Summaries Nomos 71/72

Abramovich S. A.

SACRED LITERATURE: YESTERDAY AND TODAY

This article explores the diachronic correlation of sacred and non-religious literature from the perspective of Religious Studies in the broad sense of the world. The conception of literature as a purely artistic endeavor (eg. poetry) has an ancient origin and had already been encompassed in Aristotle’s Poetics. It was further developed in the post-Renaissance era of the theory of literature. It is obvious that without sacred books there would be no development of religious culture and culture in general. In the Middle Ages, the Bible was the truth par excellence and source of literary inspiration for both European and Jewish cultures. In the past, literature used to form a sort of a “defensive wall” of Europe against “Asian” influences. However, with the passing time distinctly European culture fell into eurocentrism, and found its expression in famous Kipling’s ballad setting apart West and East. In different times and epochs, literature was linked to fulfilling different socio-politico-religious functions. Thus, in Soviet thought overwhelming attention was paid to the ideological and educational role of literature. Pegasus, however, cannot be yoked to the plough, for it would break its wings.


Afinogenov D. E.

THE CONDEMNATION OF ANTHONY OF SYLLAION IN 814:
THE PROCEDURE AND THE POLITICAL CONTEXT


On the basis of the authors’ research the paper portrays the course of action and political context in which the condemnation of Bishop Anthony of Syllaion took place. When Emperor Leo V set out in 814 to reopen the problem of icon worship, he did so in order to weaken the position of his rival Patriarch Nikephoros I. He thus tried to compel the Patriarch to embroil himself in a public dispute with the leaders of the iconoclasts, among whom the only hierarch was Bishop Anthony of Syllaion. When the dispute became imminent Patriarch Nikephoros I convoked a synod in St. Sophia, in order to be well-prepared to meet the threat. A newly discovered source shows that a so called “Mnogoslozhnyj svitok”, being the Slavonic translation of the original Message of three Eastern Patriarchs, dated 836, to the Emperor Theophilos, shows that the one of the main items on the Synod’s agenda was the deposition and pronouncement of anathema upon Bishop Anthony, and also all those who were with him in ecclesial communion. The procedure though, that was carried out in compliance with all the rules, still allowed Patriarch Nikephoros I to declare the entire iconoclastic hierarchy illegitimate, and thus cause very serious damage to the ideological and canonical grounds of Emperor Leo V’s policy.


Alekseyenko N. A.

RARE TYPES OF IMAGES ON THE CLERICAL SEALS
(LOCAL SAINTS AND BIBLICAL QUOTATIONS)

Among the characters and symbols used on Byzantine seals one can find occasionally rarely encountered images, in spite of their traditional nature imposed by a whole series of imperial traditions and Church canons. Quite often the choice of what had been embossed on a seal was influenced by the high popularity of one or another local cult. As a result, the rare images of St. Sisinnios and St. Achillios, respectively, on the seals of Michael, the Bishop of Bariane (11th Century), and of John, the Metropolitan of Larisa (12th Century), no doubt can lead on to infer that these Saintly Fathers of the Byzantine Church merited obeisance among the faithful. There are also seals with legends on which there are specimens of not only traditional
invocative formulas but also quotations from Holy Scripture. An exemplary seal with Holy Writ quotations from the Psalms appears to be that of the Bishop of Acroine and strategos Sisinnios (8th Century). The content of legends on seals is of great information and value. It does not merely uncover new historical realities but to some degree allows scholars to delve into the inner world of the Byzantines and to see the broad spectrum of their religious world. Also worthy of mentioning is the choice of images on seals, ranging from imaginary animals to famous iconographic models and biblical quotations.


Chikarkova M. Y.

SACRALIZATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN POST-RENAISSANCE CULTURE
AS A GLOBAL PROJECT

Cultural initiatives of the Christian Middle Ages strived for improving a human being who was “spoiled by sin”. In the Renaissance period there took place a real sacralization (deification) of such “imperfect” humans. Thus the term “anthropocentrism” evolved from views in ancient philosophy, which placed a human being in the centre of the universe, and in Christian theology – reflected God’s greatness towards humanity, onto the views in the in post-Renaissance period, where secular-scientific anthropocentrism had become an expression of a human being’s confidence in his or her right to restructure the universe. Secularized culture offers emancipation of the passions, which the Church taught to restrain for at least one and a half millennium. The results of this radical change are controversial. The crisis of religion in today’s anthropogenic culture has lead to the rehabilitation of “archaic magic”, which can psychologically satisfy the average person’s inclination for power and self-glorification.
Moreover, science, born in new times in the bosom of the original magic, constantly varies between condemning the occult and flirting with it. As a result culture of introspection and quest for the truth is replaced by such things as thoughtless enchantment by “the magic of evil”, irresponsible political races, the spirit of scientific adventure, unpretentious and entertaining art, a gradual contempt for the afterlife and spiritual world. However, in such a society, a person becomes hopelessly alienated and alone. His or her “atomized” consciousness is doomed to an eternal whirl in the field of the material and utilitarian, so to say – in the “wheel of Samsara”, where Good and Evil are relative and, in fact, secondary terms.


Demyanchuk S. G., Nessel V. A.

COINS OF THE CHERSONESOS TAURICA DEPICTING
A MAIDEN SPEARING A DEER.
THE HYPOTHESIS ABOUT THE HYPOTHESIS


In the coinage of the Chersonesos Taurica , a unique place is occupied in the collection by a coin depicting a maiden striking a deer with a spear. The motif placed on the coin had most likely been derived from the statue of the local representation of the goddess Artemis whose cult in Chersonese goes back to the end of 4th Century BC. In Greece and its colonies Artemis was the goddess of hunting, wild animals and the guardian of young girls, but also she was the patroness of sea navigation and trade. While some Ionian colonies took for their protection the deity of Apollo, the Chersonese people developed the cult of Artemis-Partenos, and the special role of the goddess is this area is also confirmed by other artifacts.


Domanskaya A. I.

RITUAL: ENACTMENT OF MEANING
(ROY RAPPAPORT’S RELIGIOUS RITUAL THEORY)


In the present article ritual is regarded as a religious action par excellence. In subsequent sections Roy Rappaport’s theory of ritual as a basis for any kind of social life is examined. With regards to a theoretical reconstruction, such notions as human, society, and religion had to be defined as they are interpreted in R.Rappaport’s theory. Thus, ritual is defined by R. Rappaport as “the performance of more or less invariant sequences of formal acts and utterances not entirely encoded by the performers”. After having explained, with help of D.
Marshall’s psychological explanation of ritual behavior how ritual is performed and so can be regarded as performance, we come back to the social consequences of ritual practices, described by R. Rappaport. These are as follows: the establishment of social convention, the construction of integrated conventional orders, the generation of the concept of the sacred, and the sanctification of conventional order. All of these issues seem to be crusial not only for Religious Studies, but also for contemporary Social Theory as well.


Hatłas J.

THE MOST IMPORTANT RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS
OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN BOLGRAD DISTRICT


The Bolgrad District lies in the region of Southern Bessarabia and is known as an area of vibrant religious fervor. In the area there are at least two highly distinguisehed religious monuments. The first is The Saviour’s Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Bolgrad and the other one is the female monastery in the village of Alexandrovka. These two monuments to religon have played a significant role in the local Orthodox Churcha, especially during the
religious persecutions of the Communist era. Nowadays, in democratic times, The Saviour’s Transfiguration Cathedral functions as a symbol both of the city of Bolgrad and of all the inhabitants of this town and its neighbouring region. Also the female cloister in Alexandrovka plays an important religious role.


Hoffmann H.

RELIGION IN THE FENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
OF VAN DER LEEUW
(RELIGIOUS STUDIES OR THEOLOGY?)


The esteemed religious scholar Gerardus van der Leeuw (1890-1950) is widely acknowledged as the main representative of “classic” religious phenomenology, and his compendium Phänomenologie der Religion (1933) is viewed as one of the most important works in the field of religious studies in the 20th century. However, the high acclaim with which the work was received in the field of religious studies, should not overshadow the fact that it was mainly addressed to theologians, who rather did not hold it in high regard. In many parts of this work, the author clearly seems to favor the Judeo-Christian tradition. Despite stating that he implements the phenomenological epoché, the Dutch scholar clearly admits that he refers to his own religious experiences in his work and that he believes that Christianity plays ‘the central role in history of religion.’Although van der Leeuw clearly states that religious phenomenology is not : poetization, religious history, psychology of religion, philosophy of religion or theology, it is actually a little bit of all these things.


