L’articolo intitolato contiene uno breve studio teologico-biblico dedicato al problema del rapporto tra Paolo e il gruppo dei carismatici esistente a Corinto. Il tema dei carismi appartiene al gruppo dei problemi ledati alla formula “peri. de,”, che potrebbe suggerire che Paolo risponde alle domande poste dai Corinzi. Già la costruzione letteraria di 1 Cor 12–14 esprime un grande interesse di Paolo di poter convincere e non perdere le persone che vedono la loro funzione nella chiesa in maniera sbagliata. La lettura teologico-biblica di questi capitoli mette in evidenza tre caratteristiche principali dell’atteggiamento di Paolo. Alla luce di 1 Cor 12–14 Paolo appare come esperto nelle realtà spirituali, come pedagogo molto sensibile e come apostolo consapevole della sua responsabilità di fronte del bene comune – la chiesa.

L’articolo affronta il problema di esercitazioni bibliche che sono previste dal programma degli studi di teologia. Si parte dall’esame della posizione di esercitazioni nel processo didattico universitario. Poi si discute diverse proposte di tale esercitazioni durante lo studio di teologia che provengono da alcuni docenti delle facoltà teologiche in Polonia (W. Myszor, E. Adamiak, M. Baranowski). Prima di passare alla questione di esercitazioni collegate con lo studio della Bibbia, si verifica ancora richieste avanzate dai documenti ecclesiastici che riguardano questo tipo di attività negli studi biblici. Su questa base viene proposto un programma di esecitazioni bibliche, elaborato alla Facoltà di Teologia dell’Università Cattolica di Lublin.

Summa ratio argumenti scripti ad formam deitatis spectat, quae in imagine pagana infuscatum anthropomorphismi, negatum ab Arnobio, distincte habet. Omnis eius loci quaestio theologiae atque philosophiae propria, non solum in opera Arnobii Adversus Nationes continetur, sed etiam a Xenophane, Platone, Cicerone totaque philosophorum familia tractatus uberrime. Magno atque resoluto omnium formarum paganarum iudicio quae attinentes ad cultum deis dandum sunt, neophita de Sicca Veneria theologus negativus, non habens argumentum ultimum considerationes omnes in ea quaestione finiens esse videtur.

The lamentation ritual – filled with crying, dramatic gestures and shrieks – is common in many cultures. One of the best examples is ancient Egypt where this custom was part of qereset nefret – „the good/beautiful burial” – and is represented on many reliefs and paintings. This tradition was continued in Egypt in Greco-Roman period. Some literary sources suggest that the custom was also practiced in Christian times even though the Church officially banned it. The lives of St. Pachomius and St. Shenoute of Atripe mention that the monks were mourning at the moment of their superior’s death. The dirges recited by them contain two main elements: the praise of the dead and the complaint of the living who feel abandoned and call themselves orphans. This fact corresponds well with the ethnological data from many other cultures where the dirge is constructed of the same elements. The text of the dirge was placed sometimes on the Coptic funerary stelae. The inscriptions of this kind come from the Antinoe area and can be dated back to the second half of 8th century. Mostly they are autobiographical texts, describing death as a tragedy and using quotations from the Old Testament. They show similarities to many of the ancient Egyptian dirges. It is possible that the lamentation rituals were practiced in the Coptic period although the sources are too scant to state it with certainty or to describe the range of this custom in Christian times.

Afrahat, le „Sage Persan” (260/275-345), dans sa Demonstratio de ieiunio, a développé le sujet du jeûne. Ses considérations font suite à la discussion sur la foi et l’amour qui les a abordés dans ses premiers deux traités. Les Demonstrationes ne vise pas directement les juifs; ils sont d’abord adressés aux membres de l’Ordre, pour qu’ils rassurent la foi inquiète de la communauté. Dans l’ Exposé du jeûne le Sage Persan n’entre pas en controverse avec ceux qui veulent pratiquer le jeûne le même jour que les juifs. Il se refuse à adopter la problématique des jours, et se contente d’inviter à la conversion à l’exemple de Jésus. Afrahat montre la maison de foi et d’amour qui se remplit par les bonnes oeuvres du jeûne et de la prière. Par les preuves scripturaires et les témoins bibliques le Sage essaye à persuader que les différentes privations matérielles ne prennent sens et valeur que si le coeur est pur, c’est-à-dire non mêlé de dulicité ou de méchanceté.

Works by B. Altaner, P. Evdokimov, W. Beinert, Cz. Bartnik and many others refer to Irenaeus’ teaching on salvation as the deification of man. However, as Irenaeus himself never used the word “deification”, a question arises whether the statement is legitimate. On the one hand, Irenaeus is, indeed, the first theologian who took up a comprehensive reflection on the interrelation between incarnation and salvation, and he perceived salvation as a transformation of the whole human nature, not only as the gift of liberation from sin and resurrection granted to man. Yet, the very concept of deification (theopoiesis, theosis) was developed by the Alexandrian theological circles, while Irenaeus belonged to the Asian tradition, whose philosophical and theological assumptions were essentially different. Irenaeus peceived man as primarily the flesh: human nature is carnal, and only as such it is endowed with mind and spirit. The Alexandrians regarded human nature as spiritual. Thus, to Irenaeus, salvation is mainly salus carnis, while the Alexandrians saw salvation as salus animae. When Irenaeus wrote about man who was to become a son of God, he meant the community between man and God, and not a promise of unification of their natures. The idea of theosis, on the other hand, assumes that human nature (which is spiritual) is transformed to become like God’s, coming ever closer and finally uniting with it.

