Michael Lacko Centre for East–West Spirituality

The Centre's library is one of the important specialised collections of its kind in Central Europe. It holds more than 30,000 items, especially on Eastern Christianity, the Byzantine tradition, theology, spirituality, history and Church studies.

The Societatis Iesu Collection, developed through the long-term work of doc. PhDr. Michal Fedor SJ, CSc., contains more than 15,000 items, including rare early printed books. Among its most valuable holdings is a Glagolitic parchment fragment dating from 1410.

The library also includes the approximately 12,000-item collection of the John XXIII Center for Eastern Christian Studies at the University of Scranton, including early printed books from the sixteenth century and rare works from pre-revolutionary Imperial Russia.

The library and archive preserve manuscripts, musical materials, historical photographs and personal collections associated particularly with prof. Mikuláš Russnák, prof. Michal Lacko SJ, doc. Michal Fedor SJ and other scholars. The archive also documents Jesuit history, the history of eastern Slovakia and the Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia and former Czechoslovakia.

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The beginnings of the Centre are associated with doc. PhDr. Michal Fedor SJ, CSc. (1929–1994). From 1980 he worked towards an institution devoted to study, formation and research concerning Eastern Christianity, collected documents on Slovak Church history and taught the history and life of the Eastern Church in Slovakia under the conditions of the time.

After 1989 he initiated a unit intended to connect East and West. By the end of 1992 it had developed into the Centre for East–West Studies and Research. Its library subsequently grew through collections from Matica slovenská, Moscow and Rome, Jesuit holdings from Levoča and many individual donations.

On 1 December 2001, the Michael Lacko Centre for East–West Spirituality in Košice was established as a research unit of the Faculty of Theology, Trnava University.

Directors:

• 1980–1994: doc. PhDr. Michal Fedor SJ, CSc.
• 1994–1996: without direct leadership
• 1997–2002: ThDr. Ján Babjak SJ
• 2002–2004: Mgr. Milan Lach SJ
• 2004–2007: doc. ThDr. Jozef Kyselica SJ, PhD.
• 2007–2009: Mgr. art. Peter Dufka SJ
• 2009–2011: ThDr. Milan Lach SJ
• since 2011: doc. PaedDr. ThDr. Šimon Marinčák, PhD.

The Centre undertakes research, expert and educational work in Eastern Church studies. It focuses particularly on Eastern Christianity, Byzantine culture, spirituality, history, liturgy, musical tradition and ecumenical dialogue.

• research in Eastern Church studies, Byzantine culture, theology, spirituality and liturgy;
• research projects aligned with the Faculty's long-term academic development;
• symposia, lectures, seminars, conferences and colloquia;
• support for education, particularly doctoral study;
• library and information services for study and research;
• cooperation with Slovak and international academic, research and university institutions.

The Centre for Biblical and Near Eastern Studies is an institute of continuing and lifelong education that works closely with the Michael Lacko Centre. It supports research and education in Biblical and Near Eastern studies, public understanding of academic Biblical scholarship, Biblical apostolate and formation.

Its activities include lectures, colloquia, seminars and the Summer School of Biblical Languages, with teaching in ancient languages such as Biblical Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Latin and Church Slavonic.

Open the Centre for Biblical and Near Eastern Studies website