2023-06-21

The topic of the issue: The Mother of the Lord Present in the Church:  Theological and Interdisciplinary Perspectives

The editors of the volume: Marek Chmielewski (The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin), Janusz Królikowski (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow)

1. Explanation of the topic

Mariology is an integral branch of theology, closely connected with both Christology and ecclesiology, but also with other branches of systematic theology such as anthropology and charitology. It is also important for the theology of spirituality. The need to include Mariology within the framework of theology is prompted primarily by the life of the Church, but also by the fact that Mariological issues, in a broader sense, arouse the interest of Church historians, art historians, cultural experts, researchers of sanctuaries and pilgrimages, etc. Some of these specialists, however, despite their good intentions and enthusiastic research, often take insufficient account of the theological and dogmatic issues underlying various Marian phenomena throughout history. Mariological issues thus deserve renewed attention and wider consideration in the light of biblical, patristic, and systematic research.

It is worth recalling the set of “delicate” topics proposed by John Paul II over three decades ago, on December 10, 1988, during his visit to the Pontifical Faculty of Theology “Marianum” in Rome. Many of the issues proposed by the pontiff at that time (paraphrased below) are even more relevant today:

• the nature of original sin and its relationship with the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception;
• the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word in the womb of the Virgin of Nazareth, who through her free and obedient attitude became the most sublime and paradigmatic expression of man's cooperation with God's grace;
• the problem of man's destiny, which – in the light of Christ's Passover – finds its complete answer in Mary’s whole glorification;
• the nature of Mary's manifold presence in the life of the Church;
• the ways the work of the Church interacts with the work of the Virgin Mary, since the Church and Mary are both mothers, on the level of grace, because both give birth to divine life;
• an ecumenical issue [...] to show the brothers of the Orthodox and Reformed Churches that the Catholic doctrine of the Blessed Virgin is, in its essence, veritas biblica, veritas antiqua, and therefore cannot be a reason for division.

In a speech delivered on the occasion of the anniversary of the Synod in Capua (392), John Paul II emphasized the need to address the issue of Mary's virginity, including the relationship between Jesus’ virginal conception in Mary's “closed” womb and His resurrection from the “sealed” tomb. This issue is present already in the Fathers of the Church and the ancient liturgies. The issues contained in the exhortation Marialis cultus of Paul VI (next year, 2024, will mark 50 years since its publication) and in the encyclical Redemptoris Mater of John Paul II likewise remain valid and worthy of consideration. We still, however, lack in-depth and up-to-date works on the Marian profile of priestly spirituality.

It seems important also to take into account the presence of the Marian themes (especially piety and spirituality) within the great renewal movements (reforms) that took place in the Church in past centuries. Unfortunately, as part of the discussion on synodality in the Church, which is intended to serve its renewal, the Marian topic was completely omitted. Noteworthy are the topics related to the “Polish Marian way”, which either recur in (e.g. the multiplication of various “private revelations”) or arise from attempts to respond to the spiritual situation of our times, e.g. “Marian apocalyptic”.

The editors of Verbum Vitae thus propose to address these issues in the journal. The topic proposed for study, although very extensive - referring to almost the entirety of Mariology - is, above all, current and highly relevant in its various connections. As we see it, Marian issues deserve more in-depth reflection and scholarly consideration.

Verbum Vitae is primarily a biblical and theological quarterly, but we acknowledge the many different levels on which reflection on the presence of Mary in the Church might be pursued. Thus, we are open to offerings from the perspectives of Church history, literary studies, cultural studies, art history, or other areas where the Marian theme appears.

2. Deadlines and conditions

Articles may be written in Polish or one of the Conference languages: English, German, French, Spanish, or Italian.
For detailed guidelines for authors, see: https://czasopisma.kul.pl/vv/about/submissions
As to editorial guidelines, the submission should conform to the Author-Date Style as defined by the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition). See: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html
Deadline for submission of texts: April 30, 2024.
Publication date of the issue: September 2024.

Texts should be submitted via the journal’s website: https://czasopisma.kul.pl/vv/

Correspondence with the Editors of the volume and the Editorial Team: verbum.vitae@kul.pl

3. Why is it worth publishing in the Verbum Vitae Quarterly?

The quarterly Verbum Vitae is currently one of the three highest-ranking theological journals in Poland. In the latest ratings of journals issued by the Ministry of Education and Science (5.01.2024), our publication was assigned a top score of 100 points. Moreover, Verbum Vitae is represented in the SCOPUS, DOAJ, ATLA, and EBSCO scholarly databases. The last three named platforms in fact deliver every article published in our journal in full-text PDF format to every university library in the world. This makes Verbum Vitae an extremely effective venue for academics to participate in the arena of international scientific dialogue.