Search

This article examines the evidence for performative prayer in early Roman catacomb painting from the perspective of an art historian. Praying (orant) figures are a dominant theme of third-century painting. Although the orant pose is generally regarded as symbolic, strong evidence connects at least one of the figures with the intercessory prayers offered by the order of widows. Following the "Constantinian turn" in the fourth century, a different form of performative prayer prevailed at the tombs of martyrs, with worshippers lying in prostration (proskynesis) pouring out copious tears. Two much-discussed poems by Prudentius (Peristephanon IX and XI) describe this form of prayer in conjunction with paintings of the gruesome martyrdoms of St. Cassian of Imola and St. Hippolytus. Arguments that the paintings inspired the weeping are incompatible with the nature of catacomb painting at the time, and with testimonies to the power of the tomb itself to compel such displays. The more fruitful suggestion that the ekphrasis in Peristephanon XI reflects a painting of the death of the mythical Hippolytus leads to a grove in the Temple of Diana at Nemi and the legend that the hero was resurrected by Aesculapius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constantin Iordachi's book, "The Fascist Faith of the Legion 'Archangel Michael' in Romania, 1927-1941: Martyrdom and National Purification," offers valuable insights into the Legionary worldview and the history of Romanian fascism. The book explores the Legion's political faith, which incorporates theological elements and emphasizes martyrdom, sacrificial violence, and a crusading spirit. Iordachi's research is based on extensive archival sources and takes a culturalist approach to the history of fascism. The book delves into the rival national projects in Romania, the formation and growth of the Legion, its ideological characteristics, and its social networks. The text also examines the incorporation of various mythologies into a national epic by the Legion, its use of terrorism and violence, and its appeal to different social groups. Additionally, it explores the Legion's relationship with the Romanian Orthodox Church and its attempts to align the church with fascist ideology. The text concludes by discussing the legacy of Legionarism and its relevance in contemporary society. Overall, this text provides valuable insights into Romanian fascism and its impact on society. [Extracted from the article]

The proliferation of images and videos online commemorating the death of martyrs is becoming more and more widespread within the neofascist movement. Ceremonies honouring fallen comrades today go viral on the Internet in a manner that information technologies could not facilitate in the past. Neofascist organisations share these ritualistic practices on the Internet, producing hypermedia environments: specific media content that creates a dialogue between the digital and the physical realm. Analysing these hypermedia environments enables a better understanding of neofascist representations and tactics today. Noting that supremacist terrorism is widely excluded from the far-right hypermedia fabric, while the martyrs of neofascism are at the centre of these actions, this article illustrates the shifts that the movement is experiencing, from a clandestine offensive to a self-defence mass strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the fall of Major-General Suharto's "New Order" regime, Indonesia has struggled to deal with its authoritarian legacy. This article argues that in the quarter of a century since his disappearance, the Indonesian poet-activist Wiji Thukul (1963-1998?) has become a martyr for the still unfulfilled progressive ideals of the Reformasi (reform) movement that helped to bring down that regime in 1998. Using the developing body of theory around "secular" or "political" martyrdom, this article examines the process by which this status has been achieved, situating its development alongside the emergence of the Refusing to Forget movement, as well as comparing and contrasting his fate with that of two other candidates for the label of Reformasi martyr: those of the labour activist Marsinah (1969-1993) and the human rights lawyer Munir Said Thalib (1965-2004). It argues that Thukul's role as a martyr has been significant in maintaining progressive public discourse about the human rights abuses of the Suharto period, as well as the continuing illiberalism of the period since the end of the regime, and that Thukul remains relevant to efforts to stimulate and nurture the fragile democratisation project that was initiated in the late New Order period. In particular, the authors see Thukul's brand of grassroots creative practice as playing a central role in his emergence as a progressive icon and in giving his life and work international significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the enculturated Catholic ethics of martyrdom embodied by the Martyrs of Fraternity of Burundi, a group of students whose cause is now before the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints for refusing to separate into Hutus and Tutsis during Burundi's 1993–2005 civil war. Engaging Fratelli Tutti from a local African perspective, it considers how the conviction that all human beings are brothers and sisters is to find concrete embodiment. Its argument develops Emmanuel Katongole's assertion that the African church provides a living witness of what hope looks like in contexts of violence and war, drawing on Burundian scholarship and more than sixty interviews conducted in Burundi from 2018 to 2024 to develop a thick narrative of fraternal martyrdom and the ethics of Ubuntu. By placing sacrificial solidarity rather than violence at the center of the story of the Martyrs of Fraternity, Burundian Catholics reimagine their civil war in ethical terms. This Burundian embodiment of an ethics of sacrificial solidarity, solidly