Artykuł stanowi próbę rekonstrukcji losów dzieła De cardinalibus operibus Christi, popularnego w szesnastowiecznej dyskusji polemicznej z reformacją. Początkowo, przez kilka dziesięcioleci uznawano je za dzieło św. Cypriana, biskupa Kartaginy, i pod imieniem tego autora funkcjonowało w polskich dialogach Marcina Kromera. Także wybitni humaniści tego stulecia, jak Paweł Manucjusz, zaliczyli De cardinalibus operibus do prac biskupa z Kartaginy. Dopiero Jakub Pameliusz i Robert Bellarmin poddali w wątpliwość jego autorstwo. Nazwisko autentycznego twórcy 12 mów o najważniejszych wydarzeniach z dziejów Chrystusa ustalili niezależnie od siebie Philippus Labbe i John Owen, którzy dotarli do manuskryptu z biblioteki All Souls College w Oksfordzie, zawierającego w adresie zarówno właściwego adresata dzieła, jak i jego autora. Koleje recepcji De cardinalibus operibus Christi pokazują ciekawe losy książek, odsłaniają warsztat dawnego badacza, a także mogą zainspirować do dalszych studiów w tym zakresie, gdyż wiele jeszcze dawnych tekstów nie ma ustalonych autorów, jak chociażby te z pism, dawniej przypisywanych św. Cyprianowi, a dzisiaj uznanych za nieautentyczne.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
The article presents the place of martyrdom of both the seven Maccabean brothers and their mother, and the adoration of them according to the Bishop Augustine of Hippo. The worship developed in the 4th century and it also reached Africa. However, it demanded justification, due to the Old Testament character of the revered people. The Bishop provided an opportunity to present the essence of Christian martyrdom and loyalty to Christ and His people, to emphasize the value of the testimony and its authenticity. He also encouraged to polemics with Judaism and some of the pagan practices which were sometimes taken also by the Christians.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Autor artykułu chce ukazać ortodoksyjny kontekst, będący efektem orzeczeń soborowych, traktowany jako pewien ekumeniczny aspekt myśli teologicznej św. Ambrożego, który milcząco wymuszał jednoczesne korzystanie z Zachodniej i Wschodniej tradycji liturgicznej. Pozycja Ambrożego jako biskupa Mediolanu, który głęboko rozpatrywał problemy dotyczące „nowego” języka chrześcijańskiego używanego w liturgii, a także problem historii Kościoła i liturgii, pozwoliła mu bezpośrednio wpływać na poprawę stosunków między Niceą Wschodu i Zachodu. Jego hymny, osobiste pisma i traktaty odzwierciedlały dogmatyczne, językowe i ikonograficzne trudności tworzenia się państwa chrześcijańskiego: od Nicei do Trullo (lub od Konstantyna Wielkiego do Justyniana II), przez które Bizancjum weszło ostatecznie w niezwykle trudny okres ikonoklazmu (w latach 711-843).
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Before turning to the wonderful Saviour’s deeds, that he strives to praise in Paschale Carmen, Sedulius introduces his reader into the old testamental history of salvation. In the Book 1, which fulfils the functions of a preface to the poem, he recounts 18 miracles that took place before Christ was born, since the ages of the Patriarchs to the period of the Babylonian captivity. These relations appear to be separate, self-contained stories. The longest is devoted to the miraculous fate of the prophet Elijah (lines 170-187); in the shortest the poet tells about the Balaam’s donkey, an animal without speech, who spoke to its master with a human voice (lines 160-162). Miracles fascinate Sedulius as extraordinary events, which deny the laws of nature and contradict common sense. At that they are sometimes connected with a marvelous metamorphosis. God performs miracles in order to show to the mankind His might, providence and kindness; to educate human beings and to prepare them for the coming of Christ; to foretell cosmic redemption at the end of times. Telling about the old testamental miracles Sedulius tends to refer both to the unbelievers and to the believers the revealed truth. He also aims to awake in the readers’ hearts wonderment, gratitude, love and trust towards the Holy Trinity.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Well known sentence fides quaerens intellectum often mentioned by St. Augustine of Hippo and very popular in medieval theology is often understood in such a way, that act of faith must be prior to rational cognition. Faith is understood in this sentence, as acceptance of Christian Revelation and natural cognition seems to be impossible without prior act of faith. The purpose of this article is to show, that faith or belief is present in the writings of pagan philosophers (especially Plato and Plotinus) as the necessary stage of the process of cognition. It can be seen especially in the context of philosophical life understood as seeking happiness. To enter the path of philosophical life it is necessary for the pupil to listen and believe in the words of the master. Pupil believing in authority of the master must obtain the conviction, that entering the path of the true philosophy is worth the effort and that it is possible to have the higher understanding and knowledge. At the end of the path belief disappears, because pupil can penetrate the higher truth and understand it himself. Analysis of mutual relation of faith and understanding in pagan philos ophers shows that it is not sufficient to point out the priority of faith to classify Christian writers (especially St. Augustine) as theologians rather then philosophers, since this sequence could occur at natural level.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
