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Bu çalışmada Eski Türkiye Türkçesi dönemine ait Şerâʼit-i İslâm adlı müellifi bilinmeyen manzum bir ilmihâl değerlendirilecektir. Eski Türkiye Türkçesi döneminde telif-tercüme faaliyetlerinin başlamasıyla beraber dinî eserler Arapça ve Farsçadan tercüme yoluyla Türkçeye kazandırılmış veya dinî konuları halka öğretmek amacıyla doğrudan Türkçe eserler kaleme alınmıştır. Türkçe kaleme alınan eserler arasında temel dinî bilgileri öğretmek ve halka anlatmak için yazılan manzum ilmihâller önemli bir yer tutmaktadır. Şerâʼit-i İslâm isimli manzum ilmihâl de bu dönemde kaleme alınan eserlerden biridir. Mesnevi nazım şekliyle didaktik tarzda telif edilen bu ilmihâl, sade ve anlaşılır bir dille kaleme alınmıştır. İslam’ın şartlarının anlatıldığı Şerâʼit-i İslâm, kelime-i şehâdet, namaz, oruç, zekât ve hac fasıllarından oluşmaktadır. Eserde genel olarak kelime-i şehadet getirerek Allah’ın birliğini tasdik etmenin gerekliliği, namazın ehemmiyeti, orucun fazileti, zekâtın miktarı, haccın kimlere farz olduğu, hacda yapılması gerekenler ve benzeri konular nasihat üslubuyla ve şiirsel bir dille anlatılmıştır. Eserin toplam beyit sayısı 260’tır. İstanbul Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Atatürk Kitaplığı ve Ankara Milli Kütüphane Adnan Ötüken İl Halk Kütüphanesi’nde olmak üzere üç nüshasına ulaşılabilen eserin müellifi ve telif tarihi bilinmemektedir. Eser, dil ve imlâ bakımından Eski Türkiye Türkçesi özellikleri göstermesinin yanı sıra eserde bu dönemin söz varlığına ait birçok kelime de bulunmaktadır. Halka yönelik yazıldığı anlaşılan eserde; halk dilinde kullanılan ibâre, deyim ve kelimelerin yanı sıra Arapça ve Farsça kelime ve tamlamaların kullanıldığı görülür. Türkçeye hâkim bir şairin eliyle kaleme alındığı görülen eser, Eski Türkiye Türkçesi döneminde dinî nitelikli eserlerin Türkçe kaleme alındığını göstermesi açısından önemlidir. Makalede, Şerâʼit-i İslâm adlı manzum ilmihâlin yapısı ve muhtevası hakkında bilgi verilerek, nüshaları tanıtılmaktadır. Ayrıca eserin tenkitli metnine yer verilerek, dil ve imlâ özellikleri ile söz varlığı hakkında bilgi verilmiştir.

The article deals with the issue of teaching the Law of God in gymnasiums and other secondary educational institutions of the Russian Empire during the 19th — early 20th century and attempts to regulate it on the part of the state and church authorities. During this period, the subject was introduced as mandatory, but the results of its teaching constantly caused complaints from both students and teachers. For a century there was a search for the most favourable forms and methods of teaching the Law of God. The Catechism of Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov), created at this time, was met with criticism and was edited several times by the author, and each revision solved some problems, but at the same time posed new ones. In this regard, numerous attempts were attested to create various kinds of manuals based on Metropolitan Philaret’s Catechism which was approved by the programme. However, until the Bolshevik seizure of power, when the teaching of the Law of God was cancelled, its critics argued that the study of this subject never achieved its main goal of training people who would be religiously educated, moral and faithful servants of the Church and Fatherland. The discussion was interrupted by the Bolsheviks’ abolition of the very subject of the Law of God in educational institutions, and therefore left open the question of how the course could achieve its goal.

This article reviews the formation and features of the paraliturgical model of children’s catechesis, formed under the influence of Montessory pedagogy, in the general context of the development of catechetical training of children in Western Christianity. Particular attention is paid to the gaining new professional levels of the activities of catechists in the 20th century, and the most significant trends in the development of catechetical activities are shown. In the first half of the century problems solved were mainly methodological ones, while in the second half of the century educational practice developed under the influence of existential theology. In its most consistent form, the paraliturgical model is reflected in two Christian education programs: Catholic program “Catechism of the Good Shepherd” by Sofia Cavalletti and Protestant program “Godly Play” by Jerome Berryman, which have greatly influenced modern educational practice. The article provides both a general description of the paraliturgical model and the features of the mentioned systems. The author makes assumptions about reasons for the popularity of the methods, characterizes their influence on Christian pedagogical practice, and also points out a number of problems arising in connection with their spreading. The practice shows the effectiveness of this approach to Christian education and its rich pedagogical potential. However, it requires both evidence-based pedagogical research on the application of the Montessori approach to Christian education, as well as solving issues related to the content of education and its cultural adaptation.

Using a religious studies methodology, this paper offers a detailed contextual mapping and a structural configuration of how collective violence is justified in Orthodox Christianity. The research design is explanatory, whereby the functional perspectives of doctrine, ethics and worship are all investigated and probed as phenomena of lived religion and orthopraxy. While predominantly initiatory and pedagogical, the paper also proposes a systematic platform for advanced research on this subject, by flagging contexts, themes and areas of inquiry that a researcher might examine in order to untangle the inner workings of the justification of violence in the mind of the Orthodox. Given the ongoing Russian War on Ukraine, relevant samples are drawn from this case. Contribution: This paper outlines the Orthodox Christian justification of violence from the perspectives of doctrine, ethics and ritual and identifies pivotal areas of ambiguity between orthodoxy and orthopraxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis of M. N. Tolstaya collection, kept since 1903 in the Manuscript Department of the National Library of Russia. It consists of 85 manuscripts with a common volume of 4027 sheets. In the 1810s–1820s Tolstaya translated from French into Russian the treatise “Le combat spiritual,” which was a translation of the medieval work of L. Skuupli “Il combattimento spiritual.” She titled her manuscript “Spiritual Combat.” She did not know the Russian text of Skupoli’s work, translated by I. S. Andreevsky in 1787, since it was forbidden to be printed. The article compares some fragments of the “Spiritual Battle” with the “Invisible Warfare” of St. Theophan the Recluse — the famous Russian translation of “Il combattimento spiritual.” For the purpose of religious enlightenment of the Yasnaya Polyana peasants in the 1820s Tolstaya writes “Instruction on the Christian Law, Selected from the Poor’s Store” — an independent work in the catechism genre. It is not known whether she knew the Catechism of Metropolitan Filaret, however, the general structure of these works has much in common. Tolstoy’s activity as a spiritual writer was caused by the desire to improve in the knowledge of God and to serve others.

