The Cross and Mother Mary as Researched by Jerzy Józef Kopeć Cp

Abstract

Rev. Prof. Jerzy Kopeć’s extensive research legacy exhibits liturgy as a multidimensional and multifaceted reality. Among the variety of research issues undertaken by the famous liturgist there was the one concerning the Passion and the Marian cult as seen from the historical per- from its earliest manifestations, first focusing primarily on Christ’s Cross and the salvific power of His death, then on the highlighting of the sinfulness of man, up to the moment where the historical marking of the soteriological role of Christ’s Cross and Passion as a way of redemption from sin became prominent. Rev. Prof. Kopeć made a link between theology and the particular forms of cult, which allowed a wider insight into the current manifestations of Passion devotion. A similar view can be held on his research of the Marian cult. Rev. Prof. Kopeć analysed the roots of the cult and their influence on its growth. He showed how this cult related to the doctrine of the Church and to the phenomenon of popular piety.