The article deals with the concept and image of templum and its transformations in a globalized world. The starting point of the analysis is the ambiguity that could be disclosed in the functioning of the concept of sacrum. The concept of profanation is directly related with the negative aspect of the sacrum. Thus, the ambiguity of the act of profanation can be also seen in cases of the conversion of sanctuaries into «public institutions» in the Soviet period. The analysis (...) will focus on the gesture of profanation, which will be elucidated through the case of the de-consecration and re-consecration of the Vilnius Cathedral. (shrink)

Resumen: El artículo trata del concepto e imagen de templum y sus transformaciones en un mundo globalizado. El punto de arranque del análisis es la ambiguedad que puede ser revelada en el funcionamiento del concepto de lo sacrum. El concepto de profanación está directamente relacionado con el aspecto negativo de lo sacro. Así la ambiguedad del acto de profanación puede observarse en los casos de la conversión de los santuarios en «instituciones públicas» en el tiempo soviético. El análisis se (...) centrará en el gesto de profanación, que será elucidado a través del caso de des-consagración y re-consagración de la catedral de Vilnius.Key Words: templum; sacer; sacrum; profanum; profanación. (shrink)

Among the elements which have gradually been complicating the countless representations of the Virgin Mary throughout history, this paper seeks to highlight and interpret conceptually one of special doctrinal significance in some Marian images during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: the temple, in whose interior some artists place some actual or symbolic episodes of Mary, from her birth or her Annunciation to the Sacra Conversazione, to give a few examples. Even though at first sight it looks as a mere scenographic (...) or ornamental ingredient, without iconographic value, this precise shape of temple reveals in fact some profound Mariological and Christological meanings. In that order of ideas, this essay is based on a double methodological strategy: first and foremost, to analyze some Marian images which include in the aforementioned period the shape of a temple, in order to see what kind of role such a religious building plays in them; secondly, to discover the relevant keys for interpreting such images, by analyzing some specific texts of the Church Fathers and medieval theologians who identify with Mary the figure of the «temple of God». For this reason, after a brief introduction to the problem, the present study is structured into three main parts inextricably intertwined: in the first we comparatively analyze twelve Marian paintings of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in which the Virgin appears inside a temple; in the second we explain the many exegesis that, in a consistent and strong patristic and theological tradition, identify the analogy of the templum Dei directly with the Virgin Mary, or indirectly with the Christ’s human body conceived in her womb; on the basis of this double analysis of images and exegetical writings, the third part of the paper states as a synthetic conclusion that the artistic representation of a temple or a church building in some Marian images of this period offers a compelling plastic metaphor of Mary and, ultimately, of her virginal divine motherhood. (shrink)

RésuméLa sémiotique a inventé ou utilisé plusieurs modèles logiques pour représenter la structure élémentaire de la signification. Le carré sémiotique est sans doute l’un des plus célèbres de ces modèles. Il faut se demander, devant l’importance des phénomènes triadiques, si les modèles dyadiques sont (toujours) adaptés à leur description ou s’il ne faudrait pas se tourner (aussi) vers des modèles triadiques. Or, les modèles triadiques de la structure élémentaire de la signification nous apparaissent bien moins nombreux. À notre connaissance, seule (...) la sémiotique de Peirce et le templum de Boudon occupent cet espace autrement laissé vacant. Nous voulons ici à la fois présenter et exemplifier le templum et le compléter, en nous inspirant du carré sémiotique, pour le faire évoluer vers un « prisme sémiotique ». Nous proposerons également d’autres modèles logiques, comme le pentalemme et le cube sémiotiques. Au passage, nous étudierons plusieurs questions et problèmes – dont la décidabilité – entourant les modèles logiques. Nous ferons quelques applications sommaires de certains modèles, sur le temps, l’espace et la transcendance principalement. (shrink)

This paper seeks to highlight the various interpretations that, before the Second Council of Constantinople, many Latin Church Fathers gave on several metaphorical expressions, such as “God’s temple,” “sanctuary,” “tabernacle,” “ark,” and other similar terms referring to spaces or containers reserved for deity. To address this issue, the author of this article structures his methodology on three strategies: the first consists in a profound tracking in Patristic and theological sources to detect some relevant statements by conspicuous Christian masters on the (...) subject; through the second, he analyzes intra-textually each found Patristic assertions to decipher the doctrinal interpretation that every Christian writer brings about such metaphors; by the third methodological strategy, he intertextually relates all these texts, and authors through a comparative analysis to highlight their possible concordances or discrepan- cies. Resumen Este artículo busca resaltar las diversas interpretaciones que, antes del Segundo Concilio de Constantinopla, muchos Padres de la Iglesia Latina dieron sobre varias expresiones metafóricas, como “templo de Dios”, “santuario”, “tabernáculo”, “arca”,y otros términos similares referidos a espacios o contenedores reservados a la divinidad. Para abordar este tema, el autor del presente artículo estructura su metodología en tres estrategias fundamentales: el primer paso consiste en un seguimiento sistemático y profundo en fuentes patrísticas y teológicas para detectar declaraciones relevantes de conspicuos maestros de la doctrina cristiana sobre el tema; a través del segundo procedimiento, analiza intra- textualmente cada una de las afirmaciones patrísticas encontradas para descifrar la interpretación doctrinal que cada escritor cristiano aporta sobre tales metáforas; mediante la tercera y conclusiva estra tegia metodológica, el autor relaciona intertextualmente todos estos textos y pensadores a través de un análisis comparativo para resaltar sus posibles concordias o discrepancias. (shrink)

Journal Name: Semiotica Issue: Ahead of print.