Priesthood

In an age in which the discipline of philosophy grows ever more specialized and moves ever farther toward the margins of typical universities, Catholic seminaries have been directed by the bishops to a renewed focus on philosophical studies.  How can philosophy constitute a mode of human formation and spiritual formation?  How can the study of philosophy further a man’s development in the virtues, in affective maturity, in capacity for right relation to others, and so on?  What does philosophy have to do with the life of prayer and of grace?
Three basic answers to these questions stand out.  First, right understanding removes obstacles to right action.  The PPF and John Paul II, in Pastores dabo vobis, emphasize this connection.  Second, participating in philosophical inquiry provides an occasion for the cultivation of virtues, both intellectual and moral.  Finally, philosophy’s intimate connection to prayer appears in its highest object and its contemplative nature.

Tο παρόν έργο πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας προστατεύεται κατά τις διατάξεις του Eλληνικού νόμου (N.2121/1993 όπως έχει τροποποιηθεί και ισχύει σήμερα) και τις διεθνείς συμβάσεις περί πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας. Aπαγορεύεται απολύτως η άνευ γραπτής άδειας του εκδότη κατά οποιοδήποτε τρόπο ή μέσο αντιγραφή, φωτοανατύπωση και εν γένει αναπαραγωγή, εκμίσθωση ή δανεισμός, μετάφραση, διασκευή, αναμετάδοση στο κοινό σε οποιαδήποτε μορφή (ηλεκτρονική, μηχανική ή άλλη) και η εν γένει εκμετάλλευση του συνόλου ή μέρους του έργου.

This article argues that in Ben Sira 50 the high priest is a representative office, not a person. That office sums up and binds together in worshipful unity (at-one-ment), through liturgical and civil duties, multiple identities: those of Adam, Israel, Lady Wisdom, God the Creator and the whole cosmos. The high priest is a multiple personality order. Chapter 50 is the literary and theological climax of the work. And the text is a vital witness to the shape of Israel's Temple theology in the Hellenistic and Persian periods, and to the way the Pentateuch was read and interpreted.

GRAHAM GREENE’S CATHOLICISM: FIRST, AN INTELLECTUAL BELIEF IN GOD
THE POWER AND THE GLORY II

In this second bulletin, I outline the first two of three forms of Greene’s religion: 1) the Erastian public school Anglicanism undergirding state morality in which Greene was raised, 2) the intellectual Catholicism he adopted on the basis of argument. In the third bulletin, I shall deal with 3) in distinction from that, “conversion.”.
The Power and the Glory explains Greene’s conversion to the Catholicism he saw in Mexican peasants and described in The Lawless Roads (1939), the travelogue which gave the background, places, and many of the characters and situations for The Power and the Glory (1940). In Mexico he lived briefly, but determinatively, with a religion which embraces pain and martyrdom as ways into God, and intuits the indestructibility both of  the human need for the priestly sacrifice, and God’s provision for it. So The Power and the Glory concludes: “‘My name is Father –’ But the boy had already swung the door open and put his lips to the hand before the other could give himself a name.” 
In contrast, after descriptions of the ugliness and violence of Mexico suggesting that he is putting what he found there behind him, The Lawless Roads describes Mass back in Chelsea (London):

Mass in Chelsea seemed curiously fictitious: no peon knelt with his arms out in the attitude of the cross, no woman dragged herself up the aisle on her knees. It would have seemed shocking, like the Agony itself. We do not mortify ourselves. Perhaps we need violence. 

Greene then lists the institutionalized and unnoticed violence of daily life at the time in London, from the ugliness to the airplanes and motor vehicles. When seeing this ordinary violence in our way of life, Greene anticipated our recent change of consciousness. What we now recognize as world destructive violence, we previously took as the benign advances of rationality.
This kind of reversal of our normal evaluations is typical of Greene. So for example, The Ministry of Fear (1943) centers on the deep evil of pity “Pity is the worst passion of all.”  Just so The Quiet American exposed the murderous destructiveness of innocence. Greene’s transvaluation of values is of Nietzschean dimensions. His novels are a substitute for the metaphysical theology the English mostly lack (Charles Williams, a poetic theologian, is an exception) and his metaphysics, the novels, and his mind operate by the union of extremes. The coincidence of opposites is fundamental to Hellenic and Catholic theology. Thus,  in The Power and the Glory, and many other works (e.g. , The Quiet American,  The Comedians, The Human Factor, The Honorary Consul, Getting to Know the General, Monsignor Quixote), there is an equal concern with Marxist Communism and Catholicism. Like Williams, he regarded dogmatic Catholicism and Communism as the two defining contemporary phenomena.

