https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/94930 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 11:45:42 GMT 2026-06-25T11:45:42Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147656 Title: La divinità del Figlio e dello Spirito Santo nei discorsi di Gregorio di Nissa Authors: Farrugia, Jonathan Abstract: Alcune omelie del Nisseno hanno un tema specificamente cristologico (le omelie festive predicate nei giorni di natale e pasqua), una parla dello Spirito santo (l’omelia per la santa Pentecoste) e poi ci sono due omelie che parlano specificamente della divinità della seconda e terza persona della Trinità (l’omelia contro Evagrio sulla divinità dello Spirito, e l’omelia sulla divinità del Figlio e dello Spirito e su Abramo). In questo studio propongo di esaminare il linguaggio su Dio che usa il Nisseno in veste di “vescovo predicatore” per insegnare le congregazioni il mistero della divinità del Figlio e dello Spirito. Il contesto storico di queste omelie sono gli anni c.379-388, un decennio nel quale la controversia intorno alla divinità dello Spirito santo, in modo particolare, è molto forte, quindi uno studio del linguaggio omiletico risulta utile per comprendere meglio come l’insegamento ortodosso venne dato al popolo per chiarire le idee sbagliate che venivano diffuse. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147656 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147654 Title: Dante and the Ecclesial Paradox : rebuke, reverence, and redemption Authors: Farrugia, Jonathan Abstract: In the past hundred years, three pontiffs have written apostolic letters to commemorate anniversaries relating to Dante: in 1921, Benedict XV marked the sixth centenary of the death of the great poet; in 1965, Paul VI judged it opportune to write on the occasion of the seventh centenary of his birth; and in 2021, Pope Francis added his voice to the numerous others wishing to honour the memory of the supreme Florentine poet on the seventh centenary of his death. Each letter is a product of its time: one hundred years ago, the Pope—still confined within the Vatican and refusing to recognise the Kingdom of Italy due to the Roman Question—addressed his text “to the beloved sons, professors and pupils of literary institutes and centres of higher learning within the Catholic world”; Paul VI, in full accord with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council and its vision of a Church seeking collaboration with the world, addressed his writing to Dante scholars more broadly, and within the same letter, together with other academic authorities, established the Chair of Dante Studies at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan; Pope Francis today, in his outward-facing style of evangelisation, challenges everyone to (re)read Dante, whose teaching remains relevant seven hundred years after his death. Despite the differing political contexts and ecclesial agendas, Benedict XV, Paul VI, and Pope Francis are united on one point: Dante is a Christian poet—critical of the Church, certainly, but loyal to his faith and desirous of a religious institution that is more serious and less corrupt. This brief study presents the homage which the Church, today, seven centuries later, renders to this Poet—now widely recognised as a passionate witness of an arduous and active faith, in pursuit of justice and freedom. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147654 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147648 Title: The preacher as teacher. Gregory of Nyssa as an educator of faith and behaviour through his homilies Authors: Farrugia, Jonathan Abstract: The corpus of homilies by Gregory of Nyssa that has survived presents him as preaching in a number of different contexts: on the occasion of important feasts such as Christmas and Easter, on the feast days of saints, in funerals, during Lent, in synods and on unspecified occasions. The content of said homilies includes commenting Scripture, explaining dogmatic issues, correcting people for misbehaving and instructing them on eternal life. In this chapter I propose to present and discuss the main themes related to the Christian faith as presented in these different contexts. Attention will be given to the examples and narratives he uses in order to pass on his teaching – which at times deals with complex issues – to his audience presumably made up of people coming from all strata of society. The study will focus on the language Gregory uses to educate his congregation on the basic tenets of the Christian faith, namely belief in the triune God, the incarnation of the Son and life after death. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147648 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147645 Title: A story of veneration and preservation. The seventeenth-century Marian paintings of the old parish church of Mqabba Authors: Farrugia, Jonathan Abstract: Having lost their original setting, Jonathan Farrugia traces the story of the still-surviving Marian altarpieces preserved at the Mqabba parish church, and adds a sixth painting, previously assumed lost, now held in a private collection. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147645 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z