Issuu

Nothing’s Lost. Or?

Books are the memory of humankind. An Armenian legend recounts that when the Mongols seized the ancient monastery of Goshavank the monks asked them to take the treasury, but to spare the books. Tripartite Narratives The presented book focuses on three important phenomena that have been attracting increasing attention since the late XIXth century – the Central European identity, ecological thought and the ecumenical movement. However, all the three narratives have a long prehistory, as some of the collected articles explain. They are stories of significant developments in human thought, behaviour and attitudes that have affected whole human societies, such as churches or states, and even the natural environment of the human race. Ecology, ecumenism and regional identity have been dealt with in books of different nature and scope. This book tries to combine these three topics as three fields of dialogue. The dialogue between states, countries and regions (Central Europe); the dialogue between Christian churches and ecclesial communities (ecumenism) and the dialogue between humans and the rest of the biosphere (ecology). The methodology of dialogue is the ‘red thread’ connecting the articles of this book. Central European intellectuals as well as intellectuals from other parts of Europe examine in their contributions the possibilities, successes and failures of the dialogical paradigm in ecology, ecumenism and history with a special focus on the region of Central Europe. The goal of these three dialogues is the critical evaluation of the wrongdoings and failures of our dialogical behaviour. The crisis of our approach to nature is well known in the post-industrial age. The unhappy fragmentation of our region and our constantly unfortunate choice for emotional or cultural isolation from each other is also a phenomenon which we encounter after the severe wounds of the two world wars. Finally, the dismembered body of the Christian Church is a pain which casts a shadow even to our relationship with God. We believe that deep-dialogue would lead to understanding, appreciation, and finally, unity.

Introduction Fourfold Structure The title of the book, A Pentatonic Landscape, refers to the five countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) participating in our Central European ecumenical youth co-operation; and also to its specific topic, ecology. Our region is a definite landscape in the European continent, and we aimed at bringing a harmonious, consonant, even concordant melody to this vicinity by our present anthology. The first part (Ecology and Environment) of the present book deals with the findings of our recent Ecology Conference. We base our approach on Christian theology, being ourselves from different Christian denominations (Learning to Care: Christianity and Ecology). Orthodox environmental thought and eco-feminism get their special focus in this chapter. This ground enables us to face various challenges of eco-management, and to specify some of the actual concerns and to define viable ways for the future, like renewable energies or permaculture (Managing to Live: The Culture of Environment). In the second part (Central Europe and Ecumenism), we continue what we touched upon during our Pannonhalma Conference: we try to trace our common roots as a distinct region within the continent. Our present is built on our stormy history, which is our shared tradition to choose means to deconstruct our region from (Positive Stories: Past and Present in Central Europe). Some of the previous ideas for Central European confederations are also examined, and this chapter deals with one of the crucial questions of our region, the role of minorities. Finally, as the book began with Christianity, it also concludes with it (The Option of Dialogue: Ecumenism in Central Europe). An effort is made to explain the methodology of dialogue as developed in the ecumenical movement. Certain aspects of church history, most notably the age of Reformation in our part of Europe, and Czech ecumenism receives a special attention. Pentatonic Co-operation Surprisingly enough, already in the first half of the XXth century the Central European youth gatherings played a very important role in largescale ecumenism (including Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions) and in the ministry of post-war reconciliation. The European Student Relief, founded in 1920 by the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF, 1895), organised an important conference in 1921 (less than one year after the Versailles Settlement) in Turnov (then Czechoslovakia). A year later (1922) this was repeated in Hungary, where there were 6

Polish, Czech, Slovak, Magyar, Romanian, Yugoslav and even German students participating. There were not only Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic participants, but also Jewish, Muslim and non-affiliated students. The other miraculous adventures at that time were the so-called Eastern and Southern European Leaders’ Conferences, organised also by WSCF. In the twenties, for seven conferences, every year they brought together young Poles, Czechs, Magyars, Austrians, Slovaks, and also Romanians and students of Yugoslavia, or even Bulgarians and Greeks, the lecturers coming in an equal number from the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. It was only the shadow of the coming war which prevented these meetings from continuation. This is the heritage which we aim at reconstructing and also reshaping with our co-operation. As we phrased it in our website (www.visegrad.szm.com), the Central European Subregion (established in 2001) is an intercultural and ecumenical youth co-operation that builds up paradigms of peace and reconciliation through dialogue, and strengthens Central European identity before and after joining the European Union by mutual education, co-operation and cultural exchange. The activities of our co-operation encompass at least two conferences a year, in rotation among the five member countries. Most of the articles in this book are closely related to the contributions presented in our first conference in the Békés Gellért Ecumenical Institute (BGÖI) in the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannonhalma, Hungary (February 2002) and in our second conference in the Orthodox Academy in Vilémov u Litovle, Czech Republic (July 2002). The focal point of the Pannonhalma Conference was the modern history of Central Europe, the Central European identity and its embodiment, as well as ideas connected with the geographical, geopolitical and cultural definitions of Central Europe. Common features of ecumenical dialogue and international dialogue were analysed in search for potential platforms of mutual methodological enrichment. The central topic of the Vilémov Conference was ecology in its wide range of theoretical and practical, problematic and visionary forms, its place and demands in Central Europe and its connection with ecumenical Christian responsibility and action. Some of the presented articles continue the line of thought and attempt to trace the trajectory of the dialogue between the development of Christian ethics and modern ecological concerns.

Thousands of Thanks To publish an anthology, one needs a bigger team of committed contributors. Many thanks first of all to the authors; then to the art editor, SZALAY Miklós (from Budapest); to our copy editor, Kate WILSON; and to the translators: first of all Lena PHILIPPOVÁ (Czech), then Doris HOFSTÖTTER and Katharina IGENBERGS (German), Vojtech HUDEC (Slovak), Magda MULARCZYK (Polish) and OROVA Csaba (Magyar). Solvej GASSEHOLM, our beloved intern from Denmark, being based in Prague, was of great help for the functioning of our Subregion, as well as Jirÿí SIBRT, the other main organiser of the Vilemov Conference. We remain thankful to the Benedictine Archabbot VÁRSZEGI Asztrik, the director of the Békés Gellért Ecumenical Institute (BGÖI) and to Roman JURIGA, the director of the Orthodox Academy in Vilémov, for their hospitality and support. We also remain grateful for the support of the Dominican province of Slovakia and its provincial Konsÿ tanc Miroslav ADAM. We are grateful to our donors: the International Visegrad Fund (IVF), the Youth Program of the European Union, the World Student Christian Federation Europe Region (WSCF-E) and the Békés Gellért Ecumenical Institute, Pannonhalma (BGÖI). Finally, we thank the artist, who provided the illustrations for the book by scanning her various textile objects: HOLLÓ Katalin from Budapest, Hungary, a textile designer. As the organic forms cannot be built up without a geometric frame, her objects have a geometric structure as well. The matter, in this case the textile, provides an opportunity to this structure to behave like an organic form, like a living organism. An object lives when it is being used, e.g. as a lamp – and this refers back to the living beings, which are also sustained by the Light. Peter Sÿ AJDA – NAGYPÁL Szabolcs

Daniel PASTIRCÿÁK: To Own, to Surrender and to Administrate: Christianity and Ecology

It is in my opinion almost impossible to start a discourse on the relationship between Christianity and ecology in any other way than by a little explanation of a great misunderstanding. The accusation that the Judeo-Christian spiritual tradition is responsible for the ecological crisis of the industrial society has become an indispensable weapon of certain rather radical Green groups. The idea contained in the Biblical book of Genesis that humanity has been entrusted with rule over the created world is, according to this view, responsible for the attitude of exploitation and destruction of modern humanity towards nature. This great “story” of evil Christianity and Western civilization has not been invented by the activists themselves; rather it has been taken over from renowned authors connected to the New Age movement. It is obvious that an analysis of this great green myth would require an essay of a much broader scope than the one presented. The following lines are therefore nothing but a little comment. Enchantment and Estrangement Morris BERMAN, one of the renowned thinkers connected to the New Age, comments on this relationship in his book The Reenchantment of the World in the following way: “During more than 99% of the history of humanity the world was enchanted. Humans perceived themselves as an integral part of the world. A total elimination of this perception within the time span of no more than 400 years broke the continuity of the human experience and the integrity of the human soul.” Daniel PASTIRCÿÁK (1959) is a poet, prose-writer and essayist. He graduated in Protestant theology in Bratislava. He works as a preacher of the Church of Brethren. Besides his literary work he is also engaged in art.

D. PASTIRCÿ ÁK Christianity and Ecology BERMAN’s book was published in 1984. If we deduct the mentioned 400 years we reach the year 1584. It was in those times that the dominant position of the Church and the civilizational role of Christianity started to lose ground. The Renaissance joined the discussion, stating that not God but humanity is the measure of all things which subsequently facilitated the criticism of religion by the Enlightenment and later the positivist mystification of scientific knowledge. But what had been happening until this time? What was happening between the years 300 and 600 when Christianity had the best opportunity to devastate the countries she had entered by means of her destructive ideology? According to Morris BERMAN, the world was enchanted in this period. Yes it was, even if it was Christian (with its positive and negative elements). The Hebrew story of the dominant Adam, however, had been forming the human civilization for one millennium before Christ already. The Christianity merely inherited this “destructive” story from the Jews. Was the society of the Israelites, in which the priests, prophets, kings and rabbis considered this same story sacred for centuries, really so cruel and exploitative towards its immediate environment? Morris BERMAN included those places and times without any further hesitation into those 99% of the human history, in which the world remained enchanted. And he was right. Then, however, the problem of the estrangement of humanity from nature appears in a different light. The date when the estrangement started to develop is the date of the secularization of the Western world. If there is an idea that can be made responsible for the estrangement of modern humanity from nature it can be to a great extent the humanistic idea that humans are the measure of all things. Mythological or Scientific? The interpretation of the Biblical story by Francis BACON is often cited as the reason for criticism of the Judeo-Christian concept of humanity. Francis BACON is considered one of the thinkers that laid the foundations of modern scientific thought. Here we encounter a typical paradox that is often present in criticism of Christian thought: Marxist philosophers distance themselves from Christianity since it is based on mythology and in conflict with the scientific methods of the acquisition of knowledge; and ecological philosophers reject Christianity because it laid the foundations of modern science. Both the former and the latter are partly right, but a deep understanding of Christianity is possible only when these two elements are seen in balance. Trying to adapt Christianity to new streams of thought, several modern liberal theologians accepted the optics of the materialist positivism of the late 19th and early 20th century. The criticism of ecological philosophers 10

rightly concerns this kind of Christian thinker. Those Christian thinkers, however, that have remained faithful to the orthodox interpretation, were among the first to criticize the attitude of modern humanity towards nature. The well-known modern poet and Christian thinker T. S. ELIOT presented in his book The Idea of a Christian Society (published in 1939) the following ideas: â€œWe may say that religion, as distinguished from modern paganism, implies a life in conformity with nature. It may be observed that the natural and the supernatural life have a conformity to each other which neither has with mechanistic. We are being made aware that the organization of society on the principle of private profit, as well as public destruction, is leading both to 11

D. PASTIRCÿ ÁK Christianity and Ecology the deformation of humanity by unregulated industrialism, and to the exhaustion of natural resources, and that a good deal of our material progress is a progress for which succeeding generations may have to pay dearly. A wrong attitude towards nature implies somewhere, a wrong attitude towards God, and that the consequence is an inevitable doom.” T. S. ELIOT is, by the way, frequently quoted by the eco-philosopher H. SKOLIMOVSKI, although the meaning of ELIOT’s words is slightly altered in his works. Environmental Darwinism I believe that the mentioned story of the first human and the Garden of Eden can be a source of fruitful inspiration for the discussion about the relationship between humanity and nature. It seems to represent an interesting alternative. On one side of the table there are Enlightenment humanists with their classical positivist paradigm. Their view of the issue can be denoted as environmental Darwinism. In their vision of the cosmos, humanity is the peak of evolution. In humanity, the evolution of matter reached the kind of complexity that gave rise to the phenomenon of consciousness. In humanity the cosmos starts to be aware of itself. The god of the evolutionary cosmos is human. For this reason humans are entitled to use the cosmos in the way that suits them. The world seen through this kind of glasses appears to be a collection of natural resources. Our environment represents a huge storehouse of energies, materials and foods, which are at the disposal of humanity and can be consumed. Humans own nature and subjugate it through the power of their intellect. A collective version of this attitude was the attempt of communism; the individualist version is capitalism. Those who identify with this concept of the world are willing to reflect on the problem of their relationship with nature as it is in their interest to sustain human life and civilization in the future. The arguments are then connected with the issues of exhaustion and sustainability of natural resources. For numerous thinkers this approach does not represent a starting point for ecological thinking as it does not change the attitude of humanity towards nature in its essence but only confirms the arrogant anthropological principle. Environmental Pantheism On the other side of the table another group of thinkers have taken their places, including those, whose agenda tries to avoid the one-sidedness of environmental Darwinism. Their attitudes can be denoted as environmental pantheism. Contrary to the older idea that everything is matter they claim that everything is spirit (an “old and new” idea). The cosmos is a self12

Learning to Care conscious organism, nature as a whole is God. All its parts are equally divine; all its elements are of equal value and are parts of a unique living whole. This approach is an evident enrichment. It modifies the attitude of humanity towards nature in a radical way. It helps humans to spread their empathy over the realm of animals, plants, hills, etc. It teaches us to think the way a hill thinks. The intrinsic peril of this approach is, however, that it can evolve into an ecological romanticism. When trying to perceive the world from other beings’ perspective (e.g. animals’ and plants’) humans cannot avoid remaining human and the only inner world humans truly know is their own human self. Humans cannot become a tree or a wolf, can only personify them and humanize beings that in reality are not human. This vision contains certain limitations and thus in certain steps will not be able to be the best advisor in the area of relating to nature. Firstly, nature (as God) knows neither sympathy nor mercy. The stronger devour the weaker to renew life energies within themselves. If God is identical with nature there is no reason why humans should limit themselves in the name of their relationship with other living creatures (humans, animals or plants). Asceticism in the name of sympathy and mercy is not understandable in the middle of a world in which the primary law is the fight for survival. In this connection I cannot help mentioning PASCAL’s idea that one deed based on mercy is greater than the whole of cosmos as it does not belong to the natural order of things but to the supernatural. Secondly, if humans are equally positioned parts of the organism of nature as stones, grasses, trees or bears, we cannot require from them greater responsibility than from a stone, grass, tree or from a bear. Pantheism ignores the qualitative difference between humans and other creatures of the planet. But (in this point are the environmental Darwinists unfortunately right) humans have power with which they dominate over other creatures. Who is the stronger mammal: a human or a lion? From the physiological point of view certainly the lion. But humanity has creative consciousness and can invent the bow and arrow or the rifle. Humans have an advantage of which they must be aware and which must be admitted. Humans can exert dominance – a fact which requires an attitude of responsibility. Garden of Eden In this instance the story of the Garden of Eden comes in with an intriguing alternative. In this story God creates Adam. The Hebrew word Adam means earthly – the one taken from the earth. It refers to the fundamental kinship of humanity with all other creatures of the cosmos. We are made 13

D. PASTIRCÿ ÁK Christianity and Ecology from the parts of the same mosaic, from the same atomic dust. If God is our father, the Earth is our mother. When St. FRANCIS of Assissi addressed trees and animals as sisters and brothers, he was not using a metaphor. From the Christian perspective we are all sisters and brothers of the whole created world. God creates Adam in his own image. The story reveals in what sense humanity is the image of God. Humanity has creative consciousness. God creates the world by God’s Word, Adam names the world by his words. Through names Adam creates the fundament of his consciousness and his consciousness becomes the tool by means of which he completes for himself what was created by God. The limited consciousness of humanity is a mirror of the absolute consciousness of God. Adam is given free will. In the Biblical story the possibility of choice is symbolized by the tree of knowledge of the good and evil. God’s absolute freedom is reflected in the relative freedom of humanity. Humanity is also created as a diune being. In his sleep Adam is divided to become a woman and a man, so that these two may form one being in their mutual love. Christianity has the vision of God as a triune being. God’s essence is love – the Loved One, the Loving One and the Spirit of Love. Human being reflects God as a Being of Love in its ability to transcend its own ego and to unite with another ego in an I and Thou relationship. Administrating the World Humanity understood in this way is in the story incorporated into a relationship with nature. Nature is symbolized by the Garden of Eden. The garden does not belong to humanity but to God. Humanity is not the owner of the garden but just an administrator. Nature is not a mine supplying raw materials for human desires. As administrators, humans are responsible to the Lord of the garden. They shall cultivate it and take care of it. They bear responsibility for the dominance they were given in the form of creative consciousness. The story of humanity in the Garden of Eden continues with the story of the temptation and deformation of humans. They move from love to egocentrism. They succumb to the temptation of placing themselves at the centre of the universe. Instead of administrating the world, they pretend to own it. The image of God in humanity has been distorted. This fact is inherently present in our civilization. It reflects equally our glory as well as our meanness. Everything we create is both a yes and a no. Our tireless creativity produces remarkable and partial improvements, which carry in themselves a sort of evil that will have to be faced by future generations. This is the Biblical image of our humanity, of contradictory nature 14

Learning to Care of our civilization and of the task, we should fulfill as humans in our relationship to the environment. Salvation of the Cosmos The restoration of the deformed human is described in the books of the Bible as the process of salvation. Salvation concerns – according to the sacred books of Christianity – not only an individual human soul but the whole world and has a dynamic vision of the cosmos. Apostle PAUL in his letter to the Romans describes this process in the following way: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of God Who subjected it in hope, because creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now.” The created world is thus – according to PAUL – included in the process of salvation. It perceives redemption through the coming of God’s daughters and sons. Where are these daughters and sons of God? Jesus as the archetype of a Son of God brings into the world the principle of the cross; love that renounces itself so that it may give life to others. We die so that you may live – in this way PAUL formulates this idea. Humans change from being owners into administrators when they combine their dominance with their sacrificing love, when they renounce the capriciousness of consumption and start to cultivate a self-restraining empathy of love. A classical Christian attitude is thus formed by a synthesis of the two above-mentioned antitheses. And what conclusion shall be drawn on the basis of this discourse? Lately the film The Lord of the Rings has been shown in the cinemas around the world. This mythological work of TOLKIEN contains deep environmentalist attitudes. The world of Mordor is inspired by the world of the English industrial society of the first half of the 20th century. It is well-known that TOLKIEN (for ecological reasons) refused to use an automobile for the whole of his life. His stance was inspired by his well-grounded but traditionally understood Christian faith. (Translated by Peter Sÿ AJDA) Suggested Reading BERMAN Morris, The Reenchantment of the World. 1984. ELIOT T. S., The Idea of a Christian Society (and other writings). 1982. PEARCEY Nancy R. – THAXTON Ch. B., The Soul of Science. 1994. ROSSI Paolo, Francis Bacon: From Magic to Science. ROSSI Paolo, Hermetics and Rationality. SKOLIMOWSKI Henryk, Eco-Theology: Toward a Religion for our Time. 1985.

D. PASTIRCÿ ÁK Christianity and Ecology Daniel PASTIRCÿ ÁK: Birtokolni – lemondani – gondozni: Kereszténység és ökológia Az esszé arra a kihívásra próbál választ adni, amely szerint a zsidó–keresztény lelkiségi hagyomány teheto´´ felelo´´ssé az ökológiai válságért. Ezen elképzelés szerint a Genezis közvetítte elképzelés az emberro´´l, aki megbízást nyert a teremtett világ fölötti uralkodásra, az oka a természetet kizsákmányoló és romboló magatartásnak. A szerzo´´ azonban kimutatja, hogy ez az értelmezés mint olyan, már nem csupán a teremtéstörténetben rejlo´´ eredeti üzenet egy lehetséges változata. Ha fölismerjük az Édenkert elso´´ lakójának történetében az ösztönzo´´ ero´´t, és az alternatívát olyan egyoldalú modellekkel szemben, mint a “környezeti darwinizmus” pozitivista, vagy a “környezeti panteizmus” lelkiségi paradigmája, akkor tudjuk majd átgondolni az ember föladatát és küldetését a világban. Az ember ugyanis nem tulajdonos, hanem igazgató. Felelo´´sségel tartozik azért a hatalomért, amelyet a teremto´´ gondolkodásban és a szabad akaratban elnyert.

Daniel PASTIRCÿ ÁK: Posiadac´, podporzaþdkowac´ i zarzaþdzac´: Chrzesćijan´stwo i ekologia Esej próbuje odpowiedziec´ na wyzwanie przedstawione w koncepcji pociaþgajaþcej do odpowiedzialnosći za kryzys ekologiczny duchowaþ tradycjeþ judeochrzesćijan´skaþ. WedlÚug wspomnianej opinii to idea zawarta w Ksieþ dze Rodzaju, zúe czlÚowiekowi powierzono pieczeþ nad stworzonym s´wiatem, jest odpowiedzialna za pelÚne eksploatacji i zniszczenia podejsćie do natury. Autor pokazuje, zúe ta interpretacja jako taka jest wieþcej nizú modyfikacjaþ prawdziwego przeslÚania zawartego w Ksieþdze Rodzaju. Odczytanie historii pierwszego czlÚowieka w Rajskim Ogrodzie jako inspiracji i alternatywy dla jednostronnego modelu pozytywistycznego paradygmatu „s´rodowiskowego Darwinizmu” lub duchowego „s´rodowiskowego panteizmu”, umozú liwia nam zastanowienie sieþ nad zadaniami czloÚ wieka i jego misji w s´wiecie. Ludzie nie saþ wlÚasćicielami, ale administratorami. Ponoszaþ odpowiedzialnosć´ za wlÚ adzeþ, jaka bylÚ a im dana w formie twórczej s´wiadomosći i wolnej woli.

Learning to Care Daniel PASTIRCÿÁK: Vlastnit, podléhat a spravovat Esej se snazÿ í odpoveÿdeÿ t na vy´ zvu, kterou prÿedstavuje pojetí obvinÿ ující zÿidovsko-krÿest´anskou duchovní tradici z odpoveÿdnosti za ekologickou krizi. Podle tohoto konceptu je zveÿst Genese o poveÿrÿení cÿ loveÿka vládou nad stvorÿeny´m sveÿtem zodpoveÿdná za vykorÿist´ovatelsky´ a destruktivní postoj k prÿírodeÿ. Autor ukazuje, zÿ e takováto interpretace je více nezÿ modifikací puû vodní zveÿsti knihy Genesis. Chápání prÿíbeÿhu prvního cÿloveÿka v zahradeÿ Eden jako inspirace a alternativa jednostranny´m modeluû m jak pozitivistického paradigmatu „environmentalistického Darwinismu“ nebo spirituálního „environmentalistického panteismu“ nám umozÿnÿuje reflektovat nad lidsky´m údeÿlem a posláním ve sveÿteÿ. Lidé nejsou vlastníky, ale správci. Nesou zodpoveÿdnost za nadvládu, která jim byla sveÿrÿena v podobeÿ kreativního veÿdomí a svobodné vuû le.

Daniel PASTIRCÿÁK: Besitzen, ergeben und verwalten: Christentum und Ökologie Der Artikel versucht auf die Herausforderung einzugehen, die durch die Auffassung, dass die jüdisch-christliche Tradition für die Öko-Krise verantwortlich ist, gestellt wird. Diese Auffasung wird unterstützt durch die in Genesis formulierte These, dass die Menschen mit der Herrschaft über die geschaffene Welt betraut wurden und somit verantwortlich für die Ausbeutung und Zerstörung der Natur sind. Der Autor zeigt, dass diese Interpretation als solche mehr als nur eine Modifikation der ursprünglichen Aussage aus Genesis ist. Die Geschichte der ersten Menschen im Garten Eden dient als Inspiration und Alternative für die einseitigen Modelle entweder des positivistischen Paradigmas des „Umwelt-Darwinismus“ oder des spirituellen „Umwelt-Pantheismus“. Das ermöglicht es uns die Aufgaben des Menschen in der Welt zu erkennen. Die Menschen sind nicht die Besitzer sondern die Verwalter der Welt. Sie tragen Verantwortung für die Dominanz, die ihnen in Form von kreativem Denken und freiem Willen verliehen worden ist.

Halvard JOHANNESSEN Learning to Care: Theology and the Ecological Crisis

This article was begun upon as the Johannesburg Summit 2002 – the World Summit on Sustainable Development, was finishing off. The Summit brought together tens of thousands of participants, including heads of states and governments, national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and businesses, to focus the world’s attention on poverty and ecological challenges. And ecological challenges are indeed making themselves known. Four out of five of the warmest years ever recorded were in the 1990s, and 1998 was the warmest year globally since records began in 1861. Average global sea levels have increased by between 0.1 and 0.2 metres over the last 100 years, while snow cover in the Northern hemisphere has declined since the late 1960s by around 10%. And the weather will continue to change. Hurricanes are likely to be more intense in some parts of the world, due to more rainfall and more intense winds. Although there are more signs of an ecological crisis, there is at the same time a growing awareness of it, which also comes along with a growing will to change. The Kyoto Treaty on Global Warming is one example. But at the World Summit, German Chancellor Gerhard SCHRÖDER summed up the general situation in the following words: “Climate change is no longer a sceptical prognosis, but a bitter reality.” Historians and others have asked themselves: why are we facing this ecological crisis?

Halvard JOHANNESSEN was born in Norway in 1975. He studied theology, literature and intellectual history, and completed a degree in theology in 2000 at the University of Oslo. At the moment he works with youth ministry in the Church of Norway and as a part-time school teacher. He is the editor of Middelalderforum, a journal for medieval studies.

Learning to Care I. Key Problem – Christian Theology? In 1967 the historian Lynn WHITE delivered some severe claims about the Christian tradition in his article The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis (Science 1967, 1303-1307). WHITE argued that the very roots of the ecological crisis lie in the Christian tradition. There are especially three main features of mainstream Western theology, which can be seen as sources for the modern, destructive view of nature. White’s first point is that theology has separated humankind from the rest of creation, and put humans on top of the hierarchy. The second point is that a similar separation can also be found between humanity and God, and the third claim is that theology has given the West an instrumental conception of nature. Because of the authoritative position that Christian theology has enjoyed in Western history, these three main ideas have shaped the Western mind towards a dangerous conception of nature. To put it simple, today’s ecological disasters is the final outcome of these Christian ideas. Is Christianity really the most important source of the ecological crisis? The answer seems ambivalent. On the one side, the Bible tells us that man shall rule the earth and its creatures. The theological tradition has produced ideas about nature which clearly have been too concentrated on the human condition, and especially on the relationship between the isolated individual and God. Theology has in many ways forgotten about the relationship with nature (and the relationship among people as well). On the other hand, this is not the whole story. There are indications that WHITE’s three claims about Christianity are not so novel features of Christianity after all. First of all, the gaps that separate the individual from the world and from God, are important features of modern philosophy. This and other dangerous ideas in Christianity, ecologically speaking, first appeared in the 17th century. At this time the mechanistic view of the nature developed with full force with thinkers like MERSENNE and DESCARTES. But it emerged in philosophy, and more importantly, in a philosophy that had lost its ties with theology. For the first time Europe now looked upon nature as a machine, and seemingly abandoned by God it could for the first time serve only human purposes. These purposes were fulfilled through modern science and technology, which used nature as an instrument to gain their goals. Most of the international politics, economics and industry of today, fully represents this view either explicitly or implicitly. Some of the theological ideas that WHITE criticised were developed mainly after this mechanistic philosophy and science had developed and, more importantly, after theology had been influenced by these developments. 19

H. JOHANNESSEN Theology and the Ecological Crisis One cannot criticise this theological view of the nature without at the same time criticising modernity’s view of nature, of which theology is but one marginal aspect. II. Answering the Challenge: the Birth of Eco-theologies Theologians could not remain indifferent after 1967. Even if his historical claims were too one-sided, WHITE had caught contemporary theology unprepared – almost no contemporary theologian had a focus on ecology. The ensuing debate triggered a lot of theological work in the years that followed, and the term ‘ecological theology’ soon appeared. There had been some predecessors, whom Teilhard DE CHARDIN was one of the modern pioneers of, calling for a change in the Christian concept of nature already at the beginning of the 20th century. But in the last thirty years we have for the first time ever seen a theology deeply devoted to modern ecological problems, and among these various ‘eco-theologies’ I will mention three important contributions. The first among these “green theologies” has been inspired by so-called covenant theology, which is a common element of traditional theology. Process theology is another important contributor. It has inclinations towards both deep ecology and process philosophy, and often seems to be less orthodox than the first one. The third and last theological movement which have proved fruitful in connection to ecology, is feminist theology. 1. Covenant Theology Covenant theology is closely linked with the name of the Reformed pastor and scholar Paul SANTMIRE. In his work Brother Earth: Nature, God and Ecology in Time of Crisis (1970), he argues that theological ethics has a too narrow definition. It only concerns humanity, while there is a need for an ethics of nature. His starting point is the Kingdom of God, and he considers nature a member of the “divine society”. All peaceful societies need rules to live by and regulations for their interactions. If we do not have some kind of a covenant between humankind and nature, we will not be able to live peacefully with the nature. The large-scale flooding of cities like Dresden and Prague in the summer of 2002 helps to illustrate SANTMIRE’s point: we do not live according to the covenant; therefore we are not at peace with nature. In the Kingdom of God we have to recognise the rules we have to live by; sustainable development and reductions of pollution, consumption and of the living standards of the West.

2. Process Theology A main figure of process theology is John COBB. Process theology is above all characterised by its emphasis of relations: no one and nothing lives by themselves, not even God! Relations are fundamental for all kinds of life, and therefore we have to protect and nourish our relations. Applied to ecology, this means that we have to care for our relationship with nature. Here is the link to so-called deep-ecology, which stresses the fundamental oneness of all things. If everything really is one through the web of relations, then even the smallest particles gain value from the mere fact that they exist. We must also act according to this value. 21

H. JOHANNESSEN Theology and the Ecological Crisis This brings us to another point of process theology, namely the dynamic character of creation. There is a possibility in everything to develop and realise itself. This is not only a feature of human beings, but of all existent things down to the smallest proton. In other words, we should look after nature to safeguard its ability to develop according to its own lines. 3. Feminist Theology Feminist theology is a third branch of modern theology that has proved fruitful in connection to ecology. An important contribution is Sally MCFAGUE’s book Models of God: Theology for an Ecological Nuclear Age (1987). A common feature of this kind of theology is the claim that male dominance is connected to many destructive elements in our culture, the ecological crisis being one of them. There is a special relation between women and nature, since they both are, and have been for ages, exposed to male oppression. Experiences of oneness between women and nature call for a special feminist concern with nature. Through experiences of and in nature we realise our dependence on it, which in turn reveals an ethical demand to care for nature. Even if this is a feminist perspective of nature, it does not concern only women. Feminist theologians think that men can learn from women to search for and discover similar experiences, and this aspect gives feminist ecological theology a universal appeal. III. Ecological Theology before Modernity In addition to these new currents in theology, I will point out that the Christian tradition is often overlooked in the quest for a theology of nature. There are some “historical roots” to be discovered not only “for the ecological crisis”, but also for an ecological theology. In the 9th century, John SCOTUS ERIUGENA created a Christian philosophy of nature, far from our ecological situation and very different from WHITE’S account of Christianity. In some aspects he could be considered a 1200-year-old forerunner of deep-ecology. In his main work De Divisione Naturæ he says that nature is not a world apart from humanity and God. ‘Nature’ denotes the whole Reality, the totality of everything, both visible and invisible, both worlds, humanity and God. God has not only created nature, but God is created in nature, too. God is not hidden, as in another world, some kind of the world’s second floor. Quite the contrary, God is revealed through animals, mountains, plants – being the essence of creation. Creation is in fact a multitude of theophanies (appearances of God). Not in the sense that a tree is God, or 22

Learning to Care that a stone is God, because the oneness of God overflows both particular things and the visible world as a whole. Christ functions as the mediator of creation, it is through Him that creation flows from God into every particular being. And at the end of the times, the whole creation will flow back again the same way, through Christ into the oneness of God. It must be pointed out that this Christian philosophy of nature can serve as a reminder today, as a correction of modernity’s use and misuse of nature. How much value does nature have in itself, if every bird and flower participates in the divine, showing us God? Another important point is that the existence of this medieval Christian view of nature proves that an ecological theology does not necessarily emerge only when crisis demands it. This was not developed because the situation enforced it, as is largely the case of the eco-theologies of today. Therefore it can be said that at least some ecological elements reside in Christianity – naturally, so to speak. IV. Taking Action Christians are of course facing the task of saving the environment together with people who have all kinds of religious concerns. The situation of today is characterised by certain positive changes, which hopefully will continue to develop. But if the scientific prognoses are right, our climate will be very different in the next ten to twenty years. But most commentators say it is not too late to do anything about it, and we all need to work together to reduce the damage. The environmental issue transcends traditional boundaries, it is a fight in which women and men, non-believers and believers, old and young, are called to act together. But what particular lessons can the green theologies, new and old, teach us in this struggle? Are there not some missing links between theory and practical application? The bottom line must be that we have to act together with all kinds of people, to save the environment. Simple things are often the most important, because they make a change in everyday life: turning off lights when you leave a room; turning off televisions, videos, stereos and computers when they are not in use (they can use between 10-60% of the power they use when on); letting your clothes dry naturally rather than using a tumble drier; using energy saving light-bulbs; travelling by train or bus instead of a car; cutting down on meat in favour of vegetables; giving your votes to politicians with ecological concerns; arranging “green services” in your church, etc. The possibilities are almost infinite, and as long everyone is at least doing something, there is hope. 23

H. JOHANNESSEN Theology and the Ecological Crisis Caring for nature starts in the heart, as does every kind of love. And in my opinion, here lies the main privilege of eco-theologies: eco-theologies alone can open our eyes to the divine beauty of nature; they show us the holiness of nature and thus the infinite value of nature. Only eco-theologies can show us these kinds of perspectives or reasons. And the religious aspect of these reasons makes them personal; they are able to strike the hearts as well as the minds. And as such eco-theologies can teach us to care in a unique way. They can change our hearts, so that we suddenly find ourselves caring for nature â€“ in other words: taking action. As a concern for nature stems from the heart, so does liturgy. Being an obvious practical application of eco-theology, caring for the environment can start with a prayer from the heart, to the heart, so that the rest of us may follow: We thank you, merciful God, for the beauty of the earth and the sea, for mountains, plains and rivers, for the singing of the birds and the grace of flowers. We thank you for all good gifts, and pray that they may be preserved for those who come after us. Let our thankfulness for your rich creation grow, joyfully. Let us taste the meal you have prepared in the world to come. We pray that we all may inherit the treasures of the holy, and that we may live in your heavenly city, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and governs with you in the oneness of the Holy Spirit, for ever one God, in a world without end. Amen 1

Suggested Reading COPLESTON F. SI, Augustine to Bonaventure. In A History of Philosophy. Maryland, 1962. REME O. K. (ed.), En verden uten ende. Liturgier. Stavanger, 1991. KRISTIANSEN R. E., Ă˜koteologi. Frederiksberg, 1993. POPKIN R. H., The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Descartes. Netherlands, 1960. www.bbc.co.uk 1 En verden uten ende. 1991. part 1, 67.

Learning to Care Halvard JOHANNESSEN: A gondoskodás föladat: Ökológiai krízis és teológiai megközelítések Lynn WHITE Az ökológiai krízis történeti gyökerei címu´´ kritikai tanulmányában (1967) kijelentette, hogy a környezeti válság gyökerei a keresztény hagyományba nyúlnak vissza, s ezzel jókora próba elé állította a teológusokat, ha meg akarták válaszolni eme kétélu´´ kérdést. Az effajta “zöld teológia” elso´´ változatát még az úgynevezett szövetségi teológia ihlette. Ennek kiindulópontja Isten országa, miközben hangsúlyozza, hogy az “isteni társadalomnak” részese a természet is; illetve, hogy szükségünk van egyfajta szövetségre az ember és a természet között, a békés együttélés érdekében. A folyamatteológia szintén fontos elo´´zmény a teremtés összefüggéseinek és dinamikus jellegének hangsúlyozása révén. Ökológiai alkalmazásában ugyanis kiderül: minden létezo´´ számára adott a haladás és az önmegvalósítás leheto´´sége – éppen ezért kellene vigyáznunk a természetre, hogy mego´´rizzük annak fejlo´´do´´képességét. A harmadik elo´´zmény a feminista teológia azon meglátásával, hogy a férfiuralom összefügg kultúránk számos romboló elemével, köztük az ökológiai válsággal.

Halvard JOHANNESSEN: Uczenie sieþ jak dbac´: Teologiczne podejsćia do kryzysu ekologicznego Krytyczny artykulÚ Lynn WHITE “Historyczne korzenie naszego kryzysu ekologicznego” (1967), twierdzaþcy, zúe korzenie kryzysu ekologicznego lezú aþ w tradycji chrzesćijan´skiej, bylÚ wyzwaniem dla teologów, by odpowiedziec´ na to ambiwalentne pytanie. Pierwszy z tych “zielonych teologów” bylÚ zainspirowany tzw. teologiaþ przymierza, majaþcaþ poczaþtek w Królestwie Boga, podkres´lajaþcym, zú e przyroda jest równiezú czlÚ onkiem “boskiego spolÚeczen´stwa”, a my potrzebujemy jakiegos´ rodzaju przymierza pomieþdzy rodzajem ludzkim a naturaþ, by byc´ w stanie zúyc´ z niaþ w zgodzie. Teologia procesu to kolejny wazú ny wklÚ ad, ukazujaþcy zwiaþzki i dynamiczny charakter stworzenia. Zastosowana w ekologii, ukazuje istniejaþcaþ we wszystkim mozú liwosć´ jej rozwoju i samorealizacji, a my powinnis´my opiekowac´ sieþ przyrodaþ, by zapewnic´ jej ten rozwój. Trzeciaþ jest teologia feministyczna ze swoim twierdzeniem, zú e meþska dominacja jest zwiaþzana z wieloma destruktywnymi elementami naszej kultury, a kryzys ekologiczny jest jednym z nich.

H. JOHANNESSEN Theology and the Ecological Crisis Halvard JOHANNESSEN: Ucÿit se pécÿi: Teologické prÿístupy k ekologické krizi Kriticky´ cÿ lánek Lynn WHITEa, The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis (1967), ve kterém autor prohlasÿ uje za korÿeny ekologické krize krÿestánskou tradici, byl velkou vy´zvou teologuû m, kterÿí se z ruû znyćh hledisek snazÿili s touto ambivalentní otázkou vyrovnat. První z teÿchto „zelenyćh teologuû “ byli inspirováni teologií smlouvy, která vychází ze skutecÿnosti Bozÿího království a zduû raznÿuje, zÿe také prÿíroda je cÿ lenem „bozÿ í spolecÿ nosti“. Tudízÿ abychom mohli zÿ ít v mírovém vztahu k prÿírodeÿ, potrÿebujeme neÿjaky´ druh smlouvy mezi prÿírodou a lidstvem. Dalsÿím duû lezÿ ity´m prÿíspeÿvkem byla procesuální teologie se svy´m duû razem na vztahovost a na dynamicky´ charakter stvorÿení. Vztazÿ eno na ekologii, ve vsÿem je mozÿ nost k rozvoji a seberealizaci a my tedy máme o prÿírodu pecÿ ovat, abychom tak ochránili její mozÿ nost k vlastnímu rozvoji. Konecÿ neÿ feministická teologie vystupuje s tvrzením, zÿ e muzÿ ská nadvláda je spojena s mnoha destruktivními prvky v nasÿí kulturÿe a ekologická krize je jedním z nich.

