Milan Vukomanović

The Gospel of Thomas and Early Christian Monasticism in Egypt

Pavel Eder

Prorok není vítaný ve své domovině: Tomášovo evangelium jako svědek prastaré předevangelijní tradice

Jan Štefan

Josef Smolík – Učitel Komenského fakulty

Tabita Landová

Liturgika Josefa Smolíka: Kapitola z dějin české evangelické liturgiky

Petr Macek

Současné pokusy o interpretaci evangelia 1966–1993

Ondřej Kolář

Prorocká úloha církve: Boží jednání v dějinách jako komunikativní dění

Adriána Belanji Biela

Review: Ivana Noble – Zdenko Širka (eds.). Kdo je člověk?

Ondřej Havelka

Review: David L. Eastman. Early North African Christianity

Martin T. Zikmund

Review:Tomáš Halík. Odpoledne křesťanství (odvaha k proměně)

Author:

Milan Vukomanović

Abstract:

This article tackles the issue of the possible Egyptian provenance of the Gospel of To¬mas (GT). By the beginning of the third century, GT already circulated in the Christian circles of Alexandria. Furthermore, at least one version of this document had been trans¬mitted to Oxyrhynchus before 200 C.E., that is, prior to the terminus ad quem for one of the Greek manuscripts of Tomas. In order to reassess this hypothesis, the author delves into the problem of origin of Egyptian monasticism and examines the earliest attesta¬tions about the use of GT in Alexandria (Origen) and Asia Minor (Hippolytus). This in¬quiry leads to a negative result concerning the possible Egyptian birthplace of Tomas, and allows for the existence of an earlier stratum of sayings in GT deriving from a first- century source. Due to the paucity of historical data, such a hypothesis would hardly be tenable in the Egyptian context. Therefore, the most one could suggest at this point of research is that the GT reached Alexandria from Palestine or Asia Minor, where it had already been known in the first half of the second century

Cite As:

VUKOMANOVIĆ, Milan. The Gospel of Thomas and Early Christian Monasticism in Egypt. Teologická reflexe. 28/1 (2022), p. 3-25.

Keywords:

Gospel of Thomas, Early Christianity, monasticism, Egypt

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/27880796.2022.1.1

published: 18. 08. 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Author:

Pavel Eder

Abstract:

No Prophet is Accepted in His Hometown: Gospel of Thomas as Witness to Ancient Pre-Gospel Tradition (Mk 6:1–6a and GTh 31)

The similarity of materials recorded in Mk 6:6–6a and GTh 31 speaking of the rejection of the prophet among people who are close to him reveals in dialogue with synoptic parallels new findings. Currently, the close connection between Thomas’ logion and Luke’s version leads some researchers to conclusions about the obvious literary dependence of Thomas’ gospel on the version according to Luke. In this paper, we offer an alternative view that convincingly demonstrates through the analysis of the canonical parallels and the Greek fragment of Thomas’ logion no. 31 that the supposed Lukianisms are more likely to be original references to an ancient, pre-Markan literary source. Thanks to redactional layers apparent in the versions of Mark and Matthew, independent testimonies can be seen in the Gospels of Luke and Thomas, which lead us up to the old literary roots of the written Gospels.

Cite As:

EDER, Pavel. Prorok není vítaný ve své domovině: Tomášovo evangelium jako svědek prastaré předevangelijní tradice.Teologická reflexe. 27/2 (2021), p. 26-41.

Keywords:

Early Christian literature; Apocrypha; Gospel according to Mark; Gospel ac¬cording to Thomas; redaction criticism

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/27880796.2022.1.2

published: 18. 08. 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Author:

Jan Štefan

Abstract:

Josef Smolík – A Teacher of the Comenius Faculty

For four decades, 1950–1990, Josef Smolík was a professor at the Comenius Protestant Theological Faculty in Prague. As the only one of Czech practical theologians, he taught at the faculty throughout its existence and his teaching included all basic practical-theological disciplines. He gradually published textbooks of liturgics (Some Chapters from the Liturgics, 1960), catechetics (Commitment of Baptism, 1974), homiletics (Joy of the Word, 1983) and poimenics (Pastoral Care, 1991). Smolík’s theological works culminate in the theological encyclopedia Introduction to the Study of Theology (1978) and in the ecumenically conceived practical ecclesiology Christ and His People (1997). He applied the achievements of his academic theology to ecclesiastical practice in a small catechetical handbook The Way of Life (1968) and in two volumes of the liturgical book (Agenda I, 1983; II, 1988). He paid constant attention to Historical Theology, especially the theology of the Unity of Brethren (Sermon in the Reformation, 1954; Jan Augusta, 1984) and of his theological masters and colleagues (Comenius Faculty’s Teachers, 1989; J. L. Hromádka. His Life and His Work, 1989/1991). Several generations of Czechs interested in modern theology drew on the monograph Current Attempts to Interpret the Gospel (1966–1993, five editions). The jubilee lecture is an attempt to present the binding heritage of Josef Smolík in all its amplitude, enriched with personal memories of our unforgettable teacher.

