The Imperial Feminine in Byzantium

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Herrin
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Imperial Authority ◽  
Visual Models ◽  
Ecumenical Council ◽  
The Church

This chapter analyzes the cultural heritage, the imperial precedents, and variety of visual models on which powerful Byzantine empresses could draw. In particular, it demonstrates that by the eighth and ninth centuries there were significant resources available that might permit imperial authority to adopt feminine forms. The reason for this chronological framework lies in the prominence of two empresses, Irene and Theodora, during the periods of iconoclasm (roughly calculated from 730 to 843). Both reversed bans imposed on the veneration of icons. Irene set a precedent by summoning the Seventh Ecumenical Council held in 787, which justified icons and restored them to a central position in the church, while Theodora is commemorated as a saint for her role in ending the second phase of iconoclasm in 843.

scholarly journals “‘But the Fountain Sprang Up and the Bird Sang Down’: Heidegger’s Gathering of the Fourfold and the Seven-Sacraments Font at Salle, Norfolk.”

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 464
Author(s):  
Marie Clausén
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Art History ◽  
Architectural Elements ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Medieval Church ◽  
The Church ◽  
As If

My paper analyses the 15th-century seven-sacraments font at the medieval church of St Peter and St Paul at Salle in Norfolk (England). The church guides and gazetteers that describe the font, and the church in which it is situated, owe both their style and content to Art History, focusing as they do on their material and aesthetic dimensions. The guides also tend towards isolating the various elements of the font, and these in turn from the rest of the architectural elements, fittings and furniture of the church, as if they could be meaningfully experienced or interpreted as discrete entities, in isolation from one another. While none of the font descriptions can be faulted for being inaccurate, they can, as a result of these tendencies, be held insufficient, and not quite to the purpose. My analysis of the font, by means of Heidegger’s concept of Dwelling, does not separate the font either from the rest of the church, nor from other fonts, but acknowledges that it comes to be, and be seen as, what it is only when considered as standing in ‘myriad referential relations’ to other things, as well as to ourselves. This perspective has enabled me to draw out what it is about the font at Salle that can be experienced as not merely beautiful or interesting, but also as meaningful to those—believers and non-believers alike—who encounter it. By reconsidering the proper mode of perceiving and engaging with the font, we may spare it from being commodified, from becoming a unit in the standing reserve of cultural heritage, and in so doing, we, too, may be momentarily freed from our false identities as units of production and agents of consumption. The medieval fonts and churches of Norfolk are, I argue, not valuable as a result of their putative antiquarian qualities, but invaluable in their extending to us a possibility of dwelling—as mortals—on the earth—under the sky—before the divinities.

scholarly journals Med troen som fællesnævner – fællesskab blandt unge i Indre Mission

Kulturstudier ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Tina Wilchen Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Lutheran Church ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Collective Interaction ◽  
Evangelical Lutheran Church ◽  
Evangelical Lutheran ◽  
The Church ◽  
Present Life

<div>Artiklen vil belyse de mekanismer, der ligger til grund for et velfungerende f&aelig;llesskab&nbsp;i en af Indre Missions ungdomsforeninger i &Aring;rhus. Troen har p&aring; forskellige&nbsp;m&aring;der en central position i f&aelig;llesskabet, og denne artikel vil argumentere for de&nbsp;unges tro som en social identitet, idet deres habitus synes at have en afg&oslash;rende&nbsp;betydning for den og deres oplevelse af det religi&oslash;st funderede f&aelig;llesskab. Artiklenvil ogs&aring; belyse, hvordan Biblen og dens fort&aelig;llinger udg&oslash;r den fortolkningsramme,&nbsp;som de unge er opvokset med og forst&aring;r livet igennem. Artiklen viser&nbsp;desuden den rolle, det kollektive samv&aelig;r spiller i de unges konstruktion af Gud&nbsp;og egen identitet som kristen.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Faith as common ground- community feeling among young evangelicals in Denmark</div><div><br /></div><div>The aim of this article is to demonstrate the mechanisms that underlie a youth association in the so-called Home Mission, a branch of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. It is the result of anthropological research focusing on the sense of community among members aged between 15 and 27. In a number of ways faith plays a central role in the community, and the main argument of the article is that the young people's faith constitutes a social identity, since their habitus seems to have a decisive impact on their experience of the faith-based community. The article further demonstrates how the Bible and its narratives form the framework of interpretation with which the young people have grown up, and which, in their present life as adults, continues to mould their understanding and view of life, as well as the role that collective interaction plays in the young people's construction of God and their own identity as Christians. A core argument in the article is that faith is a socialization into a structure which results in all participants having the same frame of reference and therefore experiencing a strong feeling of community with one another within this particular wing of the Church of Denmark.&nbsp;<br /> <br /></div>

