Religious History

From the foundation of the Order of St John in 11th century Syria as a community of lay brethren intent on providing shelter, care and assistance to pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, the destiny of the Hospitaller Knights was irremediably moulded for most of the next millennium. Geography, circumstance, religious ideology, and the pursuit of wealth all conspired to transform the future of the Hospitallers into a violent one, in keeping with the surrounding environment of the Middle East and the rest of the Mediterranean. The Order’s attitude to conflict changed, however, when the theatre of war shifted from the Mediterranean to mainland Europe. The acquisition of property in Latin Syria helped chart the course of the Order’s history, rendering the Hospitallers sensitive to events on the continent. Any land property in Europe was at risk of intrusion, occupation or exploitation by armies on the move, and the Hospital’s property was no exception. This study is an analysis of the Order of St John’s contrasting attitudes to violence, and the geographical, political, religious and historical situations that generated such an approach.

In the second half of the 16th century, Girolamo Righettino, a brilliant draughtsman and theologian (a member of the Order of the Canons Lateran), produced city views with ornamental frames characterised by their rich allegorical programme. The drawings earned him widespread fame and were handsomely rewarded. A recently discovered autograph manuscript by Righettino sheds precious light on his only surviving view-an elaborate plan of Turin (1583). This article offers an introductory portrait of a personality forgotten to history and presents new research that allows us to situate his unique output-at the intersection of art and science, theology and politics, topography and allegory-in the wider context of Counter-Reformation Italy, when the ambitions of absolutist rulers were stoked by the fear of Turkish advances in the Mediterranean.

This paper deals with the relation between God and the secular legal systems of Western liberal democracies. It provides a normative argument for the compatibility of God and secular legal reasoning. In our age, in which believing in God is no longer socially axiomatic and the right to religious freedom protects all kinds of theistic and non-theistic religious beliefs, creeds, and first philosophies, it seems contrary to religious neutrality for secular legal systems to single out God. This paper instead argues that, although God and religion are inextricably intertwined, they affect the legal system in different ways because they are ontologically different. God cannot be reduced to a mere component of theistic religion. This paper argues that a proper understanding of secularization might call for keeping God outside the legal system but not for driving God out of the public sphere of democratic societies. Secular legal systems are not atheist legal systems. Secular legal systems are legal systems 'without religion' but not 'without God.' Secularization implies some degree of minimal recognition of God as a metalegal concept. The specific degree of recognition of God appropriate for any given political community depends on its cultural and communitarian identity and should be subject to the rules of democratic procedures and majorities. This is the metalegal God.

This essay was published in The Bible and Early Trinitarian Theology, edited by Christopher A. Beeley and Mark E. Weedman, for the CUAP Studies in Early Christianity (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2018); this is the uncorrected proofs. Exploring the humanity and divinity of Jesus, the Son's relation to the Father, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, it is one of five essays suggesting Johannine contributions to trinitarian discussions in the early church.

Baha’u’llah’s Bishārāt (Glad-Tidings):
A Proclamation to Scholars and Statesmen
Christopher Buck and Youli A. Ioannesyan
Baha’i Studies Review 16 (2010): 3–28.

This article is a historical and textual study of the one of the major writings of Baha’u’llah: the Lawḥ-i Bishārāt (‘Tablet of Glad-Tidings’), revealed circa 1891, and advances new theories as to its provenance and purpose. The ‘Tablet of Glad-Tidings’ is a selective compendium of Baha’u’llah’s laws and principles, sequentially presented in a series of fifteen ‘Glad-Tidings.’ As the Arabic term, bishārāt, suggests, these ‘Glad-Tidings’ were a public announcement of some of the essential teachings of the new Baha’i religion. The ‘Glad-Tidings’ is the most extensive of several ‘Tablets’ by Baha’u’llah that present key teachings in a numbered structure. The Glad-Tidings may, in part, be regarded as serially articulated ‘world reforms’ intermixed with religious reforms emanating from Baha’u’llah in his professed role as ‘World Reformer.’ The ‘Glad-Tidings’ also functioned analogously (albeit anachronistically) to a press release, serving not only as a public proclamation, but to rectify the inaccuracies and gross misrepresentations that had previously circulated in print. Intended for widespread translation and publication, the Glad-Tidings was sent to scholars — notably Russian orientalist, Baron Viktor Rosen (1849–1908) and Cambridge Orientalist, Edward Granville Browne (1862–1926) — and possibly pre-revolutionary Russian statesmen as well. As a ‘Proclamatory Aqdas,’ the Tablet of Glad-Tidings was part of a much broader proclamation by Baha’u’llah, who proclaimed his mission to the political and religious leaders of the world. This study will argue that the Baha’u’llah may have revealed the Tablet of Glad-Tidings for E.G. Browne — or rather through him, since Baha’u’llah evidently intended that Browne should translate and publish the Bishārāt in order to make the nature of the Baha'i teachings more widely known. This would then correct the distortions that had previously been published regarding Baha’u’llah's purpose and the nature of the religion that he founded, thereby, promoting a public awareness that a new world religion was on the horizon of modernity.