Halvard JOHANNESSEN: Lernen Verantwortung zu übernehmen: eine theologische Annäherung an die Öko-Krise Der kritische Artikel „The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis“ (1967) von Lynn WHITE stellt die These auf, dass die Wurzeln der Öko-Krise in der Christlichen Tradition liegen und dass die Herausfordung für die Theologie darin liegt diese zwiespältige Frage zu beantworten. Die ersten dieser „grünen Theologien“ wurden durch die sog. „covenant theology“ geprägt. Der Ausgangspunkt hierbei war das Reich Gottes, wobei betont wurde, dass die Natur auch ein Teil der „göttlichen Gemeinschaft“ ist, und wir eine Art Vereinbarung zwischen Mensch und Natur brauchen, die es uns ermöglicht in Einklang mit ihr zu leben. Grossen Einfluss hat auch die „process theology“, die besonders die Beziehungen und die dynamische Art der Schöpfung heraushebt. Auf die Ökologie bezogen heisst das, dass es immer und überall möglich ist sich weiter zu entwickeln und zu verwirklichen. Deshalb sollten wir auf die Natur Acht geben um ihre Fähigkeit sich weiter zu entwicklen zu sichern. Als dritte theologische Richtung ist die „feminist theology“ zu nennen. In ihr wird behauptet, dass die Dominanz des Mannes mit vielen zerstörerischen Elementen unserer Kultur verbunden ist, wobei die Öko-Krise ein Beispiel dafür ist. 26

Krzysztof LEs´NIEWSKI Care about the World of Creatures: Orthodox Environmental Insights

Let me start this article with some good news. On May 7, 2002 the Ecumenical Patriarch BARTHOLOMEOS I of Constantinople was awarded the Sophie Prize for his work in protecting the environment. The Prize was awarded in recognition of “his pioneering efforts in linking faith to the environment”. Patriarch BARTHOLOMEOS “has spoken out against injustice and inequity, challenging the present economic globalisation that widens the gap between rich and poor and leads to excessive consumption”, according to a statement issued by the Sophie Foundation. The foundation also cited the Patriarch for drawing attention to the problems of “over-consumption in first world countries and the lack of justice that causes growing inequity in developing nations.” On the 10 th June, 2002, the Ecumenical Patriarch BARTHOLOMEOS I of Constantinople and Pope JOHN PAUL II signed the Venice Declaration on the Christian Commitment to Protect the Environment. It concluded the symposium entitled The Adriatic: A Sea in Danger, Unity of Purpose, sponsored by the Patriarch. Scientists, environmental and ecological experts and representatives of different religions participated in the symposium which took place during a six-day cruise along the Adriatic coast. The Declaration expresses the common will of safeguarding creation, the will to support and sustain every initiative that truly improves, cares for and preserves the Earth which God gave us so that humans would conserve it with wisdom and love. The Joint Declaration on the environment is the first among other ecumenical declarations and has a special meaning because of theological, ethical and spiritual insights. Krzysztof LES´NIEWSKI is a lecturer in the Orthodox Theology Department in the Ecumenical Institute of the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland. He graduated as a Master of Theology in St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York), where he studied in 1989-1991 under the direction of John MEYENDORFF. In his work he is engaged mainly in the theology of unity, liturgy and the spirituality of Eastern Christians.

K. LEs´NIEWSKI Orthodox Environmental Insights I. Orthodox Environmental Activities Patriarch DIMITRIOS invited the entire world to offer prayers of thanksgiving, but also of petition regarding the protection of creation. Thus, as of 1989, the beginning of the new ecclesiastical year, September 1 has been designated for all Orthodox Christians as a day of prayer for the protection of environment. The event underlined the need for a liturgical experience of the human’s life-giving attachment not only to God, but also to the whole created world. Besides, it imposed a duty of the engagement in the environmental protection in an irrevocable way. The establishment of the feast of the creation in the liturgical calendar has been accepted with recognition by the whole Christian world. Other denominations followed the example of Patriarch DIMITRIOS and searched for a proper “place” for such a feast in their liturgical calendars. The Orthodox Services for the Creation (vespers) are today used in the Orthodox Church worldwide. The work of Patriarch DIMITRIOS is continued by Patriarch BARTHOLOMEOS I, known in the world as the “Green Patriarch”. Numerous conferences and seminars have been organised since the early nineties, about the ecological crisis and about the Orthodox vision of environmental protection. A cycle of conferences took place on the island of Halki in the Holy Trinity Monastery, on Crete, in Romania, in the USA, etc. The conferences were attended also by the members of Syndesmos – the World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth. Numerous fruitful ecological programs have been implemented in the Orthodox world. The introduction of the principles of organic farming in the Annunciation Monastery (in Ormylia, Northern Greece) belongs to the most known programs, as well as the programs of the protection of the unique nature of the Athos Mountain, which is exposed to danger by the building of new roads, higher traffic, and developing tourism. The project realised in Nera Monastery, Romania, concentrates on the linking of traditional methods of agricultural cultivation with the cultivation of remedial herbs. It should be also pointed out that the Orthodox Church is engaged not only in its internal environmental activities but also in a broad ecumenical co-operation. The Orthodox is deeply involved in the environmental work of the World Council of Churches and the Conference of European Churches. The Orthodox Church desires to place the theology of creation in the centre of its Ecclesial life. She seeks manners of practical expression of her deepest convictions concerning the true relations between God, human beings and other creatures.

II. Why so many Activities? Instead of clean water in rivers we can see streaming waste waters; we do not breathe fresh air, but fumes; instead of cool drops of rain our faces are touched by toxic substances; around us poisoned soil, air, water... Where can we look for the reasons of such a bad condition of the environment? Who is responsible? Is it not our transgression against nature? Should not such behaviour be considered sinful? It is interesting that while we face the phenomena which testify to the violation of nature by humans, in many cases there is not the slightest suspicion that the crisis is not only scientific, but first and foremost spiritual, and then social and economic. 29

K. LEs´NIEWSKI Orthodox Environmental Insights Orthodoxy points out the connection of environmental problems with the social and economic problem in our use of the world and of material goods. The ecological crisis is an expression and a generalisation of the social problem. Church Fathers note humans’ tendency to tyrannise their social and natural environment. This tendency to possess and misuse, which in the first place created the social problem, has now led to the ecological crisis. They do not isolate these problems but connect them with humans’ overriding problem, a false relationship with God. III. Theological Background What are the place and the role of Christians in general aspirations for correcting the condition of the natural world? How does Orthodoxy understand the protection of the world of nature and what can she propose to the world, which is gropingly searching for a theological and philosophical basis for ecological engagement? Each Christian is responsible for the fate of the entire world. Our natural surroundings and the creation in general cannot be excluded and isolated from human life; indeed it plays an essential role even in our spiritual struggle. Let us examine this dimension and place it within the context not only of the Scripture and the rest of the patristic tradition but also of the life of the Church’s liturgy and worship. 1. Nature as a Good Work of God Christians believe that God created the world. The whole universe is God’s creation; the planetary system, climate, living creatures and the selfperpetuating system of life on earth. God is very close to the mysteries of life, death and re-birth. It is, therefore, plainly the duty of all believers to ensure that what God created is not damaged or destroyed by humanity. God called everything in creation “good”. Every element in God’s creation – including us – has an important and unique purpose and relationship with every other element. When one element in God’s creation is harmed, it affects the whole creation. 2. Complementarities of Spiritual and Material Elements Humans live in coexistence and direct relationship with their environment and creation in general. This coexistence and the quality of this relationship set their mark on the quality of their life. The Holy Scripture, the Fathers and the whole of the Church’s liturgical tradition and life indicate ways for humans and nature to work together, opening up paths that humans are to follow in order to attain salvation. Humans and other creatures go together to their ultimate fulfilment, salvation. In this context we 30

Learning to Care can turn to the thought of St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as children, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:22-23). According to the patristic tradition, the coexistence of humans and nature is placed on the level of friendly relations, not of conflict or oppression. Correspondingly, in the worship and liturgical life of the Church there is harmony and cohesion between the sensible and intelligible elements in creation. This vision does not permit a polarised division or a contrast between the sensible and the intelligible world, between matter and spirit, which form a harmonious synthesis. Modern philosophy and science usually look at material and spiritual independently from the Church, rejecting conflicts and contrasts between matter and spirit and trying to interpret them in unity and interdependence. The Orthodox tradition proclaims that spiritual and material or bodily functions are not in dualistic conflict, but in a relationship of complementarity. The Church permeates historical, natural and intelligible reality and grafts it into herself, embracing the whole of creation. This is why she did not simply refuse to accept any deprecations of the material and sensible element, which was attempted in the name of “spiritual life” of the faithful or of some “more spiritual” theologies. From the theology of the Fathers and the liturgical texts of the Church – particularly the Euchologion or Trebnik 1 – one can see the attitude of the Church towards the material world and the environment. This attitude is not simply positive, but above all one that takes up the world and transfigures it. The Eucharist – the sovereign element of the life of the Church, is an affirmation of the worth of materiality, raising it to participation in the true life which is Christ. Correctly understood belief in the incarnate Word of God also gives the Church a proper position and orientation vis-á-vis matter. Thus she does not reject matter like the Manicheans, nor worships it like the pagans, nor regards it as theologically indifferent, but confesses her faith through the mouth of St JOHN of Damascus when he says: “I worship the Creator of matter Who became matter for my sake, Who willed to take His abode in matter; Who worked out my salvation through matter. Never will I cease honouring the matter which wrought my salvation! I honour it, but not as God... [but] because God has filled it with His grace and power.” 2 1 The Book of Needs contains occasional services, prayers and blessings. St JOHN of Damascus, On the Divine Images (tr. ANDERSON David). Crestwood, 1980. 23. (I.16, PG 94.1300AB)

K. LEs´NIEWSKI Orthodox Environmental Insights Creation communes with God; every created thing presupposes God’s love and is present in the mind of God, this communion being crowned and consummated in interpersonal relationships. When communication between humans and God is removed, relations between them are disrupted, and the consequence is the misuse of creation and the violation of the environment. Only when humans have a relationship with God and creation which is in accordance with nature can we speak about a true communion and the attainment of salvation (“salvation” means being safe, sound and whole), since keeping to what is in accordance with nature is regarded as a precondition for the increase by grace in the community of rational beings. 3. Transfiguration of the World The event of the Transfiguration underlines the importance of the human body. The Transfiguration is a consummate affirmation of the worth of the sensible and of matter. When Christ was transfigured on Mount Tabor, His divine glory was manifested in His body and the disciples saw Him with their material eyes. Because of the divine Incarnation, the glory of the Godhead was manifested as the glory and beauty of the body and creation which as a “vessel” receives the divine energy. As the glory of Christ is not the glory of the divine nature only but also of the human nature, there is an analogy with the glory of the saints. Their transfiguration does not involve only the soul but also the body, which is “deified together with the soul according to the participation in deification appropriate to it.” 3 The ultimate affirmation of the human body is evidenced in the Orthodox Church with the honour paid to holy relics, which stems directly from her faith and theology. As St. GREGORY Palamas notes, just as Christ’s divinity did not abandon His deified human body during His three-day burial and resurrection, even so the grace of God which deifies the saints does not abandon their bodies after their biological death. The belief in the ultimate transfiguration and renewal of the world offers a real possibility for extending the theology of holy relics to the rest of creation. At the Second Coming the whole of material creation will be renewed. This is why during this period of waiting for the Last Day, the Church venerates with honour not only the relics of the saints, but also their clothes, the places where they lived, the things they used and anything else connected with them. It is not only the bodies of the saints that are sanctified; the material objects that surround them also participate in sanctification. The doctrine of the transfiguration of the world – which takes its starting point from Christ’s coming and His presence in this world – and of the 3

MAXIMUS the Confessor, Gnostic Chapters. 2.8. (PG 90.1168A)

Learning to Care body’s participation in the life of grace, received its consummate formulation and expression in the writings of the Fathers – MAXIMOS the Confessor (†662), St. SYMEON the New Theologian (†1022) and St. GREGORY Palamas (†1359). 4. Iconography The iconography of the Orthodox Church stresses the close bond between humans and creation. In its various presentations of themes mainly from the Old and New Testaments, it depicts the harmony and peace of creation, always in a relationship of perfect concord with humans. The fact that humans, as the crown of creation, are always put in the foreground while the rest of creation is arranged as a background, not only shows humans’ dominant position in creation but also the responsibility they have for rightly coexisting within it. One of the themes in Byzantine iconography “recounts” in summary the two creation stories in Genesis that refer to humans’ relationship with creation. Another theme arises from the prophecy of ISAIAH (Is 11:6-9): “The wolf will live with the lamb, the panther lie down with the kid, calf, lion and fatstock beast together, with a little boy to lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like the ox. The infant will play over the den of the adder; the baby will put his hand into the viper’s lair.” The prophet sees the vision of a future peace in the world, without any discord between humans and creation or within creation itself. When later on Christian art becomes historical and narrative, once again creation is depicted schematically alongside humans, in order to stress that they go hand in hand towards their ultimate renewal and salvation. Thus the icon is a sign of the triumph of God’s grace over the dark elements of matter, a vision of the restored creation. IV. Who are the Human Beings? How do the Holy Fathers and Orthodox theologians define the place and role of human beings in the world of the creation? The most important place in the Orthodox vision of the environmental protection and the position of human occupy considerations about Eucharistic and ascetic dimensions of life in the Church. So, what can we say about humans? 1. The Human Being is not the Owner but the Receiver of a Gift All creatures belong to God. God is the only Lord and ruler. In Psalm 24 we read: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” The creation should be wisely and sensibly managed and safe33

K. LEs´NIEWSKI Orthodox Environmental Insights guarded. God’s wise and full of love treatment of creation can be a pattern for humans. It is possible for us to look attentively at the great love of the Creator towards creatures and the deep love and admiration of the creatures towards God. There are texts in the Bible saying how creatures pray God for their existence. They remain with their Creator in a particular relation. We are not able to understand it fully. All creation bears the stamp of God’s glory, by God’s economy it is given to human to bring this potential to its fulfilment. 2. The Human Being is an Image and Likeness of God The theological idea of the creation of human being in the image and likeness of God is a basic for understanding the human’s position in the order of creation. It is useful to explain the resemblance of humankind with God and the difference in comparison with other creatures. The notion of the “image of God” is to be understood in terms of Jesus Christ, since he is explicitly identified with it: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2Cor. 4:4). Thus for humankind to be an image of God means to be assimilated to Christ. This is a matter of grace and not a matter of nature, because only Christ is by nature God’s image as God’s eternal and natural offspring, God’s only begotten Son. The “likeness of God” is often connected with the grace of the Spirit who assimilates us to Christ. In the created world only the human being combines material and spiritual elements. The Church Fathers often speak of the human being as a “little world”, a “microcosm” of the whole creation. The human body contains in it all the levels of existence of the natural world which preceded it in the order of creation, and considered the physical elements which make up the human body as in no way different from those which constitute the physical world. The natural world is thus fully integrated with the human being and the whole of the creation. Humanity, created in God’s image and likeness, transcends the material world because it participates in God spiritually and consciously, unlike the rest of creation. Humankind then stands on the boundary (methorion) between the material and the spiritual world as a connecting link. It is directly related to the earthly aspect of created existence as well as to the uncreated existence of the Creator. The human being is made in the image of the Triune God as well. This is why human beings are interdependent and co-inherent. No man is an island. We are “members of each other” “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour, for we are all members of 34

Learning to Care one body” (Ephesians 4:25). No one falls alone and no one is saved alone. According to DOSTOEVSKY’s old wise man Zosima in “The Karamazov Brothers”, each of us is responsible for everyone and everything. 3. The Human Being is a Lord of Creatures Many people concerned about the environment see the Christian tradition as the source and not as the solution of the environmental crisis. Some even see the root of the crisis in the supposed “license for exploitation” provided by the commandment to “Fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over every living thing” (Gen. 1:28). This suggestion has been refuted often enough, with profound and detailed explanations of what this mandate does and does not mean in the Christian understanding. Central to the Christian understanding of the world is not human, but God. It is in God, the Master and Creator of all that we relate to all creatures. It is in God’s image that we have dominion over all other living creatures. Indeed, the ancient Syrian translation of the Bible makes the connection crystal clear by saying. ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, in order that they may have authority...’. Whatever “dominion” we have, it is in the image of God, the God “Who is King forever and has wrought salvation in the midst of the Earth” – which means on the Cross, in the ultimate humility of His death for the life of the world. Therefore to practice “dominion” is to start with the “beasts” within ourselves; as St GREGORY of Nyssa makes plain, it is no use ruling over the wild beasts outside while we give free rein to those within us. 4. The Human Being is a Guardian, Manager and Steward of Creation God has through the Holy Scripture formulated a double ecological principle as the goal of our activity within the natural environment. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and to keep it” (Gen. 2:15). Thus the purpose is “to till”, which expresses the means of performing the work through which human derives benefits from the natural environment. (nowadays it is called “cultivation” or “exploitation”). The second infinitive, “to keep”, expresses human’s efforts to conserve the environment. It is related to the modern “protective principle”. The two principles together supply a right (to till) and impose a duty (to keep). The linking of the action of exploiting with the action of conserving encompasses the principle of good management. The duties of a manager or steward are included in the goal of our relationship with nature. St GREGORY the Theologian says that we are fully involved with the material creation by virtue of our physical existence, and the materially created reality is deeply involved in us. If we moved to the direction of deification, 35

K. LEs´NIEWSKI Orthodox Environmental Insights our human nature will somehow carry the created material world with it. If, however, we move to the opposite direction, the created world will suffer with us as well (cf. Romans 8:19-22). We are called to exercise dominion over all creatures on Earth as stewards (oikonomoi) of God’s material world, caring for it, maintaining it in its integrity and perfecting it by opening it up to God through our own deification. 5. The Human Being is a Priest To understand the role of the human as a priest, we have to look at the way we use material things in our liturgical life. The fasts certainly give us an example of a frugal use of resources, schooling us to accept even the simplest of foods with thankfulness. But fasting is only one aspect of liturgical life: we also feast. There are times when we also learn how to give thanks for the abundance of good things that God has bestowed on us – while the awareness that these are always gifts should prevent abundance from leading to contempt. Love sometimes involves waste in material terms: like the mounds of flowers brought to church for Easter, or Good Friday, or the Exaltation of the Cross. But this generous use of the world has nothing to do with the waste of resources that accounts for the environmental damage. Modern societies see resources as ours by right, guaranteed to remain freely available as long as we can pay for them. By contrast, when we use flowers and branches to adorn the church, we are offering something precious back to God who “opens His hand, and all things are filled with good”. When we take first-fruits of the material world not for our own consumption, but to offer them back to God, it is an expression that “the rich have become poor and gone hungry; but they that fear that the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” To be a priest means, above all, using natural resources with thankfulness, offering them back to God. This is incompatible with wastefulness. It also means treating the other creatures as gifts, provided by God to satisfy our needs. They are not ours to abuse and waste. From the Eucharistic ethos of the Church our reverence for matter streams. It would be hard to miss this attitude in the worship of the Church: we make the sign of the Cross, we venerate icons, we bless water, and we receive Christ Himself in the Eucharist, which helps us to treat all things in our daily life in the same way. We worship as a community, not as individuals. We stand together before God, and we hold in common the earthly blessing that God has given to humankind and all creatures. “Not to share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of life; we do not possess our own wealth but theirs” – Saint John CHRYSOSTOM reminds us. Just shar36

Learning to Care ing with other people does not only involve using less of the finite resources. It also precludes enjoying conveniences and luxuries for which others have to pay the hidden environmental price, living with the toxins used in their manufacture and the pollution caused by their used and disposal. 6. The Human Being is an Ascetic In the Orthodox Church, there is a long ascetic tradition, which underlines wilful restraint regarding the use of material goods, and which leads to a harmonious symbiosis with the environment. When one curbs one’s own desire to consume, one guarantees the existence of treasured things for those who come after us, and the balanced functioning of the ecosystem. Restraint frees us from selfish demands, so that we may offer what remains and place it at the disposal of others. This is the result of our freedom from avarice, which has its roots in the lack of faith and in making a god out of matter, which is idolatry. Restraint is an act of self-control and confidence in God; but it is also an act of love. This ascetic spirit gives us the example according to which we may live by being satisfied with what is needed, without collecting needless things, without consumerism, which lead to exploiting and lording over nature. This wilful ascetic life is required not only from the anchorite monks but from all Orthodox Christians, according to the measure of balance. Asceticism is not negation, but a reasonable and tempered utilisation of the world. One who has lost the self-consciousness of one’s divine image created in the likeness of God, has lost one’s divine destiny. This person has lost one’s self-esteem as a human being which reflects the image of God and tried to make upon for this loss by increasing the material goods over which one has control. Because one’s “being” is lessened, one increases one’s “having”. Consequently, the consciousness that a Christian has about one’s own existence, makes unessential the need for consumerism and one’s accumulation of material goods. For this reason Saint JOHN of the Ladder (†649) said: “a monk who has no possessions is the master of the world” and Saint Paul recommends the avoidance of avarice when he writes: “but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1Timothy 6:8). Ascetic life is not an escape from the society and the world, but a way of self-sufficient social life and behaviour, which leads to the reasonable use and not the abuse of material goods. The opposite view leads to consumerism, excessive drawing from the productive ecosystem, the reversal of its balance, its destruction, an inability to survive, and thus it destroys the environment of our fellow human beings. It is a passive and not an impressive method to face the environmental problems. Although it is not spec37

K. LEs´NIEWSKI Orthodox Environmental Insights tacular, it can change the world. The power of the Orthodox ascetic attitude pours out from the close co-operation (in Greek: synergia) with God. V. The Message of Orthodoxy to the World There is a deep personal dimension in the environmental protection. This is you and we and I, who are responsible for ourselves, for others, for the whole creation. When we abuse and hurt creation we hurt others and ourselves. We show that we do not care about the gifts of God, thus we reject God. If we love God we will love God’s creation and use it in ways for which God would bless us. Hence, we should treat God’s creation in the way God wants us to and fix things that we and other people have damaged. This is why one young Orthodox Christian wrote to his priest: “I am a person made in the image and likeness of God. I am called to be a good caretaker of the gifts God has given to me. The earth, sea, plants, animals, my family, friends, and neighbours, as well as my own body, mind and soul, are gifts given to me to use the way God wants me to.” This text sounds like a personal promise and engagement. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the message from the Orthodoxy to the world is a call to repentance. This “repentance” begins as a change of heart for the sake of our survival and for the transfiguration of the whole creation. The concern for God’s material creation is one of the most vital ways in which Orthodox and other Christians are called to bear witness today to the faith in the living Saviour of the world. Suggested Reading BIRCH Ch. – EAKIN W. – MCDANIEL J. B., Liberating Life. Contemporary Approaches to Ecological Theology. New York, 1990. FRANKL Viktor E., Homo Patiens. Warszawa, 1984. LIMOURIS G., Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. Insights from Orthodoxy., Genève, 1990. GREGORIOS P., The Human Presence. An Orthodox View of Nature. Genève, 1978. KESELOPOULOS A.G., Man and the Environment. A Study of St Symeon the New Theologian. New York, 2001. LOSSKY V., In the Image and Likeness of God. Crestwood, 1985. MCDONAGH S., To Care for the Earth. A Call to a New Theology. London, 1986. MOLTMANN J., God in Creation. An Ecological Doctrine of Creation. London, 1991. BELOPOPSKY A. – OIKONOMOU Dmitri, Orthodoxy and Ecology. Resource Book. Syndesmos The World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth, BialÚystok, 1996. SAMARTHA Stanley – DE SILVA L., Man in Nature. Guest or Engineer., Colombo, 1979. RADTFORD Reuter R., Gaia & God. An Ecofeminist Theology of Earth Healing. San Francisco, 1992. THUNBERG L., Man and the Cosmos. The Vision of St. Maximus the Confessor. Crestwood, 1985.

Learning to Care Krzysztof LEs´ NIEWSKI: A teremtmények világa és az emberi gondoskodás: A környezetvédelem ortodox szemszögbo´´l A tanulmány példákkal szolgál az ortodox környezet(védelm)i tevékenységre, megvilágítja ezek teológiai hátterét, megmagyarázza az ortodox keresztények elkötelezettségét e téren. E kötelezettség a szellemi és az anyagi összetevo´´k kiegészíto´´ szemléletébo´´l fakad, amely ugyanakkor a természetben Isten jóságos mu´´vét ismeri föl. A világ beteljesedésének tana pedig kiemeli az emberi test fontosságát. A tanulmány bemutatja azt is, hogy az ortodox egyház ikonográfiája miként hangsúlyozza a szoros köteléket ember és teremtés között. Tárgyalja még az ember helyét a teremtmények világában. Szót ejt az emberro´´l mint Isten képéro´´l és hasonlatosságáról. Ennek egyik oldala, hogy az ember nem a teremtés birtokosa, hanem ajándékba kapta azt, okosan kell gazdálkodnia vele és meg kell o´´riznie. A másik oldalról nézve o´´ a teremtés birtokosa, aki közelebb hozza az egyetlen Úr uralkodásának idejét, és bemutatja Isten országát. Az ember hálatelt szívu´´ pap, aki visszaajánlja a természetes ero´´forrásokat Istennek. Aszkéta is, aki tartózkodik az anyagi javak használatától, s ez elvezeti a harmonikus együttlétezéshez a környezettel. A töro´´dés az isteni teremtéssel a leginkább közölheto´´ formája a mai keresztények azon törekvésének, hogy továbbítsák a hitet és a világnak szóló ortodox üzenetet: tartsunk bu´ńbánatot. Krzysztof LEsŃIEWSKI: Troska o stworzenie: PrawoslÚ awne spojrzenie na s´rodowisko WyklÚad podaje przyklÚady prawoslÚawnych dzialÚan´ na rzecz ochrony s´rodowiska oraz ich teologicznego uzasadnienie, t lÚ umaczaþc nim zobowiaþzanie prawoslÚawnego chrzesćijanina do ochrony s´rodowiska. Wynika ono z postrzegania przyrody jako dobrego dzielÚ a Boga oraz z komplementarnosći duchowych i materialnych elementów. Doktryna przeobrazú enia s´wiata podkres´la wazúnosć´ ludzkiego cialÚa. WyklÚ ad ukazuje sćislÚ y zwiaþzek mieþdzy czlÚ owiekiem a stworzeniem równiezú w prawoslÚ awnej ikonografii. Porusza on tezú zagadnienie miejsca czlÚ owieka w s´wiecie stworzenia. CzlÚ owiek jest obrazem i podobien´stwem Boga. Nie jest on wlÚ asćicielem stworzenia, ale otrzymalÚ je jako prezent, którym powinien maþdrze dysponowac´ i sieþ opiekowac´. Jest panem stworzenia, który jedynie przyblizú a czas panowania prawdziwego Pana i wprowadza Królestwo Niebieskie. CzlÚ owiek jest kaplÚ anem, uzú ywajaþcym naturalnych zasobów z wdzieþcznosćiaþ, oferujaþc je z powrotem Bogu. W konću jest on ascetaþ powstrzymujaþcym sieþ od zuzú ywania dóbr materialnych, co prowadzi to harmonijnej symbiozy z otoczeniem. Troska o boskie stworzenie jest jednym z najwazú niejszych sposobów, na jakie Chrzesćijanie mogaþ dzisiaj dawac´ s´wiadectwo swojej wiary, a poslÚaniem dla s´wiata od PrawoslÚawia jest wezwanie do skruchy.

K. LEsŃIEWSKI Orthodox Environmental Insights Krzystof LEsŃIEWSKI: Pécÿe o sveÿt stvorÿení: Pravoslavny´ pohled na problematiku zÿ ivotního prostrÿedí Cÿ lánek uvádí prÿíklady aktivit pravoslavné církve v oblasti zÿ ivotního prostrÿedí a jejich teologického pozadí a vysveÿtluje veÿdomí povinnosti pravoslaví podílet se na jeho ochraneÿ. Tento pohled vychází z pojímání prÿírody jako dobrého díla Bozÿího a vzájemného doplnÿování jeho duchovních a materiálních prvkuû . Ucÿ ení o konecÿ né theósi sveÿta zduû raznÿuje duû lezÿ itost celého cÿ loveÿka, tedy i lidského teÿla. Cÿ lánek poukazuje i na to, jak je v pravoslavné ikonografii zduû razneÿna úzká spojitost mezi cÿ loveÿkem a stvorÿením. Zaby´vá se tézÿ místem cÿ loveÿka ve sveÿteÿ stvorÿení. Cÿ loveÿk je obrazem Bozÿ ím. Není vlastníkem stvorÿení, dostal je jako dary o které má moudrÿe pecÿ ovat a chránit je. Je pánem stvorÿení, ktery´ prÿiblizÿ uje cÿ as vlády jejich jediného Pána a nastoluje Bozÿ í království. Cÿ loveÿk je kneÿzem, uzÿ ívajíc s vdeÿcÿ ností prÿírodních zdrojuû , nabízí je zpeÿt Bohu. Nakonec cÿ loveÿk je i asketou. Zdrzÿ ení se materiálních veÿcí jej prÿivádí k harmonické symbióze s prostrÿedím. Zájem o Bozÿ í stvorÿení je jednou z nejduû lezÿiteÿjsÿích cest, na kterou jsou krÿestáné voláni, aby dosveÿdcÿ ili svou víru. Poselstvím pravoslaví je volání k pokání. Krzysztof LESŃIEWSKI: Der Vortrag behandelt einige Beispiele orthodoxer Umweltaktivitäten und ihren theologischen Hintergrund Ausserdem wird erklärt, warum orthodoxe Christen sich für den Umweltschutz einsetzen sollten. Das alles basiert auf der Überzeugung, dass die Natur von Gott gut geschaffen wurde und auf der Symbiose der spirituellen und materiellen Ebene. Die Lehre der Veränderung der Welt unterstreicht die Wichtigkeit des menschlichen Körpers. Im Vortrag wird gezeigt, wie die Ikonographie der orthodoxen Kirche die enge Verknüpfung von Mensch und Schöpfung unterstreicht. Ausserdem wird der Platz der Menschen in der Welt der Schöpfung diskutiert. Gott schuf den Menschen als sein Ebenbild. Die Menschheit besitzt die Schöpfung nicht, sondern er hat sie vielmehr als ein Geschenk erhalten und dieses sollte sie weise handhaben und sicher beschützen. Der Herr der Schöpfung bringt die Zeit der Herrschaft des einzig wahren Herrn näher, und er leitet das Reich Gottes ein. Die Menschen sind Priester, welche die natürlichen Rohstoffe dankbar annehmen und sie Gott wieder anbieten. Letztendlich sind sie Asketen, die Nutzen aus materiellen Dingen ziehen, und das führt zu einer harmonischen Symbiose mit der Umwelt. Das Interesse für Gottes Schöpfung ist einer der vitalsten Wege, auf dem Christen heutzutage ihren Glauben bestätigen können, und die Nachricht der Orthodoxie an die Welt ist ein Ruf nach Reue. 40

NAGY Szilvia Interconnected Relations in Ecofeminism

Ecofeminism is a union of the radical ecology movement and feminism. It is both a social and a spiritual movement recognising a common threat in the oppression of women, of nature and of every “other” than the dominant culture. This is a movement valuing differences and searching for the hidden female values and natural values to enrich and transform our traditional concept of the world. However, this movement does not want to be a women’s group with certain interests concerning the moon and the greens but wants to open the door for the fullness of life. This open door means knowing, valuing and supporting the other, seeking to understand the interconnected roots of all domination, as well as ways to resist and change. History from Symbols to Wholeness The word ‘eco-’ emerges from the biological science of natural environmental systems. Ecology was born as a combined socio-economic and biological study in the late sixties. Its main aim was to examine how the human use of nature causes pollution of soil, air and water. It also considered the destruction of the natural systems of plants and animals, threatening the basis of life on which humanity itself depends and how we can stop these progresses and create a sustainable relationship between humanity and nature. Ecofeminism takes the above mentioned studies and efforts one step further. Ecofeminism examines the symbolic, psychological and ethical connections of domination and monopolisation of natural and human resources NAGY Szilvia is an ecumenical theologian from Hungary, a member of KÖD (Magyar SCM). She is a graduate of the Evangelical-Lutheran Faculty of Theology (Budapest) and the Bossey Ecumenical Institute (Switzerland). Currently she is writing her PhD on ecumenical and interreligious liturgies. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe (EYCE).

NAGY Sz. Ecofeminism and controlling power. Analysing patterns of human relations with nature, ecofeminism envisions and creates a life-affirming culture. As Judith PLANT sums up: “Ecology speaks for the Earth, for the ‘other’ in human–environmental relationships; feminism speaks for the ‘other’ in female–male relations.” 1 Even if it seems that ecofeminism is too young to have its own history, we will find that it is already in its third stage. Ecofeminism was started mostly by white European women. The term was coined by Francoise D’EAUBONNE in 1974. Rosemary RADFORD RUETHER authored the first ecofeminist book, New Woman / New Earth: Sexist Ideologies and Human Liberation (1975). At this time women in Europe became aware of the special relationship and interconnectedness of women and nature and they emphasized their symbolic connections and their commonalties as life-support systems and nurturing beings. The aim was to reclaim a spiritual relationship with the Earth and to celebrate this emotional connection. The involvement of Southern women characterized the second period. They enriched the special relationship between women and the Earth with their own experiences of colonialism and of Western enlightenment with its outside forces influencing their cultural development. Women and nature as degraded, dominated and devalued by Western civilisation became a new issue for ecofeminism to deal with. Similarly, the persuit of stronger involvement in environmental and social movements and actions grew in importance as well. The third period is the age of seeking and fighting for wholeness and balance. Ecofeminists believe in the interconnectedness of all forms of life and in the fact that all forms of oppression affect all of us. All life is sacred and to respect it we need to make changes to the rules of the society and also modify its structures and processes. The given structures and processes determine a system of oppression. Therefore, the first task of ecofeminism is to give an example of how to listen to each other and to the whole diversity of the living creatures and how to respect and involve them into the everyday concerns and businesses. Being Yin and Yang in a Structurally Yang Society Analysing the process of how our society works, we realise that the understanding of the male principle has changed from a productive and caring nature into a wild, aggressive, fighting and instinctive one. In contrast the female principle shifted from a reproductive and nurturing nature to a powerless, asexual, homely, and ceremonial one. Quoted by FORSEY Helen, Feminism and Ecology: a Matter of Survival. http://www.life.ca/nl/57/ecofem.html 1

Due to these developments, certain changes happened first in the visions and worldviews of the society, then in the ways of structuring the relationships between culture and nature, technicalized knowledge and intuition, women and men. Instead of a balance of yin (female) and yang (male) roles and values, the yang principle gains dominance in almost every field of life. Instead of an effort to find agreement and to work together we find hierarchical systems and an expected fulfilment of rules and commandments. Instead of accepting responsibility and considering the foreseeable consequences, we find aggressive selfishness and mercantilism. Instead of cooperation, we find high value placed on the mentality of risk and profit. 43

NAGY Sz. Ecofeminism Instead of striving for an approach of synthesis, we encounter analytical and conquering argumentation. The main danger embedded in the above-mentioned attitudes is that we stop valuing the yin character of ourselves (the messages of our own senses), and at the end we misjudge reality and lose diversity. The trend today is to replace natural reality and personal consideration with the media. Virtual visions and value systems are imposed upon us from outside. Social groups are formed not on the basis of their common and inherited culture but on the basis of their wealth and position. Quick cultural and biological homogenisation destroys necessary diversity of life and ruins the genetic system as well. It is not our calling to be a hypnotised medium of political games and a consumer of economic interests. Breaking the rules of the community for personal advances happened in ancient times but has never become a commonly used and accepted ethical rule. In this recent crisis only a radically ecofeminine society, a new balanced matripatriarchalism, can offer a human solution. Life-Producing Matrix Ecofeminism came into being in the early 1970s when women of the West became disillusioned with the ideologies of the day. The environmental movement lacked a feminist angle. Moreover, feminism had little concern for nature Ecofeminism is in contrast with historical feminism because of the way that historical feminism supports women’s rights and women’s personality in an oftentimes overly assertive way—valuing the yin to such an extreme that the yang became completely displaced. Historical feminism was busy with taking revenge on masculinism – whose meaning, content and appearance was defined and circumscribed by feminist activists – and was hurt deeply enough to think and work for the balance of yin and yang in culture and society. However this effort strengthened our society’s masculinity and left femininity without representation and advocation. The consequence of victorious feminism is that the six billion humans of the Earth live and fight as men While society placed entirely upon women the responsibility of finding and defining their place within society and culture, ecofeminism sought a liberating alternative. Ecofeminism rejected this paradigm which defines itself by opposing the feminine aspects. One element is to reshape the society’s dualistic concept of reality, which divides and separates into two distinct sides. The pattern of female-male, race and class, culture and nature must be socially reconstructed. Work and the fruits of work must be shared equitably, rather than one side of the 44

Learning to Care relation being the subjugated and impoverished basis for the power and wealth of the other. In terms of female-male relations, this does not mean an enlarged space for women in public affairs. Instead, it requires a conversion of men – accepting an equal share in the traditionally gender-prescribed tasks such as child-care and household maintenance. A revolution of incorporating female roles into areas of life traditionally dominated by men presupposes an equivalent revolution in the realm of male roles. Without this, the basic pattern of patriarchal exploitation of women is left untouched. Women are simply overworked, just in a new way. They are expected to accept both a male work day (for lower salary) and the traditionally-female (unpaid) home-based work. Recognising our utter dependence on the great life-producing matrix of the planet is the first step to learn to reintegrate our human systems of production, consumption and waste into the ecological patterns by which nature sustains the mechanism of life. There needs to be more focus on men’s relationship with nature. This might begin by revisualising the relation of mind, or human intelligence, to nature. Mind or consciousness is the place where nature herself becomes conscious. We need to think about human consciousness as a gift enabling us to learn to harmonise our needs with the natural system around—the natural system of which we are a dependent part. In the first place, it is important for both genders to practice listening and dialogue actively and daily. The second step would be to acquire more knowledge about issues concerning women, to value and involve the female principle of nurturing and caring, and to gain organising skills to make changes in communities of regional, national and international character. The current flight from mortality is a flight from the disintegration part of the life cycle, from accepting ourselves as part of the natural process. By pretending that we can immortalise ourselves, souls and bodies, we are immortalising our rubbish and we are polluting the Earth. In order to learn to recycle our rubbish as a fertiliser for new life, as matter for new artefacts, we need to accept our selfhood as participating in the same process. Finally, an ecofeminist culture must reshape our basic sense of the self in relation to the life cycle and lead us to the experience of being “woven into an embodied, all-embracing web of life” 2. The willingness to exploit the environment without reciprocity must be reconsidered. Taking into consideration the nurturing behaviour of women seems to be a vital basis for the acknowledgement of the dignity of creation. SHIWY Marlene A. – ROSEN Steven M., Spinning the Web of Life: Feminism, Ecology, and Christa Wolf. http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca/content/v7.1/schiwy-rosen.html 2

NAGY Sz. Ecofeminism This conversion from alienated, hierarchical dualism to life-sustaining mutuality will radically change the old patterns of our culture. But these explorations of change must be matched with a new social practice generated by an environmental ethic that can incarnate these conversions in new social and technological ways of organising human life, and in creative forms of being, relating and perceiving each other and nature. How does Ecofeminism Go with Christianity? Ecofeminism is infused with a deep affinity for the non-linear, non-rational, emotional realm. Alternative spiritualities, especially paganism, womenâ€™s spirituality, shamanism, and New Age rituals which have strong focus on oneness with nature are very popular with ecofeminists. Christian ecofeminism has its own answer for these Earth-based spiritual needs, discovering its own special and powerful ecofeminist emphasis in Christianity. Christian ecofeminists envision the world according to the Trinitarian structure. The Trinitarian structure means a continuous process of creation and destruction generated by the single vital process coming from the interaction between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The fellowship of the three persons of the Trinity constitutes the entire cosmos and all life forms. This reality shows the value of multiplicity and unity, of a constant flow of vitality and motion, of the differences between all things as well as their interdependence. The Trinity lives in an Iâ€“Thou relationship which provides an example of how to accept, respect and care for the multiplicity of each other and of nature, various faces and oneness in createdness and interconnectedness. In ecofeminist spirituality God is the immanent source of life that sustains the whole planetary community. God is neither male nor anthropomorphic but incorporates both yin and yang. In ecofeminist culture and ethics, mutual inter-dependency replaces the hierarchy of domination as the model of relationship between women and men, between human groups, and between humans and other beings. There must be a conversion of both men and women, accepting their share in work, along with the conversion of their consciousness to the Earth. Such conversions can reshape the symbolic vision of salvation. Instead of salvation sought either in the disembodied soul or the immortalised body, in a flight to heaven or to the end of history, salvation would be seen as a continual conversion to the centre, to the concrete basis through which we sustain our relationship with nature, and with one another. Ecofeminism suggests putting aside paradigms in which both Earth and women, as well as powerless people, can be exploited. Instead of these, 46

Learning to Care ecofeminist ethics offers a new paradigm where the Earth and all life are to be seen as sacred. Nature is to show invisible revelation in visible things. Nature shows God’s sense of beauty. The Earth is imagined as the body of God, which leads us beyond the horizon to meet God the Creator. God is sensuous; creation is the expression of divine imagination. So far the Earth and all life were not questioned as being God’s property, but now they are seen as bodily expressions (as incarnations) of the Spirit. This means that neither the Earth nor human beings can be possessed, exploited or owned.

