Storied Identity

In this paper, I explore two ways of understanding the moral and spiritual significance of stories, and in turn two ways of developing the notion of storied identity, and hence two ways of reading the Bible. I propose that these two approaches to the biblical text provide the basis for a fruitful interpretation of the Christian rite of the Eucharist, so that, to this extent, we can take the Eucharist to support these ways of drawing out the sense of the text. Accordingly, we can speak of reading the Bible eucharistically. The aim of the paper is not to substantially explain central features of the Eucharist as it has been understood in mainstream Christian teaching but, more modestly, to consider how these two ways of approaching the biblical text may help to bring some aspects of the rite, as depicted in Christian thought, into rather clearer focus, including its social dimension, and the relationship, on the Christian understanding, between the divine presence in the Incarnation and in the Eucharist.

John Paul II, Dialogue with Muslims and the Question of Religious Freedom

John Paul II was committed to dialogue with Muslims, and to the defence of religious freedom. This article reflects upon how John Paul II held these commitments together as threats to religious freedom from within the Muslim World emerged during his papacy. This article argues that the central theological insight of the Council, that Christians and Muslims together adore the one God, provided a framework into which John Paul II brought deepening reflections on the different ways in which Christians and Muslims understand God, the person and truth and freedom. In his dialogue with Muslims, John Paul II witnessed to the Christian understanding of human dignity and set out a theologically grounded defence of religious freedom.

An Orthodox perspective on hamartology and ecology: Assessing John Chryssavgis’ contribution to current discourse

This article is a sequel to my earlier paper entitled ‘Hamartology and Ecology: An assessment of Aruna Gnanadason’s contribution to the contemporary debate’. Christian ecotheology presents a Christian critique of ecological destruction while also offering an ecological critique of Christianity. It entails a reinterpretation of all the classic Christian symbols, in this case the doctrine of sin, specifically the nature of sin, explored in the light of ecological discourse. Considering the contemporary ecological crisis, this article highlights Orthodox theologian John Chryssavgis’ contribution to the current debate. Following a concise overview on Christian discourse on ecology, as well as the Christian understanding of the nature of sin and the ways in which it is re-described in contemporary ecotheological terms, this article explores John Chryssavgis’ position on ecotheological discourse through a discussion of anthropocentrism, domination in the name of differences of species, consumerist greed, alienation of humans from the earth community as well as denial and disdain. The Orthodox tradition is an important factor in the formulation of his ecotheology. The method employed here encompasses ecclesial scrutiny, namely Chryssavgis’ assessment of the Christian tradition’s role in contributing to the contemporary crisis, followed by theological reflection on his interpretations of ecological sin and finally, alternative courses of action to appropriately address the issues in question. In closing, the article offers an assessment of Chryssavgis’ overall contribution to current ecotheological discourse.

The Sacramentality of Marriage: A Protestant Perspective

From the beginning of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, Protestants have departed from the long-held consensus in the Western church that marriage is to be seen as an ecclesial sacrament. This article examines some of the impact of this momentous move on the Christian understanding of marriage. It suggests the need for Protestants to recover, in fuller measure, the sacramentality of marriage, in other words, an affirmation that the outward and visible marriage between a man and woman carries inward and spiritual significance. The article proposes a way this might be done, utilizing John Wesley’s understanding of the “means of grace.” Our hope is that a more robust Protestant view of marriage will contribute more fully to the ongoing discussion on the subject among the various sectors of Christianity and result in the blessing of the church and the world, especially the church in Asia, where sacramentality is inherent in the Asian worldview.

The transformation of Plato’s theory of soul in the philosophy of Florentine Neoplatonism

The object of this research is the Platonic tradition of understanding of soul. The subject of this research is the interpretation of Plato's concept of soul in the philosophy of Florentine academicians. The goal is trace the historical-philosophical evolution of Plato's theory of soul from the Antiquity to the Renaissance philosophy. The article represents the authorial historical-philosophical and comparative analysis of the primary sources. Analysis is conducted on the works of Plato, Plotinus, Augustine of Hippo, Aristotle, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, M. Ficino, and D. Pico della Mirandola. The article outlines the key provisions of Plato's concept of the soul, reveals the tendencies of gradual historical transformation of this tradition within the history of philosophical thought. The topic at hand has not been previously covered in the scientific research, which defines the novelty of this paper. Soul is viewed as the mirror of the divine world that is in need of catharsis. Special attention is given to Neoplatonic comprehension of the luminous nature of soul. The concept of “universal soul”, which eclectically connects with the Christian understanding of soul as the individual and free principle is revealed. Analysis is conducted on components of the soul described by Plato, namely rational, appetitive, and the spirited. Special attention is turned to the rational soul as an immortal active principle. Position of the soul in the world hierarchy is considered. The article examines the soul as “bond of peace”, which encompasses the dialectical opposites of rational and sensuous, sole and numerous, separable and inseparable, time and eternity.

