Theological Schools Research Articles

Ислам дініндегі білімнің статусы мен құндылығы және киелілер культі

The article, based on the arguments and specific examples, concludes that the Muslim model of education is based primarily on the Koran and Sunnah, as well as on the scientific and theoretical achievements of early Muslim thinkers. Scientists connect the integrity of human life with the philosophical, cultural, ethical, devel-opmental unity of science and knowledge. The article reveals and analyzes the essence of the values of the Koran, which have become the basis of education and science in Islamic philosophy.The pedagogical system of education and training in Islam studies the formation of personality, upbringing and education of a person of any age within the framework of cultural studies and religious studies. The ultimate goal of education in Is-lam is the formation of morality. The concept of “adab” covers the spiritual and material essence of a person, his social relationships. Scientists interpret this concept as worthy behavior, which is formed on the basis of knowledge from the source of wisdom (hikmat) and believe that the formation and development of higher qualities protects a person from making mistakes. These are the basic principles of the system of education and science in the religion of Islam. From a reformist-modernist point of view, the article defines and analyz-es the values and institutions of Islam related to the basic aspects of the classical period of Muslim civiliza-tion. The authors of the article analyze the problem of attitude towards thecult of saints and sacred places in post-classical Islam, as well as the history of the development of education in Islam and the basic principles of science at the present stage. The article notes that the role of theological schools and the Islamic worldview of scientists are among the spiritual treasures.

Doktrin Predestinasi dan Determinisme: Antara Muktazilah dan Asy’ariyah

In classical Islamic thought, ‘divine predestination’ (qada’ wa’l-qadar) versus ‘human free will’ (ikhtiyar) is one of the most hotly contested topics. This article critically analyses the contribution made to this discourse by the two prominent schools of Islamic theology, the Asharites and the Mu’tazilites, by focusing on a topic that is crucial to the philosophy and theology of theology. This article seeks to properly understand Islamic intellectual history and culture by arguing that the treatment of the two schools of Islamic theology on the issue of qada’ wa’l-qadar and ikhtiyar is innovative, influential, and fundamentally more complex than previously acknowledged. On the subject of free will versus fate, the study’s findings indicate that the Mu’tazilah and Ash’ariyah have made compromises between philosophical, theological (kalam), and esoteric (sûfi) perspectives. Given that the subject matter and methodology of kalam, falsafah, and tasawwûf are frequently considered to be very different or even contradictory, this attitude of accommodation is plainly exceptional.

Al‐Azhar and the Salafis in Egypt: Contestation of two traditions

<scp>Al‐Azhar</scp> and the Salafis in Egypt: Contestation of two traditions

Issues of learning and education in the works of Aleksandre Kipshidze

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The famous publicist and public figure of the 19th century, Aleksandre Kipshidze, who is known in the history of the Georgian press under the pseudonym Froneli, after graduating from the four-class theological school of Gori, studied at the Tbilisi theological seminary. While studying at the seminary, he participated in the publication of the handwritten magazine of the disciples, “Infant brain”;. During his studies at the seminary, Aleksandre Kipshidze wrote the poem “Thought” and “God”. He signed under the pseudonym of Godoria. “Godoria” was the pseudonym of Aleksander’s older brother Gregory. It is possible that he took this pseudonym as a sign of respect for his brother, and this is not surprising. He was always proud of his brother, tried to share his thoughts. While studying at the seminary in 1879-1882, Aleksandre Kipshidze wrote “;Diaries of a Seminarian”, which describes the events in the seminary. Aleksandre Kipshidze did not like the regime in the seminary. The Russification policy reigned, the majority of teachers were Russian monarchists, Georgian language and literature were given only one lesson a week. It was forbidden to read Georgian books and magazines in the seminary. Those who read it were severely punished. But, despite this, Al.Kipshidze systematically read Georgian books and magazines. Since 1889, Aleksandre Kipshidze became a permanent employee of “Iveria”. On the pages of the newspaper, he often spoke about the necessity of education. He pointed out that, the nation will fall in spirit and heart if education in the country is not at the proper level. He considered illiteracy to be the destructive force of the nation. Aleksandre Kipshidze told us what the situation was in Tbilisi Governorate, how many schools there were, how many students were studying, and among them how many were Georgians and how many representatives of different nationalities, how much was spent on education and upbringing, etc.

