Christian Dimension Research Articles

Chrześcijański świat Józefa Wittlina

Józef Wittlin (1896‒1976) is a less well-known writer in Poland because of his exile since 1939. Christian themes in his output are the least discussed. They appeared as early as in the 1920s when Wittlin began writing essays referring to St. Francis and Assisi. After the war, remarks about Assisi appear in the writer’s notes, especially in his correspondence with Roman Brandstaetter. He was also writing an essay about St. Margaret of Cortona at the time. Since the beginning of the 1920s, over a period of almost fifty years Wittlin was keeping diaries. They contain texts mostly written for personal use. In Wittlin’s diaries, thoughts related to belief in God, to Christianity and the Church are predominant. There are quotations from spiritual guides, comments on other people’s statements, his own divagations about struggles with mysteries of faith, thoughts on faith remaining to be developed and, last but not least, interpretations of his own life events, referring to the Bible. One can observe the writer’s spiritual evolution over several decades: his progression towards deeper and more motivated religious beliefs. The effect of the writer’s long worldview explorations was his baptism in 1953 in New York. Wittlin’s output today requires a completely new reinterpretation and one of its requirements is the discovery of the Christian dimension of his writing.

Making bodies and worlds

Inspired by the intense affective experience of watching the film 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute/Battements par minute) (Robin Campillo, 2017) about the HIV/AIDS activist group ACT UP Paris, I turn to affect theory to better understand how the film did what it did, tracing the circulating emotions of joy, anger, love, sadness, frustration, and exhilaration among the protagonists on screen, between the screen and the audience, and among the audience. I argue that the film’s affective economy has a religious quality in the way it creates bodies, worlds, and communities, and more specifically, that these religious sensibilities resonate with Christian affectivities in all their complexity. Thus, my argument about the religious affects of 120 BPM also contributes to the reflection on the affective dimensions of Christianity, and religion more broadly, and on the religious dimensions of affective-embodied aesthetic experiences.

Dostoevsky as an Artist of the Godless World

Article off ers an unconventional view of Dostoevsky as an artist of the godless world. The author separates Dostoevsky’s Christian worldview from the artistic image of the world he created in his works. In Dostoevsky’s imaginative world, Christianity is only a dream and hope, which is not manifested in real life. While only a few of his characters are focused on it, the absolute majority live their lives as if Christ never existed. The Christian dimension transcends the godless world created by Dostoevsky, only occasionally touching it from the outside as a kind of revelation. The external in this world must be overcome by the internal, which is only possible if one experiences this “external” within themselves, with all its sins and temptations. Dostoevsky’s world is therefore even more godless and frightening than the world in which he had actually lived. Which is also in the nature of things, because the only way to defeat it is by reaching the last satanic depths. Dostoevsky’s texts were originally addressed to secular people, to the religiously ignorant intelligentsia, as opposed to devout Christians. This fact also determines the perception of Dostoevsky’s works by diff erent types of readers. The author proposes a new classifi cation of types Dostoevsky’s readers belong to. The article introduces the concept of a “gnostic myth” about Dostoevsky, the emergence of which is characteristic of modern intellectuals. The historical context of the appearance of the Dostoevsky phenomenon is that Dostoevsky himself was a phenomenon of a traditional person living in conditions of a secular civilization of the modern era. Formed by a millennium of Russian Christian culture, Dostoevsky had been thrown into the godless intellectual world of the 19th century. This godless world, prophetically shown by Dostoevsky, is the world of the 21st century, which he had already envisioned in the 19th century, and this insight into the “new” world ruled by “demons” anticipated the genre of “dystopia” and is in fact his main artistic achievement.

Restless Virtue: Greatness in Lawler, Tocqueville, Pascal

A central theme of Peter Lawler’s thought, and of his interpretation of Tocqueville in particular, is the tension between the classical, aristocratic idea of excellence and that of greatness understood as a kind of sublime anxiety, a restlessness that may characterize the democratic masses. His eloquent illustration of this connection is a permanent contribution, not only to Tocqueville studies, but to the task of political philosophy in the late modern world. To be sure, Lawler also brings to light the aristocratic, Aristotelian dimension of greatness in Tocqueville. Moreover, what I call Pascal’s residual Platonism qualifies the notion of restlessness as the privileged expression of greatness. Still, I will here ask, employing a comparison between Pascal and Leo Strauss on the problem of parts and the whole, whether Lawler’s emphasis on the Pascalian Christian dimension of modern democratic existence must not be balanced with an understanding of the dependence of liberal democracies on a more traditional and aristocratic conception of greatness and virtue.

