Faculty Seal ****************************************************************************************** * The faculty seal and its symbolism ****************************************************************************************** Think – Act – Speak: Theology as Salt Some reflections on the emblem of the Faculty Pavel Filipi When the Prague Protestant Theological Faculty was established in 1919, its founders were small task, in addition to many more major ones: how to represent symbolically the traditi building on and the goals they were aiming at. They therefore designed a new emblem, which today as the seal of the Faculty. How is its symbolism to be understood? In the centre of a circular design we see a chalice. This symbolises clearly enough the li heritage of the Czech Reformation, especially with the Hussite Reformation, which reintrod of the chalice by laypeople at celebrations of the Lord’s Supper. In 1417 the entire Theol of Prague University called for communion under both kinds, taking the side of the revolut risking its very existence: within a year the Council of Constance had withdrawn its licen In choosing this symbol, the new Faculty demonstrated that it was committed to the chalice this might entail) just as the Hussites had been, and that it rejected any kind of clerica theological clericalism. In the top half of the round design we can read the Latin words: SAPERE, AGERE, LOQUI, whi English: think, act, speak. The historical origin of this motto goes back to Jan Amos Kome the last bishop of the old Unity of Brethren. The choice of these terms and the way they a together can be understood without any further explanation. The theology the new Faculty w should be scholarly, requiring a rigorous intellectual discipline; it should be practical, to action; and finally, it should be based on dialogue, rejecting all other means of putti truth apart from the Word. The order in which the terms are placed is perhaps surprising, third place, forming the climax of the motto. But this surprise disappears when we remembe importance the Czech Reformation attached to the freedom of God’s word. Freely proclaiming Word is in itself “the freest of actions” (actus liberimus omnium) and is capable of freei from its Babylonian captivity. Again and again, even in times of the greatest oppression, Christians have experienced the fact that “God’s Word is not chained” (2 Tim. 2:9), and th contrary it creates a space for free speech around itself. Following on from this experien the Faculty founders committed themselves to establishing the Faculty as a refuge of free the freedom of God’s word. In the central part of the emblem, to the left and right of the chalice, is a conundrum in references to Scripture – Leviticus 2:13 and Mark 9:49. In both passages the word “salt” ( be found. The connection between the motto and the Scripture quotations becomes clear when the initial letters of the three words in the motto (Sapere, Agere, Loqui) together form t SAL. But what have theology and a theological faculty to do with salt? What led our predecessor design of the emblem to select these two passages from among the many places in the Bible mentioned? Today we can only guess at the exegesis they had in mind. We can however be rea that the version of the quotation from Mark that they had in front of them was one that is borne out by the original manuscripts, but is often found in Reformed translations of the to this version, Jesus' words were: “Every sacrifice will be salted with salt.” We are str that in both passages the word “salt” is closely linked with the concept of sacrificial of 2:13 enjoins: “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of your God out of your grain offerings. Add salt to all your offerings.” Theology as a reference to sacrifice? Did the founders of the Faculty want to emphasize th should continue to direct its attention to the core of the Christian message – Christ’s sa the cross? Maybe. But perhaps they had something else in mind when they designed the emble quotations salt is referred to as an additional ingredient that becomes dissolved and disp the sacrificial offering. And this self-dissolution and self-dispersal is one of the basic theology. By calling into question its own instincts of self-preservation it commits the w thinking, acting and speaking to the service of both Christian and civic communities, warn them against the corruption of egoism, and encourages them to serve selflessly those who a to be of least importance in this world. In this way theology can make its contribution to that the human family does not lose the dimension of self-denial and voluntary renunciatio neither a life of human dignity nor peaceful coexistence are possible.