Mother of God

Along with the veneration of the main shrine in the Anthony-Siysk Monastery, the Trinity, by tradition associated with its founder, in the 17th century the miraculous image of the Mother of God Hodegetria became famous in it, the fate of which remains unknown. It was a big icon of the refectory Church of the Annunciation, which miraculously survived the devastating fire of 1658. A detailed account of this event was recorded on a board under the image, the text of which was reproduced by Bishop. Macarius (1878). The content and form of this entry fully corresponds to one of the stories of the version of the life of Anthony of Siysk, edited no later than 1666, written by Abbot Theodosius. The cycle of miracles added by him ends with the "Legend of the Hodegetria icon ..." (BAS, Arkhang. S. 118). The tablet under the icon, almost literally repeats the text of the monastery Chronicler (Arkhang. D 375), where the fire is described in detail and the story of the miracle is included. A version is proposed about the time of the appearance of the icon in the monastery and its possible masters. Census books and brief references in pre-revolutionary literature made it possible to trace the history of its existence, special attention is paid to the reconstruction of the iconographic and artistic features of the lost monument.

The Council of Ephesus in 431 declared Mary the Mother of God. This doctrine is rooted in the Christian faith in the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and God himself. But one has long wondered if it had not been influenced by the worship of mother goddesses in paganism. Several indices seriously indeed make a plausible link between the epithet "Mother of God" granted to Isis in Egypt and the title Theotokos assigned to the Virgin Mary.

“It is well-known that the Synod of Diamper (1599) brought about several radical changes in the life and mores of the Christians of the Serra or Malabar. It also introduced several changes in their liturgy. Here is a book that studies them methodically and in detail in the light of documents [...]. The present work is a rich storehouse of information for the student and a ready handbook for the scholar [...]. With the present work Msgr. Paul Pallath has supplied a very useful tool for the study of the Synod of Diamper in its enactments regarding the Syro-Malabar liturgy”.
- Orientalia Christiana Periodica, no. 1 (2009) 235-236.

“Pallath's work is useful not only as a study of the Syro-Malabar liturgy, as the title would suggest, but also as a review of the whole theology of the Syro-Malabar Church, which finds its best expression in the liturgy [...]. Given our dearth of information on the pre-Diamper period, any significant facts that shed light on the period are welcome. As it stands, Pallath's study affords an unusual glimpse into the Syro-Malabar Church from one of the best angles from which to study an Eastern Church, its liturgy”.
Gregorianum, vol. 92/3 (2011) 621.

[Unfortunately in this second edition of the book, in the schematic presentation of modifications (pages 100-104), numbers 15 and 25 are missing. So they are indicated here. No. 15, original text (in Priestly prayer of imposition of hands): “The sheep of your flock, which was bought through the great passion of your Christ”; Diamper text: “The sheep of your flock, which was bought through the great passion of Christ your Son”.
No. 25, original text (in G’hanta IV): “Your Church, redeemed by the blood of  Christ”; Diamper text: “Your Church, redeemed by the blood of your Son”].

