The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity
This chapter offers a general perspective on how the Anagignoskomena has been received in the Eas... more This chapter offers a general perspective on how the Anagignoskomena has been received in the Eastern Orthodox space. These additions, which accompany the canonical books of the Septuagint, have been accepted by the Church and used especially for their formative dimension. Even if some of the Church Fathers included parts of this category on the lists of canonical books, they were not viewed as Holy Scriptures. This research describes how the countries with an Orthodox majority accepted the Anagignoskomena and defined the line of understanding regarding their status in the Scripture. The following environments have been mostly considered: the Slavic, the Greek, and the Romanian. Scholars have analyzed the main translations/editions of the Holy Scripture in the languages of the environments and have indicated the positions of current biblical scholars toward this category. The use of fragments from the Anagignoskomena in worship is a peculiarity of Eastern Orthodoxy.
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2017
Melchizedek's meeting with Abraham in the King?s Valley (Genesis 14) would mark the history o... more Melchizedek's meeting with Abraham in the King?s Valley (Genesis 14) would mark the history of the chosen people. As king of Salem and priest of the Almighty God, Melchizedek meets the patriarch with bread and wine and then blesses him in the name of the God they both served. Assuming this liturgical ritual Abraham offers Melchizedek a tenth of everything, by this acknowledging and accepting his sacerdotal service. Even though at a first sight their gestures are somewhat natural, we will understand going through our study that the attitude of each character implies a deeper significance. This is emphasized firstly in psalms, in the context of several Messianic sentences, which refer to an eternal priesthood that finds its origins not in the service of Aaron, but in that of Melchizedek. This text would generate and fundament later the Pauline discourse on the priesthood of Jesus Christ and implicitly of the Christians. The resemblance of Melchizedek with Jesus Christ is maximized...
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2019
The history of the people of God is tightly dependant on receiving the Law, as, by fulfilling it,... more The history of the people of God is tightly dependant on receiving the Law, as, by fulfilling it, Israel remained within the realm of knowing God. The institution of the monarchy was obliged to stay faithful to the law of God in order for the State of Israel to remain within God’s favour. In that context, the king had a duty to his people to remain faithful to God, as embracing idolatry would have been a danger to the very religious, social and political stability of Israel. The Christian perspective of the early 1 st century, marked by the political context of the rule of the Roman Empire, continues the Judaic paradigm as to the relation between the political and the religious authority, but adds certain nuances to it (Matt. 22:21;Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17). For this very reason, the Leviathan proposed by Thomas Hobbes does not have a correspondence in the Jewish-Christian world. The birth of a political system based on society voluntarily renouncing its most basic rights, esta...
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2018
God revealed to man during the history of his salvation in two ways: through word and through ima... more God revealed to man during the history of his salvation in two ways: through word and through image. In other words, the divine message was addressed to the hearing and seeing of man. In the second case, revelation was achieved in a complete form. Man was part of a theophanic act, he was enveloped by the divine light and with the help of his spiritual eyes he was able to see, as much as it was permitted, God who is light. This light was not completely strange to man, even though he could not see it with his physical eyes. The uncreated light that God made even from the first day of creation did not disappear when the great light were put in the sky. It had the purpose to arrange creation and to be the environment within which man could meet God and talk to Him face to face. Even though the fall took man out of sight, God established that from time to time this bright environment should be revealed to man in order to call him back to the life within light. These presentations of the ...