Final Words by the Choir of Angels “To make free choice of vice or virtue, A proud ideal for man to bear And still to know that God above us Extends God’s shield with tender care. Take courage then, expect derision, Ignore the masses’ howl of scorn, ‘Tis not for their thanks that you labour, When honour is of great deeds born, All other action would be shameful; It is the knowledge of his shame That pins against the earth the wretched But raises high the hero’s name. However your road may lead upward, Do not be dazzled by thought That God is honoured by your efforts, God’s Glory is honoured with your prowess bought, Or that in some way God depended On you to carry through God’s scheme: Think rather that God does you honour Allowing you to act for God.” 3

MADÁCH Imre, The Tragedy of Man. Gyomaendro´´d, 1988.

NAGY Sz. Ecofeminism Suggested Reading FORSEY Helen, Feminism and Ecology a Matter of Survival. http://www.life.ca/nl/57/ecofem.html JOHNSON Scott, Ecofeminism. http://www.csuchico.edu/jour/catbytes/f99/fem/fem.html PLUMWOOD Val, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature. London – New York, 1997. RADFORD RUETHER Rosemary, Ecofeminism. http://www.spunk.org/library/pubs/openeye/sp000943.txt SHIWY Marlene A. – ROSEN Steven M., Spinning the Web of Life: Feminism, Ecology, and Christa Wolf. In.: http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca/content/v7.1/schiwy-rosen.html WARREN Karen J., What is Ecofeminism. http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/courses/ecowarrn.html Women’s Environmental Leadership and Legacy (Well), Ecofeminism. http://www.chatham.edu/rci/well/history/feminism.html ZÁGONI Miklós, Feminizmus és ökológia [Feminism and Ecology]. Esély 2001/4. http://hps.elte.hu/~zagoni/esely.htm

Learning to Care NAGY Szilvia: Kölcsönös egymásrautaltság az ökofeminizmusban Az ökofeminizmus fölismerve a no´´, a természet és minden, az uralkodó kultúrához képest “más” elnyomásának szoros összefüggéseit, egyesítette magában a radikális ökológiai mozgalom és a feminizmus alapelveit. Ihletet merített mindketto´´bo´´l, ugyanakkor át is alakította azokat. Míg a történeti feminizmus a no´´ személyiséghez való jogának támogatásával csak tovább ero´´sítette társadalmunk férfias jellegét, addig az új ökofeminizmus kutat, küzd a teljesség és az egyensúly megteremtéséért. A már kialakult és válságos helyzet gyökereit nyomozza, és kutatja azon leheto´´ségeket, amelyek segítségével az ember és környezete, illetve a férfiság és no´´iség harmonikusan és egymást támogatva élhet együtt. Ennek lényeges eleme, hogy átformáljuk a valóságról alkotott dualisztikus fogalmainkat, ezekben ugyanis élesen elkülönül az anyag és a szellem, a természet és a kultúra, a no´´ és a férfi. Az emberi öntudat voltaképpen ajándék, melynek révén megtanulhatjuk, hogyan hozzuk összhangba igényeinket és szükségleteinket a természettel. Semmi sincs önmagában, csak kölcsönös függo´´ségben. Érdemes hát ráébrednünk arra, hogy a teremtés méltóságának elismerése elso´´ként is önmagunk mint a természet ajándékainak, sokszínu´´ségének és ellentéteinek hordozójának mélyebb megértésében következik be. A keresztény ökofeminizmusról szólva megidézo´´dik egy olyan világ, amelynek szerkezete a Szentháromságé: a háromszemélyu´´, isteni közösség a maga kölcsönös egymásrautaltságában és egymásért élésében.

NAGY Szilvia: PolÚczenie relacji w ekofeminizmie Ekofeminizm dostrzegajaþc wspólne zagrozú enie w uciskaniu kobiet, przyrody oraz wszystkiego, co “inne” od obowiaþzujaþcej kultury, jest polÚaþczeniem radykalnych ruchów ekologicznych i feminizmu; czerpie z obu, ale jednoczesńie oba przeksztalÚca. Historycznie feminizm wspierajaþc prawa kobiet umacnialÚ meþskosć´ naszego spolÚeczen´stwa; wspólÚczesny ekofeminizm natomiast poszukuje i walczy o calÚosć´ i równowageþ. Stara sieþ wys´ledzic´ korzenie ostatniej krytycznej sytuacji i zbadac´ drogi prowadzaþce z powrotem do równowagi. Jednym z jego elementów jest przeksztalÚcenie naszej dualistycznej koncepcji rzeczywistosći jako rozdzú wieþku mieþdzy bezdusznaþ materiaþ a transcendentnaþ meþskaþ s´wiadomosćiaþ. Musimy mys´lec´ o s´wiadomosći czlÚowieka jak o darze umozú liwiajaþcym nam rozpoznanie jak zharmonizowac´ nasze potrzeby z przyrodaþ. Pod uwageþ trzeba wziaþc´ wspólÚzalezú nosć´ i rozpoznanie samego siebie w relacji do cyklu zú yciowego jak np. matkujaþce zachowanie kobiety jako podstawa do uznania godnosći stworzenia. Ekofeminisći – Chrzesćijanie widzaþ s´wiat wedlÚug struktury trynitarnej, jako braterstwo trzech osób Trójcy z wzajemnaþ wspólÚzalezú nosćiaþ zasteþpujaþcaþ hierarchieþ dominacji.

NAGY Sz. Ecofeminism NAGY Szilvia: Prepojenie vztáhov v ekofeminizme Eko-feminizmus, uvedomujúc si nebezpecÿenstvo útlaku zÿ eny, prírody a vsÿetkého „iného“ nezÿ dominantnej kultúry, je spojením radikálneho ekologického hnutia a feminizmu. Podnety cÿ erpá z oboch tyćhto zdrojov, ktoré ale pretvára. Zatial´ cÿ o tradicÿ ny´ feminizmus vo svojej podpore práv zÿ ien skôr posilnil maskulinitu v nasÿej spolocÿ nosti, ekofeminizmus sa snazÿ í o nájdenie a presadenie celistvosti a rovnováhy. Pokúsÿa sa lokalizovat´ korene súcÿ asnej krízy a nájst´ spôsoby vedúce spät´ k rovnováhe. Jednou z ciest je premena dualistického konceptu skutocÿ nosti s jej rozdelením na bezduchú matériu a transcendentné muzÿ ské vedomie. Musíme se naucÿ it´ chápat´ toto vedomie ako dar, ktory´ nám umozÿ nÿuje harmonizovat´ nasÿ e potreby s prírodou. Je treba uvedomit´ si vzájomnú závislost´ a základné hodnoty cÿ loveka vo vztáhu k zÿ ivotny´m cyklom. C ÿ o sa ty´ka krestánského eko-feminizmu, je vhodné spomenút´ jeho pohlád na svet cez prizmu Trojice – vztáh troch osôb Trojice vo vzájomnej závislosti, ktorá nahradzuje hierarchiu a dominanciu.

NAGY Szilvia: Zusammenhänge im Ökofeminismus Ökofeminismus ist eine Verknüpfung der radikalen Ökobewegung und Feminismus. Der Berührungspunkt hierbei ist die Bedrohung nicht nur durch die Unterdrückung der Frauen sondern auch der Natur und allem anderen, dass von der vorherrschenden Kultur abweicht, wobei die Ziele beider Bewegungen aufgenommen und dann der anderen angepasst werden. Im Unterschied zum klassischen Feminismus, der vor allem die Rechte der Frauen und die Persönlichkeitsentwicklung in unserer von Männer geprägten Welt fördert, legt der Ökofeminismus besonderen Wert auf Einheit und Ausgeglichenheit. Es wird versucht die Ursache der momentanten kritischen Situations zu finden und dann einen Weg zurück zur Balance zu finden. Eine Möglichkeit ist unsere duallistische Sichtweise der Realität (seelenlose Materie auf der einen Seite und transzedentes männliches Bewusstsein auf der anderen) zu überdenken. Wir sollten das menschliche Bewusstsein als ein Geschenk ansehen, dass es uns ermöglicht zu lernen wie wir unsere Bedürfnisse in Einklang mit der Natur bringen können. Unabhängigkeit und das Wissen, welchen Platz im Kreis des Lebens man einnimmt, müssen in Betracht gezogen werden. Dies geschieht z.B. durch den Mutterinstinkt einer Frau, der die Grossartigkeit der Schöpfung preist. Auf den christlichen Ökofeminismus bezogen heisst das, dass die Vision der Welt im Einklang mit der Trinitätsvorstellung steht. Die Trinität wird als Gemeinschaft von drei Personen angesehen, in der eine gegenseitige Abhängigkeit die Hierarchie der Glaubensbekenntnisse ersetzt.

Roman JURIGA Eco-Management as a Necessity for Responsible Caring and Sustainable Living

This article aims to be an introduction into sustainable living as an attempt to connect and put together two different approaches – the theological and idealistic approach on the one hand and the pragmatic and practical approach on the other. I have divided my present article into three parts – in the first part I try to analyse the main reasons why environmental management is necessary in the various church institutions and church offices as well as elsewhere in the human society or community. In the second part of my article I concentrate on some of the main environmental problems which we cause or which have an impact on our life. Finally, in the third part of the my essay I present different environmental management schemes and management procedures which can help us to eliminate particular problems connected with the natural environment around us or which can help to eliminate several negative impacts which we have on the natural environment surrounding us. Why be Involved in Environmental Management? My priest advised me once – several years ago – that whenever I am going to do something I should ask myself beforehand why. I think that asking ourselves this very important and basic question is very relevant especially when we would like to get into something such as the topic of ecomanagement. Before we start to do this or that action for the natural environment and for sustainable living, we should be absolutely clear why we are going to do it and for what reason and purpose. This clarification could be very important for us at later stages, especially when some more or less serious difficulties arise. Roman JURIGA is from Slovakia. He graduated in Orthodox theology, and he is currently the executive director of the Orthodox Academy in Vilemov, Czech Republic.

R. JURIGA Eco-Management I am sure that if we want to and we have to get involved in eco-management and sustainable living, first of all we must ask ourselves a very serious question: why should we do it exactly? My answer is that we should do it for several very important reasons: we should do it because our faith teaches us to preserve and to protect God’s creation which we are part of. We should do it because we do love God and we do believe that the World which we live in is loved and created by God. We should do it because we are supposed to love our neighbours and because we should preserve God’s creation for them as well as for those who will come long after us. We should do it because we know very well from the Holy Scripture and from our rich Christian tradition that God’s creation expects from us care, protection and love as we expect the same care, protection and love from God. We should do it because we keep in mind the picture of human as a good and responsible gardener in God’s garden. We should do it because we are witnesses to or even causes of an environmental crisis. We should do it because we realise gradually that it is our task and not of anyone else’s to change something in our behaviour towards nature and natural environment. We should o it because we feel responsible for the state and quality of the world around us. We should o it because we discovered long ago that what is ecological is also economical. We should do it because we realised that environmentally sound solutions can improve people’s social situation significantly and all the relations in our communities, too. A Heart of Compassion When I was thinking about this question with my friends and colleagues I came to a series of answers which I found very useful especially later – when our Orthodox Academy in Vilemov had to face a serious lack of finances for environmental work or to overcome misunderstandings from priests and pastors or even ecumenical bodies and organisations. It was very important for us to be very clear about our inner motivation if we wanted our environmental management and environmental projects to be continued and developed. If we clarified and recognised our inner motivations we would perhaps find out that for some of us pragmatic and practical reasoning is sufficient and appropriate – simply motivating enough; while for others a spiritual and more theological inner motivation is absolutely necessary for any change of everyday practice and of environmental management. Some important theologians (e.g. Metropolitan JOHN of Pergamon) who are seriously and committedly involved in theology of creation say that spiritual or rather reli52

gious inner motivation is absolutely necessary and needed as the most important driving force for any change of our behaviour and for a more responsible and sustainable practice towards the natural environment. This could be very well illustrated by the very fact that many people who travel by plane or who extensively use cars and sometimes build luxurious and environmentally unsustainable houses are aware of the environmental impact of their activities but very few of them are willing to change anything in their behaviour on the basis of their knowledge. I would say that it is quite common to know what environmental problems there are around 53

R. JURIGA Eco-Management us, and how they are caused and how they could be at least partially solved, but there is no serious will to change something in our behaviour or to give up something. A sensitive heart or a heart of compassion, which Church fathers and poets like St. ISAAC of Syria spoke about, is almost totally missing. An Eastern saying tells us that: “The true wisdom is to practice what we know.” However, since the topic of this present article concerns primarily practical environmental solutions and eco-management, I will end the opening and introductory part of my article here and ask my second main question: What are the main environmental problems and what are their impacts on the environment? The Main Environmental Problems Today Let us enlist some of the main environmental problems in today’s societies as well as their impacts on natural environment. First, air pollution causes greenhouse effect. One of the solutions can be the radical reduction of car and air transport, the radical reduction of the use of fossil energy and energy savings, the committed use of renewable resources, filters and strict norms, the use of bicycles and animals for everyday transport, the use of low-consumption cars, public transport, frequent car free days, the use of renewable fuels for cars (like rapeseed oil or alcohol), energy production in the exact place of its utilisation, the utilisation of biomass waste or cogeneration units. Water pollution is causes a serious lack of drinking water. Therefore it is highly advisable to use chemical detergents which do not pollute waste water heavily, to use two water systems in every house, using and cleaning at the same time and in the same place, to save drinking water, to preserve wetlands, flooded areas and biodiversity in water basins and catchment areas as far as it is possible, and to protect resources and wells from any pollution. The deterioration of soil is caused mainly by erosion. We are challenged to use an extensive agricultural system, to use water preserving wetlands, flooded areas, forestry planning, protection and preservation of forests, restoration of natural flows of the rivers and respect natural conditions determined by the position of the water basins and catchment areas. The effect of a high production of waste materials is the greenhouse effect as well as soil and water pollution. Some of the solutions can be recyclable packages, recycling, purchasing of packages which can be decomposed in an easy and biological way, decomposition of biological wastes, and usage of gas, use of biological wastes for energy production and as natural fertilisers. 54

Managing to Live Monocultural food production leads to the serious destabilisation of the nature. We must promote biological farming and biodiversity in agriculture, smaller farming units, diversity of production, and purchase of food in the place of production, demonopolizing solutions, combination of agricultural sorts in such a way that one sort protects the other one. The production of unhealthy food is the effect of the contamination of soil. If we genetically modify food, we will have unhealthy animals and people sooner rather than later. Intensive farming is the clear cause of the overutilisation of soil, of the need for fertilisers, as well as of the overrationalization of production and the almost total elimination of the human element from the process of production. Our answer could be the return of the lands to their original condition, to biodiversity, and to natural meadows. Noise pollution is the source of stress in the modern human society. We should live closer to the nature and to the natural environment, giving up living in industrial and business centres, being self-sufficient, conducting our business in connection with natural environment and with God. We should create many car-free and noise-free zones in our towns and cities, as well as car-free days and strict standards. The forced decline of biodiversity leads to the gradual loss of species and natural habitats around us. To solve this significant problem, we can and should create protected areas and we should protect various species; we can change the patterns of our everyday behaviour, we can support sustainable architecture using natural materials, we can leave the church land in our possession to natural meadow wherever possible and we can leave open bell-towers to rare animal species (like owls, predatory birds and bats), having green walls and roofs on our houses. The mentality of consumerism in society creates a lot of wastes; it creates heavy overproduction and unnecessary transport and â€“ connected to this â€“ dangerous CO2 emissions. We should think about the real necessity of a product for ourselves, purchasing only the products we really need and we really use, thinking about the origin of the product, ignoring all advertisement materials, as their production is totally unsustainable and it increases the price significantly. We should promote common usage of products and purchase only certain industrial goods, like vehicles, moving machines, one-purpose tools; we should organise flea markets and charity markets, we should use second hand goods, and we should collect goods and toys, old computers, clothes for poor countries and regions of the world. Overconsumption and overdependence on non-renewable natural resources leads to severe social tensions, bloody wars and depressing 55

R. JURIGA Eco-Management poverty. Wherever possible, we should try small, decentralised and local solutions for securing the supplies of energy, food and water, avoiding the purchase of daily goods from multinational companies, buying locally produced goods. Wherever possible, local or even domestic production of food, energy and other necessities of everyday life should be warmly encouraged. Energy savings, the use and purchase of low-consumption products (like refrigerators, ovens and heaters) should be promoted in a widespread way. In general, we should avoid buying what we do not need at all. If we buy, we should use completely and fully what we did buy. We should produce ourselves what we really can so that we would not have to buy it from the shops. These three short sentences or golden rules in fact teach us how to think globally and how to act locally at the same time. Both as humankind and as responsible individuals we can ignore and forget our responsibility: then, however, our chance to save the hope of the planet can be completely lost. Glocalisation and Democratura It is not our task as committed and concerned Christians just to speak and talk about the catastrophic scenarios for the future in our planet. We can seek ways of changing ourselves first and through such change to change also the things in our human society and civilisation that are not developing in the right direction and could have very unfortunate or even catastrophic consequences for our common world. The idea of transfiguration of humanity and of the cosmos is a very important one for our ways of thinking in this direction and we should be able to keep it in our minds and hearts all the time. It is necessary, however, to mention in this context also certain examples of non-sustainable human practice as well as sad phenomena that go strictly against a recommended responsible and sustainable environmental practice. These are firstly the phenomenon called glocalisation, which aims to extract and to concentrate all the local resources in the hands of international monopolies, and secondly the phenomenon denoted as democratura, which in practice means that you can say absolutely freely whatever you want, but since you are small and weak and you are not rich enough, your voice would never be heard in the society. Against these two mention phenomena of todayâ€™s world and society, glocalisation and democratura, we should be able to place two other possible phenomena. The first of these phenomena is the clear motivation for change which I spoke at the beginning of my article about. The second 56

Managing to Live phenomenon is our strong hope that with Godâ€™s help, with our joint efforts and with the necessary mutual support, we can and we will overcome not only the earthly powers (or superpowers) and principalities, but also evil spirits and values of selfishness, greed, evil passions, violence and consumerism, which must be replaced by the values of gratitude, humility, sufficiency, justice, love, peace, faith and hope, as David G. HOLMAN rightly wrote in his recently published book Spiritual Values for Earth Community. It is high time to take further steps, even only on a small scale first, which might not look like big ecological solutions for the whole world, but which can be decisive, even if their effect is not seen immediately. I conclude my article with an intriguing story about monkeys. On some islands in the Pacific Ocean, American natural scientists observed an interesting experiment. On one of the islands in the ocean, several monkeys of a particular kind were taught how to clean sweet potatoes, and they slowly learned this practice from one another. At a certain moment (the number of monkeys is said to have been approximately one hundred), all the monkeys on all the remaining islands started to do the same, without ever seeing or learning the practice from somebody. This example concerns of course the all the natural sciences in the first place and it speaks about various phenomena which we might not be able to explain fully at the given point of time. The thing I would wish for us all, however, is that our joint common work might contribute to a further development of eco-management and of sustainable practice, which with Godâ€™s help can produce a huge effect that can vastly exceed even our most optimistic expectations. Suggested Reading HOLMAN David G., Spiritual Values for Earth Community.

R. JURIGA Eco-Management Roman JURIGA: Ökogazdálkodás: Felelo´´s gondoskodás az élo´´világ fönntarthatósága érdekében Az ökogazdálkodás a teológiai és idealisztikus, illetve a tapasztalati és gyakorlatias megközelítések egyfajta összefu´´zését jelenti, abból a célból, hogy megtaláljuk a fönntartható gyakorlat alapjait a mindennapi életben. Kiindulópontul csakis egy átgondolt indíték szolgálhat a kialakítandó magatartás és cselekvés megtervezéséhez. A motívumok ugyanis igen változatosak: a hitto´´l és meggyo´´zo´´désto´´l kezdve, hogy a világot Isten teremtette és tartja fönn szeretetével, illetve hogy megbízatásunk Isten kertjének gondozására szól, egészen addig, hogy tudomásul vesszük a környezeti válság riasztó jeleit, vagy éppen ama tényt, hogy minden ökológiai gond egyben gazdasági gondot is jelent. Soroljuk csak a nehézségeket: víz- és levego´´szennyezés, monokulturális élelmiszertermelés, elsivatagosodás, pazarlás, hulladéklerakás és más egyebek; mindezek ellenére képesek vagyunk meglelni a módját annak, hogy csökkentsük a kárt, vagy éppen megoldást találjunk a mégoly szu´´kös leheto´´ségeken belül. Mottónk a következo´´ kell, hogy legyen: gondolkodj világméretekben, de cselekedj helyi szinten! A letisztult indíték, remény pedig az, hogy Isten segítségével, valamint közös ero´´feszítéssel és egymás kölcsönös támogatásával sikerre vihetjük a fönntartható gyakorlat alkalmazását.

Roman JURIGA: Ekozarzaþdzanie jako warunek odpowiedzialnej opieki i zrównowazú onego zú ycia Ekozarzaþdzanie jest sposobem na powiaþzanie dwóch podejsć´, teologicznego i idealistycznego z praktycznym i pragmatycznym, po to, by znalezú c´ podstawy dla zrównowazú onej praktyki w zú yciu codziennym. Koniecznym poczaþtkiem musi byc´ s´wiadoma motywacja do takiego podejsćia i dzialÚania. Motywacje rózú niaþ sieþ od wiary i przekonania, zú e s´wiat zostalÚ stworzony i kochany przez Boga, a my jestes´my ustanowionymi przez niego ogrodnikami w jego ogrodzie, do alarmujaþcej s´wiadomosći kryzysu s´rodowiskowego czy tezú faktu, zúe ekologiczny oznacza równiezú ekonomiczny. Jes´li wyodreþbnimy problemy, takie jak zanieczyszczenie wody i powietrza, monokulturowa produkcja zúywnosći, odpady i inne, beþdziemy nadal w stanie znalezú c´ sposoby zminimalizowania szkody lub wprowadzenia rozwiaþzan´, chociazú na malÚaþ skaleþ. Naszym mottem musi byc´: „Mys´l globalnie, dzialÚaj lokalnie“ oraz jasna motywacja i nadzieja, zúe z Bozúaþ pomocaþ i wspólnym wysilÚkiem oraz wzajemnym wsparciem zdolÚamy wdrozú yc´ trwalÚaþ praktykeþ.

Managing to Live Roman JURIGA: Eko-management jako prÿedpoklad zodpoveÿdné pécÿe a udrzÿ itelného zÿ ivota Eko-management je cestou jak propojit dva prÿístupy, prÿístup teologicky´ a idealisticky´ s prÿístupem prakticky´m a pragmaticky´m, s cílem nalézt základy pro udrzÿ itelny´ zpuû sob konání v kazÿ dodenním zÿ ivoteÿ. Nezbytny´m vy´chodiskem musí by´t reflektovaná motivace pro takovy´to postoj a jednání. Jednotlivé motivace se mohou lisÿit, od víry a duû veÿry v to, zÿ e sveÿt je stvorÿen a milován Bohem a my jsme byli ustaveni správci v Bozÿ í zahradeÿ, azÿ po veÿdomí ekologické krize cÿ i faktu, zÿ e ekologické znamená tézÿ ekonomické. Podíváme-li se na problémy jako znecÿ isÿteÿní vody, vzduchu, produkce monokultur, problém odpadu a dalsÿí, budeme veÿtsÿinou schopni tézÿ nalézt i zpuû sob jak minimalizovat sÿkody na zÿ ivotním prostrÿedí nebo dokonce najít rÿesÿení, prÿestozÿ e trÿeba jen v malém meÿrÿítku. Nasÿím mottem musí by´t: Myslet globálneÿ a jednat lokálneÿ! S touto jasnou motivací a nadeÿjí, zÿ e s Bozÿ í pomocí, spolecÿ ny´m úsilím a vzájemnou podporou v uplatneÿní udrzÿ itelného zÿ ivota uspeÿjeme.

Roman JURIGA: Öko-Management als notwendige Vorraussetzung für einen verantwortungsvollen und bewussten Lebensstil Öko-Management ist eine Methode, sowohl den theologisch-idealistischen als auch den praktisch-pragmatischen Aspekt des täglichen Lebens auf der Suche nach einer Grundlage für einen ausgewogenen Lebensstil zu beachten. Am Anfang sollte die Motivation für diese Haltung und dieses Handeln neu überdacht werden. Die Motivationen sind unterschiedlich, angefangen bei dem festen Glauben, dass die Welt von Gott geschaffen und geliebt ist und dass wir die „Gärtner im Garten Gottes“ sind, bis hin zu der alarmierenden Offensichtlichkeit der näherkommenden Umweltkatastrophe oder der Tatsache das ökologisch auch gleichzeitig ökonomisch bedeuten kann. Wenn wir die Probleme auflisten, z.B. Wasser- und Luftverschmutzung, auf Monokultur basierende Lebensmittelproduktion, Müllproduktion und mehr, so können wir doch immer noch Möglichkeiten finden den Schaden in Grenzen zu halten oder im kleinen Rahmen sogar Lösungen zu finden. Wir sollten nach dem Grundsatz handeln „Denke global, handle lokal!“. Die Motivation und Hoffnung kommen aus der Überzeugung, dass wir mit Gottes Hilfe, Zusammenarbeit und gegenseitiger Unterstützung eine ökologisch vertretbare Lebensweise erfolgreich etablieren können.

RIHAY Zsuzsa Energies of Renewal

The aim of this article is to elaborate the issue of renewable energies, but before touching upon renewable energies, some general comments on energy as such should be made. When speaking about the usage of energy, the question of sustainable development is usually mentioned as one of the essential ones. Therefore the discussion can begin with a clarification of terms – a definition of sustainable development: “Answer the needs of the present without compromising the capacity of future generations to answer theirs.” Energy is a key question of today and serves the sustainability of the human society. Modern societies cannot function properly without energy. When we try to specify the term “energy” we have to ask the following questions: Where does it come from? How does it reach us? What do we need it for? How much does it cost? The energy we use comes from power plants, they generate heat or electricity from fossil fuels, and it reaches us, consumers, through the national grid. We need it for everything, many different purposes, I need energy to recharge the battery of my mobile phone, energy is needed for the production of this chair beside me, etc. But we have to be aware of the fact that only 20% of the world population live in the richest countries which consume 60% of the total electricity. Another fact is that 40% of the world’s population do not get electricity. I. Non-Renewable Energies 1. Effects of the Industrial Revolution To understand the concerns connected with the energy situation of today we have to go back in the history of the Earth and humankind. The fossil fuels we use for energy purposes came into being during the last 500 million years. These are being burnt, distilled, modified and used for the proRIHAY Zsuzsa (1974) is Lutheran, an engineer and youth worker. She is a member of the European Regional Committee of the World Student Christian Federation, as the co-ordinator of the Lingua Franca Central and Eastern European ecumenical language and leadership training project.

Managing to Live duction of electricity or heat, or used by the chemical industry for the production of plastic materials. These fuels are not everlasting: the known stores are to run out. Oil and gas will run out first. Coal will last the longest, but it is the most polluting of the fossil fuels. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution humankind has been using fossil fuels in an increasing amount. Nowadays we consume the same amount of oil in six weeks as we did in 1950 â€“ in a whole year. Another factor of the global energy crisis is that the population of the Earth is growing: today the Earth has six billion inhabitants, in 2050 it will be ten billion. These facts not only affect the energy issue, but also raise many other questions. It must be mentioned in this connection that the forestcovered areas are rapidly disappearing. Rainforests are being reduced, wood is used in developing countries for heating and cooking and the deforestation leads in certain countries to desertification (and soil erosion, etc). Global warming of the planet constitutes another significant problem. Global warming is caused by the increasing greenhouse effect, which is the result of industrial production, extensive traffic and energy-generation based on fossil fuels. When we burn oil, natural gas, or coal, CO2 and other greenhouse gases are produced. The simplified circle of the CO2 can be described in the following way: trees extract the C from the CO2 plant and O2 is released. When a tree is burnt, it releases that amount of CO2, which it bound during its lifetime. When we burn fossils, they release CO2 which had been bound for millions of years. There is not a sufficient amount of forests that could absorb this amount of emitted CO2. Increasing greenhouse effect leads to a global warming of the planet and this has grave consequences for the whole Earth. Besides desertification, there are significant changes in the weather, the ice of the North and South Pole as well as the ice of the mountains is melting, which leads to an increase of the sea level. Venice, Holland or Bangladesh could be soon covered by water. One part of the solution for burning energy and the environmental problems can be the usage of renewable energy sources â€“ both in the industrialised and the developing countries. A comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy sources can prove vital for further considerations. Fossils and non renewables are the following: coal, oil, natural gas and uranium (which is nuclear). Their pros are that they are cheap, they are easy to transport and they are concentrated. Their cons are that they will run out, they pollute (which causes the greenhouse effect and the acid 61

RIHAY Zs. Energies of Renewal rains), we depend on them (e.g. not all countries have fossil-sources; and this influences the political and economic relations). 2. Nuclear Power Before getting into details concerning renewable energies, some brief comments are to be made on nuclear power, which in its essence is neither a fossil nor a renewable energy source. A nuclear reaction is a change in the nucleus of an atom, and can be triggered by bombarding an atom with a subatomic particle such as a neutron or proton. In a nuclear fission reactor, a neutron strikes the nucleus of an atom with a heavy nucleus, such as a particular type – or isotope – of uranium atom. The nucleus of this atom splits, releasing huge amounts of energy, mainly in the form of heat. Other neutrons are also released, which initiate a chain reaction by striking other nuclei. Nuclear reactors control this reaction and use the produced heat to generate electricity. Nuclear fusion – the reaction through which also the sun generates its heat – is still in development. Light nuclei, such as those of the isotopes of hydrogen, are combined to make heavier ones, such as helium, at very high temperatures and pressures. Large amounts of energy are released in the process but the reaction has proved to be difficult to contain and control. Nuclear power is currently generated from nuclear fission – splitting the nuclei of atoms. Nuclear fusion – combining atomic nuclei – is potentially cleaner because the fuels involved are different. Nevertheless a number of scientists have been trying to harness the energy from atomic fusion for decades and some say a working fusion generator is still a lifetime away. There is a close link between civil and military uses of nuclear power. Nuclear fission power plants provide about 75% of electricity in France, a quarter in the UK and 15% in the US. More than 100 of the world’s 400 nuclear power plants are in the US. Nuclear power plants provide about 17% of the world’s electricity. The pros of the nuclear power are that it can generate large quantities of energy without releasing greenhouse gases. It does not depend on the weather. The UK’s largest reactor generates the equivalent output of 1188 wind turbines. A nuclear fuel pellet, about half an inch long, provides the same amount of electricity as one and a half tons of coal. Its cons are that the fuel spent from nuclear power plants remains toxic for centuries and there is no safe permanent storage facility for it. Dismantling old reactors safely is highly expensive. Mining and enriching uranium produces toxic waste. Uranium is a finite resource, although there are ways of recycling fuel spent. Fears of nuclear material stolen from 62

power facilities and used by terrorists in a so-called â€œdirty bombâ€? have substantially increased recently. II. Renewable Energies Renewable energies are the following: wind, water, geotherm, sun and biomass. Their pros are that they are decentralised, they produce little or no CO2 emission, they are not polluting, they keep the environment clean (and thus the health care costs are lower), they are unlimited (since natural cycles renew them) and they are equally distributed geographically. 63

RIHAY Zs. Energies of Renewal Their cons are that they are unequally distributed in time, their storage is unsolved, they are not concentrated and the investment costs are high. 1. Wind Power Windmills have been used for pumping water or grinding grain for centuries. A windmill’s modern equivalent – a wind turbine – uses wind energy to generate electricity. Wind turns the turbine’s blades, gears increase the rotational speeds. The rotating turbine shaft drives the generator which transforms the mechanical energy into electrical energy. Manufacturers today produce giant turbines – ninety metres tall, with rotor diameters bigger than the wingspan of a jumbo jet. One standard-issue turbine can produce at least one megawatt of electricity, enough to supply at least 800 houses. The world market for wind turbines has been growing by an average of 40% a year since 1995. Nonetheless wind farms still produce only a tiny faction of the energy of the world. There are currently about sixty operating wind farms in the UK, supplying enough power for 250,000 homes each year, or about 0.3% of total UK electricity consumption. A good example for wind-energy use is Denmark; near Copenhagen, in Öresund, where there are 20 wind turbines, planted in the sea and they cover 3% of Copenhagen’s electricity demand. By 2030 Denmark plans to cover 50% of its electricity needs from the wind energy. (Today it is 10%, world-wide only 2%.) The pros of wind power are that it is safe, inexhaustible and free. The cons are that wind speed is variable and unreliable. Wind farms are typically located in high, exposed, rural locations, where they can be seen as eyesores. They are often noisy, although modern turbines are quieter than their predecessors. Wildlife habitats can be disrupted and there is a risk of birds getting caught in the blades. Off-shore wind farms can be an alternative solution, but they are expensive to build and maintain. It is cheaper to put more coal into an existing power station than to build a new wind farm. 2. Water Energy A. Hydropower Water stored in a dam is released downhill through a pipe, turning a turbine as it flows. Most water turbines look similar to propellers of a ship, with several blades set at an angle which can be adjusted depending on the output power required. The rotating shaft drives an electric generator, which transforms the mechanical energy into electrical energy. If the vol64

Managing to Live ume of water flowing into a dam is not sufficient to generate power continually, a pumped storage system can be used. Water which has passed through the turbine is stored in a lower reservoir and pumped back up to the upper reservoir using cheap, off-peak electricity. This water can then be reused to generate power when demand is high. The pros of hydropower are that it is not polluting. It is renewable since water flows are replenished by the hydrologic cycle which is powered by the sun. Its cons are that hydropower only makes sense for countries with suitable climates and topographies. Building dams can involve diverting rivers, flooding farmland and countryside and displacing local people. Wildlife is disrupted and fish can die in the blades of the turbines. Forests are often eliminated to build the necessary infrastructure. Dams can trap silt which would otherwise enrich soils downstream. Flooding is a potential hazard if the dam bursts or the reservoir is filled with silt. Damming crossborder rivers can result in disputes with neighbouring countries downstream. B. Ocean Energy The ocean offers two types of energy – thermal energy from the heat of the sun, and mechanical energy from the tides and waves. Oceans cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth, being the world’s largest solar collectors. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, if less than 0.1% of this solar energy could be converted into electric power, it would supply more than twenty times the amount of energy consumed every day in the US. Electrical energy can be generated using a temperature difference of 20C° between deep ocean water and sun-heated surface water. The warm surface water itself can be turned to steam in a similar way to geothermally heated water, or it can be used to vaporise a chemical with a lower boiling point. The steam drives a turbine, before being condensed using the colder deep water. Tropical island states are best placed to benefit from the technology. Several devices have also been developed to generate electricity from the motion of tides and waves. One wave power facility on the Scottish island of Islay produces enough power for 400 homes – electricity is generated as wave motion moves a column of water up and down inside a concrete pipe. Tidal power works similarly to hydropower. Water is trapped behind a dam at high tide, and then released – turning turbines to generate power – as the tide ebbs.