IKONA - MATKA BOSKA TYCHWIŃSKA
XIX/XX w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, ryza mosiężna, giloszowana, szkło, 14 x 11 cm,
wymiary z kiotem: 20 x 17 cm
2
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KAZAŃSKA
XIX/XX w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, ryza mosiężna, srebrzona, szkło, 21 x 16,5 cm,
wymiary z kiotem: 28 x 23,5 cm
3
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KAZAŃSKA
189 9 - 19 0 8
Moskwa
tempera/deska, ryza srebrna, giloszowana, szkło, 13 x 11,5 cm,
wymiary z kiotem: 22,7 x 21 cm
na krawędzi ryzy znaki złotnicze: złotnik: ‘IK’(?) (pisane cyrylicą),
moskiewska punca probiercza, probierz ‘IL’ (pisane cyrylicą) - Iwan
Sjergiejewicz Lebiedkin, próba srebra ‘84’
estymacja: 1 600 - 3 000 PLN
400 - 700 EUR
estymacja: 1 800 - 4 000 PLN
500 - 1 000 EUR
estymacja: 2 000 - 4 000 PLN
500 - 1 000 EUR
4
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KAZAŃSKA
XIX/XX w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, ryza mosiężna, srebrzona, szkło, 22,5 x 19,5 cm
5
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KAZAŃSKA
XIX/XX w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, ryza mosiężna, sztancowana, szkło, 35 x 30 cm,
wymiary z kiotem: 46 x 41 cm, lampka przed ikonę: 11 x 18 cm
6
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA SMOLEŃSKA
XIX/XX w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, ryza mosiężna, 37 x 32 cm
estymacja: 1 500 - 3 000 PLN
400 - 700 EUR estymacja: 4 200 - 7 000 PLN
1 000 - 1 700 EUR
estymacja: 2 200 - 4 000 PLN
600 - 1 000 EUR
7
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA FIODOROWSKA
XIX/XX w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, ryza mosiężna ze śladami srebrzenia, 21 x 17 cm,
wymiary z kiotem: 30,8 x 26 cm
8
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KAZAŃSKA
XIX/XX w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, ryza mosiężna, srebrzona, nimby dekorowane emalią,
21,5 x 17 cm, wymiary z kiotem: 41,3 x 28,7 cm
estymacja: 2 000 - 4 000PLN
500 - 1 000 EUR
estymacja: 4 000 - 7 000 PLN
1 000 - 1 700 EUR
9
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA TYCHWIŃSKA
18 6 6 r.
Moskwa
tempera/deska, 21,5 x 17 cm, ryza srebrna, złocona, repusowana,
grawerowana, moletowana, napisy na emalii, wymiary z kiotem: 30 x 25 cm
u dołu znaki złotnicze: złotnik ‘IW’ (pisane cyrylicą), probierz ‘AS’ (pisane
cyrylicą), A. Swieczin (czynny 1862-1875) data, próba srebra ‘84’, znak miejski
estymacja: 12 000 - 15 000 PLN
2 800 - 3 500 EUR
10
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA WŁODZIMIERSKA
1810 r. ( ? )
Moskwa
tempera/deska, okład srebrny, repusowany, 22 x 17,5 cm
na krawędzi okładu znaki złotnicze: znak miejski, data,
probierz ‘IW’ (pisane cyrylicą) - Iwan Wihljajew (czynny 1802-1818)
estymacja: 20 000 - 25 000 PLN
4 700 - 5 900 EUR
Prezentowana w katalogu Włodzimierska Ikona Matki Boskiej przedstawia Bogarodzicę czule
obejmującą i przytulającą do siebie boskiego Syna. Pierwsza ikona przedstawiająca Matkę
Boską Włodzimierską została przywieziona w XII wieku do Kijowa jako dar cesarzy bizantyjskich
dla nowo ochrzczonego narodu. Początkowo umieszczono ją w Wyszogrodzie koło Kijowa,
stamtąd książę Andrzej Bogolubski przeniósł ją do stolicy swego księstwa do soboru Uspieńskiego we Włodzimierzu. W 1395 w uroczystej procesji wizerunek Bogarodzicy został przeniesiony do
Moskwy, co sprawiło, że miasto zostało cudem ocalone przed zdobyciem go przez mongolskiego wodza Tamerlana. Po tych wydarzeniach ikona stała się obiektem wielkiego kultu, umieszczono ją
w narodowym sanktuarium w soborze Uspieńskim na Kremlu, gdzie przebywała aż do rewolucji 1917. Następnie znajdowała się w zbiorach Państwowego Muzeum Historycznego. W 1930 została przekazana do Państwowej Galerii Trietiakowskiej. We wrześniu 1996 ikona Matki
Boskiej Włodzimierskiej została uroczyście oddana cerkwi jako najwyższa świętość rosyjskiego prawosławia. Umieszczono ją w cerkwi na moskiewskich Tołmyczach. Wizerunek Matki Boskiej Włodzimierskiej towarzyszył Rusi ze swym macierzyńskim błogosławieństwem przez wieki. Był obecny w czasie wielu ważnych wydarzeń historycznych,
koronacji książąt i carów, wyboru nowych patriarchów, uczestniczył w wyprawach wojennych, wspomagając wojska broniące ojczyzny. Powstały jego niezliczone kopie, mające moc oryginału.
O wyjątkowej wartości ikony prezentowanej w katalogu aukcyjnym, świadczy zdobiący ją kunsztownie dekorowany srebrny okład.
Włodzimierska czczona w Starej Rusi, przejęta
przez państwo moskiewskie jako symbol jego
łączności z początkami chrześcijaństwa (…)”.
– [RED.] JERZY GMUREK, IKONY: PRZEDSTAWIENIA MARYJNE Z KOLEKCJI MUZEUM
NARODOWEGO W WARSZAWIE.:
KATALOG ZBIORÓW, WARSZAWA 2004, s. 16