grounded in its original cultural substratum, stands as a resource for a world increasingly engulfed by war, refusing to let violence have the last word in a story of fraternal love hallowed by sacrifice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book "Jesuit Art and Czech Lands, 1556¿1729: Missionizing through the Arts" edited by Kate¿ina Horní¿ková and Michal ¿ron¿k offers a comprehensive examination of how the Society of Jesus used art to strengthen the Catholic Church and convert Protestants in Bohemia and Moravia. The essays explore the historical contexts of these lands' religious and cultural landscapes, including the Hussite War, the re-Catholicization efforts, and the use of devotional print and painting series. The book also discusses the Jesuits' adoption of medieval Marian images and the cultic staging of images of Jesuit saints. Overall, this book provides valuable insights into Jesuit art and culture in the Czech lands. [Extracted from the article]

This article seeks to rethink martyrdom, suffering, and resurrection from the perspective of queer theologies within the Latin American context and in dialogue with the praxis of the first faith communities who witnessed Jesus' martyrdom. Starting from the queer body of Jesus—which incorporates in its praxis an ethos without gender violence and discrimination—the theological reflection contributes to the recovery of the fundamental principles of human experience. To this end, the analysis begins by addressing the feminist contribution to the understanding of violence against women to then rethink the intersection of bodies, sexuality, and violence against queer individuals and communities as a theological locus. It concludes by recognizing that queer theologies configure a resistant theological community that empowers queer bodies as a territory of hope of resurrection and transformative political action that does not disregard the suffering and the injustices perpetrated against them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the importance of faith in the Victorian historical novel, with a particular focus on George Eliot's Romola (1862–1863), and rethinks past secularist approaches to the genre. Romola was arguably the most meticulously researched historical novel of the nineteenth century. Set in Florence from 1492 to 1498, the novel traces the rise and fall of the Dominican friar, Girolamo Savonarola, as he pursued the spiritual and political reform of the city, leading to his excommunication and martyrdom. Despite the religious setting of the novel, Eliot's painstaking effort to imagine a realistic historical representation of Florentine society has often been approached in secular terms as a tour de force of the author's humanist vision of a progressive march towards modernity. Building on recent work in postsecular studies, this essay rethinks the novel's historical realism in terms of Christian faith. Centering on the spiritual journey of the protagonist, Romola de' Bardi, the novel presents a faithful depiction of Renaissance Florence by imagining historical representation as an act of faith. Drawing on Jacques Derrida's essay, "Faith and Knowledge", the article analyzes how Eliot frames the significance of the novel's historical representation as an act of faith that one's life is bound meaningfully to those of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a follow-up to the research conducted in 2021 titled James Anta: missionary, martyr, and the unsung hero of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. The paper was a reconstruction of Anta's life, ministry, and martyrdom. The research found out that although the blood of Anta was the seed of Methodism in Zimbabwe, the church was reluctant to honour him. The research also noted that the Wesleyan Methodist church created a biased history of African cultural epistemology, which has no place for people who die young and unmarried. The paper concluded with a call for the Wesleyan Methodist church to rewrite its historiography, giving space to its martyrs like Anta. After reading the 2021 publication, the Wesleyan Methodist church leadership made urgent actions towards the re-historicization of Methodism in Zimbabwe with Harare West District dubbing its April 2022 Synod as James Anta Synod. The Synod further resolved to name the school they were intending to build after Anta. Moreover, Kadoma District agreed to rename Banket Circuit (where Anta was assassinated) as James Anta Circuit. The Wesleyan Methodist church further erected a monument of Anta and made the site a pilgrimage shrine. The fast responses by the church to honour Anta in 2022 justify their zeal to rewrite their history after 136 years of reluctancy. This paper used both primary and secondary sources to gather data. The paper concludes by challenging missionary churches to honour African agents whose history and sacrifice were seldomly considered and yet they were the key people in the Christianisation of Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cahiers Victoriens & Edouardiens is the property of Presses Universitaires de la Mediterranee 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 explores the teachings of St. Justin Martyr on the conditions for receiving the Eucharist. St. Justin emphasizes that only those who believe in the Church's teachings, have been baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and live according to Christ's example are allowed to partake in the Eucharist. The article emphasizes the importance of discernment and preparation before receiving the Eucharist, highlighting the significance of faith, baptism, and living a Christ-like life. It encourages readers to reflect on these teachings and strive to live a life that is open to Christ's mercy and teachings. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Cuestiones Teológicas is the property of Cuestiones Teologicas 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.)

