This study traces the first steps of how divine simplicity entered into Christian Trinitarian discourse. It is the burden of this thesis to demonstrate that divine simplicity emerged in the ante-Nicene period with a distinctive status quaestionis concerning (a) the meaning of the doctrine, and (b) its function in reflections on the Father-Son relation. The first part argues that simplicity emerged in the ante-Nicene period with two possible trajectories of interpretation, anticipated by Plato’s Republic and Phaedo respectively. In the apologists, divine simplicity emerged as a purely metaphysical doctrine. However, a richer interpretation of the doctrine is also available in ante-Nicene theology, as exemplified in Origen’s understanding of divine simplicity as a metaphysical-ethical synthesis, meaning that (a) God’s nature is perfectly incorruptible, and (b) God’s character is perfectly free from contradictions. The second part argues that divine simplicity acquired a role in ante-Nicene reflections on the Father-Son relation within two significant ante-Nicene contexts: (a) polemic against Valentinian emanation (prolatio/probolē) and (b) polemic against Monarchianism. The genius of Origen is to utilise divine simplicity for avoiding the Monarchian identification between the Father and Son on the one hand, and the Valentinian separation between the Father and Son on the other. Consequently, we find the surprising conclusion that divine simplicity serves as a principle of differentiation as well as unity between the Father and Son. This thesis raises new questions for both modern theologians and patristic specialists. For modern theologians, the ante-Nicene developments suggest the Son’s generation as a fruitful site for further analysis on the relation between divine simplicity and Trinitarian theology. For patristic specialists, ante-Nicene developments highlight the need to account for the transition from the ante-Nicene to the post-Nicene status quaestionis: how did divine simplicity change from being attributed to the Father (ante-Nicene) to being attributed to the divine essence (post-Nicene)?

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This thesis attempts to take seriously the claims made by many postapocalyptic zombie narratives to represent the world as it truly is, analyzing and then assessing the theological value of their depictions of the human predicament. The approach is both formal and what Gary Wolfe calls transmedial, examining the recurring narrative structures and themes of texts across several media and eras as part of 'a popular aesthetic movement and not just a body of works of fiction on similar themes', with special attention given to the films and television of the new millennium. The aim is twofold: to extend the relevance of postapocalyptic zombie fictions beyond the relatively narrow vogue of a cultural moment, and to prompt a richer appreciation of the significance of the Christian faith within contemporary society. To this end, Chapter One contextualizes the complexity of these texts' relationship to Christianity by examining first the most prominent obstacles and then the implicit promise of these texts for theological reflection. It places special emphasis on the interior tension in many of these fictions between, on the one hand, aggressively emphasizing the apparent absence of the supernatural, while on the other, frequently claiming to disclose a dimension of human experience in excess of what can be ordinarily perceived by the senses. Chapters Two and Three extend this analysis to the complex content of what these stories depict. Chapter Two considers the multilayered symbolism of decline in their conspicuous spectacles of disaster, disintegration, and death. Chapter Three examines the countervailing symbolic motifs of residual integrity and regeneration that are exhibited most prominently by characters who attempt to live genuinely human lives in spite of these circumstances. The first half of the thesis concludes by proposing a composite postapocalyptic view of the human predicament, which represents the world as ambiguous, dramatic and quite possibly, although not certainly, absurd. Chapter Four begins the theological reflection upon this kind of postapocalyptic perspective, proposing how such depictions might be illuminated by Christian theological descriptions, particularly the absurd existential circumstances brought about by the original sin. Chapter Five, reciprocally, suggests some of the ways the dramatic images of these texts might enrich theological reflection by eliciting fresh insights into the significance of the central mysteries of Christianity, especially the paradoxical already-and-not-yet of eschatological expectation. The thesis concludes by offering a final evaluation of whether, all told, the world can be truly considered postapocalyptic from a Christian perspective, arguing that although there are significant differences, postapocalyptic fictions and Christianity put forward strikingly similar pictures of the deeply self-conflicted circumstances of the common human predicament.

John Henry Newman - life and work in the context of the struggle for the universality of the Church ThDr. JUDr. Květoslav Tomáš Krejčí, M.Phil. (Oxon), Ph.D. In the absence of any Czech language monograph since 1939 (or 1947), the thesis presents a summary of the life and work of John Henry Newman (1801-1890). It also contains an original Czech translation of selected writings. Due to its character of a thesis in history of theology, the work also introduces Newman as a writer. A particular attention is given to the reception of Newman's thought in France and Germany, his relationship with Catholic modernism and liberal theology as well as to Newman's impact on the documents of Vatican II.

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