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Composing the first Ukrainian Synaxarion (Chetii-Minei), the great Ukrainian theologian, scholar and hagiographer St. Dymytriy Tuptalo (1651–1709) relied on different sources, including Slavonic, Greek, Latin, and Polish. Thanks to an Antiochian Patericon by the Greek Syrian author Theodoret of Cyrrhus – History of the Friends of God, Dymytriy could introduce Theodoret’s holy friends to a Ukrainian readership, creating a bridge between the School of Antioch and Kyivan theological tradition. Introducing the Vitae of Syriac Saints into the Ukrainian and Russian Church calendar, Dymytriy to a considerable extent adopted Theodoret’s views on asceticism, Christian anthropology, and Church history. Thus, he may be called an ally of the Antiochian school, which was to a great extent marginalized in Byzantium since the 5th century and later on. Moreover, St. Dymytriy venerated Theodoret himself as one of those Saints despite incessant debates around his name initiated by his opponents at the Second Council of Constantinople.

This study focuses on the Pseudo-Clementine writings as examples of Jewish-Christian literature between the second and fourth centuries CE. In view of their mutual antagonism and friendship, it interprets them as an attempt at orthodoxy, an instance of the line which led from Paul’s mission to the Nicaean Council. On the one hand, the Pseudo-Clementines introduce peculiar rationalist Christology, while at the same time opposing both Gnosticism and paganism, as well as coming to terms with other early Christian schools. They also use the image of family to represent the Christian community connected by love, in which relationships acquire a new quality as compared to friendship.

The recent document of the Congregation for Catholic Education on the question of gender ‘Male and Female He Created Them’ emphasises the importance of the sexual difference for the masculine and feminine identity. On the other hand, in his essay ‘Faisons-lui une aide semblable à lui’ written in 1967, Jacques Maritain insists that this difference is more a difference of the soul than a difference of the body and that it will last also when the bodies are resurrected after death. His concept of the masculine and feminine specificity is based both on biblical and philosophical arguments. Without inclining to feminism, Maritain underlines especially the way in which a woman is different from a man. This study tries to show, how Maritain’s ideas about the sub-specificity of man’s and woman’s soul can be complementary to the anthropology of the above-mentioned document of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Furthermore, it shows also a critical point of view of Maritain’s idea of manhood and womanhood with the emphasis on the philosophical terms which are used for the difference between man and woman.

Book review: Ctirad Václav Pospíšil, I řekl Bůh: Trinitární teologie stvoření, Praha: Karolinum 2019, 356 stran, ISBN 978-80-246-4261-1.

Ratzinger’s early work Introduction to Christianity presents an attempt at rational understanding of what theology considers to be crucial for Christianity and what should be thought over in the context of the (then) new challenges. The open character of the book can be understood in light of the fact that anthropological discourse was already well established in post-Council theology. For Ratzinger, this seems to be connected with a necessity to outline clear contours for Christianity. The book is one of the author’s significant works with a wide impact, and which also represents Ratzinger’s way of thinking in its relation to philosophical thought. The title of this contribution is also its point: Ratzinger’s book offers a certain interpretation of Christianity and provides at the same time a sort of defence of Christianity against a never-ending chain of interpretations. It is just that which should be subjected to interpretation.

The article was written as a conversation between Dogmatics and Liturgical Studies. It asks what kind of self-understanding of the church becomes visible in the blessing ceremonies that have been newly adopted in recent years. In the background, there are considerations that such liturgical celebrations shape the image of the Church in time and society. At the same time, it is discussed how such new liturgical celebrations develop traditional concepts of ecclesiology. The blessing ceremonies discussed below, such as the blessing of couples on Valentine’s Day or the blessing of same-sex couples, are not regulated by the official Church. They are part of a changing liturgical practice from the ecclesial base. This development of the Church on a practical and theoretical level deserves theological reflection. Here God’s message of salvation is proclaimed in new liturgical formats. In these liturgies, Christians approach a changing society with the liturgy. The theological discussion about such celebrations is gaining importance in German theology. It is also reflected in the dioceses which are opening up to the inner-church reform process. In particular, it plays a role in the Synodaler Weg, which has recently begun in Germany, a process of reform within the Church.

