Social Ethic or Spiritual Ethos? Non-Orthodox Christian and Coptic Orthodox Perspectives

This article modestly anticipates the still-unfolding reception of the laudable document For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church by two broadly-envisioned communities—those of non-Orthodox Christians and Coptic Orthodox Christians. There is much to be commended by the former, especially regarding the document's balanced assessment amidst complicated issues uncharted in the Orthodox world. This balance is possible through the effective coalescence of a theocentric worldview, a comfort with mystery, and a loosely-defined Orthodox anthropology. Regarding the latter community, the document serves as a pioneering and bold example that does not neglect social relevance at the behest of theological commitments. At the same time, Coptic Orthodox Christians, in their insistence on the centrality of desert spirituality, are likely to question the document's sometimes tepid allusions to spiritual transformation, since the principal means out of which come social change, right action and good conscience for Orthodox Christians is through a life entrenched in Godward ascetic spirituality.

The Narrative Structure of P. Vezhinov’s Novella “The Barrier”

This article attempts to analyze P. Vezhinov’s literary work in the context of the possible binary interpretation of its narrative: realistic and fantastical. It researches the ways the raw material of the story is transformed into the plot such as external composition, focalization, the structure of the characters, and the organization of the modal-temporal aspect. It pays special attention to the peculiarities of the novella’s literary space. Both protagonists are characterized as characters of the open space. The space of the male protagonist appears flat, while the female hero maneuvers in a volumetric space. Manev's movements across the flat horizontal space are chaotic in their nature – they represent the erratic wavering of a man who lost list way and has only found purpose once Antonia Dorothea appeared in his life. The article proves that the rite de passage, which acts as the plot framework in this literary piece, doesn’t culminate in the protagonist’s achievement of a “new identity” within the novella. The study concludes that the “realistic” motivation behind the events of the novella doesn't contradict the “metaphorical” one: in both cases, this is a story about "rejection" – about the possible spiritual transformation of the protagonist that was never materialized.

Resurrection of the Body: Continuity in Christ through Death in Christ

This article examines the question of when the resurrection of the body begins. Matthew 27:51–53 testifies to the resurrection of bodies on Good Friday; and 2 Corinthians 5:1 speaks of those who die in Christ receiving a building/body from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Eternal life begins for Christians with baptism into Christ’s death; they become members of his Body, the Church. Through the presence of Christ’s Spirit, our bodies undergo a spiritual transformation up to the moment of death. Those who die in Christ pass from resurrected life in the physical body to the fullness of resurrected life at death in Christ’s spiritual body. Whether one is in the (physical) body and away from the Lord or with the Lord and away from the (physical) body, one remains in Christ.

Transformation & Resistance in the Interfaith Classroom

Although Canada is a religiously plural society, interfaith theological learning remains uncommon. This reflective paper explores the experience of team-teaching at Emmanuel College’s Master of Pastoral Studies Program. The Master of Pastoral Studies is a professional degree with Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist streams that trains students to become chaplains, psycho-spiritual therapists and spiritual care providers in the Canadian context. Using anecdotes from our classroom experiences, this paper reflects on three values central to inter-religious learning: cultivating a vulnerable “open stance” in dialogue, understanding interfaith teaching as active resistance that contributes to spiritual transformation, and placing ourselves as instructors as the “guide within the group.” Interfaith learning calls us to risk and courage, believing that spiritual transformation happens as we encounter difference with openness and humility. As teachers, we model for our students how to engage with one another to build peace in response to individual and societal trauma and discord.

Transformasi komunitas misi: Gereja sebagai ciptaan baru dalam Roh Kudus

Transformation is the key to the growth of the church and mission. Transformation is a positive change toward Christ that marks believers’ life, as indicated by Paul’s exhortation in Romans 12:2. The church refers to the people who believe in Christ so they are renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit. That transformation or renewal empowers the church to function as the light of the world, as a missional community through the power of the Holy Spirit. This article seeks to present the strong correlation between the spiritual transformation of the church by the power of the Holy Spirit with her function as a missional community. This article elaborates the meaning of transformation in the New Testament, the meaning of transformation from the perspective of systematic theology, and the strong correlation between spiritual transformation and the function of the church as a missional community. Abstrak Transformasi adalah kunci dari pertumbuhan gereja dan misi. Hal tersebut merupakan perubahan positif yang menjadi ciri kehidupan orang percaya kearah Kristus, sebagaimana nasehat Paulus dalam Kitab Roma 12:2. Gereja adalah orang-orang yang percaya kepada Kristus sehingga dibaharui oleh kuasa Roh Kudus. Transformasi atau pembaharuan tersebut merupakan hal yang memampukan Gereja untuk berfungsi sebagai terang dunia, sebagai komunitas misional oleh kuasa Roh Kudus. Artikel ini melihat relasi yang erat antara transformasi Gereja oleh kuasa Roh Kudus dengan berfungsinya Gereja sebagai suatu komunitas misi. Artikel ini memaparkan makna transformasi spiritual di dalam Perjanjian Baru, makna transformasi spiritual dari perspektif teologi sistematika, dan relasi erat antara transformasi spiritual dengan fungsi Gereja sebagai suatu komunitas misi.