11
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KAZAŃSKA
lata 80. XIX w.
Moskwa
tempera/deska, ryza srebrna, giloszowana, 18 x 14,5 cm
na krawędzi ryzy znaki złotnicze: próba srebra ‘84’, znak miejski,
złotnik ‘(?)K’
STAN ZACHOWANIA: niewielkie uszkodzenia
12
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KORSUŃSKA
XIX/XX w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, ryza mosiężna, giloszowana, grawerowana,
13,5 x 10,5 cm, wymiary z kiotem: 20 x 17,5 cm
estymacja: 3 500 - 6 000 PLN
900 - 1 400 EUR
estymacja: 800 - 1 000 PLN
200 - 300 EUR
13
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA
KAZAŃSKA,1894 r.
Moskwa
tempera/deska, ryza srebrna, złocona, giloszowana, 21,5 x 18 cm
na krawędzi ryzy znaki złotnicze: złotnik: ‘MZ’ (pisane cyrylicą),
probierz ‘LO’ (pisane cyrylicą) - Lew Fiodorowicz Oleks (czynny
1890-1896), data, próba srebra ‘84’, znak miejski
14
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KAZAŃSKA
19 0 8 - 1926
Moskwa
tempera/deska, ryza srebrna, giloszowana, ślady złoceń, 18 x 14,5 cm
na krawędzi ryzy i nimbie znaki złotnicze: próba srebra ‘84’, moskiewska punca
probiercza, złotnik ‘NN’ (pisane cyrylicą)
estymacja: 4 000 - 6 000 PLN
1 000 - 1 400 EUR
estymacja: 3 000 - 5 000 PLN
700 - 1 200 EUR
Umieszczanie na ikonach drogocennych ozdób stanowi formę pobożnej ofiary ze strony wiernych. Metalowe dekoracje nakładane na ikony wywodzą się z Bizancjum. Pierwszy raz pojawiły się tam w X wieku, wówczas miały formy repusowanych płytek z cienkiej blachy. Tego typu ozdoby szybko przyjęły się w Gruzji, która była wówczas pod najsilniejszym wpływem stolicy imperium. Srebrne okładziny na ikony od XV wieku wykonywane były przez najwybitniejszych złotników. Najbardziej prężny ośrodek tej twórczości znajdował się w Moskwie,
na usługach dworu wielkiego księcia. Czas największego rozpowszechniania tego typu ozdób przypadł na XVIII i XIX stulecie. Były wówczas tak popularne, że dostosowywano do nich sposób malowania ikon. Partie widoczne pod okładziną były zaledwie naszkicowane.
Wyróżniamy kilka rodzajów metalowych okładzin. Do XVII wieku była to basma – repusowany lub niellowany pasek blachy, tworzący ramę dla przedstawienia. Kolejny typ dekoracji to okład zakrywający tło ikony i nimby przedstawionych świętych. Najbardziej okazałym rodzajem blaszanej okładziny była ryza odsłaniająca jedynie twarze, dłonie i stopy ukazanych postaci. Ryzy były dodatkowo dekorowane szlachetnymi lub półszlachetnymi kamieniami, perłami, filigranem czy wielobarwną emalią.  p.g.: Matka
Boska Fiodorowska, l.d.: św. Mikołaj Cudotwórca, p.d.: święci
Wasilij, Grigorij, Iwan (?)
estymacja: 1 500 - 3 000 PLN
400 - 700 EUR
estymacja: 12 000 - 15 000 PLN
2 800 - 3 500 EUR
17
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KA ZAŃSKA
ko n i e c X V I I I w.
Moskwa
tempera/deska, nimby srebrne, basma mosiężna, 30 x 27 cm
na nimbach znaki złotnicze: złotnik nieczytelnie, data ‘1870’,
znak miejski, próba srebra ‘84’
estymacja: 4 000 - 6 000 PLN
1 000 - 1 400 EUR
18
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA HOD EG E T R IA
około poł. XVIII w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, basma metalowa, 32 x 26 cm
estymacja: 5 000 - 8 000 PLN
1 200 - 1 900 EUR
19
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA T YC HW IŃSKA
18 0 3 r.
Petersburg
tempera/deska, okład srebrny, repusowany, 31,5 x 28 cm
na krawędzi okładu znaki złotnicze: probierz ‘AJa’ (pisane cyrylicą) -
Aleksander Ilicz Jaszinow (czynny 1795-1826), złotnik ‘MFK’ (pisane
cyrylicą) - nierozpoznany złotnik (czynny 1800-1830), próba srebra,
znak miejski, data
estymacja: 40 000 - 45 000 PLN
9 400 - 10 500 EUR

„Zgodnie z teologią ikony, łaska czy energie boskie nie zmniejszają się, jeśli
powtórzenia zachowują podobieństwo do pierwowzoru – pozostają takie same
we wszystkich ikonach, bez względu na liczbę powtórzeń”.
– [RED.] JERZY GMUREK, IKONY: PRZEDSTAWIENIA MARYJNE Z KOLEKCJI
MUZEUM NARODOWEGO W WARSZAWIE: KATALOG ZBIORÓW, WARSZAWA 2004, s. 9
Były to wizerunki typu „Eleusa”, co tłumaczy się jako „Miłosierna” lub „Współczująca”. Powstałe później ikony Bogarodzicy są w tym kontekście rozumiane jako naśladownictwo oryginałów Ewangelisty. „Po ikonie Chrystusa, która przypomina o Jego Wcieleniu, ikona Matki Boskiej z kolei mówi o przebóstwieniu człowieka. Ikona Bogarodzicy przedstawia więc pierwszą ludzką istotę, której dane było zrealizować cel Wcielenia, czyli przebóstwienie. (…) to właśnie ikony Bogarodzicy są
świadectwem tajemnicy Wcielenia” (ks. Henryk Paprocki, Eklezjalna
typologia ikon maryjnych, Ikona maryjna w życiu Kościoła –
Sympozjum Polskiego Towarzystwa Mariologicznego i Spotkanie
Kustoszów Sanktuariów Polskich, Częstochowa 10-12 września 2014,
Częstochowa 2015, s. 27).
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IKONA - MATKA BOSKA KA ZAŃSKA
2 p o ł . X I X w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, 31 x 25 cm
estymacja: 3 500 - 6 000 PLN
900 - 1 400 EUR
21
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA W ŁOD Z IM I E RSKA
2 poł. XVIII w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, 35 x 31 cm
estymacja: 7 000 - 10 000 PLN
1 700 - 2 400 EUR
22
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA
FIODOROWSKA, 2 p o ł . X I X w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, 30 x 25 cm
STAN ZACHOWANIA: po konserwacji
23
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA
TRÓJRĘCZNA, o ko ł o p o ł . X I X w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, 27,5 x 23,5 cm
estymacja: 3 000 - 5 000 PLN
700 - 1 200 EUR
estymacja: 3 000 - 5 000 PLN
700 - 1 200 EUR
24
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA Z E
ZWIASTOWANIA , XIX/XX w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, 30,5 x 23 cm
25
IKONA - MATKA BOSKA Z G RUPY
DEESIS, 1 p o ł . X I X w.
Rosja
tempera/deska, 36 x 31,3 cm
estymacja: 3 500 - 6 000 PLN
900 - 1 400 EUR
estymacja: 3 500 - 6 000 PLN
900 - 1 400 EUR
26
IKONA - ‘N I EOC Z EK IWANA
RADOŚĆ’, 1 p o ł . X I X w.