Monarchia della verità indaga una componente ideologica fondamentale della Controriforma: l’ossessione ecclesiastica per la 'veritas', concepita nella versione dogmatica di 'doctrina' e ortodossia in opposizione alla formulazione umanistica della 'veritas' come ricerca. Da Poggio Bracciolini a Montaigne, gli umanisti esprimono un concetto di 'religio' coincidente con la ricerca stessa della verità, rinunciando a definizioni esclusive o dogmatiche e astenendosi da difese di carattere polemico o controversistico. I teologi adottano invece il concetto dogmatico di 'doctrina', identificando la 'veritas' nell’ortodossia e favorendo il formarsi di un clima di oscurantismo clericale e di generale intolleranza nei confronti dell’autonomia umanistica, dell’individualismo religioso e del libero pensiero, con Valla, Erasmo e Machiavelli in testa.
In questo libro l’autore prende in esame il primato normativo della verità nella Chiesa del Cinquecento e del primo Seicento con lo scopo di illustrare modelli culturali e pedagogici della Controriforma e rilevarne i miti: cronotassi pontificia, agiografia e culto delle reliquie, concetto eroico del documento, didattica figurativa, giurisdizione curiale, temporalismo papale. Tuttavia, la sopravvivenza della tradizione umanistica e il suo confrontarsi dialetticamente con le culture dogmatiche di Riforma e Controriforma si evidenziano in momenti significativi della storia culturale e religiosa della prima età moderna: in particolare, nel dibattito europeo 'de puniendis haereticis' originato dal tragico rogo di Michele Serveto, nel ricorso all’elemento storico in sede di polemica confessionale, nei processi di Bruno e Galilei e nelle discussioni sulla 'libertas investigandi', nel nicodemismo di artisti, scienziati e anticlericali cristiani, infine nella ripresa – specialmente in Olanda e nelle aree della diaspora sociniana – del pacifismo erasmiano e dell’utopismo di Thomas More, associati alla critica del Valla e all’irenismo di Sebastiano Castellione. Un esempio insigne è la proposta irenica di Jakob Arminius, calvinista di cultura umanistica, formulata a Leida nel 1605 con l’intento di superare i contrasti tra cristiani e realizzare la pacificazione sociale e religiosa.

The twelfth century was a period of significant development and change in the religious and secular world of Western Europe. One area of transition occurred in depictions of Christ’s crucifixion. In both writing and art, the triumphant living Christ of the early Middle ages, was transformed into the dying, suffering, and yet majestic savior of the twelfth century.  This essay examines images and written sources from the fourth to the twelfth centuries, and seeks to determine how the twelfth century renaissance and reformation—based on the discovery of the individual— influenced this evolution.

This article deals with an important festival in Tibet dedicated to the future Buddha Maitreya. It was held on three days in summer when three giant thangkas showing Buddhas Amitābha, Śākyamuni and Maitreya were put on public display. Introduced in the seventeenth century, it became a defining feature of the monastic life in the Dge lugs monastery of Bkra shis lhun po, the seat of the Panchen Lamas. It attained a supra-regional importance, which even extended to Mongolia. Based on a number of textual sources, this essay examines various aspects of this festival, how it was funded, who participated, and which rituals and ceremonies were conducted. It also analyses the history and iconography of the three giant textile thangkas by discussing in detail the contributions made during the reign of each respective Panchen Lama from the past to the present. In sum, the article argues that this festival has to be seen in the context of a special bond the Dge lugs school of Tibetan Buddhism maintained to have with the future Buddha Maitreya

Nel secolo dei Lumi il nome di Maria Gaetana Agnesi affiora largamente nelle discussioni in atto sulla validità delle teorie newtoniane, sul calcolo infinitesimale di Leibniz e Newton, sull’istruzione femminile e il ruolo della donna nell’indagine scientifica. Nel confronto a distanza con Algarotti, la scienziata milanese promuove un newtonianesimo, delle donne e non  “per le donne”, dai tratti marcatamente neostoici. La pubblicazione delle Instituzioni analitiche, che le procurò fama e prestigio in Europa, segnò poi una svolta. Ammirata da Goldoni e detta immortale da Pietro Verri, Agnesi volle costruire una propria identità di scienziata e di donna autonoma nella dimensione etica dell’impegno sociale e dell’esperienza di fede, influenzata dalla spiritualità teatina e dalla religiosità di Muratori.