The study examines contemporary perceptions of the emergence and spread of the plague in Central and Eastern Europe following the Battle of Belgrade in 1456. On one hand, the Battle of Belgrade represents a significant Christian victory in the conflicts with the Ottomans during the fifteenth century. Consequently, it was utilized in crusade-related propaganda discourse and perceived as a divine blessing for the anti-Ottoman crusade. On the other hand, some prominent figures such as John Hunyadi, John of Capistrano, and Serbian Despot George Branković died shortly after the event due to the outbreak of the plague during the battle. The research aims to explore how contemporary historical sources handled this duality between the sense of triumph and the plague outbreak. It provides an overview of the areas affected by the plague due to the movement of armies and the political and economic connections between different parts of East and Central Europe. The study investigates whether and to what extent reports of the plague from the region link the Battle of Belgrade to the outbreak of the disease. Additionally, it analyses fifteenth-century sources related to the battle itself. This segment of the research examines representations of the plague outbreak, particularly the infection and death of the aforementioned Christian leaders. The research focuses on how the discourse on the plague is interpreted in relation to narratives of heroism, martyrdom, and sainthood, addressing aspects of adaptation, marginalization, and the complete omission of mentions of the plague in these interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hipogrifo: revista de literatura y cultura del siglo de oro is the property of Hipogrifo: revista de literatura y cultura del siglo de oro 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 Hipogrifo: revista de literatura y cultura del siglo de oro is the property of Hipogrifo: revista de literatura y cultura del siglo de oro 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.)

The article is devoted to the problem of the child in the apophthegmata of Anastasius of Sinai. They present a wide panorama of life and behavior of children and youth in the context of a specific era and place. The structure of the article is determined by five contexts in which the subjective role of the child is shown as a victim, debtor, dissenter, experiencing spiritual revelations and experiencing possession and healing. The analyses made it possible to formulate specific conclusions, the most significant of which concern Anastasius' belief that faith is such a great value that it justifies depriving even one's children of their lives in order to protect them from apostasy, and that the teenager is capable of an independent act of faith for which he is willing to suffer martyrdom. Moreover, in the mind of the monk from Sinai, childhood is a period when one can experience extraordinary religious experiences. This applies to both "private revelations" and healings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Values Education is the property of Journal of Values Education 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 discusses the enculturated Catholic ethics of martyrdom embodied by the Martyrs of Fraternity of Burundi, a group of students whose cause is now before the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints for refusing to separate into Hutus and Tutsis during Burundi’s 1993–2005 civil war. Engaging Fratelli Tutti from a local African perspective, it considers how the conviction that all human beings are brothers and sisters is to find concrete embodiment. Its argument develops Emmanuel Katongole’s assertion that the African church provides a living witness of what hope looks like in contexts of violence and war, drawing on Burundian scholarship and more than sixty interviews conducted in Burundi from 2018 to 2024 to develop a thick narrative of fraternal martyrdom and the ethics of Ubuntu. By placing sacrificial solidarity rather than violence at the center of the story of the Martyrs of Fraternity, Burundian Catholics reimagine their civil war in ethical terms. This Burundian embodiment of an ethics of sacrificial solidarity, solidly grounded in its original cultural substratum, stands as a resource for a world increasingly engulfed by war, refusing to let violence have the last word in a story of fraternal love hallowed by sacrifice.

This article seeks to rethink martyrdom, suffering, and resurrection from the perspective of queer theologies within the Latin American context and in dialogue with the praxis of the first faith communities who witnessed Jesus’ martyrdom. Starting from the queer body of Jesus—which incorporates in its praxis an ethos without gender violence and discrimination—the theological reflection contributes to the recovery of the fundamental principles of human experience. To this end, the analysis begins by addressing the feminist contribution to the understanding of violence against women to then rethink the intersection of bodies, sexuality, and violence against queer individuals and communities as a theological locus. It concludes by recognizing that queer theologies configure a resistant theological community that empowers queer bodies as a territory of hope of resurrection and transformative political action that does not disregard the suffering and the injustices perpetrated against them.