2012 _ This dissertation deals with the ritual and sacerdotal organisation of a Cuban mythical-ritual complex of Yoruba origin, articulated around two poles with complex and sometimes conflicting relationships: Santería, based on the personalised relationship followers tie with entities called orichas, and Ifá, a divinatory pole centred on the use of the eponymous oracle. The aim is to highlight the interdependent relationships that unite these two poles. To this end, the thesis gives descriptive and analytical primacy to the structuration of the initiatory practices that constitute the basis of these practices and to their pragmatic, formal and interactional dimensions. It highlights two elements. (1) Different forms of critical reflexivity, relayed by a multi-headed social organisation, by the nature of ritual knowledge and by the indeterminacy of certain ceremonial procedures, constitute the first element on which the coherence of the whole rests. In particular, they involve debate, exegesis, contestation and, sometimes, conflict that are intrinsic of priesthood practice as well as of the ritual execution and initiation performances. (2) Two divergent conceptions of practice, conveyed by these forms of reflexivity and stemming from profoundly distinct initiatory experiences for a santero/santera or a babalao, are at the origin of the founding tension which organises this bipolar complex and the relations between its specialists. These conceptions somehow incompatible are brought into constant confrontation due to the collegial coordination imposed by the ritual, generating continuous negotiations which endow this complex with its distinctive dynamics and unity  / Cette thèse porte sur l’organisation sacerdotale d’un complexe mythico-rituel cubain d’origine yoruba articulé autour de deux pôles aux rapports complexes et parfois conflictuels : la santería, fondée sur la mise en relation personnalisée des adeptes avec des entités orichas, et Ifá, pôle divinatoire centré sur l’usage de l’oracle éponyme. L’objectif est de mettre en évidence les relations d’interdépendance qui unissent ces deux pôles. Pour cela, la thèse accorde une primauté descriptive et analytique à la structuration des pratiques initiatiques qui constituent le socle du culte et à leurs dimensions pragmatique, formelle et interactionnelle. Elle met en valeur deux éléments. (1) Différentes formes de réflexivité critique, relayées par une organisation sociale pluricéphale, par la nature des savoirs en présence et par l’indétermination de certaines procédures cérémonielles, constituent le premier élément sur lequel repose la cohérence de l’ensemble. Elles font notamment du débat, de l’exégèse, de la contestation et, parfois, du conflit, des ressorts intrinsèques de la pratique sacerdotale ainsi que de l’exécution rituelle et des performances initiatiques. (2) Deux conceptions divergentes de la pratique, véhiculées par ces formes de réflexivité et issues d’expériences initiatiques profondément distinctes, sont à l’origine de la tension fondatrice qui organise ce complexe bipolaire et les relations entre spécialistes. A priori incompatibles, ces conceptions sont amenées à se confronter constamment du fait de la coordination collégiale imposée par le rituel et engendrent des négociations continues qui impriment sa dynamique et son unité distinctives à ce complexe sacerdotal

The impact of ministry on Australian families is understudied. We conducted a qualitative survey across four years, including an online, anonymous survey of over 281 participants. 99.1% told us that we needed to provide structured, long- term support, regulated systems of accountability + extensive and uniquely tailored pastoral care to suit their personal needs. Their responses, in a brief, easy-to-read format, are below. We encourage communities to share and discuss these findings where possible.

Zuzana Svobodová’s article Motives of the Witness of Christ (II. – Johann Amos Comenius) is a follow-up contribution of an article published in the journal Studia Comeniana et historica (cf. SCetH 93–94, pp. 5–24, Motives of the Witness of Christ: I. – John Huss). By way of analysis of Comenius’ works, his motivation is sought for the service of a witness of Christ, i.e. specific values, which Comenius lists to be vital and determining for human life. It is shown – especially on the basis of a work by Comenius, which addressed Christian preachers – what he considered to be crucial for Christ’s servants. Firstly, it involves an invitation to use the Word of God – the Scriptures – for encouragement, correction, and reflections. Without perseverance, diligence and faithfulness to God's Word a Christian cannot withstand in times of trials and tribulations. Such trials are considered an instrument of God's earthly School of the Cross. It is God Himself, who is the school’s originator. If, according to Comenius, a person holds out in the School of the Cross, he/she will advance to Celestial Academy, where there is the fullness of knowledge and love; he/she will be saved. To achieve this, however, it is necessary to experience a transformation in the highest earthly school, i.e. in the School of the Heart, in which the Holy Spirit effects a change of one’s heart and people respond with their humble faith. Without humility, it is impossible to be a good witness of Christ; humility is the fruit of the School of the Cross.
As witnesses of Christ and priests, both Johannes Hus, and Jan Amos Comenius are motivated to achieve their own salvation and that of others. In the minds of the two thinkers, however, the cross plays a different role in one’s journey of life. While, with Hus, the cross is seen as the ultimate sacrifice at the end of a life for the truth, Comenius sees the cross as an immanent part of the whole journey of life: The whole life is a way of the cross, the whole life can be compared to a school, in which one learns to take up the cross and follow Christ, becoming a child of God.