Simul: Inquiries into Luther's Experience of the Christian Life ed. by Robert Kolb, Torbjörn Johansson, and Daniel Johansson

Reviewed by: Simul: Inquiries into Luther's Experience of the Christian Life ed. by Robert Kolb, Torbjörn Johansson, and Daniel Johansson Ronald K. Rittgers Simul: Inquiries into Luther's Experience of the Christian Life. Edited by Robert Kolb, Torbjörn Johansson, and Daniel Johansson. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021. 270 pp. The central argument of this volume is that "simul grasps the essence of Luther's theology, at the same time as it broadens the perspective and goes beyond the traditional solas. Simul takes you directly to the heart of Lutheran theology, justification by faith alone, at the same time as the concept constitutes a thought pattern which is a characteristic feature of much of Lutheran theology" (9). The volume grew out of four annual conferences at the Lutheran School of Theology in Gothenburg, Sweden that addressed the theme of simul as part of its preparations for the celebration of the Reformation's 500th anniversary. The conference organizers were especially interested in showing how simul "unites systematic-theological, historical, and exegetical perspectives" (9). After an introduction by the editors, the volume is divided into three sections: Luther, The Lutheran Tradition, and Exegetical Perspectives. In the "Luther" section, Oswald Bayer argues that while Luther likely coined the phrase simul iustus et peccator, he never saw it as central to his Reformation discovery. In fact, the phrase was not accorded this central status until the twentieth century. Still, Bayer affirms the phrase's importance for Luther's theology, arguing that it was part of the Reformer's larger move away from Scholastic substance-theology to Reformation relationship- and promissio-theology. Erik Herrmann argues that the "geistige Welt" of the Old Testament profoundly shaped Luther's theology—he was not simply a Paulinist. According to Herrmann, "in the Old Testament Luther found the paradoxical simul of his theology" (53) and thus preached most frequently on the Old Testament because he saw "the simul of human existence" as its great theme (60). Robert Kolb shows how Romans 7 was the locus classicus for Luther's simul-thinking, arguing that it directly informed his pastoral care of despairing Christians. The reformer urged such Christians to trust "in the priority of God's re-creative Word" to find consolation in their sinner-saint existence (68). [End Page 92] Roland Ziegler discusses the importance of the simul-formula for Luther's theology of the Lord's Supper, showing how multiple simultaneities inform this theology: bread and wine are also body and blood, both spiritual and oral eating take place, and both past and future are joined in the sacrament, which itself is based on the simul of Christ's human and divine natures. Mark Mattes revisits his important argument in Martin Luther's Theology of Beauty (2017), arguing that "Christians are not only simultaneously righteous and sinful, but also beautiful and ugly at the same time" (104). Christians' beauty, however, is a received beauty, a gift of God's beauty, that is always hidden under its opposite in cross and suffering. In the "Lutheran Theology" section, Timothy Wengert demonstrates the importance of the simul-formula for Melanchthon, persuasively arguing that it was "the lynchpin of his theology throughout his life," and that it directly informed his opposition to the controversial soteriologies of Johannes Brenz and Andreas Osiander (126). Jakob Valdemar Olsen discusses the influence of Luther's simul-thinking on Søren Kierkegaard, especially on the latter's view of human existence as defined by paradox and contradiction. For Kierkegaard, "a human being is seen as a relational being full of tensions" (158), something Olsen connects to Luther. Harald Jung explores how the simul contributed to social and economic theory in post-World War II Germany and how it can do the same today, helping societies avoid both utopian and quietistic impulses. Bernd Wannenwetsch seeks to recover the simul of Luther's two regiments teaching for contemporary use, rescuing it from distortions in the modern period, especially under the Nazis. In the "Exegetical Perspectives" section, Tim Saleska draws on Luther-style paradox to interpret Exodus 34:6–7, arguing that this approach allows one to deal honestly with the contradiction it contains—God is merciful and...

About This Issue

About This Issue David J. Endres This issue considers the current state of U.S. Catholic historiography. The assembled studies chart developments in historians’ approaches to topics that include gender, race, and social change. They examine scholarly contributors and suggest areas for further research. We are grateful to our contributors. Sandra Yocum is associate professor in the Religious Studies Department and University Professor of Faith and Culture at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. She is also a consulting editor of our journal. Margaret M. McGuinness is professor emerita in the Department of Religion and Theology at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jeffrey M. Burns is the director of the Academy of American Franciscan History and a faculty member of the Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego. He is also an associate editor of our journal. Brian J. Clites is assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies and associate director of the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Jillian Plummer is assistant professor of Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. [End Page i] Copyright © 2023 The Catholic University of America Press

Cultivating Community through Language Learning in a Benedictine Seminary Network

St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, a seminary located in southern Indiana, was founded in 1857 by monks of the Benedictine order of Einsiedeln in Switzerland. The seminary has since been devoted to the education of faith leaders—priests, deacons, and graduate lay students. Due to the growth of underserved Latino populations in the Midwest region of the United States, there is a need to prepare future faith leaders to serve Latino congregations. This work provides an exploration into the ways in which language learning collaborations based on Benedictine hospitality can cultivate community. It outlines a Benedictine pedagogy of community that is threefold. First, given the importance of language to communicate with members of Latino communities in the United States, the cultivation of community is understood in terms of the world readiness standards of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Second, because Benedictine monasteries were founded on the value of hospitality, these interactions are imbued with Benedictine hospitality. Third, it is argued that Benedictine communities are contexts in which the liminal intertwines with the liminoid, resulting in fertile ground for the creation of what we call liminal/liminoid encounters that have the potential to level asymmetric power relations and lead to meaningful dialogue. The final section shows how this Benedictine pedagogy of community is enacted in one specific Spanish language learning immersion that takes place at a sister Benedictine Monastery abroad, Our Lady of Angels, in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It also provides a small sample of seven students’ responses to two critical questions from a survey questionnaire. Even though this small qualitative sample is not generalizable, it helps illuminate how these interactions may lead to the development of cultural sensitivity, of a sense of community, between students and members of this language learning immersion abroad. Responses indicate that students who participated in this program for at least eight weeks exhibit an interest in continuing to interact and collaborate in multicultural communities as well as a willingness to learn the target language beyond this experience.

A Framework for Examining Bioethical Issues from a Sunni Perspective: Maslaha.

All religions should develop convincing responses to emerging bioethical problems stemming from medical and technological advancements. Additionally, believers need to know their faiths' interpretations of bioethical issues to be able to make medical decisions in line with their religious values. Therefore, Islamic bioethics should provide Muslims with conclusive and credible answers regarding newly rising problems in health care by revisiting the religious norms and decrees. However, the diversity in the Islamic denominations, the traditionalist aspect of the Sunni jurisprudence demanding strict compliance with the scriptural texts, the lack of unanimously accepted authority, and the limited number of academic works in Islamic bioethics (at least in English) complicate exploring new standards or rules for new ethical matters. In this view, the present paper aims to delineate two primary Islamic theological schools and propose al-Ghazali's maslaha as a general framework to analyze bioethical issues in the Sunni tradition. Maslaha allows exercising discretion in light of the protection of five fundamental values: religion, life, reason, lineage, and property. Maslaha has the potential to enable Sunni Muslims to appraise contemporary ethical questions, concerns, and dilemmas through an Islamic view and make more autonomous decisions by having religious guidelines.

On Redescribing Christian Origins

Abstract This is a republication of an article by the late Burton Mack (1931–2022, formerly Professor Emeritus at Claremont School of Theology). “On Redescribing Christian Origins” was originally presented as one of the papers at the inaugural session of the Society of Biblical Literature Consultation on Ancient Myths and Modern Theories of Christian Origins (Philadelphia, 1995) and then published in Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 8:3 (1996), pp. 247–269. Following this reprint are a series of contemporary scholars connecting Mack’s approach, as outlined in this paper, to their own research in other fields, thereby demonstrating the relevance of his work for the wider field.

Tragom jedne fotografije - tablo maturanata Srpske pravoslavne bogoslovsko-učiteljske škole u Prizrenu 1896. godine

This story of the life paths of the teachers and students of the seminary is told on the trail of a photograph, that is, a tableau of the graduates of the Serbian Orthodox Theological-Teaching School in Prizren, in 1896. It is about their contribution to education, church, Christianity, theology, literature, ethnology, and science. Like other photographs created in studios throughout the Serbian cultural space, they are more than documents, they are an inexhaustible treasure for historians and other cultural workers. They visually remind us of our ancestors and tell us about a time that no longer exists, the time of nobility. Professors and graduates are dressed according to the European style of clothing, unusual for those occasions and that time, when professors had to wear a fez, so as not to be distinguished from citizens of other religions. The place and time of the photograph is the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire, Kosovo Vilayet, the 'Dark Vilayet'! An authentic 1896 photo from Prizren is a true rarity. There is no information on taking photos in the archival material of the Theological School, but one thing is certain, the photography was created in Prizren that year, but the name of the photographer is unknown. There are 27 people on the tableau, rector Ilarion (Ivan) Vesić, eight teachers, Trivun Dimitrijević, Kosta Lozanić, Mihailo S. Tasić, Milan Gajić, Sava Jakić, Danilo (Nedeljković), Vasilije Stojanović, Apostol Filipovic, and 18 graduates, Toma Burković, Ljubomir A. Bulatović Ibrijski, Milutin V. Vukić, Janićije (Naća) Živković, Janko Đorđević, Haralampije Ilić, Pantelija Mandić, Dusan Nekic, Milan Nikšić, Radivoje R. Orlović, Atanasije Petrović, Blagoje Petrović, Obrad Popović, Nikola Rožić, Mladen Stojanović, Petar Ćićarić, Vladimir Popović and Zdravko Tasić. This is the first generation of high school graduates who completed the six-year Serbian Orthodox Theological-Teaching School. The Council of the Theological School declared them capable of being teachers and they were issued with certificates of teacher training. When they finished their education, they were between 17 and 26 years old. Except for one student who continued his education at the Belgrade Theological School, all the others were appointed as teachers. Obviously, the need for trained teachers throughout Old Serbia was great that year. In further service, five students were ordained as priests, one teacher became a merchant. Only one former student finished the Spiritual Academy, and two continued their education after the Theological School. Of the 18 students, five were from Prizren, three from the surrounding area. For the first time, a student from Bosnia attended the Theological School. Four young men were from Macedonia, two from Montenegro, two from the Kingdom of Serbia, and one from Kosovo. Of the nine teachers, four had university degrees, two were monks, which was a requirement for the Theological School. In different years, they were able to make contact with the students and help them not only as teachers, but also as guardians, because it was a boarding school. The goal of the Theological School in Prizren was to educate and form an educated staff of teachers and priests, which it successfully realized. Teachers and priests in Old Serbia were, in addition to their vocation, a kind of national workers and cultural activists because the Theological School moulded them as patriots.

ВІДНОВЛЕННЯ ТА ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ ЗАКЛАДУ ДУХОВНОЇ ОСВІТИ СУМЩИНИ У НОВІТНІЙ ПЕРІОД (1997–2015)

The article is devoted to the latest stage of the only confessional institution of spiritual education in the Sumy Region which is Sumy Theological Seminary named after His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kyiv. The article traces the history of the spiritual and educational institution: from the Okhtyrka Theological School (1819), which was moved to Sumy (1889), its closure in 1919, to the resumption of the school's activities in 1998 and the opening of Sumy Theological Seminary on its basis. The 25th anniversary of the educational process restoration in Sumy Pastoral and Theological School provides an opportunity to study the activity latest stages of Sumy Institution of Spiritual Education. Since 2015 the school was reorganized into Sumy Theological Seminary, which was named in honor of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) and operates in this status today. The structure and specifics of the spiritual education institution activity are traditionally closed and have other specific features significantly different from other educational institutions. Thus, it causes research interest. The relevance and practical significance of studying the history and latest updates of Sumy Theological Seminary is also due to the exclusivity of the institution. Sumy Theological Seminary is currently the only denominational institution of spiritual education in the Sumy Region. The study of the spiritual educational institution in the Sumy Region, its history, and its current state, allow us to obtain more precise data about education in the Sumy Region in general. The history of spiritual education in the Region is an integral part of its heritage and defines the contours of its regional cultural and historical portrait, requiring further thorough research. The results of scientific research can be used in the process of studying the history of the Sumy Region as a separate region, educational institutions of the Region, the study of local history and historical-pedagogical courses in pedagogical higher education institutions of Ukraine, in institutions of postgraduate pedagogical education, as well as in religious educational institutions. The purpose of the research is to reproduce little-known facts of the history of Sumy and the Sumy Region, related to the activities of the theological school and seminary, as also individual facts of the religious and social life of the Sumy Region.

That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation by David Bentley Hart

Reviewed by: That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation by David Bentley Hart Glenn B. Siniscalchi David Bentley Hart, That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2019. Pp. 224. $16.00, paper. Recognizing that certain expressions of Christianity have taught that everyone will see the beatific vision, Hart maintains that the doctrine of universal salvation has frequently been the minority viewpoint within Christian communities. However, that minority stance does not prevent Hart from arguing persuasively that the credibility of the gospel message is at stake in this debate. This book is a mesmerizing defense of the claim that everyone will freely submit to the Christian God. This is not to say that all beliefs concerning damnation are logically incoherent, but one should acknowledge the strength of Hart’s theological and philosophical arguments in That All Shall be Saved that the fires of hell will cleanse the unrepentant of the shortcomings that prevented them from cooperating with the Reign of God during their earthly lifetimes. Each of four meditations focuses on a distinct argument in support of the basic thesis of the book. Following the lead of Gregory of Nyssa, for instance, the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo reinforces the theology of God as the origin and destiny of all human beings. The second meditation discusses some of the complicated issues related to the proper translations and exegesis of the biblical texts (and whether the doctrine of an eternal hell is biblically based). Hart offers a plethora of textual evidence that the doctrine of universal restoration is firmly rooted in the scriptures. The third meditation continues the tradition of classical Christian thought on the collective nature of the identity of human beings. To state the case succinctly, if one person is saved, we must conclude that everyone will reach heavenly bliss. In Hart’s words, “Finite persons are not self-enclosed individual substances; they are dynamic events of relations to what is other than themselves” (p. 151). The last meditation concentrates on the nature of freedom as a condition of being for responsibility and excellence, not as the mere ability to choose between competing options. With this traditional understanding of human freedom in the background, the onus is placed on whether the intellect is able to see the good and the true in a fallen world. God’s grace therefore becomes paramount in guiding human beings toward their final ends. Reading this book as a Catholic theologian with a strong interest in fundamental theology, interfaith dialogue, and the philosophy of religion, I have been fascinated by Hart’s scholarly publications and public lectures, many of which are available online. These have played a major role in convincing me that his depiction of the eschatological horizon is correct. Catholic scholars who live with anxieties about the incompatibilities between conciliar teachings and belief [End Page 125] in universal restoration are strongly encouraged to consult Trent Pomplun’s article, “Heat and Light: David Bentley Hart on the Fires of Hell,” Modern Theology 37 (April, 2021): 523–530. Many intellectuals have discussed Hart’s works in several respectable forums, but, when their reviews and commentaries are carefully interpreted, one becomes perplexed by the misrepresentations of the arguments in support of select universalist positions. As long as one accepts a few other foundational beliefs about the nature of a theistic God and Christianity, the cumulative effect of the case that is presented in Hart’s book will likely remain irrefutable. Glenn B. Siniscalchi Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, St. Meinrad, IN Copyright © 2023 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

КОРОТКИЙ НАРИС ІСТОРІЇ СУМСЬКОГО ДУХОВНОГО УЧИЛИЩА (1888–1919 рр.)

The relevance of this study is due, first of all, to the absence of works devoted to the history of the Sumy Theological School in the national historiography. It is indicated that the main obstacle to carrying out research on the topic is the lack of archival documents. The main group of sources of the article, on which the authors relied, are the publications of the journals of the meetings of the clergy of the Sumy school district, reports, lists of pupils, messages and appeals related to the life of the school, published in the periodicals of the diocese – «Letter for the Kharkiv Diocese», «Vedomosti and notes on the Kharkiv Diocese». These materials made it possible to recreate a more or less complete picture of school life and realize the goal of the work – to reveal the most significant aspects of the functioning of the theological school in the city of Sumy at the end of the 19th – at the beginning of the 20th century. The main text of the publication contains the following parts: a description of the circumstances of the foundation of the Sumy Theological School; description of the educational institution's finances (estimate, sources of replenishment); management of the school (congress of clergy of the Sumy school district, school board, school supervisor, custodian); teaching staff of the school; organization of educational work (educational disciplines, academic performance, Christian upbringing, cultural and educational events with the participation of students); closure of the educational institution. The authors emphasized the important role in the emergence of the educational institution of the Sumy deacon Fr. Vasyl Nikolskyi, Archbishop of Kharkiv and Okhtyrskyi Amvrosii (Klyucharyov), Sumy businessmen I. G. Kharitonenko and D. I. Sukhanov. Among the staff of the school, more attention was paid to its supervisor A. F. Gruzov and teacher F. F. Gorain according to the availability of sources. The conclusions indicate the prospects for further research on the chosen topic. First of all, it is an interesting reproduction of the psychological atmosphere of the school, the nuances of the teachers' pedagogical creativity, the relationships within the student groups, as well as between students and teachers. The authors consider their research in the field of microhistory as a component of a complex of research on the history of secondary education institutions in Sumy.

“It would be a good idea to carry out a research project called ‘Theologians’ ships’…”

A conversation with a historian of Russian theology of the Modern era touches upon the continuity of some key ideas that are characteristic of the Diaspora Theology of the 20th century in relation to the ideas whose origins are found in Russian spiritual and academic theology of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Contrary to the well-established opinion that Russian post-revolutionary emigration theology was a new, breakthrough phase in theological development, the author shows that such concepts as Trinitarian ecclesiology, personalism, theosis, kenotic theology (characteristic of this theology) in fact arise and form among Russian authors from the end of 1880-s until the turning point in 1917. The following specific questions are also raised during the conversation: the emergence of the Russian theological school, contemporary anthropology in its connection with the anthropology of St. Augustine; receptions of the Areopagite Corpus in pre-revolutionary Russia; the influence of Western theology, in particular French mysticism of the 17th century, as well as the influence of the latest philosophy and psychology for that time on representatives of the Russian spiritual and academic tradition. The author connects the peculiarities of Russian pre-revolutionary theology with the fact that among the Orthodox Churches, it is the Russian Church that is the first to find itself in the situation of the new time with its secularization, non-religious humanism and specific philosophical language. The status of Russian lay theologians (first of all, professors of theological schools, who belonged together with the teachers-priests to the same spiritual-academic corporation) is also discussed. The conversation can be considered as a multifaceted look at the history of Russian Orthodox theology in recent centuries, where there are still gaps identified by the author.

НАРИС ІЗ ІСТОРІЇ ОХТИРСЬКОГО ДУХОВНОГО УЧИЛИЩА (1819 – 1888 рр.)

The article is devoted to the history of the Okhtyrka Theological School, the first institution of spiritual education on the territory of the current Sumy Oblast. The relevance of the article is determined by the objectively insufficient research of the history of the Okhtyrka Theological School, its uniqueness as an educational institution, as well as its spiritual and intellectual influence on the further history of Okhtyrka and Okhtyrka Region (within the newest stage of history - Sumy Region). Therefore, the object of the study is the Okhtyrka Theological School and the integral system of its functioning as a religious educational institution. The subject of the research will be a complex of historical information that reflects the activities of the Okhtyrka Theological School in all manifestations of its specialized activity. The aim of the research is to reveal the substance of the formation and development of Okhtyrka Theological School throughout its entire existence. Scientific novelty. The article reflects a multi-aspect complex analysis of archival sources, which made it possible to achieve the following research results: identify the factors that led to the opening of the Okhtyrka Theological School; characterize the ecclesiastical and administrative conditions for the opening and operation of the Okhtyr Theological School; introduce information about the state of the educational process, teaching methods, characteristics of educational work, the system of disciplinary sanctions and punishments, lists of management staff and teachers into scientific circulation for the first time; characterize the composition of the school's students by social and national characteristics; analyze the state of material and household support, conditions of study and accommodation of students; research and present the version of the reasons for the termination of activity of Okhtyrka Theological School and its transfer to Sumy for the first time. Conclusions. The analysis of the available sources, as well as the historical and contextual extrapolation of individual data, allowed us to reproduce the historical past of the Okhtyrka Theological School within the administrative-territorial structure, church-canonical subordination, normative definition of functioning, peculiarities of the educational process, educational-methodical and personnel support, and other aspects.

About This Issue

About This Issue David J. Endres In the past decades, cultural and demographic shifts have significantly reshaped U.S. Catholic parish life. Thousands of parishes have been closed or consolidated, mostly in New England and the Great Lakes states. At the same time, new congregations have formed in the American South and Southwest, especially as immigration and regional relocation has brought new and larger populations. This theme issue explores parishes and the communities they serve. It is particularly attentive to the realities of growth and decline and the role of race and ethnicity in those shifts. Worth K. Hayes is associate professor of history and Director of Academic and Learning Outcomes at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. Joshua Alan Hoxmeier is a doctoral student in the department of history at the University of Illinois Chicago. Madeline Gambino is an adjunct professor of religious studies at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, and the assistant director of the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Susan Bigelow Reynolds is assistant professor of Catholic Studies at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. Tricia C. Bruce is a sociologist with the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana. Copyright © 2023 The Catholic University of America Press

Reagan’s Gun-Toting Nuns: The Catholic Conflict over Cold War Human Rights Policy in Central America by Theresa Keeley

Reviewed by: Reagan’s Gun-Toting Nuns: The Catholic Conflict over Cold War Human Rights Policy in Central America by Theresa Keeley Joseph P. Chinnici Reagan’s Gun-Toting Nuns: The Catholic Conflict over Cold War Human Rights Policy in Central America. By Theresa Keeley (Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 2020. Pp. xii, 352. $49.95. ISBN: 9781501750755.) Awarded the John Gilmary Shea Award by the American Catholic Historical Association in 2021, Reagan’s Gun-Toting Nuns is an important work. It richly illuminates multiple dimensions of post-conciliar divides in the Catholic community in the United States: the movement away from the Cold War alliances with conservative political structures in Latin America; the emergence in the 1960s of a leftward critique of U.S. foreign policy; the importance of missionary experiences and international exchanges as shaping internal divisions within the American Catholic community; the mirroring in the United States of polarized views on the presence of the Church in society, and different implementations of the Council in the 1980s. All of this is done through a singular focus on developments in El Salvador and Nicaragua (with some reference to other Latin American countries) and the role of the Maryknoll sisters. The bulk of the work covers the period from the murder in El Salvador of Maryknoll nuns Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, the Ursuline Dorothy Kazel, and the lay missionary Jean Donovan (December, 1980) to the murder of the members of the Society of Jesus and their co-workers in November, 1989. After a very comprehensive and summary Introduction, Keeley breaks the period up into chapters. Chapter One describes the evolution of the missionary vision and its alliance with the option for the poor, while Chapter Two covers the opposition in Nicaragua between the Maryknoll congregation and U.S. backed strong man and the familial consortium of Anatasio Somoza. The third, fourth, and fifth chapters describe developments in El Salvador leading up the killing of Archbishop Romero and the strong alliance between the missionaries, liberation theology, and the Sandinistas. Here, the politically driven divide between the Reagan administration and its support by conservative Catholics fuels the domestic image campaign against allegedly pro-communist, radical religious women, liberation theology, and left-wing Catholicism. Politics and theology begin to blend as the various sides take different approaches to liturgy and the understanding of the “people’s Church.” Chapter 6, entitled “Real Catholics versus Maryknollers,” details the alliance between Tip O’Neill and the sisters. In doing so, it brings the divisive picture into particular sharpness by analyzing the gender bias of the conservative campaign when it paints a picture of the relationship between developments in Nicaragua and the role of women in society and Church. The last two chapters (7 and 8) cover the Nicaraguan Iran-Contra affair and the murders in El Salvador. The epilogue moves beyond the careful attention to documented historical data that marks the whole work and attempts to identify analogous divisions in the debates over the Catholic Church and the government’s health-care directives in the second decade of the twenty-first century. [End Page 221] The author is to be congratulated for providing a close analysis of how presidential policies, international developments, and religious perspectives crisscrossed and enabled the solidification of political Catholicism in the United States. While the argument is for the most part sound, it is also provocative and probably awaits modification. Attention to the economic disparity in Latin America is hinted at but never treated as a component part of the right-left divide. Relying on newspaper reports, the interpretive methodology offers little critique of the virtual reality created by the press, both left and right, for its own purposes. The analysis may also be modified when other archival depositories become available: the religious and political interventions of the Holy See, the discussions among the bishops, government sources that remain untapped. Still, this reviewer recommends Reagan’s Gun-Toting Nuns for all students of contemporary Catholicism and its divides. Joseph P. Chinnici Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego Copyright © 2023 The Catholic University of America Press ...

La teologia post-tridentina. Nota a proposito del ‘Soprannaturale’ e della teologia degli ‘Augustinenses’

Post-Tridentine Catholic theology as a whole developed in a threefold context: the political world of national assertions, which in Europe led to royal absolutism; the cultural-philosophical context with the emergence of the autonomy of thought, both rational (Descartes 1596-1650) and scientific (Francis Bacon 1561-1626; Galileo 1564-1642); and, finally, the theological context of the post-Council of Trent (1545-1563). In such a threefold context, unravelling the set of concepts, underlying and manifest in the post-Tridentine theological schools in relation to the supernatural/nature, has its own complexity which, in this note, we try to concretise in particular in relation to their context, both philosophical-political and theological.

ПРАВОСЛАВНЫЙ ФИЛОСОФСКИЙ ТЕИЗМ КАК СПЕЦИФИЧЕСКОЕ ПРОЯВЛЕНИЕ РОССИЙСКОЙ РЕЛИГИОЗНОЙ ИДЕНТИЧНОСТИ XIX ВЕКА

The article deals with the peculiarities of the existence of the Orthodox philosophical tradition of the 19th century which was formed taking into account the specifics of the Russian religious mentality. At the same time, the influence of European philosophical idealism on domestic spiritual and academic theism is shown. The fact of the phenomenon of religious philosophy or religious philosophy in higher theological schools is noted, while its role in the formation of Orthodox academic ethical and social teaching is determined.

ПЕДАГОГИКА В ПРАВОСЛАВНЫХ ВЫСШИХ ДУХОВНЫХ ШКОЛАХ В XIX ВЕКЕ: ОПЫТ ОБРЕТЕНИЯ СОБСТВЕННОЙ ИДЕНТИЧНОСТИ

The article shows the connection of the Orthodox philosophical worldview with the tradition of Russian pedagogy, identifies problems in the field of theory and learning that attracted the attention of thinkers from Orthodox higher theological schools. The connection of Orthodox moral metaphysics with the spiritual and academic philosophy of education is justified. A selection of studies by Orthodox authors that deal with the history of pedagogy, didactics, and the practice of education is presented.