# 4 (11) 1996

SUMMARY

     A sermon delivered on the Sunday before Christ's Nativity by Metropolitan ANTHONY of Sourozh opens the 11th issue (the 4th in 1996) of the journal "Alpha & Omega". In the same section "Biblical Studies" we print a paper by Fr John BRECK entitled "Orthodoxy and the Bible Today". The author outlines six principles of the Orthodox hermeneutics and discusses the exegetical methods which may be available for the study of the Holy Scripture. The Patristic concept of theoria "spiritual gift of insight" is specially addressed to. Pyotr MALKOV's article "Heaven and Earth: Angel and Man in the Holy Scripture" concludes the section.
     The next section ("Patristics") contains an article by Archbishop VASILIJ (Krivoshein) "Angels and Demons in the Spiritual Life according to the Teaching of the Eastern Fathers". It is followed by an article by the outstanding Russian theologian of the XXth century Vladimir LOSSKY "Syro-Palestinians and St Cyril of Alexandria". Yurij MALKOV's article "...He loved God Most of All" addresses to the personality of V. N. Lossky and the significance of his works.
     A group of papers about Church history includes Tatjana MILLER's memoirs about Fr Aleksandr Tolgskij (†1962) and Fr Ioann Potapov (*1897-†1972) entitled "Light in the Darkness", in which the characters of the two outstanding priests of the time of persecutions are outlined. It is followed by the first publication of Fr Ioann's works including his spiritual testament.
     The section "Church in Eternity" includes the "Lives" of St Simeon the Stylite and of St Geneviиve translated from their Latin versions and an article by Georgij FEDOTOV "St Genovefa and Simeon the Stylite". Here we print also a paper by Archimandrite MAKARIJ (Veretennikov) "Metropolitan Makarij and Saints of his Time".
     The section "Apologetics" include Fr Mikhail DRONOV's article "The "Conflictology" of St Abba Dorotheos" and a paper by Fr Deacon Andrej KURAEV "After the Cherubim Song".
     A paper by Vladimir SHOKHIN "St Philaret of Moscow in the History of Russian Philosophy", in which many important but little known aspects of St Philaret's educational work are emphasized, belongs to the next section, "Church Culture". It is followed by Viktorija MENJAJLO's article "Icons of the "Rublev Style" in Iosifo-Volokolamskij Monastery".
     The next part of materials for study entitled "A History of the Ecumenical Councils" by Alexander DVORKIN, a survey by Yelena PANJUKOVA "Russian and German Press on Religion", information on the second meeting of the Association of St Silouan of Athos by Aleksandr GUREVICH, notes entitled "From the Point of View of an Orthodox Psychotherapist" by Sergej BELORUSOV, a call for help issued by the orphanage of the community of the St Dimitri Church, and the complete list of publications in the volume of 1996 of the journal conclude the issue.