The article is devoted to the historical and philosophical study of the origin and formation of the prerequisites of national patriotism in medieval Europe in the optics of the political theology of martyrdom. It is argued that the figure of a national hero-patriot, sacrificing his own life in the name of the fatherland (pro patria mori), has a certain martyrological content derived from the Christian cult of martyrs. The willingness to die for their beliefs and faith, which gives the phenomenon of martyrdom a politically motivated character, allows us to talk about the possibility of building a political martyrology, within the boundaries of which a Christian martyr as a citizen of the heavenly city (civitas coelestis) appears as a defender of his fatherland (defensor patriae paradisi), sacrificing his own life. Since Christianity acquired the status of the state religion, the heavenly city has been involved in the historical context of the Late Roman Empire, with the prospects of which the fate of Christianity itself is actually identified. The need to protect the empire from barbaric invasions forces theologians to develop the concepts of just war (bellum iustum) and holy war (bellum sacrum), which led to the secularization of the idea of the army of Christ (militia Christi) that initially implied participation in the battle with the forces of evil only on the rights of a spiritual army. The combination of two axiological systems (Christ army and secular army) was carried out through the glorification and militarization of the figure of the martyr, on the one hand, and the functional-figurative comparison of the figure of the warrior with the figure of the martyr, on the other. The protection of the Holy Land (Terra Sancta) in the era of the Crusades served as a model on the basis of which the idea of the heavenly homeland began to function in the secular register. As a result of the further evolution of the monarchical state in the paradigm of the “political body” (corpus politicum), the religious imperative of self-sacrifice of a Christian for the sake of the heavenly fatherland acquired the form of a public-legal requirement of civil self-sacrifice for the benefit of the earthly fatherland, which later took shape as a national state.

The Battle of Vukovar is one of the main accords of the Croatian war 1991-1995. As a result of the 87-day siege, most of the buildings were destroyed. To this day, different narratives about those events and contrary concepts of commemorating the victims clash in Croatia. Nationalists want it to remain a symbol of martyrdom, while liberal circles call for making it a center of dialogue and tolerance. Unfortunately, so far the first of these options is winning, and poor, under-invested Vukovar is constantly depopulating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the philosophy of martyrdom, heroism, and death, with reference to Islam in general and Shiʿism in particular. This paper will be divided into two parts; the first will highlight the etymological and philosophical significance of the Arabic term martyrdom (istishhād) and its interrelation with the notion of testimony (shahāda), allowing for the clarification of the complexity of the existential privation of death and the communality of heroic martyrdom. The second part will move beyond the observation of Qurʾanic canonical sources by traversing traditional Shiʿi references and narratives, allowing for a reflection on the articulation of the ontology of martyrdom, such as its temporal horizon and mortality. Consequently, the state of affairs surrounding the phenomenon of heroic martyrdom embodies testimonies of both love and hate, of belongingness and enmity, and of devotion and hostility. Yet, the identification of such heroism is, in practice, coupled with a tacit sense of a Heideggerian 'fall' due to its inseparability from the pull of religious, social, and communal violence and aggression. Thus, in both theory and practice, a phenomenology of heroic martyrdom and death takes into account the ideological and societal contexts of the use of violence and the concrete rituals in its mediation of aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the versions of the Finnish vernacular Ballad of the Death of Bishop Henry (Piispa Henrikin surmavirsi), there are several unclear parts. The part consisting of the Bishop's instructions for his coachman where to hide and from which place to observe his death is one of them. In one of the versions, the Bishop first mentions a stone as a hiding place, however, immediately realizes its unsuitability. Thereafter he suggests an oak tree (along with a horse in one of the versions). In diverse versions, there is also a dichotomy between listening and watching. The verse kun ei kilpiä kivessä ('there is no shield in the stone') is clearly an etymologizing adaptation of the folklore verse kirves kilpesty kivehen / kivestä (the axe rebounded from the stone / slid off the stone) from the epic cycle on Väinämöinen. Putting a stone in contrast with a tree, and transplanting a folklore verse about a stone as an agent of a serious injury into the context of a shield has a symbolic motivation: the medieval Christian symbolism operating with the axiological scale between the inanimate (the stone) and animate (the tree, the horse) matter, and the Christianized part of the Finnish folklore attributing the mere hearing/listening to the devil (Hiisi etc.) and the seeing/watching to God. Thus, the Bishop's instructions might be comprehended in three ways, all of them interconnected with concern for the hagiographic testimony: as an effort for the sake of the