The Date of the Mosaics of the Rotunda at Thessaloniki

1970 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 183-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Vickers
Keyword(s):  
Eighth Century ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Main Body ◽  
The South ◽  
East And West ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

In a recent important article on the mosaics of the basilica of St. Demetrius at Thessaloniki, R. S. Cormack proposes a list of churches in the city with mosaics ‘for which a late fifth century date must be considered.’ The list comprises the Acheiropoietos basilica, the first phase of the basilica of St. Demetrius, and Hosios David. The purpose of this article is to show that the mosaics of the second phase of the Rotunda (now known as the church of St. George) should be included in Cormack's list.The first thing to note about the Rotunda mosaics is that there has been less than unanimity concerning the date of their construction. Volbach, Lazarev and Cormack, amongst others, follow Dyggve and Torp in dating the mosaics to c. 400 or slightly earlier; Diehl and Dalton dated them to the fifth century, Weigand to the sixth and Holtzinger to the seventh or eighth century, all on largely stylistic grounds. What are obviously needed are some objective dating criteria, and these are to be found, not so much in the mosaics themselves, but rather in the building fabric and the furniture of the converted Rotunda. The conversion of the Rotunda, incidentally, consisted of the blocking of an opaion in the cupola and the addition of an ambulatory, a monumental entrance to the south, an apse to the east (Plate XXIII) and various subsidiary buildings to east and west. The mosaics were placed in the cupola and in the niches which connected the main body of the Rotunda with the ambulatory.

The Reformation in Anglicanism

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alec Ryrie
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
The State ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Henry Viii ◽  
English Reformation ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
English National Identity ◽  
Prayer Books ◽  
The Church

The outline of the English Reformation under Henry VIII and the later Tudors is no longer heavily contested. While politically led and slow to take root, it eventually took shape as a decisively Reformed Protestant, even Calvinist, Reformation with a stress on the doctrine of predestination, even though Cranmer retained some traditional trappings in his Prayer Books. Terms such as ‘Anglican’ and ‘via media’ ought not to be applied to the Church of England before 1662. However, that church’s subjugation to the state and the central position it acquired in English national identity helped to sow the seeds of later Anglican distinctiveness. The Reformation’s legacy for modern Anglicans is divisive, and it is used dishonestly, as a weapon, by all sides. This is in part because the true extent of its popularity in its own time remains open to dispute.

scholarly journals Patriarch Tarasios: An exponent of Byzantine church diplomacy in relation to Rome and the bishop of Constantinople

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chifar Nicolae
Keyword(s):  
Interfaith Dialogue ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Ecumenical Council ◽  
Byzantine Church ◽  
The Church

