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The paper has the task of analyzing the relationship between religion and medicine in the ancient city of Pergamon, primarily in the early days of the Roman emperors, analyzing the cult of Asklepios, one of the central cults, also known for its widely visited pagan sanctuary, located in the seat of this ancient center. In Greek mythology and religion, Asclepius was the god of medicine, descended from Apollo and Koronis. He got his name because of his birth, as his mother had to undergo an opening of the uterus in order to give birth, which is known today as a cesarean section. Asklepios actually means “open”. According to Greek mythology, he was taught in the art of medicine by the centaur Chiron. Through his studies, he was so skilled in the art of medicine that he could raise the dead and bring them back to life. His famous symbol is a snake wrapped around a stick, which can be seen in all medical institutions in modern times. This is reminiscent of the staff that Asclepius was always carrying. In ancient Greece and Rome, an Asklepieion (Ἀσκληπιεῖον) was a healing temple dedicated to the god Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine. These healing temples were places where patients went to receive healing or any other kind of treatment, whether mental or physical. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to examine the main features of the Asklepieion, especially the contemporary cultural and religious history and ancient medicine associated with it, in the context of new archaeological findings at this site.

Mystagogy of Alexander Schmemann encompasses various elements of liturgical the-ology, from Eucharist as its core to anthropology. It was very important to Schmemann not to understand Liturgy in a mysterious way, but as the very life that has true meaning only in Liturgy itself. This paper emphasizes Liturgy as a communion of God and men and the fact that Church is realized only through its worship. The paper also emphasizes pedagogical aspect of worship. In his liturgical work, Schmemann has managed to encompass both mysteriology and heortology in the context of Liturgy – a rite that gives meaning to everything. Schmemann was particularly interested in discovering original and organic unity between Liturgy and sacraments. Liturgical nature of a sacrament, as well as sacramental nature of Liturgy and Church itself, represents dynamical synthesis that was witnessed by the Fathers.

The theme of this paper deals with an interdisciplinary study of the structure, dynamics and meaning of the central religious service intended for the Eucharistic assembly of laity and all the fullness of the Church. The primary subject of the analysis is the function of the nave, with the Eucharist as the starting point and the final indication. As the church is one of the ecclesiological paradigms of the Christian Church, so the nave is ecclesiological icon of “people of God”. The paper therefore wants to summarize in a concise form a multitude of aspects from which this complex problem can be perceived, and among other things analyzes the dynamic devotion of worship in the nave, given the posture and position of the body, the orientation, the direction, and the way of the participants in the worship service. In order to decode the liturgical-theological function of this place, this research is particularly studying the purified mathematical-architectural symbolism of the nave, understood as the “new creation in Christ. The author concludes that the harmonious proportions, the boldness of the construction and the experience of the volume of the nave with their beauty and richness of meaning, just as the iconography does, creates the liturgical ambience of an adequate transcendence of the Eucharistic symbol.

In this paper, the author speaks of Serbian primary schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the founding of Serbian Primary School in Visoko during the Ottoman reign. The author then speaks of School’s history during Austro-Hungarian occupation until the beginning of the First World War. The goal of this paper is to preserve the remembrance of Visoko’s educational tradition and to remind the readers of the struggle for establishing and opening first Serbian schools in Bosnia.

In this paper, the authors explore scientific and cultural activities of archimandrites Hristifor Mihajlovic and Leontije Ninkovic, the followers of Vuk Karadzic from Herzegovina, who were acknowledged researchers of Serbian cultural tradition during Austro-Hungarian rule (1878-1918). They have especially contributed to the study of written and printed Cyrillic materials. From the aspect of literary science, this paper explores both bibliographical and literary-historical significance of their works. From the linguistic perspective, the authors have partially noted some basic orthographic and phonetic characteristics of the inscriptions on Srbulje from the libraries of Dobricevo and Zavala.