That is why publications on the history of theology, and especially soteriology, should not ascribe the idea of deification to Irenaeus. Presenting Irenaeus’ teaching in that way creates confusion rather than explains his thoughts. 

The purpose of this paper is to present the process that led the principle of solidarity, initially pointed against the Church and her essential value of charity, to be gradually incorporated into the social teaching of the Church, and become one of her fundamental principles and values. In particular, the origins of the principle and an important role of pope Pius XI at the beginning of the process are underlined, all the more since his contribution into social teaching is neither well known nor appreciated. The importance of the conception and principle of solidarity in the social teaching of the Church has grown over the last few decades and is now uncontestable. Nevertheless, to be reminded of the beginnings of this process make us aware that the social teaching needs continually to face the reality of the modern world with an open mind and free from fear. 

The history of the Jewish people in Poland has been a constant fight for their rights and privileges. It was particularly strong in the 19th century when it started with a few pledges sent by wealthy representatives of the Jewish community to the authorities of the Kingdom. They were denied because of the lack of knowledge of the Jewish culture and tradition as well as for the advantage of the rich bourgeois and the upper class.

However, the changes done in the economic and social spheres put forward the Jewish question as the second most important, after the peasantry, social issue of the 19th century. The imperial edict in June 1862 was the first act of the Jewish emancipation in the kingdom. It was a result of the aspirations of the government and it served as a tool to gain Jewish support for the tsarism. The execution of the emancipation act was strongly influenced by the attempts of certain Jewish social classes starting with the poor participating in political manifestations to the representatives defending Jewish interests in the State Council. The result of such attitudes was most importantly a significant participation of different Jewish groups in armed squads, executive insurgent groups and different forms of help in the uprising.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), the largest ecumenical organization, gathering the Churches of Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old-Catholic traditions, has so far published two documents dealing with the Holocaust. The first one, “The Christian Approach to the Jews” was issued by the General Assembly of the WCC in Amsterdam, in 1948. Remembering the Holocaust and inviting Christians to mission to Jews, it condemned anti-Jewish attitudes and it stated that the Churches in the past had helped to foster an image of the Jewish people as the sole enemy of Christ, which had contributed to the modern anti-Semitism in the secular world. The second document, “The Ecumenical Considerations on Jewish-Christian Dialogue”, announced by the Central Committee of the WCC in 1982, confirmed that Christian teachings of contempt for Jews and their religion in certain Churches’ traditions proved a breeding ground for the evil of the Nazi Holocaust. “The Considerations” contended that the Holocaust had deep-rooted socio-economic and political aspects. After the extermination of the Jewish people the Churches must learn so to preach and teach the Gospel as to make sure that it shall not be used to saw the seeds of contempt for Judaism and for the Jews. A further response to the Holocaust by Christians is a resolve that it will never happen again to the Jews or to any other people.

The article undertakes two critical topics that occurs currently in our country, namely unemployment and occupational emigration. Unemployment is a great sociological and psychological problem that has existed in Poland since 1990, and has become one of the crucial issues that needs effective solution. However during last two years the number of people without work has been rapidly decreasing, from about 17 per cent in 2006 to 11 per cent in 2008, the main reason of this variation refers to great occupational emigration, rather than to economical resolution. Moreover, the vision of potential return of temporary occupational emigrants leaves this problem still opened.

In dem 19. Jahrhundert erlebte Oppeln eine demografische Entwicklung, die bedeutend durch Erhöhung des Ranges der Stadt zum Sitz der Regierung für Oberschlesien, und Einschluss der Stadt an den Bahnnetz beschleunigt wurde. Wirtschaftsentwicklung, Industrialisierung brachten die Veränderungen in der Beschäftigungsstruktur mit sich, die stark das Stadtleben veränderten. Nicht anderes war auch in Oppeln. Trotz der Veränderungen blieb die Zahl der schon hinter der Armutsgrenze lebenden Einwohner permanent relativ hoch. Der Text ist der organisierten Wohltätigkeit in der Stadt Oppeln gewidmet. In Betracht wurden nur Frauenvereine genommen, die in dem Zeitraum angefangen von 1832 – das Gründungsjahr der ersten modernen karitativen Frauengruppe in Oppeln – bis zum Ausbruch des ersten Weltkrieges entstanden, oder tätig waren. Das Ziel war die volle Liste dieser Organisationen aufzustellen, und sie genauer in Bezug auf Mitgliedschaft und Tätigkeitsbereich zu erforschen, um die jegliche Entwicklungsgänge in der freien Wohltätigkeit zu durchleuchten.