This article examines the situation of catechetical teaching of the faith in Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Russian Church could not fully adopt the catechetical tradition of Byzantium, which had already died out by the 10th century. In the 18th century, however, Russia began to rethink the task of spiritual enlightenment of the Russian people. The Holy Synod paid a great deal of attention to this, issuing a number of decrees on the need to not only teach the Law of God in school, but also to introduce public preaching for the congregation. Thus, during the synodal period, various kinds of catechetical texts were created, a significant part of which had the character of a manual for the teaching of catechism. In the 19th century they drew on the “Extensive Catechism” by Mitr. Filaret (Drozdov), noting its insufficiency for the younger generation and compensating for its dryness and brevity. Apart from this, in accordance with the decisions of the Synod, cycles of catechetical sermons are created, whose the authors set themselves the task of a brief but holistic presentation of the foundations of the Orthodox faith. An important feature of many of the texts under consideration is the correlation of faith and life, calling on readers to put their knowledge of faith into their daily practice. Of particular interest here are the works by Grigory Diachenko, “Lessons and Examples of Christian Hope”, as well as Ioann Zarkevich’s “Essays on the Teaching of the Christian Faith”, which deal in different ways with the adaptation of the material of the “Extensive Catechism”.

Using a religious studies methodology, this paper offers a detailed contextual mapping and a structural configuration of how collective violence is justified in Orthodox Christianity. The research design is explanatory, whereby the functional perspectives of doctrine, ethics and worship are all investigated and probed as phenomena of lived religion and orthopraxy. While predominantly initiatory and pedagogical, the paper also proposes a systematic platform for advanced research on this subject, by flagging contexts, themes and areas of inquiry that a researcher might examine in order to untangle the inner workings of the justification of violence in the mind of the Orthodox. Given the ongoing Russian War on Ukraine, relevant samples are drawn from this case. Contribution: This paper outlines the Orthodox Christian justification of violence from the perspectives of doctrine, ethics and ritual and identifies pivotal areas of ambiguity between orthodoxy and orthopraxy.

Martin Luther is primarily known as a pastor and theologian of the 16th century Reformation. However, he was also a pedagogue passionate about educational reforms that united the spiritual life with the daily lived life. Believing that education served the purpose of equipping students for a life in service of one's neighbor, Luther took a practical and spiritual approach to critically engage content and even left space for teachers to differentiate based on their students' needs. This article provides a close look at the pedagogy and curriculum Luther outlines in the introduction to his Small Catechism and seeks to provide a creative adaptation to the contemporary theological/religious classroom. In the hopes that Luther's method can be of help in a variety of settings and spiritual traditions, the primary teaching method is driven by inquiry and the catechetical question "what is this?" [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an edition and linguistic analysis of a verse catechism in the Bahdini dialect of Kurdish. The manuscript of the text is dated to late 18th century and is held among the Oriental manuscripts collections of the Berlin State Library. The text is a didactic verse on the principles and rules of the Islamic ritual prayer (ṣalāt), belonging thus to the catechism or in its Turkish-Arabic term ʿilm -i ḥāl genre. It is the oldest example of the catechism genre, different from creed s, in Kurdish literature that started in the late 16th century. The text is edited here within the context of religious treatises in Kurdish and analysed for its historical-linguistic and dialectological aspects that illustrate Early Modern Kurdish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article conducted an investigation on the data associated with the academic English writing course offered through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). This article was to gain initial insights into the development of the course. Employing a case study methodology. This article conducted a sample survey to evaluate students' perceptions of the course. Building upon these findings. This article undertook a comprehensive literature review and integrated the proposed teaching ideas of several experts to develop a MOOC teaching model for academic English writing. This article optimizes teaching strategies and enhances education and training programs across three key dimensions: universities, teachers and students, and the platform. By doing so, the overall quality of academic English writing instruction could be significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is clearly stated by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) that provided education should not follow or consist of a means of catechism contrary to the religious or philosophical perceptions of the parents. Consequently, a specific negative claim is established: the state, through its educational policy, must refrain from transmitting information that is contrary to the philosophical and religious beliefs of the parents. In Greece, education policy is not neutral. It has a clear Christian orientation, primarily due to the constitutional establishment of the prevailing religion. It is not a constitutional paradox but a choice of the legislator based on cultural and social characteristics. This article aims to present an analysis of the effect of the constitutional establishment of the Christian faith in the national educational policy, which aims at the development of national and religious consciousness. Given that religious education is more freely formulated, the influence of the prevailing religion proves to be catalytic. In Greece, the catechism is preferred, according to the teachings of the prevailing religion. This choice makes it easier for parents to raise their children based on their beliefs, effectively reinforcing the fundamental right established by Article 2 of the additional protocol of the ECHR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The booklet entitled Christianity. Fundamental Teachings, published by the Joint Commission of Churches in Turkey in 2018, expresses the shared beliefs of the Christian Churches in Turkey. It can be seen as a landmark in inter-church efforts to draw closer together. Trying to explain Christianity to non- Christians, the booklet presents the key elements of the Christian faith in a clear and easily comprehensible way. This article provides a synthetic presentation of the content of this booklet and shows issues that are important in the Turkish context. Since the call for “an ecumenical catechism” resonates from time to time in the international and inter-church areas, this joint publication of the Churches in Turkey can be a good example of such a catechism for other Churches worldwide. Moreover, this booklet can serve as a good teaching tool for Christians or non-Christians. Thus it is worth studying, translating, commenting on and implementing after being appropriately adjusted to other social, cultural and religious contexts.

This article continues the research of the 19th-century Lithuanian Calvinist texts. A hypothesis was raised regarding the unusual structure of Mykolas Cerauskas Seanas katechismas (1803), i.e. the sequence of parts of the catechesis. This sequence could have been determined by the 18th-century catechism compiler (whose work was taken over by Cerauskas) relying on the first catechism of Jan Seklucjan, published in East Prussia, or perhaps the traditional structure of early German catechisms (the works of Georg Major), which was closely related to the education of children in the late Middle Ages. Another Calvinist work is even more closely related to Prussian Lithuania and children’s education – the primer ABC knigeła (1861). It was detected that it was not an original work, but a text (a small fragment) taken from Friedrich Kurschat’s (1841) publication of the translation of the catechism and its comments prepared by Johann Gottlieb Weiß. The primer cannot be considered solely borrowed from the Prussian Lithuanian Lutheran writings, because the Calvinist editor made numerous spelling and lexical corrections, which brought it very close to the Calvinist writing tradition. In the middle of the 19th century, there were more Calvinist publications, whose authors included the texts of the Lutherans of Prussian Lithuania that were rearranged in their own way.

