Janko Silan‘s Spiritual Poetry as a Response to the Process of Secularization

Fulltext (.pdf)

https://doi.org/10.54937/vt.2025.24.1.85-98

Autor/ Author: Edita Príhodová

In: Verba Theologica

ISSN: 1336-1635 (Print)

ISSN: 2644-4844 (Online)

Ročník/ Volume: XXIV.

Číslo/ Issue: 1

Strany/ Page Range: 85-98

Rok vydania/ Publication Year: 2025

Jazyk/ Language: Slovak

Vydavateľ/ Publisher: VERBUM – vydavateľstvo Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku

Abstrakt/ Abstract: The paper examines the cultural context of spiritual creative work of Slovak Catholic Modernism authors that is composed of values and practice of liberal society. It was Ladislav Hanus in the 1940s who took a critical stance towards the form of Catholic culture that would close in on itself as a ghetto and defend itself against secular society in the manner of defensive-offensive culture wars. With that said, the spiritual creative work of Slovak Catholic Modernism could then understood as an open and courageous response that recognizes the position of the Church in society as part of salvation history. The second section of the paper provides an interpretive probe into the spiritual poetry of Janko Silan. It focuses on a literary and theological analysis of his poem Slobodný zajatec [The Free Captive]. The interpretation has shown that the poem is built on paradoxes that create a foundation for the dynamics of the relationship between man and God. The author has thus uncovered a dimension of depth within which man learns to live alongside the paradoxes that life brings. This way, spiritual poetry offers a creative spiritual alternative to liberal values that are being hollowed out in a vertical plane.

Kľúčové slová/ Keywords: Janko Silan, Slovak Catholic Modernism, Interpretation, Secularization, Paradox

Citácia/ How to cite:

PRÍHODOVÁ, Edita, 2025. Spirituálna poézia Janka Silana ako odpoveď na proces sekularizácie spoločnosti. Verba Theologica. Online. Roč. XXIV., č. 2, s. 85-98. ISSN 1336-1635 (Print). ISSN 2644-4844 (Online). Dostupné na: https://doi.org/10.54937/vt.2025.24.1.85-98

Toto dielo je publikované pod/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.