for specific valleys and regions. John leaves an indelible mark on the scholarship of Northwest Mexico not only through his own work but also through his many students, both formal and informal. His numerous projects provided a basis for over two dozen licenciatura projects as well as a number of advanced graduate degrees. Outside of these formal metrics, his projects facilitated eye-opening experiences for both Mexican and American students alike and provided many with their first experiences in deserts of Northwest Mexicoan experience quite distinct from either the Mesoamerican emphasis of Mexican universities or the Arizona/New Mexico focus of US institutions. John's academic career took him through institutions on both sides of the border including at Wichita State and Universidad de Las Américas in Puebla and, for the last 20 years, as an Investigator with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología and Historia. John was affable and gregarious with all who knew him, maintaining life-long friendships and eagerly engaging in correspondence with all those who shared an

Review of a book about three important writers of the Second Sophistic (Dio of Prusa, Aelius Aristides, Lucian) presenting some problematic claims about them (according to the author, they cared only for self-presentation, and nothing about their lives or the people they interacted with can be known for sure from their work).

Sytuacja duchownych, których komunistyczne władze nazywały ,,księżmi negatywnymi” ze względu na ich współpracę z opozycją oraz otwarcie wyrażany sprzeciw wobec ówczesnych rządów, była skomplikowana. Wynikało to z faktu, że nie tylko dygnitarze partyjni negatywnie oceniali ich działalność, ale zdarzało się również, że czynili tak ich kościelni zwierzchnicy lub inni duchowni pracujący w tej samej diecezji.
Władze PRL zaangażowanie opozycyjne duchowieństwa traktowały jako niezwykle groźny przejaw kooperacji między Kościołem a środowiskami „antysocjalistycznymi”. Z tego względu przy pomocy przede wszystkim aparatu represji prowadziły aktywne działania mające na celu zmuszenie osób konsekrowanych do zaniechania tego typu współpracy. Katalog represji był niezwykle szeroki, od inwigilacji i tzw. rozmów profilaktyczno-ostrzegawczych po zastraszanie i przemoc fizyczną uznawane za przestępstwa także w świetle PRL-owskiego prawa. Najbardziej znanym przykładem zbrodniczych działań aparatu bezpieczeństwa było oczywiście zamordowanie ks. Jerzego Popiełuszki.
Przekazywany w ręce czytelników dzieło jest kontynuacją rozważań podjętych w 2019 i 2020 r. gdy ukazały się dwa pierwsze tomy serii: Księża dla władzy groźni. W publikacji znalazły się teksty w różnorodny sposób ujmujące zagadnienie współpracy duchowieństwa z opozycją: od sylwetek poszczególnych kapłanów, przez opis parafii aż do portretów zbiorowych.