Faith, Cult and Culture as Essential Elements in the Missionary Activity of Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavs, for many centuries have been in the interest of the whole Christian world. This article is an attempt of presenting the vital connection between Christian faith, liturgical cult, and culture on the basis of the Byzantine mission addressed to the Slavs, which was led in the second half of 9th century. Starting from the comparison of the missionary methods used by the Christian East and West in the Middle Ages, then we will turn our attention to Sts. Cyril’s and Methodius’ unique contribution to the proclamation of Christ among the Slavs. In this missionary work, of the great importance was the creation of a new alphabet, and the use of the Slavic language in the proclamation of the Good News, as well as translations of the Bible and liturgical books into Slavonic. The rootedness in the Byzantine liturgical tradition, and drawing from the treasury of the Eastern Roman Empire contributed in a creative and very original way to the formation of the native Slavic culture. In the final part of article there is posed the problem of the effective proclamation of the Good News in the contemporary world in relation to the Cyrillo-Methodian model of [email protected] Uniwersytet Lubelski, Lubli

ŚMIERĆ WE WSCHODNIO-CHRZEŚCIJAŃSKIEJ DUCHOWOŚCI HEZYCHASTYCZNEJ

The problem death is essential for the therapeutic hesychastic spirituality, because it is one of pre-conditions and a practical recommendation. It is important in the fight with particular mental, physical and spiritual disorders. The process of healing is conditioned by the right preparation, enabling the human person to open more and more to the healing action of God. The process consists in the radical turning towards God, which in practice entails constant striving towards the change of intellect (metanoia) in order to: break off sinful dispositions, receive God’s grace, and acquire the condition of compunction (katanyksis) which is simultaneous awareness of one’s own sinfulness as well as God’s forgiveness. It is of great importance in the process of integral healing the conscious expectation of one’s own death and consideration of the Last Judgment. People, who hold the thought of death at the center of their being, withdraw from being enslaved by the created. St John Climacus teaches that: “To be reminded of death each day is to die each day. Fear of death is a property of nature due to disobedience, but terror of death is a sign of unrepented sins.” The remembrance of death can significantly reduce the amount of eating, and by this some other passions will be correspondingly reduced. It is worthy to remember that the ancient Greeks described philosophy as meditation on death. The same is clear from the Bible: “Remember your last end, and you will never sin” (Sirach 7:36)

Who is Jesus Christ for the Ruthenian and Russian Saints? A Theological Exploration of St Dimitry Rostovsky’s The Lives of the Saints

Christian hagiography reveals not only the facts of life of individual saints, but first of all, it is a description of the experience of God loving mankind. From the beginning of Christianity, of great importance in building faith, hope andl ove had had stories about those believers who responded with a particular radicalism for the prevenient love of God in the Trinity of Persons. These stories have been written in various forms of literature. Author in the introductory part of the article introduces into the lives of the saints and their role in the Ruthenian and Russian Orthodoxy. Essentially he focuses on presenting The Menaia edited by St Dimitry Rostovski. This book was published in the years 1711 to 1718 in Old Church Slavonic. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it has been rewritten and translated into Russian. This monumental work appeared in the years 1903-1911 under the title The Lives of the Saints. It has been a rich source of information for researchers from many disciplines. From a theological point of view, the author studied The Lives of the Saints in order to find direct references to the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. For this purpose, he analyzed quotations from the New Testament, especially from the Gospel, referring directly to the Person and teaching of Jesus Christ, as well as the prayers addressed to Him. In his analysis, he searched for answers to the questions: Who is Jesus Christ for the Ruthenian and Russian saints, and what kind of His images predominate in The Lives of the Saints. The first part of the article, on the basis of source texts, indicates personal qualities of Jesus Christ. The Savior has been experienced by the Ruthenian and Russian saints as God who is close to man, the blessed King, the best Lord, the Comforter of the crying, the Light, the merciful God, and the Foundation of all good. The image of Christ as sinless, innocent suffering and merciful shines especially in the devotion of Saints Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb. In the consciousness of the Ruthenians Christ is not God who condemns the sinners, but God who wants to bring them to a change of heart and holiness. Christ is also the true Physician of souls and bodies. In the second part of the article were shown images of Christ that occur while reading The Lives of the Saints. Some of these images relate to the Gospels, and others have as their bases an existential expression of faith in Jesus Christ. The Saints refer to Earthly life of Jesus by recalling images of Jesus in various situations (the image of Jesus tempted the desert; the image of the merciful Christ, who wants to lead a mind of man mired in spiritual disease to change and salvation; the image of Christ suffering voluntarily for the salvation of man). An important element of the image of Jesus Christ, typified in The Lives of the Saints is a reference to His suffering and death on the cross, which is supplemented by a triumphant image of the Risen Lord, who won the death by His death and gave us eternal life. An interesting part of The Lives of the Saints (attributable to the month of April) is a description of the appearances of Jesus Christ after His resurrection. It shows the primordial light infinitely brighter than sunlight. In the mystical experience of the saints Christ is revealed as the glorious Light radiating with passionate love. It is characteristic for the spiritual experience of Ruthenian and Russian Saints that their Saviour is God who desires for the salvation of [email protected] Uniwersytet Lubelski, Lubli

