scholarly journals “MACEDONIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH (MOC)” IN FORMER YUGOSLAV STATE

Author(s):  
Marko Nikolic ◽  
Duško Dimitrijević

After World War II, multi-religious and multi-national socialist Yugoslavia faced the need to resolve the complex national issue or actually to bring it into accord and make closer to the internal, but also to the international goals and interests of the Yugoslav state. Its atheistic-secularist nature basically conditioned its relationship to the religious communities in the state, whose “potentials” should be controlled, directed and used in a desirable way. The state, actually, supported the secular (non-church) principle by which every nation should have its own Church, striving in time directly, consistently and firmly to exert influence on its application in practice as such. Taking such activities, it disregarded the church reasons and needs, what particularly made a negative impact on the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC). The Roman Catholic Church (RCC), as the second church (religious) community in the country by the number of its believers, recognised that its interests coincided with such endeavours and activities of the state. It discretely supported the political process of gaining of “autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church” (MOC).

Author(s):  
Ben Clements ◽  
Stephen Bullivant

Abstract Background The attitudes of Catholics in Britain have undergone significant liberalisation on social moral issues across recent decades, whilst the reputation of the Catholic Church has suffered due to public opposition to its traditional teachings on such issues. But there has been comparatively little recent investigation into British Catholics’ views on these debates using surveys aimed at this religious community. Purpose This article examines the sources of attitudinal heterogeneity amongst Catholics in Britain on core debates affecting the Catholic Church. The aims are to examine, firstly, which groups within the British Catholic Community are more likely to conform to or to dissent from the Church’s teachings and, secondly, whether the socio-demographic and religious correlates of attitudes vary across different types of issue. Methods This article uses a new, nationally representative survey of Catholic adults in Britain (n = 1823). The survey is used to examine the sources of variation in Catholics’ attitudes towards a range of issues relating to the Roman Catholic Church. These issues relate to the priesthood, personal morality, and sinful behaviours. OLS models are used to assesses the relative impact of socio-demographic, religious socialisation, and religious commitment variables. Results The findings show that women are consistently more liberal in their views than men. Greater religious commitment is always associated with support for the traditional teachings of the Church. Conclusions and Implications Exploring the sources of attitudinal heterogeneity among Catholics, we provide new insights into the internal dynamics of ‘Britain’s largest minority’. We conclude by discussing the potential effects of increasing ‘nonversion’ for interpreting religious statistics—a topic of relevance beyond the denominational and geographical confines of this study’s explicit focus.


2021 ◽  
pp. 586-600
Author(s):  
Sebastian Rimestad

The three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) have a varied religious history. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, they were the last region of Europe to be Christianized. Today, they—and especially Estonia—are among the most secularized societies in the world. This is not only due to the Soviet past but also to Baltic German dominance at key moments in their history. While Lutheranism has dominated in the north (in Estonia and Latvia), the Roman Catholic Church is still the main religious player in the south (in Lithuania and parts of Latvia). Primarily due to Russian migration, the Orthodox Church also plays a significant role in Baltic affairs. There is, finally, a small but vibrant cluster of new religious movements, notably neo-pagan groups.


2012 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-441
Author(s):  
Miroljub Jevtic

The majority of the Christian world today is affected by weakening adherence to principles of religious practice. The reverse is the case in the countries of predominantly Orthodox tradition. After the collapse of communism, all types of human freedom were revived, including the religious one. The consequence is the revival of the Orthodox Christianity. It is reflected in the influence of the Orthodox Church on the society. Today, the most respected institutions in Russia and Serbia are the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Church, respectively. Considering the decline of the Western Christianity, the revival of the Orthodox Church has raised hopes that the Western Christianity can be revived, too. Important Christian denominations, therefore, show great interest in including the Orthodox Church in the general Christian project. It is particularly evident in the Roman Catholic Church foreign policy. The Roman Catholic Church is attempting to restore relations with Orthodox churches. In this sense, the most important churches are the Russian and the Serbian Church. But, establishing relations with these two is for Vatican both a great challenge and a project of great significance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-88
Author(s):  
Stefan Dudra

The aim of the article is to analyze the missionary action of the Orthodox Church undertaken among Greek Catholics in the Recovered Territories of Poland following World War II. As a result of “Operation Vistula” the Orthodox and Greek Catholic population was settled in the Recovered Territories. As a result of the communist policy implemented by the communist authorities, the Orthodox Church took action to provide religious care to Greek Catholics. This policy was aimed at significantly weakening the Greek Catholic Church. It was also hoped that it would be liquidated. Despite the attempts made, the Greek Catholics preserved their identity, and after 1956 they began the process of building their own parish structure.


