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Analogio, Art and Worship, issue 5 (2003), p. 175.

The 5^th issue of Analogio, quarterly edition of the Holy Metropolis of Servia and Kozani, has as its main topic the relations of art and worship in the ecclesiastical past, but also the regenerating proposals for the present. In the foreword, there is an introductive reflection on the tribute of the issue, which is illustrated with the artistic work of Nikolaos Masteropoulos.

In the first essay Petros Vassiliadis pinpoints the ideological reasons of the reactions against the demand of the liturgical renewal of the Orthodox Church in the individualistic approach of worship and the mistaken regard of eschatology. He considers the liturgical renewal as a theological and ecclesiological demand, which leads to the total and equal participation of the people in the life of the Church, principally as a eucharistic gathering, where the Trinitarian life of equality and brotherhood is reflected and the historical and social evil is overcome.

Demetrios D. Triantafillopoulos, from his side, numbers a plethora of counterfeiting in the worship and art of the Church, seeking, at the same time, the authentic eschatological meaning of tradition, while Dimitrios G. Mavropoulos, in the article “Position and content of preaching”, follows historically the decline of preaching from proclamation of Resurrection and coming of the Kingdom to a simple “speech” with socio-moral characteristics.

“The solution to our liturgical problems is interwoven with… the solution of the multifaceted crisis in the theological, ecclesiastical and in broader terms our cultural/existential horizon”, is the main thesis of Fr. Georgios Basioudis.

In his article titled “The reception of the world as element of the philocalic tradition of the Church”, Georgios Fousteris concludes that contemporary ecclesiastic art expresses the isolation of the Church from its cultural environment, which did not happen in the Byzantine past, when the codes of this art were common both in its ecclesiastical and secular expression.

In an extensive liturgiological study Panagiotis Skaltsis discusses Church as the people of God and “πλήρωματουταπάνταενπάσιπληρουμένου” Christ, expressing the theanthropic unity where everyone, clergy and laity, continue, increase and extend eucharistically the Incarnation.

“Directed” is the adjective that Joseph Roilidis uses to characterize the traditionalism of the contemporary “Byzantine-like” temples, claiming that they do not have the least relation with the Byzantine construction of temples, the basic principles of which he briefly exposes. Fr. Nektarios Paris, in a liturgical, but also historical and theological article, exposes the related to the “utterances” issues in the Divine Liturgy.

 An abundance of historical, theoretical and experiential elements concerning the music of the orthodox Eastern Church is found in the interview that the associate of the journal Thanasis Nevrokoplis took from the Lord Cantor Leonidas Asteris.

In the theological essays unit of the journal two essays are hosted: the first is by the Metropolitan of Servia and Kozani Ambrosios Yakalis, who delves into the theology of the 7^th  Ecumenical Council (Nice, 787) and the second, titled “Ontological and cosmological encounters of natural sciences and Theology”, is by Fr. Nikolaos Loudovikos; there he deduces that modern science has slipped out of the womb of the traditional western metaphysical tradition and sends out challenges of fertile philosophical dialogue with the tradition of the Eastern orthodox Christianity.

The journal is complemented with the usual material, the Anthology of poets, Synaxarion, Idiomela, timely and untimely and Vivliostasion.

Analogio, Orthodoxy and popular tradition, issue 3 (2002), p. 163.

The 3rd issue of Analogio journal, quarterly edition of the Holy Metropolis of Servia and Kozani, has as its main topic the relation and osmosis between Orthodoxy and popular tradition. In the foreword, there is an introductive reflection on the tribute of the issue which is illustrated by the work of Christos Bokoros.

Initially, a short text of Dimitris Pikionis is re-published titled “Tradition and Architecture. The spirit of Tradition”. Nikos Matsoukas, in the text “The alive and creative spirit of Orthodoxy”, underlines the special character of the ecclesiastical tradition in the living continuity of the way of life of a community that is revealed by its artistic creations and intellect in an undivided and functional way. Also, he practices criticism against the extreme supporters of the Enlightenment and “Hellenism”.

