Academic literature on the topic 'Crib in Christian art and tradition'

AbstractFor centuries, nativity scenes have been used to illustrate, teach, and commemorate central biblical stories in a tangible display. Oscillating between public crib exhibitions at the museum and crib displays in private homes, the dynamics between individual and collective re-narration, re-construction, re-experience, and re-membering lead to the construction of a collective memory within specific political contexts. The article suggests the term 'museality' as a heuristic tool to capture the vivid interdependences of museal spaces within and beyond the museum as a cultural institution. The construction, decoration, arrangement, and display of crib scenes are a complex example of such museal spaces. Beyond the institutionalised Christian tradition, nativity scenes have their place in the larger context of the European history of religion and invite future research within the analytical framework of the aesthetics of religion.

The basis of Kiev Christian theological method is Sophian tradition in European philosophical and religious art. Sophian tradition was elaborated in the pre-Christian period (Plato). It reflected in the works of prominent Christian theoreticians (Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Macarius the Great, Gregory the Theologian) and Old Slavic (Cyril, Methodius) and ancient teachers of Christianity (Hilarion, Klim Smolyatich).

<p>The article reveals the Christian meaning of the story <em>Christ Visits a Peasant</em> by Nikolay&nbsp;Leskov. Intended for children&rsquo;s reading, the story is unique in its ability to open new semantic horizons, which makes the work interesting for readers of any age. The plot-forming motif &ldquo;to descend in order to ascend&rdquo; can be interpreted as a motif of spiritual rebirth (or healing). The hero-narrator reproduces the story of the main character&rsquo;s spiritual struggle, the meaning of which is revealed in the context of the Christian teaching about the spiritual dispensation. The story forms a system of Christian motives (sin, forgiveness, the return of the prodigal son, meeting with God, the heart, etc.), indicated by precise instructions and allusions to biblical stories, images and symbols. In the motif complex of Leskov&rsquo;s story, the traditional Christmas and Yuletide prose motifs of miracle, teaching, threshold, meeting, guest, path, and home are organic. Creating the image of Christ, the writer reveals his divine properties with the help of numerous symbols: &ldquo;white hand&rdquo;, &ldquo;the divine fate&rdquo;, light, Cup, candle, Christmas cribs, monastery, etc. In the context of Christian content, everyday motives of family, friendship, reading, generations, etc., everyday events (building a house, celebrating the Nativity of Christ, reading books, traveling, etc.) acquire symbolic meaning. In the everyday life of the characters, spiritual reality manifests itself. Leskov teaches his reader to see the spiritual world behind habitual everyday phenomena, events, and relationships.</p>

The paper is dedicated to the earliest formative stages of Annunciation imagery. Although it was widely spread in the Middle Ages, only a few examples of the scene survive from the early Christian period. Judging by the existing material evidence, it can be argued that the image of the Annunciation acquired recognizable and fully-fledged form only in the fifth century. Early examples reveal distinct formative stages of the iconography and the gradual introduction of additional features, enriching the content and visual rendering of this highly significant visual theme. This paper analyzes the influence of Apocrypha, as well as of the early theological tradition, on the development of the Annunciation scene and reveals the importance of this material to the study of the cult of the Mother of God.

This paper is an attempt to offer a preliminary study of a Christian tradition of allegorizing the zodiac which is found in certain literary texts and artistic representations. What prompted the investigation from the artistic point of view was an examination of the twelfth-century baptismal font in the church of St Peter at Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, which is decorated with a mixture of selected signs of the zodiac and scriptural images (plate i). It raises the question of how early was the tradition in which the zodiac was linked with baptism in Christian thought, and what other connections there might be. So the question I should like briefly to illustrate here is the connection between Christian decorations which feature the zodiac, particularly in the medieval period, and an allegorical tradition which goes back to the early Church.