1948 ◽  
Vol 6 (22) ◽  
pp. 83-100
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Corish

Europe in the seventeenth century was a land of mar and confusion because the great political problems raised by the religious disruption of the preceding century had not yet been solved. Chief among these was the problem of the relations between the Roman catholic church and a protestant state. The teaching of the pope's indirect power in temporal matters in any problem involving a breach of the moral order (ratione peccati) had been strongly re-stated by Bellarmine, and was the official attitude of the church. A protestant prince had committed a grave sin, that of heresy, and so it was the pope's right and duty to depose him and absolve his Catholic subjects from their allegiance. But this political theory was becoming impractical as the seventeenth century progressively demonstrated that Europe was permanently divided. As might be expected, juridical forms lagged behind the development of events; but by the middle of the century the Roman curia, while not prepared to give antecedent approval to a peace with protestants, might be said to be ready to acquiesce once it had been concluded, if the position and rights of the Catholic church could be assured. Yet this assurance was, in the circumstances, almost impossible. The Catholic church could not rest satisfied with toleration as a sect, but demanded recognition as an organised society with a source of jurisdiction illdependent of the state.


Significance The Russian Orthodox Church appears to be losing the struggle to control church institutions in Ukraine, as it contests moves by the Constantinople Patriarchate to grant recognition to a separate church in Kyiv. President Petro Poroshenko has led the campaign for separation. Impacts Swift moves towards autocephaly will help Poroshenko's re-election bid without guaranteeing him victory. Russian leaders will mount a strong fight-back against losing soft-power influence in Ukraine. The Russian church will weigh the risks of a final break with Constantinople and disrupted ties with other Orthodox churches. The Roman Catholic Church, which is strong in Ukraine, will avoid engaging in the Orthodox dispute and its political aspects.


Open Theology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zlatko Šram

AbstractThe aims of this research were to determine: (1) the existence of an internally consistent and valid latent construct of the Satanic syndrome, and (2) if psychopathy and depression are significant predictors of the Satanic syndrome within different sex and ethnic subsamples. We conducted a survey in a community sample of adult Christians in the region of eastern Croatia where the Croats (most who are members of the Roman Catholic Church) live together with a Serbian ethnic minority (most who are members of the Serbian Orthodox Church). The equalized convenience sample (N=1100) was divided into two sex and ethnic homogenous subgroups. The Satanic syndrome proved to be characterized as a one-dimensional factorial construct indicating the importance of participating in Satanic rituals; psychic seances during which the dead are called to appear; persons becoming knowledgeable about black magic; being a member of an occult society; and reading books and magazines that deal with esoteric and occult issues. Multiple regression analysis showed that psychopathy and depression were significant predictors of the Satanic syndrome within both sex and ethnic different groups. Within male, female, Croatian and Serbian ethnic minority samples, the amount of variances explained by the predictor variables were 20, 18, 20, and 16 percent, respectively. There is evidence that depressive psychopaths are attracted to the Satanic syndrome as a means of obtaining magical power and control over their destiny, regardless of sex and ethnic differences. The hypothesis confirmed that comorbidity of psychopathy and depression expresses the existence of a destructive sub-personality underlying the Satanic syndrome which indicates the existence of Satanic spirituality.


Author(s):  
Alejandro Zafeiropoulos

Is the Church of Christ the Roman Catholic Church? Could it be argued in parallel that the Church of Christ is the Orthodox Church? And could one accept a positive answer to these first two questions and still affirm that the Roman Catholic Church is not the Orthodox Church, and all this avoiding both a logical and a metaphysical contradiction? In this article I shall respond positively to each of these questions, avoiding the possible contradiction that such responses might involve. Taking as a starting point the philosophical and theological discussion of the Trinity within the analytical mainstream, I shall present the outline of an ecumenical ecclesiology based on the metaphysical relation of constitution. Thanks to this strategy, it is possible to think of a universal ecclesiology capable of explaining better not the diversity but the unity of the Church of Christ. Resumen: ¿La Iglesia de Cristo es la Iglesia católica romana? ¿Podría defenderse paralelamente que la Iglesia de Cristo es la Iglesia ortodoxa? Y, ¿se podría aceptar una respuesta positiva a estas dos primeras preguntas y afirmar que la Iglesia católica romana no es la Iglesia ortodoxa, y todo esto evitando tanto una contradicción lógica como metafísica? En el presente artículo se desea responder de manera positiva a cada una de estas preguntas, evitando la posible contradicción que dicha respuesta podría involucrar. Para esto y tomando como punto de partida las discusiones filosóficas y teológicas sobre la Trinidad dentro de la corriente analítica, presentaremos el bosquejo de una eclesiología ecuménica basada en la relación metafísica de constitución. Gracias a esta estrategia, se puede pensar una eclesiología universal capaz de explicar mejor, no la diversidad sino la unidad de la Iglesia de Cristo.  