rticle #294 (page number not for citation purposes) ROMANIAN THEOLOGY: A THEOLOGY OF DIALOGUE Thi... more rticle #294 (page number not for citation purposes) ROMANIAN THEOLOGY: A THEOLOGY OF DIALOGUE This article offers an overview of the development of Romanian theology through the 20th century, especially after 1989, which constituted a new era for the evolution of Romanian theology. The author believes that the greatest challenge for the Romanian Orthodox Church after 1989 is the one that aims at the reconfi guration of the mission of the Christian martyria within the new forms of religious and social freedom. The author states the necessity for Romanian theology for its own katharsis (purifi cation) as well as the necessity for eliminating the idea that between theology and the other sciences there is a relationship of antinomy. The author fi rmly states his credo as a theologian, namely the theological theme of deifi cation/theosis, understood either in the way of Saint Paul as ‘gods through grace ’ or in the way of Saint Peter as ‘partakers of the divine nature’: homo-Deus. Author:
Abstract: The adoption of the Legal Codes has generated a debate regarding use therein of the con... more Abstract: The adoption of the Legal Codes has generated a debate regarding use therein of the concept of family. Today, the family is in an area of decline due to profound socio-economic mutations, which have caused several processes to become acute, such as individualization, divorce, abandonment of the prospect of marriage, increase in number of abortions, deterioration of the condition of children and adolescents. In spite of all this, the Legal Codes have preserved the traditional concepts. Likewise, the development of NRTs, insemination, surrogate mothers, demands for rights for the gay couples and their fight for acknowledgement have also contributed to this socio-cultural shift. We use the concept of family in its classical meaning; any other meaning configurations remain in the area signifying a couple/pair that do not have the possibility of procreation in themselves. Under the circumstances, we plead for the reconstruction of the family.
"The church has had to accept the national division of Europe since the Middle Ages and adap... more "The church has had to accept the national division of Europe since the Middle Ages and adapt to this situation. This issue is relatively unclear in the case of Tran-sylvania. N. Iorga stated about the Orthodox Christian consciousness that “it was so strong that it hindered the creation of a strong national consciousness”, and this would allow us to see in the ecclesiastical organization a form of expression of uni-tary organization of Romanian ethnicity in Transylvania. The time of Transylvani-an principalities and voivodeships shows us that most often the ecclesiastical leaders were also the political leaders (see the case of Prince Andrew Báthory who was Archbishop of Warmia – Poland); so, the two concepts of ethnicity and confession reflected the same historical reality during those times. The two concepts will be-come separated only later, after the emergence of confessions other than the Eastern rite. In support of our statement, we have the correspondence between the Hungar-ian kings and officials and the papacy. Before dealing with these perspectives, we shall pin down the terminology to grant the reader the possibility to understand the historical situations through a kind of thinking marked by the imprint of the Holy Scripture. Keywords: ethnicity, people, confession, dynamic status, national consciousness, Transyl-vania, the church. "
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2020
In life, decisions are not only taken by considering logical reasoning, but they are influenced b... more In life, decisions are not only taken by considering logical reasoning, but they are influenced by images, symbols, and myths. Moreover, in our multicultural and multiracial societies, we must express ourselves with attention, to use careful comparisons and especially neutral expressions. Symbols multiply the effect of words, and consequently, the risk of saying something wrong is increased. Also, if each person one discusses with will know how to decode your words is a wrong assumption. The symbols mentioned are also influenced by other factors, and they are part of a more comprehensive concept, namely the imaginary. This study is a conceptual review of the imaginary concept. There are many disciplines that study the imaginary, and many definitions for it, given by researchers coming from all fields, but there are few papers that explain how the imaginary is formed and how it influences our lives. By reviewing the literature, we have identified major limitations of the theories and...
Saint Symeon is one of the most representative Eastern theologians and mystics. His speech on God... more Saint Symeon is one of the most representative Eastern theologians and mystics. His speech on God and the knowledge of heavenly realities through direct, unmitigated experience would gain him the title of “the New Theologian”, which, until him, had only belonged to Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. Therefore, his writings have greatly influenced the Christian East. Saint Symeon has been perceived as a renewer of the tradition of spiritual life and a restorer of the lost or rather neglected spiritual life. In this study, we aim to highlight his experiences in which he partook of the sight of divine light. These mystical episodes marked his life and decisively influenced the way he related to God and to the spiritual life to which Christians must adhere. We will first present these experiences of heavenly light from a chronological point of view, starting with those from the period when he was a layman and culminating with those from Saint Mamas Monastery. Our ...