It is clearly stated by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) that provided education should not follow or consist of a means of catechism contrary to the religious or philosophical perceptions of the parents. Consequently, a specific negative claim is established: the state, through its educational policy, must refrain from transmitting information that is contrary to the philosophical and religious beliefs of the parents. In Greece, education policy is not neutral. It has a clear Christian orientation, primarily due to the constitutional establishment of the prevailing religion. It is not a constitutional paradox but a choice of the legislator based on cultural and social characteristics. This article aims to present an analysis of the effect of the constitutional establishment of the Christian faith in the national educational policy, which aims at the development of national and religious consciousness. Given that religious education is more freely formulated, the influence of the prevailing religion proves to be catalytic. In Greece, the catechism is preferred, according to the teachings of the prevailing religion. This choice makes it easier for parents to raise their children based on their beliefs, effectively reinforcing the fundamental right established by Article 2 of the additional protocol of the ECHR.

Öz: Müslüman toplumlarda kadın istihdamının düşük olmasının pek çok nedeni vardır. Bu nedenlerden biri, hatta belki de en önemli nedenlerinden biri, kadının maaş veya ücret karşılığı çalışmak zorunda olmadığı yönündeki geleneksel görüşün toplumsal olarak kabulgörmesidir. Şüphesiz ki, bu kabulü kolaylaştıran en güçlü mekanizma ataerkilliktir. Öyle ki, kimi İslami yorumlara göre toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizliğini dönüştürerek cinsiyetler arasında eşitlik kurma hedefinde olan orijinal mesaj dahi, ataerkilliğin gölgesinde yapılan yorumlar nedeniyle yozlaştırılabilmiş ve cinsiyetler arasındaki hiyerarşik ilişkiyi daha da pekiştirmenin aracı olarak görülebilmiştir. Bu süreçte bireylerin gündelik hayatlarını düzenleme amacında olan dinsel metinlerin temel rol oynadığı söylenebilir ki, İlmihaller de bunlardan biridir. Bu çalışmada, yaygın olarak tercihedilen internet satış sitelerinde en çok satışı gerçekleşen ve geleneksel İslam anlayışını temsil eden 12 adet ilmihâl kitabı,Müslüman kadının çalışma davranışını düzenlemesi bakımından incelenmiştir. Nitel araştırma yöntemi kapsamında içerik analizi yoluyla gerçekleştirilen bu inceleme sonunda elde edilen bulgular şu beş temaya ulaşılmasını sağlamıştır: (i) kadın ve erkeğin ontolojik tanımlanmalarındaki farklılık, (ii) çalışma etkinliğine yüklenen anlam, (iii) kadının çalışmasına yönelik düşünce, (iv) kadının çalışmasına karşı çıkılmasının nedenleri, (v) kadının çalışmasının hangi şartlarda desteklenebileceği. Abstract: There are many reasons why women's employment is low in Muslim societies. One of these, perhaps the most important one, is the social acceptance of the traditional view that women do not have to work for wages or salaries. Undoubtedly, the most powerful mechanism that facilitates this acceptance is patriarchy. So much so, according to some Islamic interpretations, even the original message, which aims to transform gender inequality and establish equality between the genders, could be corrupted due to interpretations under the influence of patriarchyand could be seen as a means of reinforcing the hierarchical relationship between the genders.In this process, it can be said that religious texts, which aim to regulate the daily lives of individuals, play a major role, and Catechism is one of them. In this study, 12 catechism books, which represent the traditional understanding of Islam and which are the most sold in widely preferred internet sales sites, are examined in terms of how they regulate Muslim women’semployment. Within the scope of the qualitative research method, findings obtained from the content analysis provided five themes: (i)the difference between the ontological definition of women and men; (ii)the meaning attributed to the work activity; (iii)perspective on women employment; (iv)the reasons for opposing women employment; (v)on what conditions women employment can be supported.

This article explores the catechism in the Book of Common Prayer, shedding light on the emergence of instructional writing from oral instruction. The 1549 text evinces qualities of preliterate oral communication identified by Ong. By contrast, the 1604 addendum reveals a trend toward modern plain style, which is even more pronounced in the 1647 Westminster Shorter Catechism. The evidence indicates the oral features were useful to the text's technical aims. What Ramist plain style gains in precision and objectivity comes at the cost of other useful features, such as reiteration, contextualization, and agonism, which (in Tannen's phrase) involve a greater relative focus on interpersonal involvement between speaker and auditor/ reader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muhammed b. İbrahim, 15 ve 16. yüzyıllarda yaşamış bir şairdir. Ulaşabildiğimiz tek eseri Şir’a-i Manzûm’dur. Bu eser, meşhur Hanefî âlimi İmâmzâde’nin (öl. 573/1177) Şir’atü’l-İslam adlı eserinden Türkçeye 911/1505 yılında tercüme edilmiştir. Şir’atü’l-İslam, Arapça olarak telif edilen bir ilmihal ve ahlâk kitabıdır. Bu eser, Osmanlı toplumu ve âlimleri arasında çok rağbet görmüştür. Bu makalemizin birinci bölümünde Şir’atü’l-İslam’ın şerh ve tercümeleri tanıtılmıştır. İkinci ve üçüncü bölümlerde ise Şir’a-i Manzûm’un muhteva incelemesi ve Muhammed b. İbrahim’in tercüme metodu yer al-maktadır. Türk Edebiyatı’nın en uzun manzum ilmihali olan Şir’a-i Manzûm 8442 beyit-ten oluşmaktadır. Mesnevî nazım şekliyle telif edilen eser, Sultân II. Bâyezîd’e (1481–1512) ithaf edilmiştir. Los Angeles nüshasının sonunda şairin Eceabatlı olduğu bilgisine yer verilmektedir. Türkçenin yanında Arapça ve Farsça ile de şiir yazabilen Muham-med b. İbrahim, müştak, müteradif ve cinasları eserinde ustalıkla kullanmıştır. Kaynak esere bağlı kalmakla birlikte kendi katkılarını da eserine yansıtmıştır. Dînî içerikli mesnevîler gurubuna giren Şir’a-i Manzûm’da birçok ayet ve hadisin de manzum ter-cümesi vardır.15. ve 16. yüzyıllar Türk Edebiyatı’nda mesnevî türünün altın çağı olarak kabul edilir. Bu dönemde çok sayıda dinî-tasavvufî ve ahlâkî mesnevîler yazılmıştır. Muhammed b. İbrahim tarafından Şir’a-i Manzûm adıyla yapılan tercüme de bu mesnevîlerlerden biri-sidir. Şairin edebi şahsiyetiyle ilgili hiçbir kaynakta bilgi bulunmamaktadır. Edebi şah-siyeti ile ilgili makalemizde zikredilen bütün kanaatler Şir’a-i Manzûm’a dayanmaktadır. Muhammed b. İbrahim’in şiir kabiliyeti yanında iyi bir medrese tahsili de görmüş ol-duğu eserinden anlaşılmaktadır. Sade bir dile sahip olan Şir’a-i Manzûm, Eski Anadolu Türkçesi özelliklerini taşımaktadır. Eserin dili, döneminde yazılan dînî muhtevaya sa-hip diğer mesnevilere çok benzemektedir. Süleyman Çelebi’nin Vesîletü’n-Necât’ının, Yazıcıoğlu Mehmed’in Muhammediye’sinin, İbrahim Tennûri’nin Gülzâr-ı Ma’nevî’sinin, Hamdullah Hamdi’nin Mevlid’inin, Zaîfî’nin Mecma’u’l-Envâr’ının, Dâvud-ı Halvetî’nin Gülşen-i Tevhid’inin dil özelliklerini Şir’a-i Manzûm’da da görebiliriz. Dînî-didaktik bir eser olması hasebiyle mütercim, mümkün mertebe anlaşılır olmaya gayret etmiştir. Şir’a-i Manzûm’a kaynaklık eden Şir’atü’l-İslam, 12. yüzyılda Buhara’da Arapça olarak telif edilmiştir. Bu yüzden tercümede Arapça kelime ve tamlamalara da sık rastlanmakta-dır. Beyit içinde ya da devamında mütercim bu kelime ve tamlamaların Türkçelerini de vererek şiirini anlaşılır kılmaktadır. Şir’a-i Manzûm, mesnevî türünün klasik tertibine sahiptir. Eser, besmele, hamdele ve salvele ile başlayıp tevhit ve naat beyitleri ile de-vam eder. Şair, devrin padişahı Sultân II. Bâyezîd’i (1481-1512) övgüyle andıktan son-ra eserini niçin yazdığını açıklar. Bu “giriş”in ardından “konunun işlendiği bölüme” ge-çilir. İbadetlerin yanı sıra hayata dair diğer konuları da bu fasıllarda buluruz.Şir’a-i Manzûm’un bu güne kadar altı adet elyazma nüshası tespit edilebilmiştir. Manisa, Los Angeles ve Diyanet nüshaları ilk defa bu çalışmamızla ilim dünyasına duyurulmuş-tur. Agah Sırrı Levend’in zikrettiği Fahri Bilge nüshasına ise ulaşılamamıştır. Ahmet Aydın tarafından eserin bir kısmı üzerine 2016 yılında yapılan yüksek lisans çalışma-sında sadece Yazma Bağışlar nüshası ile Osmanlı Müellifleri’nde bahsi geçen Hacı Mah-mud nüshası kullanılmıştır. Kahire’de bulunan nüsha ise, Hacı Mahmud nüshasından istinsah edilmiştir. Devam eden doktora tezimizde tenkitli metin için Manisa, Los An-geles ve Hacı Mahmud nüshaları seçilmekle birlikte diğer nüshalardan da istifade edilmektedir. Manzum ilmihal ya da manzum fıkıh türü alanında son yıllarda Türki-ye’de kayda değer düzeyde çalışmalar yapılmıştır. Türk Edebiyatı’nın en hacimli man-zum ilmihalini tanıtan makalemizin bu sahaya önemli katkılar sunacağı kanaatindeyiz.

