Synods were an opportunity for the Church to listen to and dialogue between clergy and laity at the local level. In antiquity, they raised important doctrinal and disciplinary issues in the Church in the context of emerging heresies. The documents of these synods still constitute a unique source of theological research. The Katowice synods of 1972-1975 and 2012-2016 expressed common concern “for being the Church and being in the Church”.

The article presents the forms of synodality in the different strands of Christianity: in the Eastern (Orthodox and Oriental), Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist and Evangelical Churches. The main mechanisms operating in the different denominations and their theological justification are indicated. This experience can inspire the Catholic search for living out synodality and the co-responsibility of all the baptized for the life and mission of the community.
The text contains exemplary models of synodality in specific groups of Churches and Christian communities, and at the same time attempts to formulate postulates for discussion in the Catholic Church. Thus, on the one hand, the work has a reporting and systematizing character, and on the other hand, it can provoke conversation about the synod and synodality as the normal functioning of the community of the baptized.

The institution of the religious chapter has a centuries-old tradition. From the beginning it has been inseparably connected to the development of the various forms of consecrated life. Over the centuries it has taken on different specificities depending on the proposed spirituality. In the context of the synodal process launched in the Catholic Church on the 9^th of October 2021 under the theme “Towards a Synodal Church: communion, participation, mission” and the preparations for the 16^th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the religious chapter provides an example of how to put synodality, properly understood, into practice. In the course of several centuries of its development, detailed norms have been created, now contained in the legislation of the Universal Church as well as and in particular law, which osobowy, zasady proceduralne i czas odbywania kapituł. Zostało to ukazane na przykładzie zgromadzenia salwatorianów. Oby osoby i instytucje zaangażowane w proces synodalny chciały czerpać z wielowiekowej tradycji sprawdzonej instytucjonalnej formy zarządzania, uczestnictwa i odpowiedzialności.

Der Beitrag stellt kompakt die weltkirchlichen Impulse zur Synodalität im Pontifikat von Papst Franziskus vor. Sodann wird der zweistufige, neunjährige synodale Prozess im Erzbistum Vrhbosna (Sarajevo) beschrieben, mit der Zielsetzung, das methodische Herangehen wie auch das Erreichen eines Ergebnisses zu besprechen. Zuletzt wird kurz reflektiert, dass die weltkirchlichen Impulse in der bosnisch-herzegowinischen Synode sichtbar sind.

In the document Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church published in 2018 International Theological Commission presents synodality as a way of life and activities of the Church. In the light of this document one can see how intuitions regarding the synodal process were realized in the Church of Katowice during II Synod of Archdiocese of Katowice in 2012-2016. These intuitions refer maily to two basic spheres: spiritual experience of the Church as a community of faith where everyone is exhorted to participate and share responsibility, as well as an institutional organization that allows the voice of everyone eager to participate in the discussion about the local church to be heard. This article presents the stages of community-based discernment of the Spirit of God (the process of synodal work) as well as particular formative and organizational activities undertaken during II Synod.

Synodality is one of the elements of the identity of ecclesial communities and thus of the whole Church. Pope Francis sees synodality as a challenge to the Church in the third Christian millennium. The culmination of his concern for the renewal of synodality in the Church is the convened XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, whose theme is: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission”. The Synod was inaugurated in Rome on 9-10 October 2021. Synodality, however, is not a new phenomenon. From the very beginning of the Church, it has been essential for her life, for decision-taking and decision-making (Acts: 15). One of the basic forms of synods is diocesan synods. One of them is the Third Post-War Synod of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, which took place in the years 1995-2000. The aim of this study is to show the timeliness of the reflections of the Synod of Gniezno in relation to the problem of renewal of contemporary parishes. The article consists of three parts: (1) the presentation of the synod, (2) the synodal theology of the parish, (3) the model of parish renewal. The teaching of the Synod has been compared with the contemporary teaching of the Church. This comparison confirmed the thesis about the topicality of the reflections of the Gniezno Synod.

Synodality is an integral part of the nature of the Church. It is, however, not so much an event or a slogan, but rather a style of life and an approach through which the Church lives out her evangelizing mission in the world. In the implementation of this mission, the Pastoral Council has a particular role to play in the parish. However, for it to truly fulfil its role in building the parish into a community of communities it must be based on the three essential pillars of the synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission. The article shows how these three dimensions emerge from the Church’s teaching, what the actual situation is and what are the essential facts that influence the Parish Pastoral Council to serve the synodal life in the parish.

The value of cooperation between the clergy and lay people in the Church cannot be overestimated. The Church, realizing Christ’s mission of salvation, needs the involvement of all its members. Both the clergy and lay people should engage in dialogue, which requires awareness of one’s place, role, and duties within the Church community. Cooperation demands constant self-improvement, with its new forms and planes. This issue has gained significance in the light of the Synod of Bishops: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”, convened by Pope Francis. The Synod has a new formula, based on listening to all the members of the Church. A special role in the synodal process is attributed to lay Catholics. The article attempts to discuss cooperation between the clergy and lay people in the Church in the context of the Synod of Bishops. It presents the synodal process and points to the most important planes of cooperation as well as challenges and hindrances it may encounter.

The article discusses the theological basis for planned action in pastoral care. He sees the source of planning in God’s plan of salvation as reflected in the biblical texts. He compares the meaning of planning in the Church with planning in the secular sphere, pointing out similarities and fundamental differences. Pastoral planning is a facilitator for receiving God’s grace. In the first place, it is a help in leading the Church to salvation. In the last paragraph, the author presents selected examples of pastoral planning.