Elisa Tosi Brandi e Thessy Schoenholzer Nichols presentano uno studio relativo ad uno dei più antichi abiti alla moda rinvenuto in Italia. Si tratta di una veste femminile appartenuta alla beata Osanna Andreasi da Mantova, consigliera di Isabella d'Este e "santa di corte" dei Gonzaga, risalente alla seconda metà del XV secolo.
Le due autrici hanno studiato insieme il caso, precisamente Elisa Tosi Brandi si è occupata del contesto storico e sociale, Thessy Schoenholzer Nichols dello studio della fonte materiale e della sua ricostruzione ora esposta presso Casa Andreasi.

Elisa Tosi Brandi and Thessy Schoenholzer Nichols present a study of the oldest trendy clothes found in Italy. It is a woman's dress belonged to the Blessed Osanna Andreasi from Mantua, counselor of the Gonzaga court, dating from the second half of the fifteenth century.
The two authors have studied together the case, namely Elisa Tosi Brandi took over the historical and social context, Thessy Schoenholzer Nichols the study of the material source and its reconstruction, now display at Casa Andreasi.

Paper for the panel: The Viṣṇudharma and the Śivadharma: points of influence and divergence, 33. Deutscher Orientalistentag, Jena, Germany, 18–22 September 2017 

* Published now in the Introduction to the book "A Śaiva Utopia" on Academia * :
https://www.academia.edu/67886226/A_%C5%9Aaiva_Utopia_The_%C5%9Aivadharma_s_Revision_of_Brahmanical_Var%E1%B9%87%C4%81%C5%9Bramadharma 

In a recent papers examining the Śivadharma[śāstra], I analyzed that way the author of this work has recast several of the distinctive categories of Smārta Brahmanical dharma, particularly the four-āśrama model, affirming the varṇa (social class) categories but extending the range of ritual agency available to Śūdras and women through devotional observances (and in one verse, even to foreigners, 1.26), and generalizing acts of generosity and hospitality prescribed in Dharmaśāstra only for high-status recipients so as to benefit the needy regardless of status. In general terms, the Viṣṇudharma, apparently dating to roughly the same period, likewise adapts the varṇāśrama-dharma of early Dharmaśāstra to a sectarian religious orientation — in this case, Bhāgavata rather than Māheśvara — but with notably different results. First, where the Śivadharmaśāstra evidently presupposes the older non-sequential āśrama model of the Dharmasūtras, the Viṣṇudharma adopts the sequential model introduced in Manu's code (ca. 200 CE). Whereas the Śivadharma redirects the Smārta guest-reception rite and madhuparka meal for the benefit of Śiva-bhaktas (lay Śaivas adhering to a formal vow), no comparable rite appears in the Viṣṇudharma (where the elements of guest reception appear only as part of the ceremony of worshiping deities or ancient sages). Most notably, the Viṣṇudharma (especially in chapters 24–25, 66, and 105) enters into sectarian polemic against the threat posed in this decadent Kali age by " heretics " (pāṣaṇḍas) of many stripes, including Buddhists, Jains, Sāṃkhyas, skeptics, and false ascetics. Arguments framed in foreign languages (hetuvādair … mlecchabhāṣānibandhaiḥ) are singled out for condemnation (105.44), and Śūdras who become ascetics and go about without caste-markers provoke serious concern. The Śivadharmaśāstra makes no reference to " heretics " (and only the most circumspect allusion to other religious groups), and adopts a more inclusive social policy. In short, the Viṣṇudharma's conception of Viṣṇu-bhakti pointedly defends classical Smārta status hierarchy and its prerogatives, foregoing the Śivadharma's modest moves toward social inclusion. This paper concludes by setting these observations in the context of later trends in the two traditions.

There is an ongoing scholarly debate on the origin, meaning, and use of the epithet Most High God (Theos Hypsistos) which is attested in ca. 400 inscriptions, mostly from the Eastern Mediterranean, ranging from the second century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. While the earlier research considered them as representations of a syncretic ‘pagan monotheism’ originating in Jewish religious concepts, latest  studies emphasize the competitive elements among the Jewish, Christian, and Greco-Roman religions from the second century A.D. onwards, and stress the direct influence of an oracle of the Clarian Apollo in the spread of this formula among the pagans. This ‘paganizing’ process of the Theos Hypsistos formula was coined as megatheismos by A. Chaniotis instead of the widely used monotheismos. In my lecture I endeavor to summarize the Forschungsgeschichte of this heavily debated topic and to take a step further forward in the research.