While most Christian denominations were condemning or openly demonizing movies when this form of artistic expression was still in its infancy, many of them today embrace film and use it for pastoral purposes. Orthodox Church is not an exception: while at the end of the 19th century Holy Synod of the Russian Church officially opposed movies because of their potential to lead the faithful astray, modern Orthodox filmmakers produce movies with the blessings of the highest Church authorities. Some of these movies, e.g. The Island (2006) and Man of God (2021), seem to function as cinematic homilies, more effective and more memorable than traditional formal homilies one can hear inside the church buildings. Nevertheless, religious movies are primarily artistic expressions and, as such, should be interpreted as any other work of art. Theological interpretation of movies, especially by pastoral theologians, should encourage their actual use as pastoral means in parish communities. Since the theology of film is still largely unknown or ignored in the Orthodox world, this paper contains a short introduction to the topic of “theology and film”, which is followed by a theological analysis of four films with specifically Orthodox themes: The Island, Angel’s Aisle, Healing Fear and Man of God.

The stories of Adam and Eve, which are to be found on the first pages of the Book of Genesis, and especially the narrative about the serpent and the fall of man, belong to one of the most famous biblical texts. There is almost no person who has never heard of these motifs. According to it, the serpent was the one who deceived Adam and Eve and drove them away from the Lord. In the later Jewish and especially Christian narratives, the serpent was seen and explained as the devil himself. But why was the serpent chosen to represent humanity’s chief adversary? Why did the writer of the Genesis 3 use an animal such as serpent as the character that tricked the first men and pushed them away from God’s embrace? Why did the author from the ancient past, not having contemporary rich knowledge of the colorful world of angels and demons, take the snake as a primary antagonist to describe the transgression of God's commandment? This paper attempts to analyze the Biblical text in its own scriptural context, but also in the context of various religious and cultural narratives and motifs from the ancient world, such as different Egyptian or Canaanite motifs, as well as the famous Epic of Gilgamesh. The goal is to try to give an answer to the question: Why is the snake understood as the main enemy of humanity in the story, but not some other animal, such as fox or even a wolf?

The author dedicates the first part of this paper to the presentation of the problem regarding identity of Isaac mentioned in the title of Memra. He begins by analysing the letter written by Jacob of Edessa (died in 708), which is one of the oldest preserved sources related to this issue. This letter actually presents three Isaacs who (at least partially) lived in the 5th century in the same area. After this part of the work, author consults “Foreword” by P. Bedjan, publisher of Memra’s Syriac text, and several studies by T. Bou Mansour, showing that scholars since 19th century had different opinions regarding the number of persons who wrote under the name Isaac during this same period. Following the analysis of Bou Mansour, the author proposes that the writer of Memra was probably Isaac who was known as Isaac of Antioch, opponent to Chalcedonian faith. The author also points out a certain dramatization that is inherent in the Memra. He notes that the text of the Memra is vivid and in dialogical form. Through it, Isaac gradually leads the reader/listener to the climax of its message, and that is the importance of constantly reading and learning the Scriptures. The author then reviews the contents of Memra and comments of Isaac’s idea that the very reading of text is actually a conversation with its writer and, in this case, with the writers of Holy Scriptures. This commentary is followed by the Syriac text of Memra and its translation into Serbian language.

In this paper, the author analyzes certain specifics of spiritual atmosphere in American films noir during 1940s and 1950s. There were certain existential strivings and contextual factors that generated the atmosphere of decadence and claustrophobia in this genre’s worldview. Noir philosophy thus follows European existentialist thought. In order to demonstrate this fact, the author analyzed several distinguished noir films, such as Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944) and Sunset Boulevard (1950), Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil (1958), Nicholas Ray’s In a Lonely Place (1950), Jacques Toruneur’s Out of the Past (1947), Charles Laughton’s Night of the Hunter (1955), etc. In these movies, the dehumanizing alienation, the downfall of spirit and a very small possibility of happy ending are a dominant reality. Noir world does not recognize any other reality, which leads to its main spiritual question: is this the world that is worth living in? There dominates the philosophy of absurd: protagonists, whose faith is either shaken or even nonexistent, accept absurdity as the only way of life. Of course, there is no answer in such choice, but it is nevertheless better than emptiness. The passion of absurdity, i.e. some kind of life automatism or inertia, is a reason why protagonists act in the first place: nihilism does not necessarily lead to passivism. This noir philosophy is akin to that of Camus, which is also colored by alienation and disorientation. The positions of good and evil, or love and hatred, are very much obscured. Therefore, the noir genre depicts a specific psycho-physical state of an entire epoch, captured and lost in the darkness of existence.