Cite As:

ŠTEFAN, Jan. Josef Smolík – Učitel Komenského fakulty. Teologická reflexe. 28/1 (2022), p. 42-62.

Keywords:

Josef Smolík, practical theology, ecumenical ecclesiology, Comenius Faculty in Prague 1950-1990, modern Czech Protestant theology

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/27880796.2022.1.3

published: 18. 08. 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Author:

Tabita Landová

Abstract:

Liturgics of Josef Smolík: A Contribution to the History of Czech Protestant Liturgics in the 20th Century

The Czech protestant practical theologian Josef Smolík (1922–2009) taught liturgics at the Comenius Theological Faculty in Prague for many decades and contributed significantly to the Agenda of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (1983, 1988). This article presents Smolík’s contribution to the development of protestant liturgy in the Czech Republic and also indicates in what areas contemporary liturgics has advanced. Smolík was initially strongly influenced by the theology of the Word, but at the same time absorbed the inspiration from the liturgical movement of the first half of the 20th century. After the Second Vatican Council, he further reconsidered some of his liturgical positions under the influence of the ecumenical movement. His work in the field of liturgics is still valued in academic circles at the Protestant Theological Faculty in Prague and in the church. However, it also has its sharp critics. His reform proposals have not been fully implemented in the worship of the church. From the point of view of contemporary liturgy, his theological reflection on worship, the relationship between Word and liturgical form, and the relationship between Word and sacraments should be appreciated. However, his attitude to the anthropological aspects of worship, from which he maintained a constant distance, should be critically evaluated.

Cite As:

LANDOVÁ, Tabita. Liturgika Josefa Smolíka: Kapitola z dějin české evangelické liturgiky. Teologická reflexe. 28/1 (2022), p. 63-81.

Keywords:

Josef Smolík, modern Czech Protestant liturgics, God’s word, sacraments, liturgical books

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/27880796.2022.1.4

published: 18. 08. 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Author:

Petr Macek

Abstract:

Current Attempts to Construe the Gospel 1966–1993

Josef Smolík’s endeavour to make the current theological stage available to all who might be interested both in the author’s homeland and elsewhere attained a popular response and was translated into other languages. Its publication had a number of editions in which the content has been gradually extended and in some instances reduced. The heading of some sections is puzzling, not all insights are convincing and some items remained unnoticed. This, however, has not diminished the value of this study text. The theological base and the value criteria of the study as they were expressed in its concluding section have remained the same.

Cite As:

MACEK, Petr. Současné pokusy o interpretaci evangelia 1966–1993. Teologická reflexe. 28/1 (2022), p. 82-93.

Keywords:

Josef Smolík, Gospel, theology, interpretation, world, eschatology

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/27880796.2022.1.5

published: 18. 08. 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Author:

Ondřej Kolář

Abstract:

The Prophetic Role of the Church: God’s Action in History as a Communicative Event

This study, which was presented at a symposium on Josef Smolík, first analyses how this author understood the prophetic role of the Church. According to Smolík, the prophetic charism makes it possible to discern God’s will for the congregation, the church, and the individual. Smolík, however, refuses to understand the prophetic role of the church as the ability to deduct God’s action from history, or even to look into the details of God’s intentions for the world. Rather, the role of prophecy is to encourage the believer to find his place in a complex world and to develop the right attitude toward it. It seems that the issue of prophecy is not very prominent in the current theological discussion. This is due, among other things, to the great upheavals that the doctrine of providence has undergone in the last century under the pressure of historical catastrophes. Theology has not only learned to be reluctant to attempts at a theology of history, but has also challenged the traditional doctrine of God’s action in the world. Several models of God’s action can be distinguished in today’s debate, of which the communicative model, resting on God’s appeal and human response to it, has gained much resonance. This also brings the topic of prophecy back into play, albeit in a different context. The communicative model succeeds in defending God’s action against the objections of natural science and in giving adequate space to human free action, but at the cost of abandoning the traditional notion of God’s rule over history.

Cite As:

KOLÁŘ, Ondřej. Prorocká úloha církve: Boží jednání v dějinách jako komunikativní dění. Teologická reflexe. 28/1 (2022), p. 94-108.

Keywords:

Josef Smolík, prophecy, theology of history, providence, God’s action

Full text

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/27880796.2022.1.6

published: 18. 08. 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Author:

Adriána Belanji Biela

Cite As:

BELANJI BIELA, Adriána. Recenze: Ivana Noble – Zdenko Širka (eds.). Kdo je člověk? Teologická antropologie ekumenicky. Teologická reflexe. 28/1 (2022), p. 109-113.

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/27880796.2022.1.7

published: 18. 08. 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Author:

Ondřej Havelka

Cite As:

HAVELKA, Ondřej. Recenze: David L. Eastman. Early North African Christianity. Teologická reflexe. 28/1 (2022), p. 114-116.

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/27880796.2022.1.8

published: 18. 08. 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Author:

Martin T. Zikmund

Cite As:

ZIKMUND, Martin T. Tomáš Halík. Odpoledne křesťanství (odvaha k proměně). Teologická reflexe. 28/1 (2022), p. 116-118.

Full text

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/27880796.2022.1.9

published: 18. 08. 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).