The current study addressed the study of (The aesthetics of Byzantine Christian art). Its problem was identified by answering the following question: What are the aesthetics of Christian art represented by the Byzantine icon? Also, it aims to (recognize the aesthetics of Byzantine icon art). The research community was identified to achieve the goal, which consisted of icons and religious drawings that the researchers could count as a framework for the research community after collecting pictures of the subject from foreign and Arab sources and Internet sites. The sample was drawn according to the following reasons: a) It covers the temporal and spatial limits of the research and what fits with the data to achieve the goal, b) Diversity of technical methods adopted in drawing icons and c) The study sample models witnessed a diversity of contents and ideas. The research study reached the following conclusions. First, they borrow iconographic products, religious images and semantic symbols related to the Christian tradition and employ them through analytical visual inferences, in harmony with the structural and structural treatments of the elements and organizational foundations. Second, the products of icon art are associated with the nature of the transition from the tangible to the ideal and in line with the loading of the composition structure with an expressive energy, explaining the necessity of interpretation of religious discourse, and defining the operational vision with a clear dramatic sense. Third, the iconographic models depend on philosophical data supporting the religious meaning carried in them and giving endless explanations for the public discourse affecting the functionality of (idea) or (event). Fourth, the models of iconographic art are close to the nature of the functional induction of spiritual and sacred tendencies. At the level of deep interpretations accompanying visual forms with a clear aesthetic impact, we find that icon art carries with it religious reference effects related to the sacred. Lastly, Icon art invests in accumulating aesthetic knowledge to produce the artistic image and summons the largest possible amount of data affecting its formulation and output.

The article deals with adoption of Christian tradition in poetry of Taras Shevchenko. Theoretical basis includes methodological principles of hermeneutics, the philosophicoaesthetic approach to art, cross-cultural methods. On the one hand, the sources of the creative components by Shevchenko’s ethics and aesthetics are related in Christian tradition. On the other hand, as a result of cordocentrist intention of the Ukrainian ethnos, Christian canon was deprived of the big part of rigorism in Old-Kyiv period. Shevchenko’s aesthetic theology is insufficiently investigated but it characterizes the absence of stark categories, dogmas and rituals. It gives an opportunity to speak about the apophatic approach in Shevchenko’s dialectic of God-seeking which appears in the apophatic approach of individual style which also you can find in Old Kyivan authors’ works. The outcome of our investigation proves that the Shevchenko’s adoption of Christian tradition shows the priority of aesthetic and cultural landmarks of Kyiv Christianity.

The article discusses the issues of studying and interpreting number symbolism in a literary work and characteristics of gospel number symbolism in the Christian context. In 20th-century Russian literature, the Christian tradition had a decisive impact on shaping the meaning of number symbolism. An important feature of the Christian symbolism of numbers is the correlation of number symbolism with two spheres, which can be designated as “positive” (sacral) and “negative” (sinful). The author proposes a methodology for interpreting number symbolism, which comprises three stages: 1) a description of the numbers in a literary text, 2) the correlation of these numbers with the tradition of number symbolism, 3) the interpretation of the meaning of number symbolism, which is an integral part of literary work. The article also distinguishes between two concepts — that of the number image and of the image of number, and substantiates the differences in interpretation of such images. Theoretical notions are supported by the interpretation of number symbolism in the poems of Boris Pasternak, Zinaida Gippius and Alexander Blok, where it is presented explicitly. Other images, motifs and concepts presented in the literary works augmented and added complexity to the tradition of gospel number symbolism in the poems of these authors.

The Reformed tradition, following Zwingli and especially Calvin, excluded images from the churches. Calvin rejected the sacred images of his day as idolatrous on the grounds that they were treated as making God present, that the necessary distinction between God and God’s material creation was not maintained, and because an image, which rightly was to be mimetic of visible reality, could not truthfully depict God. Calvin approved the Renaissance notion of visual art as mimetic and he understood that artists’ abilities were gifts of God and were to be used rightly. He also had a very keenly developed visual aesthetic sense in relation to nature as the “mirror” of God’s glory. However, the strong human tendency towards idolatry before images, he believed, meant that it was not expedient to place any pictures in the churches. Reinterpretation of key biblical passages, particularly the first and second commandments (Calvin’s numbering), together with changes in the understanding of what constitutes visual art, of the relationships between words and visual images, and of the processes of interpretation and reception not only of texts but of all perceived reality, lead to a re-thinking of the issues. The biblical narrative with its theological insights can be interpreted into a visual language and used by the church as complementary to, but never replacing, biblical preaching and teaching in words. Attention to the visual aesthetic dimensions of the worship space is important to allow for this space to function as an invitation and call to worship. Its form, colour, light and adorning may give aesthetic delight, which leads to praise and thanksgiving, or it may provoke other response which helps people prepare to offer worship to God. The world and its people depicted in visual art/image may inform the praying of the church and the visual representation of the church (the saints) may provide congregations with an awareness of the breadth of the church at worship in heaven and on earth. In the present diversity of views about visual art and the work of the artist there is freedom for the artist to re-think the question of vocation and artists may find new opportunities for understanding and exercising their vocation not only in secular art establishments and the community but also in relation to the worship of the church.