A general overview of the surviving monuments demonstrates that from the very beginning the image of the Mother of God surrounded by angels, flanking her figure and performing the role of her heavenly suite, was very popular and widely used in a vast variety of cultural and social contexts. Symptomatic in this respect is the presence of this iconography on Byzantine private seals and small tokens of personal devotion. Furthermore, it is in this iconography of ‘Mary between the angels’ that the figure of the Mother of God will occupy the concave space of apse niches in the great majority of Byzantine churches. Situated right above the main altar, this composition would acquire the function of the principle liturgical icon and central prayer image of the ecclesiastical space. Notwithstanding its importance, however, this iconography, though endlessly cited and briefly discussed in literature, has barely ever been the subject of specific research, which may be the result of the seemingly unproblematic meaning of this omnipresent image. Hence this study was determined, first, by the necessity to challenge that point of view and, second, and most of all, by the need to reconsider the development of ‘Mary between the angels’ iconography in the early Byzantine period, in order to understand the message and initial content of this central Christian image of female exultation.

This essay is a case study in the interpretation of The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. It focusses on the starting passage of the chapter 'The Grand Inquisitor', which is the most famous chapter of this novel. This starting passage deals with the so-called 'Journey of the Mother of God Through Hell'. To interpret this difficult passage adequately, it is compared with the original Apocalypse. Additionally, careful attention is paid to the polyphonic character of Dostoevsky's writings.

Theotokos in Canonical Tradition of Orthodox Church. This paper was published in the magazine "Theologia" (vol. 3/2015). In this article we examine the personage of Theotokos, Mother of God according to primary and secondary canonical sources.

"Abstract.
Cyril of Alexandria was not only one of the finest Christian theologians of his day, he also stands out in the ranks of the greatest patristic writers of all generations as perhaps the most powerful exponent of Christology the church has known. Nestorius was enthroned as archbishop on April 10th 428. The contemporary historian Socrates called Nestorius a proud and ignorant man whose innate and undisputed oratorical power masked a weakness of incisive thought. Nestorius argued that Theotokos did not do justice to the fact that, strictly speaking, Mary was not the mother of God but rather the mother of the man whom Christian faith recognizes as divine and thus calls God. On the other hand, the term Anthropotokos acknowledges that Mary is the mother of this man but can itself be taken to suggest that he is merely a man, which again is offensive to orthodox Christian faith in the deity of Christ. In Cyril’s letters against to Nestorius, Cyril not only defends the title Theotokos against accusations that it was reviving the heresy of Apollinariusm, but he denies the very legitimacy of using alternative Christological schemes a such as the ‘association of personas’ the Antiochian thinkers had spoken of. For Nestorius, the language of the exchange of properties was generally suspect, and often odious. He found, in the expressions «Mother of God» and «God suffering», little more than an ignorant piety that had cut so many corners in its implications that it stood very close to pagan mythical conceptions of the deity. For him, God the Logos raised the dead Lazarus, while the man Jesus wept at the tomb.
In Nestorius’ letter to Cyril, he argues that Cyril was right to teach the two natures were united in one person, and right to say that the divinity cannot suffer in itself, but that when he goes on to speak of the deity «participating in suffering» he undoes all his good work. Cyril insists that while of itself human nature is not powerful but passible, in its union with the godhead, as in the dynamic act of Incarnation, the human nature of the Logos thereby becomes an instrument of omnipotent power and thus, in a real thought paradoxical sense, an omnipotent instrument. It is at once powerful and fragile, majestic and humble. One of his favorite phrases is: «The Logos suffered impassibly».
Christ had two natures. Jesus Christ was both fully human and fully divine. Cyril insists that Mary, the mother of God, should be called Theotokos. If Jesus was only human, Cyril argues, and God was elsewhere, the Incarnation, the Word become flesh, would be meaningless. Cyril plunges into the debate with sharp invective, addressing one document «To Nestorius, the new Judas»."

The Congregation for Clergy promulgated on December 8, 2016 a new Program of Priestly Formation/Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis entitled "The Gift of the Priestly Vocation." While maintaining the division of seminary formation into the human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral found in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation/Pastores Dabo Vobis, the Ratio Fundamentalis distinguishes four pedagogical periods of preparation (propaedeutic, discipleship, configuration, and pastoral) ordered towards the affective maturation and preparation of candidates for priestly ordination. Since "Pastores Dabo Vobis" asserts in §82 that “[e]very aspect of priestly formation can be referred to Mary,” and the Program of Priestly Formation incorporates verbatim this selfsame text (§112), this study seeks to concretely identify Mary’s presence and mission in seminarians’ human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation during the propaedeutic, discipleship, configuration, and pastoral stages of training.