Kurysheva M. A.

MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS
IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY MONASTIC ENVIRONMENT IN ATHOS


The present article deals with one of the most intriguing problems of Greek culture, namely the history of Byzantine libraries and the circulation of the manuscripts in Medieval society. I studied the manuscripts of the State Historical Museum which were originally brought from Athos (The Iviron Monastery) by Arseny Sukhanov in 1654. The manuscripts in question (Vlad. 103, 105, 127, 361, 372, 378, 388, 391, 393, 413) were restored in Athos at the end of 15th and beginning of the 16th Centuries. I want to add that during the first half of the 16th Century the Iviron monastic scribes in Athos took special efforts to systemize and restore the manuscripts. Those containing the “sacred texts” (e.g. Old Testament, patristic writing, lives of the saints) were restored with the utmost care and were continuously on display. Paleographical and codicological analyses reveal the history of the manuscripts, their most distinctive features and the restoration process they underwent in a scriptorium. Moreover, our study allows us to identity the names of those responsible for the preservation of the manuscripts, and these are the scribes Theophilos of Iviron and Pachomios Rousanos.


Mokhov A. S., Mokhova N.V.

THE BYZANTINE KTITOR’S MONASTERIES
OF THE ELEVENH AND TWELFTH CENTURIES


The article explores the problem of development of monastic property on the territory of the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and the beginning of 12th Centuries. Special attention is paid to questions concerning the foundation of monasteries by Byzantine military leaders. Analysis of sources leads to the conclusion that at considerable number of new monasteries were founded in the Balkan region at the turn of 12th Century. The proliferation of monasteries during this time span could be explained by the migration of aristocratic families from Asia Minor (due to the Turkish occupation after 1072) into the western provinces of Byzantium. The Byzantine military leaders, following Eastern tradition, which goes back to the 9th Century, were the chief monastery founders (ktitors). The imperial power (dynasty of Komnenes) promoted these types of endeavors by granting a variety of advantages and privileges to such founders of monasteries.


Mukha O. Y.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RITUAL IN MODERN CHRISTIANITY

The paper attempts to analyze the civil and religious characters of ritual. Referring to the findings of R. Rappaport, his distinctive features of ritual are discussed. Special attention is drawn to the psychological significance of ritual comprising rational, bodily, emotional and spiritual involvement. In ensuing sections of the paper, first the role of the body in Christian cult (sacraments) is emphasized, and then modern processes of virtualization of religious culture are reviewed. Results of sociological research indicate a significant change taking place among believers in regards to their understanding of ritual. They interpret ritual as a kind of response to the globalization process occurring in the world.


Nowikowa K.

THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN SHAPING NATIONAL IDENTITY
IN THE THOUGHT OF IVAN FRANKO AND FIODOR DOSTOEVSKY


This article explores the connection between national identity and religion on the basis of the thought of the Russian writer and existentialist philosopher Fyodor Dostoevsky and of the Ukrainian poet and folklore researcher Ivan Franko; the men had divergent views on this matter. F. Dostoevsky belonged to the Pochvenniki (the ‘men of the soil’ from Russ. pochva, meaning ‘soil’), the moderate wing of the Slavophile movement. He wrote about the spiritual foundations of national identity, believing that the essence of Russian identity comes from the Eastern Orthodox Church. The core of his Messianic and social thought was the belief in the strong connection of the common people with Christ. In the heart of the nation, underneath the “animal depiction”, the image of God is hidden. The tie between one’s homeland and culture, other people in the society, and God is the condition for self-determination of the individual as well as the whole nation. Ivan Franko formed his outlook in the multinational society of Galicia, which encompassed of the Ukraine under Austro-Hungarian rule. In his scholarly works, Franko paid considerable attention to ethno-religious issues, and he appreciated religion’s role as a source of spiritual guidance, which helped in the formation of a national identity. However, he rejected the idea that it was a necessary part of the identity and the self-determination of the nation. For him the history of religion was an introduction to his nation’s history. Ivan Franko believed that serving one’s nation can be a form of serving God.
He detached religion from its connections with transcendence, believing that justice, dignity, and lending meaning to human endeavors were the most important values.