Bishop Michał Klepacz played a key role in the projects of the Polish Conference of Bishops after Second World War. Appointed as a bishop of Łódź diocese in 1946, he was called to be a member of the General Committee of the Polish Conference of Bishops. His duties were directly related to the work of the Committee responsible for talks between the representatives of the Polish Government (PRL) and the Polish Episcopate (1949-1967). He was also a member of various committees: the Theological Studies Committee overseeing Church Faculties and Seminaries (member in 1947-1951 and chairman in 1951-1953/1956), which was later changed to Academic and Seminary Committee (chairman in 1959-1967), School Committee (member in 1947-1953/1956), Press Committee (member in 1950-1953/1956), and Vatican Council Committee (member in 1959-1967). Bishop Klepacz played a major role in the last committee because he participated in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. The bishop of Łódź was also a key figure of the Polish Episcopate during the imprisonment and isolation of the Primate of Poland Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński (1953-1956). He was chosen to be the President of the Polish Conference of Bishops at the time of direct interference of the government (PRL) into the Church matters. During that time, he achieved the following: 1) drafted general direction and content of the pastoral teaching; 2) shaped difficult relationship with the government (PRL); 3) controlled and managed chapter vicars with the authority of bishops in the Western and Northern Territory; 4) supervised the activities of the religious societies. Difficult decisions undertaken by the President of the Polish Conference of Bishops at the time of complicated socio-political context call for new biographical studiem encompassing the governance of bishop Michał Klepacz in its entirety.

The author devoted this article to the issue of preparing a homily on the basis of euchological texts. He found the inspiration in the Homiletical Directorate published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in 2015. This inspiration was provoked by the impression that they were given too little space in the above-mentioned directorate, especially the possible methods to be used in a view of the preparation of the homily. The directorium talks that to the spectrum inspiring homiletic creativity include, in addition to the readings from the Bible, typically liturgical texts, and above all, euchological formulas, nevertheless a more accurate reading of the document provokes an impression that the attention focused on biblical readings was definitely dominant in. The proposed method is developed from the patristic exegesis of the spiritual meanings of the Holy Scriptures lectio divina. In this method it is about biblical texts that belong to the canon of inspired books. Euchological formulas belong to an open catalog of texts. This is the reason of the thesis that the lectio divina method can be used as a model in the work on prayer formulas, still one should reach the methods typical of liturgical hermeneutics. The content of the study proposes making use of, while working on a homily on the basis of the euchological texts, the historical-critical and the linguistic methods. The combination of these methods allows a view of how the  methodological steps correspond with each other, and thus confirm the rationality of the conducted argument, and the justification for the need to use adequate methods.

This study has been given the status of an “introduction” to the reading of the instruction issued in 2020 by the Congregation for the Clergy, entitled Pastoral conversion of the parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church. Hence reading this study cannot replace reading the document itself, but it is intended to arouse a desire for personal contact with the document. The purpose of this contact is to get acquainted with its content, which places high priority on the need for pastoral conversion in various areas of both life and pastoral activity of parish communities, established in order to effectively serve the evangelizing mission of the Church. Having devoted ourselves to such a reading of the discussed study, we will find in its content many indispensable guidelines, inspiring to give to the contemporary parish pastoral care a shape adequate to the needs and problems of today’s world.

The article focuses on the Message of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops of November 18, 1965 and one of its main initiators, Cardinal Bolesław Kominek. Although a relatively substantial number of texts that had been published on the content of the Message, in today’s narrative and information on this subject, the theological reflection that touches upon the deepest layers of the Message becomes blurred; it is no longer within the scope of interest of sociologists, political scientists or historians. Their attention was focused mainly on learning about the transformation processes of Polish-German reconciliation and its socio-political consequences. The article – bringing back the atmosphere of those years – emphasizes the fact that at the root of the disputes and divisions of the time, there was a widespread misunderstanding of the theological dimension of the words concerning forgiveness.

Liturgical books were and still are composed for liturgy and used in liturgy. They are an indispensable element of the liturgical celebration. The texts contained therein are an integral part of every celebrated mystery. The liturgical book can also be understood in a broader sense as a document containing liturgical texts. On the other hand, the document itself is not used in the liturgy. It serves as a collection of prayers which the Church is using during the celebration of the sacraments. For the Roman liturgy, the key documents are, inter alia, the speech of St. Leo the Great (440-460) and the sacramentaries. In the sacramentaries, the bishop or the priest who celebrated the liturgy found the texts of prayers used during the liturgy. The document discussed in the article is a source document for liturgical texts. We are dealing here with a collection that does not contain prayers intended directly for use in the liturgy, but is more a collection of latin orations from different periods of time.

One cannot be reminded enough that authentic Christian prayer is firmly rooted in the faith and practice of the Church. For the believer prayer constitutes a religious space of communion with God of the Covenant and an act of solidarity with his neighbour. Against this background, the author of the article first addresses the problem of the false and unacceptable idea of Christian prayer. Then he presents approaches to prayer in the soteriological space of revelation, characteristic feature of which is its dialogical structure. Finally, he offers theological reflections on the real meaning of intercessory prayer for the living and the dead. Referring to the testimony of the Silesian mystical poet of the Baroque period Angelus Silesius, he finally draws readers’ attention to the specific dimension of prayer, which starts from the silence of the believer’s heart and leads him to openness to the silence of God that saves man in a generous way.