Cel zakładania ogrodów biblijnych i ich funkcje

Abstract

Biblical gardens have been established in the U.S., many European countries and Australia. They were created by Jews, Catholics and Protestants, sometimes as an expression of ecumenical activities. They are also used for treating the disabled and as a place of learning tolerance, especially teaching this school children. Half of the 60 studied gardens are situated in the vicinity of sacral buildings, while the other ones are located in the territory of schools, city parks or botanical gardens and arboreta. The gardens include numerous biblical symbols, for example: a topiary of grapevines as an image of Jesus, running water as a symbol of life (so-called ‘living water’), a cross, a desert, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Red Sea, Α and Ω letters, an empty tomb, a star, a serpent on the pole, a dove, and a temple of Jerusalem. In the investigated gardens, there are more biblical themes from the Old Testament (19) than from the New Testament (14). In addition, 8 themes common to the Old and New Testaments are presented. These are: the theology of a desert, biblical characters, the genealogy of Jesus, faith, a theology of bread, life and death, the history of salvation and geography of Palestine. The most popular biblical topic is a theology of the grapevine and vineyard as an image of Jesus, followed by the arrangements associated with Paradise, the events which took place in the desert and the parables of Jesus.