Promišljanja u ovom radu bazirao sam na novom „Direktoriju za život i službu prezbitera“ jer on u našem vremenu na najjasniji način progovara svećenstvu, prvenstveno prezbiterima i biskupima, pa onda i đakonima koji su na putu prema svećeništvu prezbitera i biskupa, o „trajnoj formaciji“. Rad sam podijelio u dva dijela. U prvom dijelu svoga rada nastojat ću, nakon što ću pokušati pojasniti sintagmu „trajna formacija“, istaknuti neka od mjesta iz navedenog dokumenta. U drugom dijelu napravit ću kritički osvrt na stanje trajne formacije u našoj biskupiji, odnosno progovorit ćemo o načelima trajne formacije u svjetlu konkretnosti života. Kao ekskursus zavirit ćemo u promišljanje o životu svećenika što ga je u pokoncilkom vremenu zapisao teolog Hans Urs von Balthasar.

https://pul.uclouvain.be/book/?gcoi=29303100720380

L'objet de cet ouvrage est de suivre la pensée d’un ecclésiologue majeur du 20e siècle, Nicolas Afanassieff, qui a significativement contribué à renouveler la vision théologique de l’Église. L’un des fils rouges de son oeuvre réside dans sa conception des institutions de l’Église et des ministères...

« Lorsque corrompue, la catholicité de l'Église peut mener à des expériences de totalitarisme, anticipations de l’Enfer et non d’un divin Royaume », affirme l’auteur. Étudier l’Église non comme une structure juridique ou un phénomène sociologique, mais comme un mystère de foi requiert les outils de la théologie qui permet de porter un regard critique,
scientifique, sur les ressorts internes de l’organisme ecclésial. L’objet de cet ouvrage est de suivre la pensée d’un ecclésiologue majeur du 20e siècle, Nicolas Afanassieff, qui a significativement contribué à renouveler la vision théologique de l’Église. L’un des fils rouges de son oeuvre réside dans sa conception des institutions de l’Église et des ministères, c’est-à-dire des services et de leur articulation au sein de la communauté ecclésiale. Afanassieff a tout particulièrement réhabilité le laïcat en ecclésiologie, tout en approfondissant la compréhension des ministères pastoraux que sont l’épiscopat et le presbytérat. Parallèlement à la réflexion sur les fonctions au sein de l’Église locale, ce théologien a scruté les relations des Églises entre elles, questionnant les notions de synode, de primauté et de synodalité ou conciliarité. L’ouvrage s’intéresse particulièrement au christianisme orthodoxe, à son fonctionnement et ses dysfonctionnements, mais l’analyse qu’il fournit et les conclusions qu’il propose interrogent tous les chrétiens et même toutes les sociétés humaines constituées.

The Collaborative Research Centre 1136 'Bildung und Religion' is pleased to
invite you to attend the conference 'Religion and Education in the Ancient
Greek World', organised by Tanja Scheer and Irene Salvo, to be held on
Wednesday the 25th and Thursday the 26th of October 2017 in the Historical Building of the Goettingen State and University Library (Paulinerkirche).

Further information here:
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/571664.html.

Participation is free, but if you would like to attend please send an
e-mail by Friday the 20th of October to Irene Salvo, [email protected].

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Der SFB 1136 „Bildung und Religion“ lädt herzlich Sie zur internationalen Tagung „Religion and Education in the Ancient Greek World“ ein, die vom 25. bis 26. Oktober 2017 in Göttingen stattfindet.

Weitere Informationen finden Sie hier: http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/571664.html.

Wenn Sie an der Tagung teilnehmen möchten, bitten wir Sie um eine kurze Rückmeldung bis Freitag, den 20.10.2017 ([email protected]), um entsprechend planen zu können.

This article investigates why clerical abuse of Catholic priests persists in the Church using the sociological and normative pluralist perspectives. It analyzes how the various informal normative standards of the Churchdoctrinal, ethical, or biblical-affect the enforcement of Canon Law on clerical abuse by bishops, particularly on how they decide on specific cases on the diocesan level. It also investigates how the cultural values and norms influence the bishop's decision whether to sanction erring priests or not or to prosecute abuse cases in civil courts. Unlike the state, the Church has no professional judicial system with a set of legal codes, a hierarchy of ecclesial judges and prosecutors, as well as a comprehensive penal law to assess cases of clerical abuse objectively following the principle of "rule of law." Thus, the informal norms of mercy and compassion, eternal character of the priesthood, camaraderie in the ministry among priests, and other cultural values and norms in the local culture, tend to dominate over the strict penal provisions of the Canon Law against clerical abuse in the bishops' investigation and decision. Faced with multiple normative criteria in judging abuse cases and given the wide ecclesial powers given to them by the Church, local bishops then acquire more discretionary powers to keep investigations of clerical abuse internally in the spirit of evangelical mercy and compassion in order to preserve Church's unity and fellowship of the clergy. This strategy, however, slows down the filing of clerical abuses cases in civil courts and faces the risk of being seen by victims and Church members as a cover-up and grave injustice.