Pełka L. J.

MODERN VIEWS ON RETURN OR DECLINE OF RELIGION

The present paper deals with the phenomenon of religion in the public sphere and its connection to politics. Various studies of the present-day situation point to the fact that the beginning of the 21st Century is marked by the return of religion; the twilight of the gods has been postponed. The rise of religious and spiritual movements, including those which are of fundamentalist character show that religion plays a vital role in modern societies. The paper consists of four parts in which the author presents some of the factors to be considered in attempting to explain the question of religion’s persistence. Among them are: a sharp criticism of the Enlightenment, depreciation of reason, scientism, and spiritual emptiness. Along with a revival of religion, one also observes a decline of religion through the process of secularization, and this issue is discussed in the final part of the paper. In conclusion, the author indicates the need for institutional separation of religion and politics in the postmodern world.


Piwowarczyk D. J.


ANTHROPOS: A JOURNAL FOR MISSIONARIES THAT BECAME A SOURCE
AND A VENUE FOR THE SCIENCE OF RELIGION.
THE HEGEMONY OF “PROGRESS”, 1906-1918


Anthropos is a peer-reviewed international journal for anthropology and linguistics, published uninterruptedly since 1906. Although it was conceived by its founder, Fr. Wilhelm Schmidt – and in fact it initially functioned – as a scientific journal for missionaries, in the course of time it became an important venue for anthropologists and students of religion. The article addresses the question of how the content of Anthropos was influenced by the sociohistorical context from which it emerged – namely, the contemporary discourse of progress with its positivism, the interest in the exotic as the object of scientific gaze, and the colonial project. Viewing the phenomenon of Anthropos as part of what Jürgen Osterhammel (2009) 
terms asymmetrische Referenzverdichtung, or “asymmetrical growth of the corpus of references”, I analyze the religiological content of the Journal, focusing on its contextualized scientific value as well as its ethnocentric dimension, at a time when the idea of cultural relativism was not yet widely spread. To illustrate those issues, I specially refer to the articles written by the authors who worked in the German colonial territories in Melanesia and Africa.


Savelya O. Y.

HERCULES AT THE PANTHEON OF JUPITER DOLICHENUS
(BASED ON EXCAVATIONS OF THE TEMPLE IN BALAKLAVA)

In 1996-1999 on the northern outskirts of Balaklava – Kadykovka (Crimea, Sevastopol) a sacred plot and a temple of Jupiter the Best and Greatest (Optimus Maximus) were examined by a Ukrainian-Polish expedition comprised of the National Preserve “Chersonesos Taurica” and of Warsaw University. The temple was constructed at the times of co-rulers Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius by a Roman army vexillatio of Lower Moesia posted to the trategic location of Chersonesos. A highly important place at the temple of Jupiter Dolichenus was allocated to Hercules, honored with an altar and a statue with inscriptions. Upon examination of excavated artifacts one can state that Hercules in the temple of Jupiter Dolichenus in Balaklava does not show the distinct features characteristic of his Eastern prototypes. As an all-conquering (all-triumphant) warrior Hercules has some affinity to the great Baal-Zeus from Doliche (merged with Jupiter the Best and Greatest) without any special alterations.


Shamanayev A. V.

THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THE PROTECTION
OF THE ARCHEOLOGICAL HERITAGE OF THE CRIMEA: FROM
THE END OF THE 18TH AND THE BEGINNING OF 21ST CENTURY


The aim of this article is to examine the problem of the Russian Orthodox Church’s (ROC) participation of – or the lack thereof – in the preservation of Crimean’s archaeological heritage.
The first diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in Crimea was founded in 1775. In the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th Centuries the ROC’s representatives had moderate influence with regard to the protection of archeological monuments in the Crimea. During these times, the ROC’s main attention was given to objects which could be used for practical purposes by the Church. The status of the Russian Orthodox Church was changed in 1920, when Soviet power was established in the Crimea, and clergy was forbidden to participate officially in public life. In addition, Church property was confiscated beginning in 1920s, including sacred buildings and monasteries. Under these new conditions the Church lost its decisive voice in terms of protecting sacral monuments. Such situation remained with minor alternations until the disintegration of the USSR in the 1990s. Since 1991 the Crimea has been part of an independent Ukraine. However the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church. Under the new political conditions, the activities of many Church buildings and monasteries have been revived. Following these new developments numerous objects of significant historical-archaeological heritage have now found themselves under the control of the Church.


