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Religion in Albania has had a complicated history, with Orthodoxy, Bektashi and Sunni Islam, Catholicism coexisting throughout much of the history of this Balkan nation. This book traces the rise of the Albanian Orthodox Church from the beginnings of Albanian nationalist movements in the late nineteenth century until the end of the Second World War and the Communist takeover. It examines the struggles of the Albanian state and Church to establish the Church’s independence from foreign influence amid a complex geopolitical interplay between Albania, neighbouring Greece and its powerful Ecumenical Patriarchate; the Italian and Yugoslav interference, and the shifting international political c...
Based on extensive original research at the local level, this book explores the relationship between Russian Orthodoxy and politics in contemporary Russia. It reveals close personal links between politicians at the local, regional and national levels and their counterparts at the equivalent level in the Russian Orthodox Church – priests and monks, bishops and archbishops – who are extensively consulted about political decisions. It outlines a convergence of conservative ideology between politicians and clerics and also highlights that, despite working closely together, there are nevertheless many tensions. The book examines in detail particular areas of cooperation and tension: reform to religious education and a growing emphasis on traditional moral values, the restitution of former church property and the introduction of new festive days. Overall, the book concludes that there is much uncertainty, ambiguity and great local variation.
This book discusses in detail how Orthodox Christianity was involved in and influenced political transition in Ukraine, Serbia, and Georgia after the collapse of communism. Based on original research, including extensive interviews with clergy and parishioners as well as historical, legal, and policy analysis, the book argues that the nature of the involvement of churches in post-communist politics depended on whether the interests of the church (for example, in education, the legal system or economic activity) were accommodated or threatened: if accommodated, churches confined themselves to the sacred domain; if threatened, they engaged in daily politics. If churches competed with each other for organizational interests, they evoked the support of nationalism while remaining within the religious domain.
In Greek New Testament Manuscripts from Albania Didier Lafleur and Luc Brogly explore the riches of a unique collection of twenty-one Byzantine artefacts, among which the world-famous Beratinus 1 and Beratinus 2, both included by UNESCO in the Memory of the World Register. First described at the end of the 19th century by Anthimos Alexoudis, then revealed to Western scholarship by Pierre Batiffol, yet this collection has remained unknown to textual critics and no major analysis of it has been performed in over a century. Based on a fresh autopsy of the documents, the book describes the artefacts physically and analyses textual features and variant readings of each. This monograph will be of vital interest to any scholar or advanced student in the fields of Greek New Testament textual criticism and codicology.
National Archives store materials relating to the history of a nation, usually operated by the government of that nation. This is the first ever comprehensive source of information about national archives around the world covers the national archives of all 195 countries recognized by the United Nations (the 193 member states and the 2 that non-member observer states: The Holy See and the State of Palestine) as well as Taiwan (Republic of China). Of the 196 countries, 54 are in Africa, 49 in Asia, 44 in Europe, 33 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 14 in Oceania, and 2 in Northern America. All countries maintain a repository for government and historical records; whether all allow public ac...
This book addresses the complex intersection of secret police operations and the formation of the religious underground in communist-era Eastern Europe. It discusses how religious groups were perceived as dangerous to the totalitarian state whilst also being extremely vulnerable and yet at the same time very resourceful. It explores how this particular dynamic created the concept of the "religious underground" and produced an extremely rich secret police archival record. In a series of studies from across the region, the book explores the historical and legal context of secret police entanglement with religious groups, presents case studies on particular anti-religious operations and groups, offers methodological approaches to the secret police materials for the study of religions, and engages in contemporary ethical and political debates on the legacy and meaning of the archives in post-communism.
This is the first bibliography that focuses on the legal research conducted on Albanian history of law. It is also a tribute to the generations of researchers to whom we owe the decades-long research and collection of Albanian customary law, on both domestic and foreign legal systems, applicable in Albanian lands during the Roman, Byzantine and the Ottoman occupation, and later, on the transformations that occurred under the independent Albanian state and its different forms of regimes. Each publication included in this book comes with a short summary and directions on how to locate it, making it very practical for readers to find exactly what they need. Although originally it started with the aim of helping researchers of law and jurists, due to the nature of the publications it contains, this book also has valuable resources for researchers of various disciplines: from social anthropologists to philosophers, historians, and even the general public who wants to know more about the evolution of law throughout Albanian territories.
This book examines the relations between the Albanian communist regime and the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (AAOC) from 1945, when the communists came to power, to 1967, when Albania became the only atheistic state in the world, and religion of all kinds was completely suppressed. Based on extensive archival research, the book outlines Orthodox Church life under communism and considers the regime’s strategies to control, use, and subordinate the Church. It argues against a simple state oppression versus Church resistance scenario, showing that the situation was much more complex, with neither the regime nor the Church being monolithic entities. It shows how, despite the brutality and the constant pressure of the state, the Church successfully negotiated with the communist authorities and benefited from engaging with them, and how the communist authorities used the Church as a tool of foreign policy, especially to strengthen the regime’s ties with their East European allies.
A personality of Mother Teresa's calibre and global reach does not come about by chance. To provide a well-rounded portrait of this influential figure, this book approaches her in the context of her familial background and ethnic, cultural and spiritual milieus. Her life and work are explored in the light of newly-discovered information about her family, the Albanian nation's spiritual tradition before and after the advent of Christianity, and the impact of the Vatican and other influential powers on her people since the early Middle Ages. Focusing on her traumas, ordeals and achievements as a private individual and a public missionary, and her complex spirituality, this book contends that Mother Teresa's life and her nation's history, especially her countrymen's relationship with Roman Catholicism, are interconnected. Unravelling this interconnectedness is essential to understanding how this modern spiritual and humanitarian icon has come to epitomise her ancient nation's cultural and spiritual DNA.
L’État-nation a nationalisé les historiographies. La construction étatique doit-elle pour autant être rejetée en tant qu’objet d’étude ? Non, bien sûr, mais il faut assurément l’aborder autrement. C’est ce que suggère déjà une nouvelle historiographie qui, avec le développement de l’histoire globale, s’attache à élargir la focale. Dans cet ouvrage, il s’agit aussi de prendre l’État-nation au sérieux, de l’appréhender comme un espace de sens, de circulations, de contraintes et de possibilités, qui se construit et se remodèle dans le temps, en interaction avec d’autres espaces sociaux et selon des temporalités multiples.