Among church folk in Australia today, there are concerns that soon ? with the surge of secularism in our society ? there will be no Christian tradition left for their children to inherit. At the same time, there is also a rising desire for spiritual renewal among Australians. It seems that the church and society are worlds apart. It is my contention that feminist liturgical artists are in a unique position to bridge the gap between the church and the world, and to promote the spiritual renewal of both. My task in this thesis is to devise a feminist model of liturgical art practice which is both aesthetic and prophetic. In this model, liturgical art is capable both of inspiring people to contemplate divine meanings and of calling the people to discipleship in the service of God in the world. It is also able both to encourage hope and challenge injustices. A balanced approach to the aesthetic and prophetic is suggested in Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza's (1992) four-step model of feminist research, which shapes my project. The principles which form the framework of my feminist understanding of liturgical art are widely applicable, and do not just apply to women. Even so, I maintain that women are more gifted than men at understanding the world in terms of relations rather than hierarchies. In the Catholic church today, we need this sense of relation more than ever. The church needs to be in creative relation with contemporary culture, or we are going to lose the young people from our ranks, and consequently our future. Within the church, the hierarchy needs to be in creative relation with the laity, and this requires a more collaborative approach to leadership ? including ministry. Within the liturgical environment, the church needs images which are able to draw heaven and earth into creative relation. These inclusive and holistic ideas are basic to a feminist practice of liturgical art as I describe it in this project. To demonstrate what such a practice might look like, I use examples from my own liturgical artwork. I aim to show how theory/theology and practice are inextricably interrelated in a feminist practice of liturgical art, and that practice precedes theory/theology, and that theory/theology leads to renewed practice. This has certainly been my experience while writing this thesis. The model of feminist liturgical art practice, which I formulate in this thesis, is postmodern. The largest theoretical challenge for me in this project was to come to terms with beauty theory, a conceptual framework which underpinned modernist art theory. By training and by inclination, I am disinclined to favour an art theory in which the highest value is beauty. Beauty theory was significantly deconstructed in the artworld in the 20th century and the new understandings of beauty arising today show the signs of paradigm shift. In the case of beauty theology, however, nothing comparable has caused theologians to significantly refigure their core value. Coming to terms with beauty theology was my largest theological challenge. My solution in both cases was to enlarge the category of beauty by adding ugliness. I call this category 'beautiful ugliness' (Boyd 1960, 200). However, 'beautiful ugliness' is not the focus of my aesthetic approach. I use 'life' as the core value. Into the mix of feminist postmodern art theory/theology, I add some elements of classical American pragmatism. In a pragmatic frame, ideas need to be tested out in the realities of everyday life. In line with my chosen core value, I use the terms life-relevant and life-enhancing (Miles 1985, 6) as criteria for testing the value of liturgical art. This project represents my attempt to draw a picture of what a feminist, postmodern, pragmatic, aesthetic/prophetic practice of liturgical art might look like in 21st century Australia. My hope is that there are other women and men artists, like myself, who work with 'passionate purpose' (Alexander 1933, 53) - driven by their faith in God; by their fidelity to the Christian tradition; by a desire to imaginatively explore, express and stretch the boundaries of that tradition; and by a powerful sense of place-connection and of community-belonging ? who will find this model useful and perhaps inspiring.