The present article provides a detailed description of the personal archive of one of the secretly ordained priests of the Underground Church (or Clandestine Church as they prefer to say), namely Vendelín Laca (1932–2015) from the Slovak town of Šurany (close to Nitra). The complex issue of how the secret priests were integrated into the official structures after the fall of the Communist regime is tackled here from a special point of view: the focus is on one concrete group of married priests whose letters, articles, and memories are stored in the archive. In the first and second sections, the paper reports growing difficulties which arose as the official bishops in Slovakia refused to recognize the priestly status of those individuals, whose ordination originated from Bishop Felix Davídek. The church authorities forced these priests to undergo an ordination ‘sub conditione’, but nobody was able to bring up any evidence as to why Davídek’s ordinations should be questioned. Moreover, this option was only open to celibate men. The third and fourth sections describe the protracted conflict which led to the disenchantment and frustration of those married priests who were only admitted to a limited form of service in the Greek-catholic Exarchate (in Czechia) or, worse, completely excluded and charged of schism in Slovakia. The sixth and last section as a moving coda tells of the well-meant efforts of four outstanding priests who tried to engage in pastoral activities on their own. Before that, the fifth section brings witness to mutual misunderstandings and animosities within the Underground Church itself. Thus, the quotations and paraphrases of archival texts through their telling of personal stories shed light on the history of the remarkable phenomenon of the Underground Church with its glory and martyrdom without denying its shades.

Book review: Ernst, Stephan. Grundfragen theologischer Ethik. Eine Einführung. München: Kösel-Verlag, 2009, 384 s. ISBN 978-3-466-36809-9

Book review: Joseph Ratzinger: Úvod do křesťanství: výklad apoštolského vyznání víry

This article is about Antonin Salajka (1901–1975). This author was the first czech catholic priest laureated in Pontifical Institute of Oriental Studies in Rome (in 1930). Our paper first presents Antonin Salajka’s life and then in- troduces his work. The aim is on the Christian East, as half of his scientific work focused on this theme (cca 280 item). Next, our effort in this article aims at a detailed analysis of author’s conception and reasons for the study of the Christian East. He related his study to a great extent to the study of church Slovanic. The fundamental elements of Salajka’s conception were: (1) history of orthodox churches, variety of orthodox liturgical traditions, reasons for the so called East-West schism of 1054; (2) deeper knowledge of orthodox the- ology in a so-called comparative dogmatic theology; (3) introduction of his endeavour towards unification of all christian churches. Finally this article presents Salajka’ project aimed at the establishment of Institute for study of the Christian East in the 1940s in Prague.

Commentary

The text is dealing with the so called household (status) codes (Haustafeln) especially in the Letters to Colossians and Ephesians. Both texts, parts of a more voluminous parenesis for the community of the church, are based on a scheme typical for that period of relations between man and woman, parents and children, and lords and slaves in a household. The Christian interpreta- tion of that scheme in the Letters to Colossians and Ephesians brings a signifi- cant innovation, because it is based on a new understanding of man as reno- vated in Christ. Although the patriarchal order is maintained, still these relations are seen in a new way in which the decisive role is played by pointing to Jesus Christ and his relation to the church. In the Letter to Ephesians first of all the relation between man and women is elaborated and their unity is stressed. The exam- ple and at the same time the place of realisation of their relation is the relation between Christ and the church. This relation full of love, obedience and self- sacrifice from both sides ought to fill and represent the Christian marriage. The Letter to Colossians deals with the relation between the lords and the slaves. This relation is again made relative by pointing to Christ. A significant moment is stressing the dignity of human work, because it is – irrespective of human evaluation – service to Christ himself. Also the relation between par- ents and children is seen as a partnership with duties from both sides. Beyond that, the letter to Ephesians stresses the duty of parents to educate in faith, to pass the values of life. These texts, though they are often understood as sanctification of patriar- chal structures, in reality want to lead to responsible and effective family life in which everyone has his or her role and responsibility. This is the lasting message of these texts irrespective of the momentary social structures which are passing.

