The Romanian Orthodox Church

At first glance, the nationalist ideology of the French Revolution seems to have had little impact on the Orthodox Church in Romanian-speaking territories. Romanians were the predominant inhabitants of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia and the neighboring territories of Transylvania (including Crişana, Maramureş and Banat), Bukovina, Bessarabia, and Dobrudja. The majority of ethnic Romanians belonged to the Orthodox faith while their communities were at the intersection of geopo liti cal interests of the Rus sian, Ottoman, and Habsburg empires. In 1859 the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia (known as the Old Kingdom between 1866 and 1918) united into a single state under the rule of a local prince. The term "Romania" began to be used by the new state in its of cial documents in 1862. Two years later, the state supported the declaration of a Romanian autocephalous (in de pen dent) church that was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1885. As an integrative part of the Orthodox commonwealth, the church was situated between the competing jurisdictions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Rus sian Orthodox Church, while its declaration of autocephaly followed a pattern in the spread of national churches in Southeastern Europe. From the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji of 1774 to the beginning of the Greek War for In de pen dence in 1821, the Romanian principalities were under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, which had full control of their po liti cal and economic affairs. The sultan appointed princes, and the Porte determined their po liti cal and judicial status. The princes were drawn from the "Phanariots," and were directly appointed by the Porte from preponderantly Greek elite rather than the Romanian local elite, the boyars (boieri).1 In each principality, the church was headed by a metropolitan who was under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. That religion mattered to local population as a means of social cohesion was suggestively depicted by Anatole de Demidoff, an En glish traveler in the region in 1837. Arriving in Bucharest, the capital of Wallachia, he claimed that: I know of no city in Europe in which it is possible to find more agreeable society, or in which there is a better tone, united with the most charming gaiety⋯. Religion, which is here of the schismatic Greek creed, does not, properly speaking, hold any great empire over the minds of the Wallachian people, but they observe its outward forms, and particularly the austerities of fasting, with scrupulous exactitude. The people are seen to attend divine ser vice with every sign of respect, and the great number of churches existing in Wallachia, bear witness to the ardent zeal with which outward worship is honored.2 The Romanian Orthodox Church was a national institution, closely linked to social, economic, and po liti cal structures. In most cases, Orthodox hierarchs were appointed from the families of boyars, thus ensuring a close relationship with the state authorities and its policies. As one of the largest landowners in the principalities, the church had a prime role in administrating healthcare and education. Although the majority of the clergy was uneducated, it dispensed both ecclesiastical and civil justice and in many cases worked closely with boyars in local administration.3 The lower clergy not only contributed directly to the economy but also benefited from tax privileges. Some small villages had an unusually high proportion of clergy in comparison to the overall population. For example, in 1810, Stənisləveşti, a village in the south of Wallachia, was composed of eleven houses and had two priests, five deacons, and three cantors; similarly, the Frəsinet village of nineteen houses had two priests and five deacons.4 Although these cases were exceptional, they indicate both the economic value of being a member of the clergy and the wider canonical dimension of church jurisdiction. The special status of the clergy was reflected not only at lower but also at higher levels. Bishops and metropolitans engaged with state policy and in many cases opposition to the authorities led to the loss of a spiritual seat. The metropolitan of each principality worked with the prince and was president of the divan, the gathering of all boyars. He held the right to be the first person to comment on state policy and to make recommendations when the prince was absent. The metropolitan replaced the prince when the principality had no political ruler, such as in the cases of Metropolitan Veniamin Costachi of Moldavia in 1806 and Metropolitan Dositei Filitti of Wallachia, while the bishops of Buzəu and Argeş were members of the provisional government during the Rus sian occupation of the principalities in 1808. The higher clergy had both religious and political prerogatives in relation to foreign powers as evident in their heading of the boyars' delegation to peace negotiation between the Rus sian and Ottoman empires at Focşani in 1772 and addressing memoranda to the Austrian and Rus sian governments in 1802.5 The primary role of the church in the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia was paralleled by the national mobilization of Orthodox communities in the neighboring territories that had Romanian inhabitants. Although throughout the region Orthodox communities were incorporated into church structures as part of the Habsburg, Austrian or Rus sian empires, the nineteenth century was characterized by the leadership's search for political autonomy and the building of a Romanian national identity. The Orthodox communities outside the Old Kingdom maintained relations with the faithful in principalities across the Carpathian Mountains and the Dniester River and sought support in their struggle for political and religious rights.

Los primeros testimonios sobre Martin Seidel, autor de Origo et fundamenta religionis christianae

El tratado clandestino Origo et fundamenta religionis christianae ataca los fundamentos del cristianismo y propone una religión natural. Pese a que todas las copias manuscritas que lo conservan datan del siglo xVIII, se encuentran suficientes indicios que señalan al silesio Martin Seidel como su autor y documentan la existencia del texto a finales del siglo xVI o principios del xVII. Las primeras fuentes sobre Seidel lo vinculan con los antitrinitarios de Heidelberg (1570), los unitarios polacos (1580) y los “cripto-socinianos” de Altdorf (1610). En este artículo valoro dichas fuentes y corrijo a la luz de las mismas algunas afirmaciones de la crítica reciente sobre Seidel y su Origo.