Religious Functionalism: An Influential Tool for Harnessing Corruption in Ghana

One of the most influential and ever-expanding dimensions of almost every African society is religion. Every function political, legal, or economic, is intertwined with the ingredients of religion. In Ghana, it is socially, politically, and legally offensive to separate religion from communal exhibitions and, restrict it from individual performance. Amid the widely spread commitment to different religions by public officials, the reality of corruption alongside its destructive nature still infringes on the public administrative efficiency in Ghana. With regards to this submission, one question worth asking is, can religion, owing to its measurability, be operable in curbing corruption in a notoriously religious and corruption-spotted country like Ghana? In finding a response to this question, this paper argued that religious functionalism can be used as a practical tool in the fight against corruption in Ghana. Religious functionalism in its definitional postulation refers to activities that promote social integration, adhesive group formation, and social control that foster a moral framework that contributes to the development of a society. To achieve its objective and arrive at workable recommendations, the paper relied on library materials—drawing contents from the research papers relating to the subject matter. The paper recommended that in order to fight corruption in Ghana the functional dimensions of Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion should be emphasized. Specifically, the adherents of these religions owe a responsibility to their religious moral frameworks. If the Ghanaian society is ‘notoriously’ religious, it follows that religious functionalism is indispensable in the fight against corruption. Keywords: Functionalism, Corruption, Religion, Development.

EleanorMcLaughlin, Unconscious Christianity in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Late Theology: Encounters with the Unknown Christ. London: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2020, 210 pp. $95.00/£73.00

EleanorMcLaughlin, Unconscious Christianity in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Late Theology: Encounters with the Unknown Christ. London: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2020, 210 pp. $95.00/£73.00

Between Ideology and Utopia. Recent Discussions on John Paul II’s Theology of the Nation

In my book Liturgia dziejów [The Liturgy of History] I proposed an interpretation of the thought of John Paul II in terms of Polish messianism. The book sparked many interesting discussions. In this article, I attempt to address some doubts about my interpretation of John Paul II’s theology of the nation. First, I clear up certain misunderstandings related to the ontological status of the nation. Then, I defend the necessary political dimension of Christianity. Finally, I point out the essentially utopian nature of Polish messianism. I aim to show that – contrary to the suggestions of some critics – a properly understood theology of the nation of John Paul II does not lead to the subordination of religion to politics; just the opposite, it provides criteria for Christian evaluation for any political order.

Aspects related to the influence of Christianity on the Society

In this paper the author analyzes the influence of Christianity on society. There will be demonstrated that through its structure, man was created to live in the community. He discovers himself by relating to the world surrounding him, as it is argued by Martin Heidegger, and Martin Buber. Here we also include the relationship with the transcendent. The philosophical and sociological arguments help us understand the influence Christianity had on European society. The religion of the European nations had a strong influence on the civilization of the continent and the world. Researchers have come to the conclusion that man was created with an innate religious feeling. Rudolf Otto sought to demonstrate that man's religious experience can only be explained by the aprioric existence of the sacred. So did Mircea Eliade, who introduced a new term "hierophany" to define the act of experiencing the sacred. There were also researchers who reinterpreted the relationship with the sacred. Emile Durkheim argued that ultimately, religion in its present form will be replaced by a so-called "civic religion," which will replace religious services in churches. Accepting the perspective of Scripture, the author tries to show the idea of the presence of Divinity in the believer's life (John 14:15-26). Jurgen Moltman asserts that if society were to enter the process of Christ's discipleship, she would discover the divine alternatives that bring the long-awaited results. Max Weber argued that Christian religion, and especially the sects of Protestantism, had a decisive role in influencing the culture and civilization of modern Europe, and the world at large. From his point of view, the decision of man in capitalist society to make a great effort in his work, has a religious motivation, namely, the doctrine of predestination. Considering that the moral and theological dimension of Christianity lies at the root of human significance, Christians struggle to defend the revealed message. A good example is given by Francis Schaeffer, who in his book Trilogy pleads to preserve the traditional moral values of the Bible. Schaeffer attempts to link the idea of revelation, as it is presented in the Christian Bible, with the discovering of man's significance.

