La beatificazione dei vescovi romeni uniti, alla luce della teologia del martirio

The Beatification of the United Romanian Bishops, in the Light of the Theology of Martyrdom. The Church of Christ fulfills three functions in the history of salvation: martyria, leiturgia and diakonia. Confession of Faith, martyria, it is a fundamental mission entrusted to the Church, which is exercised by preaching the Gospel (Matt. 28:19), the Logos transmitted and explained, the life in the faith and defending it from internal enemies (schisms, polemics, etc.) or external ones (heresies and persecutions). Since the times of apostolic and ancient Christianity martyria was achieved through a testimony of faith strengthened by resistance to persecution and the radicality of the sacrifice of life, starting with St. Stephen, passing through the long line of martyrs of all times, in 1623 by the martyrdom of St. Archbishop Joshaphat for the unity of the Church, the Churches United confessing from now on, with the price of shed blood, the faith and mission entrusted by Jesus “that all may be one” (Jn 17:20). During the persecutions of the twentieth century, the United Romanian Church wrote a page in the “theology of martyrdom”, building the Church, fulfilling its crown of martyrdom, the beatification of martyrs to restore the unity of the Church opening a new stage in the history and mission of contemporary Christianity. Keywords: beatification, Church, Catholicism, Greek Catholicism, martyrdom, theology, unity.

Seuchengötter, Heilungsgötter

The article discusses the impact of different ideas on epidemic, endemic, and pandemic diseases in antiquity, concentrating on the times of the New Testament and the early church. Different explanations of diseases coexist and to some degree compete: Diseases are sent by God for punishment and admonition, caused by demons or magic, and in ancient medicine caused by strictly natural factors. Contrary to a common cliché, divine punishing is only a minor idea in reflections on disease, and natural causes are generally taken for granted. A demonological interpretation understands disease as something that is fought by Jesus and also by other charismatic healers in ancient Christianity. In this respect, early Christianity can be called a healing movement.

Influence of the Septuagint on the Typological Interpretation of Joshua and His Deeds in Justin Martyr's "Dialogue with Trypho, the Jew"

The aim of the article is to argue that the typological interpretation of Joshua and his actions in the Dialogue with Trypho, the Jew of Justin the Martyr, was possible only thanks to the hellenized version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. In the Introduction it was synthetically recalled that Justin in Dialogue argues with Marcionism and Judaism, and in Part 1 the status of the Septuagint in Judaism and ancient Christianity, as well as his methods of interpreting the Old Testament. In the second part, the author concentrates on the analysis of the relevant fragments of the Dialogue in which there is a typological interpretation of Joshua and his actions. The influence of the Septuagint on Justin's interpretation is manifested in several elements: the name Joshua, in Hebrew יְהוֹשֻעַ, according to the Septuagint, sounds exactly the same as the name of Jesus Christ ̓Ιησοῦς and is the basis for the presentation of Joshua as a type of Christ; the second circumcision of the Israelites by Joshua with stone knives after entering the Promised Land was a type and foreshadowing of the spiritual circumcision of the Gentile heart by Jesus Christ from stones, that is pagan deities and the error of the world; the blood of circumcision at Gilgal was a type of the blood of Christ's; stone knives (μαχαίρας πετρίνας) were a type of the teaching and words of Christ with which he circumcises the hearts of the pagans; the heap of twelve stones was a type of many heathens circumcised from the false polytheism.

Early Christianity in the Region of Sopianae and the New Casket Mounts from Bakonya

SummaryChristianity spread out in Pannonia, too, and in the 3rd century there are proofs of its existence in the southern part of both Pannonias. Christianity became stronger in consequence of placing the officium praesidis of Valeria to Sopianae at the end of the 3rd century. The flourishing of ancient Christianity in Sopianae and in the surrounding villas was in the second half of the 4th century. The bronze casket mounts recently found in Bakonya support this historical reconstruction and offer new evidence for the presence of rich Christians in that era.

The Motif of Jacob’s Ladder (Gen 28:10–22) in the Ancient Symbolism of Western Christianity

The “Jacob’s ladder” episode from the book of Genesis inspired numerous symbolic interpretations in ancient Christianity. Most often we encounter moral symbolism, which basically proceeds in two directions. Following Tertullian, “descending angels” symbolize sinners, and “ascending” – righteous people. According to Augustine, “descending” mean those who take care of the needs of others, while “ascending” are those who direct their hearts to God. For Jerome, ascending and descending angels symbolize not so much people as the mercy of God who descends to the sinner, whereas for Ambrose and Zeno of Verona the ladder represents the Old and New Testament, and its rungs – the Christian virtues. An important literary motif in the story of the “Jacob’s ladder” is the stone under the Patriarch’s head, which in the Christian tradition assumes a Christological meaning.

Review of: Atlante Storico del Christianesimo antico. A cura di Angelo Di Bernardino con la collaborazione di Gianluca Pila. Istituto Patristico Augustinianum Dipartimento di Studi Classici e Christiani. Università di Bari. Bologna, 2010. ISBN 978-88-10-45304-9

Исторический атлас древнего христианства, подготовленный под редакцией Анджело Бернардино, призван познакомить читателей и созерцателей с историей распространения христианства с момента его возникновения по VIII столетие. Для этого составители подготовили географические карты Римской империи тех времён, соотнесли позднеантичные реалии с современными, снабдив получившиеся карты комментариями. Для истории распространения христианства атлас подходит как нельзя лучше, ведь проповедь новой религии носила изначально экспансивный характер, а римские реалии с их развитым транспортом и дорогами делали возможной эту экспансию. The Historical Atlas of Ancient Christianity, edited by Angelo Bernardino, aims to acquaint readers and contemplators with the history of the spread of Christianity from its origins to the eighth century. The authors have prepared geographical maps of the Roman Empire of those times, correlated late antique realities with modern ones, and provided the resulting maps with commentary. For the history of the spread of Christianity, the atlas is particularly suitable, as the preaching of the new religion was initially expansive, and the Roman reality, with its developed transport and roads, made this expansion possible.