RIHAY Zs. Energies of Renewal 3. Biomass The sources of bio-energy are first of all forestry waste, wood industry waste and agricultural by-products as well as energy plantage (like aspen, acacia, sallow and miscanthus), and communal waste. Then there are oil plants (sunflower), rape (bio-fuels); as well as alcohol (potato, corn, rape potato and sugar-beet). Finally, there are agricultural (organic and animal waste, e.g. dung) as well as industrial waste, communal waste, landfill gas, sewage gas (domestic waste water); and the gasification of biomass. Bioenergy comes from burning biomass – organic matter such as wood or plants. It supplies more than 90% of the total energy demand in Nepal and Malawi, and 25% to 50% in large industrialising countries such as China, India and Brazil. Austria uses bioenergy for 13% of all its energy needs. One of the crudest forms of bioenergy is the open burning of dung or wood for cooking in developing countries – though one power plant in the UK burns chicken dung. This burning is often done indoors – a practice responsible for about two million air pollution-related deaths each year. But bioenergy can also be used to convert sustainably grown crops or agricultural, industrial and municipal wastes into useful energy. Methods range from adding biomass products into coal-fired boilers, to fermenting sugar cane to produce ethanol-based car fuel and to burning methane gas produced as biomass decomposes. Burning biomass can still release greenhouse gases, although plants grown for fuel manufacture also absorb carbon dioxide while they grow. Depending on the fuel type and the applied process, bioenergy can be much cleaner, and the sources more renewable, than in the case of fossil fuels. 4. Geothermic Energy Geothermal energy comes from the heat in the core of the Earth. In Iceland nearly all buildings are heated in this way. Geothermal power plants contribute significantly to the electricity supply in El Salvador, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, Italy, New Zealand and the western part of the United States. In some geothermally active regions, the heat from rocks and water is close enough to the surface and can be accessed cost-effectively. Hot water or steam is pumped from underground. Steam can be used to turn turbines directly. Hot water can be pumped to the surface under pressure and can be turned into steam by rapid decrease in pressure. Alternatively, the heat can be used to vaporise a second liquid with a lower boiling point than water – the resulting gas is then used to turn turbines. The volume of water taken out of the Earth can be re-injected, making geothermal power a sustainable energy source. 66

Managing to Live 5. Solar Energy We can talk about active or passive, thermal or photo-voltaic usage of solar energy. We talk about passive usage when in certain architectural solutions we take into account natural conditions and the orb of the sun; in the case of suitable insulation, solar-roofs, winter gardens, solar-walls, a lot of energy can be saved both on heating and on cooling. An example of simple but effective use of solar energy can be the sunheating of water (in barrels) in weekend-house gardens. There are of course more sophisticated versions of active solar thermal energy usage, for hot water and heating. You can see dark cells on roofs – a special kind of glass which covers a pipeline filled with antifreeze liquid. With the help of heat exchangers, pumps and tanks the inhabitants of the house can be provided with warm water in this way. Considering the Magyar average sunshine, 70% of the yearly hot-water need of a four-member family can be covered by a 4-6 m2 sun collector. In Greece and Israel almost all of the hot water is generated by solar energy. Solar power is often used to power calculators and other electronic accessories. Solar panels – made up of photovoltaic cells – are also sometimes used on roofs to provide electricity to households. The properties of the materials called semiconductors enable electrical current to flow through them when they have direct contact with light. In a photovoltaic cell, two different types of semiconductors are layered together. Typically, the atoms on one side (n-type) have a single electron in the outer shell. The atoms on the other side (p-type) are one electron short of a full outer shell. When the two layers are placed together, electrons move from the n-type side to fill the “holes” on the p-type side. This creates an electrical field at the junction between the two layers. Once set up, this electrical field effectively creates a barrier to more electrons trying to move from the p-type side to the n-type side. When light shines on the whole cell, it knocks electrons free from their atoms. But the charge at the junction causes all the free electrons to build up in the n-type layer. If an external electrical circuit then bypasses the junction, the electrons flow through it as a current. There are projects that focus on the development of large-scale solar plants to produce hundreds of megawatts at a time. In connection with solar energy one obvious fact should be mentioned: the sun shines everywhere. In the rainy Belgium with governmental help and several institutions’ support a house was built whose energy demand is solely covered by sun energy. The pros of solar energy are that it is free and renewable, silent and gen67

RIHAY Zs. Energies of Renewal erates no emissions. The cost of photovoltaic cells has dropped significantly in the past few years and is predicted to fall further as mass production increases. Photovoltaics are one of the few renewable technologies that can be integrated into the urban landscape. They are useful in remote areas far from a source of conventional electricity. Unused electricity can be fed back into the national grid. The cons of solar energy are that it is of limited use in cloudy places and also in some cities where roof space is tight. PV cells are not very efficient, absorbing only about 15% of the energy of the sunlight. There are extra costs, such as systems to store the energy for when the sun is not shining. Some of the huge batteries used contain heavy metals (e.g. Labacum) thus being an environmental danger if not properly disposed of. Toxic chemicals are also used in the production of semiconductors. III. Think Globally, Act Locally As it has been shown renewable energy resources can be used basically everywhere, taking into consideration local possibilities. But it should not be forgotten that this is but a part of the solution. To realise the idea of sustainable development it is not enough simply to change our energy sources. It requires changes in our way of thinking, way of consuming â€“ the issue has its ethical side. It cannot be emphasised enough that ethical consumption has a great power. Environmentally conscious decisions can be made in any field of activity. A famous slogan says: think globally, act locally. Ethically and ecologically conscious citizens do not expect someone else to do things for them, as they realise that it is themselves who are bound to act. No matter the profession, whether lawyers, theologians or engineers, ethically and ecologically conscious citizens can produce environmentally important decisions and steps, taking into consideration not only the needs of the present generation, but also of the generations to come. Suggested Reading http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2002/disposable_planet/energy http://www.yannarthusbertrand.com/fr http://www.energiaklub.hu

Managing to Live RIHAY Zsuzsa: A megújulás energiái A cikk, mielo´´tt kidolgozná a megújuló energiaforrások témáját, az energiaszükséglet tényét és annak egyenlo´´tlen eloszlását veszi számba. Riasztó számokról szerezhetünk tudomást: a föld népességének mindössze 20%-a él a gazdag országokban, ezzel szemben itt fogyasztják a teljes villamosenergia 60%-át; vagy egy másik adat: a föld népességének 40%-a nem jut villanyáramhoz. Ezek után egyértelmu´´en belátható az energiafölhasználás és a fönntartható fejlo´´dés kérdésének elválaszthatatlansága. A cikk fölsorol néhány, a megújuló és a nem megújuló energiaforrások mellett és ellen szóló érvet, amelyekhez azonban nemcsak azok ökológiai és gazdasági, de politikai és társadalmi következményei is odatartoznak. Közelebbro´´l: a nem megújuló energiaforrás (szén, olaj, földgáz, urán) olcsó, könnyen szállítható, koncentrálva fordul elo´´, de hátránya, hogy kimerülhet, szennyezo´´ hatása is közismert, és függünk to´´le. A megújuló energiaforrás (szél, víz, geotermikus energia, napfény, biomassza) hátránya, hogy egyenlo´´tlenül oszlik el ido´´ben, nem su´´rített alakban helyezkedik el, fölhasználása magas beruházási költséggel jár, másrészt viszont nem szennyez, korlátlan mennyiségben és egyenlo´´en oszlik el a térben. A megújuló energiaforrások mu´´ködéséro´´l és használatuk legjobb módjáról, alkalmazásuk helyéro´´l szintén olvashatunk. A cikk felelo´´sségünk hangsúlyozásával, gondolkodásmódunk és fogyasztási szokásaink sürgo´´s megváltoztatásának kiemelésével zárul.

RIHAY Zsuzsa: Odnawialne energie Zanim artykulÚ zglÚ eþbia zagadnienie odnawialnych zú ródelÚ energii, porusza on problem wazúnosći energii i jej nierównomiernego podzialÚu. Przytoczone saþ zaskakujaþce liczby s´wiadczaþce o tym, zú e tylko 20% s´wiatowej populacji zúyje w najbogatszych pan´stwach s´wiata, które konsumujaþ 60% calÚkowitego zuzú ycia energii lub zú e 40% s´wiatowej populacji nie dostaje elektrycznosći. W ten sposób ukazany jest widoczny zwiaþzek pomieþdzy zuzú yciem energii a zrównowazúonym rozwojem. ArtykulÚ wspomina wady i zalety odnawialnych i nieodnawialnych energii, które dotyczaþ nie tylko ich ekologicznych i ekonomicznych konsekwencji, ale tezú politycznych i spolÚ ecznych. Mianowicie chodzi o to, zú e energie nieodnawialne (weþgiel, olej, gaz naturalny, uran) saþ tanie, lÚatwe do przetransportowania, skoncentrowane; ale ich wadaþ jest to, zú e sieþ skonćzaþ, zanieczyszczajaþ, a my jestes´my od nich zalezú ni. Wady energii odnawialnych (wiatru, wody, energii termicznej, slÚonća, biomasy) saþ nasteþpujaþce: saþ nierównomierne dosteþpne w czasie, nie saþ skoncentrowane, wymagajaþ wysokich naklÚadów finansowych, ale z drugiej strony saþ zdecentralizowane, nie zanieczyszczajaþ, saþ nieograniczone i równomiernie rozmieszczone w przestrzeni. Funkcjonowanie zú ródelÚ oraz najlepszy sposób jak i gdzie je stosowac´ saþ równiezú omówione. Na zakonćzenie podkres´lona jest potrzeba odpowiedzialnosći i zmiany w naszym sposobie mys´lenia i konsumowania.

RIHAY Zs. Energies of Renewal RIHAY Zsuzsa: Obnovitelńé zdroje energie V úvode cÿ lánku autorka poukazuje na nepostrádatelńost´ energie a jej nerovnomerné rozdelenie. Napríklad iba 20% svetovej populácie zÿ ije v najbohatsÿích krajinách sveta, ktoré vsÿak spotrebúvajú 60% celkovej elektrickej energie, pricÿ om 40% svetovej populácie zÿ ije bez elektriny. Z uvedenej sÿtatistiky jasne vyply´va aká úzka spojitost´ existuje medzi vyuzÿ ívaním energie a udrzÿ atelńy´m rozvojom. C ÿ lánok sa zmienÿuje o pre a proti obnovitelńlćh i neobnoviteyńyćh zdrojov energie vrátane ich ekologickyćh, ekonomickyćh, politickyćh a sociálnych dôsledkov. Neobnovitelńé zdroje (uhlie, ropa, zemny´ plyn, urán) sú lacné, láhko prepravitelńé, nevy´hodou je vsÿak zvlásÿ t´ ich obmedzenost´ a fakt, zÿ e sú zdrojom znecÿ istenia. Medzi zápory obnovitelńyćh zdrojov energie (voda, vietor, slnko, biomasa, geotermálna energia) zas patrí ich nerovnomerná dostupnost´ v cÿ ase cÿ i fakt, zÿ e vyzÿ adujú vysoké investicÿ né náklady. Vy´hodou je ich neobmedzenost´, minimálne znecÿ istenie, atd’. Autorka d’alej uvádza, aky´m spôsobom tieto zdroje fungujú a kde a ako je mozÿ né ich najlepsÿie vyuzÿ it´. V závere potom zdôraznÿuje pozÿ iadavku zodpovednosti a zmeny násÿho spôsobu myslenia a spotreby.

RIHAY Zsuzsa: Erneuerbare Energiequellen Bevor in diesem Artikel das Thema “Erneuerbare Energiequellen” detailliert behandelt wird, wird auf die Notwendigkeit von Energie und ihre ungleichmässig verteilte Nutzung hingewiesen. Es werden einige alarmierende Zahlen genannt. So leben zum Beispiel nur 20% der Weltbevölkerung in den reichsten Ländern, aber dort werden 60% der Energie verbraucht, auch bekommen 40% der Weltbevölkerung erst überhaupt keinen Strom. Die Verbindung zwischen Energieverbrauch und einer verantwortungsbewussten Entwicklung ist hier offensichtlich. Weiterhin werden die Vor- und Nachteile von erneuerbaren und nicht erneuerbaren Energiequellen nicht nur im Hinblick auf ihre ökologischen und ökonomischen sondern auch auf ihre sozialen und politischen Folgen näher beleuchtet. Konkret auf die nicht erneuerbaren Energiequellen, wie z.B. Kohle, Erdöl, Erdgas und Uran, heisst das, dass sie billig, leicht zu transportieren und konzentriert sind, aber auf der anderen Seite, dass sie nur begrenzt verfügbar und umweltschädlich sind und dass wir von ihnen abhängig sind. Als Nachteile der erneuerbaren Energiequellen, wie z.B. Wind, Wasser, Geothermik, Sonne und Biomasse, sind eine zeitlich ungleichmässige Verteilung, ein nicht konzentriertes Vorkommen und eine hohe Erstinvestition zu nennen, aber auf der anderen Seite sind sie dezentralisiert, tragen nicht zur Umweltverschmutzung bei, sind unbegrenzt verfügbar und räumlich gleich verteilt. Es wird ein kurzer Überblick über die Ausbeutungsmöglichkeiten gegeben. Geendet wird mit einem dringenden Appell an unser Verantwortungsbewusstsein hinsichtlich unseres Denkens und Konsumverhaltens.

Slávka BELANOVÁ Permaculture as an Ecological Alternative

It is only recently that I have realised the relevance of the ecological approach known as permaculture which has prompted me to dedicate more time to a deeper study of its principles as well as of its potential role in the considerations concerning the future face of ecology. I got acquainted with the methodology and prospects of permaculture through the Society of the Friends of the Earth in Revuca, Slovakia. I. Why Permaculture? Permaculture can be considered as one of the starting points for ecological solutions of today’s often deplorable state of the environment. It is ecology in practice, ecology as a lifestyle. Its basis is the spiritual dimension of the humans and their ethical and moral feeling. The attitudes of a believer cannot be based on indifference. The believer cares about what is happening and sees that we are destroying the very world God has created. The believer understands that we are able to destroy and exterminate ourselves. It is, however, not the aim of this present essay to focus on the perils of technical and industrial progress and on the instances where people have moved away from God, from the nature and from one another. The aim of this essay is exactly to talk about the return. The return to the essence and meaning of life, coming closer to the Earth where we all live, feeling its breath and heartbeat again. Acknowledging that the Earth doe live, that it is not just a source we can exploit as much as we want and leave it devastated, damaged and hurt. It is the duty of the believer to promote the respect towards this source of life, to live out her or his love Slávka BELANOVA studies applied ecology at the Technical University in Zvolen (Slovakia), with a special focus on ecology of the land, and nature protection. She is a member of Ekunet (Slovak SCM) and of the Society of the Friends of the Earth.

S. BELANOVÁ Permaculture towards it on a daily basis. The believer cannot expect someone else to solve this question for her or him. One is responsible to do it oneself. Before elaborating the theoretical core of the topic of this essay, I would like to mention the fact that I have not finished my course of permacultural design yet and thus my personal experience with practical permaculture is of a limited nature. For this reason this article is based rather on theoretical material gathered from studies dealing with the essence of permaculture as well as with applied permaculture. It is the aim of this article to enable its readers to acquire at least a partial insight into the principles of this creative ecological and environmental approach and to provide some introductory hints about the role and place of applied permaculture. II. What is Permaculture? Permaculture is a way of designing permanently tenable and highly productive gardens, terraces, fruit orchards, parks, forests, farms as well as estate units, villages, habitations and towns. It does not concentrate only on agricultural units, it is also concerned with house design, producing houses which are in harmony with nature as far as it is possible (mostly made of economical and natural materials), it creates and restores communities (community in this sense being the population of a house, of a street, etc.), local (as well as non-financial) economies, or it can take the form of a municipal support for local organic farmers. The very term permaculture is based on the merging of the two words “permanent” and “culture”. The origins of permaculture are closely connected with the personality of the renowned Australian ecologist Bill MOLLISON, who, being disappointed with the almost complete failure of the classical, traditional approach to the protection of the environment focused on a creation of a practical method for effective prevention of environment devastation. Permaculture acknowledges the internal value of all beings and things regardless of whether they are useful for people or they are not. This movement tries to design human systems according to the model of natural ecosystems, by using the knowledge of traditional cultures already at hand for centuries as well as the latest scientific and technological knowledge, together with its own knowledge, heritage and experience. As a result, permaculture does not try to overcome and humiliate the nature at all, but rather tries to co-operate with nature surrounding us as much as possible. It tries to discover and follow its rules and laws. Permaculture tries to combine structures, plants, animals and humans, all living beings, so that we can get acquainted with and utilise their natural qualities and abilities. We utilise proven principles and processes to cre72

ate highly cultured ecosystems. The aim of these efforts is to create systems in which there would be gradually less and less work needed for the keeping-up of the system itself and after some time there would not be any need to interfere and influence. The mentioned efforts are not aimed at cultivating the nature but â€“ on the contrary â€“ at giving more freedom to the nature (for its natural development) and thus creating space and possibility for wilderness.

S. BELANOVĂ Permaculture III. Ethics of Permaculture The very basis of permaculture is its ethics and morality. Environmental ethics is often defined as the total of our moral principles and practices necessary for our survival on this planet. In permaculture we connect three kinds of ethics: first taking care of the Mother Earth, then taking care of the human element present on it and finally the legitimate division of time, money and raw materials for these previous aims. The first kind of ethics, taking care of the Mother Earth means taking care of all living and non-living creatures: for example soil, air, water, the micro-world, plants, animals (keeping in mind the colourfulness of their variety). This does not mean the creation of destructive and recovering mechanisms, but it means an active protection of the nature, ethical and economical utilisation of natural sources, as well as a good, conscious and benevolent life, i.e. life focused on the work for useful and generally beneficial systems for all. Taking care of the Mother Earth is directly connected with the second ethics, taking care of the human beings, women and men. This care includes all of the basic human needs and necessities: like food, housing, education, satisfactory employment and friendly interpersonal relationships. Taking care of the human part of the nature is very important, because although people are only a tiny little part of the whole living system of the world, their activity has a crucial and decisive impact on its condition. If the human beings were able to secure and guarantee their basic life needs, in many instances they would not engage in activities and structures that cause damage and destruction to the natural environment. The third part of permacultural ethics concerns our dedication of spare time, money and work to practical taking care of the Earth and its millions of human inhabitants. Practically this requirement means that if we have satisfied our own needs and designed our own systems according to our best abilities available, we can direct our activities at helping other people to reach this aim as soon as possible. It is clear from the above mentioned arguments that permacultural ethics tries to permeate all levels of environmental, social and economic structures. Its key approach is based on complementing competition with organised co-operation. IV. Eight Principles of Permaculture 1. Relational Situating The principles of permaculture pertain to all permacultural designs and they are applicable in different climates. Each element (for example house, pool or road) is situated in a mutual relation to other elements so that they can assist and help each other; e.g. when a water basin is situated higher than a house: we do not have to gather water, but it flows there due to 74

Managing to Live gravity. The windbreakers are situated in a place where they change the direction of the wind, but do not shade the house from the important winter sun. The garden is situated between the family house and the chickenhouse; the waste from the garden is collected on the way to the chickenhouse and the chicken dung is used in the adjacent garden. The relations between the respective elements are to be organised in such a way that the needs of one element would be satisfied by the output of some other elements. To achieve this purpose, we have to know the basic characteristics of each element, its basic needs and its output and result. While searching for the optimal position of an element the important question should be posed: how can the products of this element be used for the satisfaction of the needs of other elements? Which of the basic needs of this element can be satisfied by the production of other elements? How can this element cause damage and destruction to other elements? How can this element benefit from other elements? 2. Each Element can Fulfil many Functions A pool can be used for watering for example, as a source of water for cattle, for growing water plants or as a protection against fire. It can also be a home of water bird colonies, fish or a mirror for reflecting sunlight. The same approach can be applied to plants and vegetables. By selecting suitable species and by situating them correctly we can use plants for different aims: as windbreakers, as forage, as private nook, as fuel, as anti-erosion elements, as fire protection, as shelter for animals, as for changes of microclimates, as food or as for improvement of the soil. 3. Each Important Function should be Ensured by Several Elements Our basic needs such as water, food and energy supplies or the protection against fire should be ensured in two or more ways simultaneously; e.g. water can be acquired from barriers and basins as well as from wet places and irrigation ditches. 4. Energetically Economical Planning The elements are situated according to the intensity of their use by humans (which is called zone planning) according to the direction of incoming energies (sector planning), and according to altitude planning. In zone planning Zone 0 represents the centre of all human activities (home). Zone 1 includes the immediate surroundings of the house, the controlled and most intensively used space (like the garden or the workshop). Zone 5 is the uncontrolled wilderness, in which we just watch and study, a silent place for meditation, where we are visitors, not administrators. 75

S. BELANOVĂ Permaculture The sectors refer to the energy of the sun, light, wind, rain, fire and water. These elements enter our system from outside and go through it; e.g. in an area exposed to floods or to cold wind. In each sector appropriate plant species and suitable structures are to be situated so that incoming energies can be directed to our benefit. In the sector of danger of fire we situate components which are non-flammable or represent natural barriers for fire, e.g. a pool or a stone wall. In altitude planning, we look at the ground in profile, so that we see relative altitudes and can correctly decide on the position of barriers, water basins or wells (e.g. when above a house, the water flows down by gravitation), so that we can plan entrance roads, protection against floods and place drainage systems correctly or situate the production of natural gas. Each element is in its place for three reasons: it is situated in relation to the sources of the ground, external energies and the altitude planning. Each tree, plant, structure or activity should be situated on the basis of these criteria. When planting a pine tree, the following factors can be considered: it is situated in Zone 4 (rare visits), it is the sector of the danger of fire (potential fuel), it can be used against cold winds (potential windbreaker) and it bears fruit that can be used as forage. 5. Preferring Biological Sources to Fossil Fuels Instead of nitrogen fertilisers green manure is to be used in the fields. The lawn mower can be replaced gradually by a scythe and pesticides by a biological control of harmful animals (e.g. in a lake frogs can be used against insects, and thorny bushes can provide home for useful birds). 6. Circulation of Energy on the Spot The saving of energy is achieved by saving the costs of transport, of packing and marketing. Permacultural systems try to prevent the leakage of nutritious materials and energy from the ground and seek to introduce their circulation; e.g. kitchen waste is recycled in the compost, animal dung produces natural gas and returns to the soil, water used in the household irrigates the garden, green manure enriches the soil and leaves are raked around the trees and serve as mulch. 7. Small Intensive Systems It is more productive to take care of a smaller space in the proper and right way (balcony, house threshold) than to apply wrongly designed methods to larger areas. It is advisable to follow the natural evolution of elements and the natural succession of its phases rather than to merely fight against this process. Diversity is to be preferred to monoculture. The importance of 76

Managing to Live diversity lies not merely in the number of elements of the system, but affects the number of functional interactions among these elements. 8. Border Effect Productivity is always increasing on the edge between two ecotypes (earth and water, or forest and meadow), as the sources of the two systems can be used and cultivated jointly. A lake of a simple shape and even depth produces a simple ecological system. A lake with complex borders, different depths and small islands can be used for manifold purposes. On its edge we can plant cane, in shallow waters water-lily, on the small islands birds can have their nests, and different fish types can be used for shallow and deep waters. V. Conclusion Permaculture tries to develop life in community; it tries to create local systems which require minimum interference and influence from outside. It is mostly impossible to grow all the necessary food in our own gardens and orchards. There are other needs as well for which we need inputs from outside. But in many instances the missing elements can be obtained by local work and co-operation. If we want to create a permanently tenable way of life, we need to create strong local communities, which can secure most of their needs themselves. This co-operation leads us gradually from our individual interests and activities towards a wider co-operation in different areas as well as towards a conscious rescue of our planet. This co-operation is quite natural and inevitable. The functioning of nature is based on co-operation, it is based on symbiosis. The whole planet is an unbelievably complex organism in which everything depends on everything. All the elements of this colourful system are interconnected and the human observer is free to learn from the structures created by the nature around us. Respect for these structures and the willingness to learn from them and to protect them lies at the core of permaculture. Suggested Reading FUKUOKA Masanobu, The One-Straw Revolution. An Introduction to Natural Farming. 1978. MOLLISON Bill â€“ SLAY Reny Mia, Introduction to Permaculture. MOLLISON Bill â€“ HOLMGREN D., Permaculture One. A Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements. MOLLISON Bill, Permaculture Two. Practical Design for Town and Country in Permanent Agriculture.

S. BELANOVÁ Permaculture Slávka BELANOVÁ: Permakultúra A permakultúra: ökológia a gyakorlatban, vagy másképpen: az életforma szintjén megvalósított ökológia, amely az ember lelkiségi dimenziójában és erkölcsi érzékében gyökerezik, ilyenformán esély arra, hogy megóvjuk a Földet a további pusztulástól. A permakultúra alapja azon erkölcstan, amely összekapcsolja a Föld gondozását az emberro´´l gondoskodással, és amely az ido´´ és a pénz helyes elosztását is jelenti az eo´´bb említett célokra. A permakultúra gyakorlatilag a következo´´ket tartalmazza: fönntartható, ugyanakkor igen termékeny kertek, erdo´´k és parkok, a természettel összhangban mu´´ködo´´ házak és városok tervezése, közösségek létrehozása, illetve olyan helyi rendszerek kialakítása, amelyek a leheto´´ legalacsonyabb befektetést igénylik a külvilágtól. A permakultúra magja az elveiben rejlik, amilyen például az arányos elhelyezés, az energiamegtakarítás, a változatosság (ellentétben a monokulturális felfogással), vagy a határjelenségek. Be kell látnunk, hogy a természetszeru´´ és természetbarát tevékenységet alapveto´´en az együttmu´´ködés, a szimbiózis és a kölcsönös egymásrautaltság jellemzi. Meg kell próbálnunk szakítani azzal a manapság elterjedt magatartással, amely a természetet ellenfélnek tekinti és megalázza. Ehelyett, amennyire csak lehetséges, mu´´ködjünk együtt a természettel, és kövessük annak törvényeit.

Slávka BELANOVÁ: Permakultura Permakultura to ekologia w praktyce, ekologia jako styl zúycia oparty na duchowym wymiarze czlÚowieka i jego etycznym znaczeniu, tak, zú e staje sieþ ona droga do przeciwdzialÚania dalszemu niszczeniu Ziemi. Podstawaþ permakultury jest jej etyka, która wiaþzú e dbanie o Ziemieþ, dbanie o ludzi z rozsaþdnym podzialÚ em czasu i pienieþdzy na te cele. Praktycznaþ czeþsćiaþ permakultury jest projektowanie zrównowazúonych i wciaþzú wysoko produktywnych ogrodów, lasów, parków, projektowanie domów i miast w zgodzie z naturaþ, rozwijanie okolicy i tworzenie lokalnych systemów wymagajaþcych jak najnizú szych wplÚywów z zewnaþtrz. Istota permakultury lezúy w jej zasadach, np. stosownym usytuowaniu, oszczeþdzaniu energii, rózúnorodnosći zamiast monokultury, efektach saþsiedztwa. Musimy zdawac´ sobie spraweþ, zú e funkcjonowanie natury jest oparte na wspólÚpracy, symbiozie i wspólÚ zalezú nosći. Musimy równiezú starac´ sieþ nie daþzú yc´ do podporzaþdkowania sobie i ponizú enia natury jak to jest obecnie w praktyce, lecz wspólÚ pracowac´ z naturaþ tak szeroko jak to tylko mozú liwe i dzialÚ ac´ w zgodzie z jej zasadami.

Managing to Live Slávka BELANOVÁ: Permakultúra Permakultúra je ekológia v praxi, ekológia ako zÿ ivotny´ sÿ ty´l zalozÿ eny´ na duchovnej dimenzii cÿ loveka a jeho zmysle pre etiku, ktory´ prispieva k ochrane Zeme pred d’alsÿím nicÿ ením. Základom permakultúry je jej etika, ktorá spája strarostlivost´ o Zem so starostlivostóu o cÿ loveka a poukazuje na potrebu adekvátneho prerozdelenia nasÿich prostriedkov a cÿ asu na tieto ciele. Prakticky´m obsahom permakultúry je tvorba udrzÿ atelńyćh a zárovenÿ vysoko-produktívnych záhrad, lesov, parkov, ako aj obydlí a miest v harmónii s prírodou. Permakultúra sa snazÿ í o tvorbu spolocÿ enstva a lokálnych systémov, ktoré vyzÿ adujú minimum zásahov zvonku. Jadro aplikovanej permakultúry je obsiahnuté v jej princípoch ako napr.: vzájomne zosúladené situovanie, redukcia energetickyćh vstupov, rozmanitost´ (opak monokultúry), cÿ i hranicÿ ny´ efekt. Je nutné si uvedomit´, zÿ e fungovanie prírody je zalozÿ ené na spolupráci, symbióze a prepojenosti. Je potrebné, aby sa cÿ lovek nesnazÿ il prírodu obíst´ cÿ i pokorit´, ako sa to dnes mnohokrát deje, ale naopak, aby sa snazÿ il s prírodou spolupracovat´ a nasledovat´ jej pravidlá.

Slávka BELANOVÁ: Permakultur Permakultur ist angewandte Ökologie. Ökologie wird als Lebensstil, der auf der spirituellen Ebene und dem ethischem Empfinden der Menschen basiert, angesehen. So soll die Welt vor einer weiteren Zerstörung bewahrt werden. Die Grundlage der Permakultur ist ethischer Natur wobei besonders auf einen sinnvollen Umgang mit der Erde und den Menschen und auf eine gerechte Verteilung von Zeit und Geld Wert gelegt wird. Der praktische Aspekt der Permakultur ist es, wiederverwertbare und gleichzeitig höchst produktive Gärten, Wälder und Parks zu schaffen, Häuser und Städte im Einklang mit der Natur zu planen, eine Gemeinschaft zu formen und ein lokales System zu etablieren, dass grösstenteils autark ist. Der wichtigste Punkt hierbei sind die Prinzipien der Permakultur, die da wären Energiesparen, ausgewogener landwirtschaftlicher Anbau (keine Monokultur) oder Grenzeffekte. Wir müssen uns bewusst machen, dass ein funktionierendes Biosystem auf Zusammenarbeit, Symbiose und Unabhängigkeit basiert. Wir dürfen die Natur nicht, so wie es heute meist der Fall ist, übergehen und demütigen, sondern wir müssen mit ihr zusammen arbeiten und ihre Regeln beachten.

Ján MILCÿ INSKY´ Modern History of Central Europe: What we Have in Common

The Cosmopolitan Central Europe of Yesterday While looking for an appropriate structure I realized that I should start with the street I live in, as with an example of what Central Europe means in practice. Some time ago, I happened to inherit a flat in the old town of Kosÿ ice, today´s second largest city of Slovakia. When one visits Kosÿice today, one gains the impression of a predominantly Slovak city with some Magyar-speakers that one meets every once in a while on the main street in the shade of the beautiful Gothic cathedral. But if you notice that the main square has the shape of an eye and you have a closer look at the files in the city archive you discover that the history of the city is much more intricate than it seemed at the first glance. The city was founded by German craftsmen from Saxony and it had a Magyar, German and Slovak population. From my window you can see the birth house of the renowned Magyar writer Sándor MÁRAI, you can walk to the birthplace of the wartime Prime Minister of Hungary Ferenc SZÁLASI or to the residence house of the Magyar nobleman Ferenc RÁKÓCZI II. It is just round the corner from the house where the Slovak national revivalists L’udovít SÿTÚR and Jonásÿ ZÁBORSKY´ met to discuss the revolutionary demands of the Slovak nation, and from the palace, in which the President of Czechoslovakia Edvard BENESÿ resided after the liberation of Kosÿ ice in 1945. Ján Milcÿ insky´ (1967) is a Roman Catholic, born in Kosÿice, Slovakia. He is a graduate of the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. He participated in research projects in Berlin, Paris and Zagreb. His main focus is the modern history of Slovakia and above all Czecho-Slovak relations in the times of the first Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1939). He is primarily concerned with the issues of the Slovak autonomy within Czechoslovakia, Slovak political thinking in the mid-war years and the relations between Slovak and Czech political parties in the 1920s and 1930s. Currently he is involved in a research program at the University of Chicago.

Positive Stories But if we are to be just, we should mention similar facts about other Central European cities, such as Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, Prague, or Krakow. We might mention that Budapest, except for being the most important political, cultural and scientific centre of the Magyar intellectual forum, was the home of many Slovak intellectuals, for example the later Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, Milan HODZÿA, and the city saw the birth of their literary works. We might mention that Vienna was not only the natural centre of the German-speaking part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but also the place where the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomásÿ Garrigue MASARYK, or the President of the Slovak State, Jozef TISO, studied. It is a city in which Magyar noblemen such as the ESZTERHÁZYs or PÁLFFYs had their residences and in whose cafés and theatres Magyar artists presented their works. Even today lots of the names of shopkeepers in the shopping streets of Central Vienna show their Slavic or Magyar origin. Also the famous Viennese artistic style “art nouveau” (known as Jugendstil or Secession in Central Europe) was often co-shaped by artists such as the Slovenian architect Jozÿe PLECÿNIK, the constructor of the Zacherlhaus in Vienna and of the National Library in Ljubljana. Bratislava, apart from its ancient Slavic substrate, always had a large German-speaking population and in the 19 th century, especially after the Austro-Hungarian Reconciliation, the influence of its Magyar population was becoming stronger and stronger. It hosted such musicians as Joseph HAYDN, Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART, Ferenc LISZT or Béla BARTÓK and retained its trilingual character until the end of the World War II. Praha with its rich history and culture has always attracted artists and scientists. It’s mixed Czech and German character made Prague an important place of Slavic-German dialogue. Just like Vienna and Bratislava, Prague lay on the language border between the Slavic and the Germanic world and was a place of exchange of experience and expertise. Even if the relationship of the two nations was antagonised by the Hussite wars and the subsequent Counter-Reformation (and Catholic Renewal), it retained its double identity. In the 19th and 20th century it was not only the undisputed capital of the Czech national revival movement, but also the home of wellknown German writers as Franz KAFKA, Franz WERFEL or Gustav MEYRINK. The sophisticated artistic audience of Prague was and is known all over Central Europe. This was also one of the reasons why Prague was for example the first city to host MOZART´s opera Don Giovanni. The ancient seat of the Polish kings – Kraków – seems today to lie quite far away from the German border. From an historical perspective, however, the language border, or rather the language-belt, had a different struc81

J. MILCÿ INSKY´ Modern History ture than it does today. It is not only the Marienkirche of Kraków that draws our attention to the city’s German inhabitants. The city as an important trade centre used to be a Hansa city (Hansestadt), connected by the WislÚ a River with the Baltic sea and thus with the Baltic Hansa cities, such as Szczecin, Gdan´sk, Rostock, Lübeck and many others. It is also worth mentioning that Kraków as the royal city of the Kingdom of Poland witnessed many important events connected with the marriages between Polish and Hungarian royal families in the Middle Ages. Before we end our discourse on the character of Central European cities in the past, it is vital to mention one more element that contributed unmistakably to the character of the mentioned cities, namely the Jewish element. Up until the World War II the Jews played an important role in several economic sectors and constituted a distinct cultural element. The Jewish ghetto of Prague, the Jewish city of Kazimierz in Kraków, the Great Synagogue of Budapest or the Klezmer music revival of today are reminiscences of the unique cultural input of this ethnic and religious group in Central Europe. From Cosmopolitan to National Before we answer the question when and why the character of the Central European cities changed from cosmopolitan to national, we have to examine the reasons for the Central European national revival as such. It is quite understandable that in the Middle Ages the societies of Central Europe were structured differently than in the 19th and 20th centuries. The difference was mostly based on the hierarchical status and divided people into two basic classes: the privileged ones and the subjects. This division began to lose its exclusivity with the rise of the bourgeoisie and strong towns. But the ideological basis for a reformation of this division came with the Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the constitution of the United States of America. It is at the end of the 18 th century that the Central European thinkers start to produce more and more political, linguistic and ideological works, connected with the idea of nation. It is in this period that in the Kingdom of Hungary the first voices against the usage of Latin and German appear. It is in this period that the Slovak Society of Learning is established to promote publications in the Slovak language. It is in this period that the Czech historian and philologist Josef DOBROVSKY´ submits the Czech language claims to the Austrian Emperor LEOPOLD II. And it is in this period that Polish revolutionary Tadeusz KOS´CIUSZKO leads the Polish fight for independence. In the 1820s and 1830s the national movements develop more and more. Now there is more intelligentsia, consisting especially of students, 82

lawyers, doctors and lower clergy. The revolutionary year 1848 brings about a violent outburst in most of the Central European countries at the same time. The interesting thing is, however, that these nations often conflicted with each other, since the smaller nations feared that they might be swallowed by the nationalism of the larger ones, and the larger feared that the nationalism of the smaller might cause the disintegration of â€?theirâ€? state units. In general we can say that in this decisive hour of national formation the nations of Central Europe listen very little to each other. Even the warm relations between the Czechs and the Slovaks are overshadowed by disputes as to whether the Slovak language needs its distinct grammar, or 83

J. MILCÿ INSKY´ Modern History whether a ‘slovakianised’ form of the Czech language should be used. It is in this period that the largest part of the Slovak national revival movement refuses the idea of one Czechoslovak tribe with two branches. The Magyar revolution, even if crushed brutally by the Russian invasion, showed the maturity and strength of the Magyar nation, regarding its national aspirations. The Austro-Magyar dialogue that developed later and brought about the Constitution of the Dual Monarchy was one of the few political dialogues between the nations of the Habsburg Empire that produced high-level political results. The national movements grew stronger in the second half of the 19 th century. Even the smaller nations, who could not rely on stronger national nobility, found gradually an important ally. Since the number of emigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire was very high especially among the subject nations, their leagues and unions formed in the United States often played an important economic and political role. The activities of the American leagues of emigrants were not censored by any central power, so their ideologies often developed more quickly, as well as more radically than those formed in the Habsburg Empire or in the divided Poland. The end of the World War I. and the disintegration of the AustroHungarian Empire, as well as the territorial losses of Germany and Russia, brought about a large-scale territorial reorganisation of Central Europe. Smaller nations were joined into corporate state units, on which they partly agreed and that the Allies accepted (Czechoslovakia; Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians) and Poland emerged as an independent country. At the same time especially Germany, Hungary and Turkey suffered not only territorial losses, but large numbers of their populations found themselves in the newly formed states, cut off from their homelands. But before we touch the very difficult and painful period of the 1920s and 1930s, let us first observe for some time the reasons for the rise of the Central European nationalism, both in its positive and negative sense. Theory of Nation, Theory of State The first President of Czechoslovakia, Tomásÿ Garrigue MASARYK, maintains in one of his interviews that the questions of nationalities emerged in Europe as political problems only after the Reformation. He maintains that before the Church with her universalism was the chief connecting element, and states were either dynastic or territorial. Even if we might consider this statement as just a partial explanation of the rise of national movements, it contains a very important message. It is generally agreed that the free market economy developed most quickly and thoroughly in Protestant countries, mostly with a strong Calvinist-Zwinglian 84

Positive Stories Reformed tradition. Such examples can be seen in Switzerland, Holland, Scotland and the United States. Because of the radically reduced authority of the Church hierarchy, the civil hierarchy started to play a new role, too. The idea of predestination forced people to concentrate more on their terrestrial life and placed a stronger emphasis on economic relations and the human well-being here and now. In other words, the human happiness was not postponed into the life after death, because it could not be directly affected by human actions â€“ by merits, as it was expounded in the Roman Catholic dogmatics. This restructuring brought about more developed market relations and most notably a very important idea of the equality of opportunity. Of course this equality was not complete, but for the marketÂ´s sake it was observed. These ideas combined with the refusal of the rule of the civil British hierarchy shaped in America another very important idea, which later played a decisive role in the formation of modern Central European nations, both nationally and internationally â€“ the idea of self-determination. We can say that in the course of the 19 th century, this was the main idea of all the Central European national movements. The Poles searched equality with the Germans and the Russians, the Magyars fought for an equal position with the Austrians, the Czechs tried to assert themselves in their relations with the Germans and Austrians and the Slovaks tried to retain their specificity in their relations first with the Magyars and later with the Czechs. As we can see today, the principle of self-determination resulted finally in the formation of national states all over Central Europe. Another important idea, which touched the hearts of many Central European national revivalists, was the idea of nation as a person. This idea had as a consequence that national philosophers required that the process of democratisation liberates not only individuals, but also nations, since they have the same rights as physical persons. This idea of nation as a person is closely linked with another idea, namely the idea of the vocation of nations. On the basis of the philosophies of HERDER and HEGEL, many Central European national philosophers claimed that every nation is called to a task and has a vocation. This vocation cannot be fulfilled by any other nation and therefore it is indispensable that this nation be given complete freedom to put into practice all the necessary steps. It is not necessary to mention that all these theories placed the nation above the state and gave it the right to oppose the state, if it blocks the nation from enjoying its natural rights. Against these theories, the theories of etatism, elevating the state above the nation, were promoted, as well as the ideas of French liberalism, but finally national self-determination was supported by a broader forum. 85

J. MILCÿ INSKY´ Modern History It was the principle of self-determination that constituted the basis for the reorganisation of Central Europe after World War I, as the suggestion of the USA president Woodrow WILSON was understood. This principle was applied also in other parts of Europe and contributed largely for example to the constitution of the independent Republic of Ireland. It must be mentioned however that the application of this principle faced serious problems in practice, since at this very point of time certain nations did not crave for a complete independence and in Central Europe there were still many mixed or even cosmopolitan areas, in which this principle had to favour one of the parties and neglect the other. It is also necessary to say that the after-war territorial reorganisation of Central Europe took into account also many other factors, for example economic, strategic and infrastructural, and thus the right of self-determination played in certain cases a secondary role. Nevertheless the principle of self-determination of one’s own nation has been up to the present a philosophical dogma in all the national philosophies of Central Europe, even if its interpretation has often produced very controversial results, especially when applied to other nations. It can be however maintained that the nations of Poles, Czechs, Magyars, Austrians, Slovaks, Slovenians, Croatians, Romanians, etc. have stuck to the principle of their own self-determination ever since they discovered it and applied it to their national conditions. Equally, the idea of a total national assimilation into another nation has been jointly rejected by all of them. All the nations of today’s Central Europe have this in common. They all fight for the equality of chances and equality of relations. How these ideas applied to minorities and national enclaves is a more complicated story, which transcends the scope of this paper. Times of Confrontation The years following World War I up until the end of the World War II were in many aspects the years of open or latent hostility. There were also notable exceptions however, which are also to be mentioned. This era is in Central Europe linked with such phenomena as suspicion, accusations, feelings of being wronged, etc. Hungary retained its territorial claims and often accused Czechoslovakia of being an artificial, Czechdominated state. Czechoslovakia often presented Hungary as a totalitarian and irredentist country, where the Slovak minority almost totally vanished. Poland had territorial disputes with Germany, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania and Russia and its positive relations with Hungary were at times based on the dissatisfaction of both countries with the territorial status quo. The relations between Czechs and Slovaks were strained by the increas86