The article deals with the postmodern criticism of Christianity. Our inves- tigation focuses on French philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard who was the leading figure of the theory of postmodernism. Lyotard’s postmodern thinking includes a philosophical reflection of Christianity. He criticizes Christianity to be an oppressive hegemonic narrative of love. This article wants to deal with Lyotard’s critique of Christianity theologically. Nevertheless, Lyotard’s description of Christianity is understandable only in the context of his think- ing about the shift between modernity and postmodernity. Therefore, Lyotard’s theory about the end of modern master narratives as a significant character- istic of postmodernity is offered in the first part of the paper. We elaborate the notion modern master narrative and then we ask the question, whether is pos- sible to apply this category to Christianity. Our answer is that a certain type of Christianity could be described as a master narrative of love. We point out the reasons why Christianity could become an oppressive (modern) master nar- rative and we look for a (postmodern) solution. We propose the outline of the theological concept which is called the open narrative of Christianity devel- oped by Flemish theologian Lieven Boeve.

The relationship of Christ and church is an important topic in the work of Joseph Ratzinger – Pope Benedict XVI. This article presents a summary of Ratzinger’s theological approach in a double respect: first, it shows how the current Pope relates the mystery of church to Christ, then it expresses Ratzinger’s approach to Christology on the ground of church hermeneutics. The close connection between Christ and church, which is rethought by the author in the context of up-to-date Christological crisis of church life and in consequence of the 2nd Vatican Council (Lumen gentium, Dei Verbum), is con- veyed by the Ratzinger’s notion of church as God’s people, which rises from Christ’s body, and by his explanation of revelation, which is necessarily tied to the accepting subject of the church. Therefore church without Christ is dead and Christ without church incognoscible.

The paper deals with Aquinas’ concept of an ontological structure of the “supposit” [i.e. one being, complete as such, and therefore incommunicable] and is divided into three main parts. Firstly Aquinas’ two different accounts of the problem are put forth. Secondly the author tries to show the “inner coherence” of these two apparently contradictory explanations. Finally on the basis of these considerations Aquinas’ concept of an ontological structure of the “supposit” is presented in the “whole-part” terminology.

The aim of the article is to present the relationship between Christian social ethics and the Bible as well as the related methodological approaches and limits. A correct handling of the biblical texts in theological ethics implies a differentiated approach. This includes fi rst the knowledge of the complexity that arises when applying biblical texts to the ethical refl ection of contemporary problems, secondly the familiarity with biblical hermeneutics, and thirdly the interdisciplinary cooperation with theological as well as non-theological sciences. The presented thoughts should contribute to a better understanding of Christian social ethics as a theological discipline as well as its methodological procedure.

Also the canon law in teaching and all the more in its application needs the general theory of law. The principles of law have a special importance here; they partly complement, partly penetrate the positive law and are serving for an equitable application of the law in “hard cases”.

This article interprets the secret of Easter in the Byzantine rite by means of mystic-theological reflection, or by means of spiritual development of a person- ality as perceived in the Christian mystic tradition. The article is chronologi- cally structured according to the sequence of days of the liturgical period. The method is the application of the teaching of personal spiritual development by means of the path of conversion, purification, enlightenment and unification on individual days of celebrating the secret of Easter in the Byzantine rite. The gift of knowledge of the perfect agape love which is concluded in the Eucharist leads the man to the conversion and truthful self-knowledge. On Good Friday the worshipper meets the root of all evil and sin, the egoistic and idolatry self- love, confronts themself with treachery, renouncement and succumbing to evil. By Jesus Christ’s road to Calvary who assumes the consequences of the origi- nal sin, the man is internally purified and acquires the inner attitude of hum- bleness and confidence instead of the darkness and anxiety of the soul. The secret of Holy Saturday is Christ’s descending to pre-hell and His Annunciation which liberates from the hell of abandonment and despair in death. People waiting for salvation are enlightened by the announced God’s words; they can fearlessly bear the burden of disturbance to relationships and participate in the resurrection. Worshippers unified with Christ’s God-humanity participate with Easter joy and peace in the expiating force of Christ’s Resurrection. The new God-human life of Easter Sunday is thus opened which a Christian enters through the sacrament of Christening.

