The Apocryphal Bulgarian Sermon of Saint John Chrysostom on the Оrigin of Paulicians and Manichean Dimensions of Medieval Paulician Identity

The article deals with one of the medieval Bulgarian sources about the origin of Paulicianism – the so called Sermon of Saint John Chrysostom on the Оrigin of Paulicians. On the basis of linguistic, textological and historical analysis it is concluded that the “sermon” appears to be a popular “contra version” of an unknown Paulician myth of historical and religious identity. It is suggested a reconstruction of this supposed myth and its obvious connections with Manicheism are traced out. Finally the traces of Manicheism in Paulician belief system are discussed.

Traian Vulpescu and the Uniformity of Religious Chants

Folklorist, byzanthologist, university professor at the Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art in Cluj, Traian Vulpescu was a key figure in the Transylvanian academic musical space. Among his scientific concerns there is the effort made in the introduction of the psaltic music in a region dominated by a strong oral authothonous musical tradition, synthesized in the collection The eight voices by priest Dimitrie Cunțanu from Sibiu. Saint John Chrysostom Mass: The Hymns and Irmoi of the Yearly Celebrations, which Traian Vulpescu wrote in 1939, was the means by which he wanted to make psaltic music more accessible in Transylvania and in the entire country. Using the collections made by Macarie Ieromonahul, Anton Pann, Dimitrie Suceveanu, Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Vulpescu built a personal transcription of the psaltic music in linear notation, choosing the most representative musical variant. The effort he made was fairly in vain because, being as multicultural as it was, the religious music in the area is special. Nevertheless, Traian Vulpescu’s collection is of utmost importance in the Transylvanian musical space, because it answers the Bishop’s Melchisedec Ștefănescu request, and that is to create a religious musical repertoire in linear notation, to be accessible to all Orthodox Romanians.

On the fringe. The painted ornament of the Holy Tinity chapel at Koutsovendēs, Cyprus

The paper explores the painted ornament of the Holy Trinity chapel at the monastery of Saint John Chrysostom Koutsovend?s in Cyprus, founded by Eumathios Philokal?s (ca. 1100). When compared to that of other early Komnenian monuments on the island, the painted ornament at Holy Trinity stands out for its intricacy, diversity, and high-quality of execution, while its sophistication is demonstrated to be in keeping with the ambitious and erudite character of the painted ensemble as a whole. Not least, rather than being on the fringe, the painted ornament appears to have been fully integrated into the iconographic programme of the chapel, reiterating through metaphor the patron?s hope for salvation.

Raising an Athlete for Christ: Saint John Chrysostom and Education in Byzantium

This article examines the homily titled Address on Vainglory, and the Right Way for Parents to Bring up their Children, concentrating upon the educational vision it expresses. The text is attributed to John Chrysostom, Christian saint and fourth century Patriarch of Constantinople. Uncertainty regarding the manuscript’s authenticity led to the exclusion of “Address on Vainglory” from most collections of John Chrysostom’s writings, which had seminal influence in a context when the church was united, and the homily has consequently received very limited attention. Chrysostom earned the epithet "The Golden Mouthed” primarily by virtue of his training in rhetoric and his ability to translate the classical sources that he read into his own, Christian, context. He argues that education must not only cultivate all the faculties of the student’s mind, but also prepare the child to live and act ethically in the world. Chrysostom reconfigures this argument using the striking imagery of an Athlete for Christ, who cultivated not only the faculties of his mind, but also exercised those of the soul.