The term „cento” comes from the Latin cento, which means „a cloak made of patches,” „patchwork,” as the Greek does. Poems of Homer and Vergil were favorite sources for the ancient cento poets, who rearranged their fragments into totally different stories. The oldest preserved Latin cento is the tragedy „Medea” composed by Hosidius Geta from the fragments of Vergilian poetry circa 200 AD. We know, however, about other centos having been written before that date. Altogether, sixteen Virgilian and one Ovidian cento have been preserved. Thirteen of them, including the earliest and the latest of all extant Latin centos, are contained in the Codex called Salmasianus. Since the terminus ante quem for this manuscript is 534 AD, we assume that all preserved centos have been written between 200 AD, the broadly acknowledge date for Medea, and 534 AD. Ancient Virgilian centos mainly deal with well-known classical myths (8 of 13). Four of them have Christian themes, two treat trivial matters of everyday life, two are wedding-poems. The involvement of Decimus Ausonius Magnus (ca 310-394), a renowned teacher, rhetorician and poet, with the cento is not limited to being the author of a Virgilian cento, which he composed as a response to a similar poem by the Emperor Valentinian I (321-375). Ausonius is the only ancient author we know to have described cento in more detail and to have laid down the rules of the genre. In the introductory letter to the Cento nuptialis, addressed to his friend Axius Paulus, Ausonius maintains that verses of an original text, taken over to the cento, may be divided at any of the caesurae which occur in hexameter. No section longer than one line and a half should be taken over. The quotation may not be changed, although its meaning may change according to the new context. Ausonius compares activity of the cento poets to playing the game of stomachion. Doing so he emphasizes unity within cento and its playfulness as the particularly important traits of the genre. Ancient authors usually followed the technical rules put forth by Ausonius, although not all of them would have agreed with him about the similarity between writing a cento and playing a game. While some twentieth century scholars had treated cento with undeserved contempt, the research of the last decades has given it its honour back. Centos still require our attention, especially that, through their analysis, we may try to obtain a more faithful portrait of the well educated ancient reader. This reader knew his Virgil by heart, worshipped Virgil as the divinely inspired prince of Latin poetry, and preferred Virgil’s words to his own when he ventured to describe his world.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
The Novatian vision of the Church appeared in the moment which was favourable for its further development. Not only did the Church suffer persecution, but also some Christians protested against the possibility of reconciliation lapsi. What is more, the doctrine concerning the impossibility to forgive certain sins had a significant role in spreading of Novatian Church. Merging the congregation belonging to Novatian Church and Montanists in the East contributed to specifying the doctrine of the sect. With reference to a repeat marriage, the testimonies from III century do not allow to state explicitly if the pope himself treated them as illegal. Novatian allowed for penance and reconciliation of those who were guilty of certain carnal sins. It seems that later such violations were treated more severely. Montanism surely had an influence on it. Such rigorism in penitential discipline assumed a definite concept of Church and the power of the keys, which differed significantly from the one Catholicism set down. Apart from this, however, dogmatic divergences between Novatianism and Catholicism are not to be observed. But, the question of determining the date of Easter led to the separation between a lot of Novatian communities and the Church. Socrates’ accounts of Novatian Church internal disputes let us discern a few features of its inner structure. It does not seem to differ from that of Catholic Church. There are bishops, priests, deacons, synods. Furthermore, episcopal appointments to more important cities are considered to be superior. The sacraments in Novatian Church were the same as in Catholic Church, however, according to Teodoret, Novatian Church did not practice anointing a person with holy oils after baptism. A similar opinion can be found in Pacian’s texts. It was accepted among Catholics, at least in the East, that those who converted from Novatian Church should be anointed. In Novatian communities, from the outset, Catholics, who joined this sect, were baptized for the second time. According to Eulogius, Novatians in Alexandria rejected the cult of relics. The council in Nice tried to restore Novatians to the unity with Catholic Church, adopting a restrained attitude towards them. The council in cannon 8 presents the “pure” returning to Church with the conditions of grace. The Trident Council, however, saw in condemning Novatians proof of true Fathers’ teaching about penance.