Deconstrucción de los relatos evangélicos de la pasión. Sobre el arraigo de la ficción en la Historia de las religiones

Las más elementales exigencias de rigor crítico e independencia siguen a menudo sin cumplirse hoy en día en la reconstrucción histórica de la figura del judío Yeshua ben Yosef (Jesús el galileo), en parte porque el carácter inconsistente de las fuentes evangélicas no es tomado en serio. El presente artículo analiza las incongruencias de los relatos de la pasión, muestra en ellos los indicios de un proceso de despolitización, y señala el carácter insostenible de varias afirmaciones clave de muchos historiadores contemporáneos sobre el predicador galileo.

La música en el desarrollo de la espiritualidad y la religiosidad. Una aproximación al Cristianismo y al Budismo

La música puede afectar al individuo en todos sus niveles –físico, mental y espiritual–. El presente artículo se centra en el papel que ésta desempeña en el desarrollo de la vida espiritual y trascendental. Para ello, realizaremos un repaso histórico de su evolución estética y social, abordaremos dicho fenómeno a nivel fisiológico y presentaremos sus aplicaciones clínicas y sociales. Seguidamente y a modo de ejemplo de las concepciones de pensamiento occidental y oriental, trataremos la forma en que el cristianismo y el budismo conciben la música dentro de su doctrina. Finalizaremos con algunas reflexiones sobre el tema.

Humanismo, sujeto, modernidad. Sobre la crítica de la razón mítica de Franz Hinkelammert

El trabajo aborda la concepción de la historia y la crítica de la modernidad desarrolladas por F. Hinkelammert, a las que se ubica en la perspectiva desarrollada por (la primera) Escuela de Frankfurt, particularmente por Walter Benjamin. En la elaboración de las categorías fundamentales de la reflexion hinkelammertiana sobre la historia, se destaca un primer hito fundamental, constituido por la Crítica de la razón utópica. En esta obra, el autor presenta la aspiración de alcanzar verdaderas metas imposibles, pensadas en términos de instituciones perfectas, a partir de acercamientos progresivos, como una tendencia propia de la racionalidad moderna que debe ser sometida a critica. La Crítica de la razón mítica constituye el segundo hito de ese desarrollo critico, en el cual se retoma la relación entre cristianismo y modernidad a partir del concepto de “secularización”, mostrando sus relaciones de continuidad/ ruptura respecto a los resortes miticos que alientan paradójicamente la razón instrumental Abstract The work approaches the conception of history and the critique of modernity developed by F. Hinkelammert’s, which lies in the perspective developed by the (first) Frankfurt School, particularly by Walter Benjamin. In the developing of the fundamental categories of the Hinkelammert reflection on history, highlights a fundamental first landmark, constituted by the Critic of the utopian reason. In this work, the author presents the aspiration to achieve real impossible goals, thought in terms of perfect institutions, from progressive approaches, as an own tendency of the modern rationality that must be subjected to criticism. The Critic of the mythical reason constitutes the second landmark of that critical development, in which retakes the relation between Christianity and modernity from the concept of “secularization”, showing its relations of continuity/rupture in respect to the mythical springs that paradoxically encourage the instrumental reason.

Religião e cultura : um breve itinerário do fim do mundo antigo aos dias de Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard nos mostra, em boa parte de suas obras, sua categórica rejeição em aceitar que a religião cristã pudesse ser reduzida a uma questão de cultura. Mesmo vivendo numa época em que muitos parecem aceitar essa premissa, o filósofo enfrenta inúmeras dificuldades para fazer valer seu posicionamento e, por outro lado, sua proposta parece, ao mesmo tempo, profundamente discutível e polêmica. O cristianismo parece se confundir com a cultura desde seus primórdios e, inclusive, talvez tenha dependido disso para sua sobrevivência até a atualidade. Desse modo, a tese kierkegaardiana de recusa a uma ligação mais efetiva entre cristianismo e cultura não pode ter, em si mesma, um aspecto intolerante ou reacionário? Para investigar tal questão, almejamos analisar aspectos da obra kierkegaardiana e, a partir de um dado recorte, o contexto de implantação do cristianismo no fim do mundo antigo. _______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT

Hinduism and Christianity in Orissa: containing a brief description of the country, religion, manners and customs, of the Hindus, and an account of the operations of the American Freewill Baptist Mission in northern Orissa ... By O.R. Bacheler ...

http://www.archive.org/details/hinduismandchris00bachuoft

The world's religions : a popular account of religions ancient and modern, including those of uncivilised races, Chaldaeans, Greeks, Egyptians, Romans : Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Mohammedanism, and a sketch of the history of Judaism and Christianity.

Mode of access: Internet.

Letters on the state of Christianity in India, in which the conversion of the Hindoos is considered as impracticable, to which is added, a vindication of the Hindoos, male and female, in answer to a severe attack made upon both by the Reverend ***

Bound with: James Hough. A reply to the letters of the Abbé Dubois on the state of Christianity in India. London, Seeley & Son, 1824.

Conferencia "Culture, Freedom and Christianity", presentada por Alberto de Onaindia en el Congress for Cultural Freedom, celebrado en Berlín en 1950.

Fecha: 2-7-1950 / Unidad de instalación: Carpeta 45 - Expediente 2-27 / Nº de pág.: 6 (mecanografiadas)

Liberal Christianity : its origin, nature, and mission / by Jean Râeville ; translated and edited by Victor Leuliette.

http://www.archive.org/details/liberalchristian00rvuoft

India and India missions : including sketches of the gigantic system of hinduism, both in theory and practive : also notices of some of the principal agencies employed in conducting the process of Indian evangalization, etc. etc.

http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC05766993