Saint Symeon is one of the most representative Eastern theologians and mystics. His speech on God... more Saint Symeon is one of the most representative Eastern theologians and mystics. His speech on God and the knowledge of heavenly realities through direct, unmitigated experience would gain him the title of “the New Theologian”, which, until him, had only belonged to Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. Therefore, his writings have greatly influenced the Christian East. Saint Symeon has been perceived as a renewer of the tradition of spiritual life and a restorer of the lost or rather neglected spiritual life. In this study, we aim to highlight his experiences in which he partook of the sight of divine light. These mystical episodes marked his life and decisively influenced the way he related to God and to the spiritual life to which Christians must adhere. We will first present these experiences of heavenly light from a chronological point of view, starting with those from the period when he was a layman and culminating with those from Saint Mamas Monastery. Our ...
In cadrul acestui studiu intenționez să ofer cititorului posibilitatea de a se familiariza cu pri... more In cadrul acestui studiu intenționez să ofer cititorului posibilitatea de a se familiariza cu principalele tipuri de interpretare scripturistică, intr-unexercițiu exegetic focalizat pe psalmul al doilea. Alegerea textului suport nu a fost intâmplătoare, deoarece incă din antichitate, psalmii au suscitat atenția unui număr impresionant de interpreți și au constituit un cadru de convergență, dialog și uneori chiar de dispute intre religii (iudaism și creștinism), iar apoi intre confesiunile creștine. Pe parcursul analizei exegetice am ținut cont de rigorile școlii critice de interpretare pe care le-am corelat cu comentariile rabinice și patristice pentru a realiza o abordare cât mai cuprinzătoare. Cu toate că pozițiile acestora nu au consonat in toate privințele, am incercat pe cât a fost posibil să subliniez mai degrabă elementele comune care se regăsesc in maniera de interpretare caracteristică fiecărei școli exegetice, decât cele care le diferențiază. Ca atare, complexitatea acestu...
This article underlines particularly those aspects of Romanian theology that distinguish it from ... more This article underlines particularly those aspects of Romanian theology that distinguish it from other theological refl ections. By making use of liturgical discourse, Romanian theology refl ects the ecumenical dimension of the prayers of the Divine Liturgy. It is this specifi city that provides Romanian theology's missionary dimension within the European context. The author introduces the idea that theology is not an academic mission reserved to a group of intellectuals or to the hierarchy of the church; it is rather open to every believer-every believer is asked to be a theologian, to be a person of prayer, to speak about God while being in God. Another point of interest is the God-humanity-world relationship in an era of globalisation, with regard to which the author stresses the need for equilibrium between spiritual and scientifi c values and that Romanian Orthodox theology is an authentic theology of equilibrium.
Martin Tamcke, Constantin Preda, Marian Vild, Daniel Mihoc (eds.), Scripture's interpretation is more than making science, Festschrift in Honor of Fr. Prof. Vasile Mihoc, in Studien zur Orientalischen Kirchengeschichte, vol. 62 (Göttingen: Lit Verlag)., 2020
Volumul de față este mărturia faptului că, până în prezent, în pofida tuturor dificultăților întâ... more Volumul de față este mărturia faptului că, până în prezent, în pofida tuturor dificultăților întâmpinate, truda bibliștilor români a rodit într-o multitudine de volume și studii foarte variate, care acoperă, în mare măsură, întreg conținutul Scripturii. Aflat la a doua ediție, acest volum este un amplu ghid bibliografic specializat pe lucrări de Vechiul Testament publicate în literatura teologică românească ortodoxă. Ghidul este gândit ca un instrument de cercetare care permite utilizatorului să cunoască lucrările cu tematică vechitestamentară realizate de bibliștii ortodocși români până în anul 2017 inclusiv. Informațiile sunt prezentate în patru capitole ample: I. Revistele de specialitate, unde am inclus cele mai relevante publicații pentru domeniu, pe care le-am rearanjat cronologic, în funcție de anul apariție; II. Anuarele Facultăților de Teologie, care au fost și ele reorganizate în funcție de anul în care au publicate; III. Bio-bibliografia bibliștilor români specializați pe Vechiul Testament, în care am expus selectiv doar informațiile relevante pentru cercetarea biblică vechi-testamentară; IV. Sistematizare tematică. Fiecare secține grupează resursele în trei categorii: volume, studii și articole și repere patristice.
