Klaipėdos universitetas

The article presents theological thoughts on eschatological themes of Sergei Bulgakov, one of the most prominent theologians and priests in the Russian Orthodox Church in the late 19th and early 20th century. These themes touch on theological concepts of God’s last judgment, heaven and hell. Bulgakov interprets God’s last judgment in a very modern way, as a confrontation of the truth with its own primordial image in the idea of God. To the extent that the ‘final’ life of the person who has lived it differs from the best version of what it could have been if God’s will had been followed, so does the pain of unrealised happiness. The outcome of such a confrontation with truth is either heaven or hell. For Bulgakov, hell is not infinitely eternal. He believes that at the very end, when time and space no longer exist, those in hell can still experience God’s mercy. Hell is a lost God, heaven is a found God. Such thoughts are made all the more dramatic by the fact that Bulgakov’s work took place at a difficult political, economic and cultural time, both in Russia and in Europe, with the Bolshevik October Revolution, the First World War, and the Second World War. The influence of these processes on theology is also a focus of the article.

The central principle and goal of Christian life is the lifelong pursuit of Christ-likeness in our thinking and our relationships with people and the world. People are called to grow, to celebrate, to seek true friendship with God in their present life situation. The essence of holiness, the fullness of the Christian life, is union with Christ, living his mysteries, which is possible in every situation of life. The period of widowhood is painful, but it is an invitation to purify oneself inwardly, to grow in love, and to serve one’s neighbours and all other members of the Church and of society. This is the origin of the spirituality of widowhood, a holiness based on faith. Widows can contribute to the holiness of the Church by living in God’s grace, by accepting and managing their situation psychologically, and by giving themselves up to God and to others. Widows often experience the loss of a spouse as an irreversible fact, a loss that matures them, so that, in the light of their faith, they are able to adapt to the changed reality and rebuild their lives.

The article analyzes the psychological measures that support human existence in prison. The main source chosen is the novel “Notes from the House of the Dead” (1861–1862) by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881), a classic of Russian literature, which was written based on his personal experience as a political prisoner (1849–1859). The author, above the gloomy life in prison, the poor household and the dehumanization of convicts, raises the effort to remain human and the hidden features of personal goodness hidden in the prison system. The article discusses why prisoners feel differently being in the same environment. The provision of needs according to the hierarchy of human needs established by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow and the changed concept of freedom served as a psychological support for the convicts. Survival was aided by a different perception of time spent in prison as non-existent in human life and physical work as a way to be forgotten.

The article analyzes the Christian Church in the first centuries of controversy about the divine mercy and understanding of the operation in the believer’s life. Briefly reviewing the biblical teaching about the divine grace. Highlights the key terms in the Old and New Testaments. It reviews the doctrines of grace in the origins of Gnostic Manichean sects. Discussion about the operation of the grace of one of the greatest the echoes reached the Pelagius and St. Augustine teachings. Their doctrine, especially Augustine, centuries later influenced the development of the Catholic doctrine of grace for the individual man and for the whole Church. Augustine understood the divine grace of anthropological perspectives as a new relationship with God through Jesus Christ’s saving event. This relationship is just a pure gift from God, given to everyone who has faith in the Savior. By their nature the man deserves such a gift, so it is in vain received grace, leads man to the justification, and thus to eternal salvation.

The article analyses the historical context of the life and activities of Jesus of Nazareth, and includes the person of Pontius Pilate. At the centre of the Christian faith has always been and is the figure of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christology occupies an important place in theological studies. No theological study will be complete without a deeper look at Jesus Christ. Christology has received particular attention throughout the centuries, but studies over the last few decades, especially in the second half of the twentieth century, place particular emphasis on the historical person and context of Jesus Christ. In this context, various historical figures are found. This includes Pontius Pilate. This deputy of the Roman emperor ruled Palestine at the very time when Jesus Christ lived and acted in it. He entered history as one of his participants in the trial, initially trying to justify Jesus, but eventually condemning him and perishing with the “Jewish hands”.