The article examines the pedagogical views of Celio Seconde Curione, a humanist and a Protestant theologian, from the perspective of the Christian pedagocics of the confessional era. Curione was a professional teacher who presented his ideas about education in several works, mainly Schola, sive de perfecto Grammatico, and two versions of the catechism Instruction in the Christian faith. The authors assert the principle dualism of Curione's views, who subordinated the methods of humanistic pedagogy to the Christian ministry. Many of his ideas are typical of Italian humanism, including attention to language training and general respect for the personality of the pupil. At the same time, Curione aims at the upbringing of a true Christian, a member of the society renewed during the Reformation. Having analysed the works by Curione, the authors show how he consistently developed the idea of labour pedagogy, considering labour the only virtual possibility of correcting the sinful nature of a man. Another important aspect is the humanist's attention to family pedagogy. In the spirit of Protestant individualism, Curione saw the significance of a family as a small Church, with upbringing of children being the most important parental task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a concise presentation of the project linked to the Library Fund of the Pontifical Urbaniana University, namely, to study the inculturation of the Christian faith by relating the documentation on the editions of the Bible to the catechisms in the territories entrusted to the pastoral care of the Congregation for Evangelization of peoples. The vastness of the project itself is marked today by the difficulty of using more extensive documentation than that present in the Fund of the same Library. However, more limited segments of the indicated material of interest can already be identified. More specifically, the African continent shows quite a varied phenomenology of the editions of the Bible: from translations of the Latin Vulgate into local languages, to translations from English or French, themselves translations from Latin. In the post-conciliar period, the translations of the Bible from the original biblical languages emerge. This is the case of the Kinyarwanda versions of the NT (1988, 1989) and of the OT-NT in a single volume (1990, 1992), in which, alongside pastoral purposes, the results of modern biblical exegesis are evident, to the point of proposing categorizations of literary bodies of biblical literature from an interconfessional and also interreligious perspective.

This article introduces a new manuscript written in c.1648, A Scholastique Catechisme, Wherein ye Mysteries of Christianity are unfolded by way of Dialogue, by Tristram Sugge (1610–1661), a Royalist and episcopalian divine at Wadham College, Oxon. It is argued that the catechism's primary function was to promote both monarchical authority and an episcopal Church independent of the monarchy. This is achieved through an innovative deployment of established arguments of patriarchal kingship, and the writing of it was prompted by Sugge's fears of a religious compromise between Charles I and the Covenanters and/or Parliamentarians in the later 1640s. The Scholastique Catechisme offers an insight into the key concerns of Sugge's milieu at this time, and is testament to the radical potential of Royalist Anglican thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a concise presentation of the project linked to the Library Fund of the Pontifical Urbaniana University, namely, to study the inculturation of the Christian faith by relating the documentation on the editions of the Bible to the catechisms in the territories entrusted to the pastoral care of the Congregation for Evangelization of peoples. The vastness of the project itself is marked today by the difficulty of using more extensive documentation than that present in the Fund of the same Library. However, more limited segments of the indicated material of interest can already be identified. More specifically, the African continent shows quite a varied phenomenology of the editions of the Bible: from translations of the Latin Vulgate into local languages, to translations from English or French, themselves translations from Latin. In the post-conciliar period, the translations of the Bible from the original biblical languages emerge. This is the case of the Kinyarwanda versions of the NT (1988, 1989) and of the OT-NT in a single volume (1990, 1992), in which, alongside pastoral purposes, the results of modern biblical exegesis are evident, to the point of proposing categorizations of literary bodies of biblical literature from an interconfessional and also interreligious perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study deals with examples of revenants in the Bohemical Catholic early modern religious prose of the 17th and 18th centuries (postils, eschatological literature, catechisms). It notes the relations between medieval and early modern productions, in particular by transforming visual and audial motifs, and a new emphasis on the verification of history (sources, dating). The main part of the study is a typology of the narrative: the dead appear because of confession (especially imperfect, to show its importance for salvation); to prove the judgment of God (of a supposedly virtuous man); to complete a task or agreement concluded in life. The greatest number of narratives describe the return of revenants from Purgatory to inform people of its form, time in Purgatory, punishment. The revenants help the living or demand help for themselves. The conclusion of the study is devoted to the displacement of revenant history from spiritual literature at the end of the 18th century. This change is illustrated by the views of a south Bohemian teacher, Antonín Borový.