Mary’s presence and mission involve the Church and all of its members, resulting from the absolute Christian mystery of the Incarnation. As members of the Church through baptism and in formation for the ministerial priesthood of Jesus Christ, Mary’s presence and mission intimately concern and can assist priestly formators, spiritual directors, and seminarians to realize the vision of priestly formation proffered in the Ratio Fundamentalis.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the significance of the cult of Mary in the post-Byzantine or early Islamic period of Palestine. Consequently, it will also consider the cult’s influence on the development of Islamic thought and the effect of Islam on Christianity, their commonality and dissonance, and the consolidation of beliefs in the period from the Prophet Muhammad to the tenth century.  This period begins with the al-Futūḥāt al-Islāmiyya, also known as the early Muslim conquests or Islamic and Arab conquests in the seventh century, after the first six centuries of Christianity’s development, during which time the cult of the Virgin had its beginnings.

The intention of this essay is twofold; to extend the time period of my earlier essays on Mary and the biblical heritage and to sketch the developments in the early Church, in spite of their burdens of motifs relating to the Jewish people, so that we can understand our history with an insight into the Church's roots and prepare for a better future in Christian- Jewish relations.

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Streszczenie W tym artykule zostanie przedstawiony zarys dialogu katolicko-luterańskiego na temat Maryi i dogmatów maryjnych ogłoszonych przez Kościół katolicki. Poprzez prezentację do-kumentów z dialogu Kościołów i szeregu publikacji naukowych, przeanalizujemy: dogmat o dziewictwie Maryi, dogmat o macierzyństwie Bożym, dogmat o Niepokalanym Poczęciu Maryi i dogmat o Jej wniebowzięciu.

Abstract This article will attempt to analyze the history of Catholic-Lutheran dialogue regarding Mary and the Marian dogmata announced by the Catholic Church. Through the presentation of documents from the dialogue of churches and a whole range of scholar publications, we will analyze: the dogma of the virginity of Mary, the dogma of God's motherhood, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and the dogma of her assumption.

The paper provides an overview of the earliest surviving images of the Annunciation. It demonstrates that the iconography of this scene went through a number of formative stages in early Christian period and this transformation is indicative of the changing perception of the event and the development of the theological tradition in relation to the theme of incarnation. In the third-fourth century, images of the Annunciation are exceptionally rare, and the rendering of the scene is dependent on the Roman visual tradition. From about 400, the representation of the basket with loom and the purple thread held by Mary become indispensable elements of the Annunciation imagery, a shift reflected in the monuments coming from both Eastern and Western parts of the empire. This change reveals not only the growing cult of Mary, but also the great role played by the apocryphal sources in the creation of the visual ‘texture’ of narrative compositions connected to the Virgin. Furthermore, it coincides with and echoes the contemporary homiletic tradition which attributed deep religious meaning to the process of weaving, and the making of the garments, and of the temple veil, all associated with Christ’s body and the mystery of incarnation. Finally, it is demonstrated in the paper that the apocryphal Annunciation at the Spring was equally popular at the time and regularly substituted for images of the Annunciation in the House in the narrative cycles focused on the figure of Mary.

O presente artigo aborda a permanência dos motivos ligados à Deusa Mãe nas figuras das heroínas e das bruxas dos contos maravilhosos de origem indo-européia e seu posterior desdobramento nos romances cor-de-rosa.
This article presents the permanency of the motives related to the Mother God in the figures of the heroines and the witches of the marvelous tales from Indo-European origin and its later unfold in the pink novels.

The phenomenon of migration has become a global issue nowadays. The migrants are not only searching for jobs and better life conditions, but also for peace and security. The fate of the migrants is a challenge for the Church. Mary is an inspiration for Church in the process of their reception, protection, promotion, and integration. Mary is an anchorage for the migrants themselves. That is why, in 2020, Pope Francis granted her the title Solacium migrantium (“Solace of Migrants”) and ordered to include it within the Litany of Loreto. The aim of this article is to present the theological significance of the title according to Pope Francis. This task is interesting and useful and the more so, as the Pope does not answer directly and exhaustively the following questions: Why is Mary particularly close to the migrants? Which predispositions allow her to comfort them? In what way, exactly, does she do that? This article follows the Pope’s statements of various provenances, in order to extract from them the thoughts which make up his understanding of the title.

Sažetak: Marija svoju važnost za čovječanstvo dobiva iz povezanosti s utjelovljenjem Isusa Krista. Tradicija joj je u tom kontekstu pridala dva naslova: Marija je Bogorodica i Djevica. Oba naslova izražavaju cjelinu istine o Kristu i Mariji: Sin Božji postao je čovjek u stvarnom ljudskom smislu; kao utjelovljeni Sin Božji, on istodobno potpuno dolazi od Boga. Zbog utjelovljenja, sama Marija stoji u najposebnijem milosnom odnosu s Bogom. Slika Majke Božje Trsatske na svoj način prikazuje smisao utjelovljenja i Marijino mjesto u njemu. Središnjim prizorom Bogorodice koja doji dijete Isusa (Maria lactans) prikazuje da je Sin Božji postao sasvim konkretan čovjek. Druga dva prizora, anđelovo navještenje Mariji i Kristovo raspeće, s Marijom i Ivanom pod križem, proširuju razumijevanje utjelovljenja u njegovoj povijesno-spasenjskoj perspektivi.

