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Fr Ivo Õunpuu

Father Ivo has studied theology, philosophy and history in the Estonian Institute of Humanities. In 1992 he chose the vocation of an ecclesiastic. Thereafter, he has studied philosophy at the Philosophical-Theological Collegium of the Dominican Order of the Polish Province, but also theology at the Priest Seminar of St Peter in Wigratzbad and the Priest Seminar of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus at Zaitzkofen. He was ordained a priest in 2002. Throughout 2002-2006 he served as a priest of the Brotherhood of St Pius X in Estonia and Poland. Father Ivo has published articles in German and Polish theological and religious newspapers. In Estonian, he has been the editor of one book and a co-author of two books; also, he has translated papal encyclicals and other theological materials, and has authored himself shorter popularly oriented theological-religious writings.

Lecture:

Tuesday, 27th of October 15.30

It is the duty of the shepherds of the Church to see to it that God be properly revered, in harmony with His sacredness, through the beauty of sacred architecture and the dignity of the liturgy. Yet, one has to admit surprisingly that there are no documents of the Magisterium of the Church from times earlier than the 19th century that would provide direct instructions concerning the proper forms of sacral architecture, sacral art or sacral music, or even the details of liturgical rites. The only thing Church councils and popes stressed was the duty of Christians to uphold and to pass on all written and unwritten traditions, including liturgical rites, and to revere God thereby in a dignified manner. That such reverence of God took place through the use of beautiful and dignified means we still admire in the face of Roman, Gothic and other pieces of cultural heritage, was due to the living faith, the harmonious Christian worldview and the deep sense of sacredness of Christian artists and musicians that did not allow them to profane the evangelical truth by resorting to unfitting means of expression. Only in the 19th century, once secular culture had moved away from its Christian roots and had influenced negatively the Church and the worldview of Christians, did the Magisterium start providing direct instructions concerning the forms and means of expressions of sacral art. By the present time the Magisterium has issued very many instructions concerning sacral architecture, sacral art, sacral music and liturgy, but practice, even in the field of liturgy, is often directly conflicting. The Magisterium has to determine what forms are truly dignified and appropriate for the purpose of serving God. Yet if secularised Christian artists lack faith, humility, obedience, sense of sacredness, cultural understanding and artistic taste, no document of the Magisterium will ever be able to elevate their creation from the level of profane extravagance or banal kitsch to the level of sacral art.