Tanzimat’la birlikte çeşitli alanlarda hissedilen yenilenme ihtiyacı ve buna binaen gerçekleştirilen değişim ve modernleşme faaliyetlerinin mahiyeti ve sınırları, dönemin entelektüel gündemini belirleyen önemli bir konudur. Devleti kurtarmaya yönelik ileri sürülen çözüm önerilerinin bir kısmı, dinî düşüncenin yenilenmesine ilişkindir. Bu çerçevede Batıcı, İslamcı ve Türkçü entelektüeller arasında zengin bir fikrî tartışma ortamı oluşmuştur. Özellikle İslamcılar, söz konusu önerilerinde dinî düşünceyi temel almışlardır. Osmanlı’nın içinde bulunduğu kötü durumun, dinden değil, bizzat dinin anlaşılma biçiminden kaynaklandığını ve bu düşünme tarzının değiştirilmesinin gerekliliği konusunda ortak kanaatte olan İslamcılar, yenilenmenin mahiyeti konusunda birbirlerinden ayrışmaktadır. İslamî ilimlerin içeriğinin günümüz ihtiyaçları çerçevesinde güncellenmesi gerektiğini savunanlar, bu düşünce değişikliğini sağlayacak ilmin hangisi olacağı konusunda farklı görüşler ileri sürmüşlerdir. Bir kesim, Kelâm ilminin; diğer bir kesim ise Fıkıh ve Tefsir ilminin öncelenmesinin zaruri olduğu kanaatindedir. Toplumun temel ihtiyacının İlm-i Kelâmdeğil de İlm-i Hâlolduğunu iddia eden, Fıkıh ve Tefsir ilmi temelinde düşünce yeniliği öneren isimlerden biri de Şeyh Muhsin-i Fânî ez-Zâhirî müstear ismiyle yazan Hüseyin Kâzım Kadri’dir. Kadri; Kelâm ilminin, çağın ihtiyaçlarına cevap verecek şekilde düzenlemesi girişiminin sonuç vermeyeceği gibi insanlar arasında dinî ihtilafa neden olacağını ileri sürmektedir. Bu makalede, Hüseyin Kâzım Kadri’nin düşünsel arka planı, dinî düşüncenin yenilenmesine ilişkin önerileri ve Yeni İlm-i Kelâm’a itiraz gerekçeleri ele alınmaktadır.Özet: Son dönem Osmanlı tarihini belirleyen en önemli kavram değişimdir. On altıncı yüzyılın sonları ve on yedinci yüzyılın başlarından itibaren devletin içine girdiği siyasal çözülmeyi ve buna bağlı olarak gerçekleşen askeri, ekonomik, sosyo-kültürel değişim ve dönüşümü olumlu yöne kanalize etmek için ıslahat hareketlerine girişilmiştir. Bu çerçevede gerçekleştirilen ıslahat çalışmalarının temel savı, Kanun-i Kadîm’e ve Şeriata dönüş fikrine dayandırılmıştır. Tanzimat Fermanı’nın ilanı ile birlikte daha önce yapılan ıslahat çalışmaları farklı bir boyuta taşınarak Batılılaşma devlet politikası haline getirilmiştir. Devam eden süreçte Batılılaşma bağlamında değişim olgusu Osmanlı toplumunun her kesiminin gündemini oluşturmuştur. Çeşitli alanlarda hissedilen yenilenme ihtiyacı ve buna binaen gerçekleştirilen değişim ve modernleşme faaliyetleri, bu faaliyetlerin mahiyeti ve sınırları, dönemin entelektüel gündemini belirlemiştir. Devleti, içinde bulunduğu zor durumdan kurtarmaya yönelik ileri sürülen çözüm önerilerinden bir kısmı, dinî düşüncenin yenilenmesine ilişkindir. Bu çerçevede sunulan çözüm önerileri Batıcı, İslamcı, Türkçü entelektüeller arasında zengin bir fikrî tartışma ortamı oluşturmuştur. İslamcılar genel anamda, Osmanlı’nın içinde bulunduğu kötü durumun, dinden değil, bizzat dinin anlaşılma biçiminden kaynaklandığı ve bu düşünme tarzının değiştirilmesi gerektiği kanaatindedirler ve söz konusu önerilerinde dinî düşünceyi hareket noktası olarak belirlemişlerdir. İslamcıların kendi içinde ayrışmasına neden olan konu ise yenilenmenin mahiyetidir. İslamî ilimlerin içeriğinin zamanın ihtiyaçları çerçevesinde güncellenmesi gerektiğini savunan İslamcı düşünürler, ihtiyaç duyulan söz konusu düşünce değişikliğini mümkün kılacak ilmin hangisi olacağı konusunda farklı görüşler ileri sürmüşlerdir. Bir kesim, Kelâm ilminin; diğer bir kesim ise Fıkıh ve Tefsir ilminin öncelenmesi gerektiği kanaatindedir. Bu bağlamda görüş beyan eden kişilerden biri de Şeyh Muhsin-i Fânî ez-Zâhirî müstear ismiyle yazan Hüseyin Kazım Kadri’dir. Kadri, Fıkıh ve Tefsir ilmi temelinde bir düşünce yeniliği önermektedir.Hüseyin Kazım Kadri, Meşrutiyet döneminin dikkat çeken entelektüellerinden biridir. Kadri, mutasarrıf, vali, vekil ve bakan olarak devlet yönetiminin çeşitli kademelerinde görev almış, gazetecilikle meşgul olmuş ve din, dil, ziraat gibi konularda da yetkin eserler telif etmiştir. Onun tüm çabası Osmanlıyı içinde bulunduğu kötü durumdan kurtarmanın yollarını aramaya yöneliktir. Bu çerçevede o, dini düşünce alanında üretilen bilginin niteliğini sorgulamakta ve çözüm önerilerinde bulunmaktadır. Onun dini düşüncenin yenilenmesine ilişkin önerisinin temelinde, insanların pratik problemlerine çözüm üreten yeni bir ilm-i hâl'e duyulan ihtiyaç bulunmaktadır. Kadri bu ihtiyacı, yeni ilm-i kelâm karşıtlığı üzerinden temellendirmektedir. Ona göre Kelâm ilmi, tedvin edildiği andan itibaren Müslümanlara fayda sağlamadığı gibi zarar vermiştir. Kelâm ilminin yenilenmesi, çözümden öte sorun üretecektir. Kadri'ye göre, Yunan felsefesinin içerik ve yöntemini kullanması nedeniyle Kelâm ilmi, Müslümanlara has özgün bir ilim olmadığı gibi İslam’ın özünü bozmak amacıyla ortaya çıkarılan zararlı bir disiplindir. Mu'tezili âlimlerin Kelâm ilminin kurucuları olması da bu ilmin İslam düşünce geleneği dışında sayılmasının sebeplerinden biridir. Kadri, bu ekole mensup âlimlerin varlığı anlamaya yönelik olarak ortaya koydukları teorilerin, dinin ihdas ettiği iman alanına hiçbir katkı sağlamadığı kanaatindedir. Mihne sonrasında ortaya çıkan Ehl-i sünnet ekolünün belli bir işlev gördüğünü kabul eden Kadri bu işlevin yeterli olmadığını belirtmiştir. Nitekim ona göre Kelâm ilminde cevher-araz, hudûs-kıdem, vücûd-âdem vb. konular tartışılmış fakat süreç içerisinde söz konusu içerik ihtiyaca binaen yenilenememiştir. Kadri'nin bir diğer eleştirisi ise Kelam ilmini, Müslümanların fırkalara bölünme nedeni olarak görmesidir. Kadri, Müslümanların birlik ve beraberliğe en çok ihtiyaç hissettikleri dönemde Kelâm ilminin yenilenmesi girişiminin yeni tefrikalara yol açacağından endişe etmektedir. Bu endişe Kadri'nin pragmatik bir sâikle kelam karşıtlığı yapmasına neden olmaktadır. Hüseyin Kazım Kadri'nin kelam karşıtlığının bir diğer gerekçesi ise Kelâm ilminin usûlu'd-din olarak isimlendirilmesidir. Ona göre kelamcılar, tevhid ve sıfatlar konusunda içtihatta bulunarak konuyu netleştirmek yerine daha karmaşık bir hale getirmişlerdir. İnanç alanında delillendirmede bulunmayı inançsızlıkla eşdeğer gören Kadri, imanın, aklın değil insanlar arasında herhangi bir ihtilafın bulunmadığı hissin konusu olduğu kanaatindedir. İnanç alanında gerçekleştirilecek olan tahkik çabasını eleştiren Kadri, ihtiyaca göre pratik alanı ilgilendiren konularda söz gelimi fıkıh alanında dinî ilkelerin yeniden yorumlanmasının en önemli dinî vecibe olduğunu vurgulamaktadır. Kadri, özellikle fıkıh alanında aklın önemli bir işlevi olduğunu belirterek geçmişin doğrularının aynen taklit edilmesini eleştirmektedir. O, yeni İlm-iKelâm’aalternatif olarak yeni bir İlm-i Hâlönerisinde bulunmakta ve bunun, insanların ihtiyacı olan dinî bilgiyi sağlayacağını iddia etmektedir. Hüseyin Kazım Kadri’nin, Kelâm ilmini Müslümanların başına gelen türlü felaketlerin nedeni olarak görmesi ideolojik bir karşıtlık nedeniyledir. Bu ideolojik karşıtlık onun Kelâm ilmini ve bu alanda üretilen ilmi birikimi görmezden gelmesine, bu birikim hakkında tarihi gerçeklerle çelişen duygusal çıkarımlarda bulunmasına neden olmuştur. Süreç içerisinde İslam düşüncesinin zamanın şart ve ihtiyaçlarına göre yenilenememesinde diğer disiplinler gibi Kelâm ilminin de payı vardır. Ancak tek sorumlu olarak Kelâm ilminin görülmesi makul olmadığı gibi gerçekçi de değildir.