In a Romanesque Maze of Enes Karić

In the romancer magnum opus of Enes Karić, consisting of five novels – Pjesme divljih ptica (2009), Jevrejsko groblje (2011), Slučajno čovjek (2013), Boje višnje (2017) i Bogovo roblje (2020) – questions arise from humanistic and Islamic theological-philosophical perspective considering harmony and disharmony from the internal, that is, spiritual transformation and external establishing of the identity. In the poetics of Karić’s narrative fiction, we can recognize the tradition of Andrić-Selimović model of narration, where we can follow spirituality and knowledge through road signs of central protagonists of his prose. These two fundamental categories rise over and integrate status and other special features of Karić’s characters into believable structural-compositional units. And all of them are somehow spherically connected; they are united by the author’s tendency to use their life actions to verify his ecumenical, intercultural and interreligious thoughts.

Konsepsi Manusia Seutuhnya Dalam Kitab al-Insan al-Kamil Karya Abdul Karim al-Jili

Abstrak Dalam pandangan Islam, pendidikan yang utama adalah yang dapat memanusiakan manusia sesuai dengan kodrat kemanusiaannya. Pendidikan yang dapat menempatkan manusia pada relnya. Pendidikan yang dapat mengangkat jati diri manusia sehingga mendapatkan esensinya sebagai manusia, menjadi manusia seutuhnya, manusia yang dapat menjalankan peran dan fungsinya, baik secara vertikal sebagai hamba Allah (abdullah), maupun secara horizontal dalam hubungan sosial kemanusiaan (khalifatullah). Fokus dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis konsep Manusia Seutuhnya dalam Kitab al-Insan al-Kamil karya Abdul Karim al-Jili. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode penelitian kualitatif non interaktif, jenis penelitian studi kepustakaan (library research) dengan menggunakan analisis konten (content analysis) dan analisis historis (history analysis). Insan kamil merupakan ajaran tasawuf al-Jili yang merupakan pengembangan dari konsep tasawuf Ibn ‘Arabi yaitu wahdat al-wujud. Pandangan mengenai wahdat al-wujud tidak dimaknai secara leterlek/tekstual bersatunya dua dzat yang berbeda ke dalam satu wujud, melainkan suatu makna di mana seorang sufi dapat menyerap asma’ dan sifat-sifat Tuhan sebanyak-banyaknya (al-Takhalluq bi akhlaq Allah) sehingga terjadinya transformasi spiritual. Seorang sufi mengalami fana’ dalam asma’, sifat, dan dzat Tuhan. Seluruh gerak langkah dalam kehidupannya senantiasa dipusatkan pada apa yang diinginkan Tuhan (ridha’ Allah). Abstract In the view of Islam, the main education is that which can humanize humans according to their human nature. Education that can put humans on the rails. Education that can elevate human identity so that it gets its essence as a human being, becoming a perfect human being, a human being who can carry out his roles and functions, both vertically as servants of Allah (abdullah), and horizontally in human social relations (khalifatullah). The focus of this research is to analyze the concept of the Perfect Man in the Book al-Insan al-Kamil by Abdul Karim al-Jili. The method used in this research is a non-interactive qualitative research method, a type of library research using content analysis and historical analysis. Insan kamil is the teaching of tasawuf al-Jili which is the development of the concept of tasawuf Ibn 'Arabi, namely wahdat al-wujud. The view of wahdat al-wujud is not interpreted textually by the union of two different beings into one form, but rather a meaning in which a sufi can absorb as much asthma 'and God's attributes as possible (al-Takhalluq bi akhlaq Allah) so that it occurs. spiritual transformation. A Sufi experiences fana 'in asthma', the nature, and essence of God. All the steps in his life are always focused on what God wants (rida’ Allah).

Legend of Robber Kudeyar and Its Interpretation by N. Nekrasov in Poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”

The article considers the relevance of the interpretation and artistic embodiment of the legend “About two Great Sinners”, which is included in the chapter “A Feast for the whole World” of the poem by N. Nekrasov “Who lives well in Russia”. The authors emphasize that the Nekrasov episode, on the one hand, is based on a familiar folklore plot, on the other — it is interpreted by the poet differently than is traditionally accepted in folk texts. The analysis pointed out that, if in the folklore emphasis is placed on the image of the robber Kudeyar undergoing spiritual transformation, in the poem of Nekrasov focus redirected to the image of “the other robber”, pan Glukhovsky, who, in the view of the author of the poem, is the “most sinful of all”. The article pays special attention to the aspect of the displacement of moral components by social ones. It is demonstrated that Nekrasov approach to solving the core issue of the head, “Who in Russia most sinful of all?” biased and removed from under-standing the triad of “sin of the landowner, sin of the robber, sin of the peasant” pro-posed by the heroes of the Chapter “Feast...”, but makes a scene-meaning “substitute” all “sinners” episodes only responsible for the sinner recognizes the nobleman, only at the social level, opposed to the peasant.

Turnings: Motion and Emotion in the Labyrinths of Early Modern Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s Doolhoven, or labyrinths, constituted recreational spaces that also forged a strong connection between theatricality and a secular conversional experience by drawing on the idea of the labyrinth as an allegory for progression toward spiritual transformation. The chapter explores both the performative and philosophical components of these early modern labyrinths and the deeper meaning of their many ludic tricks.