This paper analyzes one of the most important figures of the Christian faith in the New Testament – Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, Mother of the Church, the Christian Advocate and Help. Of course, the central figure is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Redeemer and the Savior. From a theological point of view, may even seem more important than the Mother of God, the apostles of St. Peter and St. Paul, because their written legacies have survived, and they have grounded and still undermine the Christian faith of today. They are considered to be excellent examples of the evangelization of peoples, they are martyrs who have developed the Church established by Christ. Despite the fact that the Virgin Mary does not have enough material in the Bible, she is “little to speak”, but takes on an extremely important place. Therefore, we will reveal her role in Christ’s life and in the first new Christian community. The importance of Holy Mary’s role comes from her divine motherhood. As the Mother of the Savior, she is also the mother and advocate of all Christians. This truth is proclaimed by the Church for all time about the teachings of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The article analyzes the teachings of the Catholic Church about the Mother of God of Mary. Such teaching is basically based on four dogmas about Virgin Mary: The Mother of God, The Virgin, The Immaculate Conception and The Assumption. The doctrine of the Catholic Church is distinguished from other Christian denominations by the fact that it has a unified and rather precise teaching not only about Mary, but also about other things of faith and morals in general. The person of Mary is examined in the light of the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, Tradition and Magisterium. This is important to emphasize that the main four dogmas have been formed over the centuries, based on the beliefs of the faithful (sensus fidei), approved by the universal assembly of the Church and by the popes solemnly proclaimed ex cathedra, as probable truths that are obligatory for all Catholics.

This article analyses relationship between theological since and psychology. Bible’s and Catholic Church teaching regarding person’s dignity, free will and equality are presented. From that perspective analysed methods used by representatives of cognitive and experience psychology schools in process of spiritual – psychological counselling. Spiritual counselling is understood as open to religious feeling (faith) relationship between too persons or between person and the group. Church, by proclaiming Gospel, brings hope to the people, gives meaning to the life and death, love and suffering, brings existential foundation to the daily life. Such spiritual counselling gives truthful assessment of the person’s situation and helps to see in the light of faith, meaning that the person is helped by the spiritual counsellor to go throe crisis situation getting strength from the faith. Article gives special notice to the personal faith of the counsellor and its importance in his service. Counsellor wile using different psychological methods should fill them with Christian approach to the human person, and by doing so help ones who find them selves in crisis or trying to find answers to the existential questions of life’s meaning. Every psychology school has it methods to understand and to help human persons. Article takes special notice of the cognitive and experience psychology schools and their methods and how they treat human person looking from the Christian perspective of human dignity, his freedom of will and unconditional worth in it self. It is noticed special need to see human as person created by God, seeking to see him more than a victim of circumstances or a person afflicted by different fears and complexes.

This paper analyses some of the most important features of postmodernism, determining the way of a modern person’s life, relationship with oneself and, ultimately, with transcendence. One of the main aspects of contemporary society is excessive consumption, in fact relativism, secularism and subjectivism. These phenomena, in their psychological and theological sense, promote the disintegration of the integrity of the human person. This phenomenon becomes very visible in cases of illness, suffering and death. The modern man has lost the harmony between the body, the spirit and the soul, and at the same time the right relationship with God. It does arise in human life between the various dimensions of life: personal self-awareness, family, work, business, work, and other fields. Without faith, postmodernism does not accept man’s inevitability of death, strives to ignore it, or simply flee from it. But this does not give peace to human. The search for the meaning of life and death is in the nature of man, so only believing in a supernatural world, the fostering of spiritual values gives real hope.

The article analyzes the theme of the Trinity of God in the encyclicals of John Paul II. St. Pope John Paul II was one of those supreme pastors of the Catholic Church who, during a sufficiently long time of his pontificate (27 years), time wrote many encyclicals, apostolic exhortations, and other Church documents. They fought relentlessly for human rights, against the so-called “realism of socialism”, against communism, against liberal theology. He spoke out against abortion and euthanasia, against “wild capitalism” and liberalism. He spoke out against the women’s priesthood and allowing Catholic priests to marry. So, let’s say his teaching doctrine was conservative but balanced. He saw the signs of the time perfectly and was able to read them. This essentially gave one of the most peaceful times in every sense to the entire Catholic Church. He wrote a total of 14 encyclicals in which he touched on the theme of the Trinity of God in one way or another. It could not be otherwise, because in Christianity, to speak of God means to speak of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One of the first encyclicals in which the Pope explored the doctrine of the Trinity of God in detail was Redemtor Hominis (1979). This theme was further developed in the encyclicals Dives in misericordia (1980), Dominum et vivificantem (1986). The Pope has always presented the teaching of the Trinity of God in a historical context of how the dogma of the Trinity has been perceived and accepted or rejected from early Christian times to the present day, clearly reflected in the sources of the Christian faith: Scripture, the Bible, the Church Fathers and its traditional official teaching – Magisterium. In dealing with these topics, the encyclical concluded with a pastoral call for the Church to evangelize believers and the world.