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Im 3. Teil des Werkes gegen die Gegner des Mönchslebens stellt der Verfasser Vorschlag vor, christliche Kinder auf die Wüste zur Erziehung von Eremiten zu schicken. Seine Ansichten unterliegen einer Evolution. Im Hinblick auf den Widerstand seitens der Gegner solcher Idee, und nach Jahren seiner eigenen pastoralen Erfahrung, Chrysostomus ändert seine Meinung. In der Schrift De inani gloria et de educandis liberis stellt er klar fest: „Ich sage nicht: schicke deine Sohn auf die Wüste […], aber erziehe ihn zum Soldaten Christi”. In Adversus oppugnatores vitae monasticae äusssert er sich nicht explicite zu unserm Thema, sondern gibt undirekt solchen Rat christlichen Eltern. In unserem Artikel untersuchen wir vor allem die Gründe, warum unser Autor auf einer Etappe seiner theologischen Entwicklung solche Forderung stellte. In seiner Schrift finden wir Grundmotive der christlichen Pädagogie, die ihn zu solcher Schlussfolgerung führen konnten: 1) das ethische Motiv: jeder braucht eine Unterstützung der anderen wegen der Schwäche seiner eigenen Natur; die Familienerziehung ist häufig ungenügend; 2) das axiologische Motiv: Eltern stehen oftmals vor einer Alternative für ihre Kinder – sich um die Karriere für sie bewerben oder sie zu einem ehrlichen und religiösen Leben vorbereiten; 3) das soziale Motiv: ein religiös erzogener Mensch ist für die Gesellschaft und Familie nützlicher als der, der seine Karriere verwirklicht; 4) das soteriologische Motiv: man soll sich mehr um sein Heil als um irdische Dinge sorgen; Eltern tragen schwere Schuld, indem sie ihre Kinder vernachlässigen; 5) das eschatologische Motiv und Argumention a fortiori: wenn die Eltern sich soviel um irdischen Wohlstand für seine Kinder bewerben, sollen sie sich nicht desto mehr um die himmlische Wohnung für sie bewerben? Weiter charakterisiert Chrysostomus den Erziehungsprozess: 1) er ist gefährdet; 2) doch möglich, obwohl – schwer zu verwirklichen; 3) er muss früh möglichst angefangen werden; 4) er dauert lange Zeit; 5) mit Hilfe der Mönche – mehr effizient. Obwohl die Chrysostomus’ Idee, christliche Kinder zur Erziehung auf die Wüste zu schicken, zeichnet sich durch bestimmten Idealismus und Radikalismus aus, jedoch seine Intuition, in der Erziehung der Kinder mit Hilfe einer religiösen Gemeinschaft sich zu unterstützen, wie die Geschichte zeigte, war kreativ und inspirierend.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Gongius Nestorianus era conosciuto, fino ad oggi, come procuratore imperiale e come commandante della flota in Italia. Grazie alle tre nuove epigrafi (AE 2003,1432-1434) possiamo completare le nostre informazioni sulle sue origini e sulla sua precedente attivita pubblica. In base alla nuova fonte, egli proviene da Sufes, localita situata nell’ Africa proconsolare. Ha iniziato la propria carriera prestando servizio nella militia eąuestris. Si sa che nel periodo tra il 197 ed ił 199 d.C. ha ricoperto la funzione di praefectus alae I Thracum veteranae sagittariae [Pannonia Inferior]. Ouesta era la militia tertia di M. Gongius Nestorianus. Poi Ti. Claudius Claudianus gli ha facilitato certamente la sua promozione. Dopo aver finito il servi-zio militare ha occupato posti nell’ amministrazione imperiale. Nel periodo tra il 209 ed il 211 d.C. ć stato procuratore publici portorii vectigalis Illyrici per Raetiam et Noricum et Dalmatiam utraąue Pannoniam et Moesiam Superiorem, e alcuni anni piu tardi e stato nominato praefectus classis Ravennatis (tra il 213 ed il 217 d.C.). Le sue sorti ci sono sconosciute. Egli e un eccellente esempio della promozione di un rappresentante sociale ordo eąuester durante il regno della dinastia dei Severi.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Par le terme d'«exhortations pastorales» nous comprenons convocations, appels, encouragements et ordres, adresses a tous les fideles, concernant actions, attitudes et comportements determines. Dans les Sermons pour le careme on a 257 exhortations en tout. Saint Leon, en premier iieu, fait appei aux auditeurs au sujet du retabiissement des relations correctes entre ies hommes. Parmi eiies, ii mentionne: ie pardon des offenses reciproques, i'oubii des injustices, ia iibé ration des esc) aves, i'induigence et ia remission des peines, ie rejet de ia vengeance et de ia voionte de revanche. Ii souiigne aussi ia necessitć de ia concorde, de i'unite et de ia paix. Saint Leon consacre a ce sujet 55 de ses exhortations (soit 21,4%). Ii encourage ensuite a pratiquer ies oeuvres de charite et de bienveiiiance parmi iesqueiies ii compte: actes de misericorde, aumóne, bienveiiiance, iargesse et compassion humaine. Ii consacre 39 exhortations (soit 15,1%) a cette probićmatique. 7 appeis seuiement concernent i'observation du jeune. Saint Leon consacre 109 exhortations (c'est-a-dire 42,4%) au programme de ia perfection chretienne. En s'appuyant sur ia statistique etabiie ci-dessus, on peut comprendre Fimportance reiative que Saint Leon accordait a ces differentes vaieurs dans son programme de pastoraie pour ie Careme.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc., Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
El tema de Dióniso en el mundo antiguo tuvo mucha difusión. En este trabajo se analizan distintos mosaicos con temas báquicos referentes a la lucha de Baco con los indios y su estancia en la India, tema que tuvo gran difusión en la musivaria romana.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc.
Se ofrece una visión general del monacato sirio y un recorrido por sus temas o capítulos más importantes. Se llama la atención sobre la importancia de relacionar la lectura de las fuentes clásicas antiguas con los hallazgos arqueológicos. Tras la experiencia que se recoge en el presente volumen nuestra comprensión de la vida monacal experimenta cambios de gran importancia.
Early Christian literature. Fathers of the Church, etc.