Abstract: Devotion to Mary, as well as her importance to the whole humanity, are founded in her association with the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In this context, tradition has bestowed upon her two titles: as Mother of God she demonstrates that the Son of God was made man in the real human sense, and the belief that Mary is a virgin mother indicates that Christ at the same time comes completely from God. Against the background of that confession in Jesus Christ as true God and true man, the aforementioned titles of Mary obtain their mariological significance. Our Lady of Trsat also depicts the incarnation and Mary’s role in it in the central scene of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the baby Jesus (Maria lactans). The other two scenes, the Annunciation and the Crucifixion with Mary and John under the cross, extend the understanding of the incarnation in its historical and salvific perspective:
the Annunciation as the preparation of the incarnation, which is realized in Mary’s “Here I am”, and the Crucifixion as a historical ‘ending’ and the soteriological purpose of the incarnation, for the Son of God who became man is saving humanity by sacrificing his life on the cross.

In: Археологія. 2014. № 3. С. 32—44
In the article, the relation between three terracottas depicting the Mother of the gods on the throne is determined. Fragments of two of them were made in one of the West Pontic centres in a single mould which was apparently imported from the north-western part of Asia Minor, the third one was made in Olbia based on the example of these figurines. The former ones are dated by the second half of the 4th c. BC and the beginning of the 3rd c. BC, while the latter is dated approximately by the middle of the 3rd c. BC. Cast made by the imported terracotta was altered according to the local tastes and religious believes. While the lion cub on original depiction is located under the foot, it appears on the lap of the goddess on the Olbian example.
It is ascertained that all the statuettes contained the depictions of sphinxes on the throne decoration. This motive in terracotta depictions of the Mother of the gods is known in Asia Minor and the west coast of the Black Sea. Analogous ornament was widely used on statuettes from Myrina. Parallels in design of other details and peculiarities of lion depiction also find their parallels in the north-western part of Asia Minor. Sphinxes sitting on both sides of the Mother of the gods are known on the statuette made in the mould from Pergamon. This type, in its turn, finds its roots in depictions of big sphinxes near a goddess from Lydia and Cyprus. The process of diminution in sphinxes’ size and significance in iconography of the Mother of the gods can be traced from the south to the north where, for instance, in Olbia and Callatis they are presented within the ornamental motif already in the 4th c. BC. This motif was transferred to depictions of other cultic furniture.
Imported statuettes derive from the local ones with the apotropeic symbols: a lion with showed tongue and a sphinx. This fact approaches them to chthonic ideas in cult of the Mother of the gods. These statuettes were found at the neighbouring houses in the area near agora which belonged to the wealthy citizens one of whom was an important person in the polis’ religious life. Apparently, some of them or their adherents were acquainted with coroplastics or a coroplast because his figurine became an example for making the local products. Analogous Olbian statuette was donated to the goddess, as it was found almost unused in one of botroi at the Western Temenos. Simplified depictions modelled by the terracottas of such type were produced also in Ancient Greek centres in Asia Minor in the 3rd and the 2nd c. BC.

Μια αναψηλάφηση ενός ανάγλυφου ναΐσκου της Μητέρας των Μεγάλων Θεών από την Αμφίπολη, φιλοτεχνημένου στα χρόνια της καθίδρυσης του ιερού μνημείου του Καστά κατά τον 4ο π.Χ. αιώνα. Αναζητώντας τους Μεγάλους Θεούς, την ταυτότητα της Μητρός, την ερμηνεία του λέοντος και της μεσόμφαλου φιάλης, υπό το πρίσμα κραταιών ελληνικών παραδόσεων, ως προς την αρχαία θεολογία, κοσμογονία και ζωογονία. Τονίζοντας βασικά σημεία και παραλληλισμούς των Καβείρων και φωτίζοντας τον κομβικό ρόλο του Ερμού Καδμίλου, της Εκάτης και των Κορυβάντων.

I will in this short paper examine three Fathers of the Church and their theology in regards to the Theotokos. I will look a bit closer at fathers from three different periods of the patristic era: St. Irenaeus of Lyons (130-ca.202) who represents the earliest period, prior to the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325). The second father is St. Ephrem the Syrian (ca. 306-373) who represents the period between the councils of Nicaea in 325 and Ephesus in 431. The third and final father I will examine is St. Andrew of Crete who died in c. 740. He represents one of the last years of the patristic period and he died in the same century as the seventh Ecumenical Council (787).