The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity
This chapter offers a general perspective on how the Anagignoskomena has been received in the Eas... more This chapter offers a general perspective on how the Anagignoskomena has been received in the Eastern Orthodox space. These additions, which accompany the canonical books of the Septuagint, have been accepted by the Church and used especially for their formative dimension. Even if some of the Church Fathers included parts of this category on the lists of canonical books, they were not viewed as Holy Scriptures. This research describes how the countries with an Orthodox majority accepted the Anagignoskomena and defined the line of understanding regarding their status in the Scripture. The following environments have been mostly considered: the Slavic, the Greek, and the Romanian. Scholars have analyzed the main translations/editions of the Holy Scripture in the languages of the environments and have indicated the positions of current biblical scholars toward this category. The use of fragments from the Anagignoskomena in worship is a peculiarity of Eastern Orthodoxy.
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2017
Melchizedek's meeting with Abraham in the King?s Valley (Genesis 14) would mark the history o... more Melchizedek's meeting with Abraham in the King?s Valley (Genesis 14) would mark the history of the chosen people. As king of Salem and priest of the Almighty God, Melchizedek meets the patriarch with bread and wine and then blesses him in the name of the God they both served. Assuming this liturgical ritual Abraham offers Melchizedek a tenth of everything, by this acknowledging and accepting his sacerdotal service. Even though at a first sight their gestures are somewhat natural, we will understand going through our study that the attitude of each character implies a deeper significance. This is emphasized firstly in psalms, in the context of several Messianic sentences, which refer to an eternal priesthood that finds its origins not in the service of Aaron, but in that of Melchizedek. This text would generate and fundament later the Pauline discourse on the priesthood of Jesus Christ and implicitly of the Christians. The resemblance of Melchizedek with Jesus Christ is maximized...
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2019
The history of the people of God is tightly dependant on receiving the Law, as, by fulfilling it,... more The history of the people of God is tightly dependant on receiving the Law, as, by fulfilling it, Israel remained within the realm of knowing God. The institution of the monarchy was obliged to stay faithful to the law of God in order for the State of Israel to remain within God’s favour. In that context, the king had a duty to his people to remain faithful to God, as embracing idolatry would have been a danger to the very religious, social and political stability of Israel. The Christian perspective of the early 1 st century, marked by the political context of the rule of the Roman Empire, continues the Judaic paradigm as to the relation between the political and the religious authority, but adds certain nuances to it (Matt. 22:21;Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17). For this very reason, the Leviathan proposed by Thomas Hobbes does not have a correspondence in the Jewish-Christian world. The birth of a political system based on society voluntarily renouncing its most basic rights, esta...
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2018
God revealed to man during the history of his salvation in two ways: through word and through ima... more God revealed to man during the history of his salvation in two ways: through word and through image. In other words, the divine message was addressed to the hearing and seeing of man. In the second case, revelation was achieved in a complete form. Man was part of a theophanic act, he was enveloped by the divine light and with the help of his spiritual eyes he was able to see, as much as it was permitted, God who is light. This light was not completely strange to man, even though he could not see it with his physical eyes. The uncreated light that God made even from the first day of creation did not disappear when the great light were put in the sky. It had the purpose to arrange creation and to be the environment within which man could meet God and talk to Him face to face. Even though the fall took man out of sight, God established that from time to time this bright environment should be revealed to man in order to call him back to the life within light. These presentations of the ...