Giorgos Fousteris, in his turn, suggests an “eschatological reading of tradition” in his text “From memory to expectation”. He locates an ideological idealization of the past in modern fashion and obsession with the “traditional”, cancelling the eschatological dynamics and the ecumenical prospect of the ecclesiastical life. He recommends release from scaremongering and phobias, self-criticism and penitence, baptism in the kenotic ethos of eucharistic life.

In the essay titled “From the city in the Church” Vasilis Xydias recounts the transcending of the gregarious racial sociability of blood relations in the traditional societies by the Greek culture, both the ancient one with the city and the mediaeval Christian Hellenism with the Church.

Traditions regarding St. Dionysios of Olympos and St. Nikanoras from western Macedonia are examined by Evaggelia Amoiridou in the article “Tradition, or the real and its transcending”, while Fr. Demetrios Charisiou, exposing “Folk traditions in the cemetery of the city (Kozani)”, highlights the “tradition of the Church for life and  death”. Also, N.K. Moutsopoulos recounts the life of holy German of the monastery of Eikosifoinissa of Paggeon and the archaeological information of his grave.

Exploring the educational history of western-macedonian Hellenism, Anastasios Dardas deduces the active participation of Orthodoxy in the spiritual tradition and social dynamics. From her point of view, Zoi Godosi, in the study “On the occasion of the frescoes of the Holy Temple of John the Baptist in Siatista”, is led to the ascertainment of the non-static character of the traditional culture, even after the foundation of the Greek state.

“The folk tradition of Orthodoxy” is the topic of an interview that the chief-editor of the journal, Theophilos Abatzidis, took from Nikos Zias, while the Reverend Metropolitan of Demetria Mr. Ignatius Georgakopoulos, in the article “Islam and fundamentalism. Orthodoxy and globalization”, defines the theological parameters of facing the challenges that are set against Orthodoxy by the modern phenomena of globalization and fundamentalism, as well as the need for meeting and dialogue with other religions and especially Islam.

In a liturgical and ecclesiological study Nenad Milocevic explores historically and theologically the “eucharistic character of the services for the departed”, and stresses the preparatory and inseparable from the Divine Eucharist character of the funeral services and the memorials.

The journal is complemented with the usual material, Synaxarion, Idiomela and Bibliostasion.

Analogio, Church and Secularism, issue 4 (2003), p. 171.

The 4^th issue of Analogio quarterly edition of the Holy Metropolis of Servia and Kozani, has as its main subject the catagogic pre-conditions of secularism as alienation of the ecclesiastic vision of the Kingdom. In the foreword there is an introductive reflection on the tribute of the issue, which is illustrated with the artistic work of Theocharis More.

In a brief text, “Of the world/ not of the world”, Christos Yannaras defines the Church as freedom from nature, loving trust, self-giving, while the opposites, submission to natural necessity, demanding self-existence and the impetus for self-protection signal secularism.

Fr. Philotheos Pharos considers as symptomatology of the secularism of Church the authoritative phenomenon, the legalism and pietism, the absence of love and freedom. This symptomatology concerns the “Christians” themselves and especially the “Christian shepherds”.

A path through the double danger of “right” and “left” secularism is considered the authentic ecclesiastic event by Fr. Vassilios Thermos. Left secularism exists when the ascetic ethos is lost, as well as the eschatological vigilance before the world, while right or “pious” secularism appears when traditionalism imposes the illiberal observance of signifiers ignoring the depth of the signified of the  ecclesiastic event.

The dangers of secularism for orthodox monasticism are examined by monk Moses of Mount Athos, while Fr. Adamantios Augoustidis discusses the subject “secularism and conservatism”. Thanasis N. Papathanasiou in his essay, on the occasion of Peter’s temptation during the Transfiguration, “καλόνεστινημάςώδεείναι”, focuses on the refusal of the eschatological missionary faring of the Church as a “special case of secularism”. Fr. Micheal Kardamakis deals with the difference between Church and religion, and between sanctity and religiosity, with the measure and criterion of eschatology and the aim to clarify the danger of secularism.

