Centre for Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance Texts

The Centre for Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance Texts is a research centre at the Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology, where scientists explore Greek and Latin texts, study important works of European Christian culture, and prepare unknown Latin manuscripts for publication. Readers will appreciate their commented translations of texts that have not been previously translated into Czech.

The “perennial stars” of their research include the Alexandrian school, particularly Clement of Alexandria and Origenes, but Saint Augustine is another substantial star in their firmament. The Alexandrian school was the first school of theology in history where the catechumens, candidates for adult baptism, studied the Scripture as well as Greek philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, and logic.

From clay tablets to modern translations

Thanks to the funding by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, the Centre experts – together with the Department of Biblical Studies at the UP Faculty of Theology and their colleagues from Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic – have been investigating the origins, history, and interpretation of the Bible on the basis of texts originating from the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and North Africa. The formation of biblical texts covers a long period, from clay tablets and papyruses up to the present day.

Biblical commentaries provided by the Centre scholars upon ambiguous passages in the Bible and gradually published in print are very valuable. The first or new Czech translations of early Christian texts are of equal import. Olomouc experts have published studies such as Augustine: On the Immortality of the Soul by Lenka Karfíková, and Gregory of Nyssa: On the Creation of the Man by Magdaléna Bláhová. The first joint publication of Olomouc and Prague Biblicists is Difficult Passages in Former Prophets.