新冠疫情下基督宗教醫治觀念及實踐的倫理糾結

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English. 基督宗教自創教以來，其信息和實踐都與醫治息息相關。人類犯罪墮落的肉身和靈魂，雖然有「因信稱義」之拯救，但更需要教會的聖禮及群體生活來使之潔淨與得醫治。它們都是信徒需要親身參與的活動，被視為不能隨意缺席的集體活動。 另外，教會一直在瘟疫流行時贈醫施藥、照顧病者。基督徒無私的醫治服務，雖然在歷史上為大眾所尊崇，但這些舉動也令他們冒上受感染的風險。在前現代的社會裡，教會的「醫治」仍能對民眾的健康作出貢獻，但現代社會已不需教會扮演公共保健和醫療的角色。尤有進者，基督宗教的醫治觀念和實踐，在今次的新冠病毒疫情裡，被描述為危害公共健康的行徑。本文旨在探討這種變化背後的倫理糾結，並分析教會的回應策略，如何重新詮釋基督宗教的醫治觀念，及應對現今的倫理挑戰。 From its very beginning, the message and practice of the Christian faith have been inextricably related to healing. Although the eternal salvation of sinful human beings' body and soul is provided by justification through faith, the Church teaches that our soul and body should be purified and healed by sacraments and communal Christian life. These in-person activities are essential to Christian practice. Moreover, historically, the Church has dispensed medicine and taken care of the sick during pandemics. Christianity's caring service has been well respected by the public throughout its history, and in pre-modern society, Christian healthcare services often contributed substantially to the psychological and physical wellbeing of many people. In modern society, however, the role of the Church has been replaced by the public healthcare and medical systems. Particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Christian understanding and practice of healing has sometimes been accused of endangering public health. This paper therefore investigates the ethical landscapes behind the change of public opinion and the strategies used by Christian churches to meet this challenge.

Christian Context of Historical Novel (Zakhar Prilepin’s “Abode”)

The specificity of the synthesis of elements included in the historical narrative, and Christian motives, images in the novel of the largest contemporary Russian prose writer Zakhar Prilepin is comprehended in the article. The relevance of the article is due to the need to build a coherent and consistent history of the development of Russian literature over the past two decades, an important part of which is the legacy of the popular writers. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time in Russian literary criticism “Abode” is considered from the proposed perspective: its genre specificity is analyzed in a Christian context. It has been established that, despite the presence of elements of documentary, adventurous, love-psychological novels, in terms of genre, “The Abode” can be attributed to a historical novel (it depicts a turning point in Russian history through a conflict between historical figures and fictional “average” heroes, combines historical facts and fiction). At the same time, an interest in eternal moral issues, problems of life and death, conscience and duty, love and fidelity in their Christian understanding becomes a feature of Prilepin’s understanding of the historical theme. In their work, the authors of the article used comparative historical, biographical, socio-cultural methods, as well as the method of a holistic analysis of a work of art.

The semantics of the traditional women's headscarf as a source of modern design innovations

