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This book is volume two of a three-volume work, Christianity Under Stress, which focuses on the experiences of Christian churches in contemporary communist and socialist societies. In this volume a distinguished group of experts examines the changing relationship of the Catholic church to contemporary communist and socialist societies in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Catholicism has, on the one hand, traditionally regarded earthly life as of secondary importance--as an instrument of spiritual transformation--and, on the other, has ascribed great value to the early institutions of the church, taking great interest in temporal matters that affects its institutional concerns. Against...
The volume unites conversations with four masters of Medieval Studies from east-central Europe: János Bak from Hungary, Jerzy Kłoczowski from Poland, František Šmahel from the Czech Republic, and Herwig Wolfram from Austria. The interviews, made by younger colleagues, reveal engaging life stories, with numerous observations, anecdotes and experiences. The four scholars grew up before and during the war, under Nazi occupation, emerged as young scholars in the difficult post-war period, and, for most of their careers worked in the shadow of the Iron Curtain, two of them spending most of their lifetimes under communist regimes. The conversations focus on ways in which open-minded young inte...
Finding that a coherent philosophical view is present throughout much of Wojtyla's work, Schmitz also discovers that Wojtyla's sensitivity to both modern and ancient thought and culture was already vividly present in his work as a young student in Cracow. As Pope John Paul II continues to make his mark in the history of the Roman Catholic Church and of the world, this book will prove invaluable to philosophers, theologians, and the educated reader who wishes learn more about his thought.
Making Russians is a valuable and insightful examination, based on a solid archival foundation, of the nationalities policies in tsarist Russia's northwestern borderlands of Lithuania and Belarus. Making Russians explores the various strategies of Russification that the imperial government pursued largely unsuccessfully in this region. The book is essential reading for all students of imperial Russia. It has applications for the present as well, when issues of national identity continue to engage the citizens of both Russia and the states of the Former Soviet Union.John Klier, University College London
An examination of post-Soviet society through ethnic, religious, and linguistic criteria, this volume turns what is typically anthropological subject matter into the basis of politics, sociology, and history. Ten chapters cover such diverse subjects as Ukrainian language revival, Tatar language revival, nationalist separatism and assimilation in Russia, religious pluralism in Russia and in Ukraine, mobilization against Chinese immigration, and even the politics of mapmaking. A few of these chapters are principally historical, connecting tsarist and Soviet constructions to today's systems and struggles. The introduction by Dominique Arel sets out the project in terms of new scholarly approaches to identity, and the conclusion by Blair A. Ruble draws out political and social implications that challenge citizens and policy makers. Rebounding Identities is based on a series of workshops held at the Kennan Institute in 2002 and 2003.
This book elucidates the complicated relationship between religion and national consciousness in the modern world, highlighting various cases within Central and Eastern Europe. Through these analyses, contributors demonstrate how religion, far from disappearing, strongly impacted the emerging national consciousness. Starting with the pre-modern era, essays examine the long-term transformation of religious, political, and social situations of the region. In addition, the book considers the impact of imperial powers, which tended to be linked with a universal religion. Light is also shed on the multifaceted nature of nations, which contribute to a new vision of the historical transformation of the region that enriches the general theories of nationalism.
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Few subjects in Christianity have inspired artists as much as the last judgment. Last Judgment Iconography in the Carpathians examines images of the last judgment from the fifteenth century to the present in the Carpathian mountain region of Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania, as a way to consider history free from the traditional frameworks and narratives of nations. Over ten years, John-Paul Himka studied last-judgment images throughout the Carpathians and found a distinctive and transnational blending of Gothic, Byzantine, and Novgorodian art in the region. Piecing together the story of how these images were produced and how they developed, Himka traces their origins on linden boards ...
The story of Roman Catholics exiled to the Far East - their difficulties under the czars, their persecution under the Communists, and the rebirth of their communities today.
The thesis examines the Catholic social teaching, as it is expressed in papal encyclicals, in wide context of contemporary political doctrines and major events of 20th century. The author proposes a method of following political messages of the Catholic Church during the last century. He challenges a standard Church's claim of immutability of its teaching. He shows, on the contrary, firm contextualisation both of Church's action and of its official message. From classical confrontational strategy face to modernity, through the attitude of "dialogue" during the Second Vatican Council, the Church insists on remaining a recognized participant of significant contemporary debates even in conditions of postmodernity.