(Homily of Monsignor Viliam Judák for Sts. Cyril and Methodius Pilgrimage Spoken on 5 July 2020 in Nitra and Its Contribution to the Development of Cyrillo-Methodian Tradition)

Abstract: The aim of the study is to analyse the text of the homily spoken by the bishop of Nitra, Monsignor Viliam Judák, at Sts. Cyril and Methodius pilgrimage on 5 July 2020 in Nitra, and to identify the elements which directly follow the line of Cyrillo-Methodian preaching tradition in its form and content. The preaching tradition of the saints is based on two aspects: the act of preaching per se (traditio activa) and the content of preaching (traditio passiva). The detailed exploration of the bishop’s homily is grounded in the clearly defined “Cyrillo-Methodian” criteria which preaching should have according to the contemporary documents of the Magisterium. The first part of the study presents the analysis of the relevant part of Pope Francis’ exhortation Evangelii gaudium (2013) which relates to the homily, as well as the analysis of the written work by Sts. Cyril and Methodius which can be considered both in the narrow and wider sense as the Cyrillo-Methodian legacy of preaching. The analysis shows that most criteria used in contemporary preaching of new evangelization are present in the work of the Slavic missionaries especially as structural features: relatedness to liturgy, comprehensibility and clarity, expressiveness, rootedness in the culture of recipients and in Biblical culture, kerygmatic trinitarianism and focus on salvation in Christ. In the second part of the study, the application of the specified criteria on the homily of Monsignor Judák from 5 July 2020 confirms that the homily is in terms of its formal features characterized by Cyrillo-Methodian comprehensibility, and in the features of the content it is characterized by Cyrillo-Methodian advocacy of moral principles, and above all by existential rootedness of Christians in the New Testament, especially in its moral doctrine which promotes an active and responsible attitude of believers and supports the common good of the nation, in its temporal as well as in the eternal dimension.

Authors: Hlad, Ľubomír

DOI: 10.17846/CL.2021.14.2.176-190

Publication order reference: doc. ThDr. Ľubomír Hlad, PhD.; Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra,  Faculty of Arts, Department of Religious Studies, Tr. A. Hlinku 1, 949 01 Nitra, Slovakia; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1690-0057

Source: Konštatínove listy, 2021, vol.: 14, issue: 2, pages: 176-190 (PDF file)

Keywords: TRADITION, CYRILLO-METHODIAN, HOMILY, FORM, CONTENT, MAGISTERIUM, WORD, IMAGES, NATIVE CULTURE, LISTENING, MORAL PRINCIPLES

Language: SLOVAK