The purpose of the article is to reveal the influence of the semantic-symbolic system of traditional women's clothing on the formation and development of trends in a modern design using the example of a scarf. Methodology. Comparative-historical and historical-typological methods have been applied in order to identify the tendency in the development of a headscarf as an element of a woman's costume; the hermeneutic method, which helped to understand and interpret signs and symbols as components of traditional culture; systemic method (for considering the system of symbols of a woman's headscarf as a cultural and artistic phenomenon); the method of art history analysis (according to M. Bakhtin and A. Losev); a method of a functional nature (for identifying the main functions of the elements of a semantically sign system and revealing their significance for expressing aesthetic, sacred and ethical motives), etc. Scientific novelty. The semantics of the headscarf as an element of the female national costume, the peculiarities of the coloristic and compositional solutions of the decorative design of the female headscarf are investigated, the main ornamental motifs and forms are analyzed in the context of their use in modern design; revealed and substantiated the influence of the semantic-symbolic system of the traditional women's headscarf on the development of modern clothing design; the semantisation of the elements of the system of symbols of the traditional women's headscarf has been carried out; the features of the integration of the elements of the ornament of the traditional national headscarf into the designer clothes of the 20th century are characterized; analyzed the problems of meaning and its expression by means of pictorial and colored symbols in a modern woman's headscarf. Conclusions. Preserving the ancient sacred symbolism of the canvas, characteristic of the mythological consciousness, as well as mastering the centuries-old experience of Christian understanding, the headscarf has remained an integral part of the traditional female costume for many centuries. In the design of the 21st-century women's scarf. semiotics of color is actively used, which acts as a symbolic guideline for associations that have developed in history, culture, and philosophy. Floral images are the aesthetic value of the subject environment and are realized in the process of artistic creativity of designers, enriching the aesthetics of human ecological space. At the present stage, the appeal of domestic clothing designers to the ethnic style makes it expedient to deepen the understanding of its semantical sign system. Revealing the peculiarities of the semiotics of the color of a traditional Ukrainian women's headscarf, research and analysis of its symbolism provide a modern designer with an almost unlimited dimension for creativity and contribute to the strengthening of national self-awareness.

Logiken der Bigamie

For the Christian understanding of marriage, it was constitutive that marriage could be concluded only between one man and one woman. A perspective directed towards bigamy makes it clear that this normative matrix has been called into question not only on a discursive level, but also in practice. Based on bigamy proceedings in early modern Vienna and Lower Austria, the article enquires into the social logics of the couples as well as how the authorities dealt with dual marriages. Serial bigamy resulted mainly from the concept of the indissolubility of marriage as well as from the difficulty of proving the death of the rightful spouse. Three different settings provide insights into different attitudes found in both the religious and secular courts: first, the ecclesiastical handling of bigamous couples in a short period of tolerance in the 1560s and 1570s; second, claims for annulment of marriage or the resumption of legal marriage in the 17th and 18th centuries; and third, a dramatic bigamy trial that was heard in various instances of secular jurisdiction in the 1620s.

Funeral “Shpruchs” in the Tradition of Russian Germans

В статье на основе полевых материалов рассматриваются особенности траурных шпрухов российских немцев. Основными источниками исследования стали материалы, собранные в немецких поселениях Урала и Сибири. Изучению траурных шпрухов предшествует исторический экскурс, раскрывающий некоторые особенности традиции шпрухов - цитат из религиозных текстов, пословиц и назиданий - в культуре российских немцев. Траурные цитаты рассматриваются как часть широкой традиции шпрухов, как культурное явление российских немцев. Траурные шпрухи представлены текстами в письмах, уведомляющих о смерти человека и предстоящих похоронах, текстами на крышке гроба и венках. Для траурных цитат была характерна своя стилистика оформления. Изначально тексты были выполнены на немецком языке готическим шрифтом. В локальных сюжетах тексты сопровождаются изображениями креста, ангелов. В некотором смысле и сам текст можно считать своеобразной формой украшения. К середине второй половины XX в. происходит постепенный отход от традиционной графики и переход в цитировании на русский язык. Большая часть шпрухов связана с религиозной тематикой. Прежде всего, это выдержки или прямые цитаты из Библии, кроме того, пословицы и иные высказывания. Траурные цитаты ориентируются на христианское понимание жизни и смерти. В текстах находят отражение представления, связанные с устоявшимися общественными, этическими нормами. This article examines the funeral “shpruchs” (Ger. Sprüche, Rus. shprukhi) of the Russian Germans based on field materials collected in the German settlements in the Urals and Siberia. Shpruchs - short quotations from religious texts, proverbs and edificatory material - used in mourning are part of a long tradition among Russian Germans. They appear in letters announcing a person’s death and upcoming funeral and in texts on the coffin lid and wreaths. Funeral shpruchs have their own special design. In some contexts, the texts are accompanied by images of the cross and angels. In a sense, shpruchs themselves can be considered a form of decoration. Initially shpruchs were written in German in Gothic script; by the last quarter of the 20 th century, there was a gradual departure from traditional graphics and a transition to citation in Russian. Most funerary shpruchs are on religious themes. Predominantly, they are excerpts or direct quotations from the Bible, often proverbs. Mourning shpruchs focus on the Christian understanding of life and death and reflect well-established social and ethical norms.