Postcolonial nationalism and neo‐Pentecostalism: A case from Papua New Guinea

AbstractThis article offers an anthropological analysis of a Papua New Guinean nationalist ideology deeply inspired by neo‐Pentecostalism. The basis for this study comes from ethnographic material collected during my fieldwork in the Parliament of Papua New Guinea (PNG), where I worked with a group of politicians and bureaucrats who have become known for their iconoclastic and evangelical actions, including their (in)famous destruction of traditional carvings. By mapping their narratives of nation building, I examine how two dimensions of Evangelical Christianity, namely, its focus on the Biblical scriptures and its demonology, were central to the formulation of this group's nationalist and postcolonial ideology. This work provides a contribution towards broader discussions on the effect of evangelical movements on nationalism around the contemporary world and, in particular, in the Global South.

Philosophical and pedagogical views of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill (Gundyaev)

The article analyses the historical and philosophical views of Patriarch Kirill and his evaluation of modern Western philosophy, formed in the era of postmodernism. A distinctive feature of that time is the blurring of the criteria that define the border between good and evil. According to the Patriarch, this approach is caused by the absolutization of a person’s freedom, considered beyond the context of one’s responsibility for the actions performed. As a result, the philosophy of liberalism justifies the rejection of the Christian commandments, since they are claimed to suppress one’s personal freedom. Thus, the Patriarch emphasizes the importance of preserving the “Christian dimension” of a person’s behavior. The present work pays special attention to the Patriarch’s conceptualization of the Russian philosophical tradition, which is views as an important means to preserve national identity. Representatives of the Russian religious renaissance (S. N. Bulgakov, N. A. Berdyaev, V. V. Zenkovsky and others), reflecting on the understanding of the Church, society, personality, were able to meet the challenges of the time and satisfy questioning believers. The article focuses on the Patriarch’s ideas related to educational issues and reforms. It is posited that educational innovations should be based on Russian traditions, namely on the fundamentality of education. In this respect, it is essential to realize that when introducing the unified state examination procedure as a universal system of students’ assessment, pedagogues need to amend educational plans in order to include the development of learners’ fundamental skills and knowledge. The Patriarch is opposed to the technocratic approach to education because the goal of education is reduced only to the formation of the skills necessary for work. He agrees that school graduates should possess certain competences related to their career, but they should know Russian history, literature, and culture at a sufficient level. The Patriarch’s aspiration to preserve the unity of education and upbringing as a unique feature of the Russian educational process is accentuated.

Open Hearts, Closed Doors: Immigration Reform and the Waning of Mainline Protestantism by Nicholas T. Pruitt

Reviewed by: Open Hearts, Closed Doors: Immigration Reform and the Waning of Mainline Protestantism by Nicholas T. Pruitt Mark Thomas Edwards Open Hearts, Closed Doors: Immigration Reform and the Waning of Mainline Protestantism. By Nicholas T. Pruitt. (New York: New York University Press. 2021. pp. x, 279. $45.00. ISBN: 9781479803545.) Evangelicals and fundamentalists were once marginalized in the study of American religious history, but now they receive too much attention. Thankfully, a new generation of scholars is proving that we still have a lot to learn about liberal, mainline, and ecumenical Protestants. Elesha Coffman, K. Healan Gaston, Kevin Schultz, Gale Kenny, and Gene Zubovich, among others, are moving the field beyond the "history of theology"—with its attendant obsession with the Niebuhr brothers—and establishing broader connections to American public life and identity. Nicholas T. Pruitt's new book is a welcome addition to that endeavor. His subject is the ecumenical Protestant "pluralistic bargain" (3) that culminated in support for the liberalization of immigration law under the landmark Hart-Cellar Act (1965). Pruitt's subjects were cosmopolitan in the (David) Hollingerian sense of championing controlled ethnic, racial, and religious diversity within a framework of continuing white Protestant supremacy. As Pruitt aptly puts it, "the pluralistic bargain amounted to an attempt by Protestant churches to incorporate progressive mores of toleration while bracing themselves against modern [End Page 633] cultural forces that threatened to decenter Protestant Christianity within American society" (7). Open Hearts, Closed Doors is an institutional history of Protestant home missions that highlights the social gospel's paradoxical inclusive-exclusive nature. Following the establishment of immigrant quota systems between 1917–1924, the Federal Council of Churches (FCC) and the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) pursued kinder, gentler forms of "Christian Americanization" (43)—like community centers, immigrant schools on Ellis Island, and the Bureau of Reference for Migrating Peoples—as alternatives to the violent nativism of a resurgent Ku Klux Klan. Ecumenical Protestants advocated toleration for Japanese immigrants but did not begin challenging immigration restriction laws until during and after World War II. In the name of wartime "Christian brotherhood" (92), the FCC and SBC expanded refugee relief, aided the resettlement of interned Japanese Americans, and lobbied for increased immigration from Asia. Pruitt finds that "tri-faith" Christian Americanism still aimed to keep the country white and Protestant even while becoming more accepting of diversities of culture and language. Perhaps the most important Cold War liberal project ecumenical Protestants undertook was applying steady pressure on Washington for a more open immigration policy, including the passage of Hart-Cellar. The costs for doing so were both immediate and long-term: Ecumenical Protestants found themselves repeated targets of Red Scare churches and politicians, while the eventual consequence of their activism was the undermining of any white Protestant establishment. Pruitt concludes his study with a brief discussion of how evangelicals have taken up ecumenical Protestants' "pluralistic bargain" in the twenty-first century. He might have used that space to relay how ecumenical churches today have repented of Protestant exceptionalism and embraced a thoroughgoing cultural and religious pluralism centered around supporting immigrants—as Grace Yukich explored in One Family Under God (2013). But that is a minor point of disagreement. Pruitt has masterfully documented and detailed an unexplored dimension of Protestant social Christianity in action, including its direct and lasting impact on American life and politics. His book deserves a wide audience. [End Page 634] Mark Thomas Edwards Spring Arbor University Copyright © 2021 The Catholic University of America Press