On September 24, 787, the works of the VII Ecumenical Synod were opened in the ‘Saint Sophia’ Church in Nicaea, after the first attempt, on August 7, 786, had failed. Although the nominal presidency was held by the legates of Pope Adrian I, the effective presidency was exercised by Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople. A skilful church diplomat, with experience, gained as an imperial secretary and a remarkable theologian whose authority was imposed even during his election as a patriarch amongst the laity, Tarasios meticulously and clairvoyantly prepared for the deployment of the Nicene synod. This is noticeable from the agreement made with the papal legates regarding the reading of the letters of Pope Adrian I whose content directly concerned the persona of the patriarch, agreeing to omit those compromising paragraphs, from the procedure of re-welcoming in the communion of the church of some former iconoclastic bishops, by correctly managing the resistance of the monks to whom he gave satisfaction regarding the patristic and traditional argumentation of the cult of the holy icons and by rejecting point-by-point the dogmatic decision of the iconoclastic synod of Hieria (754), a rejection of which the patriarch Tarasie is in all probability the author. Satisfied with the success of the synod, whose craftsman he indeed was, Patriarch Tarasios was able to communicate to both Pope Adrian I and the emperors and clergy of Constantinople that the unity of the Church residing in Christ had been restored and that the place in the church and due honour of the holy icons had been restored through the synodal decision of 302 participants. The success of the Seventh Ecumenical Council is unequivocally because of the tactful and competent preparation and management of Patriarch Tarasios.Contribution: The perspective we promote on the events highlighted in the study, could contribute to unblocking the theological dialogue between Orthodox and Catholics on the issue of papal primacy, the study thus promotes HTS as an important forum for mediating interfaith dialogue.

scholarly journals The Specifics of the Christology of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Sect

2020 ◽  
pp. 121-137
Author(s):  
Герасим Дьячков
Keyword(s):  
Church Of Christ ◽  
Jehovah’S Witnesses ◽  
Jehovah's Witnesses ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
Ecumenical Council ◽  
The Church

Следуя по пути, проторенному святыми отцами, «богословски философствуя», автор анализирует основные положения христологии секты «Свидетелей Иеговы», опровергая их истинами православного учения о Христе, сформулированного святыми отцами и выраженного в догмате IV Вселенского Собора. Для иеговистов, ложно мудрствующих о Христе, оказывается неприемлемой также тайна Святой Троицы, открывающаяся лишь в Церкви Христовой. Автор останавливается на защите православной триадологии от их нападок, подвергает богословко-филологическому анализу именование Бога «Иеговой». Для «Свидетелей Иеговы» Христос - не Бог, а человек - посредник между Богом и «свидетелями», то есть членами секты, в установлении теократического царства, прообразом которого было земное царство израильское. По сути проповедь иеговистов оказывается проповедью атеизма, ибо, по их учению, Бог не спасает, а спасение - только в человеке Иисусе. Христология иеговистов примитивна, их аргументы лишены богословской глубины, тем не менее, проблема защиты христологического догмата Халкидонского Собора от нападок иеговистов и всех отрицающих тайну Пресвятой Троицы и Боговоплощения актуальна во все времена, поскольку речь идет не только об опровержении их заблуждений, но, главным образом, об утверждении жизненно важного сотериологического тезиса: Бог вочеловечился, чтобы человек обожился. Following the path trodden by the holy fathers, “philosophizing theologically,” the author analyzes the main provisions of the Christology of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect, refuting them with the truths of the Orthodox teaching about Christ formulated by the holy fathers and expressed in the dogma of the IV Ecumenical Council. For Jehovah's Witnesses, who falsely speculate about Christ, the mystery of the Holy Trinity, which is revealed only in the Church of Christ, is also unacceptable. The author dwells on the defense of Orthodox triadology from their attacks, subjects the naming of God "Jehovah" to a theological and philological analysis. For Jehovah's Witnesses, Christ is not God, but man - the mediator between God and the “witnesses,” that is, members of the sect, in the establishment of the theocratic kingdom, the prototype of which was the earthly kingdom of Israel. In fact, the preaching of Jehovah's Witnesses turns out to be the preaching of atheism, for, according to their teaching, God does not save, and salvation is only in the man Jesus. The Christology of Jehovists is primitive, their arguments are devoid of theological depth, nevertheless, the problem of protecting the Christological dogma of the Council of Chalcedon from the attacks of Jehovists and all those who deny the mystery of the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation is relevant at all times, since it is not only about refuting their delusions, but mainly , on the statement of a vital soteriological thesis: God became human so that man might be deified.

scholarly journals The Figurative World of Leontius, Presbyter of Constantinople. Part 2

