Vanca

The relations between Christians and Jews in the Eastern Roman Empire

Viorel Popa, University of Oradea

The relations between Christians and Jews in the Eastern Roman Empire (centuries IV-VI)

This study presents the relationship between Christians and Jews in the first centuries. Between Christians and Jews there was coexistence, competition and conflict in the geographical area of the East Greek (IV-VI centuries). After the proclamation of Christianism as state religion in 395, many actions of the eastern roman Emperors were taken to protect the new religion. Judaism and Paganism were restrained through legislation and political measures. The tensions between Christian and Jews have been resolved by the emperors, but with many difficulties. Some imperial letters to the praetorian prefect of the Orient province are a key to understanding the emperor’s politics toward Jews and Pagans in IV and V centuries. Imperial legislation concerning to relations between Christians and Jews is composed of letters addressed to governors and prefects of the Roman provinces. These letters have resulted from pressure on the imperial court by Christians and Jews equally and they express emperor’s concern that peace and unity in the Empire to be kept at all costs. Oppressed Christians or Jews must be protected of the state authorities. The attitude of emperor Theodosius the Second toward Jews was favourable, according to the sources of the time. The emperor insisted to the observation of the laws and to de punishment of the instigators to violence. The attitude of the Roman emperors was to restrict Christian hostility towards citizens who had other faith and try to achieve a balance in interfaith relations.

Keywords: letters, governors, prefects, Pagans, emperor, legislation.

Filed Under: State-Church relationship throughout history Tagged With: emperor, governors, legislation, letters, Pagans, prefects

State and Church in World War II

Alin Albu, “1 Decembrie 1918” University, Alba Iulia

State and Church in World War II. The political and ecclesiastical perspective on the national vocation of the Orthodox clergy

For the Romanians, the years of World War II were extremely difficult from a political point of view, marked by territorial losses and profound metamorphoses (abdications, government falls, Romania’s involvement in the war), which generated and maintained a severe political and economic insecurity. In such conditions, the State appealed to the Church, in which it identified the warrantor of preserving the vigour of the national feeling, so necessary in war circumstances and also the most credible partner in ensuring an internal stability from a national and social point of view. The clergy was now defined in the Government’s documents as one of the most important socio-professional categories, a genuine cohesion factor, which kept effective control over the masses, its spiritual and social assistance being considered an important part in the work of consolidating the country.

The reaction of the ecclesiastical hierarchy to this appeal was a positive one: the clergy was impelled to keep alive the national conscience, to preserve the ethnical being, to answer the State’s appeals and fulfill the pastoral vocation, as well as ”the national mission”.

Besides the vision of the political leaders and of the ecclesiastical hierarchy on the relation State-Church, on the national vocation of the priests, on the role of the Church in the Romanian society during war, it is interesting to analyse how these elements were assumed at the level of the conscience of the clergy and of some representatives of the local ecclesiastical bodies (the Orthodox Vicarage in Alba Iulia). It is also interesting to note the attitude of the clergy toward war.

We attempted to recompose (partially) the picture of these realities, based not on the existent bibliography, but on some inedited archive research, selecting a few samples out of the multitude of those to be found in the dossier of the problematics.

Key words: World War II, the relation State-Church, the Vicarage of Alba Iulia, Orthodox hierarchy, national conscience.

Filed Under: State-Church relationship throughout history Tagged With: national conscience, Orthodox hierarchy, the relation State-Church, the Vicarage of Alba Iulia, World War II

Musical-liturgic creations dedicated to Sf. Emperors Constantine and Elena

Gheorghe Neacșu, University of Pitesti

Musical-liturgic creations dedicated to Sf. Emperors Constantine and Elena

Exposure aims to present the image appearance of Christian Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena hymnographic productions reflected both liturgical and musical creations adapted to these liturgical texts. Were identified compositions that reveal the spiritual state of the two sovereigns Byzantines, watching carefully for changes in musical texts observation of new items. Melodic differences of ritual books, emerging from one edition to another is explained by the fact that the authors were drawn into their creations and where officiated by church liturgical service (whether it was church music creation adapt to the ceremony).

The focus was mainly on the slave and sticheron including the best meaning of the feast. Highlighted the importance of speech text musically led to the development of theological and semantic analysis of text and stylistic musical compositions

Freedom of expression of the Christian faith gained in 313, was more than an opportunity to show liturgical enrichment entailed theological thinking and living sufficiently exploited by those who become „friends of God”. They are found in cult church in Byzantine hymns and melodies. Constantine the Great is credited depicted in hymns and songs of praise, worthy praised.

Key words: slave, sticherons, melos byzantine, liturgical hymns, music, praising scales, musical speech.

Filed Under: Political culture & Religious culture Tagged With: liturgical hymns, melos byzantine, music, musical speech, praising scales, slave, sticherons

The Secular Fundamentalist State: Some Critical Reflections

Mark J. Cherry, St. Edward’s University Austin, Texas, USA

The Secular Fundamentalist State: Some Critical Reflections

There is increasingly a recognition that the abolishment of the soft establishment of Christianity, as this existed in the first half of the 20^th century, with prayer in public schools and the presence of Christian symbols in public spaces (the Ten Commandments in courtrooms), has been replaced by the hard establishment of a secular moral and political vision. [see Bioethics and Secular Humanism, esp pp. 180-184, 89-98] Secular humanism as a secular religion was established to replace the soft establishment of Christianity. This essay explores this transformation by arguing that there has been a failure to recognize that current secular states in the West are not religiously or morally neutral, but rather have a salient animus against belief in God. This essay first provides a brief overview of the move from the disestablishment of Christianity to the establishment of secular humanism as the official public ideology. Then this paper turns to showing why this ideology has an animus not directed equally against all religions, but has a special commitment to marginalize Christian morals, discourse, and images in particular. This is only to be expected, in that the secular state with its established ethos as a historical event has in particular disestablished Christendom from the public forum and public space. The essay concludes by exploring the secular state’s major cultural drive against Christendom as that religion which may not be allowed to reassert itself again. Traditional Christians in response need to argue for the re-establishment of Christian discourse and morals as this existed in the USA in the first half of the 20^th century.

Filed Under: Political culture & Religious culture Tagged With: Christianity, public policy, secular humanism, Secularization