Among church folk in Australia today, there are concerns that soon ? with the surge of secularism in our society ? there will be no Christian tradition left for their children to inherit. At the same time, there is also a rising desire for spiritual renewal among Australians. It seems that the church and society are worlds apart. It is my contention that feminist liturgical artists are in a unique position to bridge the gap between the church and the world, and to promote the spiritual renewal of both. My task in this thesis is to devise a feminist model of liturgical art practice which is both aesthetic and prophetic. In this model, liturgical art is capable both of inspiring people to contemplate divine meanings and of calling the people to discipleship in the service of God in the world. It is also able both to encourage hope and challenge injustices. A balanced approach to the aesthetic and prophetic is suggested in Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza's (1992) four-step model of feminist research, which shapes my project. The principles which form the framework of my feminist understanding of liturgical art are widely applicable, and do not just apply to women. Even so, I maintain that women are more gifted than men at understanding the world in terms of relations rather than hierarchies. In the Catholic church today, we need this sense of relation more than ever. The church needs to be in creative relation with contemporary culture, or we are going to lose the young people from our ranks, and consequently our future. Within the church, the hierarchy needs to be in creative relation with the laity, and this requires a more collaborative approach to leadership ? including ministry. Within the liturgical environment, the church needs images which are able to draw heaven and earth into creative relation. These inclusive and holistic ideas are basic to a feminist practice of liturgical art as I describe it in this project. To demonstrate what such a practice might look like, I use examples from my own liturgical artwork. I aim to show how theory/theology and practice are inextricably interrelated in a feminist practice of liturgical art, and that practice precedes theory/theology, and that theory/theology leads to renewed practice. This has certainly been my experience while writing this thesis. The model of feminist liturgical art practice, which I formulate in this thesis, is postmodern. The largest theoretical challenge for me in this project was to come to terms with beauty theory, a conceptual framework which underpinned modernist art theory. By training and by inclination, I am disinclined to favour an art theory in which the highest value is beauty. Beauty theory was significantly deconstructed in the artworld in the 20th century and the new understandings of beauty arising today show the signs of paradigm shift. In the case of beauty theology, however, nothing comparable has caused theologians to significantly refigure their core value. Coming to terms with beauty theology was my largest theological challenge. My solution in both cases was to enlarge the category of beauty by adding ugliness. I call this category 'beautiful ugliness' (Boyd 1960, 200). However, 'beautiful ugliness' is not the focus of my aesthetic approach. I use 'life' as the core value. Into the mix of feminist postmodern art theory/theology, I add some elements of classical American pragmatism. In a pragmatic frame, ideas need to be tested out in the realities of everyday life. In line with my chosen core value, I use the terms life-relevant and life-enhancing (Miles 1985, 6) as criteria for testing the value of liturgical art. This project represents my attempt to draw a picture of what a feminist, postmodern, pragmatic, aesthetic/prophetic practice of liturgical art might look like in 21st century Australia. My hope is that there are other women and men artists, like myself, who work with 'passionate purpose' (Alexander 1933, 53) - driven by their faith in God; by their fidelity to the Christian tradition; by a desire to imaginatively explore, express and stretch the boundaries of that tradition; and by a powerful sense of place-connection and of community-belonging ? who will find this model useful and perhaps inspiring.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Theology
Full Text

This study considers Thomas Hoccleve’s role, throughout his works, as a “religious” writer: as an individual who engages seriously with the dynamics of heresy and ecclesiastical reform, who contributes to traditions of vernacular devotional writing, and who raises the question of how Christianity manifests on personal as well as political levels – and in environments that are at once London-based, national, and international. The chapters focus, respectively, on the role of reading and moralization in the Series; the language of “vice and virtue” in the Epistle of Cupid; the moral version of Chaucer introduced in the Regiment of Princes; the construction of the Hoccleve persona in the Regiment; and the representation of the Eucharist throughout Hoccleve’s works. One main focus of the study is Hoccleve’s mediating influence in presenting a moral version of Chaucer in his Regiment. This study argues that Hoccleve’s Chaucer is not a pre-established artifact, but rather a Hocclevian invention, and it indicates the transnational literary, political, and religious contexts that align in Hoccleve’s presentation of his poetic predecessor. Rather than posit the Hoccleve-Chaucer relationship as one of Oedipal anxiety, as other critics have done, this study indicates the way in which Hoccleve’s Chaucer evolves in response to poetic anxiety not towards Chaucer himself, but rather towards an increasingly restrictive intellectual and ecclesiastical climate. This thesis contributes to the recently revitalized critical dialogue surrounding the role and function of fifteenth-century English literature, and the effect on poetry of heresy, the church’s response to heresy, and ecclesiastical reform both in England and in Europe. It also advances critical narratives regarding Hoccleve’s response to contemporary French poetry; the role of confession, sacramental discourse, and devotional images in Hoccleve’s work; and Hoccleve’s impact on literary tradition.