The title of this paper clearly points at our research goals, which is defining the place and the role of slava (Serbian traditional custom of annual celebration of family patron saint) in new missionary strategies and in modern-day parish practice of Serbian Orthodox Church. An important fact, which should be mentioned in the beginning of our research, is that the process of return to faith, starting at the end of the past century, began as renovation of slava custom. That, which was forcefully repressed by communist ideology since the middle of 20th century, suddenly became the primary feature of the Orthodox faith of our people. For some, slava was perceived as a defining characteristic of both faith and nationality, which, if nationalistic prejudice dominates person’s worldview, inevitably becomes theological problem. Most Serbian families celebrate slava, each in its own way, but it is still unclear how much did this custom contribute to the development of Eucharistic mentality in our Church. Therefore, primary pastoral goal should be the transformation of religious mentality, from the state of passive observers of traditional customs to the state of active participants in Liturgy and Eucharistic life. Meanwhile, COVID-19 pandemic disturbed many aspects of religious life, including the practice of slava, but it has also unraveled many of its serious problems. For example, in the cases of families which insist on the attendance of many guests at slava, there were strong reactions against social distancing. Each call for celebration with limited number of guests was, for them, betrayal of faith, although many of them were always not particularly interested in Church’s Eucharistic worship. These facts represent great challenges for contemporary pastoral practice, but it is also clear that slava might be a good basis for many missionary activities. Its primary goal should be the integration of all the faithful into the life of Liturgy, i.e. into Church’s Eucharistic community.

This paper shows portraits of selected Judges from the Old Testament Book of Judges. The aim is to interpret the characters of Ehud, Deborah, as well as Barak, and Samson in accordance with typical characteristics of epic heroes, which exist in all cultures. Besides, these heroes show the characteristics of synecdochic heroes that, in this case, represent features belonging to entire Israel as the God’s chosen people. Firstly, the author introduces the readers to the Book of Judges, and then, using narrative approach to text, describes the characters and gives the conclusion regarding theological and political implications of these portraits and the Book of Judges in its entirety. The narrative of Deborah and Barak contains surprising and unexpected choice of person who was supposed to fulfill the will of God. That is one important piece of puzzle that should connect the images of protagonists and express theological idea present in the Book of Judges. The story of Samson ends with his regain of strength, demolition of Dagon’s temple, and his death. An important question that permeates the entire narrative of Samson is whether he is aware of the fact that he brings salvation to Israel in God’s name. His deeds cannot be compared to any of other judges. All of them act in the name of certain tribe (or a group of tribes), while Samson acts individually, without even a slightest sign of support from either his tribe or family. Portraits of analyzed judges show that the writer of these narratives managed to show complex and dynamic characters. These characters do not only have positive features; some were mostly depicted in negative tones, but it does not prevent them from fulfilling their missions and saving Israel from danger. Through their deeds, hesitations and failures, the writer managed to present Book’s primary idea – struggle for preservation of Moses’ alliance with God and striving for a leader, i.e. king who will actually, and not merely symbolically, unite Israel as God’s people.

