Dear colleagues.

   We are pleased to present the latest issue of our journal. In the individual studies the authors present their findings in the fields of history, theology, social work and psychology. First study analyses the relationship between the sacrament of repentance and spiritual guidance in the Orthodox tradition, seeking to clarify their respective boundaries and competences. The authors of second article deal with the area of prosocial tendencies in future helping professionals who are preparing for the profession of social worker and nurse. In their research focused on identifying prosocial tendencies in students from the perspective of their field of study, age and employment. The next study analyses the precondition for a concept of spiritual guidance that seeks to implement the system of social counselling as well as the possibilities of its application within the professional training of future social workers. The family needs to be ensured, including by the state, that it is functional and more intensive creation of instruments of social support for the family. The authors of fourth article explore the potential of Gospel messages as a source of inspiration for ethical values in the social work profession. They are analyze the relationship between Christian principles and the ethical standards found in the Slovak Code of Ethics for Social Workers. The next study examines the theological concepts of free choice in Eastern Orthodox theology. The differences between the Eastern Orthodox and Western Christian teachings on the relationship between free will and predestination in the matter of human salvation are revealed. Author of following article tries to explane that the religiosity of a person is much more complicated and multifaceted than it seems from the outside. Physiological and psychological needs, intelligence and the environment have an impact on human religiosity. Religion is focused on the inner world of a person, on its religious experience, which is of great importance for the emergence of the psychology of religion. The last study presents a look into spiritual life of man. The author here introduces that salvation is not automatic. Man must first understand his state of sinfulness and separation from God. Only then can he embark on the path to salvation. God, in his Church, offers man many means of support on this difficult path. Finally, we bring you a report on an international scientific conference on Byzantine studies.

   We believe that the studies in this issue will enrich your intellectual perspectives with new knowledge and use in your creative scientific and academic work.

  Pavol Kochan (editor)

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