Person and Spirit

Much of Edith Stein’s work on personhood is influenced by Max Scheler’s ethically focused Christian personalism. But Stein’s own treatment of the ethical implications of personalism is not yet well studied. While the ethical theme is visible early on, it is not until the 1930s that the implicitly Christian dimension of her personalism became explicit. Stein mined her Christian personalism for its ethical and pedagogical implications on the topic of self-formation. This paper reviews the lines of development of Stein’s Christian personalism and examines its centrality for a concept of ethical education.

Faith in Internationalism: Covid-19 and the International Order

One inescapable feature of the Covid-19 pandemic that has swept the world in 2020 is that it has shown how inter-connected and inter-dependent is the human community. It was soon apparent that the spread of the coronavirus was a global crisis calling for a global response. Yet the human community had to meet the pandemic after a period of systematic weakening of agencies of international cooperation as populist and nationalist political movements gained control of nation after nation. This put the issue of internationalism, the belief that the nations of the world should work for greater mutual understanding and cooperation, high on the agenda. The focus of this article is on the role of faith, particularly the missionary dimension of Christianity, in relation to internationalism. It explores what recent thinking about Christian mission might have to contribute to the recovery of internationalism in the crisis of the 2020s.

Self-improvement through the prism of God’s cognition in the poetry of Vasyl Stus

The personalistic ideas of Vasyl Stus in terms of the Christian philosophy are analyzed in the paper. It draws attention to the self-improvement in the context of God’s cognition as one of the general problems of the Ukrainian thinker. It elucidates topical issues, which are related to the human internal world and influence on spirituality of a forming person in the research. The general outlines of the Ukrainian poet’s work in the context of person’s interpretation in his correlation with God are considered. The issue of obtaining personalistic freedom through the interconnection with God is revealed. Furthermore, the personalistic motives of the world and human cognition, where God is the center of the spirituality, are studied. The tendency of appealing to God as the high moral ideal is followed through the works of Vasyl’ Stus. The Christian personalism of the poet is depicted via mediation that is considered to be a condition of God and self-cognition. The relations between a man and God reveal their meaning under personalistic perception in the works of Vasyl’ Stus. The Christian dimension of life is gained by conversion preceded by a spiritual crisis in the consequence of which a man has lost his positive attitude to the world and his place in it. Personalistic method of cognition became theoretical and methodological base of the study. It is recognized to be a universal mean of human and reality cognition that expresses the gist of such dimension as theism, has its instrumental status in personalism, having considered a man in the perspective of a unique personality as well as having determined the paradigmatic frame to personalistic conception in general.

Religion in Spaces of Transit: African Christian Migrant Churches and Transnational Mobility in Morocco

ABSTRACT This article discusses how religious place-making contributes to the mobility and transnational connection of migrants during their periods of transit and fragmented journeys. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Pentecostal Charismatic Christian churches in Rabat and Casablanca, it describes how the establishment of religious places by West and Central African Christian migrants is an outcome of the blockades and ruptures that many of them experience in the buffer zone that Morocco has become. Moreover, this article demonstrates how the religious and social practices within these migrant spaces contribute to the development of mobility in terms of both the sending and receiving nations, as well as the believer’s integration into transnational Charismatic Christian territories. In this context of forced immobility and limited religious freedom, the transnational and decentralised dimensions of Pentecostal Charismatic Christianity have been particularly suitable for stranded Christian African migrants who aim to remain their agency and achieve in a better future, potentially through emigration to Europe.