Die Warschauer Anhänger des jüdischen Pseudomessias Jakob Frank und die Glaubensenthusiasten um die St. Petersburger Prophetin Ekaterina Tatarinova pflegten kirchliche und ausserkirchliche sowie rabbinische und nichtrabbinische religiöse Praxen zugleich. Aus vergleichender lebensweltlicher und mikrohistorischer Betrachtung entwickelt die Autorin das Konzept der "situativen Religiosität", um die Selbstverortungsstrategien dieser Gläubigen zu beschreiben. Das Konzept bricht das vorgelagerte Verständnis von hoogenen religiösen Identitäten auf und zeigt die Gleichzeitigkeit mehrfacher religiöser Identitäten als besonderes Phänomen der Epoche am Vorabend der religiös pluralistischen Industriegesellschaften, ohne diese Identitäten als marginal, deviant oder korrupt zu lokalisieren.

In this paper I set out some interpretive principles for understanding the American Civil War from a Christian perspective. Note: since 2010 I have changed many of my theological stances, so certain statements in this paper no longer accurately represent my beliefs.

La ville d’Utrecht, aux Pays-Bas, siège épiscopal jusqu’à la Réforme, devint au XVIIe siècle un bastion à la fois de l’orthodoxie réformée et du catholicisme, quand bien même l’Église réformée y disposait d’un statut privilégié comme dans l’ensemble des Provinces-Unies. C’est à cette étonnante survie du catholicisme, y compris dans les lieux de culte et dans des institutions politiques, qu’est consacré cet ouvrage, ainsi qu’à la coexistence confessionnelle qui se développa entre confessions concurrentes. L’analyse met en lumière la cristallisation des identités confessionnelles au cours de la seconde moitié du siècle et l’impact des relations internationales sur les tensions confessionnelles, mais aussi l’intégration entre membres de confessions différentes et la convivialité de la vie quotidienne, qui renvoie à la pluralité des identités sociales. Cet ouvrage apporte ainsi une contribution originale à l’étude de la coexistence religieuse dans l’Europe moderne, une thématique riche en enseignements pour le présent.

The city of Utrecht, in the Low Countries, was a diocesan see until the Reformation. In the seventeenth century, it became a bulwark of Reformed orthodoxy and of Catholicism, despite the priviledged status enjoyed by the Reformed Church in Utrecht as well in the whole United Provinces. This book investigates the surprising survival of Catholicism, as well as the coexistence that developed between competing denominations.

Inserendomi nell’ambito degli studi sulle migrazioni - un campo, non occorre dirlo, amplissimo - , con l’intervento che qui propongo intendo portare l’attenzione su un particolarissimo tipo di «migrazione» in età moderna, una migrazione forzata, quella che riguardò migliaia di uomini e donne che, tratti in schiavitù sull’una o sull’altra sponda del Mediterraneo, furono scambiati come merce e dunque venduti e trattati alla stregua di qualunque altro bene. Tale fenomeno, alimentato e reso possibile in grandissima parte da un’attività violenta e dai contorni legali incerti - tanto da fare parlare spesso indistintamente di guerra da corsa e di pirateria - determinò la nascita e lo straordinario sviluppo, tra primo Cinquecento e oltre la metà del Settecento, di un vero e proprio settore economico che la storiografia recente ha definito, con una fortunata espressione, il «commercio dei captivi».
Si trattò di un commercio realmente “transculturale”, un traffico che attraversava frontiere religiose, politiche e giuridiche, caratterizzato da un indice di rischio elevato a causa della natura delle transazioni, che si svolgevano in un contesto di ostilità o di violenza latente. Malgrado ciò, le fonti pervenuteci rivelano con tutta evidenza che non si trattò di un insieme di operazioni isolate e contingenti, bensì «d’un commerce pérenne et régulier». In questo senso, l’affare dei riscatti di prigionieri costituiva un settore economico e per di più, data la natura della merce scambiata, straordinariamente lucrativo, un affare, insomma, che prometteva guadagni considerevoli e attirava attori da ogni parte del Mediterraneo.
Dopo una breve introduzione sugli aspetti più generali del fenomeno, al fine di illustrare più nel dettaglio i meccanismi di questo particolare settore dell’economia mediterranea di età moderna, dedicherò la seconda parte dell’intervento alla presentazione di un caso concreto, ovvero, una redenzione di captivi effettuata dall’Ordine dei Mercedari ad Algeri nell’ultimo quarto del secolo XVII.