Positive Stories ing Slovak aspiration for autonomy and by a large German minority, whose total number was higher than the number of Slovaks in Czechoslovakia. The political and economic situation in Austria was unstable and internationally the country suffered certain isolation and later Hitler’s pressure and occupation. It is clear that the media in the respective countries focused mostly on the failures of the other countries, pointing out their immaturity, evil intentions and conspiracies. But in this atmosphere of mistrust there were also points of light that are worth mentioning. Let us make a mention of two cases illustrating the positive side of the burdened Magyar-Czechoslovak relations of those times. In the strained year 1918 the Slovak national revivalist Jozef sÿKULTÉTY mentions in one of his articles the death of the president of the Slovak Museum Society Andrej KMETÿ. In this connection he also mentions the letter that the Museum Society received from the Magyar politician and journalist Lajos MOCSÁRY. In this letter Lajos MOCSÁRY expresses his deepest sorrow over the death of Andrej KMETÿ and states that he had hoped to see KMETÿ become the bishop of the oldest Slovak bishopric of Nitra. On the other hand in the year 1930 the President of Czechoslovakia Tomásÿ Garrigue MASARYK during his visit to South Slovakia also visits the grave of the famous Magyar writer Imre MADÁCH in Dolná Strehová and lays a garland on his tombstone. On this occasion he also sets up a fund supporting the activities of a scientific, literary and artistic fellowship of Magyars in Slovakia. This gives rise to the later Masaryk Academy supporting Magyar artists, writers and scientists in Czechoslovakia. Also this activity contributes to the popularisation of Magyar writers in Czechoslovakia, such as ADY, SZABÓ or MÓRICZ. These two cases remind us of an important historical fact that also in times of tension there is place for gestures of friendship and recognition, or that such times need such gestures even more than the times of peace and co-operation. Gestures of this kind have a great symbolic value in the periods of ghetto-building and official political confrontation and can contribute to a gradual change even of the political climate. They prove that not only politics affects culture, but also culture finds its ways to affect politics. Times of Socialist Co-operation The first years after World War II are about paying the war bills. It is in this period that Central Europe loses its cosmopolitan face to a great extent. But this process has its roots undoubtedly in the events of the war. During the war, the tragedy of the Holocaust happens. It is brought about by a sys87

J. MILCĂż INSKYÂ´ Modern History tematic suppression and gradual elimination of the Jewish element in the Central European countries. Relations between the nations of Central Europe are antagonised and the territorial face of the region changed. The wartime antagonism is continued in the immediate post-war years, when the positions of power change. As a result of the post-war antiGerman measures the German presence in the Visegrad region is radically reduced. The deportations of Germans into the territory of Germany and Austria push the language border further to the West. Similar measures are intended also for other nationalities, who are accused of helping the enemy, but are realised only to a limited extent. Nevertheless the war and the immediate post-war period bring about a large restructuring of the population of Central Europe and it is obvious that this concerned in a great measure also the cities and towns of this region. At first glance the socialist times seem to be the opposite of the pre-war and war times. Especially after the consolidation of socialism the Visegrad countries become a part of a bigger whole, namely the Eastern Bloc, which comprises countries of very different structures, traditions and stages of development. In spite of these differences the Bloc tries hard to present itself to the international public as a balanced, mature and dynamic unit. Even though the socialist system brought about new and undiscovered dimensions of co-operation in Central Europe, in general it never really succeeded in persuading the peoples of Central Europe that this co-operation comes from the grassroots. The permanent presence of the Soviet control inhibited the practical implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and free co-operation. The presence of the political element in non-political activities often created a grotesque greenhouse atmosphere, in which party affiliation played a more important role than education or expertise. The idea of an international central planning gave rise to such organisations as the Comecon or the Warsaw Pact. It is not necessary to mention that these organisations had their negative side as well, as for example the Warsaw Pact helped to crush the democratisation process in Czechoslovakia in 1968. The political will of international co-operation opened, however, also other doors of mutual understanding. Cultural exchange resulted not only in summer camps of politically organised youth, but also in the rise of Central European tourism, translations of national literatures or discovery of each otherâ€™s national heritage. The countries opened their historical archives to each other, which was in the field of historiography a noteworthy precedent. Even if conflicting items were mostly omitted, a great progress was made in mutual scientific assistance and in the field of research. A lot of these positive fruits of the socialist projects have survived up to 88

Positive Stories the present day, as they have proved to have been based on the solid ground of equal and intentional co-operation. An important connecting element in the area of politics was the existence of underground movements in all the Visegrad countries. These movements attempted either the reformation of socialism and the elimination of its totalitarian aspects or a total elimination of socialism in its Soviet form. The Magyar revolution of 1956, the Prague Spring of 1968, led jointly by Slovak and Czech politicians and the Polish movement of Solidarity, have greatly contributed to the awareness of joint Central European fight for freedom. It was also on the basis of this tradition that the post-communist co-operation has been built up. In this respect it is worthwhile to mention the fact that the Christian Churches represented in all these countries important elements of opposition against the totalitarian practices of the political systems and thus had a great opportunity to contribute to the restructuring of Central Europe after 1989. It is obvious, however, that this potential of the Churches has in the 1990s and 2000s remained largely unused, with the exception of Poland. Present State of Affairs and the Perspectives As our journey through the modern history of Central Europe approaches the present, it is worthwhile to stop briefly and consider recent historical developments. These, however, still need time to bear their long-term fruits, so their analysis often cannot be made to its full extent. Nevertheless the events following the wind of change of the early 1990s have already given birth to many new ideas, visions and projects. Even if the misunderstandings of the past are the issue of the day again, it is necessary to say that the conditions of the Europe of the late 20 th and early 21st century differ greatly from the times when confrontation among the Central European nations was at its peak. The official foundation of the Visegrad region in 1991, the regular meetings of the Prime Ministers of the V4, joint cultural presentations of the region abroad and common scientific forums, seem to be the signs of times, as they follow the European trend of transcending local and regional disputes, in order to create a long-term vision for Europe in its wholeness. Gestures such as the recent opening of the symbolic bridge between Hungary and Slovakia in Esztergomâ€“sĂż tĂşrovo are not only political, but have important practical impacts. The societies of the Visegrad countries have in recent years been subject to significant structural changes, which have created completely new platforms of dialogue. The most important factor is that the Central European societies have at present a historically unique chance to live as 89

J. MILCÿ INSKY´ Modern History non-divided societies. The historical divisions into classes and ghettos have lost their relevance. The privileged classes of nobility and gentry have disappeared, as has the class of subjects. The strict division into radically rightwing or leftwing political units has lost its ghetto character. This goes similarly for the religious segregation, which has been largely eliminated by the world-wide process of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and cultural restructuring. The notion of class enemies, which was the stumbling block of the post-war Socialist system, disappeared with the advent of democratic society. Although the Central European countries still need some time to overcome the heritage of the negative nationalism of the past, they have, to a great extent, realised that their future is necessarily going to be co-shaped by their neighbours. The experiences from Soviet times show clearly that becoming a member of a bigger unit cannot solve local disputes, even if it can place them into a broader context. In this sense even, the accession of the Visegrad countries into the European Union cannot take away the historical burden these countries carry on their backs. It is mutual co-operation in the fields of politics, economy, culture, religion, etc., that can bring the members of the different nations together and help them overcome prejudices that are continuously shaped by political radicals and by people who can profit from them, or who are bored. The Importance of Positive Stories The history of Central Europe offers both examples of dangerous prejudices and examples of equal dialogue and good knowledge of other nations. History teaches us that the deconstruction of prejudices is a long process, which has no end, because it is not linear, but cyclic. New prejudices are always formed and new untrue stories told. But if the importance of prejudices in popular awareness decreases, there is a chance that nations will not enter into conflict easily. If popular clichés about other nations include a lot of positive stories, examples and pictures, they can help people to realise that other nations want the same as their own, namely equal opportunities, national selfdetermination and international justice. Therefore everybody can contribute to the reduction of dangerous prejudices by telling positive stories about their experience with another nation and by balanced criticism, which does not exaggerate the faults of the other and hides one’s own faults. In connection with this, the great importance of such gestures of friendliness and non-aggression is manifest, as they are very precious sources of positive stories about other nations. 90

Positive Stories Ján MILCÿ INSKY´: Közép-Európa újkori története: ami közös bennünk Minden közép-európai országban föllelhetjük a régió más országai felé irányuló együttmu´´ködési törekvéseket, a történelem ugyanis szorosan összekapcsol bennünket a politika, a gazdaság, a kultúra és a tudomány terén. Közép-Európa újkori történetét követve tanúi lehetünk annak a lassú mozgásnak, amely a kozmopolitizmustól a nacionalizmus felé tart a XVIII. század vége óta, majd az ezt követo´´ nemzeti újjászületéseknek a XIX. század folyamán. Az Európa térképét átrajzoló elso´´ világháború és az ezt követo´´ évtizedek a második világháború idejére szembeállították egymással az összes, viszonylag kisméretu´´ közép-európai országot. A nacionalizmus gyökereit Közép-Európában ugyanis az önmeghatározás gondolata és a személyként, a maga sajátos föladataival és hivatásával körülírt nemzet fogalma táplálták. Ám még ezekben a feszült ido´´kben is megtaláljuk a barátság és a megbecsülés jelképes gesztusait. A szocialista ido´´szakban például a Varsói Szerzo´´dés, vagy a kulturális és egyéb cserefolyamatok ero´´sítették a keleti blokk államai közötti kapcsolatokat. A mai együttmu´´ködést a Visegrádi Régió hivatalos megalapítása (1991) segítette elo´´, ennek keretében különféle közös projektek, fórumok jönnek létre. Ma már bárki hozzájárulhat a kölcsönös kapcsolatok gazdagításához, és csökkentheti a negatív elo´´ítéleteket azzal, hogy pozitív történeteket mesél a másik nemzetro´´l.

Ján MILCÿ INSKY´ : WspólÚczesna historia Europy S´rodkowej lub co mamy ze sobaþ wspólnego W kazú dym kraju Europy S´rodkowej mozú emy zauwazú yc´ powiaþzania z innymi krajami regionu; historia wiaþzú e nas silnie na polu polityki, ekonomii, kultury i nauki. Sieþgajaþc wstecz od najnowszej historii Europy S´rodkowej, odnajdujemy stopniowy zwrot od kosmopolityzmu do nacjonalizmu od konća XVIII wieku oraz wynikajaþce z niego zrywy narodowosćiowe w XIX stuleciu. Idea samostanowienia i koncepcja narodu jako osoby ze specjalnymi zadaniami i powolÚ aniem formowalÚy korzenie nacjonalizmu w Europie S´rodkowej. Mapa Europy zmieniona przez I Wojneþ S´wiatowaþ oraz kolejne dekady azú do konća II Wojny S´wiatowej stawialÚy wszystkie stosunkowo malÚ e kraje Europy S´rodkowej przeciwko sobie. Mimo to w tych napieþtych czasach obecne bylÚ y symboliczne gesty przyjazú ni i szacunku. Podczas okresu socjalistycznego powiaþzania pomieþdzy krajami nalezúaþcymi do Bloku Wschodniego bylÚy dodatkowo wzmocnione przez np. UklÚad Warszawski, jak tezú kulturowe i inne wymiany. Obecna wspólÚ praca zostalÚ a nawiaþzana przez oficjalne ustanowienie w 1991 roku Regionu Wyszehradzkiego, w którym realizowane saþ rózúne wspólne projekty. Kazú dy mozú e przyczynic´ sieþ do wzbogacenia naszej wspólÚzalezúnosći oraz zredukowania uprzedzen´ poprzez opowiadanie pozytywnych historii o innych narodach.

J. MILCÿ INSKY´ Modern History Ján MILCÿ INSKY´ : Novodobé dejiny Strednej Európy alebo cÿo máme spolocÿné V kazÿ dej stredoeurópskej krajine môzÿ eme badat´ prepojenie s ostatny´mi krajinami regiónu, pricÿ om vy´znamne dejinné spojenia existujú v oblasti politiky, hospodárstva, kultúry, cÿ i vedy. Pri pohláde na novodobé dejiny Strednej Európy môzÿ me na konci XVIII. storocÿ ia vnímat´ zacÿ iatok posunu stredoeurópskych spolocÿ ností od kozmopolitizmu smerom k nacionalizmu, ktory´ v XIX. storocÿ í dozrieva v pohyb národného uvedomenia. Idey národného samourcÿ enia a národa ako osoby so zvásÿtnou úlohou a povolaním formujú korene národného pohybu v Strednej Európe. Mapa Strednej Európy sa po Prvej svetovej vojne mení a desat´rocÿ ia, ktoré po nej nasledujú, sú charakterizované konfliktny´mi vztáhmi relatívne malyćh stredoeurópskych krajín. Avsÿak aj v tyćhto cÿ asoch napätia je mozÿ né nájst´ gestá priatel´stva a uznania. V období socializmu sa prepojenia krajín Vyćhodného bloku posilnÿujú napr. na základe Varsÿavskej zmluvy, kultúrnou vy´menou apod. Súcÿ asná spolupráca sa zakladá na rôznych spolocÿ nyćh projektoch a fórach, ako aj na symbolickej proklamácii Visegrádskeho regiónu v roku 1991. Vzájomnost´ stredoeurópskych krajín je mozÿ né obohacovat´ sÿírením pozitívnych príbehov o druhyćh národoch, cÿ ím sa postupne redukujú desat´rocÿ ia existujúce predsudky.

Ján MILCÿ INSKY´: Neuere Geschichte Zentraleuropas: was wir gemeinsam haben Jedes zentraleuropäische Land ist mit den anderen seit je her durch Politik, Wirtschaft, Kultur und Wissenschaft verbunden. In der jüngeren Vergangenheit kann man in Zentraleuropa seit dem späten XVIII. Jahrhundert eine Tendenz zum Nationalismus finden. Im XIX. Jahrhundert resultierten daraus die nationalistischen Bewegungen. Die Wurzeln des zentraleuropäischen Nationalismus liegen in der Vorstellung, dass die Identität selbst bestimmt werden kann und dass die Nation eine Person mit bestimmten Fähigkeiten und einem vorbestimmten Schicksal ist. Die Neufestlegung der Grenzen nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg bis hin zum Zweiten hatte zur Folge, dass die verhältnismässig kleinen zentraleuropäischen Länder zu Gegnern wurden. Aber sogar in dieser Zeit voller Spannungen gab es symbolische Gesten der Freundschaft und Anerkennung. In der Zeit des Sozialismus wurde das Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl der Ostblockländer durch den Warschauer Pakt, aber auch durch kulturellen und anderen Austausch gefördert. Heute geschieht das auf der offiziellen Seite durch die Gründung der Visegrad Region 1991. Hier finden etliche gemeinsame Projekte und Foren statt. Jeder kann dazu beitragen unsere Vielfältigkeit zu bereichern und negative Vorurteile abzubauen einfach indem positive Dinge über die anderen Länder weiter erzählt werden.

Peter SĂż AJDA Motivational Factors of RegionBuilding and Region-Deconstruction

A region is a living and constantly evolving organism. Its behaviour depends in a great measure on its inner and outer motivation. A political region (based on states) is composed of societies, whose interactions are determined by the internal conditions of the respective states, as well as by the relations between the states of the given region. The behaviour of a region can be analysed on the basis of official state relations within and outside the region (top-bottom), as well as on the basis of such social behaviour of individuals and groups that affects the notions of region-building and/or region-deconstruction (bottom-top). Typology of Motivation When examining the social behaviour of individuals and communities, patterns of motivation are to be studied. The complex of the motivation of social behaviour is a multi-layered phenomenon, of which only its most obvious parts can be subject to direct observation. The analysis of social trans-border behaviour (i.e. transcending the borders of states and societies) presented in this study concentrates on notions that motivate individuals and/or groups to engage in region-building activities and adopt region-building attitudes, as well as on notions that prompt them to engage in processes that contribute to the deconstruction of regional identity. The presented typology of motivation has been derived from the classifiPeter SĂż AJDA (1977) was born in Bratislava, Slovakia. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts of the Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. He took part in study programmes in Denmark and Switzerland. He is a member of Ekunet Slovakia, a Trnava-based organisation that focuses on ecumenical and Central European networking. Currently he is a student of Roman Catholic theology at the Theological Institute of CMBF UK in KosĂżice, Slovakia. He is a member of the Order of Preachers.

P. Sÿ AJDA Region-Deconstruction cation of order structures elaborated by Vojtech TUKA in his legal-ethnological study Právne sústavy (Legal Systems). TUKA’s socio-psychological observations concern to a great extent the motivational factors of human societies when designing their order structures. The typology is based on the classical Latin hexameter where quid (what) is determined by quis (who), quibus auxiliis (by what means), cur (why), quomodo (how), quando (when) and ubi (where). On the basis of these fundamental questions TUKA defines six order structures with six different motivations. These structures appear in reality in combined forms (with prevailing elements), but for a better illustration of their nature it seems useful to analyse them separately. The “quid” (coexistence of communities) can develop in six basic directions depending on six different modes of motivation – carnine, domine, mercine, artine, tumultine and vicine. The analytical matrix of TUKA has been applied to regional relations to facilitate an insight into their structural composition. The frequently vaguely discernible motivation of regional developments can by means of the presented categorisation gain clearer features that can enable the observer to look closer at its roots. Carnine Motivation The key word of this kind of motivation is human body (caro) and its key concept is blood-kinship (family). As related phenomena the notions of gender, sexuality, nation, language, collective memory, etc. can be seen. The units of a carninely viewed structure are perceived as extensions of the human body (family, animals, tools, weapons, etc.). The system is permeated by the genius corporis. In this context family can be viewed either physically or metaphorically, in its “extended” forms – nation, region, supraregion (e.g. the European Union). The physical family can constitute a significant region-building element, as human choice of a partner often transcends borders. The reasons why nationally mixed families are formed are manifold. One of the possible explanations is connected with the notion of migration. Migration can be based on political (emigration, exile), economic (employment, higher standard of living), nature-bound (desertification, floods) or other reasons. Intra-regional migration often produces a higher awareness of the notion of interconnectedness within a region and can contribute to the deconstruction of monolithic socio-national structures. Cross-border family ties bring together not only languages and customs, but also genetic inheritance, cultural traditions and other possible sources of mutual enrichment. They contribute to a cross-border travelling culture that is often respected even by totalitarian systems. Language can constitute a regionally constructive element in cases where it connects societies – the West Slavic linguistic identity (Slovakia, 94

Czech lands, Poland), German or Latin as the lingua franca of the medieval Central Europe, as well as the bi- or tri-lingual character of certain Central European municipal communities in the past. Nation can be a trans-border phenomenon not only in the form of the relation national majority â€“ national minorities. Nations often share the same historical heritage, myths, or even inspire each other in the periods of national revival. They can adopt religion, script, political structures, etc. from each other. Nations tend to have a long-term collective memory (literature, songs, stories) and thus tend to remember both being humiliated 95

P. SĂż AJDA Region-Deconstruction and being helped. In the former case they might take revenge at a suitable point of time (collective form of blood-revenge). Carnine ways of regional oppression (region-deconstruction) include genocide, deportations, forced exchanges of population, oppression of minorities, racially motivated assaults, destruction of symbolic places and items, extreme forms of androcracy (male rule), gynocracy (female rule) or ethnocracy (rule of one ethnic group). Domine Motivation The key word of this kind of motivation is territorial ownership (dominium) and its key concept is property. Related items are territorial integrity, soil, natural resources, raw materials, borders, national riches, etc. Land ownership (individual, national, etc.) can focus on soil, raw materials, natural infrastructure, tourism, etc. Territorial interconnectedness is one of the reasons why regions arise. Countries can be connected by natural infrastructure â€“ rivers (e.g. the Elbe in the Czech lands and Germany), lowlands (the Danubian Lowlands in Slovakia and Hungary); they can have common tourist areas (e.g. the Tatras in Slovakia and Poland or the Aggtelek/Domica Cave in Hungary and Slovakia); common agricultural areas (the wine region of Weinviertel in Austria and the Czech lands or the Tokaj region in Hungary and Slovakia), etc. It is unnecessary to add that these notions can be plausible origins of regional conflicts, as well. Apart from natural resources domine motivation concerns material items produced by humans â€“ townships, industrial areas, ports, etc. Domine motivation is based on property and possession and thus sources of profit appear to be of utmost importance. Economically uneven regions can therefore fall apart, richer countries can isolate themselves from the poorer ones and standard of living or work attitude can be decisive factors in forming economic alliances. Cross-border agricultural, industrial or infrastructural projects can increase the productivity of sometimes peripheral areas. Borders can be places of exchange of goods as well as places of conflict. Throughout the modern history of Central Europe they have proved to be both. Relatively small Central European states are in need of a guarantee of their territorial integrity. It has become obvious in the times of the World Wars that their territories can be changed by decisions made outside the region. A regional military alliance could prove useful, but contemporary trends aim at more global structures. Nonetheless at least intraregional alliances against each other could be avoided, as they increase military vulnerability of all the parties involved. Domine ways of region-deconstruction include cross-border pollution, 96

Positive Stories territorial misuse of autonomy, certain forms of revisionism, confiscation of the property of other citizens, impossibility of the acquisition of property for foreigners, etc. Mercine Motivation The key words of this kind of motivation are goods and payment (merx et merces) and its key concept is that of developmental stages. Related items are welfare, prosperity, stagnation, trade, business, management, etc. Mercine motivation is concerned with the comparison of the current local state of affairs (developmental stage) with other states of affairs. On the basis of such a comparison a sense of development is formed. In this way the status quo (given state of affairs) can be denoted as a time of flourishing, prosperity, decline, stagnation, decay, etc. In this way most things are viewed as goods of exchange and are instrumentalised. For the sake of profit not only historical traditions, but also historical prejudices can be uprooted and eliminated. Business connections based on mercine motivation can at times overcome even totalitarian political systems. Mercine motivation can even be an important source of the decline of economically stagnant and/or oppressive political systems. A common view of prosperity and cross-border business links can naturally strengthen the identity of a region. From a mercine point of view intraregional conflicts mostly appear as obstacles to free trade and labour mobility. In a region composed of small states (e.g. in Central Europe) regional structures are needed to overcome local differences. For investment purposes it seems more favourable to present whole regions as compact investment targets rather than to present small (less attractive) markets individually. Economic cross-border units (e.g. the Vienna – Bratislava – Gyo´´r region) can create platforms for corporate investments, unemployment reduction and combination of resources. Other ways of bolstering regional co-operation can include customs and trade agreements (e.g. CEFTA), unified legislation or common educational projects. Mercine ways of oppression (region-deconstruction) can include economic blockade, various forms of embargo, customs inhibitions, extreme forms of plutocracy (rule of the rich) or ergatocracy (rule of the working class), etc. Artine Motivation The key word of this kind of motivation is the mode of doing things (ars) and its key concept is professionalism. Related items are technical progress, methodologies, arts, etc. The term homo technicus refers in this 97

P. Sÿ AJDA Region-Deconstruction context not only to the technically oriented human, but also to the human who does not work for profit or audience, but follows the principle l´art pour l´art. The artine motivation concerns many different areas of life. The question quomodo (in what way) is directly connected with the categories of quality and talent. Development and application of technical and artistic techniques can constitute a significant region-building notion. The beauty of the Central European art nouveau (Jugendstil, secession) can be admired not only in Vienna, but also in Lviv, Ljubljana or Oradea. The historical novels of JÓKAI Mór can be read not only in Hungary, but also in Slovakia or Romania. The reminiscences of MOZART´s musical presence can be revived not only in Vienna, but also in Prague or Bratislava. It is obvious that the “great daughters and sons of a nation” usually transcend the boundaries of their nation. To engage, however, in the building up of a regional cultural heritage is not a self-evident process. Nonetheless the artistic connection of e.g. Pavel KOHOUT with Austria or GRENDEL Lajos with Slovakia proves that such a connection can influence the formation of the artist to a substantial degree. Besides individual talents, profession-based unions that derive their identity from their professional profile arise. These can include e.g. international unions of doctors, lawyers, international scientific societies, trade unions, religious orders or business clubs. In the past trans-national structures had the forms of e.g. knighthood (Europe, Japan) or community of scholars (China). Trans-national professional unions can represent a substantial regionbuilding factor. Their interests can collide with political tendencies that are aimed at isolationism or at open or latent hostility. They can coincide with mercine projects of co-operation and can contribute to a considerable increase in the awareness of regional identity. Artine ways of regional oppression (region-deconstruction) include censorship, ideological destruction of artwork, unequal support for art production, ideologisation of art and technical progress, caste-structured society, extreme forms of technocracy (rule of technical experts), etc. Tumultine Motivation The key word of this kind of motivation is event (tumultus) and its key concept is ideological change. Related items are the rise and fall of systems and personalities, structural changes of an ideological character, religion, constitution of idea-based movements and organisations, insurgencies, etc. Tumultine developments are based on events. A tumultine moment is a 98

Positive Stories unique historical phenomenon connected with an essential re-orientation, acceleration or slackening of ideological processes. The start or the end of larger-scale conflicts (e.g. wars, blockades, etc.) can constitute a tumultine moment. In the modern history of Central Europe there have been several crucial political conflicts that continued to shape the local and regional identity for a considerable period of time – e.g. in 1848, 1914-1918, 1939-1945, 1945-1948, 1989, etc. Central Europe has also been affected by the rise and fall of supraregional great power systems (e.g. Nazism, Socialism) or personalities (e.g. A. HITLER, J. V. STALIN or M. GORBATCHEV). An important tumultine factor is also the constitution, restructuring and disintegration of states (e.g. 1867, 1918-20, 1939, 1991, 1993). It is unnecessary to mention that the above-mentioned events brought about significant structural changes, e.g. in legislation, education, economic and political orientation, etc. When examining tumultine developments that bolster region-building processes, the rise and work of certain regional personalities appears to play an important role (COMENIUS, Matthias BEL, etc). The setting-up and activities of organisations that focus on supporting regional awareness (e.g. the Kafka magazine, Central Europe Subregion of WSCF-E) or crossborder awareness (e.g. the Kalligram magazine) can easily give rise to further expansion of regionally-oriented projects of co-operation. The rise of regionally oriented political co-operation (e.g. Visegrad Four), of entities that support regional co-operation economically (e.g. Visegrad Fund) or of regionally minded NGOs or church groups can produce largeror smaller-scale chain reactions. Tumultine region-deconstruction (ways of oppression) can be linked with notions as suspension of civic freedoms, oppression of religious and ideological groups, class persecution, extreme forms of autocracy (unlimited, despotic rule), ochlocracy (mob rule), hagiocracy (church rule), etc. Vicine Motivation The key word of this kind of motivation is neighbourhood (vicinitas) and its key concept is proximity. Related items are geo-region, geopolitics, neighbouring areas, etc. The notion of neighbourhood is derived from the idea of neighbouring homes. The reality of having a home is often one of the strongest parts of human identity. For this reason even the country of origin can be referred to in carnine (i.e. biological) terms – anyaország (motherland), Vaterland (fatherland), dedovizenÿ (grandfathers’ land). Neighbouring areas are not always natural places of encounter of cultures (e.g. in mountainous areas). Nonetheless infrastructural projects can nowadays overcome different kinds of natural borders and infrastructural 99

P. Sÿ AJDA Region-Deconstruction corridors frequently reinforce regional identity to a considerable degree. Neighbouring areas are at times characterised by linguistic similarities that are not common in other parts of the respective countries and thus possess an additional connecting element. They can also be characterised by media proximity which can exert linguistic, political or cultural influence. In the economic sphere neighbouring areas often attract investors from the “other side” more easily than more remote regions (e.g. the Austrian investments in Sopron, Maribor or Bratislava). Local cross-border initiatives can profit from combined funds and can be the driving-force of building bridges even at higher levels. Neighbouring areas also offer easy and attractive short-distance tourism. Ways of vicine region-deconstruction focus on reinforcing borders as well as on the destruction of already existing bridges. They can include the closing of borders, purposeful neglect of cross-border infrastructure, impediments to tourism, Revierstaat-phenomenon (regional imperialism), migration obstacles, etc. Combined Motivation The presented hexameter deals with idealised types of motivation and in a way presents aggregate states of the same matter. In reality individuals and groups are motivated by several different factors simultaneously. As expounded earlier, sources of the motivation of social behaviour of individuals and/or groups can be specified only roughly. For this reason it is the ambition of the presented scheme of motivational factors to offer hints for further consideration rather than a complete system of interpretation. It is also the ambition of the presented story to illustrate a potentially new way of looking at regional co-operation as well as regional conflicts. In the colourful history of Central Europe intriguing examples of both can be found. Both can be sources of inspiration. Thorough analysis of past conflicts can create a basis for their future avoidance and the knowledge of the roots of successful and long-term co-operation can make the observer realise which connecting elements already exist and can be used as bricks and mortar for bridging the precipices of past confrontations. Suggested Reading CANETTI Elias, Masse und Macht. Frankfurt am Main, 2000. LÉVI-STRAUSS Claude, The Elementary Structures of Kinship. Boston, 1969. LÉVI-STRAUSS Claude, Structural Anthropology. New York, 1976. MILL John Stuart, Principles of Political Economy: And Chapters on Socialism. Oxford, 1999. SOUKUP Václav, Prÿehled antropologicky´ch teorií kultúry. Praha, 2000. TUKA Vojtech, Právne sústavy. Nácÿrt právnej filozofie. Bratislava, 1942.

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Positive Stories Peter Sÿ AJDA : A régióépítés és -dekonstrukció hajtóero´í Az egyének és csoportok hozzáállása és cselekedetei közvetlenül befolyásolják a régióépítés és -dekonstrukció fölfogásait. A jelen tanulmány a régióépítés és -dekonstrukció hajtóero´ít elemzi egy olyan fölosztás alapján, amely a következo´´ típusokat különíti el: caro-alapú (vérrokonsági), dominium-alapú (birtokjogi), merx-alapú (fejlo´´dési), ars-alapú (foglalkozási), tumultus-alapú (eseményi) és vicinitas-alapú (közelségi). A tanulmány a regionális viselkedés e hajtóero´ít Közép-Európa viszonyaira alkalmazza anélkül, hogy a közép-európai régió kifejezett határait megvonná. A fölosztás célja tehát az, hogy alaposabb betekintést engedjen az egyének és csoportok regionális viselkedésének mélyebb rétegeibe.

Peter Sÿ AJDA: Czynniki motywujaþce budowanie i dekonstrukcje regionów Na poeþcie budowania regionów i ich dekonstrukcji pos´rednio wplÚywa podejs´cie i dzialÚania osób indywidualnych i grup. W zaprezentowanym studium czynniki motywujaþce budowanie regionów i ich dekonstrukcjeþ saþ analizowane na podstawie typologii motywacji, która zaklÚada istnienie nasteþpujaþcych rodzajów motywacji: motywacja oparta na caro (pokrewien´stwie krwi), oparta na dominium (posiadaniu terytorialnym), oparta na merx (poziomach rozwoju), oparta na ars (profesjonalizmie), oparta na tumultus (wydarzeniach) oraz oparta na vicinitas (bliskos´ci). Te typy motywacji zachowan´ regionalnych saþ przystosowane do warunków Europy S´rodkowej bez okres´lania doklÚadnych granic regionu Europy S´rodkowej. Celem zaprezentowanej typologii jest ulÚatwienie doklÚadniejszego wejrzenia w glÚeþbsze sfery motywacji regionalnych zachowan´ indywidualnych i/lub grupowych.

Peter Sÿ AJDA: Motivacÿné faktory rozvoja regiónu 101

P. Sÿ AJDA Region-Deconstruction a dekonsÿtrukcie regiónu Postoje a cÿinnosti jednotlivcov a skupín priamo ovplyvnÿujú javy rozvoja regiónu a dekonsÿtrukcie regiónu. V predkladanej sÿtúdii sa motivacÿ né faktory rozvoja regiónu a dekonsÿtrukcie regiónu analyzujú na základe typológie motivácie, ktorá zahr’nÿa nasledujúce druhy motivácie: karnínnu (zalozÿ enú na pokrvnom príbuzenstve), domínnu (zalozÿ enú na vlastníctve územia), mercínnu (zalozÿ enú na vy´vojovy´ch sÿtádiach spolocÿ nosti), artínnu (zalozÿ enú na profesionalizme), tumultínnu (zalozÿ enú na fenoméne udalosti) a vicínnu (zalozÿ enú na fenoméne blízkosti). Uvedené typy motivácie regionálneho správania autor aplikuje na podmienky Strednej Európy bez toho, aby urcÿ oval definitívne hranice Stredoeurópskeho regiónu. Predkladaná typológia má za ciel´ umozÿ nit´ jasnejsÿí vhl´ad do hlbsÿích úrovní motivácie regionálneho správania jednotlivcov a/alebo skupín.

Peter Sÿ AJDA: Auslösende Faktoren für Regionenbildung und Regionendekonstruktion Verhalten und Aktivitäten von Einzelpersonen und Gruppen beeinflussen direkt Regionenbildung und Regionendekonstruktion. In der vorgestellten Studie werden diese Motivationsarten wie folgt auf der Basis einer Typologie von Motivationen analysiert: karnine (auf Grund von Blutsverwandtschaft), domine (a.G.v. Grundbesitz), merzine (a.G.v. Entwicklungsstufen), artine (a.G.v. Professionalismus), tumultine (a.G.v. Begebenheiten) und vizine (a.G.v. Nähe). Diese Auslöser von Regionalverhalten gelten für die Bedingungen von Zentraleuropa, ohne die endgültigen Grenzen dieser Region festzulegen. Die vorgestellte Typologie will einen Blick in die Schichten von Auslösern regionalen Verhaltens von Einzelpersonen und/oder Gruppen bieten.

BERETZKY Ágnes 102

BERETZKY Ágnes British Confederation Plans concerning Central and Eastern Europe (1939-1945)

In my present essay I am going to elaborate on the different integrationschemes of Central and Eastern Europe produced in Great Britain during the Second World War. There were certainly numerous other attempts to outline the possible ways of regional or sub-regional collaboration, which already emerged during the 19 th century (and even earlier): PanGermanism embodied in its concepts of Mitteleuropa, Pan-Slavism (the desire of the liberation and unification of the Slav peoples) and the modernisation of the Habsburg Empire on a federative basis. Nevertheless, none of these once envisioned schemes could ever be fully materialised, and from 1919-1920 onwards the nation state became the solely legitimate political formation, which strengthened the forces of separation in the region (to be discussed in detail). The outbreak of the Second World War saw a revival of confederative thought, the political centre of which became London. The present essay aims at presenting the British ideas as a concrete great-power initiative to create a means of political, economic and thus cultural co-operation in a fragmented Central and Eastern Europe. BERETZKY Ágnes is 28, a Roman Catholic. She is an Assistant Lecturer at Károli Gáspár University of the Magyar Reformed Church, Budapest, in the Department of English Literature and Cultures, though she is at present on maternity leave with her daughter aged 11 months. She graduated from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest: MA in History, English Language and Literature and Scandinavian Studies (Norwegian). She is to finish her dissertation by May 2003. In her dissertation she elaborates the input of the two most renowned midwar British historians (R. W. SETON-WATSON and C. A. MACARTNEY) on the issues of Central and Eastern Europe and most notably Hungary.

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BERETZKY Á. British Confederation Plans Terminological Insight: Which Europe? The territory that the present essay embraces, lying between Germany and Russia or the Baltic and Adriatic seas, is certainly not a clear-cut geographic unit. I am well aware of the fact that the use of the notions ‘Central’ and ‘Eastern Europe’ for the above region is highly subjective, and they overlap with East-Central and Southeast Europe etc., which are again not easily definable either. Moreover, if one takes the effort to study the numerous definitions and arguments, one might draw the lesson that the terminological chaos still rules the international scene. Or rather, the usage of the term mostly depends on the users’ nationality and their preference for their own nation. Having a look at the relevant primary sources of the late thirties and forties one faces the same terminological anomaly as relates to the various terms and definitions applied for the region: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the ‘Middle Zone’ or ‘the Zone of Small nations’ and even ‘no man’s land between Germany and Russia’, etc. However, all documents emphasise that the region of Central and Eastern Europe has been determined by the continuous presence of certain multiethnic powers (up to 1918 Austria, the Ottoman Empire and the tsarist Russia). Hungary, Bohemia and Poland indeed lost their sovereignty at 1526, 1620 and 1795 the latest, let alone the other nations, which gained independence much later (from 1878). Out of the three great powers in Central and Eastern Europe Austria (from 1867 onwards the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy) is especially a subject of great importance owing to the strategic position she occupied in the region. During her fifty-one years of existence the Monarchy, composed of fifteen nationalities, left behind common institutional mechanisms, cultural habits and mental attitudes. From the foreign political point of view it had been viewed in Britain as ‘the pivot of the balance of power’ since time immemorial, and the Compromise (1867) - together with the Italian and German unifications (1871) – indeed introduced a long period of stability. Austria-Hungary was considered to be the stronghold against the Russian expansion, the Pan-Slav movements and the rapidly increasing power of the Bismarckian Germany. It was nevertheless evident that this triple mission could only be fulfilled by an internally stable Monarchy. By the end of the 19th century however, modern nationalism based on the coexistence of people of common origin and language gained ground against dynastic or historic claims, holding the nation state to be the ideal and the only legitimate political formation.

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1919: Milestone with Deficiencies By 1918 a completely new situation arose in Europe: not only was German militarism crushed, but all three multiethnic powers were demolished as well, leaving a vacuum in the region. The writer of the present essay believes that the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, though hastened by the Great War, was primarily an organic process. It was caused by the inelasticity of the Compromise and the fact that the Monarchy had not offered, as it could not offer, its peoples a solution of the national question. The settlement of 1919 therefore in principle disregarded any â€˜worn outâ€™ 105

BERETZKY Á. British Confederation Plans dynastic or historic claims, basing itself solely on the ethnic principle. Thus under the new system a larger number of peoples of Central and Eastern Europe enjoyed more complete national liberty than ever before. Unfortunately, as the impossibility of forming pure national states in an area where the peoples were so mixed became evident, the peacemakers found themselves obliged to make concessions to strategic and economic, at occasions even to historical considerations against the principle of nationality and free national self-determination. Moreover, where one claim had to be set against another the benefit of doubt was almost always given to the same side. The result was that national minorities amounted to one-third of the total population of Czechoslovakia, nearly as high a proportion of that of Poland, one quarter of that in Rumania, while the Ruthenes’, Slovaks’, Croats’, Montenegrins’ and Macedonian Slavs’ national allegiance was doubtful, and German Austria was refused the right to join Germany. Whenever the idea of ‘Central Europe’ has come up in history, it was connected to the wish of creating a new European order 1. What the Versailles Settlement brought about in Central Europe on the other hand, was not according to MASARYK’s prophecies a ‘bulwark against German aggression’, promoting enduring peace and political stability. Ethnically motivated political and territorial rivalry proceeded to take precedence over economic rationality and security. The only difference was that having fulfilled their national aspirations, the previously irredentist nationalities - the Greek, the Polish, the Rumanian and the Serb – strove to maintain the status quo, while German and Hungarian nationalism was suffused with the ethos of irredentism and revisionism. The inter-war ethnic conflicts were further aggravated by two serious shortcomings of the Minority Treaties. Firstly the ethnic minorities were not given corporate existence, which enabled individuals only to turn to the League for legal redress opposing them against their own governments. Secondly, the Settlement left the execution of the treaties in the hands of the successor states that could easily disregard the Council’s recommendations as direct interference with their home affairs. In the mid 1930s it became increasingly clear that the Central and Eastern Europe of robust national rivalries together with the growing impotence of the League of Nations had not been able to serve as an impediment to aggressive, primarily German and possibly Soviet aspirations. The prevalence of isolationist tendencies in the inter-war era is well illustrated 1

For details on the evolution of the idea of Central Europe see László PÉTER’s excellent article Central Europe and its Reading into the Past. European Review of History 1999/1. 102. Also consult Peter BUGGE, The Use of the Middle: Mitteleuropa vs. Stredni Evropa. European Review of History 1999/2.

