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Franc Grivec (1878–1963), a long-time professor at the Faculty of Theology in Ljubljana, is considered a pioneer in systematic research of Eastern Christianity among Slovenian authors. A significant part of Grivec’s published work is dedicated to the ideational analysis of the October Revolution of 1917, which presented a topical public issue of his time, conditioned by socio-economic change and the seeking of new collective identities. This is most thoroughly addressed in the monograph for a wider audience (National Consciousness and Bolshevism) originally written by Grivec based on his lectures to the primary- and high-school teachers of Ljubljana in 1944. According to Grivec, the extremism of the Bolsheviks represents a part of the wider mechanism of Russian cultural history, in which the concept of a messianic mission, starting with the idea of Moscow as the “Third Rome,” appeared several times. The mentioned author calls on Catholic intellectuals to assert Christian principles in public and foster a reflected national consciousness as opposed to the internationalist socialism, in order to prevent the success of the revolution on Slovenian soil. His views are organically complemented by France Dolinar (1915–1983), a representative of the younger generation of Catholic scholars of the time, who decided to live in emigration due to the political pressures in his homeland. Dolinar draws close to Grivec with the emphasis on the engagement for the common national cause against the “political partisan mindset”; on the other hand, Dolinar surpasses Grivec with his idea for the independent Slovenian state, which would be a real opposite to the socialist theory on the extinction of nations.

This article analyses the main traits of reception of Latin (Roman Catholic) Christendom in Kievan Rus’, drawing from the notion of its confessional ≫otherness≪ in relation to the Eastern Orthodox norm. The mentioned reception is studied according to the East Slavic narrative sources written at the end of the eleventh and beginning of the twelfth centuries, i.e., directly after the ≫Great Schism≪ (1054) between Constantinople and Rome. The author of this article accentuates the complexity of the Rus’ attitude towards Latin Christians on various levels: 1) upholding the official Orthodoxy, following the Byzantine doctrinal themes as adopted in Church Slavic polemical literature, while, simultaneously, 2) respecting practical considerations of dynastic ties between the East Slavic political elite and ruling families of the neighbouring Latin world, 3) and venerating particular Latin saints. In this respect, special consideration is given to the travel diary on the Holy Land titled Life and Pilgrimage of Daniel, the Hegumen of the Land of Rus’, serving as a prime example of encountering confessional differences. Daniel’s Pilgrimage is placed within the political and cultural context after the First Crusade during the Frankish rule over Palestine; it brings some valuable testimonies about the ≫Latin-Greek≪ relations in the Kingdom of Jerusalem as perceived by an educated ecclesiastical traveller, himself originating from an Eastern Orthodox environment. Daniel’s thematization of his confessional ≫other≪ in the Holy Land reveals a similar ambiguity in the case of Rus’ itself: on a declarative level, the polemical writings of the Kievan metropolitans testify about a negative position on the ≫Latin heresies≪; on the other hand, common veneration of particular saints, such as Olaf of Norway or Magnus of Orkney, and decisions of the East Slavic princes confirm the permanence of intercultural contacts and pragmatic willingness to cooperate with the neighbouring Catholic polities (Sweden, Poland, Hungary) in forming dynastic marriages and military alliances.

The contribution uses the four phases of growth, conservation, release, and reorganisation of the adaptive cycle model from resilience theory in a study of developments at Rome in the millennium from the late Republic through late antiquity. In addition, the study applies the concepts of vulnerability and sustainability to investigate responses to crises. The focus is on change in the size of the city of Rome, the relationship between the city and the hinterland, and how society tried to adapt to environmental, economic, political, and social challenges. It concludes that, in the end, the city of Rome proved resilient, and entered the medieval period still the largest city of the Latin world.

This volume of Acta ad archaeologia et artium historiam pertinentia gathers selected contributions from the workshop City, Hinterland, and Environment: Urban Resilience in the Late Roman and Early Islamic Period. Held at the University of Bergen September 23-25, 2019. Papers approach the topic from a variety of angles, including cultural and socioeconomic hinterlands and environments, in their discussions of urban resilience. The meeting was part of the project Globalization, Urbanization and Urban Religion in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Roman and Early Islamic periods funded by Nordforsk (grant no. NOSHSWS-2 00052/NOS-HS), with a workshop on globalization taking place at the University of Helsinki in December 2018, and one on urban religion at Aarhus University in May 2019.

The phenomenon of ruler martyrs was common between the tenth and twelfth centuries in the recently Christianized lands on the eastern and northern periphery of Europe—one of them were the Orkney Islands with jarl Magnus Erlendsson (died in 1115/1117). Like Christ, who gave his life for the peace and redemption of the world, Magnus gave his life for the peace and redemption of the people of the Orkneys. This also explains why the earliest texts produced on the peripheries of medieval Europe were all about local saints. Wherever God’s presence was manifested through a saintly ruler, his people were, despite their late adoption of the new faith, integrated into the symbolic center of the Christian world. Consequently, the conduct of exceptional rulers to persevere in peace amid political violence was a manifestation of the creation of a new Christian community.

Prince Jovan Vladimir of Dioclea (Duklja, present-day Montenegro), who lived at the beginning of the 11th century, is regarded as the earliest known Slavic saint from the Western Balkans. His moral example and hagiographical narrative should be placed within the context of a wider phenomenon of ruler martyrs murdered out of political self-interest by Christians themselves which was common in the newly Christianized lands on the eastern and northern periphery of Europe between the 10th and 12th centuries. Such saintly personalities include, but are not limited to, Boris and Gleb of Rus' (on the eastern periphery) and Magnus Erlendsson of the Orkney Islands (on the northern periphery). The case of Jovan Vladimir's perseverance in love »until the end« concerns his innocent death ordered by his cousin Ivan Vladislav, tsar of Bulgaria. The life and martyrdom of Jovan Vladimir, depicted in the thirty-sixth chapter within the Chronicle of the Priest of Dioclea, is based on the New Testament motif of the Good Shepherd serving as an example of a virtuous ruler who, through following Christ, lays down his life for his people.

The ongoing economic crisis and the growing concerns about food quality and safety are leading to an increasing awareness of consumption habits among citizens. Critical consumption is defining an alternative geography of food. Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) are expanding market niches based on the commitment and involvement of local actors. By redefining consumption, distribution and production, they often bridge the gap between producers and consumers and promote endogenous development, production re-localization and food system re-territorialization. In this sense, AFNs could represent new forms of sustainable self-organized collective action. This article describes the evolution of alternative food practices in Bergamo, a medium-sized town in the North of Italy, and its province. It presents a reflection on the effect of the crisis on alternative economic practices, while taking into account the main constraints and opportunities that foster/limit their spread. Data for the analysis came from different sources of information such as interviews, participant observation, an extensive mapping of actors, practices and projects.