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Doundoulakis Emmanuel, Cremation of the dead in the Orthodox Church, Orthodox Theology Studies, Pournaras, Thessaloniki, 2003, pp. 121.  

The issue of the cremation of the dead in Orthodox Church returns with surprising regularity, in recent years, to the degree that our badly designed and hydrocephalic large cities seek burial space. It returns as a demand of self-determination and self-control of people in modern societies, in the sense of an anti-conformist stance and a psychological reaction, which demands the approval and the acceptance of the Orthodox Church. Therefore the views of the Church as well as the de-divinisation of the phenomenon appear to be surprisingly topical.

The present book, structured in sic studies, initially examines the position of the Orthodox Church in relation to the cremation of the dead, looks at cremation of bodies of martyrs and neomartyrs in sainthood texts, as well as decisions of the modern Greek Hierarchy. It looks at the concept of corporal self-determination in Orthodox tradition, the connection between cloning – euthanasia – cremation of the dead on the limits of some extreme arguments put forward by modern society and finally presents Greek theological bibliography from the twentieth century on the issue.

A small but conclusive study, without presenting issues exhaustively, offers necessary information and extensive mentions for further study and research.

Regarding the position of Orthodox theology on the matter, the author stresses its reticence over time towards this phenomenon, more so as this was connected with usual idolatric practices of the past and secular anti-traditional trends of the present. This does not mean that the issue at hand constitutes a dogma of faith, nor that there is a theoretical – theological reason to avoid it. Orthodox faith and experience does not connect expectation of the Resurrection with burial practices or conditions of death.

The demand for cremation of the dead must be considered more of a regression for the Christian world, in regards to the tradition of Christian culture. A culture that fully values matter and affirms without limit the value of the human body and the burial symbolism for the duration of life.

Diakonia.  A Feature in Memory of the late Vasilios Stogiannos, Academic Register of the Theological School, Thessaloniki 1988, pp. 905.

The honorary volume in the memory of Vasilios Stogiannos contains 46 academic papers divided in two parts, where the first contains 17 biblical studies and the second 29 papers of wider academic interest. First there is an introduction by Ioannis Karavidopoulos about the personality, the authorship and the extra-academic activities of the honoured person.

The first study of the first part is by Savvas Agouridis and regards the presentation of the death of Christ according to the authors of the books of the New Testament.

Con. Vlachos refers to the relationship between Israel and the nations and the examination by Goethe of the Decalogue of Morality and Worship regarding this relationship.

Io. Galanis deals with the way the New Testament uses the word “mythos” and how it deals with the concept in connection with its teachings.

G. Galitis studies the suggests the apophatic method of the Fathers for the approach of the Revelation and the Word of God.

G. Gratseas examines the Judaic calendar of feasts through the manuscript of the Temple and presents the protocol for the conduct of ceremonies in the time of the New Testament.

D. Doikos examines the issue of the third appendix (language) of the epilogue of the Ecclesiast, the Eccl. 12: 12 in the framework of two of its other two choices.

O. Hofius approaches the problem of the words of Jesus regarding the absolution of sin and interprets Mk. 2:5.

J. Karavidopoulos indicates the points of incongruity of the continuous and worshiping text of the Old Testament.

M. Konstantinou examines the issue of the worship of the Godess Asera and its position in the Jewish popular religion.

Fr. Lang looks at the Paulian ecclesiology and mostly on the image of the Church as an eschatological people of God and as body of Christ.

P. v. Osten-Sacken examines the importance of Christian-Judaic relationships in the interpretation of the Old Testament.

J. Panagopoulos refers to the modern situation in the research of the patristic explanatory tradition and the future of the Greek biblical studies.

G. Theissen examines the problem of the conflict for authenticity in the johnian community.

A. Theocharis researches the concept of the wisdom in the fourth book of Esdra.

B. Tsakonas looks at the hermeneutical and theological problem of Rom. 9:5 through the prism of Paulian Christology.

P. Vasiliadis examines the way Paul interpreted the main demand thy will be done in the framework of his wider social theology.

J. Waard deals with the issue of the issue of the translation of the Holy Gospel and the concept of the correspondency.

The 1^st study of the 2^nd part of the Metropolitan of Germany Augustine (Lambardakis) presents some partf of orthodox spirituality.

J. Anastasiou negotiates the issue of interest in money lending and analyses the forbidding Canons and the views of ecclesiastical writers.

G. Vergotis examines the history and the importance of the Synaxari in holy worship and its position within the service of Orthros.

Il. Voulgarakis presents in brief the concept, the importance, the motive, the aims and the work of mission from the Orthodox point of view.

B. Yioultsis negotiates the problem of racial discrimination and looks at its causes as moral and spiritual issues with metaphysical extensions.

A. Glavinas puts out the Paraclytic Canon of the Neomarty Michail from Agrafa, according to an unkown manuscript of the 18^th century.

K. Delikonstantis refers to the change in theological understanding of Luther in the modern Orthodox Church.

N. Zacharopoulos issues to previously unpublished of K. Flamiatos and refers to the ecclesiastical-political situation in Greece during the 19^th century.

Ev. Zoumas presents the worshiping Reference of Hippolitus of Rome analysing, mostly, the Christology contained in it.