The Stanley Parable uses metafiction and elements borrowed from the "Theatre of the Absurd" to reveal a didactic, pedagogical, and despotic voice that lies below many of the choices found within gamebooks, literary games, and interactive narratives. The satirical character of the "narrator," coupled with the game's use of paradoxes, makes choosers aware of the catechistic structure that many didactic choices employ. This pedagogic choice structure has its roots in the TutorText series of programmed learning novels—a structure repeated (and hidden) by the Choose Your Own Adventure-style gamebooks that followed and that is subsequently parodied in The Stanley Parable. The Stanley Parable itself provides players with choices that lack a solution, with choices such as the "two doors" embodying a juxtaposition between the closed choices of TutorText and the open choices presented by the game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late seventeenth century along the lines of European confession-building and Ottoman sunnitization, the Armenian Apostolic Church initiated the reshaping of its orthodoxy in the face of growing Tridentine Catholicism. Through the contextualization of the polemical writing attributed to the famed Constantinopolitan Armenian erudite Eremia Č'ēlēpi K'ēōmiwrčean, this article discusses the ways of detecting "bad innovations" in the doctrine and practice of Armenian communities in the Ottoman realms, and the doctrinal instruments used for enforcing "pure faith" towards social disciplining of the Apostolic Armenians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balthasar Hubmaier is often called ‘the theologian of the Anabaptists’ for he was the only early Anabaptist leader with an earned doctorate. The former Catholic priest embraced the reforming thought of Erasmus, Zwingli, and eventually Zwingli’s former pupils (the Anabaptists) and led the Moravian city of Nikolsburg to become a bastion of Anabaptist thought and practice. The multi-dimensional religious landscape both afforded Hubmaier the opportunity and compelled him to author the first Anabaptist catechism. Through the work, Hubmaier articulated a clear and succinct portrayal of Anabaptist theology and ecclesiology summed up in the Erasmian tenet of the love of God and neighbor.

Although being a comparatively small-volume source, the Catechism of Merkelis Petkevičius (CP) discloses the complexity of analysing Lithuanian loan verbs and Slavic-root hybrids. Conducting research on loanwords from the Slavic languages, the main focus is usually laid on nominal words. The key rule applied while analysing the verbs of Slavic origin is based on the compliance between the distinguished suffixes in the analysed words and the suffixes characteristic of the Slavic languages. However, Slavic-root loanwords are also found, the suffixes of which do not have any equivalents in the Slavic languages. Traditionally such verbs are assigned to hybrids but they may be of two types. The Slavic-root verbs were selected from CP, which contributed to revealing the problems encountered while analysing them. The majority of Slavic-root verbs in the CP are attributed to regular loanwords, which are also reflected in the adjacent text in Polish. Several words fall under the category of problematic Slavic-root verbs. The suggested division of hybrids into derivational and adaptational ones is determined by several principles. The hybrid, when a Slavic-root verb does not have precise suffix equivalents and due to the objective reasons cannot be seen as a loanword (there is no word in the Lithuanian language, which can serve as a derivational base word), is regarded to be an adaptational one, i.e., its morphological component that formally complies with the suffix, underwent changes in the process of integration but modifications in the meaning are rarely identified in such cases (liecavoti, -avoja, -vojo CP 217,23). Derivational hybrids are the verbs, which have a word of common root in the recipient language and the derivational link can be envisaged between them (prarakauti, -auja, -avo CP 160,17, pasnykauti, -auja, -avo CP 88,25). Such hybrids are more frequently based on the meanings of base word and this may lead to some differences in the meanings of respective root verbs in the Slavic languages.