In this paper, the author reviews spiritual movements of 4th and 5th centuries in connection with great ascetic Church Fathers. Special attention was dedicated to individuals and movements that decisively shaped Eastern Christian way of thinking, such as Origen of Alexandria and Origenist movement, Gnosticism, Evagrius Ponticus, Saint Macarius the Great, and Saint Diadochos of Photiki. Some of these movements, such as early heretical Gnostic movement, were repressed in the very beginning, while the others survived through the centuries and later reemerged, somewhat changed, in late Middle Ages. Especially strong was Origenist movement among Eastern monks, mostly due to Evagrius Ponticus and his ascetic thought. Even Saint Gregory of Nyssa, who is considered to be one of the pillars of Orthodox theology, was influenced by Origen, as evidenced by his teaching of apokatastasis (universal salvation, although Gregory was more in line with the theory of recapitulation as formulated by Irenaeus of Lyuons). Another important movement was anthropomorphism, whose representatives ascribed human features to God. They were especially numerous in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. Although many of mentioned movements, or at least some of their ideas, survived well into Middle Ages, the reaction of Church Fathers during 4th and 5th centuries against them has strongly contributed to the final victory of Orthodoxy. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to assume that the ideas of these non-Orthodox movements did not influence Eastern Christian way of thinking, especially in ascetic theology. The author, therefore, examines these movements and their influence on the development of Orthodox theological thought.

One vivid episode from the year 372 depicts the struggle that Cappadocian Fathers had to lead on two dogmatic fronts at the same time: on the one hand, they opposed the Arian heresy, which at that time enjoyed special support of Emperor Valens, while, on the other hand, there were accusations that St. Basil the Great “betrays the Orthodox faith” by not preaching the Deity of the Holy Spirit, i.e. by not using the same terms that Nicaean theology used to emphasize the oneness of the Father and the Son. The paper discusses the limits of “economy” in the field of dogmatic teachings through a concrete example of the relationship of St. Basil the Great towards those who, at that time, joined the Church from Macedonian circles. On this example of the dogmatic struggle, but also the pedagogical approach performed by the Fathers of the 4th century, we can reach conclusions relevant to the modern dogmatic-pedagogical approach – and these conclusions will show us clear contrast to the binary scheme of fundamentalism.

Vladimir Lossky was one of the greatest and most important Orthodox theologians in 20th century; he has greatly contributed to Neo-Patristic synthesis, while his works will introduce the spirit of Eastern theology to Christian West. One of Lossky’s significant contributions was the affirmation of apophatic theology, i.e. gnoseological method of knowing God that is not applied only in the fields of Triadology and Christology, but also in the field of anthropology. Although his apophatism was basically patristic, it will not be identified as theologia negativa, but as mystical vision or theoria – seeing God – and that is why apophatics is not just another method of theology but the experience of living God. Experience is, therefore, more than a method; it includes method. This paper is an exploration of antinomicity of Vladimir Lossky’s theology and of his re-actualization of apophatic theology as theologia affirmativa.

It is the duty of every country that becomes a member of the Council of Europe to sign an acceptance of all responsibilities and obligations that ensue upon its ratification of the European Convention of Human Rights. What constitutes the guaranteed religious rights defined in Articles 9 and 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights, and how much has case-law so far honoured the principles of autonomy and autocephaly of Orthodox Churches, is the core question of this paper. Analysis of the key court decisions, brought by the European Court of Human Rights dealing with the Orthodox Churches, could give us an answer what to expect in church-state legal relations development. It can also help the Serbian Orthodox Church to develop a legal point of view in order to protect itself from other potentially harming religious groups.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the main elements of the writings of history of Kiev by the Metropolitan of Kiev Petro (Mohyla) (1597–1647) and other theologians under his scientific supervision; consideration of the reception of these elements in the work of Metropolitan of Kiev Yevhenii (Bolkhovitinov) (1767–1837) under the title “Description of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra”, as well as finding the elements that are strictly characteristic of Metropolitan Yevhenii’s work. The methodological basis of this article is the general scientific principle of historicism, objectivity, complexity and system, the implementation of which is car-ried out through the use of basic methods of historical research (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction). The main conclusion is that Metropolitan of Kiev Yevhenii (Bolkhovitinov) was the successor of the tradition of writing history of the Church which was created by Metropolitan Petro (Mohyla) and other famous Kievan theologians of the time, among whom Bishop Sylvestr (Cossov) stands out.