On the occasion of the work of the philosopher Ludvig Feuerbach, Fr. Nikolaos Loudovikos explores contemporary attempts of the western intellectual history to disengage from the ontology and history of Power as positive aspects for the beginning of dialogue with orthodox theology.

In the article “Church and Law in a secularized society” Panos Nikolopoulos, after a brief historical retrospection and an examination of the present problems in the relationship between the Church and the State and particularly the issues related to the Law, puts forward proposals for an alternative pastoral tactic so that the traps of secularism be avoided in the meeting of the Church with the sphere of the Law.

The chief-editor of the journal Theophilos Abatzidis took an interview from the Archimandrite Arsenios Meskos on the subject “Secularism and in-Christosis of the Church”.  Meskos stresses that the Church is led to the margin of life as it has progressively lost its dynamics and fossilized its living tradition, while Stavros Yagazoglou, in the unity of the theological essays, deals historically and theologically with the development of feminist theology and the issue of the ordination of women in orthodoxy and the west, criticizing the admission of sociological issues in ecclesiology as another tendency of secularism.

The journal is complemented with the usual material, Anthology of poets, Synaxarion, Idiomela, timely and untimely and Vivliostasion.

Analogio,  Alexandros Papadiamantis, issue  2 (2002), p. 176.

The 2^nd issue of AnalogioJournal is dedicated to the person and work of Alexandros Papadiamantis. In this issue, 14 articles are published that concern the tribute and 1 theological essay that does not. At the beginning, there is an introductory note by the syntactic group of Analogio.

             The 1^st article of the issue comes from the pen of A. Papadiamantis. In it, he calls his contemporary Modern Greeks to abandon the love of antiquity and to connect historically to ancient Greece through the body of the Church.

              N. Triantafillopoulos examines the criticisms of Greek archaeologist scholars of the 19^thc. against A. Papadiamantis and A. Moraitidis, who supported the continuity of the ancient Greek tradition through the Byzantines.

             D. Mavropoulos presents the deep ecclesiastical ethos and character of the life and work of A. Papadiamantis, refuting the attributed to him characterization of a religious person and writer.

            A. Kesselopoulos sketches out the cantor abilities and knowledge of the ecclesiastic liturgical  ritual of A. Papadiamantis, but also their experience as liturgical ethos in his daily life and auctorial work.

 A. Mandas refers to the attachment and perseverance of A. Papadiamantis with the ecclesiastical Byzantine monophonic music and analyses the causes and reasons of his attitude.

            S. Papathanasiou examines the beginning of the creation of the work of A. Papadiamantis, focusing his interest on the theme of the relation of his fictional heroes with death, good and evil.

             K. Charalampidis recognises in the work of Papadiamantis the wider supervision of the whole world that sympathizes with man and the analysis of the real existence of the human hypostasis.

             S. Gounelas examines the function of poetry as sacred art in the work of A. Papadiamantis.

             A. Kosmatopoulos, stressing Papadiamantis’ conscience regarding the division of his contemporary modern Greek society, presents the erotic vision that he had for a resurrected world.

             N. Kesmeti speaks of the ontological enigmas in the face of which Papadiamantis brings the answers he himself gives through the existence and  agony of his heroes.

             S. Zoumpoulakis reads Fonissa with his interest focused on a moral central problem of ethics, the problem of evil, which in the particular work is detected in the loss of the ethos of penitence.

             D. Kosmopoulos describes the attitude and positions of A. Papadiamantis towards the then formed national ideology of the modern Greek society and its official agent, the modern Greek State.

             S. Molinos refers to the psychical pain of Papadiamantis’ heroes, the way it is expressed in merry two-verse songs scattered in the entire work of the writer from Skiathos.

             K. Papagiorgis in his interview comments and criticizes current affairs, the problems and the content of the studies on Papadiamantis.

             The theological essay of K. Sakatziadis is a presentation of a basic category in the theological thought of N. Nissiotis, the “ecclesiological cosmology” as a way of giving meaning to the relation of the Church with the world.