witness' survival, as an effort to find the proper place for observation of the sacrifice, and finally as an effort to maintain the proper axiological position to pass on the testimony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The iconography of the martyrs of Japan is often linked to that of the Twenty-Six Martyrs of Nagasaki. This group of mostly Franciscans was crucified in 1597 and beatified in 1627, and also included three Jesuits. The Society of Jesus, however, did not emphasize these martyrs in their engravings and representations of the victims of their Japanese mission especially before their beatification. The close study of two major works, Nicolas Trigault's History of the Martyrs of Japan (Latin, 1623; French, 1624) and the famous Imago primi saeculi (1640), reveals how text and image combine to generate a different discourse of martyrdom that centered on sacrificial fire rather than death on the cross. Although the first three beatified martyrs were never forgotten, the Imago in particular foregrounds another Jesuit martyr, Carlo Spinola, whose prominent family had played an important role in that work's creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, by employing Inference to the Best Explanation (IBE), attempts are made to formulate and defend a theory that can explain rationally and justifiably the uprising of Imam alHusain (AS). The suggested theory is formulated as follows: from the beginning of his movement, Imam Husain (AS) chose to participate in war and seek martyrdom consciously and voluntarily, not as his aim, but as major means to his ends and used other means such as trying for government formation, negotiation with his enemies, and peacekeeping as the minor means to facilitate the major ones. In this study, we try to illustrate that the suggested theory, in comparison to its rivals, can explain some historical events rationally. Such events include Imam Husain's move to Kufa despite facing significant disagreement and backlash from many people, his uprise against Yazīd's government but not Mu'āwiya's, his effort to maintain his move to Kufa despite having no chance to form a government, along with his move toward Kufa despite knowing that the vast majority of people in Kufa are unfaithful and will renege on their promise to fight against Bani Umayyah. The conclusion of the study is that belief in the truth of the suggested theory is rational and justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the basic beliefs in Islam is the belief in divine providence and destiny. According to this belief, God has absolute power and all the affairs of the world are in his hands, and nothing in this world, even a leaf falling from a tree, happens without his permission. The value and size of all things are determined in the eternal tablet and according to this, they happen in the world. With this description, for a believer, this basic question arises, what is the position of human effort in this case? And if everything happens according to divine destiny in this world, then what is the meaning of reward and eagle and what is the meaning of human responsibility? The type of answer to this basic question determines the religious lifestyle of man in this world. In the history of Islamic culture, different answers have been given to this question. In this article, the belief in divine predestination has been explained first by relying on the narration of Ibn Arabi, and then with a general look at some of the answers to the above questions, based on the Quranic verses. The relationship between divine predestination, jihad, trust, patience and satisfaction has been investigated, and the conclusion has been reached that based on the belief in divine predestination, the outcome of affairs has been determined since eternity, and since we are not aware of divine predestination, we must strive, but we must trust. and leave the result to God and be patient in our journey and be satisfied with God's destiny whatever result is achieved, whether defeat or victory. This article will analyze this issue in an analytical way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios de Historia de España is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina 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 investigates the symbolism of white color in the works of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and the Spanish Federico Garcia Lorca. The white color is exceptionally employed in their poetry, which is different from its normal symbolism in Arabic and Spanish cultures. In their poetry, the white color is used to symbolize a duality of opposites, death as an end to mortal life and eternity as an infinity phase of afterlife. This paradoxical use of the white color cannot be grasped by readers without considering the poetic context. This color is employed by the two poets to reflect their psychology, feelings, and emotions toward death and eternity. The color white symbolizes death in all forms; the self-death as shown in Darwish’s poem Mural, the death of the other as illustrated in Lament for the Death of a Bullfighter of Lorca, the divine death as in Lorca’s The Martyrdom of Saint Eulalia and the instant death of humans as in Remainder of a Life of Darwish. In addition, the white color is used to symbolize eternity as an afterlife phase. The two poets have exploited the white color to express their interrogation about man’s destiny after death being eternal or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Filosofía (0185-3481) is the property of Universidad Iberoamericana Cuidad de Mexico 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.)

