Annotation: This thesis is an attempt for a religous interpretation of Dostoeyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. The thesis attempts to interpret the novel from the perspective of redemption and atonement. It is not our aim to focus on seperate aspects of the novel. Rather, we wish to provide a complete interpretation of the novel through the religious theme of redemption. By means of Bachtin's method of 'grotesque realism' we observe the development of religous themes in the novel from the perspective of their carnivalisation. We observe the development of the resurrection theme in the novel and find this theme supported by various forms of symbolism of life and death in the novel. This thesis considers Lazarus's story in John 11 as central to the meaning of the novel and focuses on literary elaboration of this evangelical text within the novel.

The Cross in Changing of Times and its Significance in Ancient Society The cross is the most widespread symbol appearing worldwide right from the prehistoric times. Though being formed of a very simple shape of two intersecting lines the significance is far reaching. This dissertation looks at the cross both as a sign pointing beyond itself and concentrates on the diversity of its visual appearance. It tries to trace back the possible factors preceding Antiquity influencing the formation of the actual shape in that particular period of history. Although for most part the cross is understood in its connection with the Crucifixion of Christ its history is far more complex beginning in pre-Christian era. The biblical texts present more or less mere allusions of the cross itself. Seen typologically the cross may be understood as the element connecting both Old and New Testament creating a sort of a bridge between them. The careful analysis of the Early Christian documents brings several terms used for the same reality. The most significant are - σταυρός with the Latin equivalent crux and ξύλου (wood) with the Latin equivalent lignum. Later on these give a way to a more general term of σημεῖον (sign) and finally to a symbolic expression "σύμβολον σωτηρίας" (sign-symbol of salvation). The early Christian writers...

The thesis describes the relationship between the ancient Gnosticism as we know it from the Nag Hammadi library and as it is described in the works of early church fathers and New Testament. It outlines basic topics similar to all versions of a classical cosmogenic Gnostic myth. The subject of the faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its relationship to the establishing a Church structure is discussed. Another topic is the problem of human free will and that of good and evil and its consequences for human morale. The ways of different understanding to it are presented, based on Old Testament story of Adam and Eve as reffered to in the book of Genesis.

This literary work is dealing with an importance of a observance and honoring of Sunday as a free day. First part refers to the fact that in essential core of soever human being exist the cravings refering to an urge to transcendence and to periodically wrench himself free out of passing time. This can be filled for instance during the observances. In a folloving part is a progression of a significant sabbath day towards a Lord´s day delineated, also with characterization of what is a Judaic - Christian lore offering on Sundays. A closing third individually names and describes the constituent realms where the intrinsic cravings meet above named offer. In these passages is possible to descry the reasonability of Sunday celebration.

This work discourses about the teaching of bulgarian {--} french philosopher, pedagogue and spiritual teacher Omraam Mikhaël Aivanhov. It is divided in several thematic chapters discoursing always a certain philosofical {--} spiritual theme from the point of view how is it treated in the teaching of Aivanhov. Among those themes are for example: Creation, Good and evil, About God, Jesus and Christ, Reincarnation, Soul, Ressurection, Holy Trinity. Aivanhov has fresh and undogmatic approach to these themes and he accents that his teaching can serve to a man for the practical work on him or herself. He does not stick to any particular tradition neither he arteficially syncretizes. He rather sees the various levels of the creation and its Creator as a reality which has universal laws and principles. And a mission of man is according to Aivanhov to discover those laws and principles and to live in harmony with them.

The dream about an earthly paradise, rediscovery of an original, absolutely harmonic paradisal life is, in Dostoevskij's opinion, one of the deepest and the most valuable dreams of the human heart. The spiritual course of any human being has its own history, it is born from thesis (babtism), goes through antithesis (crises) and finishes in synthesis (beauty). A man comes from the Eden Paradise and aims at heaven. So, a man in course of his spiritual life is in a real split into two paradises: the Eden Paradise from which he is coming from and the Kingdom of God where he is aiming at. The midpoint of the life course is accompanied by a crisis, that can also be described as separation from the the paradise. The characters of novels by Dostoevskij failed due to the fact, that they were not able to admit their presence between two "paradise states" and so their ideas about earthly paradise establishment were being corrupted. In our piece of work we are going to follow four trends: 1. Time corruption, incorrectly understood sense of history. The tendency to return back where a man came from, in an origenestic, cyclic interpretation of a comeback is apparent in a story The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. Another extreme shows marxism ideas going around Europe which deny both the importance and the sense of...