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Positive Stories by the fact that among the numerous attempts to establish multilateral alliances not a single one […] ever materialised, apart from the Little Entente, […] which conveyed a clear defensive, rather than a co-operative message. The outbreak of the Second World War, namely the German attack of Poland in September 1939, was an important step towards the creation of a new European order; that is, Pax Germanica based on the political and economic subjugation of Central and Eastern Europe above all. The events showed clearly that one great power’s complete and monopolistic control of the area threatens the safety of the world. Having realised that the independence and stability of Central and Eastern Europe is a vital interest, Great Britain (and the United States as well) devoted increasing attention to the reorganisation of the area in order to increase the collaboration of states in the region. Interwar Central and Eastern Europe in British Perspective On the eve of the war the British government organised the Foreign Research and Press Service (FRPS) so as to prepare a more scientific settlement in Central and Eastern Europe. This semi-official informative body of Foreign Office (later to be called its Research Department [RD]) was composed of specialists and academics form the Royal Institute of International Affairs led by Arnold TOYNBEE and based at Balliol College, Oxford. Robert William SETON-WATSON (1879-1951, expert on Central and Eastern European history, one of the staunchest advocates of nation states and of status quo after 1919) was soon nominated head of South-Eastern European Section. Carlisle Aymler MACARTNEY (1895-1978, an expert on Hungary, insisted on the revision of the Versailles Settlement based on the sole application of the ethnic principle) became his main colleague. While analysing the ethnic, economic, and political conditions of the Danube Basin, the experts unanimously stated that the creation of national states had not fulfilled the expectations. As revealed from a memorandum2 completed in 1941, the collapse of the Versailles Settlement was attributed to the following factors: External: namely the lack of political and economic collaboration between the small states due to irredentism, minority problems, tariff barriers and the pressure of the Great Depression (1929-32), lack of interest shown by Western Great Powers (British and US isolationist tendencies and the lip-service policy of France) and the German and Italian support of Magyar and Bulgarian revisionism. 2

The Causes of the Collapse of the East European States. In R. W. Seton-Watson’s papers. Archives of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. SEW/12/3/3.

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BERETZKY Á. British Confederation Plans Internal: the peasant problem (lack of radical land reform in Hungary and Poland), the industrial labour problem (a discontented and politically uneducated mass of workers at the mercy of radical demagogy), the problem of the bourgeoisie (a semi-educated, nepotistic, irresponsible and socially insensitive ruling class), the false educational system (the prevalence of non-objective and chauvinistic spirit), false political system (only pseudodemocratic systems, dishonest officials and bureaucracy), the Jewish Question (anti-Semitism systematically exploited by the governments), difference in cultural level within the states and military unpreparedness. From 1939 onwards, in order to avoid the recurrence of the above-mentioned internal and external problems in the region, several proposals were submitted to the Foreign Office concerning the reconstruction of Central and Eastern Europe. They were all based on the assumption that sanctions against the militarist and aggressive Germany imposed after the war are not enough in themselves to guarantee long-lasting peace in Europe. In the following pages three British memoranda of the successive years 1941, 1942 and 1943 are to be discussed in detail in order to present the (d)evolution of the British idea of a confederation in the region. The 1941-Memorandum One of the ‘simplest’ solutions considered in a memorandum titled The Reconstruction Of Eastern Europe II. International Relations 3 from 1941 was the division of the states in the region into two camps: the victorious and the vanquished, that is those who were the victims of the German aggression and those who assisted it. The former would have a privileged position, the latter on the other hand would occupy a position of inferiority, completely disarmed and burdened with heavy reparations. This system – argue the authors – would be ‘morally’ more just than treating all countries equally, and would not require any intellectual effort. On the other hand, as the memorandum states – the post-1918 settlement was de facto based on the victor-versus-vanquished principle and the result is well known. Therefore some more imaginative kind of a solution must be sought. Further on the 1941-memorandum goes on to discuss the nature of the possible federal solutions which are supposed to combine cultural and administrative independence of the nations concerned with close economic co-operation and common defence. The proposed federation would have a central government with common affairs (foreign policy, defence and trade), administration would be conducted in the language of the inhabitants, while in mixed areas several languages would be equally recognised. Under such federal system - argues the author - internal fron3

SEW/12/3/3.

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Positive Stories tiers would lose their importance, but the external frontiers of each federal unit must be determined by cultural/historical, geopolitical/economic and ethnical considerations. Nevertheless, as these factors are in conflict with each other, there are three possible proposals according to which consideration dominates over the others. According to the cultural/historical perspective the document regards Bohemia-Moravia, Slovakia, Western Poland, Hungary, Transylvania (sic), Vojvodina (sic) and Croatia as Central European countries owing to the Catholic influence and the dominance of the Habsburg Empire. Serbia, Bulgaria, rural Greece, the Old Kingdom of Romania, Albania and Eastern Poland, all having been ruled by Russians or Turks and influenced by Byzantine or Eastern traditions, on the other hand are ranked as Balkan, or Eastern European countries. According to the author the major difficulty of the implementation of the cultural/historical division is that it cuts right across the post-war States of Rumania, Poland and Yugoslavia, thus implies the complete revision of the Versailles Settlement. It is interesting to note that this division is very similar to Samuel HUNTINGTON’s theory elaborated half a century later in his ‘The Clash of Civilisations’ (1993), which interprets the religious divide as a fundamental cultural line between ‘Western’ and a separate ‘Slavic-Orthodox’ civilisation. In contrast to the above-discussed line, the geopolitical/economic division necessitates the creation of three different regions in Central and Eastern Europe. The Baltic region determined by the Baltic Sea and the mountain chains of the Carpathians would consist of Poland and the Baltic States the inclusion of which is a new element in the federative scheme. The Danube region would be composed of Hungary, Slovakia, Vojvodina, Rumania and Eastern Croatia […]. The third, namely the Balkan region, situated between the Adriatic, Aegean and Black Seas would be comprised of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and the European part of Turkey. The memorandum leaves the future of Bohemia-Moravia and Croatia undecided as both regions are situated between two main geopolitical divisions: the former between the Baltic and the Danubian, the latter between the Danubian and the Balkan federations. From the above drafted scheme it is clear that this division – in contrast to the cultural/historical line - would not blow up the Versailles Settlement, as in case Bohemia-Moravia was included in the Danube region, the dismemberment of Yugoslavia would be the only necessary precondition. Finally the third dividing line elaborated on in the memorandum according to ethnographical connections if applied, would result in the following groups: the region inhabited by the Western Slav peoples (ie. Czechs, 109

BERETZKY Á. British Confederation Plans Slovaks and Poles), the South Slav region (Slovenes, Croats, Serbs and Bulgarians, though a subdivision according to religion is possible) and the third branch of non-Slavic peoples, ie. the Magyars and Rumanians. Having elaborated on all three possible divisions the document goes on to discuss the doubtful areas in Central and Eastern Europe whose cultural, geopolitical and national characteristics do not point in the same direction. In case of Bohemia-Moravia though theoretically possible, the author disregards its inclusion in a Danubian Federation due to ‘the violent hatred’ of the Czechs for all that is German and their antipathy towards the Magyars. Similarly, in spite of the fact that the Slovaks are geographically strongly connected with Hungary, i.e. the Danubian states, owing to their ‘profound hatred’ for the Magyars and vice versa, should rather join the Baltic Confederation as part of the reunited Czechoslovakia (and together with Poland). Concerning Yugoslavia the memorandum expresses the same pro status quo ante bellum opinion very explicitly, though placing it into a Balkan federation with Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. As a matter of fact the restoration of the pre-war Southern Slav State contradicts all three already discussed division lines, let alone the ‘frightful wealth of hatred’ stored up on Croat and Serb side. The author on the other hand, holds the romantic view that ‘Serbs and Croats have got to live together, because there is no other real possibility of Croatia’. The above ignorance of self-determination is even more visible in case of Slovenia. No matter that the adhesion of the region to Serbia is against the discussed cultural and the economic considerations, the author adds in a condescending manner that the Slovenes ‘are too small a nation to have a state of their own’. Rumania is discussed in the memorandum as probably the most problematic country in Eastern Europe. Though the Old Kingdom culturally belongs to the Balkan/Eastern Europe section, geographically it is regarded to be more a part of the Danubian region, ethnically on the other hand the Rumanian people belongs to none of their neighbours. Let alone Transylvania, which with its mixed population (3 million Rumanians, 1.5 million Magyars and 400 thousand Germans) is a constant threat to stability. The author casts aside both the Magyar and Rumanian ‘chauvinists’ plans concerning the future of Transylvania, i.e. her incorporation into Hungary together with 3 million Rumanians, or the status quo ante plus the transfer of the Hungarian minority. Having taken the ardent nationalism and the ‘hatred of the two ruling classes’ into account, the author still remains convinced that the only solu110

Positive Stories tion of the Rumanian-Magyar and the Transylvanian problem is that all three non-Slavic areas should join one confederation, the latter as an autonomous unit. Nevertheless it seems to be probable that this solution could not be imposed but for the Allied forces, that, having occupied both countries, would be able to defend the peoples from ‘unscrupulous political demagogues’. Thus having examined the chief combinations the writer favours the creation of the following three federations: a Baltic federation (Poland with frontier rectifications in favour of Russia, Bohemia-Moravia and Slovakia, i.e. Czechoslovakia), a Danubian federation (Hungary, Rumania, the autonomous Transylvania plus an autonomous Ruthenia) and a Balkan federation (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, ie. Yugoslavia together with Bulgaria, Greece and Albania). The FRPS-Memorandum (1942) At the beginning of 1942 two interstate alliances were concluded by statesmen living in exile in London. The Polish-Czech and Greek-Yugoslav agreements that contained the basic principles necessary for future cooperation soon became the cores of further British federation-proposals. In August 1942, as a result of lengthy research a comprehensive study was completed by the FRPS-staff titled Confederations in Eastern Europe. The memorandum insisted on the formation of two initial confederations in Central and Eastern Europe with a view of their possible future convergence. The Northern Confederacy would be composed of Poland, Czechoslovakia (with possible autonomy for the Slovaks), Hungary and perhaps Austria (which would strengthen the union economically, but would increase the German element). The Southern or Balkan Confederacy would have consisted of Greece, Yugoslavia, Rumania, Albania and Bulgaria. Further on in the document there is a discussion of the expected territorial problems, minority issues, the outside relations of the planned confederations and – as a new element – already ‘how best in any combination to meet […] the Soviet government[‘s demand] in order to guarantee their strategic security and their economic and political interests’ 4.

Public Record Office, London. Foreign Office Documents (PRO FO)/371/31500. On MACARTNEY’s life’s work see Hugh SETON-WATSON’s Carlisle Aymler Macartney 1895-1978, The Proceedings of the British Academy. London, 1981. 6 PRO FO 371/34400. 4 5

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BERETZKY Á. British Confederation Plans The MACARTNEY-memorandum (1943) One of the most prolific members of the FRPS was C. A. MACARTNEY 5 with his 143 major studies covering all aspects of foreign and internal politics of Central and Eastern European countries. His probably most significant wartime memorandum is a long study written in September 1943, titled The Settlement of Eastern Europe 6. According to the author four types of future are plausible concerning Central and Eastern Europe: permanent German control, permanent Russian control ‘in [which] case Britain would ex hipothesi be reduced to the role of a spectator’, or an independent Eastern Europe (a term invented and used by MACARTNEY) organised either on a selective or a comprehensive basis. MACARTNEY personally believed that the comprehensive solution, namely the creation of solidarity based on the common interests of the Central and Eastern European peoples, would best satisfy the region. In terms of practical politics it meant the creation of nation states by an equal application of the ethnic principle for both the victors and the vanquished, which is a precondition of the establishment of multinational organisations, i.e. federations. In MACARTNEY’s own words: “Those who say that political appeasement will follow in the course of time, on the basis of a thoroughly unequal selective settlement, are either fools (the usual case when they are Britons) or hypocrites (if Central Europeans)”. MACARTNEY’s paper was well received by other regional specialists, one of whom soberly remarked: “It is clear that any attempt on our part to impose a solution in face of Soviet opposition would be fruitless. The Soviet Government has made it pretty clear that they have no intention of agreeing to anything approximating to what Mr. MACARTNEY describes as the ‘comprehensive’ settlement”. The Death-Agony of the British Idea of Confederation and After As the war proceeded, it gradually became evident that the settlement of Central and Eastern Europe depended on […] which power would dominate the region after France and Germany. As in November 1943 at the Conference of Teheran the British and the Americans cast away the Balkans Debarkation under Soviet pressure, practically, they yielded to the sovietization of the region. A year later, the infamous ‘percentage agreement’ between CHURCHILL and STALIN was in fact the British acknowledgement of Soviet dominance in Central and Eastern Europe. Therefore, by the end of the war not only the aggressive biological-racial notion of Pax Germanica was crushed, but the Foreign Office was also squeezed out of the reorganisation of the region. Thus all the British plans 112

Positive Stories of confederations based on independence, equality and democracy were long relegated to a pipe-dream status. What came instead was the establishment of the Soviet bloc, a forty-year long inorganic period in the history of Central Europe, though a certain degree of political and even cultural integration is often attributed to it. On the other hand even this level of integration can be doubted: firstly, it was glued together by the continuous presence of the Red Army. Secondly, as soon as the Soviet bloc collapsed – apart form a short period of euphoria – the old conflicts, which owing to Bolshevik internationalism had had to be ignored and buried, came into the limelight again. In the course of history Central and Eastern Europe has always been a challenging area of co-operation schemes, nevertheless willingness to work together on a long-term basis has always been blocked either by great powers or the nations themselves. The common aspiration of practically all the new democracies between Russia and Germany to soon become full members of the European Union - certainly together with the abandonment of both irredentism and the idea of homogeneous nationstates – seems to be the only possible means of reconciliation and cooperation which hopefully all the Central and Eastern Europeans are looking forward to. Suggested Reading BARKER Elisabeth, British Policy in Southeast Europe in the Second World War. London, 1976. CALDER Kenneth J., Britain and the Origins of the New Europe 1914-1918. Cambridge, 1976. MACARTNEY C. A., Hungary and Her Successors (1919-1937). The Treaty of Trianon and its Consequences. London, 1937. MACARTNEY C. A., Problems of the Danube Basin. Cambridge, 1942. MACARTNEY C. A – PALMER A. W., Independent Eastern Europe. London, 1962. SETON-WATSON Hugh and Christopher, The Making of a New Europe, Robert W. SetonWatson and the Last Years of Austria-Hungary. London, 1981. Seton-Watson R. W. and his Relations with the Czechs and Slovaks: Documents. Dokumenty, 1906-1951, Ústav T. G. Masaryka, Matica Slovenská, 1995. BODEA Cornelia - SETON-WATSON Hugh (eds.), R. W. Seton-Watson and the Romanians, 1906-1920. Bucures¸ti, 1988. WANDYCZ Piotr S., The Czechoslovak-Polish Confederation and the Great Powers 19401943. Bloomington, 1956.

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BERETZKY Á. British Confederation Plans BERETZKY Ágnes: A Brit Nemzetközösség tervei Közép- és Kelet-Európát illeto´én (1939-1945) E tanulmány azokat a különbözo´´ integrációs modelleket adja közre, amelyeket NagyBritannia dolgozott ki a második világháború során. A tervek létrejöttének legfo´´bb okai az Osztrák-Magyar Monarchiának mint az orosz és német terjeszkedés ellenero´´djének elvesztése, és a régió újonnan alakult nemzetállamaiban érvényesülo´´ elszigetelo´´dési folyamatok. 1939-ben, amikor Közép- és Kelet-Európa függetlensége és stabilitása még fontosabbá vált, a brit kormányzat fölállította a Foreign Research and Press Service (Külügyi Kutató- és Sajtószolgálat) nevu´´ intézetet, hogy az készítse elo´´ szakmai alapon az új közép- és kelet-európai berendezkedést. A különféle megközelítésekbo´´l (kultúrtörténeti, geopolitikai-gazdasági, etnikai szempontok szerint) számos lehetséges szövetségi modell született, amelyekbo´´l végül három, a balti, a dunai, és a balkáni föderáció elképzelése bontakozott ki. A cseh-lengyel és a görög-jugoszláv államközi szövetségek létrejöttét követo´én a fönti indítványt két egységre szu´´kítették: az északi és a déli konföderációra. Mindezen tervek azonban álmok maradtak csupán, hiszen jött Teherán (1943), illetve CHURCHILL és SZTÁLIN megegyezése a térség fölosztásáról. Másfelo´´l, a Szovjetunónak mint fo´´szereplo´ńek a belépése a közép- és kelet-európai színtérre, bebiztosította a brit tervek megvalósításának kudarcát.

BERETZKY Ágnes: Plany Brytyjskiej Konfederacji dotyczaþce S´rodkowej i Wschodniej Europy (1939–1945) Esej przedstawia rózú norodne schematy integracji proponowane przez Wielkaþ Brytanieþ podczas Drugiej Wojny S´wiatowej. Powody, dla których te plany zaistnialÚy, wynikalÚy z upadku Imperium Austro-Weþgierskiego jako przeciwwagi dla ekspansji Niemiec i Rosji oraz z tendencji separatystycznych, które dominowalÚy w nowoutworzonych pan´stwach narodowych regionu. W 1939, kiedy niezalezú na i stabilna Europa S´rodkowa i Wschodnia stawalÚa sieþ coraz wazú niejsza, brytyjski rzaþd zorganizowalÚ Badania Zagraniczne i Serwis Prasowy, zú eby przygotowac´ bardziej naukowy uklÚad w Europie S´rodkowej i Wschodniej. PojawilÚo sieþ kilka mozú liwych modeli federacji, kazúdy wynikajaþcy z innego odejsćia (kulturowo-historycznego, geopolityczno-ekonomicznego, etnicznego), a skutkujaþcy w trzech federacjach – balÚtyckiej, dunajskiej oraz balÚkan´skiej. Po przejsćiowych czesko-polskim i grecko-jugoslÚowian´skim aliansach, powyzú sze propozycje ograniczono do dwóch jednostek: PólÚnocnej i PolÚudniowej Konfederacji. Wszystkie te plany przeszlÚy w sfereþ marzen´ w 1943 roku wraz z Teheranem i porozumieniem CHURCHILLa i STALINa. Z drugiej strony wejsćie Zwiaþzku Radzieckiego jako glÚównego aktora na sceneþ Europy S´rodkowej i Wschodniej poprzedzilÚo porazúkeþ wprowadzenia wszystkich brytyjskich planów.

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Positive Stories BERETZKY Ágnes: Britské plány konfederácií v Strednej a Vyćhodnej Európe (1939-1945) C ÿlánok oboznamuje cÿ itatelá s rôznymi integracÿ ny´mi schémami, ktoré Vel´ká Británia vypracovala v cÿ ase Druhej svetovej vojny. Dôvody, kvôli ktory´m tieto plány vznikli, súviseli s rozpadom Rakúsko-uhorskej monarchie, ktorá predstavovala hrádzu proti ruskému a nemeckému expanzionizmu, ako aj s izolacionisticky´mi tendenciami, ktoré zohrávali dôlezÿ itú úlohu pri formácii vztáhov medzi novovytvoreny´mi národny´mi sÿtátmi v regióne. V roku 1939, ked’ sa nezávislá a silná Stredná a Vyćhodná Európa stala esÿte dôlezÿ itejsÿou, vytvorila britská vláda Zahranicÿ nú vy´skumnú a tlacÿ ovú sluzÿ bu, ktorej úlohou bolo pripravit´ vedecky podlozÿ ené usporiadanie Strednej a Vyćhodnej Európy. Pri aplikácii rôznych kritérií (kultúrnohistorické, geopoliticko-ekonomické, etnické) vznikli viaceré mozÿ né modely federácie, pricÿ om vy´sledny´ model obsahoval tri federácie – pobaltskú, podunajskú a balkánsku. Po medzisÿtátnej pol´sko-cÿ eskoslovenskej a grécko-juhoslovanskej aliancii, bol horeuvedeny´ návrh obmedzeny´ na dva celky: Severnú a Juzÿ nú konfederáciu. Vsÿetky tieto plány sa stali iluzórnymi po teheránskych rokovaniach v roku 1943 a percentuálnej dohode medzi CHURCHILLom a STALINom. Na druhej strane vsÿak rast sovietskej moci v Strednej a Vyćhodnej Európe zatienil pravdepodobné zlyhanie britskyćh plánov v prípade uplatnenia.

BERETZKY Ágnes: Pläne der britischen Konföderation im Bezug auf Zentral- und Osteuropa (1939–1945) Diese Abhandlung beschäftigt sich mit den unterschiedlichen Integrationspläne Grossbritaniens während des zweiten Weltkriegs. Der Grund für die Entwicklung dieser Pläne liegt darin, dass nach dem Ende der österreichisch-ungarischen Monarchie der Schutzwall vor den russischen und deutschen Expansionsplänen zusammengebrochen war, hinzukommen isolationistische Tendenzen in den neu gegründeten Staaten. 1939, als ein unabhängiges und stabiles Zentral- und Osteuropa immer wichtiger wurde, rief die britische Regierung den Ausländischer Wissenschafts- und Pressedienst ins Leben um sich mehr auf der wissenschaftlichen Ebene in Zentral- und Osteuropa festzusetzen. Es gab mehrere Bündnismodelle jedes mit einem anderen Ausgangspunkt (kulturhistorisch, geopolitisch-ökonomisch, ethnisch). Daraus entstanden drei Bündnisgebiete – das Baltikum, das Donaugebiet und der Balkan. Nach den Tschechisch-Polnischen und Griechisch-Jugoslawischen Allianzen wurde der frühere Vorschlag so umgewandelt, dass es nur zwei Teile gab, ein nördliches und ein südliches Bündnis. Diese Pläne wurden nach der Konferenz von Teheran und CHURCHILLs und STALINs Prozentabkommen verworfen. Andererseits gab es hier schon einmal einen Vorgeschmack auf die zukünftige Rolle der Sowjetunion auf der europäischen Bühne und das damit verbundene Scheitern der britischen Pläne.

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Antoni MIRONOWICZ National Minorities in Poland Today

Poland has always been a multinational country. However, the percentage of non-Poles has varied over time. In the Poland of the sixteenth until the eighteenth century, Poles were estimated at only 50% of the country’s total population. In the Poland created after the First World War, non-Polish citizens made up approximately one-third of the population. Only four percent of those living on the territory of contemporary Poland are today regarded as belonging to a national minority. This substantial reduction of the percentage of non-Poles resulted from the modification of Poland’s borders after the Yalta Agreement, which shifted numerous Byelorussians and Ukrainians to the USSR and removed ethnic Germans from Poland. The present Polish population is one of the most ethnically homogeneous societies in Europe. However, there remain around 1.2 to 1.5 million people who belong to national minorities: about 500,000 Germans, 250,000 Ukrainians, 180,000 Byelorussians, 60,000 Lemkos, 25,000 Gypsies, 25,000 Lithuanians, 25,000 Slovaks, 15,000 Jews, 10,000 Russians, 8,000 Armenians, 4,000 Tartars, and 3,000 Czechs. Germans The German minority resides throughout Poland. Its major centres are in: Upper Silesia (Katowice, Czeþstochowa and Opole provinces), Lower Silesia (WroclÚ aw province), Western Pomerania (SlÚ upsk, Koszalin and Szczecin provinces) and Eastern Pomerania together with Mazury and Warmia (Gdan´sk, Torun´ and Olsztyn provinces). This minority is internally divided Antoni MIRONOWICZ is a professor in the History and Sociology Department of the University in BialÚystok, Poland and in the National History and Democratic Institutions Chair of the BialÚystok School of Public Administration. His main fields of interest are the issues connected with the Byelorussian minority in Poland and the history and contemporary situation of the Orthodox Church in Poland. He is the author of a number of publications dealing with the mentioned issues. He is also a member of the City Council in BialÚystok, representing the interests of the Byelorussian citizens.

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Positive Stories and is organised in 49 associations. The number and division of these is rooted in the way they emerged, independent of one another. Hence their scope and significance are limited to very small regions. The Union of German Social and Cultural Associations in the Republic of Poland is the umbrella organisation for a large proportion of German associations. The Union, which encompasses German associations in Northwest Poland, is the Union of German Minority Associations in the OlsztynGdan´sk-Torun´ Regions. The youth association of an all-Polish nature is the Union of Youth of the German Minority in the Republic of Poland. Other organisations are of a regional scope. This minority attaches much importance to its presence in local governments, particularly in Opole province. The German minority has its representatives in 60 communes. The German minority practices cultural activity in many levels, in events encompassing a whole region and those of strictly local impact. Local cultural activity is based on club work, various German-language meetings and courses, organising libraries as well as choirs and orchestras. The largest part of the German minority belongs to the Roman Catholic Church and there are numerous Catholic masses celebrated in the German language. The remaining part of the German minority, mostly in Northeast Poland, belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession. Ukrainians The Ukrainians can presently be found in many provinces. This dispersal is the outcome of the 1947 “Vistula” campaign (Akcja WislÚ a) during which the Ukrainian population was expelled from the territory in Southeast Poland to the lands in the North and West. The largest groups of Ukrainians can be found in the following provinces: Olsztyn, Koszalin, SlÚ upsk, SuwalÚ ki, Szczecin, Gorzów, Zielona Góra, Legnica, Nowy Saþcz and Przemys´l. The largest among the various Ukrainian organisations is the Union of Ukrainians in Poland. It was formed in 1990 on the basis of the structure of the Ukrainian Social and Cultural Society which had existed since 1956. The Union has a membership of 10,000 in 182 local groups. Several organisations of a professional character operate within this organisation’s framework to mention but a few: the Union of Ukrainian Physicians, the Union of Ukrainian Teachers, the Union of Ukrainian Businessmen etc. There is also a Union of Ukrainian Women and the “Plast”, a scout organisation. There are also several independent Ukrainian organisations linked with separate regional groups: the Union of Podlachia Ukrainians and the Union of Lemkos. The Union of Ukrainian Independent Youth has a different character. This Union’s activists have set up the “Kontakt”, an experimental the117

A. MIRONOWICZ Minorities in Poland atre who achieved its big break when it appeared on the Polish national TV. Apart from the aforementioned kinds of organisations, the Ukrainians have also established two foundations whose purpose is to support Ukrainian culture in Poland: the Ukrainian Culture Foundation and the Foundation of St. Vladimir the Baptist of Kievan Rus. In terms of religious affiliation, the Ukrainians in Poland belong to the Roman Catholic Church (Byzantine rite – appr. 80%) and to the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The Roman Catholic Church of the Byzantine rite has 95 parishes throughout Poland. Gypsies The Gypsy community in Poland is composed, principally, of two groups: the Polish Roma and the Bergitkas. The largest Gypsy communities in Poland are in the Nowy Saþcz province as well as in Zgierz, Gorzów Wielkopolski, MlÚ awa, Z·yrardów, Olsztyn and Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki. One Gypsy periodical, the “Rom-po-Drom” edited in Polish and in Gypsy dialects, is published in Poland. Publications of the Library of Roma Studies also appear. Lithuanians The Lithuanian minority resides mainly in the Northeast part of the SuwalÚ ki province - in the communes of Pun´sk, Sejny and Szypliszki. However, the Lithuanians can be found throughout Poland. They have either migrated from the SuwalÚ ki district or were repatriated from Lithuania after World War II. The latter mainly live in Silesia and Pomerania. The Lithuanian minority’s largest organisation is the Association of the Lithuanians in Poland, first set up in 1957 (up to 1992 it was called the Lithuanian Social and Cultural Society). It is based in the town of Sejny. The society has an approximate membership of 2000 in 47 local groups. There are two other associations of the Lithuanian minority in Poland: the St. Casimir Lithuanian Society and the Community of the Lithuanians in Poland. As far as the cultural activities of the Lithuanians in Poland are concerned, they comprise such diverse events as the “Saskrydis” Review of Folklore Ensembles, the Festival of Barn Theatres and an outdoor painting sessions for folk artists to mention but a few. A fortnightly “Ausra” is published. The Lithuanians at present have their own radio programme: one hour per week in the BialÚ ystok broadcasting station of the Polish Radio. Education in the Lithuanian language is available in the SuwalÚ ki province. There are five primary schools and one secondary grammar school in which 118

the language of instruction is Lithuanian, while there are six other schools that offer Lithuanian as an optional subject. Lithuanian is the largest national minority language of instruction in schools. As regards university studies, there is a Department of the Lithuanian Language at the University of Poznan´, while a Department of Baltic Philology operates in Warsaw. Most Lithuanians belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Catholic masses are presently celebrated in Lithuanian in four parishes in the SuwalÚ ki region as well as in WroclÚ aw and Warsaw.

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A. MIRONOWICZ Minorities in Poland Slovaks and Czechs The Slovak minority in Poland is mainly resident in the Nowy Saþcz province, as well as in the territory of Spisz and Orawa. Slovaks can also be found in Warsaw, Kraków and Katowice. These are all small communities, though important, as they are the intellectual back-up for the Slovak society resident in Poland. Those living in Spisz and Orawa are mainly farmers. The Czechs living in Poland are mainly the descendants of the Czech Brethren who settled in Poland after fleeing from religious persecution in their homeland. They presently reside in Z·elÚ ów and its surroundings (Piotrków province) as well as in Lublin. Another group comprises the Czechs living in the region of Cieszyn and Dolina KlÚodzka along the border with the Czech Republic. The Czechs and Slovaks have jointly established the Social and Cultural Society of the Czechs and Slovaks in Poland. The Society was founded in 1957 when a number of smaller organisations merged. The Society boasts 36 districts and publishes its own monthly „Zivot” in the Slovak and Czech languages and partially in Polish (one page). Schools with Slovak as the language of instruction are situated in the Spisz and Orawa region (Nowy Saþcz province). There are seventeen schools in which Slovak is an optional subject, attended by 498 pupils. Two primary schools are classified as schools with Slovak as the language of instruction. There is one secondary grammar school in which Slovak is optionally taught, the number of pupils there being thirty-one. The Czech system of education is at an organisational stage. The Czech language is being taught as of this year in two schools in the town of Rybnik. Jews The Jewish minority community comprises people living mainly in Polish urban centres like Warszawa, WroclÚ aw, Kraków, Bielsko-BialÚ a, Czeþstochowa, Gdan´sk and Legnica. The Jewish community is relatively small today. The largest Jewish organisation is the Social and Cultural Society of the Jews in Poland, with fifteen local branches. One of the most important cultural institutions of the Jews in Poland is the professional Jewish Theatre in Warszawa. The remaining social organisations are the Association of Jewish Veterans and Victims of the Second World War, the Forum of Jewish Intellectuals and the Union of Jewish Students and Youth. The Jewish Historical Institute acting as a social research unit has a different character. Two Jewish newspapers include the “Jewish World” which is bilingual 120

Positive Stories (Yiddish and Polish), and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Arts. A youth periodical is also published “Jidele” which is entirely in Polish. A number of Polish Jews are members of the Religious Union of the Judaic Faith. The remainder is without religious affiliation. There are no schools in Poland presently in which Hebrew is taught. Minority Legislation After the General Election of June 1989, the post-Communist Polish authorities raised the subject of national minorities. It was a new idea since the communist Polish government from Edward GIEREK onwards maintained that Polish society was completely homogeneous and that the problem of national minorities did not exist. In recognizing this issue, the new Polish authorities appointed two councils. The Committee for Ethnic and National Minorities was appointed by the Parliament in August 1989 and the Committee for National Minorities was appointed by the Polish government on 7 September, 1990. Unfortunately in reality the activity of the former Committee proved to be insignificant and the latter one did not function in practice. In a similar way, the activity of the committees appointed by the Parliament between 1991 and 1993 did not produce any substantial results. The activity of the Polish Government’s Office for National Minorities, in the Ministry of Culture, was limited to the distribution of very modest resources for cultural events. The subject of minorities was taken up by the Parliament again when new laws regarding the national educational system, the electoral regulations, and radio and TV broadcasting were passed. As a result of these new laws, national minorities were granted the right to learn their languages and history in school and to receive access to radio and television. Although the local elections of 1990 were carried out without any attention paid to the national minorities, national minority candidates managed to gain a number of positions proportionate to their percentage of the population. For example, in Grodek, of 24 seats, the Byelorussian candidates gained 22. In the Parliament elected in 1991, seven deputies represented the German minority and one represented the Byelorussians. In the parliamentary election of 1993, the minorities obtained four seats. Byelorussians After World War II, the Byelorussian population, estimated at 300,000, lived mostly in the BialÚystok region. Polish nationalists forced some Byelorussians to leave Poland and move to the Byelorussian Soviet 121

A. MIRONOWICZ Minorities in Poland Socialist Republic. Only in 1956 were the Byelorussians permitted to organise their own cultural organisation. The Byelorussian Cultural Society was the only legal Byelorussian organisation. This society was financed and supervised by the Polish Interior Ministry. The Society published calendars and books of poetry, organised folk music festivals and literary competitions for young people and children. It also established the Byelorussian Museum in BialÚowiezú a, which was abolished in 1976 as “unnecessary”. Today, Byelorussians can be found in BialÚystok and a part of the SuwalÚ ki province. Apart from these regions groups mainly of Byelorussian intellectuals reside in most major Polish cities like Warsaw, Gdan´sk or Lublin. After 1989, new Byelorussian organisations were activated. The Byelorussian Democratic Union was created in 1990 as the only political party of a national minority in Poland. Members of this party were elected to some provincial and municipal councils. The Byelorussian Federation, established in 1990, unites seven organisations and works without any financial support from the Polish government. Some Byelorussian periodicals are available in Poland today: the weekly “Niwa,” the monthly “Czasopis”. A student paper - “Sustreczy” - also appears, though irregularly. Byelorussians have their own daily programme broadcast by the Polish Radio station in BialÚystok. The Byelorussian Museum in Hajnówka is now under construction, financed solely by the Byelorussian community. The Festival of Orthodox Church Music in Hajnówka has achieved international recognition. The literary group “BialÚowiezú a,” linking Byelorussian writers, has significant achievements to its credit. The Byelorussian youth movement can boast of a multitude of successes. The movement is composed of two organisations: the Byelorussian Student Union and the Union of Byelorussian Youth. There are two other organisations of a social and creative nature: the Byelorussian Literary Association “BialÚowiezú a” and the Association of Byelorussian Journalists. The Byelorussian language is taught in 43 primary schools in the Bia_ystok province. Optional teaching of Byelorussian is pursued in two secondary grammar schools. The rate of quantitative changes in the teaching of the Byelorussian language differs from the rate typical of some other minorities. The network of schools remains unchanged while the number of pupils attending Byelorussian language classes is systematically dropping. Today the Department of Byelorussian Philology operates at the University in BialÚ ystok. Most Byelorussians in Poland are members of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, only a small number being Roman Catholic. 122

Positive Stories However, the diminishing number of young Byelorussians learning their native language threatens this flourishing community life. Assimilation and the abandoning of one’s own culture is common as the whole of Poland is taking over the culture of the West. This is the case especially in larger municipal communities. In smaller ones, where the culture is still preserved, antagonisms between the Byelorussian and Polish nationalists arise at times, e.g. in villages where Byelorussians are identified with the Orthodox faith. In Narew, the Orthodox church was burned down and difficulties emerged in returning the property of the Orthodox Church. Sometimes certain local BialÚystok newspapers argue that Byelorussians contributed to the introduction of communism into Poland. The individuals spreading these views do not consider the Byelorussians to be the original inhabitants of Poland and see them as a foreign group. This treatment of the Byelorussian minority in Poland has had repercussions in Polish-Byelorussian relations. Northeast Poland, where most Byelorussians live, is one of the least developed regions of Poland regarding industry, commerce, and services. Agriculture is also underdeveloped because of the poor, sandy soil. Byelorussians in Poland have no separatist tendencies. It is their claim to be treated as equals, to be able to develop their own culture and customs and to participate actively in the governing of the region where they live. The Byelorussians hope that the integration of Poland into the European Union brings about the adoption of European standards in the field of minority rights and thus safeguards the future development of the Byelorussians’ national identity. Antoni MIRONOWICZ: Nemzeti kisebbségek és a mai Lengyelország Lengyelország mindig is többnemzetiségu´´ ország volt, ám a jaltai egyezmény után a fehéroroszok és az ukránok már a Szovjetunióhoz tartoztak, és a német nemzetiségu´´ek is eltu´´ntek Lengyelországból. A mai Lengyelország egyike a leginkább homogén országoknak Európában, ahol a kisebbségben élo´´ emberek számát mintegy 1,2-1,5 millióra teszik az ország teljes népességében. Ha sorra vesszük a fo´´bb kisebbségeket, megtaláljuk a németeket, ukránokat, romákat, litvánokat, szlovákokat, cseheket, zsidókat és fehéroroszokat egyaránt. Minden kisebbségnek megvan a maga szervezeti rendszere, amely kapcsolatban áll az általuk mu´´ködtetett – fo´´ként oktatási és kulturális – intézményekkel, s ezekben különféle tevékenységek folynak a lengyel jogi keretek között. A lengyel kormányzat az utóbbi években bizonyos új lépésekre szánta el magát: a nemzeti kisebbségeknek engedélyezték, hogy tanulhassák nyelvüket és történelmüket az iskolában, és hogy megjelenhessenek a rádióban és a televízióban. Az esszé különös figyelmet szentel a lengyelországi fehérorosz kisebbség helyzetének.

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A. MIRONOWICZ Minorities in Poland Antoni MIRONOWICZ: Mniejszosći narodowe we wspólÚczesnej Polsce Polska od zawsze bylÚa krajem wielonarodowosćiowym, ale po porozumieniu w JalÚcie BialÚorusini i Ukrainćy zostali przemieszczeni do ZSRR. Równiezú etniczni Niemcy zostali usunieþci z Polski. Obecnie Polska jest jednym z najbardziej jednorodnych narodowosćiowo krajów w Europie, w którym mniejszosć´ ocenia sieþ na 1,2-1,5 milionów calÚej populacji. GlÚównymi mniejszosćiami Polski saþ Niemcy, Ukrainćy, Romowie, Litwini, SlÚowacy, Czesi, Zydzi oraz BialÚorusini. Kazú da z mniejszosći posiada system organizacji zwiaþzanych z instytucjami, które prowadzaþ (glÚównie edukacyjnymi i kulturalnymi). Ich rózú norodne dzialÚania odbywajaþ sieþ w zgodzie z polskimi ramami prawnymi. W ostatnich latach przez polski rzaþd zostalÚy podjeþte sprzyjajaþce temu kroki; ponadto mniejszosćiom narodowym zagwarantowano prawo do nauki wlÚasnego jeþzyka i historii w szkole oraz dosteþp do radia i telewizji. W eseju znajduje sieþ równiezú szeroki opis sytuacji mniejszosći bialÚoruskiej w Polsce.