Guardia Sanframondi is an ancient village on the Benevento hills where every seven years hundreds of hooded faithful offers their sacrifice to the Assumption, beating their chests until they bleed for hours with a cork sponge in which 33 pins are planted. Penance, martyrdom, the torture of the flesh, blood: ancestral elements immediately attributable to passages of medieval life seem here evoked and staged. The result is the vivid and raw representation of a dramatic theater of pain in which the "battenti", anonymous characters of a drama that is only apparently foreign to modern consciences, gather in the uncertain half-light of the first light of dawn and, like white ghosts of a distant world, with the singular scourge they dye their candid tunics red. Starting from this reference scenario the paper proposes, on the one hand, to outline a partial historical reconstruction of the penitential practice of the "battenti" with semi-structured interviews carried out on the Sannio territory; on the other hand, the paper offers the opportunity to reflect and question about the contamination and interpenetration between memory, tradition and innovation, which alone allows the ritual to survive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The theory of evolution serves as an overarching scientific principle for all areas of biology. Hence, knowledge about and acceptance of evolution are indispensable for holistic education. However, the levels of knowledge about and acceptance of evolution vary greatly. It is supposed that insufficient knowledge and lack of acceptance are associated with high personal religious faith and affiliated denominations. Therefore, it is fundamental to examine knowledge about and acceptance of evolution, personal religious faith, and denomination. Results: We conducted an exploratory study with German upper secondary school students (N = 172). Firstly, the results showed a weak to moderate correlation between knowledge about and acceptance of evolution. Secondly, students of different denominations differed in their knowledge about evolution, use of key concepts, acceptance of evolution, and personal religious faith but not in their use of misconceptions. Thirdly, the findings revealed that a student's denomination predicts knowledge level, whereas personal religious faith predicts acceptance. Conclusions: Our exploratory study indicates that, in addition to the strength of personal religious faith, the denomination may be critical to knowledge about and acceptance of evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why else would one speak the truth if not out of and for hope? This hope is, indeed, a passion ‘for the possible’ and in Christian anthropology, this possible has something to do with eschatological flourishing that has already been inaugurated and which is never simply a private affair but has public effects and implications. We are created for communion with God – this is our hope; but there can be no communion with God – either individually or politically – when there is no truth-telling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I hope that in our search for truth, each of us will have the courage to endure some dark nights of the soul, similar to what Jesus experienced during his forty-day sojourn into the desert, to take on "some pain, including the pain of doubt and indecision."[59] Those who evade such a crucible, "who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself." "They may be doing nothing morally wrong, but their status is indefinable."[8] Often, for them going to church is less about finding comfort and getting prejudices validated and more about comforting others and even being afflicted by them.[9] Such individuals can struggle at times to connect emotionally and spiritually with their fellow brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, and yet the very symbol of the body of Christ speaks to the mystery of sacraments, or re-membering otherwise dis-membered opposites - the body and blood of Christ. In this context, consider the account that the author of the Fourth Gospel, the book of John, records, namely that of Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well; however, bear in mind that John chooses the location of this encounter for symbolic reasons. [Extracted from the article]

This article engages with the critical lenses of new historicism and presentism, using Fadwa Tuqan's A Mountainous Journey and the discourse of Palestinian female martyrs as contemporary intertexts to scrutinize women's silence, speech, and authorial identity in Mary Sidney's early modern English work The Tragedy of Antony. I contend this text enabled Sidney to construct a narrative of mourning for her brother Philip Sidney, just as Tuqan uses her writing to mourn her brother Ibrahim Tuqan. It is argued here that Sidney's and Tuqan's creation of their authorial identities emanated from their close relationships with their brothers. I argue that Sidney's memorialization of Philip Sidney by persuading Queen Elizabeth to support Protestant military intervention in the Netherlands bears a striking similarity to Tuqan's memorialization of her brother. Tuqan continued Ibrahim's work of nationalist poetry in her critique of the Israeli occupation that reinforces traditions that stifle women. I propose that women's writing and Palestinian female martyrs' acts of suicide bombing both signal women's erasure of their bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Anthropology / Anthropologie Sociale is the property of Berghahn Books 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 Teología y Vida is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Facultad de Teologia 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 work proposes a