WPŁYW OBRAZÓW KOŚCIOŁA NA TRYNITARNĄ WRAŻLIWOŚĆ CHRZEŚCIJAN Dokument Ku wspólnej wizji Kościoła w świetle eklezjologii prawosławnej

The mystery of the Church is one of the most important problems in the modern ecumenical movement. Christians from various ecclesial traditions together reflect on what the Church is and what is its mission in the world and for the world. One of the fruits of ecumenical reflection on the Church is the document The Church: Towards a Common Vision of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (2013). In this article there were analyzed the most essential images of the Church, namely: Fellowship/Communion (Gr. koinonia), People of God, Body of Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit, based on the above specified WCC document and the essential premises of Orthodox ecclesiology. The vision of the Church in view of the Trinitarian dogma is helpful in shaping the Trinitarian sensitivity of believers and raising their awareness that God in the Trinity of the Most Holy Persons is the basis of the unity of all Christians

Encyklika Laudato si’ w perspektywie chrześcijańskiego Wschodu

Encyclical Letter Laudato si’ is Pope Francis’ document presenting contemporary environmental issues and encouraging changes in the treatment of the environment. Although it is directed to the faithful of the Catholic Church, it is of ecumenical importance due to the fact that problems indicated in it are important for all Christians. The article presents reflections of Patriarch Bartholomew and his two closest associates, namely Prof. John Chryssavgis and Metropolitan John Zizioulas on Laudato si’. They are unanimous in their assessment that the encyclical is an important anthropological and ecological synthesis written in an ecumenical spirit.Encyklika Laudato si’ jest dokumentem papieża Franciszka, przedstawiającym współczesne problemy ekologiczne oraz zachęcającym do zmiany sposobu traktowania środowiska naturalnego. Choć jest skierowany do wiernych Kościoła katolickiego, to ma znaczenie ekumeniczne ze względu na fakt, iż problemy w nim podejmowane są istotne dla wszystkich chrześcijan. W artykule zostały przedstawione refleksje patriarchy Bartłomieja oraz jego dwóch najbliższych współpracowników, czyli prof. Johna Chryssavgisa oraz metropolity Johna Zizioulasa na temat encykliki Laudato si’. Są oni zgodni w swej ocenie, że encyklika ta jest ważną syntezą antropologiczno-ekologiczną napisaną w duchu ekumenicznym

Rozumienie osoby ludzkiej w tradycjach chrześcijańskiego Wschodu i Zachodu a pojmowanie człowieka w antropologii medycznej

Such issues as illness, treatment and health have been very important for every man and in every society. It is very difficult to define precisely these notions because they are based on the conception of human being. The anthropological presuppositions determine not only diagnosis of possible sources of illnesses but have also decisive influence on methods of treatment. This article has been an attempt of comparing philosophical and theological anthropology of Christian East and West with contemporary medical anthropology. The Author starts with questions concerning an identity of human being. Then there is presented the reductionist approach, which is characteristic for pluralistic philosophical thought on man. The central part of the article shows the timeless value and characteristics of the Christian concept of the person. The image of man in the contemporary medical anthropology has been shown in the fourth part of the elaboration. In the final part of the article it has been stated the question to what extent could Christian anthropology modify the generally accepted stereotypes of disease, treatment, and health. Author gives some arguments for a creation of a new field of science, namely Christian Medical Anthropolog

EGFR mutated (exon 21) metastatic lung adenocarcinoma in female patient treated with erlotinib — case report

Poniżej przedstawiono przypadek chorej z zaawansowanym rakiem gruczołowym płuc, u której przeprowadzono typową diagnostykę histologiczną i molekularną, a następnie leczono ją inhibitorem kinazy tyrozynowej dla receptora EGFR, erlotynibem.We present the case of advanced lung cancer female patients after histological and molecular diagnostic procedures, treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, erlotinib