Text here:  https://www.academia.edu/61639509  and visit the discussion here: https://www.academia.edu/s/a2f46ccb56?source=link
Why the Orans became the Patron of the State?  – The Political Theology of Cult of The Mother of God in Byzantium and Kyivan Rus'
The author is continuing here to explain his views on the political theology of the Virgin Mary such as the tears of Mary as idealized symbols “soldiers of the Fatherland”. About this he has already written a previous article in the Ukrainian Orthodox Journal in Uzhorod, where he stated that various types of icons were symbols of the various and different cults of the Mother of God. Such as, the icons of Theotokos (Θεοτόκος) were connected to the state cult – while the Hodegetria (Ὁδηγητρεία) represented the monastic cult in Byzantine Empire. Therefore, the icon of the virgin “Theotokos” (which icon hung on the gate of the Imperial Palace Blakhernai) was the symbol of state power in Byzantium. – Such an icon of Theotokos was presented to Kyivan Rus, too, because the Byzantine Emperor expressed his cooperation with the new Christian power and presented an icon of Theotokos to the Kyivan Prince, because the Mother of God was already the patroness of the state in Byzantium, thus this was to fulfill a same role of state-patronage then in Kiev, too. This icon was moved to Suzdal and it is now being held in Moscow in the Tretiakov Gallery. Therefore, the Byzantine influence of the cult of the Virgin Mary as the patroness of the Byzantine state – it could be a subject of research of political theology, that is, a topic for formal research of the structure of the state cult, apart from any emotional or ideological approaches. The great predecessor of this concept in the field is Prof. Bissera Pentcheva at Stanford University, USA, whose monograph “Icons and Power” gained several great prizes (Icons and Power: The Mother of God in Byzantium, / Bissera Pentcheva, Pennsylvania State University Press: University Park, USA: Penns., 2006.) We follow her views while studying this topic in Hungarian and Kyevian history, in a comparative aspect.
Keywords: Theotokos, Mother_of_God, Byzantium, political_theology, Steven_I_King_of_Hungary, Kyevian Rus'

Sažetak: Članak obrađuje temeljne teološke odrednice mariologije Josepha Ratzingera/Benedikta XVI., koje se iščitavaju iz njegovih tekstova posvećenih pojedinim mariološkim temama. Najprije se ističe teološko-kristološka perspektiva. U središtu Marijine osobe je njezina povezanost s Bogom, po kojoj se on sam otkriva kao živi, osobni Bog, koji ulazi u komunikaciju s čovjekom i koji je djelatan i prisutan u povijesti. Antropološka odrednica proizlazi iz teološke: Marija je paradigma čovjeka kao stvorenja, koji u slobodnoj otvorenosti i suradnji s milošću pristaje na Božji poziv i potpuno mu se u vjeri predaje. Unutarnja logika ovih dviju odrednica vodi u ekleziološku dimenziju. U otvorenosti i raspoloživosti za Božje djelovanje, Marija je osobna konkretnost Crkve, u kojoj se reflektira njezina bit i poslanje. Ratzingerova razmišljanja o Mariji potpuno se uklapaju u njegovu cjelokupnu teološku misao, u kojoj prevladava personalno-relacijska slika Boga, čovjeka i Crkve.

Abstract:
The article discusses the basic theological determinants of the Mariology of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, which can be read out from his texts dedicated to particular Mariological themes. First, theological perspective is pointed out. In the center of Mary’s person is her relationship with God, through which he reveals himself as a living, personal God who enters into communication with man and who is active and present in history. Anthropological determinant results from the theological: Mary is the paradigm of man as a creature, who in his free openness and cooperation with grace consents to God’s call, and in his faith completely surrenders to him. The internal logic of these two determinants leads to ecclesiological dimension. In her openness and disposability for God’s work, Mary is personal concreteness of the Church, reflecting its essence and mission. Ratzinger’s approach to Mary completely fits into his overall theological thought, in which the personal-relational image of God, man and Church dominates.

O presente artigo aborda a relação existente entre o Mito de Narciso e as grandes deusas cretenses e sua possível origem minóica.
This article presents the relation between thr Narcissus myth and the great Cretan Goddesses and their possible Minoans origin.

The God Word became truly human. He had the real human nature (body and soul),
but without propensity to sin. Jesus Christ was the incarnate Word of God. He was
born of the Virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit. His divinity is manifest in
the extraordinary circumstances of His birth and, in particular, in the preservation
of the virginity of the Theotokos. His humanity is guaranteed in that He was born
of a woman, a real historical person. Nestorius of Constantinople rejected the title
Theotokos for the mother of the incarnated Word. He insisted that Mary as a human
being could give birth only to a human being, and not to God. He persisted in calling
the Virgin Mary Christotokos. This teaching jeopardised the salvation of the human
race. Cyril of Alexandria disproved this erroneous belief and supported the reason
why the mother of God should be called Theotokos.
Acta Theologica
2012 32(2): 1-16
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/actat.v32i2.1
ISSN 1015-8758
© UV/UFS
<http://www.uovs.ac.za/ActaTheologica>

The impact of Byzantium on Western Renaissance art is generally acknowledged and this topic has been the subject of numerous conferences and publications. However, these studies mainly tend to focus on Renaissance Italy and not so much -or, in any case, to a lesser extent- on territories North of the Alps. During the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, images of the Virgin and Child were among the most common devotional artifacts in the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands. Just as devotional texts encouraged the devotee to imagine and experience the events described, such ‘Andachtsbilder’ served the same purpose, offering the spectator to empathize and identify with the characters depicted. Most of these images are in fact contemporary interpretations of Eastern or (Italo)-Byzantine icons, adapted to the prevailing style and devotional practices current in the Low Countries. Sometimes, this assimilation is so thorough that the link to the original prototypes has virtually been lost.
This paper will investigate the integrating of such Byzantine and byzantinizing representations of the Virgin and Child into the mainstream of Early Netherlanidsh painting, focussing on the  the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
Rewatch the symposium on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDC4k8T5aas&ab_channel=Palaisdesbeaux-artsdeBruxelles