This article deals with the theme of the discernment of good and evil from the perspective of three Christian traditions. It is written in a form of a dialogue between three authors, where each represents the voice of one Christian tradition. Dialogue is not just an important part of theological discourse but also an essential element of every kind of discernment since it creates space for a non-fundamentalist approach to truth about God, oneself, and the world. For a better understanding of the conversational flow, which sometimes leads us to associated themes, the article is divided into five parts. Firstly, it speaks about the difference between theological, moral, and spiritual discernment. Secondly, it concentrates on discernment in connection with the different concepts of redemption. Consequently, the article deals with the discernment of good and evil in relationship with the origin of evil. Lastly, it elaborates the present and eschatological aspects of discernment and the role of individuals and community in the process of how Christians discern.

Verse 7:17 from Isaiah presents its interpreters, both ancient and modern, with difficulties and ambiguities regarding the text that must be accounted for on the level of formulation (problematic grammar), content (uncertain meaning) and incorporation into the larger context of Isa 7:1–17. The Damascus Document from Qumran uses this verse twice (in CD VII & XIII) in texts of different types (Admonitions and Laws). The author of the Damascus Document resolves the ambiguities of the biblical verse and incorporates it into his two compositions for the benefit of his argumentation. This type of redactional work is possible due to a recognition by the author of a continuity between the biblical Israel and the current (Qumran) community. While resolving the problems inherent to the biblical verse, the author of the Damascus Document also creates a new tension between the ways in which this verse is incorporated into the two documents.

The article treats two short texts in the Letter of James, namely 5:4 and 1:10–11, relevant for an investigation of the possible allusions of this New Testament writing to the Greek version of the book of the prophet Isaiah. Comparing them with the corresponding Isaianic parallels leads to the conclusion that the author of the letter was well acquainted with them and used them in adapted form in his new theological and ethical-pragmatical context.

Editorial

The Book of Isaiah clearly played a key role for Paul, especially when writing (or dictating) his Letter to the Romans, and especially with respect to two fundamental and mutually connected subjects: (i) the composition and unity of a Christian community composed of both Jew and Gentile. This unity and diversity are rooted in God’s redeeming work in Christ, which because of the universal nature of sin applies to all people equally; (ii) God’s faithfulness in saving Israel, and his plan to redeem all people, whether Jew or Gentile. As Paul’s mission progresses, we detect in his letters, from 1 Thessalonians to the Romans, a growing interest in Isaiah and the increasing significance of the book for both his work and his theological reflection. This article summarises the significance of the quotations from the Book of Isaiah in the Letter to the Romans in three parts according to the structure of the letter (chapters 1–8; 9–11; 12–15). The exposition is concentrated only on 15 direct quotations from the Book of Isaiah.

In his Psalm commentary (Enarrationes in Psalmos) and especially in his interpretation of the Psalm headings, Augustine presents the complete theology of the Christian reading of the Psalms. Of course, Augustine uses the text of the Psalms translated from LXX to Latin. The interpretations of the headings form a very important and comprehensive part of his comments so that it becomes obvious that it is definitely an extensive subject. The Greek heading: τῷ Δαυιδ (ipsi David) is in 57 psalms of the LXX, so it is a very common mention. Augustine considers king David to be above all a model (typus) of Christ. Furthermore, through the grammatical analysis of these headings – namely the objective and subjective meaning of the dative – he forms a complete exegesis and theology of the Psalms for Christians. This view was a basis for the further generations of Christians, especially in the Middle Ages and for the monks, to consider the Psalms as Christian literature.

The aim of this article is to review the age-old assumption of who may be the object of the miraculous speech in Lk 1:64, without eliminating the traditional interpretation of Zachary as both loosing and receiving back his speech in conjunction with the events surrounding the birth of John. The thesis of the article is that the orator of Lk 1:64 is most probably the newborn baby John. The argument is a cumulative one and builds upon observations of grammatical, contextual and genre-specific nature. The last point is underscored by incorporating 2 (Slavonic) Enoch into the discussion.