Mózes apósának a neve és személye nem egységes az ÓSZ-ben: hol Jetrónak (Ex 3,1; 4,18; 18,1 stb.), hol Reúélnek (Ex 2,19), hol Hobábnak (Bír 4,11) nevezik őt a hagyományok. Mindazonáltal abban egyetértés van az elbeszélések között, hogy egy midianita papról van szó, akivel Mózes házasság útján lép kapcsolatba. A kutatásban az is felmerül az Ex 18,10–12 alapján, hogy Jetró nem akármilyen pogány isten szolgálója, hanem Jhwh papja. Ez utóbbi feltételezést némelykor a régi midiánita-kénita hipotézis egyik érveként sorakoztatta fel a kutatás, mely szerint a jáhwizmus gyökereit a midianiták között kellene keresnünk, Izráelen kívül; azaz az izráeliták Jhwh tiszteletét a midiánitáktól vették volna át Mózes közvetítésével. Bár a kutatás már régóta szkeptikus az említett hipotézissel kapcsolatosan mindmáig vannak újabb képviselői, akik módosítva kitartanak az alaptézis mellett. A tanulmány azt kívánja körül járni, hogy milyen korban keletkezhettek a kérdéses szövegek és valóban Jhwh papjaként tekinthetünk-e Mózes apósára?

There have been few serious attempts to develop theologies of ordination. This essay considers whether ordination lies within or outside the boundaries of Biblical theology. It analyses the topic of ordination from the perspective of Biblical theology. This essay demonstrates that it is not possible to argue for our contemporary concept of ordination from the Old Testament, that the Old Testament concepts of priesthood do not transfer to the New Testament (unless one adopts a sacramental theology), and that the term and the concept of ordination do not appear in the New Testament at all as we might recognize them in our contemporary setting. While arguments may be made for ordination from administrative necessity, tradition, and other theological systems, ordination must be understood as lying entirely outside the boundaries of Biblical theology.

As we have already learned from our study of the brotherly dyads found in Genesis, scholars often attempt to connect the motif of election of biblical siblings with the selection of the cultic animals at Yom Kippur. In a manner similar to Karl Barth, Mary Douglas sees the motif of election as one of the most crucial links between the stories of the brotherly pairs and the two goats' ritual, wherein one animal was selected for the Lord and the other for Azazel. She argues that, in the Book of Genesis, "the theme of conspicuously uneven destinies occurs prominently. Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, of two brothers one is chosen and the other is not."55 The mystery of election is paradoxically highlighted by a role reversal, as the expected recipient of the blessing, the elder son, is rejected, and the younger sibling somewhat unexpectedly receives the blessing. In this respect, Douglas further notes that:

Virgin Mary Does not Grow on Almond Trees
This paper investigates a series of apparitions that took place in 1884 in Budakeszi, a German-speaking village near Budapest, and the long history of its effects. The apparitions of St. Mary-seen by a young half-orphan peasant girl and later by many others-attracted a great deal of attention. A new place of the cult of Mary-such as La Salette, Lourdes, or Marpingen-was born, but in the period of secularization and confessional polarization in Hungary, that was not in the interest of the Catholic Church and its responsible representatives (Pastor of Budakeszi, Bishop of Székesfehérvár). The emerging pilgrimage was suppressed in cooperation with the civil authorities. However, the belief in the sanctity of the place did not disappear completely, but appeared about 30 years later, when a chapel was built instead of the felled "miracle tree". The chapel was destroyed in the second half of the 20 th century. The latest chapter in the story opened in 2018 when the youngest owner of the property had a stone cross erected on the same spot. Various sources (correspondence, brochures, newspaper articles, later reflections and reports) give an exciting insight into the discourses at the time of the apparitions as well as into the holiness-history of the place to the present day.

Cet article, publié en 1997, est un résumé de ma thèse de doctorat de l’Université de Paris I, Les prêtres mariés sous la Révolution française, dirigée par Michel Vovelle et soutenue en 1995. Un livre tiré de ma thèse, "Noces révolutionnaires, le mariage des prêtres en France (1789-1815)" est paru en juin 2017 aux Editions Vendémiaire. Le deuxième volume de ma thèse comportant près de 4200 notices biographiques de prêtres qui se sont mariés entre 1791 et 1816 est consultable sur le site internet de la Fondation Napoléon à http://digitalbooks.napoleon.org/book/index.php?collection=FNAP_PRETRESMARIES#

Beim Synodalen Weg gibt es die Tendenz, Pädokriminalität in der Kirche als Folge einer zu rigiden katholischen Sexualmoral zu betrachten. Das beste Gegenmittel wäre, heißt es, eine Lockerung der Lehre. Dabei liegt der Schlüssel woanders: im Vergleich mit außerkirchlichen Missbrauchsfällen sowie in der Ausbildung der Priester.

