Christian music in scripture and tradition

Religious music has always been man's attempt to express the relationship between the Divine and the human. Through it, human nature takes part in the love of the Holy Trinity, participating in power, in prayer and in spirit, in the immanence of God. Divine revelation is easily revealed to man through theology expressed in religious music, and man, regardless of his theological knowledge, begins to feel and live in the love of God.

Mercy – the Greatest Attribute of the Holy Trinity according to Sister Faustina Kowalska

Prawda o Bożym miłosierdziu została w ostatnich latach na różne sposoby przypomniana i uwypuklona. Tym bardziej warto pamiętać o Siostrze Faustynie Kowalskiej, która już w latach trzydziestych ubiegłego wieku pod wpływem mistycznych doświadczeń zapisywała w swoim Dzienniczku oryginalne myśli o Miłosierdziu. Jedną z nich jest stwierdzenie, że Miłosierdzie jest największym atrybutem Boga. Z takim sformułowaniem nie zgodziłby się prawdopodobnie żaden z teologów tamtego czasu. Bo czy w ogóle można stopniować Boże atrybuty? A jeśli tak, to dlaczego akurat miłosierdzie miałoby być największym atrybutem? Jednak w perspektywie historio-zbawczej takie stwierdzenie nie tylko można obronić, ale okazuje się ono inspirujące do różnych dalszych rozważań teologicznych. „Bóg jest miłością” – czytamy u św. Jana. A zatem możemy wyłączyć miłość z listy Bożych atrybutów, a następnie spojrzeć na atrybuty nie w sposób abstrakcyjny, ale jako na atrybuty właśnie miłości. W takiej perspektywie miłosierdzie jawi się jako pierwszy atrybut Boga, który umiłował świat.

The First and Second Gostiny Dig Sites in Tobolsk

This article continues a series of papers dedicated to introducing in the scientific discourse materials ob-tained during archaeological investigations of the cultural layer of Tobolsk — the main city of Siberia during the Russian colonization. In the course of investigation of the First and Second Gostiny dig sites, laid at the walls of Gostiny Dvor, there were recorded 24 structures of residential and economic purposes, dated to the period from the 17th to the 19th centuries on the basis of planigraphic and stratigraphic analyses and finds. The residential timber structures were single-storeyed, with saddle notch type corners (“v oblo”) with tails. Beside the houses, there were root cellars. A representative collection of finds is related to the houses: animal bones; breakage of stoneware, chinaware, and glassware; fragments of terracotta, enameled, and polychrome tile, as well as objects made of bone, leather, bark, and wood, mainly dated to the 17th — beginning of the 19th century. The most common mate-rial, amounted to several thousand items, was represented by pottery shards — pots, ewers, jars, and pans, which were used for food cooking, food storage, as well as for other everyday purposes. The porcelain ware is associated with the tea ceremony and is mainly represented by fragments of saucers, and sometimes those of drinking cups, bowls, and teapots. By the provenance, two groups of the porcelain have been identified — Chi-nese and Russian, with characteristic makers marks and patterns. The collection of iron items consists of knives, bridle bits, door hinges, latches, nails, hooks, and fragments of scissors. The leather footwear is represented by one-piece leather-hide shoes, high boots, and shoes with iron heeltaps. Another category of the finds is represented by bone combs, which were ordinarily used not only by women, but also by men. The numismatic collection com-prises 36 Russian coins and a counter pfennig struck in the workshop of Johann Adam Dietzel (master 1746–1768) in Nuremberg. The copper articles are represented by five baptismal cross pendants and by a find unique for the Siberian region — a gilded panhagia of a copper alloy with a sliding finial, several liturgical inscriptions, and images, including those of the Crucifixion, the Holy Trinity of the Old Testament, and the Mother of God of the Sign. In ge-neral, the archaeological materials of the digs show that this quarter of the uptown of Tobolsk was part of the resi-dential and commercial housing of the town, while its residents had a relatively high level of material wellbeing.