Martin Heidegger’s thought is often seen in the context of its opposition to the traditional notion of religion as expressed especially in Christianity. Since Heidegger became not only estranged from, but even inimical to Christianity at least from his mid-period, some interpretations label his thought atheistic. However, as was pointed out among others by John Caputo or Friedrich-Wilhelm von Herrmann, the relationship between religion and Heidegger’s thought is complex. As a young person preparing for Catholic priesthood, Heidegger had a deep understanding of religion on the spiritual as well as the theological level. This essay attempts to show the general background of Heidegger’s attitude concerning religion in the tradition of the medieval writing entitled German Theology and also in the age when Heidegger developed his insights. It argues that, especially from his mid-period, Heidegger developed a peculiar kind of mysticism, which can be conceived in the context of the critical tradition of previous forms of religious mysticism. This tradition is even more critical if we leave the realm of German ‘titanism’ and seek for alternative philosophical expressions not arising from that linguistic context. The essay concludes that it is possible to understand Heidegger’s proposals as instrumental to a new understanding of the continuously changing forms and contents of religion if and only if one is prepared to apply the necessary amount of critical reflection.

In this paper, I would like to present three approaches to Heidegger’s religiosity and religious thinking and underscore the importance of Heidegger’s thinking in the 20th century philosophy of religion. I will highlight the parallel interpretations of the religious movements in the 19th – 20th century and Heidegger’s approach to religion as a fundamental methodological problem of phenomenology. Furthermore, I will examine the connection between the original methodological inquiries and the reflection on religiosity in the later writings of Heidegger on historical being.

The aim of the article is to investigate the theme of words in prayer. In the dialogue with the work of C. S. Lewis, we ask how it is possible to overcome the limits of our words in order to reach God and reality. At first, we point to several possible ways in which our language is limited. After that we focus on the process of ‘gaining faces’, which is the main concept of Lewis’s novel Till We Have Faces but which can be complemented by the reading of his Great Divorce. This process is also demonstrated in the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman. Last but not least, the article shows that the idea of overcoming the limits of words in our prayer cannot be separated from everyday life and that the principle of prayer should thus become the mode of Christian living.

Book review: Josef Mikulášek, Dynamická církev: Promýšlení ekleziologie J. B. Metze na prahu třetího tisíciletí, Červený Kostelec: Pavel Mervart 2019, 208 stran, ISBN: 978-80-7465-399-5.

Book review: Pavel Frývaldský, Cristo come Centro e Mediatore. La lettura della cristologia di Romano Guardini alla luce della teologia di san Bonaventura, Mauritius: Edizioni Accademiche Italiana – Edizione Sant’Antonio 2018, 328 stran, ISBN 978-613-8-39119-7

Book review: Moloney, Francis J. Evangelium podle Jana. Edice Sacra pagina (ed. Daniel J. Harrington). Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství, 2009, 614 s. ISBN 978-80-7192-991-8

Book review: Jaroslav Vokoun, Naslouchat teoložkám. Brno: CDK (edice Moderní česká teologie), 2010, 202 s. ISBN 978-80-7325-228-1

Hana Stoklasová. Katolické přechodové rituály v českých zemích v „dlouhém“ 19. století. Pardubice: Univerzita Pardubice 2017, 283 s. ISBN 978-80-7560-076-9

Czechoslovak Church has not yet been a subject of a detailed study. Recent research has dealt mostly with particular churches built by important Czech modernist architects (Gočár, Janák, Víšek) or with periods of development of church architecture in the Czechoslovak Church. This study presents concepts of the church community house and liturgical space in the work of Miroslav Kouřil, who was an important Czech avantgarde scenographer and church architect in the 1930s and 1940s. These concepts are interpreted within the context of continual church discussions on various issues related to church architecture in the Czechoslovak church. Particular attention is paid to the leading principles proposed by Kouřil as guidelines for building a liturgical space, namely the liturgical hall as a fundamental, unified and undivided space within the church community house; the centrality of the liturgical table; and the installation of the baptistery with living water.