In John Bunyan's day trinitarian debate was raging from Oxford to Bedfordshire. In spite of Bunyan's rough upbringing, he is often considered a literary genius in Britain's early-modern period, which tends to distract scholars from the fact that he was also a brilliant theologian-apologist. While Bunyan may have been deprived of the traditional tools of scholasticism, he is nevertheless more than capable as a trinitarian apologist. The early formation of Bunyan's trinitarian thoughts providentially occurred prior to conversion and are evident in his earlier theological writings which prepared him to engage in the trinitarian conversation of the seventeenth century. The two trinitarian instances in the Pilgrim's Progress which are analyzed in this article not only show Bunyan's ability to bridge theology for a popular audience but also demonstrate a skillful ability to address the Ranters and Quakers who wandered through Bedfordshire terrorizing the flock with strange doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 29 September 1584, the first Catholic catechism was printed in China under the title The True Record of the Lord of Heaven (Tianzhu Shilu 天主實錄). Written primarily by the Jesuit missionary Michele Ruggieri (1543–1607) with the assistance of at least two other Jesuits and Chinese interpreters, the catechism inaugurated the rich cultural exchange between China and Europe for which the Jesuit China mission would be renown. Despite the pioneering role of this catechism, it has been viewed for the most part by posterity as a pale forerunner of the later catechism by Ruggieri's confrère, Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven (Tianzhu Shiyi 天主實義). This article attempts to skirt the anachronistic comparison with Ricci's Tianzhu Shiyi by proposing the Tianzhu Shilu as an autonomous text expressive of a cogent strategy for tailoring Western scholasticism to the contingencies of the Chinese cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Praśnottararatnamālikā is a small tract containing 62 questions, paired with their answers. It is extraordinary that this text has been transmitted within Hindu, Jaina and Buddhist traditions, in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tibetan, variously attributed to different authors. The present study examines what is known of the text, which from early on drew the attention of modern scholars, and presents editions of its Sanskrit and Tibetan versions, along with a translation and annotations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jesuit João Felipe Bettendorff (1625-1698) from Luxembourg was the author of the Compendio da Doutrina Christam (1687). This catechism is the last work in Tupi language printed by the Society of Jesus in colonial times and the first, whose author was a Jesuit working in the Amazon. The analysis of Bettendorff's trajectory and the contexts of the late seventeenth century help to understand the reasons for the publication of this catechism, being different from the one in use in the Jesuit missions. The two copies of the princeps edition still accessible allow a linguistic, historical and anthropological deepening of Jesuit evangelization in the Portuguese Amazon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Searching for Truth with Fictional Peers: Fiction as a Didactic Instrument in the Enlightenment Religious Catechisms of Samuel van Emdre (1781-1798). Following the recent trend in scholarship that considers the Enlightenment as a dynamicprocess of Christian civilisation rather than secularisation, this article analyses how the Reformed minister Samuel van Emdre used catechisms to create an Enlightened religion. As a late eighteenth century catechist Van Emdre faced an intriguing didactic paradox: while the genre of the catechism served to teach religious knowledge unambiguously, new Enlightened ideals of learning emphasised the value of curiosity and an active, searching learning style. This article shows how he resolved this paradox by introducing fictional strategies: increasingly he used fictional peers, interactive dialogue techniques and stylistic diversity. By these means, Van Emdres’ catechisms invited youngsters to model themselves upon their young peers in the texts and to absorb religious knowledge acquired and investigated independently. Aanhakend bij de recente historiografische tendens om de Nederlandse Verlichting te zien als een dynamisch beschavingsproces in plaats van een seculariseringsbeweging, analyseer ik in dit artikel hoe de predikant Samuel van Emdre een Verlichte religie creëerden in catechismussen. Als laatachttiende-eeuwse catecheet werd Van Emdre geconfronteerd met een didactische paradox: aan de ene kant was het catechismusgenre erop gericht om onwankelbare religieuze kennis over te dragen, maar aan de andere kant werd – in lijn met nieuwe Verlichte pedagogische idealen – belang gehecht aan nieuwsgierigheid en onderzoekende leerstijlen. Dit artikel laat zien hoe Van Emdre die paradox oploste door fictionele strategieën in zijn catechismussen te introduceren: hij gebruikte steeds meer fictieve peers, interactieve dialoogtechnieken en genrecombinaties. Daarmee nodigde hij jongeren uit om zichzelf te spiegelen aan de personages in de teksten. Jonge lezers maakten zich op deze manier religieuze kennis eigen alsof het zelfstandig verworven overtuigingen betrof.

Searching for Truth with Fictional Peers: Fiction as a Didactic Instrument in the Enlightenment Religious Catechisms of Samuel van Emdre (1781-1798) Following the recent trend in scholarship that considers the Enlightenment as a dynamicprocess of Christian civilisation rather than secularisation, this article analyses how the Reformed minister Samuel van Emdre used catechisms to create an Enlightened religion. As a late eighteenth century catechist Van Emdre faced an intriguing didactic paradox: while the genre of the catechism served to teach religious knowledge unambiguously, new Enlightened ideals of learning emphasised the value of curiosity and an active, searching learning style. This article shows how he resolved this paradox by introducing fictional strategies: increasingly he used fictional peers, interactive dialogue techniques and stylistic diversity. By these means, Van Emdres’ catechisms invited youngsters to model themselves upon their young peers in the texts and to absorb religious knowledge acquired and investigated independently. Aanhakend bij de recente historiografische tendens om de Nederlandse Verlichting te zien als een dynamisch beschavingsproces in plaats van een seculariseringsbeweging, analyseer ik in dit artikel hoe de predikant Samuel van Emdre een Verlichte religie creëerden in catechismussen. Als laatachttiende-eeuwse catecheet werd Van Emdre geconfronteerd met een didactische paradox: aan de ene kant was het catechismusgenre erop gericht om onwankelbare religieuze kennis over te dragen, maar aan de andere kant werd – in lijn met nieuwe Verlichte pedagogische idealen – belang gehecht aan nieuwsgierigheid en onderzoekende leerstijlen. Dit artikel laat zien hoe Van Emdre die paradox oploste door fictionele strategieën in zijn catechismussen te introduceren: hij gebruikte steeds meer fictieve peers, interactieve dialoogtechnieken en genrecombinaties. Daarmee nodigde hij jongeren uit om zichzelf te spiegelen aan de personages in de teksten. Jonge lezers maakten zich op deze manier religieuze kennis eigen alsof het zelfstandig verworven overtuigingen betrof.