Antoni MIRONOWICZ: Národnostní mensÿiny vdnesÿním Polsku Polsko bylo vzÿ dy mnohonárodnostní zemí, ale po Jaltské konferenci byla beÿloruská a ukrajinská mensÿina odsunuta do SSSR a stejneÿ tak i etnicÿ tí Neÿmci museli Polsko opustit. Dnes je tedy Polsko jednou z nejhomogenneÿjsÿích zemí v Evropeÿ, kde národností mensÿiny prÿedstavují asi jen 1,2–1,5 miliónu osob z celkového pocÿ tu populace. Mezi nejvy´znamneÿjsÿí muû zÿ eme pocÿ ítat mensÿinu neÿmeckou, ukrajinskou, romskou, litevskou, slovenskou, cÿ eskou, zÿ idovskou a beÿloruskou. V rámci polského právního systému je kazÿ dé z minorit umozÿ neÿno vytvorÿení vlastního organizacÿ ního schématu, se ktery´m souvisí i zajisÿteÿní vlastních institucí – zvlásÿteÿ vzdeÿlávacích a kulturních – a dalsÿích aktivit. V posledních letech byly polskou vládou v otázce mensÿin podniknuty neÿkteré kroky. Ty jim zajistily právo na vy´uku svého jazyka a deÿjin ve sÿkole, právo na prÿístup do médií a podobneÿ. V cÿ lánku je veÿnována zvlásÿtní pozornost beÿloruské mensÿineÿ v Polsku.

Antoni MIRONOWICZ: Nationale Minderheiten im heutigen Polen Polen war immer schon ein multinationales Land, aber im Zuge der Konferenz von Jalta wurden Weissrussen und Ukrainer in der UdSSR umgesiedelt und ethnische Deutsche aus Polen vertrieben. Heutzutage ist Polen eines der homogensten Länder Europas. Minderheiten werden auf 1,2 bis 1,5 Millionen Menschen geschätzt. Die grössten Minderheiten sind Deutsche, Ukrainer, Roma, Litauer, Slowaken, Tschechen, Juden und Weissrussen. Jede Minderheit ist auf ihre eigene Weise organisiert. Dies geschieht grösstenteils durch ihre eigenen ausbildenden und kulturellen Institutionen, ausserdem findet vieles im Rahmen des polnischen Rechtssystems statt. In den letzten Jahren hat die polnische Regierung in diesem Bereich einige Schritte unternommen. Nationale Minderheiten wurde das Recht zugesprochen ihre Sprache und Geschichte in den Schulen zu lehren und Radio- und Fernsehprogramme auszustrahlen. Zur Situation der weissrussischen Minderheit in Polen gibt es einen eigenen Artikel.

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NAGYPÁL Szabolcs Ecumenical Dialogue as a Methodology for Central Europe

“The real enemy of cooperation is not strongly held convictions, but lack of principle.”

Oliver S. TOMKINS

I. Introduction 1. Socio-Political Dialogue in Central Europe In general, we feel a similar case now in Central Europe as it was felt in the ecumenical realm at the end of the XIX th century. All of the traditions then were focused on themselves, proving how right they are and how unjust their situation was. We live from our being hurt in Central Europe. There is a great lack of understanding here towards the other nations’ concerns, feelings, identity. We are so much focused on our aims and ourselves that we are almost blind to the needs and requests of the others. After the national renewals of the late XVIIIth century and the early XIXth century, now we need a regional renewal as Central Europeans. We often quote in Hungary what one of the greatest Magyar writers once said: “The Motherland is before everything else.” Although we understand what he meant then by this, in general it can not be true. As Christians, we should say that it is God Who is before everything else. We are in a special historical situation in Central Europe. After forty years of communism, our national identities have weakened a lot (Poland being an interesting exception). The political forces which put the national identity on their flags are usually the Christian democratic forces. In Hungary for example, the strong national identity is very much linked to Christian selfNAGYPÁL Szabolcs (1974) is a graduate in law, literature and ecumenical theology. He is Roman Catholic, a theologian in the Békés Gellért Ecumenical Institute (BGÖI) in Pannonhalma, Hungary. He is a former chairperson of KÖD (Magyar SCM), and is currently a member of WSCF European Regional Committee and global Executive Committee. He is the editor of Mozaik and Student World.

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NAGYPÁL Sz. Ecumenical Dialogue definition. On the other hand, we use the word nation in a very specific sense in Central Europe, which is difficult to understand even in other parts of Europe. For example, in Scandinavia they speak about Swedish-speaking Finnish people, while we rather speak about Slovaks living in the Czech Republic, or Magyars living in Romania or Slovakia. The sharp distinction between citizenship and nationality is not that obvious in other parts of the world. On the other hand, Christianity, in its essential form, is a typical international or non-national idea, which connected and continues to connect countries, peoples and nations. During the two world wars, for example, WSCF people from different parts of the world, even from enemy countries, were wearing small silver crosses to recognise each other when they met somewhere on the battlefront or in civilian life. The Church works within the nation, but She is not of the nation. How can we reconcile our national identity and vocation with our Christian self-definition and mission? Our question here in the XXI th century is the compatibility of identities. 2. Ecumenical Dialogue in Central Europe Since we have just started a new kind of cooperation – in the international politics as well as in the ecumenical youth subregion –, our primary concern should be the process, the method, rather than the goal. A method is a coherent way of doing things, which yields progressive results. Method and content on one hand, form and substance on the other are totally inseparable. Fidelity to one method and its logic ensures that certain conclusions are reached: “love, and do as you wish”. We should concentrate on how we would like to proceed with the topics and the other; our strong hope being that the process itself will lead us towards greater understandings and a shared community. Our conviction is that the Central European cooperation has a lot to learn from the intra-Church dialogue, the ecumenical methodology which was developed step by step during the XX th century. There is an enormous potential in dialogue. Both our dialogue and our unity can be an inspiration for the world which is in need. The role of methodology in thinking is similar to the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian life: the Spirit of God will lead us to all truth. Let us have a look at how Central European dialogue among the nations can benefit from the method of ecumenical endeavour.

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II. Elements of International Dialogue 1. Defining Dialogue The word dialogos is of Greek origin, with the original meaning of ‘to balance accounts’, debits and credits. Etymologically it can be defined as “reasoned, logical discourse”. But there is much more in dialogue than just reasoned, logical discourse. The German Jewish scholar, Martin BUBER was the one who developed the theory of dialogue between the two world wars. He made a distinction between the observers and the participants, and between discussion and 127

NAGYPÁL Sz. Ecumenical Dialogue dialogue. The observers are able to describe the object of their observations in words. The participants, however, are addressed at the core of their being, and they also respond with the whole of that being. Discussion is an ana-lysis, a taking apart, which has the goal of objective understanding, while dialogue has the mutuality of the inner action as its basic element. Genuine dialogue has a twofold movement: a turning toward the other, and an abandonment of self-isolation for an inclusive awareness. I do not exist without Thou, we do not exist only for ourselves, we are in a genuine sense encounter and dialogue. The original model of dialogue was intended for interpersonal relationships, but it can be applied to other fields of encounter as well. Dialogue can be defined as “a sustained conversation between parties who are not saying the same thing and who recognise and respect the differences, the contradictions, and the mutual exclusions between their various ways of thinking” 1. Genuine dialogue is “a spiritual journey in search of a shared clarity” 2. “Dialogue is a common quest for liberty, and, as a consequence of progress in the liberty of each, a common effort to advance in the direction of Truth.” 3 Another definition for dialogue can also be the following: “Dialogue is a style of living in relationship with our neighbours.” 4 2. Aims of International Dialogue Our goal in international dialogue is not to create one common identity where our previous differences seem unimportant, rather to reach mutual advancement, elimination of prejudice, intolerance and misunderstandings. The pragmatic aim is to remove mutual misunderstandings and to serve common human tasks. The fundamental aim is the open exchange of witness, experience, cross-questioning and listening. The aim of dialogue can be a fusion of horizons, a consensus of conscience, a partial convergence for a new common horizon, which can be e.g. a united Europe. The purpose, aim and object of dialogue is “understanding and appreciation, leading to further reflection upon the implication for one’s own position of the convictions and sensitivities of the other traditions” 5. The path of dialogue is from anathema to dialogue, then to coexistence, TAYLOR John V., The Theological Basis of Interfaith Dialogue. International Review of Mission 1979/4. 373. ROEST CROLLIUS Ary A. SI: Harmony and Conflict. Bulletin (Pro Dialogo) 1992/3. 377. 3 SAMARTHA Stanley J. quotes the definition of DUBARLE D. in Religious Pluralism and the Quest for Human Community. In SAMARTHA Stanley J., Courage for Dialogue. Ecumenical Issues in Inter-religious Relationships. Geneva, 1981. 33.; or in NELSON J. Robert – BRILL E. J. (eds.), The Unity of Mankind in the Perspective of Christian Faith. Essays in Honour of W. A. Visser`t Hooft on His Seventieth Birthday. Leiden, 1971. 4 SAMARTHA Stanley J.in Guidelines on Dialogue quotes the definition. The Ecumenical Review, 1979/2. 162. 5 TAYLOR John V., The Theological Basis of Interfaith Dialogue. International Review of Mission 1979/4. 373. 1 2

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to convivence, and finally to co-operation. The final goal is reconciled difference in community, which is endured and productively shaped. Dialogue aims to stand under the Spirit of truth and of love that manifests itself, piercing through the logos of all the witnesses; to be led into a new self-understanding within a brand new horizon. According to our hope, the partners of international dialogue are taken over and led by a Middle Third, the Holy Spirit. We are Christians, so we do hope that in every dialogue the Spirit of Truth is leading us: not the spirit of our own truth, but the Spirit of Truth. 3. History, Psychology and Language: Obstacles in International Dialogue Most of us in Central Europe think that we did not inherit our national tradition just by chance, but God has intended something with it: for us, it is a vocation to respond, a mission to fulfil. Now, when we enumerate the obstacles of international dialogue, let us remember first of all the painful history (and its present-day from, politics). Sometimes we suffered together â€“ and then this co-suffering united us and decorated our soul with the fruits of compassion. Sometimes, however, it was we ourselves who caused pain to the other. The historical bounds are strongly connected with psychology and also with the morality and ethics of dialogue. The science of psychology is mainly concerned with making our deeply rooted attitude-categories and our culturally structured experiences more and more visible, transparent and finally, understandable. It is even more tragic that our historical experiences led us into a language of separation, full of intolerance, exclusivism, poisoned and hegemonic monologue, which in itself gave strong support to our hostile deeds. 4. Love and Truth: Types of International Dialogue We can speak about two main types of international dialogue: one is the indirect dialogue of love and the other is the direct dialogue of truth. A. The dialogue of love has two main branches: the socio-political dialogue of action and the experiential dialogue of life and participation. Dialogue of common action and practical collaboration emphasises specific co-operation and joint action in our common concerns to bring harmony, justice and unity to the human community. It is the starting point of a common pilgrimage, a journey of pilgrims, and the mutual and common participation in each otherâ€™s ongoing history. In the encounter of commitments, the recognition and acceptance of the freedom of people to hold on 6

DURAISINGH Christopher quotes this definition of LEHMANN Paul in Issues in Mission and Dialogue. Some Reflections. International Review of Mission 1988/3. 411.

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NAGYPÁL Sz. Ecumenical Dialogue to their convictions, and the openness of heart and mind to the strangely other are the basic preconditions. Dialogue of life is an encounter between people of different national traditions in the course of everyday life. By sharing our whole existence as personalities, we are forced to open up, and we are challenged to undergo a kenotic turnover, in order to attain real and deep friendships. B. Truth is the “third partner” in dialogue. “Aletheia, truth is a movement and a relation in which humans are caught up and involved.” 6 The direct dialogue of truth is the intellectual dialogue of ideas. It has two main branches: the dialogue of discourse and the spiritual dialogue. In the dialogue of discourse persons who can articulate their perspectives encounter one another and exchange ideas. This can be an investigative discussion, for which the preconditions are freedom of experiment, intellectual honesty and openness to truth. Apart from representative dialogue (politicians meet in a formal way), it can have the form of an internal dialogue of systematic reflection, but it also can be an academic study. Dialogue of spirituality seeks to go beyond words to encounter the other at the level of the heart. 5. Language and Communication in International Dialogue “How we speak is as important as what we speak.” 7 The use of rhetoric as the science of talking together has to focus not only on how we do it, but on how we might improve it. The stony road from hegemonic monolingualism to inclusive multilingualism is long in the international dialogue as well, and is paved by constant learning and changing. A. Language has two main functions: it makes us heirs of a tradition and heritage, and in case it is mutually comprehensive, it makes us communicable (understanding and being understandable at the same time). The acceptance of a tradition is happening in asking and answering, in dialogue. We are responsible for donating further our heritage to our children and successors. We are responsible for our languages, as for talents given to us to cultivate them. We should try to seek the language of consensus with our neighbours, the “on the one hand” – “on the other hand” – language. B. Communication has four main elements: reciprocity, equality, symbolic interaction and its content in the relations. It is an exchange of thoughts, feelings and desired actions between partners of equal status by means of signs with the aim of understanding. We can describe ten phases 8 of interBROWNSON James V., Speaking the Truth in Love. Elements of a Missional Hermeneutic. International Review of Mission 1994/3. 503. 8 The ten phases are taken from an exegesis by CHAPPUIS Jean-Marc, Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, The Variable Geometry of Communication. The Ecumenical Review, 1982/1. 8-34. 7

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national communication. The first phase is perverted or poisoning. Then comes everyday communication or personal relations. Communication can also be impossible, when the walls of separation seem to be immovably solid between the communicative partners. The fourth step is language and speech, or verbal communication. Then comes communication in dialogue and the personal encounter. The element which creates a space in the conversation is poetic communication or symbolic expression. Existential communication is the disclosure of human beings. After it, theoretical communication starts. Ninthly, we are challenged to witness communication in narrative. The tenth phase of communication is a mystery, a secret for us, and it gives a whole horizon to the communication. It is the creation of a new, honest and self-giving community, communion or koinonia. 6. Building Community through International Dialogue We are called and sent out to build a community in this earth. The community we seek is not only a simple community, rather it is a community of communities, or of communications, a genuine kind of communion (or koinonia). In this kind of community we are held together by the values we share in â€œdifferentiated interrelatednessâ€? 9. To build up a community of communities, we need to be clear on the meaning and role of pluralism. In a negative way, political pluralism in a region should mean the separation and division of power, a decentralised administration, functionalism, representation, freedom of association and immunity from common bureaucratic regulation 10. In a positive way, cultural pluralism is attained when members of different cultures accept a basic set of values that enable them to live harmoniously together, while they remain free to preserve their differences in other cultural areas. Community is the place where all these elements meet each other. Communion is the conditio sine qua non of communication; but the opposite is also true: genuine communication is a necessary condition for an effective and deep community. The etymology of communio is com-munus in Latin, it signifies those people who have the same task. The common language, the already existing communication, the shared truth and the same purpose constitute and build up a real community. International dialogue can be defined as a face-to-face encounter with oneâ€™s neighbour, in community. SAMARTHA Stanley J., Reflections on a Multilateral Dialogue. An Interpretation of a Meeting Held at Colombo, Sri Lanka, 17-26 April 1974. The Ecumenical Review 1974/4. 643. 10 TAYLOR R. J., The Meaning of Pluralism in Ecumenism. One in Christ 1974/4. 369. 9

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NAGYPĂ L Sz. Ecumenical Dialogue III. Ethics of International Dialogue We should try to raise the norm of dialogue almost to the level of the impossible, in order to urge and facilitate conversion (repentance, metanoia) in the field of international conversation. We are challenged to build a firm and strong ethical basis for the necessity and morality of international dialogical behaviour. We shall not take any possession of our neighbourâ€™s goods and values, not even covet them. We are forbid to give false witness against our neighbours either by denigrating their opinions and practices, or by showing an untrue or illusory face of our own self. What kind of humans should we be when entering a dialogue? There are special virtues which precede the entering into the process of dialogue, there are also other virtues which guide us in the depth of dialogue, and there are again others which are needed afterwards. These three aspects of any ethical or any moral behaviour are to provide and sustain the firm framework of our dialogical responsibility. 1. Preparation for International Dialogue Before entering a dialogue, we should have a stable commitment, a firm binding to our worldview and to our nation. The prerequisites for this are freedom of thought and the right to identify oneself, since we should not set limits to the international dialogue in advance by interpretations of the situations. All of the dialogical partners have to merit dialogue, to have a firm standpoint and a resulting self-confidence. Dialogue presupposes a highly developed sense of responsibility to oneâ€™s community but also for dialogue itself. The partners in an international dialogue have to be capable of dialogue in general. This means a certain interest in the other, an open-minded awareness and the will to live together (the will for convivence). The partners should find each other together on the road. Dialogue is especially serious when it becomes urgent and necessary. Courage (willingness to experiment), responsibility, humor, repentance, humility, joy and integrity are of elementary importance in these cases. We are responsible for our disposition to be able to be affected by the impacts of international dialogue. There is no creativity without taking risks or newness without suffering. Dialogue is always a risk, an occasion when we open up ourselves in order to be vulnerable. International dialogue needs the possibility of addressing and being addressed, a medium of communication, a language; the liberation from self-justification, generalisation, stereotyping, prejudice and prejudgement; and finally a firm and established willingness to enter into the deep inner life of the other. 132

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We are expected to heal our bad memories beforehand, and not to blame the others because of things, which are not committed by them. We should not have hidden goals behind the conversation, which usually makes impossible our enrichment, and questionable our role in the communication. We have to be prepared theoretically, not just mentally, to the possibly life-changing experience we can get. The more we are prepared and educated, the more quality the encounter will have. Dialogue should stand and act in the mainstream of our whole being-in-the-world. After all, the firm basis of dialogue is the acceptance of the otherness of the other in agape, in self-giving love. 2. Participation in International Dialogue When taking part in international dialogue, we shall not impersonalise the meeting. Which is a responsibility from one side, a right from the other. A dialogue should be completely mutual: the participants must share the same rights and obligations. These links are to be justly balanced and thoroughly harmonised. If participation is not total, it may be meaningless or offensive. Dialogue should be constructive, having the character of sharing, the participants should be interested in it. There are four elementary attitudes for a Christian spirituality of international dialogue: renewed awareness, identity and openness, the central and decisive role of charity, and discernment 11. One has to prove fidelity to positive national principles, traditions and convictions. On the other hand, one has to embody openness to understanding, truthfulness, humility and frankness, witness and confidence in the mutual enrichment. The golden rule of dialogue is to listen and to take the other seriously, as we would like to be listened to and taken seriously. If we do not take other cultures and nations seriously, how could we expect others to take us seriously. To listen to the other means also to hear the real intentions of the partner. We are called to listen not only to the speech of the other, but as well as to the person who is speaking. Sometimes even to hear what the other only wanted to say (this we can call the hermeneutics of the good will). Listening does not allow us to escape from or to avoid the duty of expressing and explaining bravely and steadily our own convictions. We ZAGO Marcello, The Spirituality of Dialogue. Pro Dialogo 1999/2. 244-246. FORTE Bruno, Jesus Christ, Lord and Saviour, and the Encounter of Religions: The Paradox of Christianity and the Way of Dialogue. Pro Dialogo 1994/1. 68. 13 MWAKABANA Hance, Introduction: Theological Perspectives of Other Faiths. In Theological Perspectives of Other Faiths. Lutheran World Federation Documentation 1997/41. 15. 14 CASSIDY Edward Idris, That They May All Be One: The Imperatives and Prospects of Christian Unity. First Things 1997/1. 35. www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9701/articles/cassidy.html 11

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NAGYPÁL Sz. Ecumenical Dialogue are expected to speak up clearly, to express ourselves graciously and explicitly. International dialogue embraces the art of giving (the gift of self 12 ), the art of defending and the art of receiving 13. International dialogue is an exchange of gifts 14. The severance of our speech is always the expression of the severance in our fellowship. We are challenged to change and clean up our vocabulary concerning our neighbours. When we start to call the other nations our sisters and brothers, our whole attitude will start to change slowly towards them. In international dialogue we should be aware of the right understanding. Only this can be followed by corrective criticism, in the atmosphere of love, for the mutual enrichment and fulfilment of all participants. Everybody has the right to express oneself in one’s own terms. Everybody has the right to define oneself. Everybody has the right to be respected for one’s informed opinions. We shall protect and respect the full integrity of the partner’s identity in the atmosphere of mutual trust, as fellow pilgrims. The atmosphere means welcoming, hospitality, and charity. They together create a very important environment to a deep international encounter. Without love we do not really see the other worldviews, or national identities. There are three permanent functions of Christian love. It is corrective, its truth makes us free, and it is responsible. In this atmosphere of love, a passage of the Spirit reaches the other. Of course, we can not wait to love the others until they deserve it. We must love a priori: we must love our neighbours as they are, because those were the terms on which Christ loved us. Dialogue is among fully, wholly and totally equal partners, par cvm pari, since God is at work simultaneously both on us and both on our neighbours, and with God’s help we can recognise and further the values and treasures of the Kingdom of God. The well-known thinking of power-domination and instrumentalisation must give way now to a thinking of humility, immersion and participation. In international endeavours, we should give up the competitive model of winning and losing. Our dichotomising either/or (avt-avt) way of thinking is very much responsible for our current difficulties. The inductive method should be applied in international dialogue instead of the usual deductive method. We should start with our dialogical experience, and not with a taken for granted national frame of reference. There should be a crucial methodological shift from doing things for towards being with. We should think holistically, rather than analytically, emphasise togetherness rather than distance, break through the dualism of mind and body, subject and object, and emphasise `symbiosis`. 15

TRACY David, Beyond Foundationalism and Relativism: Hermeneutics and the New Ecumenism. In GREI- NACHER Norbert – METTE Norbert (eds.), The New Europe - A Challenge for Christians. Concilivm 1992/2. 109.

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We are called to share each other’s burden, our suffering and our pain. We are called to carry the other’s cross as SIMON of Cyrene did for Jesus. Dialogue connects us in a two-way affair. Whatever challenges our partner, is a challenge mutually to both partners in an interdependent world. We have to hold together three virtues: self-respect, openness to difference and otherness, and the ethical universality of true and liberating justice 15. 3. Cross-Fertilisation in International Dialogue What are our duties after being and participating in an international dialogue? Most importantly, we are responsible for the changes the encounter created in us. We have to think these changes and challenges over, to chew them through, and to digest the new insights, to try to find new arguments and points of view to express our own convictions. We are responsible in an international dialogue not only for our own personal developments, but also for the progress and improvement of our whole region and nation. We all have to come to terms with our own cultural loyalties or ideological presuppositions. We should witness effectively our new insights to our neighbours and to our nations. We have to witness in a dialogical spirit, and international dialogue includes witness as well. International dialogue has to have a mutually fertilising and stimulating effect to all the parties and communities involved. Our duty is the conversion of all persons and all nations to the Truth and to the best in their own traditions. “Real dialogues challenge all partners, making them aware of the presence of God, calling all of them to a metanoia from an unknown depth.” 16 4. Kenosis in International Dialogue I have a dream, as Martin Luther KING would say. As a conclusion, let me sketch a dream, a final maturity of dialogue, which always catches me with its beauty, every time I think about it. In theology, epoché (or reduction 17 ) means to suspend our judgement and place in brackets our prejudices and assumptions to create situations of silence within ourselves, a pure transparency, a pure receptivity. Christ Jesus refused to cling to a definition of Who He was and what rights He was entitled to, in order to go out towards the human and sinful other, to take the form of the servant, and to become vulnerable unto death. An all-embracing and overwhelming dialogical spirituality consists of an CARMAN John B. quotes this statement from KLOSTERMAIER Klaus in Continuing Tasks in Inter-religious Dialogue. he Ecumenical Review 1970/3. 204. 17 SEGUNDO Juan SI, Fundamental Theology and Dialogue. In METZ Johannes B. (ed.), The Development of Fundamental Theology. Concilivm 1969/46. 77. 16

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NAGYPÁL Sz. Ecumenical Dialogue awareness of the guilt and failure of ourselves, a readiness for kenosis and metanoia, for prayer of penitence and supplication, in short, the attitude of self-denial and self-transcendence. The way God chose to engage in dialogue with humankind was kenosis. Kenosis (emptying out, the way of creative transformation 18 ) means powerlessness, continual purification from self-centeredness, growing in openness and transparency. Prayer and sacrifice nourish kenotic spirituality. Prayer links one with the goodness and power of God, while sacrifice strengthens prayer and promotes communion. In the process of kenosis, self-sacrifice unites prayer and sacrifice, when one becomes prayer for others. Kenosis is the effort to promote and sustain the healing process within nations. The kenosis of Christ is the eternal model for international dialogue in all communities. This emptying out should not apply to our personal or national identity. The field for kenosis should be our shallow and temporary popular identity, the dimension of historical and political contingencies. These accidentals in the international dialogue in Central Europe could and should be abandoned and offered as a pleasing sacrifice to God, the Triune community of dialogue. Suggested Reading BASSET Jean-Claude, Decalogue of Dialogue. Current Dialogue, 1992/23. 35-39. FALCONER Alan D., Towards Unity through Diversity: Bilateral and Multilateral Dialogues. One in Christ 1993/4. 279-285. KASPER Walter, The Nature and Purpose of Ecumenical Dialogue. The Ecumenical Review 2000/3. 293-299. NISSIOTIS Nikos, Types and Problems of Ecumenical Dialogue. The Ecumenical Review 1966/1. 39-57. OUTLER Albert C., From Disputation to Dialogue. The Ecumenical Review 1963/1. 14-23. ÖRSY László, “Kenosis”: The Door to Christian Unity. Origins 1993/3. 38-41. RAISER Konrad, The Nature and Purpose of Ecumenical Dialogue. Proposal for a Study. The Ecumenical Review 2000/3. 287-292. SAMARTHA Stanley J., Faith in the Midst of Faiths. Reflections on Dialogue in Community. Geneva, 1977. SWIDLER Leonard, The Dialogue Decalogue: Ground Rules for Interreligious Dialogue. Journal of Ecumenical Studies 1983/1. 1-4. VERGHESE Paul, Will Dialogue Do? The Ecumenical Review 1966/1. 27-38.

KÜNG Hans quotes the insight of COBB in Towards an Ecumenical Theology of Religions. Some Theses for Clarification. In KÜNG Hans –MOLTMANN Jürgen (eds.), Christianity among World Religions. Concilivm 1986/1. 125.

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NAGYPÁL Szabolcs: A társadalmi–politikai párbeszéd esélyei Közép-Európában A cikk gyakorlati és elméleti szempontból egyaránt érzékenyen közelít a nemzet túlértékelt szerepének és gondolatának, valamint a regionális azonosságtudat hiányának problémájához. Keresztényekként ugyanis gondolnunk kell arra, hogy Isten van mindenek elo´´tt, Isten az Igazság, Akit keresnünk és követnünk kell. És arra is, hogy – tekintettel kölcsönös függésünkre egymástól – szükségünk van a kommunikációban gyökerezo´´ és egyben azt eredményezo´´ közösségre. Ebben van a valódi párbeszéd fontossága, amely mint módszer, eljárás, az Igazság felé vezet bennünket. A nemzetközi párbeszéd célja az, hogy közös identitást hozzon létre, hogy fölszámolja az elo´´ítéleteket és a türelmetlenséget, valamint hogy kiengesztelje a különbségeket az adott közösségben. Amennyiben azonban hangsúlyt fektetünk a párbeszédre, mint a felebarátainkkal való kapcsolat egyfajta (élet)stílusára, akkor figyelmet kell szentelnünk e párbeszéd erkölcstanának, illetve a résztvevo´´k ebbo´´l következo´´ felelo´´sségének is. Ezt a meggyo´´zés és a párbeszédre fölkészülés alakíthatja ki, amelyben egyszerre van jelen a nyitottság, kölcsönösség, önazonosság, alázat, felelo´´sség, szeretet, elfogadás és humor.

NAGYPÁL Szabolcs: Szanse spolÚeczno-politycznego dialogu w Europie S´ rodkowej ArtykulÚ porusza problem nadmiernego podkres´lania roli i wizerunku narodu oraz braku poczucia tozú samosći regionalnej, zarówno w jej praktycznym jak i teoretycznym aspekcie. My jako Chrzesćijanie musimy pamieþtac´, zú e to Bóg jest ponad wszystkim, On jest prawdaþ, za która powinnis´my podaþzú ac´ i której powinnis´my szukac´. Poniewazú zas´ jestes´my wzajemnie od siebie zalezú ni, istnieje potrzeba wspólnoty, oparta na i tym samym skutkujaþca w komunikacji. Na tym polega waga prawdziwego dialogu jako metody i procesu prowadzaþcego nas do Prawdy. Celem mieþdzynarodowego dialogu jest stworzenie wspólnej tozú samosći, by wyeliminowac´ uprzedzenia i nietolerancjeþ i pogodzic´ rózú nice wewnaþtrz wspólnoty. Jednak jezú eli podkres´lamy dialog jako styl zú ycia w relacjach z naszymi saþsiadami, musimy równiezú zwracac´ uwageþ na etykeþ dialogu i wynikajaþca z niej odpowiedzialnosć´ jego uczestników. Mogaþ byc´ one ksztalÚtowane przez retorykeþ i takie przygotowanie sieþ do dialogu, które niesie w sobie otwartosć´, obopólnosć´, tozú samosć´, pokoreþ, odpowiedzialnosć´, agapeþ, akceptacjeþ i humor.

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NAGYPÁL Sz. Ecumenical Dialogue NAGYPÁL Szabolcs: Mozÿnosti socio-politického dialógu v Strednej Európe Autor sa vo svojej sÿtúdii venuje problému precenÿovania úlohy národa a nedostatocÿ nosti rozvinutia zmyslu pre regionálnu identitu, pricÿ om dané problémy elaboruje tak v ich teoretickej ako aj praktickej podobe. Krestánsky´m povolaním je zÿ it´ v povedomí, zÿ e Boh je pred vsÿetky´m ostatny´m, zÿ e Boh je Pravda, ktorú hládáme a nasledujeme. Ked’zÿ e jednotlivci zÿ ijú vo vzájomnom prepojení, vytvorenie spolocÿ enstva je nutnostóu, ktorá je zalozÿ ená na vzájomnej komunikácii, a ktorá sama komunikáciu vytvára. V tyćhto súvislostiach sa preukazuje dôlezÿ itost´ autentického dialógu ako metódy a procesu, ktory´ vedie k Pravde. Cielóm medzi-národného dialógu je vytvárat´ spolocÿ nú identitu, dekonsÿtruovat´ predsudky a intoleranciu, ako aj nachádzat´ cesty k zosúlad’ovaniu rozdielností v rámci spolocÿ enstiev. Ak sa vsÿak dialóg akcentuje ako sÿty´l spolunazÿ ívania s blízÿ nymi, je tiezÿ potrebné venovat´ pozornost´ etike dialógu a zodpovednosti, ktorá vyply´va pre úcÿ astníkov dialógu. Taky´to prístup vyzÿ aduje uvázÿ enú rétoriku ako aj prípravu na dialóg, ktorej integrálnou súcÿ astóu má byt´ otvorenost´, vzájomnost´, zakorenenost´, pokora, zodpovednost´, obetavá láska, prijatie druhého a v neposlednom rade aj humor.

NAGYPÁL Szabolcs: Veränderungen im socio-politischen Dialog in Zentraleuropa In diesem Artikel wird die Problematik eines überbewerteten Nationenbegriffs im Vergleich zur regionalen Identität sowohl praktisch als auch theoretisch abgehandelt. Als Christen sollten wir uns daran erinnern, dass Gott über allem steht. Gott ist die Wahrheit nach der wir suchen und der wir folgen sollen. Wir sind selbstständig und deshalb besteht die Notwendigkeit einer Gemeinschaft, die auf Kommunikation basiert und sie gleichermassen fördert. Die Wichtigkeit eines ursprünglichen Dialogs als Mittel einer methodischen Suche nach der Wahrheit wird hier offensichtlich. Der Sinn und Zweck des internationalen Dialogs ist, eine allgemeine Identität zu schaffen sowie Vorurteile und Intoleranz und die Unterschiede in der Gemeinschaft abzubauen. Aber wenn wir die Bedeutung des Dialogs hier weiter fassen, ihn als Grundlage unserer unmittelbaren Beziehungen ansehen, dann müssen wir die ethischen Grundregeln und die damit verbundene Verantwortung der Dialogpartner beachten. Das kann durch Rhetorik und Vorbereitung, zum Beispiel durch Offenheit, Vielfältigkeit, Identität, Demut, Verantwortung, Agape, Akzeptanz und Humor, geschehen.

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Kate WILSON

Klejnot swobodnego sumnienia – the Jewel of Freedom of Conscience: Churches together in Central Europe after the Reformation

The phrase klejnot swobodnego sumnienia was coined by a Polish Lutheran, S´wieþtoslÚaw ORZELSKI, to show his compatriots what a treasure their religious liberty was compared to the situation in other parts of Europe in the seventeenth century. He was very aware that Poland was part of a wider Central European context where plural social and political structures reinforced religious plurality. Unlike the countries to the West, where the fallout of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations caused wars over religion, or the East, where Orthodoxy dominated, Central Europe was a fascinating tangle of ethnic and confessional loyalties. This heady mix meant that people of different confessions were much more inclined to work together, to an extent which scandalised church centres including Wittenberg, Geneva and Rome. Central Europe Central Europe is difficult enough to define, but here I take it to mean the lands East of the Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) and west of Muscovy (now Russia). My focus will be on Bohemia, Moravia, and the Hungarian lands (including Royal Hungary and Transylvania). The huge Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania also included what are now Belarus and Ukraine; this is the area I know most about, where my archive research Kate WILSON is a Roman Catholic from Wales. She is coming to the end of a PhD about the politics of toleration in early modern Great Poland. She is a member of the Executive Committee and the European Regional Committee of the World Student Christian Federation.

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K. WILSON Freedom of Conscience was done, so I apologise in advance for any mistakes I make in trying to put the Commonwealth into a wider context. My time frame is the century from 1550 to 1650, a period when faith caused wars across much of the continent, the wars of religion in France (1562-98) and the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) in the German lands. This has led historians to speak of an age of ‘confessionalisation’, that is, denominational differences hardening with state backing and the creation of homogenous national churches. In Central Europe, however, this model of confessional conflict does not apply – because the model of the state was also different. What makes the countries of Central Europe special? In the early modern period, they shared a common model of the state: elective monarchy. The rulers were elected by the nobles, who had more say in running the country, especially in interregna (between monarchs), but also afterwards as the ruler had to keep to the promises he made them on his election. This made for more political participation than a hereditary crown; so many interests, including confessional ones, could be heard, unlike in Western Europe where the subjects had to follow the religion of the monarch and territorial churches emerged. So it was no surprise that these countries were also the earliest advocates of religious toleration; Bohemia (1485), Transylvania (1557) and Poland-Lithuania (1573) guaranteed liberty of conscience long before France’s short-lived Edict of Nantes in 1598, the earliest in Western Europe. Indeed the Commonwealth settlement was directly influenced by murder of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew’s Day in 1572, as the nobility elected the French King HENRI IV Valois and wanted a guarantee that nothing like that would happen in Poland-Lithuania. The Bohemian settlement was the model for the other two. After two decades of civil war between churches, it showed that unity in Christ was as important as unity of the state. Church Plurality How could there have been religious wars in Catholic Bohemia decades before LUTHER’s Reformation? The fifteenth century reformer Jan HUS predated many of LUTHER’s ideas, such as the vernacular Bible and communion in both kinds, and his Hussite following stretched into Silesia and Poland. This was something else that made church harmony easier in Central Europe after the Reformation; for these countries, differences within Christianity were already normal when it began. In Poland-Lithuania, the Orthodox had been part of the same state for centuries. The relationship between Catholics and Orthodox at this time is a controversial issue. The foundation of the Uniate Church in 1596, where some 140

Orthodox in Poland-Lithuania agreed to accept Papal authority while keeping their own ritual, has been seen as an attempt by Rome to absorb the Orthodox into Catholicism.1 Nevertheless, Protestants at least, Lutheran and Reformed, were very keen to work together with the non-Uniate Orthodox. They held a joint synod in Vilnius in 1599, and agreed to work together politically, defending their rights in the Sejm (the Polish Parliament). 1

Catholic historians blame Russian imperialist and then Soviet historiography for giving the Uniate Church a bad name; see KUMOR B., Geneza i zawarcie unii brzeskiej. Yet the Uniates were restricted in comparison to Catholicism; their bishops were not afforded a place in the Senate. There was thus much Orthodox resistance to the Union; see DYLAþGOWA H., Unia brzeska – pojednanie czy podzialÚ? Both articles in LÚ UZúNY R. et al (eds.), Unia brzeska: geneza, dzieje i konsekwencje w kulturze narodów slÚowian´skich. Kraków, 1994.