Jan Stejskal. Mnich za časů renesance. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého 2017, 184 s. ISBN 978-80-87895-81-8

This paper argues that if Christianity is to be regarded as a truly world religion, Christians must pay serious attention to the ways in which the Reformation legacy has taken roots and found contextualized expressions around the world, particularly in the global South. If Christians from the North Atlantic fail to acknowledge and take this fact seriously in their theological reflection, it will be to the detriment of their own spirituality and faith tradition. The other, who may well be one’s coreligionist, can help one construct one’s identity by providing a mirror to one’s own self. The structure of the present paper is built around four “sola” principles that succinctly capture the Reformation legacy. As such, contextual interpretations from the global South of sola fide, sola scriptura, sola gratia, and solus Christus will be introduced and discussed. In conclusion, some remarks will be made on these interpretations from a post-communist perspective.

The article describes the introduction of the liturgical reform in the Czech Republic and the associated musical creation that would correspond to the renewed liturgy. It focuses on the work of individual liturgical commissions, the determination of the criteria of musical creation and the prominent music protagonists. At the same time, it describes the progress of the work on the common song-book for the Czech and Moravian dioceses.

Book review: Denisa Červenková. Katolický pohled na náboženskou pluralitu. Praha, Karolinum 2016, 200 stran, ISBN: 978-80-246-3327-5.

This article focuses on the issue of Christian conversions (forced or voluntary) to Islam during the Armenian genocide. The essay examines the ideology of turkification that was behind these efforts, including Ottoman government- sponsored orphanages as a direct means of assimilating Armenian children. It pays particular attention to the process of ‘rebuilding’ the Armenian nation in the immediate aftermath of World War I sometimes called ‘national reconstruction’. In the final part the paper deals with the phenomenon of the ‘Hidden Armenians’ in contemporary Turkey.

The article presents a practical guidance for catechists, preachers and pastoral workers and for their possible contact with Muslims in the Czech republic. This article presents a strong and joyful faith in the Christ in one hand and a desire of understanding between religions as a needed preconditions for the Interreligious Dialogue. The preacher has to be acquainted with the deep knowledge of Islam, its culture and the local muslim community. Also his rhetorical skills and a strong personality are strongly required. Further it shows the inspiration of proclamation of Christ which is based on similarities of the Bible and the Koran, and of the articles of faith and of the piety. At the end it is highly important to mention the knowledge of the classical Arabic literature and to search for elements of truth in it.

Interreligious relations between Christianity and Islam are rapidly changing on both theoretical as well as practical fields. The paper is dealing with bioethical issue of artificial reproduction as it is discussed in the world of Islam. The paper is focused on the methodological approaches to bioethical issues in a context of Sharia law in general. In particular it deals with cultural aspects of decision making process. The interpretation and understanding the process is presented in the Christian way of discernment.

This article explains the christian trinitarian mystery and the view of Islam on it. This is a very extensive research of the main Muslim sources: the Qur’an and the Sunna (muslim tradition). The author records the strong rejection of this christian doctrine by muslims and seeks for the roots of this rejection. Very important is the updated research of today’s textbooks for Muslim pupils. There we are still finding the same rejection of the Christian Trinity, as a polytheism. The key benefit of this article is a connection with the Christian-Muslim Dialogue. Therefore the article is based on theoretical roots, but it results in very practical suggestions.

The aim of the article is to investigate the theory of conceptual metaphor with regard to its possible use in fundamental theology. Instead of focusing on the analysis of concrete metaphors, the article argues that it is first necessary to reflect on the philosophical and theological background of the theory. After that, as the article shows, cognitive theory of metaphor can provide a very useful perspective which would shed a new light on the themes like the relation between faith and science, Christianity and contemporary culture and others. At first, the article introduces the basic features of conceptual metaphor theory and cognitive linguistics in general. Then it tries to set it in theological context. Finally, it suggests possible ways how the theory can contribute to the development of the themes relevant for fundamental theology.

