Tim Noble

Beauty and the Beasts

Anne Marie Reijnen

Beauty of the Cosmos and Beauty Crucified. Two Theses

Gesa Thiessen

Beauty Reminding Us of the Lost Paradise or of the Kingdom to Come?

Kateřina Kočandrle Bauer

A Sophiological Understanding of Beauty

Petr Husák

Does Beauty Matter in Agriculture? Landscape, Horses, and Vineyards

Athanasios Papathanasiou

Traditional “African Anarchism” and Orthodox Theology. Is a Dialogue between them Possible?

Tim Noble

Book review: Europa (neu) erzählen. Inszenierungen Europas in politischer, theologischer und kulturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive, edited by Martin Kirschner

Author:

Tim Noble

Abstract

Editorial

Citation:

NOBLE, Tim. Beauty and the Beasts. Communio Viatorum. 2022, vol. 64, issue 3, pp. 175-181.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/00103713.2022.3.1

published: 12.03.2023

Author:

Anne Marie Reijnen

Abstract

This paper presents two theses concerning beauty. The first thesis affirms the universal appeal of beauty as cosmos. Harmony, order, regularity, symmetry are the constant elements of classical beauty acknowledged by all, along with a sense of economy, of the proportion between the means and the end, without waste. The second thesis deals with another beauty which interrupts the harmony. This can be called beauty crucified. It is counter intuitive and paradoxical. It is God’s Word revealing itself in the astounding anomaly of a bush burning without being consumed, and in the life that rises from a gruesome death. These two theses do not aim to be antithetical, for both kinds of beauty are at home in the world. The two forms or meanings of beauty may, therefore, appear to be difficult to reconcile. But the article concludes by suggesting that Paul Tillich, writing on holy waste, may offer one way of understanding the ongoing validity and importance of both theses.

Keywords:

beauty – cosmology – harmony – paradox – Paul Tillich

Citation:

REIJNEN, Anne Marie. Beauty of the Cosmos and Beauty Crucified. Two Theses. Communio Viatorum. 2022, vol. 64, issue 3, pp. 181-191.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/00103713.2022.3.2

published: 12.03.2023

Author:

Gesa Thiessen

Abstract

Based on apaper given at a conference, this article seeks to go beyond a mere recounting of leading theologians’ writings on beauty and aesthetics. Rather it focuses on an exploration of where most people concrete instances of beauty in our world that may remind them/us of both the lost paradise and of the kingdom of God. The paper asks whether beauty reminds us of a lost paradise, a beauty to which we desire to return, or of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of justice, peace and goodness, to which we are inexorably drawn. It suggests that beauty pertains to both paradise and the kingdom of God, not least as they are not entirely separate entities but are linked with one another.

Keywords:

Paradise – Kingdom – Beauty – artists’ colonies – theological aesthetics

Citation:

THEISSEN, Gesa. Beauty Reminding Us of the Lost Paradise or of the Kingdom to Come? Communio Viatorum. 2022, vol. LXIV, issue 3, pp. 192-203.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/00103713.2022.3.3

published: 12.03.2023

Author:

Kateřina Kočandrle Bauer

Abstract

The article elaborates on the notion of beauty in the Russian Orthodox context of sophiology as one of the theological streams of the modern period. It explores a sophiological understanding of beauty in the work of two significant Russian Orthodox priests and close friends, Sergei Bulgakov and Pavel Florensky. It also brings into the discussion the unconventional voice of Bulgakov’s spiritual daughter, the Orthodox nun Mother Maria Skobtsova. It shows their understanding of the beauty that is manifested increation, in people, and in human creativity and love. It also answers the question of what kind of beauty saves the world and how we distinguish beauty from ugliness and mere aestheticism.

Keywords:

Sophia – beauty – nature – art – icon – Sergei Bulgakov – Pavel Florensky – Mother Maria Skobtsova

Citation:

KOČANDRLE BAUER, Kateřina. A Sophiological Understanding of Beauty. Communio Viatorum. 2022, vol. 64, issue 3, pp. 204-216.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/00103713.2022.3.4

published: 12.03.2023

Author:

Petr Husák

Abstract

In this text, the author addresses the question of the extent to which aesthetic values, specifically the idea of the beautiful, can influence or motivate the decision-making process and specific actions of people involved in agriculture.In this context, the issue of identity and the importance of imagination inreal life are also addressed. In doing so, the article draws on some of the methodological insights gained through earlier research on priestly identities.The author attempts to concretize his reflections through a theoretical analysis of his own experience of the interconnection between the university vocation and the vocation of the vineyard worker, which he contextualizes with someinsights gained from the community of farmers who use= draft horses in their work. Last but not least, the author suggests some changes in the aesthetic perception of the landscape among small farmers. The author presents the text as aninvitation for discussion, inspiration and further interdisciplinary research at the intersection of history, sociology, aesthetics and environmental studies.

Keywords:

human and landscape, aesthetics of landscape, agriculture, horses, vineyards, identity, imagination

Citation:

HUSÁK, Petr. Does Beauty Matter in Agriculture? Landscape, Horses, and Vineyards. Communio Viatorum. 2022, vol. LXIV, issue 3, pp. 217-233.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/00103713.2022.3.5

published: 12.03.2023

Author:

Athanasios Papathanasiou

Abstract

This article has a twofold aim. It offers a study of precolonial African politicalsystems, and especially those which are often referred to as “traditional African anarchism.” These, despite their influence on many independence movements and political theories and practices in contemporary Africa are mostly ignored in theology, certainly outside of Africa. But the article seeks to engage with them and to study their correspondence to certain strains of Orthodox theology, which question the entrenched hierarchism within the Church. The approach of the article is not simply to excavate historically interesting material, but to seek to demonstrate how traditional thought can inspire political and theological discussions today, both within the context of the Orthodox Church and more broadly among Christians.

Keywords:

African anarchism – Julius Nyerere – traditional African governance – Orthodox Church – Christianity and politics

Citation:

PAPATHANASIOU, Athanasios. Traditional “African Anarchism” and Orthodox Theology. Is a Dialogue between them Possible? Communio Viatorum. 2022, vol. LXIV, issue 3, pp. 234-258.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/00103713.2022.3.6

published: 12.03.2023

Author:

Tim Noble

Abstract

Review of the book: Martin Kirschner (Hrsg.), Europa (neu) erzählen. Inszenierungen Europas in politischer, theologischer und kulturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2022. Pp. 480. ISBN: 978-3-8487-8484-4.

Citation:

NOBLE, Tim. Book review: Martin Kirschner (ed.): Europa (neu) erzählen. Communio Viatorum. 2022, vol. LXIV, issue 3, pp. 259-266.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14712/00103713.2022.3.7

published: 12.03.2023