D.Litt. et Phil. (Greek)
This thesis deals with the Christian divine, holy and saintly protection of African rulers in the Afro-Byzantine ‘Coptic’ (mainly Nubian and Ethiopian) iconographic tradition. The term ‘icon’ is used in its Byzantine Orthodox meaning as “a theological art picture; a religious, sacred image”, according to the theological and artistic Byzantine prescriptions.1 The term is also applied to frescos, murals, mosaics, larger wooden panels, illustrations in manuscripts and scrolls and smaller items such as protective amulets and charms, depicting a Christian holy representation. The iconographic themes, representing authority and its preservation and protection will be discussed, analysed and examined, the two coefficients being authority and protection of royals and their deputies and officials (i.e. the ‘protected’) on the one hand, and on the other hand Christ, the Holy Virgin, angels, military and non-military saints, supernatural and holy beings (i.e. the ‘protectors’). Firstly, a historical overview of the Byzantine and Afro-Byzantine Orthodox society in terms of religious, social, cultural and political influences is presented and the importance of Orthodox iconography and hagiography and the transformation of local Afro-Byzantine themes are analysed. As such, once the conversion from paganism to Christianity took place in Africa, influences of the Byzantine iconography and hagiography were transformed and integrated with local African Orthodox themes. Byzantine ideology and political theory as well as their relevance for the Coptic-Egyptian, Nubian and Ethiopian context have been discussed, while the artistic and symbolic iconographic representations of the Byzantine (and Medieval Afro-Byzantine) periods...

The diploma thesis deals with lives and masterpieces of the most important baroque artists and architectures. There are also descriptions of their works. The practical part of the thesis deals with the Kuks' area, the hospitál and spa, its historical, artistic and practical value. Lives of patients and nurses are also mentioned as well as the present-day situation of the Kuks' area and nearby Christian crib. There is a reference to F. A. Špork. He was an important man of that time who supported artists and gave an order for the project of Kuks' area.

Focusing on Cyrene and Serima art workshops under the tutelage of Paterson and Groeber, respectively, the study acknowledges the foundational importance of Christian art (from the late 1930s up to the 1960s) in the rise of prominent first generation artists in Zimbabwe such as Mukomberanwa, Ndandarika, Khumalo, Songo, Sambo and many others. It rejects perceptions of African modernism as inauthentic imitations of artistic innovations that originated with European art. While accepting that there was a deliberate fusion of traditional art into mission mainstream education to produce Christian art forms with a strong Africanised identity, the study reveals missionaries’ conservatism and restrictions on artistic freedom. It, therefore, locates the formation of modern art in Zimbabwe largely within a broader spectrum of Africans’ encounter with colonialism or western culture which induced artists to invent new artistic expressions reflecting their own emergent political and socio-economic circumstances. The novelty and outright rejection of missionary impact are, therefore, alien to the natural synthesis that informed artistic modernism in Zimbabwe.
Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology
M.A. (Art History)

Those who scrutinized the historical development of Byzantine liturgical chanting could notice the late codification of this music. With the transition to the written tradition, a clear tendency to preserve orality in the new hypostasis emerged. Proto-Byzantine chanting circulated orally, this being conditioned by the original orality of the evangelical tradition. When the Eastern promoters of Christian liturgical chanting felt the need to codify the cultic repertoire, they resorted to the Ekphonetic notation, and later to the Diastematic one. Ekphonetic notation is a rudimentary notation, it has a mnemonic function, meaning the purpose of reminding the performer of a certain melodic formula that he knew before. The Diastematic notation, although it fixes several details of the melodic thread, also leaves enough room for interpretive ambiguity and can only be deciphered satisfactorily by those familiar with traditional practice. The attempt to explain the reluctance of the promoters of Byzantine religious music towards written codification will lead us to the deep roots of this art, as well as to its liturgical functionality.