The Holy Gospels mention a few times the name of the Virgin Mary, calling her “Maria” or “Mariam” (heb. Miryam; cf. Numbers 25:29). The "Spiritual Gospel" of St. John the Theologian (cf. Clement of Alexandria) reminds the Mother of the Lord in two essential moments for the narrative structure of this text, each of them a true crux for future interpretations: The wedding in Cana of Galilee, representing "the beginning of signs” (John 2:1-11) and the Crucifixion of the Savior (John 19:25-27). The mystical union of the Mother with "His Only Begotten Son" (Matthew 1:25; Luke 2:7) in the work of salvation reaches the climax on Golgotha, where Mary was near the Cross, suffering painfully with "Christ, Who through The eternal spirit, God brought Himself, a sacrifice without blemish” (Hebrews 9:14). There he united definitively, in his mother soul, through which "the sword will pass" (Luke 2:35), with the Sacrifice of His Son, in the depths of the mystery of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. It is very interesting how through the two key Marian episodes of the johannine narrative, it clearly develops, using some well-known biblical motives, a new typology, which links Virgin Mary to the Patriarch Abraham, giving her personality a new dimension, or better yet, by showing it in all its complexity. We are talking about restoring an older Christian tradition that spoke of the Virgin Mary as the "Mother of the Church" and a sign of the eschatological fulfillment that will be, just as Abraham came to be considered the “Father of all Nations”, in order to confirm the promise Redemption for future generations. On the other hand, the symbolic image of Revelation 12 has often been interpreted as referring to the Mother of God. Patristic exegesis alternates between its association with the Virgin Mary and the Church. Taking over the Old Testament picture that depicts Israel as a woman in the torment of birth (cf. Isaiah 26:17), St. John the Theologian describes the "Woman" in the Book of Revelation who is struggling to give birth to the "child", who represents the Body of Christ or the people of God, which is the Holy Church.

Ciertos tipos iconográficos marianos se han mostrado especialmente propicios a las representaciones de la Virgen en relación con algunos elementos naturales. La Madre de Dios se encuentra, a menudo, en contacto directo con la tierra en numerosas imágenes de la Virgen de la Humildad y en un jardín, rodeada de flores, en la Virgen de la Rosaleda; mientras que, tras su Asunción, lirios y rosas asoman del sepulcro vacío. En todos estos casos, según podemos inferir de su estudio iconográfico, a partir de las fuentes patrísticas y teológicas, la naturaleza es un símil de las virtudes de la Virgen, aunque no siempre. En algunas imágenes de la Scala Salutis, el suelo permite fijar a María en su condición humana, a diferencia de Cristo, con quien comparte espacio. En conclusión, el elevado número de imágenes donde la naturaleza, por una u otra razón, se encuentra asociada a la Madre de Dios, no son producto de la casualidad, ni anecdóticos, sino fruto de una compleja retórica visual.

Certain Marian iconographic subjects have proved to be especially propitious to the representations of the Virgin in relation with some natural elements. The Mother of God is, often, in direct contact with the land in numerous images of the Virgin of Humility and in a garden, surrounded with flowers, in the Virgin of the Rose Garden; whereas, after her Assumption, lilies and roses bloom in the empty sepulcher. In all these cases, as we can figure out from their iconographic study, based on the Patristic and theological sources, the nature is an analogy of the virtues of the Virgin, but not always. In some images of the Scala Salutis, the ground allows to fix Mary in her human condition, unlike Christ, with whom she shares space. In conclusión, the high number of images where the nature, for any reason, is associated with the Mother of God, are not even neither casual or anecdotal, but a product of a complex visual rhetoric.

God in us working our salvation brings to light the full extremes of the human potential for good and evil. ... Mary and Judas display the power given to humankind because the divine light is the life of men lightening every man that cometh into the world.  When we come to know who we are and the power overshadowing us, shall we ask, as Mary asked "Can he be talking to me?  Surely I am not full of  grace"? Or shall we say with Judas, "It is about time I was recognized"?

The icon of the Mother of God of the Unburnt Bush is an ancient one that is widely venerated in Russia, and is popularly believed to offer protection against fire. Its significance, however, is far deeper and more expansive, and this beautiful, complex, yet unified icon is in fact a theological reflection on the position of the Mother of God in the economy of salvation.

The paper investigates how Christians of different denominations in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth described the Tatars and the Turks in the legends related to the miraculous image/icons of Virgin Mary. It includes both the use of topoi of Tatars devastating the icons during Tatar incursions in the 13-16 centuries, general vision of the Turks and Tatars by the 17 and 18-centuries' authors, and presentation of them as military enemies in the setting of wars between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as well as reflection of these plots in the visual art. The research is based on the analysis of legends and miracles dating back to the 17-18 th century and available visual material. It was shown that Christians of three main denominations-Orthodox, Catholics, Greek Catholics-represented the Turks and the Tatars in a similar way and the representation corresponded to the representation of other military enemies independently of religious believes.