The course is a journey through 250 years of Italian history, from the French revolution to the current pontificate of Pope Francis. The aim is to capture fundamental moments and issues in the religious life of the Italian people. While focusing mainly on Italy, the course will also take into account questions and events that relate to the broader history of Western societies. The primary type of documents that will be examined are the papal encyclicals (official letters authored by the popes). The course will study the theological and political content of the encyclicals, as well as their linguistic and stylistic strategies. While focusing primarily on pontificates and their intellectual production, the course will pay attention also to the religious life of the people and the documents that reveal their devotion and beliefs. In this regard, the class will shed light on the historic tensions and conflicts in Catholic history between the religious canon (that is the set of laws and norms produced by the Holy See across the centuries), and the actual practices and beliefs of the people.
The course will be delivered in a seminar mode and host contributions from notable external scholars. Students will be invited to give presentations, comment on the readings, and be actively engaged all the time. Attention will be paid to the original Italian documents or their translation. Students with no knowledge of the Italian language are welcome to join.

Príspevok má za cieľ facilitovať reflexiu o dejinách saleziánskej charizmy v Strednej Európe. Vnímanie podobností a zároveň rozdielov v prežívaní charizmy v „post-komunistických“ zemiach je štartovný bod príspevku. Spôsob prezentácie je sled „obrazov“ objasňujúcich niektoré aspekty charizmy: dejinné, zemepisné, politické, kultúrne, komunikatívne, organizčné, koordinačné. Rozvinuté body:
1. Zemepis a história: Centrum, alebo hranica Európy ?
2. Ekonómia: Dôvod rastu a pádu komunizmu
3. Oratórium bez štruktúr ako antropologická skúsenosť: Slovensko 1950-1989
4. Kultúry, komunikácia a riadenie: habsburská, poľská a ruská mentalita
5. Železná opona a dva paralelné príbehy Európy
6. Post-komunistická antropológia medzi históriou, kultúrou, zemepisom,
totalitnými dynamikami a skúsenostnými danosťami

In April 2016, the remains of the very first “Glacis-chapel” have been discovered in the center of Luxembourg-city during extensive road works in preparation of the new tramway crossing the capital of Luxembourg. Although its approximate location was already known thanks to historical documents, the discovery came as a surprise as the remains were thought to be entirely demolished by road works in 1913.
The excavations operated during the first half of 2016 aroused a wide interest on the part of the press, the Church and the population, not only because of the strong symbolism coming from the chapel’s history but also because of the link to the construction of the tramway which caused quite a few debates in the forefront of the project.

Il saggio intende dimostrare che, subito dopo la pubblicazione, da parte di Alberico Gentili, dei De iuris interpretibus Dialogi sex (1582) e delle Lectiones et Epistolae (1583-1584) i rapporti fra Jean Hotman e il giurista di San Ginesio divennero molto difficili e burrascosi. Lo dimostrano alcune epistole scritte da Hotman ad autorevoli giuristi (ad es. Bodin), e ad alcuni umanisti (Bergmann, Payne, Cuffe, Th. Savile) contenenti critiche molto dure e severe ai Dialogi gentiliani. Malgrado ciò, e malgrado le opposizioni dei puritani, Gentili riuscirà ad ottenere la cattedra di Civil Law a Oxford.Il saggio contiene anche notizie circa il tentativo compiuto, dal Gentili, di ottenere un insegnamento a Tubinga nel 1580.

Religious communities in Chelm to the late 18th century
The aim of the article is to present the spatial, outer dimension of the frontier.
This construction of Chelm’s religious space up until the late 18th century seems best
suited to show Chelm as a city of ethnic and linguistic borderlands. In that timeframe,
ethnic divisions overlapped with religious ones; thus mapping religions
and denominations, especially given the shortage of more credible sources, is in fact
mapping ethnicities in the Polish Republic of the day.

"The purpose of this analysis is to provide an overview of the North Korean situation in order to design effective mission strategies among the North Korean people.  This analysis will provide a summary overview of the current North Korean culture, current missionary work, and possible strategies for the future.  Due to the intense suspicion of foreigners and extreme resistance to religious activity, missionaries will have to rely heavily on political, social, and humanitarian methods in order to evangelize the North Korean people" (taken from the introduction).