Today Church faces the issues of secularism and rationalism. In this era, one is al-lowed to believe, to be interested in metaphysics, just as one is free to engage sciences. Besides traditionalist approach to faith, the existential approach has also been pushed into shadows and reserved only for those who deal with theology or philosophy, i.e. for those who are interested in more then conventional understanding of faith. This opens up the question of dogma. How does a modern human understand dogmas of the Church and does he/she understand them at all? Is there knowledge of dogmas, ecclesiology, and conscience of belonging to Church outside traditionalist, ethical, and ritualistic approach to faith? Why does not anyone speak of dogmas except ex cathedra? Why ecclesiological approach to faith does not exist? Are dogmas some truths sealed with ‘seven seals’, can they be lived, or are they in the domain of imaginary and abstract? How to explain the meaning of dogma to modern human? These are some questions that are dealt with in this paper.

The author explores the issue of pain and suffering in the thought of C. S. Lewis and in the Orthodox patristic tradition. The central question of paper is whether Lewis was close to patristic tradition of the East regarding the problem of theodicy. Reviewing some characteristic patristic writings and Lewis’s work The Problem of Pain, the author comparatively analyses this question, while also pointing at the ever-important problem of atheism that primarily comes not out of the issue of God’s existence, but out of the issue of God’s justice.

The homilies on Hexameron (Εἰς τὴν Ἑξαήμερον) of Saint Basil the Great represent unique and quite original interpretation of the six days of creation. This work is not a complete whole, since our Saint did not write about the creation of humans in the image of God. Nevertheless, the work is characterized by combination of typological and literary methods of in-terpretation of biblical texts with a certain amount of allegory, and it is also an attempt of dialogue between Orthodox-biblical and philosophical-scientist worldviews. In Hexameron, philosophy is represented as theoretical, i.e. as philosophical theories on the origins of cosmos, but also as practical – in the sense of scientific achievements of the time. This paper attempts to show how Saint Basil made the dialogue between theology and philosophy possible in his Hexameron, with special emphasis on the term dialogue.

The paper deals with the question of religious pluralism in the example of the Book of Jonah. By his universal concept of salvation, the author of this Old Testament book, which emerged in the post-exile era, stands opposite the particularism of Ezra and Nehemiah. Of particular importance in the text of the book is the name of God ‟the God of heaven”, which means that He is universal and supra-national. In the Christian exegesis, the Book of Jonah often served as the basis of anti-Jewish interpretations. Jonah is portrayed as a typical Jew. Contemporary Christian theology should find a model of relations with its own anti-Judaic heritage and offer an interpretation of the Book of Jonah which will be acceptable in a religious pluralistic context.

This paper is a review of German and American theologian Paul Tillich’s pastoral theory. Due to his appreciation of modern medicine and psychology, as well as his deep understanding of culture and symbolic forms, Tillich has formulated some interesting guidelines for the development of pastoral theology in modern age. Although he was a protestant theologian, his thought is inevitable and extremely important in every discussion about the relationship between Christianity and culture, which is also in the scope of interest of Orthodox pastoral theology. That is why the author will not only review Tillich’s pastoral theory, but also evaluate it from the Orthodox perspective.

The discourse on wealth and poverty in certain texts of both Old and New testaments establishes the basis for a Biblical, theological-economical ethics that demands struggle against poverty and advises social solidarity. That is why many contemporary sociological concepts and ideologies refer to Holy Scriptures. Both leftist and neo-liberal socio-economical theories present ancient authors of the Bible as their “ancestors”. This paper presents a review of Biblical understanding of poverty and wealth, putting it into a dialogue with modern theories.