During an ongoing reform of parish staff led by the Church authorities ofthe Russian Orthodox Church, new positions in parishes are establishing, that of religious educator (catechist), social worker and youth worker. The principal object of this activation of parish life through structural changes is transforming parishes into missionary centers. Nevertheless, not always and not everywhere this initiative is welcomed enthusiastically or results in intensification of social, missionary and youth activities. In fact, many parishes followed the requisitions only nominally. In that context, it is only logical to consider the experience of the Catholic Church, where laypersons over half a century are holding established positions in parishes, including posts with the same responsibilities. However, if in the Russian Church the attempts to involve laypersons in parish work and emerge their role are not only conditioned but also motivated mostly by purely practical reasons, the idea of Church ministry of laypersons in the Catholic Church is based on profound theological foundations. The author sets forth premises of establishment of the parish positions for laypeople in the Catholic Church, introduced mainly at Vatican II. For this, he considers the change in expressing the idea of hierarchical structure of the Church, the council's teaching on Church ministry and relationship between priests and laity. As an example of the practical realization of these theological premises, the author cites the German Catholic Church, where due to limited number of priests lay activity in parishes is widely spread and is quite versatile.
Keywords: Second Vatican Council, ecclesiology, Catholic Church, priesthood, lay people, parish, Church ministry, catechumenate, mission, youth work.

With the state of priestly culture in need of serious reform, this article assesses that foundations of associations of diocesan priestly common life.  We argue that they not only are a legitimate form of priestly fraternity, but that they in fact have a specific role in combating self-reliance individualism, the enemy of priestly fraternity.  With this, we conclude by suggesting the need for encouraging these associations with more energy and urgency.

The last Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis was published in 1970 and updated in 1985. In the meantime, and particularly under the effect of the rapid changes in the modern world, the historical, socio-cultural and ecclesial contexts have changed, in which the priest is called to make manifest the mission of Christ and the Church. This has also led to significant changes in related matters: the image or the view of the priest, the spiritual needs of the People of God, the challenges of the new evangelisation, and the languages of communication, to name just a few. In this situation, it seemed that priestly formation needed to be relaunched, renewed and returned to the centre. On 8 December 2016, therefore, the Congregation for the Clergy published the new Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis, a tool for the formation of priests. It has taken up the contents, methods and approaches presented so far in the field of formation, updating them and introducing new elements. The document restates the guidelines offered in the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis regarding an integrated formation of seminarians. In this formation, the formators and professors are called to demonstrate the close relationship between theology, the spiritual life and the pastoral ministry. This is so in order that the candidate for the priesthood might become a good shepherd of the People of God and have a compassionate and merciful heart like Christ.

Il testo vuole incarnare una possibile mediazione tra universi culturali lontani ed essere una lettura propedeutica per chi intenda addentrarsi nella tematica, lasciando che la fede cristiana s’interroghi liberamente sul ‘gender’. Un approccio sereno e critico sia alla cultura laica di genere – della quale si esaminano i nodi principali – sia a quella cattolica, con l’intento di superare le reciproche diffidenze e cercare insieme una verità umanizzante per tutti. L’obiettivo è gettare delle basi condivisibili su cui costruire una sintesi teologica più ampia. Un testo che, nell’esaminare i nodi teoretici, volge lo sguardo alla recente campagna ‘anti-gender’, cercando di fornire le coordinate utili a svelenire il clima e muoversi al suo interno con padronanza di lessico e concettualità. In questo senso, l’opera vuole essere uno strumento per formatori, pastori e attivisti che vogliano introdursi nella complessità senza scorciatoie, per cogliere la ricchezza del ‘pensiero di genere’: nell’orizzonte della promozione di un benessere comunitario e individuale.

The unknown author of Hebrews uses the hapax legomenon θεράπων in his reference to Moses as a "servant" when he contrasts Moses with Jesus in Heb 3:1-6. He states that Moses was faithful as a servant (θεράπων) in God's house, whereas Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. Why did the author of Hebrews choose this particular term? Through a study of the use of θεράπων in the literature from antiquity specifically the cultic and prophetic elements associated with the termit might be concluded that the author of Hebrews deliberately employs this term for Moses in order to depict him as a religious or temple servant, as a priest in the service of Christ, the "Son".

Rome matters. Roman religion is, basically, the religion of one of the hundreds of Mediterranean city states. Many features of this type of territorially bound religion, centred around a politically independent community, characterise Roman religion down to the end of antiquity. However, Roman cults, gods, iconography, rituals, texts, were exported to many places throughout the Roman Empire. A change of the point of view produces similarly ambivalent results. Many of the religious traditions or concepts that attracted people in Rome originated outside of Rome and were shared by many non-Romans. At the same time, even the major religious traditions of antiquity gained distinct features at Rome and these Roman varieties informed developments outside Rome. After all, Rome was a capital, politically for the Imperium Romanum, religiously not only for the cult of the Capitoline triad, but for Isis or Christianity as well. It is one of the many attractions of the theme of “Roman religion” that in dealing with the traditions of a metropolis (and its growing “hinterland”) we are able to look into transformations reaching far beyond. At the same time we are reminded of one of the truths of modern globalisation: place and local culture matters.
Religion matters. Ancient religion is not longer the object of – at best – antiquarian research, interested in “Altertümer” and pre-rational behaviour, i. e. the European exotic. With the cultural and the following “turns,” religious institutions, signs and practices, religious mentalities and language, have come to the centre of mainstream historical and literary studies. Thus, analysis of religion itself can no longer be handled as an isolated sector of culture but has to be contextualized within its cultural, social, and economic setting and has to be analysed for its political function and its use in legitimating power or resistance.