Крайняя малочисленность связанных с христианством находок и их неравномерное распределение во времени создает значительные трудности при восстановлении истории Фанагорийской христианской общины. Восполнить лакуны до некоторой степени помогают имеющиеся сведения об истории христианства в других центрах Северо-Восточного Причерноморья, неотъемлемой частью которого являлась Фанагория. Несомненно, новая религия проникает в Фанагорию, как и в другие центры Боспорского царства, в последней четверти 3 в. из Малой Азии, откуда готы, возвращаясь из своих пиратских набегов, привозили пленных христиан. Именно к периоду после морских походов варваров относятся первые зафиксированные на Боспоре признаки христианства: различные вещи с христианскими символами, христианские участки на некрополе в Керчи. Незначительное количество раннехристианских памятников говорит о том, что в этот период распространение религии в регионе происходило, главным образом, благодаря деятельности миссионеров, и число приверженцев христианства было невелико. С включением Боспора в сферу влияния Византийской империи церковь и государство предпринимают совместные усилия по христианизации региона: скорее всего, именно в это время по обе стороны Керченского пролива строятся церкви, в Фанагории учреждается епископская кафедра и строится христианский храм, внутреннему убранству которого, скорее всего, принадлежали два мраморных резервуара для воды, сигмовидный стол и рельеф с изображением Орфея, найденные при раскопках на «Нижнем городе». Форма и материал, из которого изготовлен один из найденных резервуаров, позво ляет интерпретировать его как крещальную купель. Причем небольшая глубина найден ной емкости не означает, что в ней крестили только детей, поскольку в большинстве случаев крещение совершалось без полного погружения: стоявшего в купели крещаемого просто обливали водой. Однако уже с 4 в. при крещении начали использовать стоячую воду, а наполнять купель предписывалось вручную. Поэтому объяснить назначение двух отверстий в фанагорийском резервуаре в случае его использования в качестве купели трудно. Лучше объясняет наличие двух отверстий другой возможный вариант использования резервуара: в качестве реликвария, в котором хранились мощи, их частицы или какие-то другие реликвии. Через верхнее отверстие в реликварий на хранящиеся в нем мощи наливали масло, которое выливалось через отверстие в нижней части. Что касается чаши с ручками-выступами вдоль края, то подобные емкости, как правило, определяют либо как купели для крещения детей, либо, чаще, как чаши для освященной воды, которую в раннехристианское время использовали для ритуального омовения рук перед входом в храм. Известные автору точные аналогии фанагорийскому сосуду происходят исключительно с территории провинций Мезия Секунда и Фракия. Не исключено, что именно оттуда фанагорийская емкость была привезена войсками, присланными на Боспор Юстинианом для подавления восстания против ставленника Византии Грода. Мраморный сигмовидной стол с арочной каймой также мог входить в состав инвентаря христианского храма. В церковном обиходе использование таких столов было вторичным, взятым из светской жизни и идет от раннехристианской традиции совместных поминальных трапез, совершавшихся над могилами мучеников. Позже их использовали в храмах в качестве престолов и столов для приношений, а также в трапезных монастырей. Несмотря на то, что сигмовидные столы, в частности столы с арочной каймой, использовали как в светском, так и христианском обиходе, их находки вне контекста обычно связывают с христианскими храмами. Однако в подобных случаях нельзя исключать возможность их использования и в качестве обычного обеденного стола. Наконец, с христианством может быть связана мраморная плитка с изображением Орфея, образ которого перешел в христианскую иконографию из языческого искусства. Незначительные размеры и сильная потертость фанагорийского фрагмента, к сожалению, не позволяют уверенно определить религиозный статус изображения, который, как правило устанавливают по составу «слушателей» и контексту. Строго говоря, из перечисленных находок только одну, мраморную чашу с вырезанным крестом, можно отнести к предметам интерьера христианского храмового комплекса безусловно. Сигмовидный стол могли использовать и в христианском культе, и по его прямому назначению – в качестве обеденного стола. Образ Орфея одинаково использовался как язычниками, так и христианами. Разным целям мог служить и мраморный резервуар. Но среди аргументов за и против их использования в христианском культе, все же превалируют первые. Кроме того, обнаружение всех предметов на довольно небольшом участке «Нижнего города» позволяет надеяться на то, что в ходе будущих раскопок здесь будет открыт христианский храм, и таким образом подтвердится предложенная интерпретация найденных предметов. Храм, к которому, возможно, относились перечисленные находки, по-видимому, был разрушен в середине 6 в. Тогда же, скорее всего, прекратила существование и Фанагорийская епархия. Какие-либо сведения о фанагорийских христианах более позднего времени полностью отсутствуют, но, судя по информации о христианских общинах, имевшихся в других центрах региона, а также в городах Хазарского каганата, были они и в Фанагории, которая в этот период, скорее всего, входила в состав Зихийской епархии. У нас нет сви детельств о притеснениях христиан в городах Хазарского каганата. Наоборот, согласно сведениям, содержащимся в письменных источниках, жизнь христиан там протекала до вольно спокойно. О благосклонном отношении хазарской элиты к христианству говорят и браки с византийским императорским домом, в частности брак Юстиниана II и сестры кагана Феодоры, после заключения которого он «уехал в Фанагорию и жил там с Феодорой» (Theoph. Chron. 704–705; пер. И.С. Чичурова). 