New Testament sources provide only indirect evidence of prebaptismal catechesis, allowing however to highlight the fundamental points of apostolic preaching addressed both to Jews and to Gentiles, which could have been the basis of initial, yet oral, catechisms. Apostolic preaching was focused on the resurrection of Jesus and on the call to respond to this preaching, that is, on the call to penance and faith in Jesus; on the promise of forgiveness, salvation and the gift of the Spirit for those who have answered this call. Since the start of missionary preaching to Gentiles, profession of faith in the one God who does not dwell in temples made by hand, the Creator of the world and of man “from one blood”, became a distinct part of the creed. The theology of the Apostolic Age is characterized by such distinctive features as the simplicity of doctrinal formulations, the absence of theological abstractions and the indissoluble connection between preaching and responding to it, that is, baptism.

This article asserts that early Church educators, like St. Cyril of Jerusalem, offer contemporary Christian educators theological and pedagogical insights and methods. It describes the trend of Christian education programs to teach a living relationship with a living Christ at a time when categorical, rational and empirical methods predominate in education. The article describes St. Cyril's catechetical theology and pedagogy. Finally, it applies pedagogical methods, used or inspired by Cyril, to contemporary Christian education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the eucharistic theology of the confessions and catechisms in the Reformed tradition that were influential in Scotland between 1560 and 1640. A core purpose is to illumine the dogmatic architecture of early Reformed Scotland, and to reach a greater understanding of the different doctrinal impulses which shaped its churches and its people. A second purpose is to correct the way in which the doctrinal material from this period has been handled in some contemporary historic and constructive accounts. The essay first articulates a theological framework of harmony and diversity within which its source materials will be considered. It then exposits and analyses the content of these documents, aiming to locate them within this heuristic framework. In a final section, it draws some tentative conclusions in both historical and constructive directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Sino-Western Studies is the property of Sanovan Press, Nordic Forum of Sino-Western Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Journal of Sino-Western Studies is the property of Sanovan Press, Nordic Forum of Sino-Western Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article is the second in a series, focusing on middle Modern secularist documents entitled "catechism" or "confession"; intending to understand this peculiar phenomenon. Here I am trying to disclose the format and contents of five catechisms published by Voltaire (in the 1760s) and to link this to the idea of catechisms and confessions as discussed in another article. Voltaire apparently initiated the writing of secular catechisms. Catechisms are preparatory confessions of religious commitment to true doctrine and associated lifestyles to be confessed to and lived by. Voltaire chose the format of a catechism for satirical, dialogical attacks on intolerance, superstition, and irrational beliefs; also to express his own faith in a universal supreme being, the god of a rational civil society controlled by a totalitarian philosophical government, a rational soul that is immortal (and will receive reward or punishment in an afterlife), a life of honest work, justice, dignity, under "natural law"--the commandment of love inscribed a priori in the hearts of all humankind. The catechisms expressed a substitute religion, a confessional faith in scientific and practical reason, within a liberal, enlightened, totalitarian civil society--a Modern cultic replacement for Christianity combining Classical ideas with a Modern philosophy of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the analysis of the Catechism of Geography (1875), by the Ecuadorian writer Juan León Mera (1832-1894), we seek to conceive this text as a precursor of children's literature in Ecuador. By responding to its historical circumstances, and as a correlate of the national project of President Gabriel García Moreno, the Catechism sought the formation of children who could later become citizens capable of assuming the challenges of a republic whose identity and territory were still in the making. In particular, we will address the insistence on making literary descriptions of the Amazon region, then called the Oriente province, in order to include it in the imaginary that school-age children could create of the unified, modern, and Catholic country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are only few studies on lexis of catechism of M. Petkevičius (PK) (1598), even if this is the second book in Lithuanian language in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the first hymnal in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. J. Kruopas concluded vocabulary of this catechism and noted it's loanwords, however, an origin of these words has not been explained. Also, there is no list of equivalents of these borrowed words in Slavic languages, because aim of J. Kruopa's work wasn't to determinate origin of loanwords. The object of this article is Slavic loanwords in the PK, the aim – to specify and to list Slavisms of unknown origin and their equivalents in the Slavic languages. To achieve the aim the following objectives were set: to collect all borrowed words and Slavic stem words from the selected text; to determinate criteria, that can indicate origin of Slavisms, and to classify Slavisms depending on their origin. In total separate 410 Slavic stem lexemes were found in the catechism of M. Petkevičius. After all these lexemes were generalized (e. g. only forms without prefixes are presented), 344 words left: 30 revealed itself to be hybrids, 149 – Slavisms of unknown origin. It only confirms once again that sometimes it is not possible to determine the path of Slavisms into Lithuanian language due to the similarity of the Slavic languages, and therefore it is possible only to give chronologically accurate equivalents of the loanwords of the PK in the Old Russian, Ruthenian and Polish languages.

The morphological features of Old Lithuanian texts have been explored by numerous linguists, however, the archaic dative forms have received much less attention. The aim of this article is to discuss the ratio of the use of short and long forms of dative in the Catechism by Merkelis Petkevičiaus (PC) and the Jokūbas Morkūnas Postilla (MP). The data comes from the PC as well as from the first 100 pages of the MP's Part I and Part III. The paper uses descriptive and comparative methods. The results show that short dative singular and plural forms dominate in the PC. Most of the long (archaic) dative forms were found in the MP's Part III. The ratio of the use of the short and long forms of dative is similar in the MP's Part I. The plural form of long dative is mostly used in the PC and the MP's Part I. The ratio of the use of singular and plural dative forms is similar in the MP's Part III. Dative singular short forms were more frequent than the long ones in the PC and the MP's Part I. The latter long dative forms were similarly used in the MP's Part III. Dative singular short forms with the ending -u are much more frequently used in the MP's Part III than in the MP's Part I and the PC. The results of the study confirm that the PC, the MP's Part I and Part III were translated by different translators.

Feofan Prokopovich’s contemporaries believed that his catechetical works contained elements of Protestant dogma. And in historiography it is commonly considered that Feofan’s theological treatises became the channel for the penetration of Protestant dogma into Russian religious thought. Similar accusations were addressed to some Orthodox authors of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the first half of the 17th Century (Stefan Zizani and others), whose catechetical works received wide distribution in Russia and determined the vector of development of the Russian catechetical tradition. This article analyses what specific arguments were put forward by critics and from which theological position, and whether these accusations testify to the actual presence of elements of Protestant dogma in the Orthodox literature of the era, or whether we are dealing with a polemical argument.

The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the first introduction to Anglican belief and liturgy for many. More specifically, the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 contains the traditional catechism of the Church of England, enjoining catechumens to receive training and instruction in basic doctrines and Christian living. This takes place in the contexts of the liturgy and the more comprehensive doctrinal statements of the 39 Articles of Religion. Anglican religion traditionally allowed its members to verbalise their faith in both ritual and confession, thus serving the church and not so much life in the world. A revisit of the intentions of the catechism within its historical and prayer book contexts will show that it essentially expresses lasting truths of the Christian faith. In a world increasingly divorced from particular Christian expressions, the Anglican Church needs to rethink its particular use of the catechism for its continued relevance in meeting the questions and challenges Anglicans face daily.