Aims
The volume aims to help its readers
- put the manifold religious symbols, discourses, practices, which they encounter in literally every field of ancient studies, into a larger framework;
- offer a broad range of methodological approaches to seemingly intransigent phenomena; the presuppositions and limits of these approaches will be made explicit;
- offer basic information about the most important religious symbols and institutions; and
- attempt at coherent narratives, yet not to formulate new orthodoxies, but rather to suggest that narrative is an important form of historical explanation and a didactically useful tool.

La thèse de Irene Majo Garigliano, soutenue en 2015, est consacrée aux Brahmanes du complexe de temple de Kāmākhyā, et plus particulièrement aux relations sociales et économiques qui s’engendrent parmi les Brahmanes eux-mêmes, ainsi qu’entre Brahmanes et pèlerins.
L’étude a le but d’analyser les différents rôles que les Brahmanes revêtent en livrant leurs nombreux services, en tenant compte du chiffre croissant de pèlerins qui visitent le complexe de temple de Kāmākhyā. Ceci est considéré par de nombreux hindous comme l’un des sanctuaires les plus puissants de la Devī (déesse) et reçoit chaque jour des milliers de pèlerins provenant de plusieurs régions de l’Asie du Sud.
La thèse analyse aussi un litige (1997-2015) parmi les Brahmanes,  concernant l’administration du complexe de temples. L’analyse se focalise sur les dynamiques économiques et politiques qui ont porté à l’émergence des deux groupes opposés, ainsi que sur la rhétorique employée par chaque groupe.

Violence occupies a paradoxical place in Tibetan tantric Buddhism. Although the ethical imperative of not harming beings is absolutely central, there is also a darker face to tantric ritual activity, a face of power and violence: the repelling and destruction of harmful agents. An entire ritual machinery is deployed to ward off or kill hostile demons, or sometimes "enemies" of indeterminate nature — agressive magic is not absent. Wrathful protective deities are summoned to kill, to beat, to reduce to pieces... How can we understand that this violent modality can occupy quite an important place in certain Buddhist contexts?

The question is all the more intriguing that there exists a type of Tibetan religious specialist that (beyond a substantial overlap with the monk in terms of religious profile and activity) is quite strongly associated with this ethically problematic side of ritual activity: the ngakpa (sngags-pa), or tantrist. As opposed to the monk, this specialist of tantric rituals does not take monastic vows, and lives as a householder. Tantrists typically constitute patrilineal family lineages, with descent, not renunciation, as a key structuring feature of their socioreligious universe. How are we to understand that a Buddhist religious specialist is associated with a specialization in violent rituals? In order to answer this question, this book takes us to a village community of tantrists situated in the Himalayan borderlands of the Tibetan cultural area, in a high valley of northern Nepal. The anthropological examination of these specialists and their society, of their rituals and their moral dilemmas, and of the contrasts between tantrists and their monastic counterparts, enables to identify elements of larger (social, religious, moral) coherence underlying the association of tantrists with rituals of violence. This substantial contribution to the anthropology of Tibetan Buddhism brings new insights to our thinking on ritual violence and exorcism. Through the analysis of the duality of the monk and the tantrist, and of the associated polarity of moral purity vs. ritual power, it also contributes to the anthropology of complex religious fields marked by the coexistence of different forms of religious specialization. Finally, it also engages in a sustained reflection on a properly anthropological approach to the textual component (such as the ritual manuals) of this local religious sphere.

Note:
- The attached PDF contains the front matter, Introduction, Index and Table of Contents.
- The book's illustrations are in black and white, but the color plates can be downloaded here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/320225/Sihle_Rituels_Color-Plates.pdf
- The publisher's webpage for book orders is here: http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503544700-1

FROM PRESBYTER TO PR1EST:
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF MINISTRY
SUMMARY
In the Acts of the Apostles, the terms episkopos and presbyteros are used interchangeably. In the early Church which spread thanks to smali communities (house churches), both terms signified the leaders of these communities. They fulfilled various other supplementary roles in the community, presiding also over celebrations of the Eucharist. Initially, the communities had one leader who was assisted by deacons. The situation later became more complex when se- veral communities were present in the same town and each was presided over by its own bishop/presbyter. This lead to the gradual distinction of the respective functions of bishops and presbyters.
However, in the eyes of contemporary Christians, none of these functions merited the title of priest (hiereus). This title was referred, on the one hand, to Christ (Letter to the Hebrews) and, on the other, to the whole community, to the common priesthood of all the baptised. Even later, for example for Tertulian, the priesthood is a characteristic of the whole people, whereas the hierarchy is a matter of good order. The testimonies of the Fathers up to the end of the 3rd century confirm the fact that bishops and presbyters were seen as leaders and teachers of the communities. They possessed the privilege of presiding over the Eucharist, whereby there is no evidence that this function could be delegated. The Holy Mass is understood as the sacrifice of the Church, not as that of the bishop/presbyter.
Old Testament formulations conceming priests and sacrifices were related to all the baptised in an allegorical way. Only in the case of Cyprian of Carthage do we find bishops and presbyters being called "priests" directly. The situation began to change diametrically in the 4th century. After the recognition of Christianity as one of the religions of the Empire, bishops receive a status eąual to the priests of other religions, with the Emperor as the high priest (pon- tifex). Moreover, the rejection of the allegorical methods of exegesis by the Fathers of the school of Antioch meant that Old Testament texts about priests were now applied literally to Christian priests. Form this period on, churches are called "temples" and Bishops high "priests".
The appeal of Pope Coelestinus I seems to be an exception. He admonished the bishops of Gaul not to put on special vestments for the celebration of the Eucharist. It was becoming common practice to cali bishops and presbyters "priests"; the terminology was sometimes carried over to deacons as well.
It is not possible to reverse historical processes. However, it is worth attempting to under- stand these processes and draw appropriate conclusions.