Eucharist ecclesiology of Nicholas Afanasiev is one of the most important contributions to Orthodox ecclesiology in 20th century. Although many positive elements in this theological concept are already recognized, there are still doubts and negative remarks regarding his Eucharist ecclesiology, notable for its identification of Church and Eucharist, i.e. the identification of local ecclesial community with the Church of God. Nevertheless, the review of the entire Afanasiev’s textual corpus leads us to conclude that the critiques of his ecclesiology are exaggerated, while many positive elements were overshadowed by those same critiques. The greatest and most famous critic of Eucharist ecclesiology is John Zizioulas, although his ecclesiology reaches same conclusions as that of Afanasiev. This paper is an attempt to point at both negative and positive elements of Eucharist ecclesiology in the context of Zizioulas’ critique.

In this paper, the author reviews primary arguments of externalist and internalist schools regarding the phenomenon of Islamophobia. Special emphasis was placed on the issue of compatibility of Islam and traditional Western Judeo-Christian values. Reviewing and criticizing the argument of both schools of thought, the author attempts to arrive at an objective viewpoint of Islamophobia, and at the same time to offer a solution in the form of Christian unconditional brotherly love.

In this paper, the author explores the issue of social teaching of the Church and its consequences in the fields of pastoral service and mission in modern world. The main question is: does the lack of systematical Orthodox social teaching means that Church does not have clearly defined attitude towards modern social problems, for example, towards growing poverty in our countries and in the world? Relying on some early Christian and Byzantine sources, as well as on certain academic works in pastoral theology, author shows that lack of systematical theological discourse on social question does not entail the lack of Church’s interest for social circumstances its believers live in today. It is precisely clear answers of Orthodox theology to contemporary social issues, as well as more active social engagement of Church, that are necessary if Church wants to achieve better results in both inner and outer mission.

In this paper, the author presents basic philosophical ideas of N. Fyodorov with special emphasis on the central idea – the idea of universal resurrection. Fyodorov advocated eccentric views on the resurrection of dead ancestors through joint venture of all people and with the help of science and technology. Although Fyodorov’s main inspiration came from Christian good news of Resurrection, he had parted ways with Christian tradition by emphasizing conditionality of Resurrection on men’s common task.

This paper surveys the work of Serbian Orthodox Ecclesial Singing Company “Milutinović” from Visoko during Austro-Hungarian occupation and Kingdom of Yugoslavia, until Second World War, when it has stopped working. In the very beginning of its work, the pri-mary goal of Singing Company was to nourish and develop ecclesial singing, while later it encompassed various cultural and educational activities. For all the time of its existence, the Company was firmly protecting Serbian national interests and preserving national tradition. It was a main initiator of cultural events among Serbian people in Visoko and surrounding areas. Company also had multiple sections, such as clubs for drama and reciting. It also had a library, which was of great value for preserving national consciousness and culture of Serbian people in these areas. During First World War, the Company was disbanded by the state. However, it renewed its work in 1935, but in the Second World War, it was disbanded once again.

The restoration of religious education in elementary and high schools in the former republics of SFR Yugoslavia coincided with the break up of this state and establishing of democratic multiparty system, after half century of the rule of Communist Party of Yugoslavia that excluded religious education from public schools. The fall of communist values and ideals in Yugoslavia and Eastern Europe preceded the return of democratic values, freedom of faith and religious education. However, legal solutions were not identical in all former republics of SFRY: some still do not have religious education in public schools (Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia), while some define religious education as an elective course (with varying instructive representation and authority in educational system). Religious high schools, as well as public elementary and high schools founded by religious communities, do not have same legal status in former Yugoslav republics. In this paper, the author discusses legal regulations that define status of religious education and religious schools and explains different legal solutions, as well as relations of churches and religious communities with states in the field of education.

In this paper, the author explores the New Atheism movement in the West and con-temporary Western apologetics. The goal of such research is to present the apologetics as a valid answer of the Church to modern science and atheistic conclusions based on it. Apologetics should be reestablished as a separate theological discipline that would help young theologians understand the issues in dialogue between New Atheism and Christianity, which are currently studied briefly in pastoral theology.