Jak wykazać nieśmiertelność. O Kompendium „Teologii Platońskiej” Marsilia Ficina. Wstęp do przekładu

Jak wykazac nieśmiertelnośc. O Kompendium „Teologii Platonskiej” Marsilia Ficina Nieśmiertelnośc ludzkiej duszy byla jednym z najcześciej dyskutowanych problemow filozoficznych w epoce renesansu. Marsilio Ficino poświecil temu zagadnieniu wiele traktatow – nie tylko swoją najbardziej popularną prace Teologia Platonska na temat nieśmiertelności dusz , ale takze teksty zwane opuscula theologica , w tym Kompendium Teologii Platonskiej . Artykul stanowi wstep do tlumaczenia Kompendium na jezyk polski, zawiera informacje na jego temat oraz analize przedstawionych w nim treści. W traktacie autor ukazuje ontyczną strukture rzeczywistości (glownie jej sfere niecielesną), ktora ma wymiar neoplatonski i chrześcijanski, oraz dowodzi konieczności istnienia Pierwszej Przyczyny-Boga, od ktorego pochodzi kazda istota. Koncentruje sie na boskich atrybutach, uznając, ze ich poznanie determinuje wiedze o wszystkim innym, w tym o ludzkiej duszy. Bezpośrednie pochodzenie duszy od Boga i jej zdolnośc do poznania niezmiennych form rzeczy jest zdaniem Ficina dowodem na jej nieśmiertelnośc.

Christianity and Global Law: Introduction

This is a brief introduction to a book that explores both historical and contemporary Christian sources and dimensions of global law and includes critical perspectives from various religious and philosophical traditions. In this book, two dozen leading scholars discuss the constituent principles of this new global legal order historically, comparatively, and currently. The first part uses a historical-biographical approach to study a few of the major Christian architects of global law and transnational legal theory, from St. Paul to Jacques Maritain. The second part distills the deep Christian sources and dimensions of the main principles of global law, historically and today, separating out the distinct Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian contributions as appropriate. Finally, the authors address a number of pressing global issues and challenges, where a Christian-informed legal perspective can and should have deep purchase and influence. The work makes no claim that Christianity is the only historical shaper of global law, nor that it should monopolize the theory and practice of global law today. But the book does insist that Christianity, as one of the world’s great religions, has deep norms and practices, ideas and institutions, prophets and procedures that can be of benefit as the world struggles to find global legal resources to confront humanity’s greatest challenges.

Christian universities and schools in relation and context

Editorial There is often a relationship between Christian universities and colleges of higher education and schools of a Christian character. Canterbury Christ Church University was initially founded to provide more teachers for Church schools (Bowie et al., 2018a). It is part of a group of English universities called Cathedrals Group universities which profess an agenda for values-led higher education (https://www.cathedralsgroup.ac.uk/). A research study to find out what students, staff and schools thought really mattered in the teacher education provision made by these universities found they were seen as centres of expertise in teaching and learning and as having a distinctively person-centred philosophy of education (Bowie et al., 2018b). The qualitative and quantitative 2-year study involving six English universities with Christian foundations also found a rich variety of interpretations of this philosophy, according to context, self-understanding regarding the mission of universities, and the distinct contours of schools served by this provision. This ranged from what might be called a common good mission to ‘The Five Thousand’, which sought to provide a good teacher formation for all schools, to a specific apostolic mission to ‘The Twelve’ to serve the Christian schooling sector, as well as a particular concern to serve the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in schools. The English context is marked by diverse and plural populations of students and a secular climate in general. Additionally, the research found staff and student understanding and view of the Christian dimension of the university varied between institutions to a considerable degree. Nevertheless, that dimension was valued by the schools they served. The experience of leading this project in part inspired this journal issue. This issue draws together research into the different dimensions of engagement between Christian schools and Christian universities. The relationship between these institutions and the contexts in which they are situated reveals a web of interconnections. These interconnections are shaped by both an interest in a more historically grounded awareness of the development of educational ideas in the formation of teachers, and a pressure to be more ‘profession’ orientated.