Chief Isaac Oluwole Delano: The Man, His Time, and His Significance

Chief Isaac Oluwole Delano was a Nigerian expert in the Yoruba language and culture who was born in the Ifo District of the Abeokuta Province on the 4th of November, 1904.2 He was born to the family of Chief Edmund Delano and Rebecca Delano (both Egba indigenes). His educational exploits started from Holy Trinity Primary School situated at Okenla Christian Village in Ifo. From there, he was moved to Lagos Grammar School under the tutelage of an Anglican Bishop, Solomon Odutola, and his principal, Reverend E. J. Evans. However, situations necessitated his transfer to Kings College in 1921 where he met with his lifetime friends and college mates; Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, Justice N.O.A. Morgan as well as Dr. Oladele Ajose, to mention a few. Having passed his Senior Cambridge Examinations in 1923, Chief Delano proceeded to successfully write his Senior Clerical Examination in 1924, which propelled him to join the civil service in the same year. However, a severe injury sustained from an accident in 1947 led to his invalidation from the civil service. Worthy of note is the fact that he never blended into the civil service bureaucracy, as his principles and religious faith were constantly tested by various practices within the service. His dream to become more lettered was not going to succeed by his involvement with the civil service alone, and he was not positioned in those days to enjoy the privilege of travelling overseas to further his education. He had studied shorthand, and his love for writing by default made him aspire to a lifetime of authoring. While belonging to a number of literary societies, he tried his hand at writing newspaper articles which were generally well-received by the public. He was able to maintain a following from there, and this fueled his desire to write more works for public consumption; he was determined to make his mark in the field of writing. His first work as an author was published in 1937 under the title The Soul of Nigeria. Tis feat gave him his first taste at writing as an occupation, and the happiness that followed suit spurred him to achieve more. Isaac Delano believed that the first one was always going to be the hardest. His first published work had landed him on top of the world, and he was determined not to rest on his oars.

The catechetical value of Byzantine hymnography

This paper is dedicated to the catechetical vocation of Byzantine hymnography, the author analyzing, on the one hand, the theological “matter” that nourishes it, and on the other - the way in which it is presented to the recipient. Thus, the dogma of the Holy Trinity (including that of trinity unity and intra-Trinitarian perichoresis) animates a series of liturgical songs and is also found in the ekfonises of prayers. No less fertile for Orthodox hymnography is the Christological dimension intimately associated with that of the trinity. To the extent that Byzantine sacred music has Christological and soteriological relevance, it is also the bearer of mariological meanings. Mariological images amplify the sacrificial, eschatological, and epiphanic resonances of Christian liturgy, in general, and of religious music in particular. In conclusion, we will state that, on its catechetical side, Byzantine hymnography has a higher efficiency than discursive theology. Due to the doxological form in which it presents its teachings, it manages to evade sterile didacticism, it communicates vividly with the heart and mind of the believers, fully involving them in the hierophantic exercise.

The Last Decades of the Existence of the Kaunas Bernardine Nuns (1842–1864)

This article reveals the life of the Holy Trinity Bernardine nuns in Kaunas (Kowno) in the years 1842 to 1864, the worsening situation at the convent due to the Russian occupying government’s policy, the actual closure of the convent, and the fate of the nuns after the closure of their home. The study aims to show how daily life at the convent affected the Russian administration’s decisions regarding its material provision and particular nuns living there, how they were affected by the closure of St George’s Bernardine Friary in Kaunas which used to be the main supporter of the Bernardine nuns, and relations between the Bernardine nuns and the bishop. The author analyses difficulties in community life and problems adhering to the constitution, and reveals the general mood of the nuns. The research is based on correspondence between the Bernardine nuns, the bishop and the convent visitator, memoirs, and material from visitations. This case study of the Kaunas Bernardine nuns helps us gain a better understanding of the situation of the Catholic Church in the Russian Empire.

Reconciliating the Relationship Between Christian Churches and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex+ People: The Letter of São Paulo as a Counter Hegemonic Discourse in Times of Religious Conservatisms

The ‘1st Congress Churches and LGBTI+ Community: ecumenical dialogues for respect for diversity’ was held between 19th and 22nd of June 2019, in the city of São Paulo. The Congress was organised by the Parish of the Holy Trinity of the Episcopal Anglican Church in Brazil and Koinonia–Ecumenical Presence in Service. As we consider this congress a historic landmark in the debates concerning religions and sexualities that escape from cisheteronormativity in Brazil, in the course of this article, we propose to analyse the social and political conjuncture that motivated the event. In a second step, we will briefly describe the structure of the event, as well as its objectives, in order to understand the assumptions that guided the construction of the Letter of São Paulo, the official and public document of the Congress, approved in plenary by the participants. We believe that the Congress and the Letter of São Paulo have political potential, as they claim the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex+ people as people of faith and denounce forms of oppression, exclusion and marginalisation reinforced by conservative and hegemonic religious discourses.