philosophical Reading on Gabriela Cabezón Cámara's Romance de la negra Rubia (2014) focused on the process of the main character. Its fundamental action, to burn like a bonzo, is understood as a radical self-destructive experience different from suicide. Thought from Bataille (2007), and from the reading that Esposito makes out of Bataille (2006), sacrifice can be understood as a "founding" event (CABEZÓN CÁMARA, 2014, p. 32), axis in a process of subjectivation and affectation that transcends the purely existential dimension of suicide as Camus understands it in The myth of Sisyphus (1942), to move to a collective dimension: the possibility of a community. Unlike Christian martyrdom, in Cabezón Cámara's text, the body is decentralized by placing it within a process whose effects on others escape the individual who offers themselves as a sacrifice: their voluntary death, or the possibility of such death, becomes a predominantly political event or, rather, political resistance against the onslaught of state violence articulated through eviction as a predatory practice of capitalism in its current state. Selfdestruction appears in Cabezón Cámara's work as a mechanism of radical resistance, and its establishment as sacrifice, as the possibility of founding a collective memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Christian communities in Palestine and Al-Andalus faced similar challenges during the ninth century. Although Muslim authorities tolerated Christianity and enshrined a certain degree of religious freedom, they downgraded these communities and encouraged conversion to Islam. In the long span, Christian communities decreased because many of their leading members emigrated or converted. Moreover, many of those that remained adopted the Arabic language, dressed like Muslims, and became increasingly assimilated into the ruling elite Muslim culture. This article suggests that the contacts and reciprocal influence between Christian communities from Palestine and Spain during this period were more substantial than hitherto perceived. Thus, they used the same methods with some local adaptations to tackle their critical situation. They introduced a growing use of Arabic in religious life, established and upgraded important pilgrimage shrines, and some extremist monastic communities fostered and encouraged martyrdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines ways to analyze and understand the social and cultural transformation that occurred after the 2011 uprising in downtown Cairo. We argue for a cultural sociological perspective using a renewed version of the concept "the sacred" for analysis. Visual material - graffiti and murals on the walls of Cairo - is discussed in relation to the process of transforming the death of an individual into collective martyrdom. The role of social media, public rituals, and celebrations in the events in Tahrir Square is also discussed. This article shows how the process of sacralization follows a recurring pattern in which individual deaths transmigrate into new collective, ritualized memories through the use of aesthetics in social media and on murals. Using different types of field-based and online material, this article argues for a cultural sociological perspective whereby individual death also can be understood on a more general level as a constituent part of the existing and contested societal order. The emphasis on a processual view of social and cultural transformation is equally important. This view includes a dialectical perspective, which together with an awareness of spatiality, materiality, new media, and embodiment, is essential for an understanding of what happened in downtown Cairo after the uprising in 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores St. Augustine's views on the care of dead bodies in Christian practices. Augustine argues that relics, such as bones or clothing, can be understood as visible signs of the Church's unity across time and space. He also discusses the role of ad sanctos burial and the intercessory powers of saints. Augustine emphasizes the importance of love and unity in the Church and suggests that the prayers and actions of the living can aid the souls of the dead. He distinguishes between the worship of the Lord and the honor and veneration paid to the saints and their relics, emphasizing that the saints' power is derived from God. The Catholic Church embraces the practice of veneration of saints while acknowledging the potential for confusion. The text also discusses Gregory of Nyssa's alternate view on the efficacy of relics based on the persistent connection between the soul and the body. The text concludes by discussing the theology of icons and their connection to the Cross. Icons and relics serve as mediators of the unity of the Church and can be recognized as objects of holiness. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines St. Ignatius of Antioch's Epistle to the Ephesians and its exploration of silence and knowledge of God. The author discusses different interpretations of Ignatius's concept of "hearing Christ's silence," with some focusing on integrity and others on Christian mysticism. One scholar suggests that Ignatius's words invite Christians to know Christ in a profound and mystical way through meditation. The article also analyzes Ignatius's use of parallelism, chiasm, and rhetorical devices to deepen our understanding of his message. It draws parallels between Ignatius's teachings and St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, highlighting the indwelling presence of God in believers. The text concludes by emphasizing the mystical aspect of silence in Ignatius's letter and the goal of realizing Christ's presence within the Christian heart. [Extracted from the article]