The meeting and conversation of Emperor Dusan and Saint Gregory Palams on Mount Athos has been long since recognized in contemporary byzantology. It was mostly approached from the agiographical aspect, i.e. as the celebration of monastic calmness of Saint Gregory, or as an interesting anecdote from the life of greatest Serbian ruler. In this paper, the author brings supplemented and corrected translation of their conversation, while exploring the possibility of its complex interpretation as a historical source.

In this paper, the author explores the status of Reljevo Seminary from its founding in 1882 until its move to Sarajevo during First World War. The Government financed the Seminary and strictly controlled it. The Government also approved the curriculum of the Seminary, while the rector and the professors were appointed by the Joint Ministry of Finances in Vienna; many professors were expelled from Seminary because of their national agenda. Metropolitanates, ec-clesial and educational municipalities, and confessional schools were under constant oppression during the preparations for the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Reljevo Seminary was reformed in 1892 and equated with other civil offices. After the struggle for the autonomy of ecclesial education had ended, the Seminary revised it curriculum in 1909; in the same time, it was officially named Serbian Orthodox Seminary School. During the First World War, Reljevo Seminary was the only Serbian school that was not shut down, but it was more intensely su-pervised by the Government, which demanded professors to inject “Austro-Hungarian patriotic feelings” among the students. The years of war were marked by isolation, poverty, the lack of food, and the lack of students in the Seminary, which moved to Sarajevo in 1917.

This paper explores the role and contribution of the Russian Church in the academic education of Serbs from the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. During the second half of the 19th century, great numbers of Serbs were educated in Russia. After the October Revolution, many Russian migrants arrived in Serbia. Especially important were Russian monks, who renewed the monastic spirituality, and Russian professors, who influenced the historical course of Serbian theology by founding the Orthodox Faculty of Theology.

In the 21st canon of the Council of Ankira, the Fathers of the Church had condemned as murderers all who give poison herbs to the women in order to induce abortion, as well as the women who willingly undergo such procedure. In his 2nd and 8th canons, Saint Basil the Great condemned such women as murderers and ordered them to undergo the same penance as the killers. The 96th canon of the Sixth Ecumenical Council also condemns as murderers all women who distribute or consume the medications for inducing abortion. Saint Sava accepted these canons in his Zakonopravilo, thus incorporating them into Serbian Church and Serbian state. „The child-killing medicine“ is a term that Saint Sava had used, so in the laws of the Nemanjic dynasty it was no longer questioned if the fetus is a real child or not. Since the second half of the 20th century, the state laws moved away from the Saint Sava’s traditions, denying the child in mother’s womb constitutional protection in the process, and acknowledging its subjectivity only after birth. The medical science has a notion of pre-natal period of child’s life, while the pre-natal psychology emphasizes child’s feelings and memories. In this paper, the author shows that the pre-natal psychology in the 21st century has proven all the facts brought out by the Fathers of the Church in the 4th century. Since the Canon Law of the 4th century equates penances for the murder of a born or yet unborn child, it is unacceptable for the modern law not to defend the child’s rights and not to propose the same punishment for the abortion as for the other kinds of murder. The modern right of a woman to be the murderer of her own child should be transformed into her right to elevated motherhood.

This paper examines the history of Italy as described by two medieval chroniclers from 9th and 10th centuries, namely Regino von Prüm and Widukind von Corvey. In Regino’s Chronicle, Italy is ruled by German and Byzantine rulers, local feudal lords and kings, as well as Saracen and Hungarian invaders. In his work Res gestae Saxonicae (History of Saxons), Widukind briefly mentions Otto the Great’s expeditions in Italy (which he has finally conquered and annexed), but fails to mention the fact that he was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope John XII in 962. Actually, he praises Otto’s fight against Hungarians and his final victory in the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. It seems that Widukind express dissatisfaction with Saxon aristocracy, since they thought that Otto’s long stay in Italy (the heart of the Empire) made Saxony vulnerable to Hungarian, Slav and Dane attacks.