4Approchez-vous de Christ, la pierre vivante rejetée par les hommes mais choisie et précieuse devant Dieu, 5et vous-mêmes, en tant que pierres vivantes, laissez-vous édifier pour former une maison spirituelle, un groupe de prêtres saints, afin d'offrir des sacrifices spirituels que Dieu peut accepter par Jésus-Christ. 6En effet, il est dit dans l'Écriture : Je mets dans Sion une pierre angulaire, choisie, précieuse. Celui qui croit en elle n'en aura jamais honte.

7Elle est donc précieuse pour vous qui croyez. Quant à ceux qui désobéissent, la pierre rejetée par ceux qui construisaient est devenue la pierre angulaire. 8Elle est aussi une pierre qui fait obstacle et un rocher propre à faire trébucher. Ils s'y heurtent parce qu'ils désobéissent à la parole, et c'est à cela qu'ils ont été destinés. 9Vous, au contraire, vous êtes un peuple choisi, des prêtres royaux, une nation sainte, un peuple racheté afin de proclamer les louanges de celui qui vous a appelés des ténèbres à sa merveilleuse lumière. 10Vous qui autrefois n'étiez pas un peuple, vous êtes maintenant le peuple de Dieu ; vous qui n'aviez pas obtenu compassion, vous avez maintenant obtenu compassion.

The memorial of the saints through the course of the year is the most obvious
manifestation in the liturgical tradition of the cult offered the saints. References
to specific saints are found, however, in Catholic and Orthodox liturgies, most
importantly in the eucharistic prayers or anaphoras. Other liturgical celebrations
include the invocation of the saints in the form of more or less developed litanies:
the Paschal vigil, baptisms, ordinations and religious professions, consecration of
virgins, abbots or abbesses, celebration at the opening of a diocesan synod, various
consecrations of buildings and liturgical objects, and exorcisms. The saints are
mentioned, finally, though without specific names, in the Confiteor of penitential
liturgies (mass, sacrament of reconciliation, anointing of the sick, compline). The
goal of this article is to attend to certain ecclesiological dimensions when someone
decides to add or suppress this or that saint in a litany at an ordination.

Luther’s conception of “universal priesthood” played a major role in the history of the Protestant church. His thought, however, was misunderstood in many ways among modern scholarship. This essay aims to show the development of Luther’s doctrine of universal priesthood, and in so doing it will unpack various meanings of the doctrine. In his three major 1520 works, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and The Freedom of a Christian, Luther formulated the doctrine through a provocative exegesis of important scriptural verses such as 1 Peter 2:9 and 1 Corinthians 14:29. His view, however, was changed through his experience of a series of historical events; Thomas Müntzer and the “Zwickau prophets” used violence to defend their opinions, and the German Peasants’ War resulted in a great massacre. Then Luther clearly saw the ignorant cruelty of lay people and toned down his previous doctrine on universal priesthood. Luther abandoned or changed the main points of his exegesis of the scriptural verses that he endorsed for the doctrine in 1520. He argued that ministers of the word can be ordained not by lay people but by the national church, that only those who are formally ordained can preach the word of God, and only preachers can judge the sermons of other preachers. It is certain that Luther’s doctrine of universal priesthood was altered in many respects by the end of the 1520’s. In sum, one can get the true meaning and implication of Luther’s doctrine of universal priesthood better through this historical perspective.
루터의 만인 제사장직 교리는 오직 성경, 오직 은혜, 이신칭의 등의 교리와 함께 개신교의 근간을 형성해 온 중요한 교리이다. 이 교리는 그러나 많은 오해 속에서 제대로 이해되지 못하였다. 루터의 이 사상은 시간 속의 변화를 고려할 때 제대로 이해할 수 있다. 루터는 1520년의 세 주요 작품 즉, 『독일 귀족들에게』(8월), 『교회의 바벨론 포로』(10월), 『그리스도인의 자유』(11월)에서 만인 제사장직 교리를 전개하였다. 이 작품들에서 그는 모든 그리스도인은 세례와 더불어 왕 같은 제사장으로 임명된다고 주장하였고, 사제직과 일반 신자들 사이에는 그 어떤 위계적 차이도 존재하지 않는다고 역설하였다. 일반 신자들도 성경을 해석할 수 있으며, 교회에 문제가 있을 시에 교황뿐 아니라 군주들도 공의회를 소집할 수 있다고 루터는 강조하였다. 무엇보다 그는 모든 기독교인들이 제사장으로서 성찬식에서 떡과 포도주를 다 받을 수 있다고 주장했다. 모든 신자들은 서로를 위해서 제사장 역할을 해야 한다. 이것이 1520년에 루터가 가졌던 만인 제사장 이론이다. 그러나 그로부터 10년이 지나는 가운데 루터는, 뮌처 사건, 농민전쟁 등을 겪게 된다. 또한 일반 신자들의 무지함 때문에 무분별하게 세워진 목회자들의 증가로 교회가 혼란을 겪는 것을 목도한다. 그리하여 루터는 이제 1520년의 견해를 약화시키거나 또는 철회하였다. 루터는 만인 제사장직 교리에서 인용했던 구절들을 다르게 해석하면서, 공적으로 임명 받은 사역자만이 설교할 수 있으며, 목사의 임명은 회중들에 의해서만 이뤄질 수 없고 국가교회의 위임이 필수적이라고 주장한다. 또한 그는 다른 사람의 설교를 제대로 판단할 수 있는 사람은 일반 신도들이 아니라 설교자라고 역설하였다. 이처럼 루터는 만인 제사장직 교리에 대한 자신의 입장을 변화시켰다. 이런 변화를 제대로 관찰할 때, 루터의 만인 제사장직 교리가 가지는 현대적 의의 역시 올바르게 간취할 수 있을 것이다.

