This thesis focuses on the concept of interreligious dialogue from the perspective of Husite theology, maps the contemporary texts of the theologians of the Czechoslovak Church on the topic of non- Christian religions and the practical involvement of this church and its theological faculty in dialogical structures. Represents associations and movements engaged in interreligious dialogue in the Czech Republic. The probe into the theory and practice of interreligious dialogue worldwide and the review of authors dealing with, captures the expert reflection of the subject. The reflection of Husite theology emphasizes the key non-substantial concept of human personality and Christian dogma for the interreligious dialogue. The results of this reflection are formulated in five principles that may help overcome the contradiction between indifferent religious pluralism and apriori claim to the truth by revealing the existential nature of interreligious dialogue as opposed to substantive dogmatics, giving an occasion for discussion of the elementary nature of religion.

The general attribute of Olivier Messiaen´s music is not only his specific musical language, which experiments with time, rhythm, colour, finds inspiration in birdsong, Gregorian chant and music of the exotic lands, but mainly the existence of a non-musical message. The first part of my thesis is introductory. It includes the description of Messiaen´s life and early musical influences, the nature of his musical style, his general musical aims, and an overview of his most important works. In the centre of my effort is the thematic analysis of Messiaen´s late organ cycle Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité (Meditations on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity). That is preceded with an introduction of the background of the piece, sources of inspiration and symbolism used. The main aim is to explore the complexity of Messiaen´s musical and thematic thinking, and to understand the message of the musical material.

The dissertation aims to highlight Lactantius´s position among other authors of Christian antiquity and tries to analyze and assess Lactantius´s views pertaining to selected theological topics. First two chapters summarize available findings on Lactantius´s life and integrate his work into the context of early Christian literature. The following part of the dissertation discusses Lactantius´s apologetic method as well as his ideological points of departure and pays attention to his relation toward ancient culture. The focal point of the dissertation lies in the assessment of Lactantius´s views of selected theological issues, such as the teaching about a sole God, teaching about creation, Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, eschatology, and anthropology. The dissertation espacially looks into overlapping of ancient and Christian world of ideas as they are mirrored in Lactantius´s theological considerations.

It descripes contemporary background of pietism, the sources from which he drew and its various forms. Observes how pietism resolved the crisis of the Church and society. It describes the basic emphases of pietism, supporting notes and warning elements. The second part deals with the time and cause of constitution of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, practical expressions of piety of its members and its inclination to the biblical theology of personalism. The emphasis on a personal relationship with God and to another human being nurtured by studying the Scriptures in the community and a new emphasis on active and responsible reborn man who is active in the world, is the central theme of pietism and the new generation of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church.

The topic of this study is: The logic of faith: prayer as the link between rationality and experience in a study of Karl Rahner and John Calvin. The term ‘logic of faith’ refers to the correct way of reasoning about faith. Why do a study about the theology of Rahner? Firstly because Rahner is known as the theologian who emphasises a unity between theology and spirituality. In exploring Rahner’s theology, the question that does arise is: is Rahner a philosopher or a theologian? Rahner endeavours to question the logic of theology. In his philosophical, theological and spiritual works one discovers the ‘heart’ of modern man. Rahner connects the logic of faith with the everyday experience of man. This experience is his point of departure in presenting the case for Christianity. In relation to this, Rahner sees prayer as a common human experience and the key in discovering the unity between rationality and experience. Prayer implies experiencing God in ordinary everyday life. Through prayer the lost unity between God and man is restored. Although Rahner’s definition of experience may be vague and therefore subject to criticism, he gives a positive interpretation of the concept of experience in the sense of acceptance of the ‘self’. To him, the logic of faith is closely related to the acceptance of the ‘self’. Rahner’s view give rise to the following question: Does the truth of a theological statement present itself in experience or in faith only? This question is also put to the reformed tradition of which Calvin is a representative. Both Rahner and Calvin stress the unity between theology and spirituality. Knowing God and understanding man are inseparable concepts. Yet we a find an emphasis in Calvin’s theology, that we do not see in Rahner’s theology. Calvin accepts, unconditionally, the revelation of God in Jesus Christ as the source of faith. True understanding of human nature is dependant on God’s revelation in Scripture. To Calvin, the logic of faith goes against common human experience and rationality. We ask the question about the logic of faith; prayer directs us to the source of the answer: the Word of God. This is the truth that the reformers rediscovered. The logic of faith implies a living relationship with Jesus Christ through His Word and Spirit and prayer is the main exercise of this relationship. In this sense prayer is the Urakt of Christian ethics, the first step in becoming a disciple. This we see in Calvin’s exegesis of the Lord’s Prayer. The logic of faith and therefore faith itself become mysticism without God’s revelation through Scripture. This study concludes that prayer is a neglected theme in the reformed tradition. Rahner and Calvin give us a new appreciation for the logic of faith and prayer as an integral part thereof. / Thesis (DD (Dogmatics and Christian Ethics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Dogmatics and Christian Ethics / unrestricted