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K. WILSON Freedom of Conscience There were even plans for a theological union, proposed by Czech Brethren minister Szymon TURNOWSKI. He established the tradition of Orthodox and dissenter dialogue dating back to 1451, when the Patriarch of Constantinople wrote to the Hussites to support their break with Rome: “The Greek Church is much closer to Apostolic teaching than the Roman one.” 2 The Czech Brethren (Reformed believers, following the Hussite tradition) were the greatest advocates of theological ties with the Eastern Church; they even sent a mission to Moscow in 1570, trying to persuade IVAN the Terrible to a union.3 Catholics responded to this by stressing the common ground they had with Orthodox belief and tradition. A Catholic Castellan, Jerzy ZBARASKI of Krakow, also defended them. So the churches were vying to make alliances with each other, rather than to split. The situation was similar in Transylvania, where Prince Gábor BETHLEN approached the Patriarch of Constantinople about reformation in the Romanian Orthodox Church. Though Romanian historians have seen Reformed advances as attempted Magyarisation, this did not occur, as the Orthodox affirmed their independence through the Ias¸i synod. Dialogue between Reformed and Orthodox strengthened with the efforts of Anglican priest Isaac BASIRE, who moved to Transylvania in the 1650s; he thought Anglicanism had a unique role to unite a divided Christendom. Grassroots Ecumenism Despite the controversies of high politics, at the grassroots level, people usually did not worry about church differences. They knew believers of other confessions as family members, marriage partners and godparents, making confessional lines easy to cross. As the Socinian SCHOMANN said in his will to his sons, “from Catholicism through Lutheranism, Calvinism and Anabaptism I have come to the true Catholic faith. If a still purer church should arise at any time, then at once join it”.4 Regional Jesuits produced Catholic vernacular translations of the Bible, despite the official ban. The Polish edition survived for decades, from 1599 till 1634, and another was produced in Transylvania5 in the 1620s. From birth to death, people crossed church boundaries. There are even examples of godparents between Catholics and Czech Brethren. One Brethren child was baptised by its Lutheran grandmother, while the father saw no need for re-baptism. Czech Brethren continued to do Socinian funerals into the 1640s.6 Synods of all denominations condemned mixed marriages so frequently that they must have been widespread.7 TURNOWSKI S., Kazania synodowe na generalnym ewangelickim synodzie w Toruniu 1595. Królewiec, 1599.; successive preachers at the synod echoed him; Grzegorz z ZARNOWCA recalled the first schism between the Eastern and Western church with sorrow, and Andrzej CHRZASTOWSKI praised Orthodox rejection of papal authority. 3 BR (Biblioteka Raczyn´skich, Poznan´) MS (manuscript) 192 p.125. 2

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Jan Ámos KOMENSKY´ (COMENIUS) epitomised the common ground between churches in Central Europe at this time. The famous educational theorist was a leader of the Czech Brethren. KOMENSKY´ wrote a plan for Christian unity in his Labyrinth of the World (1631). He got to know Christians of all confessions as he moved around Central Europe. When the Czech Brethren were expelled from the Habsburg Empire in 1627, he moved to Poland, settling in Leszno near Poznan´ where he set up two schools, one funded by a fellow believer and the other by a Catholic, and translated poetry into Polish. During the Swedish invasion of Poland-Lithuania, he moved again to Transylvania, where he encouraged Prince Zsigmond RÁKÓCZI to defend Protestants across Central Europe. Meanwhile, in the 1640s he travelled as far as England to advise the Puritans on educational and scientific ideas. He was an early advocate of interreligious dialogue, arguing against Christian hostility towards Muslims, since “they acknowledge Christ as a great prophet, and do not allow any blasphemy towards him”.8 KOMENSKY´ ’s story shows that people were surprisingly mobile in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; migration did a lot to mix confessions up and foster their co-operation. The Thirty Years’ War was a major cause of this, affecting Hungary and Bohemia as well as the German lands. Not only Czech Brethren found their way to Poland, Germany and beyond as a result, but many Lutherans and Catholics were forced to move too. Many of these settled in the west of Poland, since the Commonwealth did not join the war; and they were determined not to repeat the religious conflict that had driven them there. The result was multilingual congregations and churches settling side by side. Many Catholics made room for refugees from other churches to settle on their estates. BoguslÚ aw LESZCZYN´ SKI, General Starosta (the highest official) in Great Poland, balanced building a Catholic monastery with approving the foundation of a new Czech Brethren church. Adam PRZYJEMSKI, Castellan of SCHOMANN was an author of the first Socinian Catechism; Socinians did not believe in the Trinity. Cited by KOT S., Socinianism in Poland. Boston, 1977. xxiv. 5 The Polish one was only reintroduced in the nineteenth century. RHODE A., Geschichte der evangelischen Kirche im Posener Lande. Würzburg, 1956. 47-48; the Magyar one was produced by a Jesuit at Transylvanian Prince Gábor Bethlen’s request. 6 Ostroróg synod 2 V 1634, ABC (Archiwum Braci Czeskich, Archiwum Pan´stwowe Miasta Poznania) 1493. 7075. 7 The Socinians did so in 1600 and 1605, the Catholics in 1643 and the Lutherans and Brethren from 1632. SZCZOTKA S., Synody arian polskich 1569-1662. In Reformacja w Polsce 7/8 (1935-36) 50-51, 57; Gniezno archdiocesan synod at Uniejów on 7 VII 1643. In SAWICKI J., Concilia Poloniæ V – synody archidiocezji gniezúnien´skiej i ich statuty. Warszawa, 1950. 240.; RafalÚ LeszczYN´SKi to the Leszno Lutherans, 4 XI 1633. In ABC 2530 p.65; Leszno synod 28 VI 1632, ABC 1486. 8; Ostroróg synod 2 V 1634, ABC 1493. 71; Leszno synod 14 X 1638, ABC 1502. 23; Skoki synod 8 III 1640, ABC 1504. 27; Leszno synod 29 IV 1643, ABC 1505. 18. 8 MURDOCK, Calvinism. 141, 276. 4

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K. WILSON Freedom of Conscience Gniezno, founded Rawicz to welcome Lutheran immigrants in 1638; there was no Catholic parish there till the nineteenth century. Churches Uniting In Poland-Lithuania, Lutherans, Calvinists and Czech Brethren worked closely together, overriding their mother churches’ call for confessional isolation in favour of closer local co-operation. This was based on the Sandomierz Union of 1570, under which all Protestants in the Commonwealth agreed to hold joint synods, to accept each others’ ministers and discuss theology without trying to convert each other. They published two versions of Eucharistic theology side by side, Lutheran and Reformed, and aimed for one Eucharistic ceremony, where the congregation could choose whether to stand or kneel (Consensus in fide et Religione Christiana inter ecclesias maioris et minoris Poloniae 1570 (Torun´ 1586)). Czech Brethren delegates to Poland accepted that the Polish church could unite with other Protestants, remembering their own traditions. As union with the Calvinists approached, the home church worried that the Brethren in Poland were deviating from their confessional norm.9 The Czech Brethren and Calvinists in the Commonwealth finally united into one church, in 1633. This encouraged them to work more closely together with the Lutherans. KOMENSKY´ published a proposal for union with the Lutherans in 1645. It presented the contentious issues; the Eucharist, the person of Christ and predestination, and hoped that these differences would be overcome. The Reformed assured the Lutherans that they would not have to change their confession, so both could affirm their wish for union.10 The Brethren wrote to the local Lutherans and to Wittenberg about the meeting and their theological differences. They offered a compromise version of their confession, with the addition that they agreed with the Augsburg Confession for the sake of Protestant unity. Leszno synod 16 XI 1609, ABC 1459. 10-11; Leszno synod 28 VI 1632, ABC 1486. 9-11. Records of the Czech Brethren and Lutheran joint synod at Leszno, 26 IV 1645. In BR MS 79-100. 11 Decision to send controversial articles of faith to Wittenberg for comment, with a copy to local Lutherans, and Lutheran patrons’ response, Leszno synod 26 IV 1645, ABC 1511. 16, 18-31. Brethren to Wittenberg, April or May 1645, ABC 1990; Wittenberg to the Brethren and responses, 22 V, 2 VII and 15 VII 1645. In ABC 1987. 40-57. 12 Conditiones et Confessiones tam Augustana quam Bohemica consilari possunt. In ABC 1997. 28; Confessio fidei status cives et ecclesiæ in Polonia, Prussia et Lithuania inv. confessionis Augustanæ addictæ in Colloquio Charitativi (1645, pub. Gdan´sk 1735) 65, 120, 124; PRAWDECKY C., Entdeckung der unwahrheiten… welcher D J HÜLSEMANN in seiner wiederlegung ausspregnet. Leszno, 1647. 19-28. 13 “Den Streit von Sacramenten, Communicatione idiomatum, Praedestinatione, und andern zur Seligkeit ganz unnotigen Sachen wie de eregeten dadurch die kirchen bisher greulich zerrissen, zermutet und verderbet waren, so sen ihnen anbefohlen… Sie wollen allen Hass, Streit und Berdacht beiseit gesesst, sich neben ihnen in guter Einigkeit zum Colloquio einstellen und mit gesampter Hand ritterlich streiten.” HÜLSEMANN J., Widerlegung der Calvinischen Relation vom Colloquio zu Thorn. Leipzig, 1646. 11-12. 9

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Sadly Wittenberg responded that the Czech Brethren were too influenced by Calvinism; Wittenberg could only negotiate with them if they rejected the Calvinists. The Brethren response is an elegant argument against syncretism in favour of tolerating differences, unity rather than uniformity.11 The Polish Lutherans wanted reconciliation too and published a joint statement with the Reformed, despite the response of Wittenberg.12 In this they agreed not to argue about doctrinal differences, as it destroys the Church.13 The Reformed also distanced themselves from Geneva, condemning BEZA’s intolerance of other beliefs and adding that Catholics also needed protection where they were in a minority. The stimulus for closer church relations in Poland-Lithuania was called by Catholics; in 1645, King WLÚ ADYSLÚ AW IV called the Colloquium Charitativum, a dialogue between Catholics, Lutherans and Reformed to resolve their theological differences. Though by this time the distance between confessions could not be overcome, this had much to do with the divisiveness caused by outside theologians, and delegates still prayed together at the meeting. This was noted with amazement across Europe; until then, only rare meetings between two, never three confessions had taken place. Religious Freedom and Political Freedom The common political rationale for the states in Central Europe was liberty including liberty of conscience. Catholic LÚ ukasz OPALIN´ SKI, Royal Court Marshal, represented the general view in Poland-Lithuania. He saw political and religious liberty together as part of the same whole. Socinian writer Samuel PRZYPKOWSKI explained this clearly; “what use is liberty in anything else to a noble if he is not free in his conscience and his efforts to gain eternal salvation?”14 These grand statements were reflected in the political reality; representation to the Sejm from the province of Great Poland was one third Protestant in the first half of the seventeenth century.15 Bohemia and Hungary before Habsburg rule were also part of the same context where all Christian confessions could not only live together peacefully, but were included in political life. This lasted for a long time in a hostile climate, as the case of Transylvania shows. The Calvinist nobility there not only resisted Habsburg efforts to expand Catholicism but also reacted against Reformed efforts to impose their theological norms with princely backing, standing by the ideal of religious and political liberty into the 1640s at least. “Bo na co sieþ przyda szlachcicowi w czym inszym wolnos´c´, jes´li w sumieniu swym i w staraniu sieþ o wieczne zbawienie swoje wolen nie beþdzie?” Braterska deklaracja (1646). In OGONOWSKI (ed.), Mys´l spolÚeczna XVIIw. 543. 15 Protestant deputies from S´roda averaged 30% from 1587-1648,; DWORZACZEK W., SklÚad spolÚeczny wielkopolskiej representacji sejmowej w latach 1572-1655. In Roczniki historyczne 23. 1957. 304. 14

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K. WILSON Freedom of Conscience Habsburg rule changed the picture of toleration in Bohemia and Hungary in the seventeenth century; but not without a struggle. Emperor FERDINAND II (rule 1619-37) became determined to crush the opposition of strong Protestant nobilities in Bohemia and Hungary, where he was king in 1617 and 1618 respectively. The Bohemians dethroned him, replacing him with Calvinist Elector Palatine FREDERICK of Wittelsbach, until their 1620 defeat at White Mountain after which the emperor imposed Catholicism on both states. A change of ruler did not mean hasty religious change, however; the Catholic Reformation took time to permeate, yet the decisive factor was the reduced ability of the nobles to protect other confessions on their lands, which were confiscated after White Mountain. Alliances formed across Central Europe to resist the take-over, and the resulting policy of one church in one state. Risers in the Polish civil war, the rokosz of 1606-9 supported their neighbours in resisting Habsburg rule, both during their own rising and in the following decades. The risers led secret negotiations with Gábor BÁTHORY, Prince of Transylvania, during the rising hoping to put him on the Polish throne. The former riser Marcin BRONIEWSKI followed the Bohemian and Hungarian risings closely and sympathetically in reports to Lithuanian leader Krzysztof RADZIWILÚ LÚ .16 Noble leader RafalÚ LESZCZYN´ SKI supported Silesian and Bohemian opposition to Habsburg rule in the 1630s and welcomed immigrants onto his land. LESZCZYN´ SKI also corresponded with FREDERICK, the Bohemian “Winter King”.17 He was in regular contact with Prince Gábor BETHLEN, who sent him reports on the situation in Hungary and even invited him to his wedding.18 The above mentioned were all Reformed, but Catholics also joined the resistance. Jerzy ZBARASKI, the Castellan of Krakow, a close ally of RADZIWILÚ LÚ and LESZCZYN´ SKI, stressed that religious peace was more important than religious zeal. He also joined them in a 1626 plot to replace ZYGMUNT III, King of Poland-Lithuania with the French duke Gaston D’ORLEANS. This plan made a clear connection between dominant Catholicism and centralising state authority; the plotters feared their king would copy the KONOPCZYN´SKI W., Dzieje Polski nowozúytnej. Warszawa, 1999. 231. BRONIEWSKI’s letters of 25 III and 9 IX 1620, 1 X 1621, 1 and 22 XII 1622, 22 V, 3 VII, 18 and 22 VIII 1623, 9 IV and 5 VII 1624 in AR (Archiwum RadziwilÚlÚów, Archiwum G_owne Akt Dawnych, Warszawa) V-1419. 17 Letter from FREDERICK to LESZCZYN´SKI in BC (Biblioteka Czartoryskich, Kraków) MS 367. 113; SZELAþGOWSKI A., S´laþsk a Polska wobec powstanie czeskiego. Lwów, 1904. 477; see LeszcZYN´SKi’s entry in the Polski SlÚownik Biograficzny. 18 Letters throughout the 1620s; LesZCZYN´SKI to BETHLEN recommending his servant OTWINOWSKI on 23 X 1624, and BETHLEN’s acceptance 17 I 1625, report on Hungarian dissenters 18 I 1629 and wedding to princess Katherine HOHENZOLLERN of Brandenburg, invitation 6 XI 1625 in BC MS 367. 5, 110, 116, 121. 19 See AUGUSTYNIAK U. (ed.), Spisek orlean´ski 1626-28. Warszawa, 1990. The plotters were led by Czech Brethren RafalÚ LeszczYN´Ski, Palatine of Belz, Calvinist Krzysztof RADZIWILÚLÚ, Palatine of Vilnius and Catholic Jerzy ZBARASKI, Castellan of Kraków. 16

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model of their Habsburg neighbour. Gábor BETHLEN was a key ally in their machinations.19 The king discovered the plot too soon; still it shows how across Central Europe, Protestants and Catholics were working together to uphold the ideal of religious toleration. The End of an Era Just as Habsburg invasion upset the political and confessional balance in Bohemia and Hungary, so the Swedish invasion did the same in PolandLithuania. This occurred in 1655-60, and only thereafter did the identification of Polishness with Catholicism begin to harden, a single ethno-religious model in contrast to the earlier inclusion of different confessions in the framework of shared noble liberty. The further development of the modern, militarily advanced nation state in the eighteenth century overrode the earlier model of plural estates and interests within one polity. Ironically, it was when the Commonwealth chose the path of one state and one church that it began to decline towards partition, weakened against its powerful neighbours, Prussia, Russia, and Austria. So ties between churches were strong in early modern Central Europe; the polarisation of confessions, which was happening to the West of the continent, took place long after the Reformations, from the middle of the seventeenth century. The idea that only one confession could exist in one state was not native to these countries; it was inflamed by external political conflict. Where there was a balance between many different churches, co-operation between confessions could flourish as part of a wider political pluralism. Suggested Reading BAHLCKE J. (ed.), Konfessionalisierung in Ostmitteleuropa. Stuttgart, 1999. BUTTERWICK R. (ed.), The Polish Lithuanian Monarchy in European Context c.1500-1795. Basingstoke, 2001. EVANS R. (ed.), Crown, Church and Estates. London, 1991. FRIEDRICH K., The Other Prussia: Royal Prussia, Poland and Liberty 1569-1772. Cambridge, 2000. GRELL O. –SCHRIBNER B. (eds.), Tolerance and Intolerance in the European Reformation. Cambridge, 1996. MAAG K. (ed.), The Reformation in Eastern and Central Europe. St. Andrews, 1997. MURDOCK G., Calvinism on the Frontier 1606-1660: International Calvinism and the Reformed Church in Hungary and Transylvania. Oxford, 2000. OGONOWSKI Z. (ed.), Mys´l spolÚeczna XVIIw - 700 Lat Mys´li Polskiej. Warszawa, 1979. PISZCZ E., Colloquium charitativum w Toruniu 1645. Torun´, 1995. REINHARD W., Die Katholische Konfessionalisierung. Heidelberg, 1995. SCHILLING H., Religion, Political Culture and the Emergence of Early Modern Society. Leiden, 1992. WILLIAMS G. (ed.), Historia Reformationis Poloniæ. Minneapolis, 1995.

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K. WILSON Freedom of Conscience Kate WILSON: Klejnot swobodnego sumnienia – A lelkiismeret szabadsága kincs: Közép-Európai egyházak egymás közt a reformáció után Az esszé témája a vallásszabadság kérdése Közép-Európában 1550 és 1650 között. Míg ekkortájt Nyugat-Európában a felekezeti öntudat ero´´södése jellemzo´´, Közép-Európát még nem zavarják az egyházak közti különbségek, melyek máig oly sok viszályt okoznak. A különféle népek e térségre jellemzo´´ keveredése, és a megegyezésen alapuló kormányzati modellek leheto´´vé tették az egyházak szoros együttmu´´ködését. NyugatEurópában erro´´l álmodni sem mertek, ahol akkoriban a vallási különbségek nyílt háborúskodáshoz vezettek. A tanulmány bemutat néhány igen befolyásos személyiséget (például Jan Ámos KOMENSKY´t – akit COMENIUSként ismerünk), valamint történelmi eseményt (nevezetesen a különféle felekezetek képviselo´´i között létrejött szerzo´´déseket és találkozókat).

Kate WILSON: Klejnot swobodnego sumienia: KosćiolÚy razem w Europie S´rodkowej po Reformacji Esej ten zajmuje sieþ zagadnieniem swobody religijnej w Europie Srodkowej mieþdzy 1550 a 1650 rokiem. W tym czasie, kiedy to konfesjonalizacja rozprzestrzenialÚa sieþ w Europie Zachodniej, rózú nice miedzy KosćiolÚami, które dzis´ nadal powodujaþ podzialÚy, nie bylÚy problemem dla Srodkowych Europejczyków. Unikatowa mieszanka ludzi w tym regionie oraz modele rzaþdów oparte na konsensusie umozúliwialÚy KosćiolÚom wspólnaþ praceþ do stopnia, o jakim nawet nie marzono w Europie Zachodniej, gdzie rózú nice wyznaniowe prowadzilÚy do otwartych wojen. Esej przedstawia niektóre z najbardziej wplÚywowych osobistosći (np. Jan Ámos KOMENSKY´) oraz wydarzen´ historycznych, a mianowicie kontakty i spotkania pomieþdzy reprezentantami rózúnych wyznan´.

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Kate WILSON: Klejnot swobodnego sumnienia – Klenot svobody sveÿdomí: Církve ve strÿední Evropeÿ v poreformacÿním období Esej se zaby´vá otázkou nábozÿ enské svobody ve strÿední Evropeÿ mezi lety 1550–1650. V tomto období, kdy se západní Evropou sÿírÿil konfesionalismus, nebyly ve strÿední Evropeÿ rozdíly mezi církvemi, které i dnes zpuû sobují rozkol, zÿ ádny´m problémem. Jedinecÿ ná smeÿsice národuû v tomto regionu a modeluû vlády zalozÿ enyćh na konsensu umozÿ nÿovala církvím spolupracovat v takové mírÿe, o které se západní Evropeÿ, kde nábozÿ enské rozdíly vedly k otevrÿeny´m vojensky´m konfliktuû m, ani nesnilo. Esej prÿedstavuje i neÿkteré z nejvlivneÿjsÿích osobností (Jan Ámos KOMENSKY´ ) z historickyćh událostí, zejména setkání mezi prÿedstaviteli rozdílnyćh konfesí.

Kate WILSON: Klejnot swobodnego sumnienia – Das Juwel der Freiheit des Geistes: Die Kirchen in Zentraleuropa nach der Reformation Das Anliegen dieses Artikel ist es das Thema „Religiöse Freiheiten in Zentraleuropa zwischen 1550 und 1650“ zu erörtern. In dieser Zeit, als die Zersplitterung in die verschieden Konfessionen in Westeuropa weit verbreitet war, waren die Unterschiede zwischen den Kirchen, die auch heute noch Konflikte verursachen, kein Problem in Zentraleuropa. Die einzigartige Vermischung der Völker dieser Region und die auf Konsens basierenden Regierungsmodelle ermöglichten es den Kirchen in einer Art und Weise zusammen zu arbeiten, die in Westeuropa, wo religiöse Unterschiede zu erbarmungslosen Kriegen führte, unvorstellbar war. Der Artikel stellt einige der einflussreichsten Persönlichkeiten, wie z.B. Jan Ámos KOMENSKY´, und wichtigsten geschichlichen Ereignisse vor. Insbesondere werden die Kontakte und Treffen der Vertreter verschiedener Konfessionen behandelt.

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Jirÿí SIBRT Potential Roots and Options for Being Ecumenical (with a Special Focus on the Czech Lands) 1

I. On Ecumenism What is Ecumenism? Let me start with the explanation of the word ‘ecumenism’ – oikumene. HERODOTOS (V. century BC) is using this term in a geographical meaning that was describing the “whole inhabited Earth”. Later, in the times of Hellenism, it was used to denote the “whole civilised world”, meaning only the “Hellenistic world”. Septuaginta, the Greek translation of the Hebrew biblical texts, uses this term in a geographical meaning. The New Testament uses the word oikumene in three different meanings: political, eschatological and, of course, geographical. The one mentioned as last has the highest frequency of use and refers to the place, where the good news (evangelium gospel) was spread. Now in the modern world it is highly difficult to describe the word oikumene in one definition. It contains the burdens, obstacles and difficulties of the whole ecumenical movement. One of the best definitions is given by a Czech Protestant scholar, Pavel FILIPI who writes: “It is a conscious, organised struggle for co-operation and for understanding of Christian churches that in the past were divided into organisations that are strange to each other by their teachings, understanding of the officium or authority and of the sacraments.” 2 Jirÿí SIBRT is from Prague, Czech Republic, he was born in 1974. He is Roman Catholic, graduated at the Charles University in Prague in Protestant Theology. Since 1995 he has been involved in the Czech SCM (Oikumené – Akademická YMCA) and in WSCF-Europe, at present with a special focus on the Central European Subregion. He is interested in ecumenism, ethics, ecology, and sustainable development, as well as in arts, classical music and sports.

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Another interesting definition is given by the Roman Catholic theologian Karl RAHNER: “Ecumenical movement (less appropriate abstract expression ecumenism) is a general term for all kinds of struggle to reunite all Christians of all faiths, at first by preliminary organisational steps and at the end reaching the one Church of all believers in Christ according to His will.” 3 The Beginnings of Ecumenism One of the most important questions for church historians is: where should we look for the start of ecumenism? This question is certainly difficult to answer. Potential answers are the years 1054 (the Great Schism) or 1517 (Luther’s proposals summed up in 95 theses), since those were the years when the Church divided. Another option could be the times of increased papal pressure, when centralist tendencies provoked questions about local identity 4. After all, the beginning of ecumenism could be connected with the period in which members of Christian communities realised their differences and started to look for what is authentic and for the unification of practice (what we call tradition). That would bring us back to the times of the New Testament, which was the time when the Church was being born. On the basis of the above mentioned considerations it can be suggested that ecumenism could be understood as an effort to unite something fragmented that had been united before. For many Christian churches it took several centuries to alter their thinking about their fellow Christians and to acknowledge the value of their tradition. The first steps towards some co-operation were taken in the 19th century by missionaries and by missionary organisations. This co-operation was, however, at times based on practical reasons and did not include a longerterm vision of working together. Financial interests also played an important part. To be short, I will only briefly mention the most important milestones of the ecumenical movement. The Edinburgh Conference (1910) was a fresh This article is based on the diploma paper of VANÿÁCÿ Martin, Ekumenismus v CÿR; Prÿíspeÿvek ke studiu ekumenicky´ch vztahuû v CÿR na pozadí vztahuû státu k církvím v letech 1918-2000 (Ecumenism in the Czech Republic; A Contribution to the Studies about Ecumenical Relationships in the Czech Republic on the Background of the Relationship between the State and the Churches in the Years 1918-2000). Praha, 2001; submitted and defended at the Catholic Theological Faculty, Charles University, Praha. All bibliographical quotations are from this work. Martin VANÿÁCÿ is currently the director of the Ecumenical Institute in Prague. 2 FILIPI Pavel, Církev a církve (Church and Churches). Brno, 2000. 122. 3 RAHNER Karl – VORGRIMLER Herbert, Teologicky´ slovník (Theological Dictionary). Praha, 1996. 79. 4 Such study cases can be the implementation of Latin liturgy (many communities, especially in Britain and Ireland, but also in Great Moravia disagreed with the usage of the Latin language in the liturgy and used their mother tongue); the fixed rule for celebrating Easter (VIIIth century); and the implementation of the Gregorian calendar in religious practice (XVIth century). 1

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J. SIBRT Being Ecumenical wind into the still waters, though questions about teaching and dogma were not on the agenda. The movement Life and Work applied ecumenism in its work in the social area. But so far the most important year is 1948, when in Amsterdam many Churches (Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican) joined together under the umbrella of the new organisation - the World Council of Churches (WCC). Since its conception, this new structure has not aspired to become “The Church” or “The Supra-church”. Its goal has been to bring Churches in touch with each other. The Roman Catholic Church joined the ecumenical movement officially for the first time during the Second Vatican Council, before it was not recommended to take part in such activities. II. Ecumenism from a Czech Perspective Ecumenical Potentials One platform for ecumenical discussion could be a shift-back in the church tradition to the age or years, when there was no major split. This might, however, turn out to be problematic especially for churches whose tradition includes elements based on a reformation of certain aspects of this ancient tradition. In the Czech Republic we can try to base ecumenism on two such religious traditions. One is the Cyrilo-Methodian 5, which had been established before the Great Schism; therefore it does not contain many problematic issues. It also contains the idea of the Slavs united in one faith 6, or the idea of the liturgy in the mother tongue. This platform for discussion was considered mainly in the united activities of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Since the beginning of the 20th century until the year 1938, some discussions took place concerning this topic at the Velehrad Academy in Moravia. The Hussite and the Czech Brethren tradition are rooted in the so-called This tradition comes from the missionary activities of CYRIL (*827, †869; sometimes known as CONSTANTINE) and METHODIUS (*before 827, †885) in years 863/864–885. They were brothers of Greek origin (from Salonika/Thessaloniké), who were sent to Great Moravia (which was situated in Central Europe in the territory of today’s Czech Republic (Moravia, Silesia and Bohemia – Eastern, North-Eastern and Western lands of the state), Slovakia, Northern Austria, North-Western Hungary, Southern Poland and Southern part of the former East Germany (see map) to spread Christianity in the Slavonic language. Already this missionary activity proved to be a result of tensions between the Western (Latin, Roman) and Eastern (national languages, Constantinople) rite and tradition. 6 There are some new findings that deny such “panslavic” ideas behind the activities of CYRIL and METHODIUS. 7 Jan HUS (*130, †1415), priest, burnt at stake as heretic. 8 St. WENCESLAS (*?, † not sure, maybe 929 or 935; from the PRÿEMYSL princely family). A legend says that he was killed by his pagan (or at least less religious) brother BOLESLAV at the doorsteps of the church in Stará Boleslav. In Greek, martyr means witness; in Christian understanding a witness of Christ, who by her or his blood swears on the truth of Christian teaching. In the case of the martyrdom of WENCESLAS, historians say that we have to keep in mind the political implications of those times as well, to fully understand the importance of his death. 5

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Czech reformation that happened in the 15th century and that originally tried to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The personality behind this movement was Jan HUS7. Most of his objections have been incorporated into the practice of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries till today and now we think of them as integral parts of the Roman Catholic tradition. Nonetheless this integration had its high cost. Some people say that there is a high potential for ecumenical discussion in the personality known as St. WENCESLAS 8 (Sv. VĂ CLAV). This figure is of high importance in the Czech Republic, in Prague every important demon-

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J. SIBRT Being Ecumenical stration or gathering must take place at the feet of his statue. He is a recognised figure or a patron saint for some. Even if the importance of St. WENCESLAS is indisputable, the perception of his role differs from church to church and for this reason it might turn out to be difficult to present him as a general model for all the churches in an equal way. Czech Ecumenical Church History For a better understanding of the religious situation in the Czech Republic and of the events that have shaped the current conditions of the Czech society, it is necessary to mention certain important dates in Czech history as well as to see how history influenced the behaviour of the churches towards each other and what the churches were able to do together under given circumstances. In 1621 the battle of the White Mountain took place, where the Roman Catholics defeated the Protestants. Many Protestants claim that after this battle the “times of darkness” started (and continued until 1918). In 1781 the Tolerance Patent was issued. In this decree the state authorities recognised the Calvinist Reformed and the Evangelical-Lutheran confessions but no other confessions (the Czech confession was excluded). Since many people were of forbidden confessions, they had to change their confession to one of the allowed ones; the frustration of the Czech Protestants continued 9. In 1918 Czechoslovakia was established. There were some tensions between the Churches for a while, especially when the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren was established in 1918 and when the pro-reformists in the Roman Catholic Church (a stream called “Catholic modernity” that existed since the 19th century) created the Czechoslovak Hussite Church10 in 1920. All those changes and news meant that about one tenth of the population changed its church membership in just a couple of years. This development was unique in Central Europe. Never before in the 20th century had so many people changed their church affiliation. Czechs were already in the past more “resistant” against being very religious11. The shift from the Roman Catholic Church was determined by the connection between this church and the political power (the Imperial court and political parties). Religious matters were mixed with political matters. Many peoIn practice the knowledge of this option was often limited. Later, in the twenties, some congregations separated and formed the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church. In the fifties the CC ÿSH declared herself a Protestant church, and joined the World Council of Churches. 11 In Bohemia and Moravia especially, there was a highly developed industry and large portions of the population lived in municipal communities. 12 In 1954 it was transformed into the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Czechoslovakia. Upon the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993 the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic and ECC in Slovakia were formed. 9

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ple called for a national church and Protestant churches based on the Czech tradition seemed to be the option. Of course, there were other small churches created, but these are the most important ones and we can speak about the “end of schisms” in the Czech Republic. Some ecumenical discussions have taken place, but were of an unofficial character. The relations between the churches were on the official level not particularly developed, it is better to say that they were rather cold. In 1927 the Union of Protestant churches12 was established. Nearly the only lively platform of ecumenical discussions and activities was the Academic YMCA (Akademická YMCA).13 Its magazine Krÿest´anská revue (Christian Review) was of great importance for ecumenical work. During World War II many ecumenical friendships were created under the burden of the Nazi regime. With great sarcasm we could say that the Nazi regime bore even some fruits in this respect, because most of those friendships came from oppression and without it they might not have been formed. But again, we have to keep in mind that those connections were of a personal character. They did help a lot even if they did not produce any official declarations or teaching. During the first three years after the war, many of these “ecumenically experienced and trained” people were put into important positions. Was there a bright future for ecumenism in Czechoslovakia on the horizon? Perhaps, but the colour of brightness was red and had nothing to do with ecumenism. The future became bright for the chosen ones only and churches were simply (and understandably) not among them. The communist regime was a good pupil of the previous unpopular regime and some church members had the pleasure to receive ecumenical experience (some of them for the second time) while being in various labour positions14 in working camps. Churches, especially the various monastic orders of the Roman Catholic church, received a special attention from the Communists mainly in the years 1950–1952 and afterwards. As an instrument of influence on churches, an Ecumenical Institute was established in 1955 and two years later, the phenomenal Christian Peace Conference was formed. Why phenomenal? Because among the ecumenical activists abroad this step was appreciated very much, and only few dared to ask what was behind the mask; if it was the will of the churches or something else. It is true that the timing could not have been better. The world was polarised, just on the fringe of a new war. Oikumené–Akademická YMCA, the Czech SCM (Student Christian Movement of World Student Christian Federation) is in legal continuity of the above-mentioned organisation and still publishes the magazine. 14 They were called “Assistant Technical Battalions” and their members received shovels instead of machineguns, since they were not reliable enough. These army units were primarily composed of people uncomfortable for the regime and priests, monks or ex-ministers often met there in common work and prayer. 13

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J. SIBRT Being Ecumenical There were, of course, other ecumenical discussions and works, which were, at least at the beginning, of an unofficial character. The major work was the ecumenical translation of the Bible, which was in fact the first such work to happen in the world15. Within the Roman Catholic Church there were debates about joining the National Ecumenical Council of Churches. Following the year after the beginning of the Second Vatican Council (1962), ecumenical seminars were started in Prague. Most of the churches (except the Czechoslovak Hussite church known for its positive relationships with the communist regime) united even more after the 1968 â€œfriendlyâ€? visit of the Soviet and coalition armies that put an end to the dream of a socialism with a human face. The churches joined their voices in the actions that were called the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, during which ecumenical services were celebrated. This activity had officially continued until it was prohibited in 1969, then it unofficially existed in small groups. After 1968, the regime introduced another oppression of the churches16 and this was certainly not a good ground for any ecumenical work. The regime invented a new game, which brought distrust among the churches. Only in 1977 some individuals, especially from among the intelligentsia, including a few church people, pastors or priests, produced a joint call for liberty 17 in the declaration known as Charter 77 (Charta 77). In 1989 significant changes took place in Central and Eastern Europe and after many decades, the churches could freely conduct their activities. Unfortunately, certain disputes arose which at times endangered the reputation of the churches based on their opposition activities during the years of totalitarianism18. The churches established a commission on Jan HUS and the recatholisation of the Czech lands. Apart from this academic project the churches have in recent years co-operated with state authorities in projects of spiritual care conducted in the army and in prisons. The churches co-operate in the area of media (TV and radio) and sometimes consult internal documents (e.g. The work started in 1961 and was finished in 1979 and the translation was the second work of its kind to be completed after the French translation. 16 This was possible due to the fact that every person working for the Church had to receive the approval of the state for her or his job. Of course, those who opposed the regime or who were in contact with the dissidents, did not receive such approval. 17 In 1975 in Helsinki, the Czechoslovak government signed the European convention on Declaration of Freedoms and Rights, and the following year the parliament approved it. However, the practical implementation of the provisions of the Declaration was done in a very dubious way. 18 Questions about church property (how the state should return the church property confiscated by the Communist regime) and about the financing of the churches (relations between the state and the churches, sources and structure of funding; state support for the churches, etc.) arose and produced long-lasting discussions. 15

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the latest document of the Roman Catholic church on marriage). In general, there are joint projects of different kinds, but in certain fields of action the co-operation still needs to be expanded. A lot of important activities happen at the grassroots-level, and are based on personal friendships. III. Conclusion And what can be the message of the historical part of this article for the ecumenism in Central Europe? It is obvious from the above-mentioned facts that many of the churches in Central Europe went through a more or less similar experience. It is in a way our common history, something that unites us all, no matter of our confession or nationality. Our behaviour is and will be influenced by this common heritage. In general this article can be concluded with the following words: “The character of ecumenical work and activity in a particular area will always be influenced by the concrete character of the ecumenical situation of a given place.” 19 We should always bear in mind that ecumenism is something that is deeply rooted in the grassroots – in the parishes and congregations – and is indeed a concern of every individual. Furthermore, there is a need for good leadership at the grassroots-level. When an open-minded leadership or charismatic personalities are missing ecumenism does not have much chance to flourish. The history has proved this too often already. If the activities of the Central European Subregion of the World Student Christian Federation remained unconnected to the work done in local Student Christian Movements, they would be just another drop into still waters. Therefore let us go and be ants in the common struggle for a better understanding among Christians and among all people. Suggested Reading FILIPI Pavel, Církev a církve (Church and Churches). Brno, 2000. KINNAMON Michael – COPE Brian E. (eds.), The Ecumenical Movement. An Anthology of Key Texts and Voices. Geneva, 1997. VORSTER Hans (ed.), Ökumene in Ungarn, der Tschechoslowakei und Polen. Beiheft zur Ökumenischen Rundschau.

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J. SIBRT Being Ecumenical Jirÿí SIBRT: Ökumenikusnak lenni – forrásleheto´´ségek és válaszutak (különös tekintettel Csehországra) A cikk egyfajta “bevezetés az ökumenizmusba”. Elso´´ része az ökumenizmus kifejezésének megértésével és az ökumenikus mozgalom történeti fejlo´´désével foglakozik. A második rész pedig a csehországi párbeszéd lehetséges ökumenikus kiindulópontjairól szól. Ezen eszmék olyan történeti alakokra vezetheto´´k vissza, akik a vallási fejlo´´dés szempontjából komoly hatást gyakoroltak a térségben. A szövegben olyan események történeti áttekintését is kapjuk, amelyek az egyházak mai kapcsolatát is alakítják; hiszen akarjuk, vagy sem, annak a múltnak vagyunk gyermekei, amely nagy részben meghatározza viselkedésünket. A cikk Martin VANÿ ÁCÿ cseh nyelvu´´ diplomadolgozatán alapszik: Ökumenizmus a Cseh Köztársaságban – adalékok az ökumenikus kapcsolatok tanulmányozásához az állam-egyház viszony hátterében, 1918-2000. (Prága, 2001).

Jirÿí SIBRT: Potencjalne korzenie i mozú liwosći bycia ekumenicznym (ze specjalnym uwzgleþdnieniem ziem czeskich) ArtykulÚ jest wprowadzeniem do zagadnienia ekumenizmu. Pierwsza czeþsć´ dotyczaþcy samego rozumienia slÚowa ekumenizm oraz historycznego rozwoju ruchów ekumenicznych. Jest równiezú fragment pos´wieþcony platformom, na których mozú liwe saþ dyskusje ekumeniczne w Republice Czeskiej. Te platformy opierajaþ sieþ na postaciach historycznych, które wplÚyneþlÚy na religijny rozwój w tej sferze. Nasteþpnie omówione saþ historyczne badania nad wydarzeniami, które oddzialÚujaþ na obecne stosunki mieþdzy kosćiolÚami, poniewazú chcemy tego czy nie, jestes´my owocami przeszlÚosći, co czeþsćiowo determinuje nasze zachowanie. Nalezú y równiezú wspomniec´, zúe artykulÚ opiera sieþ na pracy dyplomowej Martina VANÿ ACÿa: Ekumenizm w Republice Czeskiej: WklÚad w badania na temat ekumenicznych stosunków w Republice Czeskiej na tle stosunku pan´stwa do KosćiolÚów w latach 1918-2000. (Praga, 2001); napisanej w jeþzyku czeskim.

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Jirÿí SIBRT: Ekumenismus; Potencionální korÿeny a mozÿ nosti pro ekumenické bytí zahrnující historicky´ prÿehled se zvlásÿtním zameÿrÿením na cÿeské zemeÿ Cÿ lánek se pokousÿí poskytnout cÿ tenárÿi uvedení do ekumenismu. Obsahuje cÿ ásti, které se zaby´vají chápáním slova ekumenismus a historicky´m vy´vojem ekumenického hnutí ve sveÿteÿ. Zahrnuje také odstavec o mozÿ nyćh vyćhodiscích pro ekumenicky´ dialog v Cÿ eské republice. Tato vyćhodiska jsou zalozÿena na historickyćh postavách, které vy´znamneÿ ovlivnili nábozÿ ensky´ vy´voj v oblasti vy´sÿe zmíneÿného státu. Nakonec je prÿipojen vyćÿ et historickyćh událostí, které ovlivnÿují soucÿ asné vztahy mezi církvemi, protozÿ e at´ chceme nebo ne, jsme plody minulosti, která cÿ ástecÿ neÿ prÿedurcÿ uje nasÿe jednání. Nakonec jesÿteÿ duû lezÿ itá poznámka. Cÿ lánek vychází z diplomové práce Martina VANÿ ÁCÿe: Ekumenismus v Cÿ R; Prÿíspeÿvek ke studiu ekumenickyćh vztahuû v C ÿ R na pozadí vztahuû státu k církvím v letech 1918 – 2000, Praha 2001.

Jirÿí Sibrt: Ökumene: Wurzeln und Möglichkeiten (mit einem besonderen Fokus auf die Tschechische Republik) Mit diesem Artikel eine Einführung in die Ökumene versucht. Zum einen wird die Bedeutung des Wortes Ökumene analysiert, zum anderen die historische Entwicklung der ökumenischen Bewegung beschrieben. Ausserdem wird in einem Abschnitt diskutiert, wie es möglich wäre, in der Tschechischen Republik Plattformen für ökumenische Diskussionen zu schaffen. Grundlage dieser Plattformen sind historische Begebenheiten, die vor allem im Hinblick auf die Religion die Region geprägt haben. Ausserdem werden die historischen Begebenheiten, die auch heute noch die Beziehungen der verschiedenen christlichen Kirchen beeinflussen, analysiert. Wir sind, ob wir es wollen oder nicht, Kinder der Vergangenheit und das beeinflusst natürlich zum Teil unser Verhalten. Zu guter Letzt muss gesagt werden, dass der Artikel auf der Diplomarbeit von Martin VANÿ ÁCÿ mit dem Titel Ökumene in der Tschechischen Republik auf der Grundlage der Beziehungen von Staat und Kirche in den Jahren 1918-2000 (Prag, 2001) (auf tschechisch) basiert.

Ecumenical Anthology I: A Pentatonic Landscape (2002)