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Analogio, East and West, issue 1 (2001), p. 235.

The 1st issue of Analogio magazine, a quarterly edition of the Holy Metropolis of Servia and Kozani, has as its main subject the outlining of the relations between West and East. In the introductory note, the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Servia and Kozani Mr. Ambrosios Yakalis, defines the necessity and the principles that determined the publication of the magazine, while he provides an introductive reflection on tribute of the issue, which is illustrated by works of Fr. Stamatis Skleris.

The tribute is preceded by a sermon of His Grace Metropolitan of Servia and Kozani Mr. Dionysiosn Psarianos, titled “Time-honoured respect”, where it is stressed that Orthodoxy as the Church and Body Christ and not as secular authority or government service is not “a memory of time gone by, but our life today and the promise of tomorrow”,especially under the treaty of the European unification, which he characterises as a mainly spiritual matter.

Next comes the essay “East and West…” by Marios Begzos, where the theological, philosophical and historical pretexts for differentiation of the eastern from the western culture are investigated. He stresses that we should not raise this differentiation to opposition, adversity or competition.

In the essay of Fr. Nikolaos Loudovikos “The ancient Greek, Byzantine and European sense of self in dialogue”, which is a study on the history of ideas, he presents the partialities of the western metaphysical tradition for the individual ego (self) either from the perspective of idealistic disdain or from the perspective of an “over-elation” of it, as well as the attempts of the philosophical synthesis and overcoming of the partialities. The eastern orthodox theology (Maximus, Palamas), in which the complete self is achieved in a eucharistic frame of overcoming individualism and gregarious sociability, is put forward for exploitation.

The eucharistic relation with God and the fellowmen as the antipode of the contemporary blissful practice is proposed in the article “Orthodoxy and Europe” by Kostas Karras, while the term “Modern World” is introduced by Ioannis Petrou as a tool of Theology for analyzing reality, in replacement of the traditional dipole “East-west”.

Fr. Georgios Tsetsis makes a brief historical retrospection of the orthodox participation in the World Council of Churches, while Archimandrite Gregorios Papathomas examines the parameters of reintroducing the “metropolitan system” of structure of the orthodox Church in the new conditions set by the European unification.

In his article titled “The phenomenon of racism: European and Greek experience. Presuppositions for the cultural unification of Europe” Zissis Papadimitriou calls the West-European societies to evolve consciously into a bulwark of human rights against  neo-racism.

Michalis Papakonstantinou negotiates the historical course and future prospect of Greece and the Balkans, our “unknown neighbourhood” as he names them, while “The national and cultural particularities in the prospect of United Europe” is the theme of the interview that the chief-editor of the journal, Theophilos Abatzidis took from Anna Diamantopoulou. Also, an interview of Noam Chomsky titled “The division of the world serves only the elite of the West” is re-published.

Two special theological studies come next, the first by the Reverend Metropolitan of Servia and Kozani Mr. Ambrosios Yakalis, titled “Observations in the Triadology and pneumatology of Basil the Great” and the second by Stavros Yagazoglou, on the topic “Community of eschata. The theological presuppositions of the Church as an eschatological community”. The journal is complemented with the usual material, Idiomela  and Bibliostasion.

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

The 2nd 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 1st 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 19thc. 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.

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 4th 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.

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