Research

Faculties of theology have earned and kept honorary primacy at the classical European universities. They owe this to ancient traditions rather than their size or financial power. It was the science of theology that was at the cradle of medieval science and universities, mediating the new Aristotelian perception of science, rationalist principles and the need of mutual dialogue in the unique community that has entered history as universitas magistrorum et scholarium and whose sense, in full loyalty to critical methodology,  was to seek truth: from the simplest truths about material elements through more complex truths about the principles of cognition and societal life up to the most profound truth about the meaning of human existence, and to pass on this truth in its integrity and in a setting of liberty.

Since the 19th century the idea of a university and the site for spiritual and humanistic sciences encompassed in it has started to change under the dictate of mechanistic and naturalistic ideas of science and later on, to the contrary, under a crisis of rationalism, and university science started losing its capability to see the world and essence of things in a holistic way, and started increasingly focusing on accumulating partial knowledge and yet, the role of academic theology has remained irreplaceable for both science and society. It is irreplaceable owing to its specific nature and methodology that is rational and comprehensible to human reason, it is objective and verifiable and simultaneously it stays firmly anchored in Revelation and opens space to the supernatural dimension, to God’s presence. That is the reason why it can optimistically point out to the uncertain, post-modern human being overwhelmed with doubt, the capability of human reason to recognize the truth and, alongside that, bring the human and divine factors in accord in the fragmented world of partial and relative knowledge and offer a fundamental orientation and present the meaning and ultimate goal of existence.

In that regard the Faculty of Theology seeks to be a scientific focal point capable of asking questions, finding its own and reflecting others’ answers to the timely challenges of our time, and intellectually and morally shine through the entire society in Slovakia. The faculty plays a synthesizing role also through uniform building of Catholic Theology, encompassing an integrating an array of sub-disciplines including philosophy, systematic and practical theology, history and canon law that is also open to broad inter-disciplinary cooperation.

Scientific research goes across a diversity of theological sub-disciplines at the Faculty of Roman Catholic Theology of Cyril and Methodius and focuses primarily on two specific key scientific areas, namely biblical science and the history of church where the faculty is actively integrated with the international community through its research, joint projects and publishing activities.

Prof. Dr. phil. Emília Hrabovec