K. Kalokyris refers to traditional and modern views on painting in the Orthodox Church.

Ath. Karathanasis publishes a previously unpublished speech by John Patousa in Venice, and includes a brief biography of the author.

A. Keselopoulos approaches the ecological problem from the Orthodox point of view and presents the theological proposition for transcending it.

Mr Io.Kornarakis examines the neurotic phenomenon, its evolutionary stages and its terapy as it appears in this book of Daniel.

D.Lappas negotiates the issue of the development of personality and the role in the process of Christian edification.

Mr G.Mantzaridis refers to the relation between man and technology and the various problems born by it.

Mr N. Matsoukas presents his views about the future of theology especially the orthodox one.

Mr. Beyzos presents the changes in the field of philosophy, mainly on nature and religion discerning new capabilities between the two.

Mr Th. Nikolaou examines from the orthodox’ s point of view the role and the meaning of bishopric post as well as the consistory for the unity of the Church.

Mr. Ath. Paliouras briefly gives some basic elements of the orthodox theology about icons and Byzantine art.

Ant. Papadopoulos develops certain elements of Orthodox spirituality and stresses its real experience by neomartyrs .

K. Papoulidis describes in brief the educational policy and the cultural ability of Greeks of Odessa in the 19^th and the 20^th centuries.

B. Stavridis presents in brief the history of the city of Antioch, giving particular emphasis on its ecclesiastical aspect.

D. Tsamis refers on the attempt of Germans to steal the treasures of Mount Athos in 1943.

G. Tsananas registers and classified wall grafitti slogans that appear at the Theology School of the Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki and analyses their content and ideas.

K. Fragos presents the new trends in two of the various directions followed by the modern catechetic and religious instruction.

K. Charalambidis analyses the images of decapitation and entombement of the martyrs Ermagora and Fortunato in the crypt of the Akylia Basilica.

B. Pseftogas approaches the movement of Studites and Hesychasim.

J. Tarnanidis analyses the Cyrilic-methodist worshiping tradition in Moravia and Pannonia on the basis of discovered Slavic manuscripts of Sinai.

Gr. Ziakas negotiates the problem of the person in the thought of Buda and the meaning of silence in the face of metaphysical issues.

Doikos Damianos, “Agathagellos, as a prophetic and apocalyptic work and its message, “Recollection of 1821”, Year book of Theological Faculty of AUT, 1971.

            Damianos Doikos in his essay, which is part of a broader special edition of the Faculty of Theology of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki on the festivities of 1821, is examining the text of Agathagellos, its prophetic and apocalyptic elements and its message.

            The author in his short introduction is referring to the historical conditions that lead to the appearance of oracles and prophesies, which cultivated the spirit and the hope of freedom. Agathagellos belonged in this category and it had an enormous and deep influence not only on the morale of the unredeemed Greeks but later on the national visions of the free Greeks.

            Damianos Doikos presents then the language, the structure, the content and the paternity of the text.

            In the first unit, the author is examining the text of Agathagellos as a prophesy by comparing it with the prophesies of the Old Testament. He concludes that although there are some prophetic elements in the text, those are not enough in order Agathagellos to be characterized as a prophesy.

            In the second unit the author examines Agathagellos as an apocalyptic text. He gives the definition of apocalypses (revelation) and compares Agathagellos with the biblical apocalyptic texts. He concludes that Agathagellos has more apocalyptic elements and characteristics than prophetic ones.

            In his last unit, the author presents the message of Agathagellos. He stresses that Agathagellos is simultaneously a religious and a national text. However it does not have so many historical details in order to be called “a national Gospel”.

            The article is accompanied by photos of cover and manuscripts of the text. 

Debrey Regis, Teaching religion in the neuter-religious school, Introduction by Jacques Lang, translated by George Karampelas, Hestia, Athens, 2004, pp. 101.

The book, as it is explained in the preface by Jacques Lang, Minister of National Education of France, constitutes a Memorandum to the French Ministry of Education and concerns the sober treatment of religion, in an inter-thematic way, in the public neuter-religiousschool, recognizing it as a structural element of the history of humanity.

             In the first chapter, unfolding his thought, Debrey argues on the necessity of the completion of the missing link of religious information by school education. In the second chapter, examining the objections to the above-mentioned attempt, he argues that the teaching of religion is not religious teaching. In the third chapter, the obstacles that such an effort faces are reported briefly, while in the fourth one the transition from the neuter-religion of incompetence (sacred does not differ from religious by definition), to the neuter-religion of comprehension (that wants and must comprehend and explore anything related to the religious phenomenon) is recorded. In the fifth chapter, the proposals for the actualization of this attempt, which does not concern the establishment of a separate course, but the inter-thematic and multifaceted approach of the religious phenomenon, are developed analytically.

Following in the annex is Jacques Lang’s letter of invitation to Debrey Regis to undertake the Memorandum. Next is the addendum, in the Greek translation of the book by Pantelis Kalaitzidis whose subject is the teaching of religion in France and Greece. Starting from Debrey’s views, Kalaitzidis examines the cases of Greece and France regarding the course of religion at school (absence in the first case, obligatory and confessional course in second one). He introduces an alternative proposal of obligatory teaching of religions in Greece, and particularly the teaching of Orthodoxy, whose criterion and legitimizing base is not confession, but culture and the intercultural approach of religions.