2 Что же касается археологических свидетельств, то число связанных с христианством находок 8–10 вв. чрезвычайно мало, и их невозможно связать непосредственно с христианским населением Фанагории. Extremely low amounts of finds related to Christianity and their uneven distribution over time presents difficulties in reconstructing the history of the Phanagorian Christian community. The information on the history of Christianity in other centres of the North-Eastern Black Sea, a region where Phanagoria played a crucial part, can help fill the blanks to a certain extent. Without any doubt, the new religion arrived to Phanagoria, as well as to the other centres of the Bosporan kingdom, in the last quarter of the third century AD from Asia Minor, when the Goths brought Christians as captives from their pirate raids. The first recorded signs of Christianity in the Bosporos belong to the period after the sea campaigns of the “barbarians”. These include personal possessions with Christian symbols and Christian burial plots in the necropolis in Kerch. A small number of early Christian monuments points to the fact that during this period the spread of Christianity in the region heavily relied on the activities of missionaries, while the number of christians was still small. Later, after the inclusion of the Bosporos in the sphere of influence of the Byzantine Empire, the church and the state were making joint efforts to Christianize the region: most likely, it was at this time that Christian churches were built on both sides of the Kerch Strait, an episcopal chair was established in Phanagoria and a Christian church was built, decorated with two marble water tanks, a sigmoid table and a relief depicting Orpheus. All this was found during the excavations in the “Lower City” trench. 2 Чичуров 1980, 62. Христианство в Фанагории. Археологические свидетельства 71 The shape and material from which one of the found tanks is made allows for its interpreta tion as a baptistery. The small depth of the found container does not necessarily mean that only children were baptised in it, since in most cases baptism was performed without complete immersion. The baptised stood in the font and water was poured over him. However, from the fourth century AD stagnant water was used for baptism, and the font had to be filled manually. It is, therefore, difficult to explain the purpose of the two holes in the Phanagorean reservoir if it was used as a font. Their presence is better explained by another possible use of the tank – as a reliquary. Oil was poured into the reliquary through the upper opening to cover the relics stored in it, and then came out through the opening in the lower part. Regarding the bowls with protruding handles along the edge, such vessels are considered to serve either as fonts for child baptism, or, more often, as bowls for consecrated water, which, during the early Christian times, were used to wash hands before entering the temple. Their exact analogies, known to the author, come exclusively from the provinces of Moesia Secunda and Thrace. It is possible that it was from there that the Phanagorian container was brought by the troops, which were sent to the Bosporos by Justinian to suppress the uprising against the Byzantine ruler named Grod. A marble sigmoid table with an arched border could also be part of the inventory of a Christian church. In church life, the use of such tables was secondary. It comes from secular life, from the early Christian tradition of communal meals served on the graves of martyrs. Later they were used in temples and monasteries as thrones and tables for offerings. Despite the fact that sigmoid tables, particularly those with an arched border, were used both in secular and Christian everyday life, they are usually associated with Christian churches when found out of context. However, one cannot exclude the possibility of them being used as a regular dining table. Finally, a marble tile with the image of Orpheus, which came to the Christian iconography from pagan art, can also be associated with Christianity. Unfortunately, due to its insignificant size and severe damage, this fragment does not allow us to determine the religious status of the image with any degree of certainty. Usually such assumptions can be made based on the amount of depicted listeners and the find’s context. Strictly speaking, only one of the listed finds, a marble bowl with a carved cross, can be attributed to the items from the interior of the Christian temple. The sigmoid table could be used both in the Christian cult and for its original purpose, as a dining table. The image of Orpheus was used by both pagans and Christians. A marble tank could possibly also serve different purposes. However, between the arguments “for” and “against” its use in a Christian context, the former prevail. In addition, the discovery of all the objects together in a rather small area of the “Lower City” excavation site allows us to hope that, during future excavations, a Christian church will be discovered here, confirming our interpretations. The temple to which the finds may have belonged was apparently destroyed in the middle of the sixth century AD. At the same time, most likely, the Phanagorian diocese also ceased to exist. There is no information on Phanagorian Christians during later periods, but, judging by the information about the Christian communities that existed in other centres of the region, as well as in the cities of the Khazar Khaganate, Christians were present in Phanagoria, which, during this period was likely a part of the Zikhia diocese. So far, we have no evidence of the oppression of Christians in the cities of the Khazar Khaganate. On the contrary, according to the information from written sources, the life of Christians there was a rather calm one. The favourable attitude of the Khazar elite towards Christianity is also evidenced by marriages with the Byzantine imperial family. Of particular interest is the marriage of Justinian II and the sister of the Khagan, Theodora, after which he “left for Phanagoria and lived there with Theodora”. As for archaeological evidence, the number of finds associated with Christianity from the 8th to 10th centuries AD is extremely low, and it is impossible to connect them directly with the Christian population of Phanagoria.