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Maria Anna Muryani ◽  
Noor Rosyida

<p>The death penalty concept  in perspective the official religion in Indonesia is an issue that is worthy of study in line wiht the execution of drug convicts lately. MUI fatwa No.10/Munas VII/MUI/ 14/2005 on the death penalty in a Specific Crime allow the penalty in certain types of criminal  acts. In a latter sent to his congregation, paul chapter 13 yat 1-4 mention about the goverment’s authority to impose penalties for offenders. St. Agustine and Thomas Aquinas assume that the state, in order to achieve common prosperity, can performthe death penalty. St. Agustine assess the death penalty as a way to prevent crime and protect those who are innocent. Buton the other hand the human right activists who joined in contrast, Impartial and Elsam reject the death penalty and the Roman catholic Church and Christians argue that the death penalty should not be carried out because it violates basic human right, namely the righ to life. Therefore, research is the theme of the death penalty in the perspective of the official state religions in the frame Pancasila want to investigate this further on the death penalty in the perspective of religion are officially recognized by the state as defined in the following issues; How does the concept of the death penalty in perspective official religions in Indonesia are contained in their holy book? And How the concept of the death penalty to be reviewed from the perspective of the state ideology Pancasila? This research is a normative juridical or doctrinal research. This study uses several approaches that approach to the concept (conceptual approach), approach to the comparative (comparative approach) and approach to legislation (statute approach). This study was a descriptive analytical method of data collection in the form of a data library (library research) and interviews.</p><p class="IABSSS" align="center">[]</p><p><em>Konsep hukuman mati dalam perspektif agama resmi di Indonesia merupakan sebuah isu yang patut dikaji sejalan dengan pelaksanaan eksekusi mati narapidana narkoba. Fatwa MUI No.10/Munas VII/MUI/14/2005 tentang pidana mati dalam Tindak Pidana Tertentu memungkinkan adanya pidana dalam jenis tindak pidana tertentu. Dalam surat terakhir yang dikirim ke jemaahnya, pasal 13 ayat 1-4 menyebutkan tentang kewenangan pemerintah untuk menjatuhkan sanksi bagi pelanggar. St Agustine dan Thomas Aquinas beranggapan bahwa negara, untuk mencapai kesejahteraan bersama, dapat melaksanakan hukuman mati. St Agustine menilai hukuman mati sebagai cara untuk mencegah kejahatan dan melindungi mereka yang tidak bersalah. Namun di sisi lain para aktivis HAM yang bergabung sebaliknya, Imparsial dan Elsam menolak hukuman mati dan Gereja Katolik Roma dan Kristen berpendapat bahwa hukuman mati tidak boleh dilakukan karena melanggar hak asasi manusia, yaitu hak untuk hidup. Oleh karena itu, penelitian yang mengangkat tema pidana mati dalam perspektif agama resmi negara dalam bingkai Pancasila ingin diteliti lebih jauh mengenai hukuman mati dalam perspektif agama yang diakui secara resmi oleh negara sebagaimana dirumuskan dalam isu-isu berikut; Bagaimana konsep hukuman mati dalam perspektif agama-agama resmi di Indonesia yang dimuat dalam kitab sucinya? Dan Bagaimana konsep hukuman mati ditinjau dari perspektif ideologi negara Pancasila? Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian yuridis normatif atau penelitian doktrinal. Penelitian ini menggunakan beberapa pendekatan yaitu pendekatan konsep (conceptual approach), pendekatan komparatif</em> (comparative approach) <em>dan pendekatan perundang-undangan</em> (statute approach). <em>Penelitian ini merupakan metode pengumpulan data </em><em>deskriptif analitik berupa pustaka data</em> <em>(studi pustaka) dan wawancara.</em></p>


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