rticle #294 (page number not for citation purposes) ROMANIAN THEOLOGY: A THEOLOGY OF DIALOGUE Thi... more rticle #294 (page number not for citation purposes) ROMANIAN THEOLOGY: A THEOLOGY OF DIALOGUE This article offers an overview of the development of Romanian theology through the 20th century, especially after 1989, which constituted a new era for the evolution of Romanian theology. The author believes that the greatest challenge for the Romanian Orthodox Church after 1989 is the one that aims at the reconfi guration of the mission of the Christian martyria within the new forms of religious and social freedom. The author states the necessity for Romanian theology for its own katharsis (purifi cation) as well as the necessity for eliminating the idea that between theology and the other sciences there is a relationship of antinomy. The author fi rmly states his credo as a theologian, namely the theological theme of deifi cation/theosis, understood either in the way of Saint Paul as ‘gods through grace ’ or in the way of Saint Peter as ‘partakers of the divine nature’: homo-Deus. Author:
Abstract: The adoption of the Legal Codes has generated a debate regarding use therein of the con... more Abstract: The adoption of the Legal Codes has generated a debate regarding use therein of the concept of family. Today, the family is in an area of decline due to profound socio-economic mutations, which have caused several processes to become acute, such as individualization, divorce, abandonment of the prospect of marriage, increase in number of abortions, deterioration of the condition of children and adolescents. In spite of all this, the Legal Codes have preserved the traditional concepts. Likewise, the development of NRTs, insemination, surrogate mothers, demands for rights for the gay couples and their fight for acknowledgement have also contributed to this socio-cultural shift. We use the concept of family in its classical meaning; any other meaning configurations remain in the area signifying a couple/pair that do not have the possibility of procreation in themselves. Under the circumstances, we plead for the reconstruction of the family.
"The church has had to accept the national division of Europe since the Middle Ages and adap... more "The church has had to accept the national division of Europe since the Middle Ages and adapt to this situation. This issue is relatively unclear in the case of Tran-sylvania. N. Iorga stated about the Orthodox Christian consciousness that “it was so strong that it hindered the creation of a strong national consciousness”, and this would allow us to see in the ecclesiastical organization a form of expression of uni-tary organization of Romanian ethnicity in Transylvania. The time of Transylvani-an principalities and voivodeships shows us that most often the ecclesiastical leaders were also the political leaders (see the case of Prince Andrew Báthory who was Archbishop of Warmia – Poland); so, the two concepts of ethnicity and confession reflected the same historical reality during those times. The two concepts will be-come separated only later, after the emergence of confessions other than the Eastern rite. In support of our statement, we have the correspondence between the Hungar-ian kings and officials and the papacy. Before dealing with these perspectives, we shall pin down the terminology to grant the reader the possibility to understand the historical situations through a kind of thinking marked by the imprint of the Holy Scripture. Keywords: ethnicity, people, confession, dynamic status, national consciousness, Transyl-vania, the church. "
Journal for The Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2020
In life, decisions are not only taken by considering logical reasoning, but they are influenced b... more In life, decisions are not only taken by considering logical reasoning, but they are influenced by images, symbols, and myths. Moreover, in our multicultural and multiracial societies, we must express ourselves with attention, to use careful comparisons and especially neutral expressions. Symbols multiply the effect of words, and consequently, the risk of saying something wrong is increased. Also, if each person one discusses with will know how to decode your words is a wrong assumption. The symbols mentioned are also influenced by other factors, and they are part of a more comprehensive concept, namely the imaginary. This study is a conceptual review of the imaginary concept. There are many disciplines that study the imaginary, and many definitions for it, given by researchers coming from all fields, but there are few papers that explain how the imaginary is formed and how it influences our lives. By reviewing the literature, we have identified major limitations of the theories and...
Saint Symeon is one of the most representative Eastern theologians and mystics. His speech on God... more Saint Symeon is one of the most representative Eastern theologians and mystics. His speech on God and the knowledge of heavenly realities through direct, unmitigated experience would gain him the title of “the New Theologian”, which, until him, had only belonged to Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. Therefore, his writings have greatly influenced the Christian East. Saint Symeon has been perceived as a renewer of the tradition of spiritual life and a restorer of the lost or rather neglected spiritual life. In this study, we aim to highlight his experiences in which he partook of the sight of divine light. These mystical episodes marked his life and decisively influenced the way he related to God and to the spiritual life to which Christians must adhere. We will first present these experiences of heavenly light from a chronological point of view, starting with those from the period when he was a layman and culminating with those from Saint Mamas Monastery. Our ...