The article presents the fundamental ecclesiology of the contemporary Catholic theologian Salvador Pie-Ninot (*1941). The text shows the way in which he solves the question of the credibility of the Church and the attitudes of private Christianity with its negative attitude towards the Church (believing without belonging). Pie-Ninot underlines that the credibility of the Church is dependent on revelation and that the character of faith is ecclesial. He interconnects the last two councils: the concept of the Church, whose divine character is approachable by man (via empirica, the way of experience) as it is taught by the First Vatican Council, with the ecclesial stances of the Second Vatican Council, which reduces the emphasis on the attributes of the Church in favour of revelation, the person of Jesus Christ and a personal relationship to him. Pie-Ninot then offers the way of testimony, which includes the outer (for example, apostolic tradition) and inner form of churchly reality (personal life according to the demands of the Gospel) and perceives the Church as a privileged space of God’s revelation and salvation.

During the last decade or two, there has been only a small number of theological texts published in the Czech milieu dealing explicitly with the notion of Christian revelation. Therefore, this text aims to stimulate the domestic debate on revelation and suggest a few basic thoughts indicating some contemporary possibilities of thinking about this theme. In general, revelation is approached from the perspective of fundamental theology. The first part briefly summarizes the vast spectrum of theological attitudes towards revelation developed in the 20th century. In this quick tour, the late Cardinal Dulles is our guide. The second part elaborates on revelation as a symbolic mediation and symbolic resonance. These principles introduce the third and the last part of this study suggesting a theological turn in theology, which must be the turn towards fundamental theology and consequently also towards revelation.

Recenze: Miroslav Vepřek. Hlaholský misál Vojtěcha Tkadlčíka. Olomouc: Refugium Velehrad-Roma 2016, 272 s. ISBN 978-80-7412-242-2.

The paper presents Hugo Rahner, one of the great theologians of the 20th century, from the perspective of ecclesiology, his important area of research. H. Rahner’s ecclesiology is shaped by a close relationship with Christ and it passes on varied imagery of the birth of the Church from the side of Christ, of the Church as a continuing reality of Christ, of her dramatic journey through the history in her weakness, of her scandalising visibility and her already victorious joy. This emphasis was eventually expanded in the Patristic symbols of the Church. Rahner’s theology is characterised by its strong kerygmatic focus, and it is intertwined with the theology of the Church Fathers that bring topical inspiration for the today’s Western Church.

The 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Lutheran reform offers to the Catholics and the Lutherans an opportunity to reflect together on an event that determined the history of the European continent and that until now influences the Western Christendom. Furthermore, it is also a chance to establish a clear and competent comparison with the original intentions of Martin Luther and his programme of reform that continues to represent a ‘spiritual and theological challenge both for the Catholics and the Lutherans of our times’.

In this article, we are trying to interpret the artistic expression of the relation between man and woman in the prose of a Czech writer, Jaroslav Durych (1886–1962). We highlight how Durych’s literary work portrays the mutuality between man and woman and how it grasps the question of its sense. At the same time, while regarding literature as a symbolic expression of human way of being, we want to enter into dialog with this literary quest and formulate a theological answer to it. The theological starting point of our approach is the idea of Trinitarian anchoring of the dual unity of man and woman. The conclusion of our interpreta- tion is that Durych’s prose illustrates the journey of male and female mutuality as a journey of human transcendence and as a moment of a new determination of man in the mystery of unconditional love. In this way, Durych refers not only to the nuptial mystery of man and woman but also to its grounding in the mystery of Christ.

The article consists of two parts. In the first one, it surveys usage of the word παρρησία and its verbal derivatives from the beginning in the late 5th century BC to the New Testament times. It deals with the political function of the expression in the Athenian democracy, with its subsequent shift to the private sphere and its value in the Hellenistic philosophy, and finally, with its satiric dimension. Then, it indicates some modification of its usage in the Septuagint and other works of Hellenistic Judaism and examines the meanings of the word in individual works of the New Testament. In the second part, the article illustrates how John Chrysostom used the expression in his 55 homilies on the Acts of the Apostles. It concentrates on the instances where the commentator exploited the classical meaning of the word, which refers to the frankness of public speech as well as to the use of frank speech in admonishing ethical discourse. These occurrences exemplify the in u- ence of Chrysostom’s secular rhetorical education to his exegetical perspective.