Leo VI and the Transformation of Byzantine Christian Identity: Writings of an Unexpected Emperor by Meredith L. D. Riedel

Reviewed by: Leo VI and the Transformation of Byzantine Christian Identity: Writings of an Unexpected Emperor by Meredith L. D. Riedel George E. Demacopoulos Meredith L. D. Riedel. Leo VI and the Transformation of Byzantine Christian Identity: Writings of an Unexpected Emperor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. 219 pp. Leo VI (886–912) is rather notorious for being the only Byzantine emperor to defy canon law by marrying a fourth time. For those who know little else of his reign, it will likely come as a surprise that a new book compellingly argues that Leo went further than any emperor before him to integrate a Christian worldview into the secular machinery of the empire, including its army and legal code. Among other things, and given the scandal of his own marriages, it is ironic that it would be Leo who first decreed that a marriage required an ecclesiastical blessing before it would be recognized by the state. Through a careful analysis of Leo's military manual (the Taktika), his major legal undertakings, and his homilies [End Page 228] (yes, homilies), Dr. Meredith Riedel provides a comprehensive assessment of the ways in which this "unexpected" emperor injected his own Orthodox Christian commitments into imperial governance. Leo VI and the Transformation of Byzantine Identity is Dr. Riedel's first monograph—a revision and expansion of her 2010 Oxford dissertation, which had focused on the underappreciated Christian dimensions of Leo's military manual, the Taktika. The book comprises nine chapters (the introduction and conclusion being numbered as chapters 1 and 9, respectively). Chapters 2–4 analyze the Taktika; chapters 5–6 assess Leo's revisions of and additions to the legal code; chapter 7 examines his homilies; and chapter 8 reconstructs and interprets Leo's conception of the Byzantines as a "chosen people." Military historians will, of course, be familiar with Leo's Taktika. Although it draws deeply from previous military manuals, especially the Strategikon of the emperor Maurice, Leo's venture is noteworthy for a few reasons (perhaps the most surprising is that Leo was not a soldier and he never commanded an army). For example, the Taktika is the first Roman/Byzantine military treatise to take a serious interest in naval warfare, an aspect that likely reflects the fact that Byzantines were at that time suffering recurring defeats from Arab navies and pirates. For Riedel, however, the most interesting feature of the Taktika is the fact that it is also the first Byzantine military manual to offer a thick description of the Saracens, one that, unlike the descriptions of all other ethnic groups, is framed almost exclusively in terms of religion. Riedel proposes that Leo deliberately employs religion and religious difference to reframe the way that his readers should think about their most dangerous enemy. For Leo, not only is Islam a direct military threat, but the defense of the empire is an explicit defense of Christian faith (43). Riedel describes Leo's depiction of Muslim recruitment practice as a "function of applied theology" and asserts that the emperor believes "that the Byzantines might look to this as a sort of example for solving similar difficulties" (44). Although the book is neither a study of Byzantine attitudes toward war nor an assessment of Byzantine military strategy, Riedel does make a series of important observations in these matters. Perhaps most importantly, she successfully argues that the Byzantines did not have a functional conception of holy war as we typically understand it. Nevertheless, she observes that the Byzantines after Leo did pursue an explicit "defense of the Christian faith" through the strategic use of violence. For an emperor like Leo, a Christian general should pray and he should know how to fight. But characteristic of Byzantine diplomatic policy and (for Riedel) Byzantine theological commitments, a general should pursue peace above other options. With respect to his legal reforms and new laws (novellae), Riedel proposes that Leo consistently shows a greater concern for the Christian conceptions of mercy and repentance than did previous legislators. Leo, she avers, is at pains to make Orthodox Christian commitments visible in everyday aspects of Byzantine social and legal life, such as the prohibition against work on Sundays or...

"Nacinanie sykomory" - czyli jak badać chrześcijański wymiar dramatu i teatru XX wieku

The paper approaches the problem of a research of a Christian dimension of literature and theatre in the period of the crisis of Christian anthropology, which has been deeply felt at the end of the 20th century. Destructive elements have appeared in the understanding of the history and the role which Christianity has played in the construction of the world. The fruits of the contemporary culture have become sour; they contradict achievements of humanism and create an entity which has been named by Pope John Paul II as the “culture of death”. A researcher of the 20th century literature and theatre in his/her attempt to reach to the source of these processes and reveal real roots of the European culture must make an “incision” with Logos or with “the Light of the Gospel” on the body of the work created by this culture. So, that, as a result of this “incision” the elements which poison it might be eliminated. In this way a transcendental dimension of the European culture could be revealed and a proper description could start; proper because it could undertake the type of anthropology which had been revealed in the Bible and later developed by Judaism and Christianity.