This paper focuses on the reception of the Torah by the Church Fathers who lived up to the beginning of the third century. Christians, having received the whole Torah through the Septuagint translation, became selective in the way they accepted it, adhering to it only with reservations. Christological and ethical concerns were at the heart of their acceptance or rejection of various aspects of the Torah. This article will gauge whether Christians had a positive, negative, or neutral evaluation of the Torah and will seek to identify the ways in which they perceived the Torah. By analysing the ways in which the Torah and at times other Old Testament texts were handled, their presentation of these Jewish Scriptures will be brought to light, highlighting different approaches employed in this regard. One notes the following stances: the Torah’s commandments supplemented the Lord’s teachings (the Didache); the Torah was read allegorically and typologically despite a Midrashic approach (Epistle of Barnabas); certain laws were believed to have been instituted as a result of the people’s hardness of heart (Justin Martyr); natural law is distinct from the demands added to it after the Jews’ wayward actions (Irenaeus); the temporal aspects of the law were superseded by its eternal aspects (Tertullian); whilst upholding the promises of the Law, the prophets were seen as going beyond the Law (Tertullian) or as giving the Law a spiritual interpretation (Epistle of Barnabas); and, rarely, the Law was held in very high regard (Clement of Alexandria). This paper is not concerned with any blatant rejection of the Torah and, indeed, the Tanakh at large (as was the case with Marcion), but rather with the subtler nuances that can be detected in other writers who had to rethink the validity and role/place of the Torah in the faith.
W opracowaniu omawia się wybrane aspekty współczesnej Latinitas ecclesiastica, szczególnie jej odmiany zwanej Latinitas curialis, w dziewięciu listach gratulacyjnych papieża Benedykta XVI. Autor analizuje słownictwo dotyczące głównego tematu listów – święceń kapłańskich i biskupich oraz ich jubileuszów, a także występowanie cursus, czyli systemu kadencji rytmicznych polegających na odpowiednim następowaniu sylab akcentowanych i nieakcentowanych. Określenia święceń oraz ich rocznic pochodzą z dawnych tekstów źródłowych, tylko w mniejszym stopniu jest to słownictwo nowe; formuły błogosławieństw papieskich zamykających listy zachowują niezmienny kształt literacki, tradycyjne słownictwo i takąż stylistykę. Cursus obecny w łacinie kurii papieskiej, z niewielkimi przerwami, od końca antyku, w analizowanych listach występuje w swych czterech odmianach: cursus planus, velox, tardus i trispondaicus.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
This article considers the subject of spiritual warfare led by monks as the “soldiers” of Christ. Author of the article analyzed two John Chrysostom’ homilies (69 and 70) from the series Homily on the Gospel according to St. Matthew. First, he emphasizes the important role of the monasticism in the life and thought of John Chrysostom already from the beginning of his literary activity. Then, on the basis of sources, he shows the monks as a “spiritual army” of Christ, who are staying at the hermitage instead of at a military camp, and instead of arms have ascetic practices. This spiritual army of Christ refers more splendid victory than the crack troops of the Roman Empire army, because the battle with the demons is far more difficult than fighting with people. In the final part of the article pointed out the profile of pastoral teaching of John Chrysostom, who encouraged all Christians to take spiritual warfare as the monks.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
The above article discusses one of the aspects of the Vandals’ religious policy in Africa, that is, deportations of Catholic bishops ordered by the Vandal kings. Of course, the Vandal kings were Arians and the fact itself defined their attitude towards Catholic clergy in North Africa, which they occupied. Describing the background of these deportations, their course and other repression which befell Catholic clergy (and the faithful) in Africa in the middle of the fifth century, we can only rely on the sources of Catholic authors, who had a negative attitude to the Vandals and their leaders. They portrayed them as crude and bloodthirsty tyrants, or even as psychopaths. Discussing the deportations of bishops in the reign of Genseric and Huneric, the background of the events was also presented. It was deduced that the underlying reason for the persecution of Catholics was the Vandals’ urge to consolidate their power in Africa. The bishops deprived of their seats were deported by the Vandal kings to Numidia (to the grounds controlled by the Moors) or to the islands of the Mediterranean Sea (Corsica, Sardegna) which belonged to the Vandals’ state. There they were forced to hard physical work (work on the land, cutting down trees used to build ships). Many of them, however, did not reach the assigned places of exile – they died on the way from physical exhaustion.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
L'esegesi proposta da Ilario di Poitiers nei suo Commentario a Matteo, scritto prima del soggiorno in Oriente, tende a scoprire soprattutto il senso spirituale dei testo biblico, pur apprezzando il ruolo e l’importanza della interpretazione letterale. Iiario e convinto che tutti e due i sensi si compietino a vicenda, tutti e due costituiscano un'unica parola di Dio.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
En revenant au celebre roman de H. Sienkiewicz nous constatons, que l’ opinion des auteurs des apocryphes est contraire a celle de H. Sienkiewicz: il affirme que Christe doit substituer Pierre fuyant de la Ville, tandis que les auteurs des apocryphes affirment que Christe revient pour souffrir en Pierre comme il souffre dans ses elus, les martyrs.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Notre probleme commence par la Leltre a Philomene. Nous ne connaissons pas, helas, un effet de cette intervention de Saint Paul. La generation postapostolicue eprouve ce probleme partiellement a cause de la liberation des esclaves chretiens aux frais de la commune (Ign., Ad Polyc. 4, 3). Les freęuents appels des eveques a la charite commune se repetent souvent. Les documents des II et III siecles ne portent que peu de temoignages en faveur des esclaves persecutes. En general le nombre des esclaves affranchis dans l’empire romain augmente d’une faęon stable.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Les influences antiques que nous observons dans l’oeuvre entiere d’Adam Mickiewicz resultaient avant tout de sa formation classique. L’auteur de l’article y souligne les annees d’etudes du poete faites a l’universite de Wilno sous la direction d’un classique eminent G.E. Groddeck, en prenant aussi en consideration le deroulement precis des examens finals. L’auteur accentue aussi l’activite scientifique du poete dans la societe des philomathes. Ensuite l’auteur parle brievement des cours donnes a Lausanne et au College de France a Paris en relation avec la litterature antique. L’auteur presente aussi les opinions du poete renfermees dans son oeuvre epistolaire qui temoignent de ses liens stricts avec la litterature antique qui l’inspirait jusqu’aux demiers moments de sa vie.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects