Church History

Oi Christianoi - Sezione antica, n. 26 ----- Su Ipazia di Alessandria e su Sinesio di Cirene molti hanno già scritto: Ipazia, una nota antica scienziata e filosofia, Sinesio, un nobile, suo allievo e poi vescovo cristiano; Ipazia, da alcuni presa in considerazione unicamente come vessillo del femminismo, Sinesio, spesso trascurato a fronte di più famosi Padri della Chiesa. La peculiarità del libro, che è frutto di un accurato studio critico delle relative fonti primarie e secondarie, consiste nel tipo di approccio: le due figure e le loro opere sono esaminate sullo sfondo dei differenti ambiti culturali in cui si sono sviluppate le vicende della loro vita, pur nella contemporaneità: la differenza di ambiti culturali consente di evidenziare di questa donna e di questo uomo non solo la validità del loro lungo rapporto amicale, testimoniate da alcune lettere di Sinesio a noi pervenute, ma anche l'alto valore interculturale di tale rapporto.

This Article documents how and why the sixteenth-century Lutheran Reformation helped to build the modern public education system of the West. Rejecting the medieval tradition of church education primarily for and by the clergy, Martin Luther argued that all Christians need to be educated to be able to read the Bible on their own, to participate fully in the life of the church, state, and society, and to prepare for their distinct vocations. Lutheran Germany and Scandinavia thus set up public schools as "civic seminaries," in Philip Melanchthon's apt phrase, designed to offer general spiritual and civic education for all. In early modern Lutheran lands, the state replaced the church as the chief educator of the community, and free basic education with standard curricula was made compulsory for all children, boys and girls alike. The Article offers case studies of new German city and territorial laws on education on the books and in action, and it reflects on the enduring significance of this early experiment in education even in our day.

This is a draft section of a chapter in my forthcoming Ph.D., in which I explore the anti-Semitic theories and theological views of 19th-century German preacher and politician Adolf Stoecker. I examine Stoecker's influence on Nazism, and suggest that whilst Stoecker certainly influenced Nazi ideology, it is a mistake to view his own anti-Semitism through the lens of the Holocaust.

A historical survey makes it clear that the Methodist churches in Britain and Ghana developed from the foundations of the Church of England. Most of the pioneers of the Holy Club which developed into the Methodist Church in Britain were ordained ministers of the Anglican Church. In Ghana, the story was very similar. The pioneers of the Methodist Church Ghana were products of public schools with Anglican influence. The Anglican Church could have contained the tide of evangelical activities which would have resulted in the expansion of the Church. Unfortunately, the revivalists were compelled by circumstances to work outside the Anglican Church. Churches today should learn and pray for the gift of discernment to allow the flow of the work of the Holy Spirit for the expansion of the church.

Around the mid-sixteenth century, one of the largest Italian heterodox communities developed in Modena: the community of 'Brothers'. At the beginning of the century, a flourishing humanistic tradition had inspired protests against the authority of the Church and had led many of the city's prominent figures to sympathize with Luther and the Reformation. Over the following decades, such positions became more extreme: most of the 'Brothers' held radical convictions, ranging from belief in predestination to contestation of the Antichrist pope. In some cases, the 'Brothers' even went so far as to deny the value of baptism.

The period 550 to 750 was one in which monastic culture became more firmly entrenched in Western Europe. The role of monasteries and their relationship to the social world around them was transformed during this period as monastic institutions became more integrated in social and political power networks. This collected volume of essays focuses on one of the central figures in this process, the Irish ascetic exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (c. 550-615), his travels on the Continent, and the monastic network he and his Frankish disciples established in Merovingian Gaul and Lombard Italy.

The post-Roman kingdoms through which Columbanus travelled and established his monastic foundations were made up of many different communities of peoples. As an outsider and immigrant, how did Columbanus and his communities interact with these peoples? How did they negotiate differences and what emerged from these encounters? How societies interact with outsiders can reveal the inner workings and social norms of that culture. This volume aims to explore further the strands of this vibrant contact and to consider all of the geographical spheres in which Columbanus and his monastic communities operated (Ireland, Merovingian Gaul, Alamannia, Lombard Italy) and the varieties of communities he and his successors came in contact with — whether they were royal, ecclesiastic, aristocratic, or grass-roots.

Table of Contents

Preface
List of Abbreviations
Maps
Contributors
Foreword Walter Pohl
Part I: Columbanus in Context
Chapter 1: Introduction: Columbanus and Europe Alexander O'Hara
Chapter 2: Columbanus and the Language of Concord Damian Bracken
Part II: The Insular Background
Chapter 3: The Political Background to Columbanus's Irish Career Dáibhí Ó Cróinín
Chapter 4: Movers and Shakers? How Women Shaped the Career of Columbanus Elva Johnston
Chapter 5: Columbanus's Ulster Education Alex Woolf
Part III: The Frankish World
Chapter 6: Columbanus in Brittany Ian Wood
Chapter 7: Columbanus and Shunning: The Irish peregrinus between Gildas, Gaul, and Gregory Clare Stancliffe
Chapter 8: Orthodoxy and Authority: Jonas, Eustasius, and the Agrestius Affair Andreas Fischer
Chapter 9: Columbanus and the Mission to the Bavarians and the Slavs in the Seventh Century Herwig Wolfram
Part IV: On the Fringe: Columbanus and Gallus in Alamannia
Chapter 10: Between the Devil and the deep Lake Constance: Jonas of Bobbio, interpretatio Christiana, and the Pagan Religion of the Alamanni Bernhard Maier
Chapter 11: Drinking with Woden: A Re-Examination of Jonas's Vita Columbani I. 27 Francesco Borri
Chapter 12: Between Metz and Überlingen: Columbanus and Gallus in Alamannia Yaniv Fox
Chapter 13: Quicumque sunt rebelles, foras exeant! Columbanus's Rebellious Disciple Gallus Philipp Dörler
Part V: Lombard Italy and Columbanus's Legacy
Chapter 14: Columbanus, Bobbio, and the Lombards Stefano Gasparri
Chapter 15: Disputing Columbanus's Heritage: The Regula cuiusdam patris (with a translation of the Rule) Albrecht Diem

This article retrieves the historical ecumenical endeavours of David Du Plessisthe South African who ended being an American citizen and the Assemblies of God credentialed minister. From the Afrikaans community of the Apostolic Faith Mission to the World Pentecostal Fellowship, Du Plessis laboured extensively for the acceptance of the Pentecostal and Charismatic faith into the world ecumenical formations such as World Council of Churches, mainline Protestantism and the Catholic Church. Rejected by his own denomination for ecumenical engagement, he blazed the way for the current Pentecostal ecumenical participation and ecumenism. He built the legacy that has enhanced Pentecostal and Charismatic experience and made it accommodated and understood in different ecumenical formations. The legacy he left behind includes opening doors for dialogues between Pentecostals and other Christian formations, demystifying Pentecostal fears of Christian brotherhood on a global scale, and creating some synergy between Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals as the fulfilment of Christ's desire that 'They might be One.' Although not a theologian, Du Plessis paved the way for theology of dialogue as a way of enforcing Christian fraternity especially in impacting communities with the love of Christ.

Geopolitical change at the start of the 20th century wrought significant change to the study of theology. After the Russian Revolution, exiled intellectuals found their way to the West and connected with like-minded scholars. One of these was Sergius Bulgakov, whose life was particularly complex: beginning as a Marxist and later returning to Orthodox Christianity, he became one of the most prominent, and contentious, theologians of the Russian diaspora. He forged ecumenical connections, including with the Fellowship of St Alban and St. Sergius. Traditionally, scholars have categorised him with the so-called “Russian School”, largely due to his sophiology. But scholars have come to question the accuracy of this categorisation. For example, Andrew Louth has proposed that Bulgakov be regarded as a theologian of the eucharist. Consideration of period documents confirms Bulgakov’s eucharistic consciousness, especially with ecumenism, corroborating Louth’s hypothesis. More research is justified into an important direction in the study of Russian diaspora theology.

The symposium “The found Christ” took place in Cervignano del Friuli (Udine) on Saturday, December 3, 2005, within the homonymous multi-year project (coord. scient. S. Blason Scarel and P. Casadio) dedicated to the rediscovery of the "Christ of the Countess", a colossal medieval wooden crucifix preserved in the chapel of St. Cross, the gentilitial oratory of the villa Bresciani in Cervignano. The Conference Proceedings are published two years later, enriched by further updates: in the volume the author outlines – for the first time – the history of the residence founded by the noble Bresciani family in Cervignano (the precious 'background' of the ancient sculpture) and he describes the different buildings, the dependencies and the furnishings including his famous 'guest', suggesting again the proposal that he already put forth at the symposium: that it is to be identified with the "Christ of St. Felix", a gigantic wooden crucifix seen in 1570 by the apostolic visitor Bartolomeo of Porcia & Brugnera inside the Basilica of Sts. Felix e Fortunate in Aquileia, at that time still raised although no more flourishing

Sabato 3 dicembre 2005 a Cervignano si svolse il convegno “Il Cristo ritrovato”, nell’ambito dell’omonimo progetto pluriennale (coordinamento scientifico: S. Blason Scarel - P. Casadio) dedicato alla riscoperta del “Cristo della Contessa”, il colossale crocifisso ligneo medievale conservato nella cappella di S. Croce, l’oratorio gentilizio della villa Bresciani a Cervignano. A due anni di distanza vede la luce il volume degli atti – arricchito da ulteriori aggiornamenti – al cui interno l’autore per la prima volta delinea le vicende storiche della dimora cervignanese fatta costruire dalla nobile famiglia Bresciani (il prezioso ‘sfondo’ dell’antica scultura) e ne descrive i diversi fabbricati, le pertinenze e l’arredo compreso il suo celebre ‘ospite’, riproponendo la proposta già avanzata durante il convegno: che esso sia da identificare con il “Cristo di San Felice”, il gigantesco crocifisso in legno visto dal visitatore apostolico Bartolomeo di Porcia e Brugnera nel 1570 all’interno della basilica aquileiese dei Santi Felice e Fortunato, all’epoca non più fiorente ma ancora in alzato

"The man the Catholic Church solemnly beatified on November 13th 2005 was a controversial figure. Charles de Foucauld was slaughtered at Tamanrasset on December 1st 1916, at the height of the Senoussist insurrection. For a long time, he was held to be a figurehead of colonialisation. At present, some see him as a pioneer of Islamic-Christian dialogue. This article confronts this new image of Foucauld with what we know of his relationship with Islam.
–
(L'homme que l'Église catholique a solennellement béatifié le 13 novembre 2005 fut longtemps une figure controversée. Charles de Foucauld avait été abattu à Tamanrasset le 1er décembre 1916, au plus fort d'une insurrection où se préfiguraient les luttes anti-coloniales qui allaient jalonner le siècle. En 1927, l'évêque de Ghardaïa avait ouvert le procès destiné à statuer sur ses vertus et sa renommée de sainteté, puisque c'est par là que doit s'entamer le processus au terme duquel un homme peut éventuellement être admis au nombre des bienheureux. Ce processus est en général semé d'embûches, mais dans ce cas-là il l'avait été particulièrement. En 1956, les évêques d'Afrique du Nord avaient même demandé qu'il soit interrompu, jugeant inconvenant qu'on envisage en pleine guerre d'Algérie de béatifier un homme qui leur paraissait avoir été compromis dans la colonisation. De fait, Foucauld avait été jusque-là, selon le mot d'un biographe de l'époque, le " saint de la colonisation ". Aujourd'hui, certains veulent voir en lui un pionnier du dialogue islamo-chrétien. L'article met en regard ce nouveau visage de Foucauld et ce qu'on sait de son rapport à l'islam.)"

Preface; I. Introduction: I.1 Prelude "To Imitate the Bees"; I.2 Towards an Interpretation of Spolia: Delimitations and Methods; I.3 Reuse The Development of a New Architectural Practice; II. Translatio of Materials: II.1 Fragments and Fragmentation. The Disposition of Spolia in Church Buildings; II.2 Translations and Transferences: Christian Versions of Roman Architecture; II.3 The Aesthetics of Appropriation Eclecticism, Variety, and Antithetical Harmonies; III. Translatio of Meanings: III.1 Breaking Down the Past Rejections of Rationality; III.2 "Seeing the invisible" Towards a New Metaphorical Architecture; III.3 To "Strip Error Bare" The Rhetoric of Transformation; IV. Translatio of Time: IV.1 "Novelty in the Old and Age in the New". The Rhetoric of Renovation; IV.2 Recollecting the Past Spolia and Historical Consciousness; IV.3 Inventing the Past: Spolia and the Ideology of Classicism; Bibliography; List of Illustrations; Photo Credits; Index.

Couseiro ou Memórias do Bispado de Leiria é o livro mais notável da bibliografia de Leiria, cobrindo principalmente os finais do século XVI até à primeira parte do século XVII. Dele se conhecem três edições: uma, datada de 1868, da responsabilidade do P.e Inácio José de Matos, eclesiástico do Bispado de Leiria; uma segunda, da responsabilidade do mesmo eclesiástico, de 1898, mas cujo título foi ligeiramente alterado para O Couzeiro ou Memórias do Bispado de Leiria, com apêndice; e uma terceira edição, que é a reimpressão da primeira, da responsabilidade do P.e António Francisco Pereira e publicada, primeiro, em fascículos no jornal "O Mensageiro", de 25 de Maio de 1978 a 25 de Setembro de 1980, e, depois, em livro encadernado, sem data. Estas edições, contudo, não são mais do que a transcrição de cópias de um manuscrito escrito entre os finais do século XVI e meados do século XVII, já desaparecido, mas que têm diferenças importantes, como escreve o P.e Inácio José de Matos no prefácio à segunda edição, de 1898. Na presente edição, a 4.ª, que é uma transcrição da 2.ª, foram igualmente incluídos, e pela mesma ordem, diversos suplementos que atingem mais de centena e meia de páginas com informação diversa relativa ao século XIX, dos diversos seminários e outros institutos religiosos à ordem da procissão de Corpo de Deus antes da invasão francesa, ao testamento do enforcado João Amado e às doenças das vinhas, terminando com dois opúsculos, um sobre a «Confirmação da Fundação da Sé Catedral de Leiria na pessoa do seu verdadeiro fundador» e outro transcrevendo uma boa parte do processo de supressão do Bispado.
Procurada por investigadores ou simples curiosos das antiguidades de Leiria, esta edição do Couseiro não é ainda a edição crítica que todos desejaríamos, mas é uma edição cuidada que, por certo, satisfará todos os que, desejando aceder-lhe, não a encontravam no mercado

Contens
Table des matières, Inhalt, Table of Contents, pp. 8–10
Preface, pp. 18–20
SYNTHESIS TESTS
I.1.General problems
Bert Demyttenaere, The Claustralization of the World, s. 23–41
Marek Derwich, pp. 43–54, Résumé: La place du monachisme à la société médiévale et moderne, p. 53
Małgorzata Borkowska, pp. 55–63; Summary: Nuns as trouble shooters: Demands made to convents in XVII–XVIIIth century Poland, pp. 62–63
I.2.  Silesia and Poland
Jerzy Rajman, pp. 67–73; Summary: Medieval monasteries in Upper Silesia. The problem of environment and the range of social effect, pp. 72–73
Przemysław Wiszewski, pp. 75–90; Summary: The female benedictine abbey of the Holy Corps in Legnica in the Silesian society (1348–1538), p. 90
Aleksander Andrzejewski, Leszek Kajzer, Janusz Pietrzak,  pp. 91–103; Zusammenfassung: Das Konvers-haus in Rudy, pp. 100–101
Gabriela Wąs, pp. 105–126; Zusammenfassung: Franziskaner in der Gesellschaft Schlesiens im Mittelalter und Neuzeit, pp. 125–126
Zbigniew Zyglewski, pp. 127–142; Zusammenfassung: Klösterfoundation der Kronmachthaber in der Jagiellonnenzeit. Problemübersicht, pp. 141–142
Małgorzata Maciszewska, pp. 143–153; Résumé: La place des couvents de franciscains de l’observance à la société Polonaise, pp. 152–153
II. MEANS AND METHODS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE MONASTERY AND SOCIETY
II.1.  Liturgy and cult
Henryk Fros,, pp. 157–167, Résumé: Les moines-hagiographes et la première période de la christianisation de la Pologne (jusqu’à 1034), p. 167
Marian Kanior, pp. 169–180; Summary: The shrine of God's mother of consolation in Górka Duchowna (17th–19th centuries), pp. 179–180
Roman Stelmach,  pp. 181–189; Zusammenfassung: Die schlesischen Ablassurkunden bis Ende des XV. Jahrhunderts, p. 189
Jarosław Wenta, pp. 191–198; Zusammenfassung: Zisterzienserhistoriographie und Memoire am Beispiel Heinrichau, Leubus und Oliva, p. 198
Rościsław Żerelik, pp. 199–210; Zusammenfassung: Die Verstobenegemeinschaft im Licht der ältesten Eintraugungen im Nekrolog aus Heinrichau, p. 209–210
Maria Starnawska, pp. 211–219; Zusammenfassung: Das Nekrologum des schlesichen Kreuzherren mit dem Rotten Stern (die Handschrift der Universitätbibliothek in Breslau IV.Q.19A) als Quelle zur Erforschung des Milieus und der Kontakten des Ordens, p. 219
II.2. Cultural
Wojciech Mrozowicz, pp. 223–232; Zusammenfassung: Die Benediktinischen Bücher und Bibliotheken in der polnischen Gesellschaft in Mittelalter und Neuzeit. Beispiel Kleinpolens, p. 232
Ewa Zielińska, pp. 233–239; Résumé: Relations du monastère des chanoines réguliers de Kraśnik avec son entourage social dans la deuxième moitié du XVe et au cours du XVIe siècles, vues à travers sa bibliothèque, p. 239
Ivan Hlaváček, pp. 241–246; Zusammenfassung: Klöster und ihr Schwulwesen im Vorhussitischen Böhmen, p. 246
Anna Jaroszewska, pp. 247–256; Zusammenfassung: Die Förderung der Kunst der Breslauer Prämonstratenser im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, pp. 255–256
3. Wizualne / Visual
Pavel R. Pokorný, pp. 259–264; Zusammenfassung: Die Klosterwappen in den böhmischen Ländern, pp. 263–264
Piotr Dymmel, pp. 265–290; Résumé: Le décor héraldique du XVe siècle dans la galerie du monastère de Łysa Góra. Reconstitution, genèse et programme héraldique, p. 282
Walentyna Węgrzyn-Klisowska, pp. 291–294; Zusammenfassung: Schauspiele und Passionenspiele in mittelalterischen schlesichen Klöstern, pp. 293–294
Zygmunt Świechowski, pp. 295–310; Résumé: La Genèse du dècor architectural dans l' architecture cistercienne de la Petite-Pologne, pp. 301–302
Krystyna Białoskórska, pp. 311–343; Résumé: Les monastères et le problème du développement des traditions et des milieux artistiques Polonais au XIIIe siècle, p. 332
III.  IN THE COUNTRY
Magdalena Żurek, pp. 347–354; Résumé: Le patronage de la famille de Mieszko III le Vieux sur l’abbaye bénédictine à Lubiń, p. 354
Wojciech Iwańczak,  pp. 355–362, Summary: Hroznata – noble, crusader, monastic founder, p. 362
Marie Bláhová, pp. 363–368; Zusammenfassung: Die Zisterzienser im Dienste der böhmischen Politik unter den letzten Přemysliden und bei der Thronbesteigung der Luxemburger, p. 368
Jerzy Augustyniak, pp. 369–387; Summary: Defensive functions of monasteries as exemplified by the cistercian abbey at Sulejów, p. 382
Antoni Barciak,  pp. 389–393, Zusammenfassung: Die Fürsten von Oberschlesien und das Zisterzienserkloster in Rudy (Rauden), p. 393
Stanisław A. Sroka, pp. 395–397; Zusammenfassung: Die Gönnerschaft der Teschiner Hedwig von Piast († 1521) über die Kartause zu Lapis Refugii im Spisz, p. 397
Jan Harasimowicz,  pp. 399–416; Zusammenfassung: Die Aufhebung der Klöster in der Neumark im 16. Jh., p. 406
IV. IN LOCAL COMMUNITY
IV.1.  Rural
Petr Sommer,  pp. 419–424; Zusammenfassung: Die benediktische Abtei in Sázava und ihr Laienhinterland, pp. 422–423
Krzysztof Kaczmarek, pp. 425–432; Zusammenfassung: Sind die Mönche aus dem Kloster Wieluń im Jahre 1309 wirklich von den Einwohnern von Mochy getötet worden?, pp. 431–432
Anna Pobóg-Lenartowicz, pp. 433–444; Zusammenfassung: Gesselschaftverhältnisse im Güter der Regulierten Chorherren (Augustiner) Abtei zur heilige Maria auf dem Sand in Breslau bis Ende des XV. Jhrs, p. 444
Marek Słoń,  pp. 445–450; Zusammenfassung: Die Leute von Rechnungsbüchern. Das Hospital zum Hl. Geist in Breslau im Spätmittelalter, pp. 449–450
IV.2.  City
Jan Pařez, pp. 453–461; Summary: Prague monasteries between middle and early modern ages their position and specificity in a town organism (Illustrated on Exemples of Premonstratensian Strahov and Augustinian-Hermit St. Catherine), p. 461
Krzysztof Guzikowski, pp. 463–470; Zusammenfassung: Die Stadt – ein Mitbewerber oder ein Verbündete der Zisterzienser? Am Beispiel der Abtei von Kolbatz (Kołbacz), p. 469
Krzysztof Bracha, pp. 471–481; Zusammenfassung: Errores des Augustiners-Eremiten Werners von Freidenberg im Lichte der Heidelberger Inquisition aus dem Jahre 1405, pp. 480–481
Jan Łosowski, pp. 483–493; Résumé: Les autorités et la chancellerie jésuites dans une petite ville au XVIIIe siècle. Exemple de Michów, pp. 492–493
V. VARIA
Andrzej Radzimiński, pp. 497–509; Zusammenfassung: Die Bemerkungen über die Beziehungen der Mönchklöster und Klöster der Regularkanoniker mit dein Domkapiteln in mittelalterischen Polen, pp. 508–509
Dariusz Karczewski, pp. 511–518; Zusammenfassung: Anstrengungen von den Präposituren aus Trzemeszno um den Abttitel, p. 518
Krzysztof Skupieński, pp. 519–526; Résumé: Les couvents, influencèrent-ils le développement du notariat public en Pologne avant le début du XVe siècle?, p. 526
Maurycy Lucjan Niedziela, pp. 527–538; Summary: The superiors of the dominican priory in Borek Stary; Their background, education, mentality, and social influence in 1668-1821, p. 538
Beata Kwiatkowska-Kopka, Waldemar Gliński, Janusz Firlet, pp., 539–545; Zusammenfassung: Die neuesten archäologischen Forschungen in der Zisterzienser-Abtei Jędrzejów, p. 541
SESSION CONCLUSION
Ivan Hlaváček, Krótkie zakończenie [Short ending], pp. 549–551
Spis uczestników [List of participants], pp. 553–556

In this volume, I tell the stories of the early Christians whom other Christians denied were Christian. the second century CE, many different Christian leaders and groups claimed to be the only or authentic version of Christianity. Over the course of twenty-six chapters, I relate what we can piece together of their histories, writings, and practices. Instead of allowing the enemies of these Christians to control the discourse, I follow a careful method in which primary sources are preferred to secondary (heresiographical) attacks. I show how countless discourses, ideas, and practices are continually recycled and adapted throughout time in the building of Christian identities. I also contextualize the histories of Christians within the larger Greco-Roman world and shows how they intersect with the traditional figures explored in church history. Furthermore, I question the notion of some Christian identities “surviving” or “perishing”, “winning” or “losing.”  By moving beyond notions of “gnostic”, “heretical” and “orthodox,” Litwa allows these “lost Christianities” to once again be found.

"A obra que o leitor tem entre mãos pretende ser uma recolha completa de todos os trabalhos escritos de Armindo de Sousa, publicados além dos seus livros ou capítulos de livros. Porque este historiador já partiu de entre nós há cerca de quinze anos, porque os seus trabalhos estão dispersos e são, quase todos, de difícil acesso, porque uma obra reunida ganha em unidade, em coerência e em inteligibilidade. Mas, acima de tudo, porque Armindo de Sousa foi um historiador de excepção; e se, em qualquer país, seria obrigatória a disponibilização da sua obra a um público alargado, do limitado e algo pobre panorama historiográfico português é quase um crime de lesa-inteligência que as páginas que ele nos deixou andem perdidas." (Luís Miguel Duarte)

This approach to the imagery of the Southern and Eastern façades of Leon cathedral restores their original topography, their several liturgical functions, their intended audiences and the particular cultural and historical circumstances that surrounded their carving, and confronting them with the Portal of the Coronería and Sarmental of Burgos cathedral. In the portal of Saint Froilán is seen a celebration of this local saint’s main liturgical Feasts; the choice of an Apocalyptic program for the south central portal is justified by a Castilian tradition of decorating the cathedral entrance near the bishop’s palace with ecclesiological discourses; and Bishop Martín Fernández’s great expectations can be shown in the commemoration of the bethrothat of the Castilian heir Fernando de la Cerda and the French Princess doña Blanca in the south western portal’s sculpted decoration. As for the Western entrance, the baptismal imagery displayed in the northern access is related to the parish function of the chapel in the ground floor of the northern tower; and the scatological discourses in the Last Judgement and the Coronation of the Virgin portals adequate to the medieval use of the parvis as  a cemetery, and they are discussed in the frame of mid-thirteenth century theological controversies on the resurrection of the body that help to recognize a Franciscan bias not only in León but also in the “diplomatic” portal of La Coronería in Burgos. Finally, the different stylistic trends that converge in León are examined as sculpted counterparts of vernacular pastoral rhetorical devices: the more “narrative styles” of the portal of San Froilán and Saint John as opposed to the “expressionistic naturalism” of the last Judgement and Apocalyptic portals.

L’articolo è dedicato all’interpretazione di alcuni passi del noto testo medievale di ambito ravennate intitolato “Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis”, di Andrea Agnello (IX secolo), ritenuto da molti studiosi proto-storico della realtà cittadina. Si è cercato di fornire una lettura comparata tra fonte letteraria e scoperte archeologiche, in adesione con la recente metodologia archeologica sempre più coinvolta nella comprensione dei lineamenti costituenti del passaggio dall’antichità al Medioevo, sotto il profilo monumentale –urbanistico, di una città che è stata un centro vitale di scambi sociali, culturali ed economici nella tardo antichità: Ravenna. Il caso di studio che si è preso in esame ha riguardato quattro specifiche realtà architettoniche: la cinta muraria, il palazzo di Teoderico, le basiliche di S. Severo e Petriana.
Uno studioso di storia dell’arte come Carlo Bertelli ci ha ricordato tempo fa che si può cogliere molto di Ravenna per via indiretta di monumenti che hanno dato dignità e decoro alla città, cercando di indagare in statue e rilievi, ma anche nelle citazioni letterarie, tratte dai testi e da pavimenti e pareti musive.
Agnello nel IX secolo si è posto tra gli altri anche questo obiettivo e gli archeologi oggi, con progetti supportati culturalmente ed economicamente, stanno cercando di ricostruire gli scenari descritti, restituendo voce e sforzandosi di motivare le recenti scoperte anche attraverso l’analisi attenta delle antiche testimonianze. L’immagine che si presenta e anche questo breve saggio si auspica di alimentare è quella di una città in fermento: in età romana e ancora tardo antica il suo porto, Classe, ha rappresentato uno dei poli più vitali dell’Adriatico anche in considerazione del ruolo di “sedes regia”. Oggi si evince il dinamismo di una realtà impegnata nel recupero e nella valorizzazione della propria memoria storica, modello culturale esemplare per la promozione storico-artistica dell’Adriatico e, con ambizione, dell’intera nostra penisola.

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) has been regarded as the father of dispensational premillenialism. Many historians have pointed to his emergence on the scene at the 1831 Powerscourt Conference as the critical moment when he introduced his “novel” pre-tribulational ideas to the broader Christian world. This narrative has gone largely unchallenged for nearly two centuries. However, privately held notebooks that have only recently been released contain detailed information concerning who and what was said over the four-day conference. The manuscripts from these conferences betray the long-held narrative that Darby introduced the pre-tribulational rapture. In fact, to the contrary, he adamantly argued against it at the 1831 Powerscourt Conference, calling the idea “an absurdity” and dismissing those who held to it.

Monarchia della verità indaga una componente ideologica fondamentale della Controriforma: l’ossessione ecclesiastica per la 'veritas', concepita nella versione dogmatica di 'doctrina' e ortodossia in opposizione alla formulazione umanistica della 'veritas' come ricerca. Da Poggio Bracciolini a Montaigne, gli umanisti esprimono un concetto di 'religio' coincidente con la ricerca stessa della verità, rinunciando a definizioni esclusive o dogmatiche e astenendosi da difese di carattere polemico o controversistico. I teologi adottano invece il concetto dogmatico di 'doctrina', identificando la 'veritas' nell’ortodossia e favorendo il formarsi di un clima di oscurantismo clericale e di generale intolleranza nei confronti dell’autonomia umanistica, dell’individualismo religioso e del libero pensiero, con Valla, Erasmo e Machiavelli in testa.
In questo libro l’autore prende in esame il primato normativo della verità nella Chiesa del Cinquecento e del primo Seicento con lo scopo di illustrare modelli culturali e pedagogici della Controriforma e rilevarne i miti: cronotassi pontificia, agiografia e culto delle reliquie, concetto eroico del documento, didattica figurativa, giurisdizione curiale, temporalismo papale. Tuttavia, la sopravvivenza della tradizione umanistica e il suo confrontarsi dialetticamente con le culture dogmatiche di Riforma e Controriforma si evidenziano in momenti significativi della storia culturale e religiosa della prima età moderna: in particolare, nel dibattito europeo 'de puniendis haereticis' originato dal tragico rogo di Michele Serveto, nel ricorso all’elemento storico in sede di polemica confessionale, nei processi di Bruno e Galilei e nelle discussioni sulla 'libertas investigandi', nel nicodemismo di artisti, scienziati e anticlericali cristiani, infine nella ripresa – specialmente in Olanda e nelle aree della diaspora sociniana – del pacifismo erasmiano e dell’utopismo di Thomas More, associati alla critica del Valla e all’irenismo di Sebastiano Castellione. Un esempio insigne è la proposta irenica di Jakob Arminius, calvinista di cultura umanistica, formulata a Leida nel 1605 con l’intento di superare i contrasti tra cristiani e realizzare la pacificazione sociale e religiosa.

The twelfth century was a period of significant development and change in the religious and secular world of Western Europe. One area of transition occurred in depictions of Christ’s crucifixion. In both writing and art, the triumphant living Christ of the early Middle ages, was transformed into the dying, suffering, and yet majestic savior of the twelfth century.  This essay examines images and written sources from the fourth to the twelfth centuries, and seeks to determine how the twelfth century renaissance and reformation—based on the discovery of the individual— influenced this evolution.

Generations of scholars have studied the multifaceted experiences of the Franciscans in Mexico and how the Franciscan order shaped New Spain and the early Mexican republic. Recent scholarship has given long-overdue attention to the evangelized natives. Most of these works focus on a specific region or period, or on a particular aspect of Franciscan ministries in New Spain. A comprehensive account of the Franciscans in Mexico over the long term has been missing, until now.

This book analyzes the Franciscans’ engagement with native peoples, creole populations, the viceregal authorities, and the Spanish empire as a whole in order to offer a broad picture of Catholic evangelization in North America while keeping the Franciscans at the center of the story. Published in 2021, during commemoration of the quincentenary of the Spanish—and thus the Franciscan—presence in Mexico, the book brings together the research of junior and senior scholars from Mexico, Spain, and the United States on the long-enduring and far-reaching Franciscan presence in Mexico.

This study explores common ground and affinities between Christian Orthodoxy and Pentecostalism in theology, spirituality, cosmology, anthropology and the understanding of rites and sacraments. The focus is on the understanding and perception of the Holy Spirit, with regard to spiritual experience, personal transformation and the life of the Church. It also reflects on the African religious heritage of Christianity in the formation of these forms of spiritual experience and expression. The role and development of African Instituted Churches is taken into view, aware of their common heritage with Pentecostalism and of their distinctness. The context of ecumenical exchange between Pentecostalism and the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches in the 20th century is considered as background for the realization of convergences. The growing awareness in both Pentecostalism and Orthodoxy of their common ground, based in the hermeneutics and spirituality of early Christianity is recognized and recommended as field for further engagement. The common affirmation of both Churches of a spiritual world view in contrast to the positivistic ‘naturalistic’ world view of secular Enlightenment – as distinct from the spiritual branch of Enlightenment in which Pentecostalism is rooted through Pietism – is recognized as common ground for mutual understanding and critical difference to mainstream Western secularism. This study thus aims at fostering a better mutual understanding of Pentecostal and Orthodox Churches and of their epistemological agreements with regard to the challenges of secular cultures.