Shatravski S. J.

THE QUESTION ABOUT SACRED PHENOMENA IN BUDDHISM

Modern scholars in the area of Religious Studies tend to question the validity of using the phenomenon of “holy” in relation to Buddhism. Even though in such languages like Sanskrit and Pali there is a word that is translated into European languages as “holy”, however, that does not always render its meaning properly. Translated names and terms used for some phenomena simply do not always capture their inner meaning or the real concept behind the word. The question about the universality of “holy” may at first sound absurd, as the difference between sacred and profane is usually understood the same way as the difference between religious and secular. “The holy” was adopted as the property or a good of that which belongs to religion. As a result of tradition and habit we feel comfortable attributing “sacred” or “holy” to similar such phenomena in other religions, including Buddhism, which in their appearance remind us of those phenomena in our own culture, such as sacred writ, relics, places of worship, etc. Nevertheless, the reason Christians call something in their religion holy differs significantly from that of Buddhists. In the Buddhist context sacred is rarely connected with the divine in the way the Christian worldview would be accustomed to seeing it. The translation analysis of such words like “sacred” and “holy” indicates that these terms often have been translated back and forth into European languages, Sanskrit, Pali and vice versa with such meanings as: “revered”, “rightful”, “good”, “faithful”, “lawful”, “absolutely pure”, “transparent”, etc. In Buddhism the dichotomy sacred/profane is not ontological but functional. The sacred in Buddhism is not indubitable or unambiguous. In the classical phenomenology of religion, which was developed in the Christian milieu, “holy”, in principle, is thought of as “total otherness” or “transcendence”. In this connection, one can say with moderate confidence that “sacred/holy” may have its close equivalents in Buddhism, to “tathagata”/“tathata” (“thusness”, “the highest Reality”, “the Absolute”), which are to a certain degree synonymous with nirvana. This assertion, however, requires additional phenomenological and linguistic analyses.


Tokranov A.

THE CATEGORY OF THE SACRED IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF SEMYON L. FRANK

The article interprets the category of the Sacred in the thought of the great Russian philosopher Semyon Ludvigovich Frank. The Sacred plays an important part in his system known as “antinomic monodualism”, and which is, we argue, an original version of the philosophical phenomenology of religion.In Frank’s conception, the Sacred is a fundamental, though not always explicitly given, characteristic of reality. In fact, it is the real life of the world, manifesting itself as a “concealed revelation”. Frank underlines the superrational aspects of the Sacred and its inconceivability.
The author also compares the ideas of S. Frank with phenomenological conceptions of M. Heidegger and R. Otto.


Widok N.

IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH IN THE FACE OF CHRISTIAN FACTIONS
IN EPHESUS. A POSTULATE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY THROUGH A SINGLE
PERSON OF A BISHOP


As a prisoner being transported through Asia Minor toward Rome, Ignatius of Antioch wrote several letters to some of the ecclesiastical communities of that region. One of the letters was sent to the Christians in Ephesus, a city of great importance because of its religious structure. Ephesus was inhabited by several distinct Christian groups. The oldest one was a community established by St. Paul, who spent some time there in the 50’s A.D. After 70 A.D.
St. John the Evangelist came to Ephesus, where he wrote his Gospel, and around him there another group of Christians coalesced. Side by side with them there were also other distinct Christian communities established by Priscilla and Akwila, who taught there; by a Jew named
Apollos; by Cerynt, with whom a Christian school of Judaic roots is associated; and finally by Nicolaits, who initiated a movement of doctrinal and ethical character. In the face of such divisions in the Ephesian Christian community Ignatius proposed establishment of a single bishop to serve as “the shepherd”, around whom all could gather, especially at one altar. The bishop, who Ignatius promoted and supported was Onesimos. This early proposal ultimately became the actual state of administering for the Church. In other words, it prompted the transition from a collegial structure of the early Christian communities to the hierarchical one of the Church today.


Translated and subedited by Stanisław A. Wargacki