2021 ◽  
pp. 140-175
Author(s):  
Михаил Асмус
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Royal Power ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Ecumenical Council ◽  
Symbolic Images ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

Второй раздел статьи посвящён анализу образного мира Леонтия как одному из факторов, подтверждающих принадлежность текстов одному автору, а также выявляющих уровень риторической подготовки и мастерства проповедника. Анализ символических образов Леонтия (Церковь и Её священнодействия, Агнец Божий, Хлеб Небесный, царская власть Христа) демонстрирует, с одной стороны, его приверженность евхаристическому реализму и цельной экклезиологии, объединяющей тайносовершительную и социальную функции Церкви, с другой стороны - выявляет некоторую размытость границ между символом и передаваемой им реальностью, увлечение художественной завершённостью образа, которое иногда приводит проповедника к отступлению от отстаиваемых им же богословских положений. Сдержанность Леонтия в развитии идеи царской власти Христа по человечеству хорошо объясняется его дохалкидонским христологическим мышлением, а также тем, что проповедник находился под свежим впечатлением от ересей конца IV в. (Маркелл Анкирский) и их осуждения на II Вселенском Соборе. Последнее позволяет более уверенно датировать леонтиевский корпус концом IV - началом V в. Analysis of the symbolic images of Leontius (the Church and her sacraments, the Lamb of God, the Bread of Heaven, the royal power of Christ) demonstrates, on the one hand, Leontius’ commitment to Eucharistic realism and integral ecclesiology, uniting the sacramental and social functions of the Church, on the other hand, reveals some blurring of the boundaries between the symbol and the reality, and the fascination with the literary completeness of the image, which sometimes leads the preacher to deviate from the theological positions defended by him. The restraint of Leontius in the development of the idea of the royal power of Christ by His human nature is well explained by his pre-Chalcedonian Christology, as well as by the fact that the preacher was under a fresh impression of the heresies of the late 4th century (Marcellus of Anсyra) and their condemnation at the II Ecumenical Council. The latter makes it possible to more confidently date the Corpus Leontianum of the late 4th - early 5th centuries.

scholarly journals Os antecedentes históricos do conflito entre Dom Vital e o regalismo brasileiro e a sua resolução ineficaz

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (269) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Ferdinand Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Ancien Regime ◽  
Imperial Authority ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Ancien Régime ◽  
Brazilian History ◽  
The Church ◽  
Freedom Of Action

Uma melhor compreensão da importância de Dom Vital na história brasileira do século XIX exige uma visão mais ampla da política eclesiástica regalista no Brasil, verificando as suas raízes no iluminismo já no “ancien régime” em Portugal. Em sintonia com o movimento ultramontanista que vinha se formando frente aos movimentos de liberalismo e nacionalismo, especialmente na Itália, a experiência de Dom Vital na França o ajudou a ver de perto as suas possibilidades de enfrentar as políticas hostis à Igreja. De volta ao Brasil e já consagrado Bispo, tomou uma decisão imprevista, mas decisiva: enfrentou o Imperador ao defender-se contra uma parte mais radical da Maçonaria em Pernambuco. Para o Império, sua posição foi política e não contra a Maçonaria, contra a autoridade imperial, enquanto para Dom Vital foi uma expressão de fé, defendendo a liberdade de ação da Igreja.Abstract: A better understanding of the importance of Dom Vital in Brazilian history during the Nineteenth Century requires a larger vision of the regalist and ecclesiatical policies in Brasil, verifying its roots already in the enlightenment of the “ancien régime” in Portugal. In conformity with the utramontanist movement which was taking shape in reaction to liberalism and nationalism, specially in Italy, the experience of Dom Vital in France helped him grasp the possibilities of how to face up to the hostil policies against the Church. Back in Brazil and already consacrated Bishop, he made an unforeseen, but decisive decision. He confronted the Emperor by defending himself against the most radical elements of Free Masonry in Pernambuco. For the Empire, his stance was political and not against Free Masonry, against the imperial authority while for Dom Vital, it was an expression of faith, defending the Church’s freedom of action.

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