Saint Symeon is one of the most representative Eastern theologians and mystics. His speech on God... more Saint Symeon is one of the most representative Eastern theologians and mystics. His speech on God and the knowledge of heavenly realities through direct, unmitigated experience would gain him the title of “the New Theologian”, which, until him, had only belonged to Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. Therefore, his writings have greatly influenced the Christian East. Saint Symeon has been perceived as a renewer of the tradition of spiritual life and a restorer of the lost or rather neglected spiritual life. In this study, we aim to highlight his experiences in which he partook of the sight of divine light. These mystical episodes marked his life and decisively influenced the way he related to God and to the spiritual life to which Christians must adhere. We will first present these experiences of heavenly light from a chronological point of view, starting with those from the period when he was a layman and culminating with those from Saint Mamas Monastery. Our ...
In cadrul acestui studiu intenționez să ofer cititorului posibilitatea de a se familiariza cu pri... more In cadrul acestui studiu intenționez să ofer cititorului posibilitatea de a se familiariza cu principalele tipuri de interpretare scripturistică, intr-unexercițiu exegetic focalizat pe psalmul al doilea. Alegerea textului suport nu a fost intâmplătoare, deoarece incă din antichitate, psalmii au suscitat atenția unui număr impresionant de interpreți și au constituit un cadru de convergență, dialog și uneori chiar de dispute intre religii (iudaism și creștinism), iar apoi intre confesiunile creștine. Pe parcursul analizei exegetice am ținut cont de rigorile școlii critice de interpretare pe care le-am corelat cu comentariile rabinice și patristice pentru a realiza o abordare cât mai cuprinzătoare. Cu toate că pozițiile acestora nu au consonat in toate privințele, am incercat pe cât a fost posibil să subliniez mai degrabă elementele comune care se regăsesc in maniera de interpretare caracteristică fiecărei școli exegetice, decât cele care le diferențiază. Ca atare, complexitatea acestu...
This article underlines particularly those aspects of Romanian theology that distinguish it from ... more This article underlines particularly those aspects of Romanian theology that distinguish it from other theological refl ections. By making use of liturgical discourse, Romanian theology refl ects the ecumenical dimension of the prayers of the Divine Liturgy. It is this specifi city that provides Romanian theology's missionary dimension within the European context. The author introduces the idea that theology is not an academic mission reserved to a group of intellectuals or to the hierarchy of the church; it is rather open to every believer-every believer is asked to be a theologian, to be a person of prayer, to speak about God while being in God. Another point of interest is the God-humanity-world relationship in an era of globalisation, with regard to which the author stresses the need for equilibrium between spiritual and scientifi c values and that Romanian Orthodox theology is an authentic theology of equilibrium.
Martin Tamcke, Constantin Preda, Marian Vild, Daniel Mihoc (eds.), Scripture's interpretation is more than making science, Festschrift in Honor of Fr. Prof. Vasile Mihoc, in Studien zur Orientalischen Kirchengeschichte, vol. 62 (Göttingen: Lit Verlag)., 2020
Volumul de față este mărturia faptului că, până în prezent, în pofida tuturor dificultăților întâ... more Volumul de față este mărturia faptului că, până în prezent, în pofida tuturor dificultăților întâmpinate, truda bibliștilor români a rodit într-o multitudine de volume și studii foarte variate, care acoperă, în mare măsură, întreg conținutul Scripturii. Aflat la a doua ediție, acest volum este un amplu ghid bibliografic specializat pe lucrări de Vechiul Testament publicate în literatura teologică românească ortodoxă. Ghidul este gândit ca un instrument de cercetare care permite utilizatorului să cunoască lucrările cu tematică vechitestamentară realizate de bibliștii ortodocși români până în anul 2017 inclusiv. Informațiile sunt prezentate în patru capitole ample: I. Revistele de specialitate, unde am inclus cele mai relevante publicații pentru domeniu, pe care le-am rearanjat cronologic, în funcție de anul apariție; II. Anuarele Facultăților de Teologie, care au fost și ele reorganizate în funcție de anul în care au publicate; III. Bio-bibliografia bibliștilor români specializați pe Vechiul Testament, în care am expus selectiv doar informațiile relevante pentru cercetarea biblică vechi-testamentară; IV. Sistematizare tematică. Fiecare secține grupează resursele în trei categorii: volume, studii și articole și repere patristice.
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