Strahov Catechists of the 19th century This specific study contributes to knowledge of pastoral and catechetical practice in our country in the 19th century, illustrating it with concrete implementation of these activities in institutions related to the Premonstratensian monastery at Strahov, Prague. The theme is placed in broader context of explanation of development of pastoral theology and catechesis; it is also interpreted in relation to the entire development of the Premonstatensian order with regard to the history of their pastoral activities. These activities at schools at lower and higher levels is conceived in broader context of education in the examined period, both from the theoretic, and the practical point of view; therefore, the work give also a brief characteristics of the system of education and schools, and concentrates also on various aspects of the specific issue of religious education, including these activities at specialized schools. The chapter on catechesis and pastoral care in parishes is dedicated both to homiletic activities of Strahov Premonstratensians, and, particularly, to the issue of preparation for sacraments and pastoral care of specific groups, represented by fraternities. The final section of this work presents three medallions of important Strahov personalities...

The goal of this doctoral thesis is to take a close look at the process of human understanding as foundations of theological method in postmodern age. In the very center of my research is so called "dynamic cognitional structure" presented by Canadian thinker, Bernard Lonergan. The purpose of the study is to analyze his epistemology in the context of the "generalized empirical method" and to investigate the relevance of this method for contemporary theology. The thesis also focuses on the question if theological epistemology could be based on intellectual knowledge only, or how far it requires authentic spiritual life of an existential subject. Key words: transcendental theology, cognitional structure, method in theology, Bernard Lonergan, authenticity

Matthew of Cracow was one of the most significant members of Prague University during its pre- hussite era. In addition to that, he is considered as one of the main representatives of the reform movement focused on correction of Christian life in the society of the second part of 14th and the beginning of 15th century. From his rich literary output, the work known as Dialogue of Reason and Consciousness of Frequent Communion deserves a special regard. It is one of many texts dealing with Eucharist theme that originated in Czech Lands in the second part of the 14th century. Among them, the Dialogue stands out because of its enormous popularity, reflected in high number of manuscripts. Despite that fact, modern historiography did not pay adequate attention to the Dialogue so far. The first part of this theses sums up results of previous research concerning Matthews life and work. The second part is focusing on the Dialogue itself. It analyzes the manuscript evidence of the Dialogue in the scholarly literature, outlines historical context of its formation and introduces the actual content of the Dialogue. In the last part of this theses comes a critical evaluation of the only existing edition of the Dialogue. Based on detailed analysis, it is shown that the original edition from 1974 suffers from...

The thesis "Ecumenism in the work of Josef Kubalík" provides an overview of several works of professor Josef Kubalík. His works influenced generations of students of Catholic theology. Author was a professor of Fundamental Theology at Cyrilometodějská bohoslovecká faculty in Litoměřice in the second half of the 20th century. He wrote a lot of books, university textbooks and ariticles in specialized press. Theologia Fundamentalis has been his most known work. Which is partly still under the influence of manualistic, apologetic-polemical theology. In his later reissues are added council documents Dei Verbum and Lumen Gentium. He translated documents of Second Vatican Ecumenical Council for professional public. We compare his work to these documents and to Ut Unum Sint. At the end it is said, that professor Kubalík grew in the openness and friendliness towards non - Catholics. But he was unable to change given schemes of his thinking.

The thesis named: "The human dignity in the writings of Pope John-Paul II." tries to give a general overview of the theological-anthropological viewpoints of the teaching of the Pope John Paul II concerning the protection of the dignity of human being. The thesis begins by touching the life stages of the Polish priest, bishop and cardinal Karol Wojtyla and later the pontificate of the pope John Paul II. The thesis looks on particular events which had made an impact on his personality orienting his whole being to the protection of human rights and dignity of every human being. The second part of the thesis looks at particular theological- anthropological aspects and statements which make up the corner stones of John Paul II's teaching. The third part then goes on to focus on certain impulses given by the signs of the times and serious topics which lead the pope to raise his voice to call for protection of human rights and dignity of every single human being.