In his book The Long Truce (Spence Publishing, 2001) the late A. J. Conyers argues that tolerance, as practiced in western democracies, is not a public virtue; it is a political strat- egy employed to establish power and guarantee profits. Tolerance, of course, seemed to be a reasonable response to the religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but tolerance based upon indifference to all values except political power and materialism relegated ultimate questions of meaning to private life. Conyers offers another model for tolerance based upon values and resources already resident in pre-Reformation Christianity. In this paper, we consider Conyer’s case against the modern, secular form of tolerance and its current practice. We examine his attempt to reclaim the practice of Christian tolerance based upon humility, hospitality and the “powerful fact” of the incarnation. Furthermore, we bring the late Conyers into dialog with Fethullah Gülen, a Muslim scholar, prolific writer and the source of inspiration for a transnational civil society movement. We explore how both Conyers and Gülen interpret their scriptures in order to fashion a theology and politi- cal ideology conducive to peaceful co-existence. Finally, because Gülen’s identity has been formed within the Sufi tradition, we reflect on the spiritual resources within Sufi spirituality that make dialog and toleration key values for him. Conyers locates various values, practices and convictions in the Christian message that pave the way for authentic toleration. These include humility, trust, reconciliation, the interrelat- edness of all things, the paradox of power--that is, that strength is found in weakness and greatness in service—hope, the inherent goodness of creation, and interfaith dialog. Conyers refers to this latter practice as developing “the listening heart” and “the open soul.” In his writings and oral addresses, Gülen prefers the term hoshgoru (literally, “good view”) to “tolerance.” Conceptually, the former term indicates actions of the heart and the mind that include empathy, inquisitiveness, reflection, consideration of the dialog partner’s context, and respect for their positions. The term “tolerance” does not capture the notion of hoshgoru. Elsewhere, Gülen finds even the concept of hoshgoru insufficient, and employs terms with more depth in interfaith relations, such as respect and an appreciation of the positions of your dialog partner. The resources Gülen references in the context of dialog and empathic acceptance include the Qur’an, the prophetic tradition, especially lives of the companions of the Prophet, the works of great Muslim scholars and Sufi masters, and finally, the history of Islamic civilization. Among his Qur’anic references, Gülen alludes to verses that tell the believers to represent hu- mility, peace and security, trustworthiness, compassion and forgiveness (The Qur’an, 25:63, 25:72, 28:55, 45:14, 17:84), to avoid armed conflicts and prefer peace (4:128), to maintain cordial relationships with the “people of the book,” and to avoid argumentation (29:46). But perhaps the most important references of Gülen with respect to interfaith relations are his readings of those verses that allow Muslims to fight others. Gülen positions these verses in historical context to point out one by one that their applicability is conditioned upon active hostility. In other words, in Gülen’s view, nowhere in the Qur’an does God allow fighting based on differences of faith. An important factor for Gülen’s embracing views of empathic acceptance and respect is his view of the inherent value of the human. Gülen’s message is essentially that every human person exists as a piece of art created by the Compassionate God, reflecting aspects of His compassion. He highlights love as the raison d’etre of the universe. “Love is the very reason of existence, and the most important bond among beings,” Gülen comments. A failure to approach fellow humans with love, therefore, implies a deficiency in our love of God and of those who are beloved to God. The lack of love for fellow human beings implies a lack of respect for this monumental work of art by God. Ultimately, to remain indifferent to the conditions and suffering of fellow human beings implies indifference to God himself. While advocating love of human beings as a pillar of human relations, Gülen maintains a balance. He distinguishes between the love of fellow human beings and our attitude toward some of their qualities or actions. Our love for a human being who inflicts suffering upon others does not mean that we remain silent toward his violent actions. On the contrary, our very love for that human being as a human being, as well as our love of those who suffer, necessitate that we participate actively in the elimination of suffering. In the end we argue that strong resonances are found in the notion of authentic toleration based on humility advocated by Conyers and the notion of hoshgoru in the writings of Gülen.