Neither the Apostles nor any Christian minister is admitted to use the priest’s title in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless, in the New Testament we can perceive the development of the doctrine of the priest ministry in the early Church. Albert Vanhoye maintains that the lack of the term “priest” in the New Testament suggests the way of understanding of the Christian ministry, different from this in the Old Testament. It can’t be considered as a continuation of Jewish priesthood, which was concentrated mainly on ritual action and ceremonies. In the first century the Church developed the Christology of priesthood (Hbr) and ecclesiology of priesthood (1 P). Early Christians focused first on the redemptive event of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. Only then the religious communities adopted the priest’s title for their ministry. In the early years of the Church, all the ministries were regarded as a charismatic service among the Christian communities. In their services the early Christians followed Jesus Christ sent by God to serve. The Holy Spirit sent by God in the name of Jesus bestowed the spiritual gifts upon the Church (1 Kor 12–13). Consequently the disciples of Jesus and their successors could continue his mission. The Twelve Apostles’ ministry was the very first and most important Christian ministry. It was closely connected to the service of Jesus Christ himself. The Apostles were sent by the authority of Jesus Christ to continue his mission upon earth and they preached the Good News of the risen Christ. The Apostolicity was the fundamental base for every Church ministry established in different Christian communities. Successive ministries were established in order to transmit the teaching of Jesus Christ and to lead the community. For the early Christians the priesthood was not an individual privilege. It had rather the community character.

This publication is the first complete obituary of the Košice Archdiocese. The book contains the names of almost 1,700 diocesan priests, bishops, deacons, and seminarians who have died since the founding of the diocese to this day (1804 - 2022). The book is intended primarily for prayer for these deceased. All data have been verified by several years of historical-archival research, so this obituary is a reliable and authentic source for the cultivation of historical memory and Košice's identity.

Ez a kiadvány a Kassai Főegyházmegye első teljes nekrológiumja. A könyv közel 1700 egyházmegyei pap, püspök, diakónus és kispap nevét tartalmazza, akik az egyházmegye megalapítása óta máig hunytak el (1804-2022). A könyv elsősorban ezekért a halottakért való imádkozáshoz szolgál. Minden adat többéves történeti-levéltári kutatás eredménye, ezért a nekrológium egyben a történelmi emlékezet és a kassai identitás ápolásának autentikus és hiteles forrása.

Diese Publikation ist das erste vollständige Nekrologium der Erzdiözese Košice (Kaschau). Das Buch enthält die Namen von fast 1.700 Diözesanpriestern, Bischöfen, Diakonen und Seminaristen, die seit Gründung der Diözese bis heute (1804 - 2022) verstorben sind. Das Buch ist vor allem zum Gebet für diese Verstorbenen bestimmt. Alle Daten wurden durch mehrjährige historisch-archivische Forschung verifiziert, daher ist dieses Nekrologium eine zuverlässige und authentische Quelle für die Pflege des historischen Gedächtnisses und der Identität von Košice.

This is a talk I gave to a group of seminarians and theology students who were visiting the campus of Holy Cross, where I teach. While I do not normally post sermons and church talks on Academia, the discussion of Luke's account of the Visitation is part of my work on the Mother of God in the patristic and Byzantine tradition, and seemed worth sharing with interested readers.