PROFESORUL TEODOR POP: SCHITA DE PORTRET
PORTRAIT OF TEACHER TEODOR POP

Summary/Abstract: Teodor Pop (1782-1835) was tenure teacher of biblical study and oriental languages at the Greek-Catholic Seminary from Blaj and initiator of biblical hermeneutics. He drawn up, between 1816 and 1830, several textbooks in Latin, for theologian students in the first two years of study: Praelectiones in studium introductionis generalis Novi Testamenti, Praelectiones in studium introductionis specialis Novi Testamenti, Institutiones hermeneuticae utriusque Testamenti and Praelectiones exegeticae in S[anctum] Evangelium Matthaei. Their purpose was that of communicating necessary knowledge to understand the text of the New Testament and to reveal methods of interpreting this text. He also compiled a brief course in Romanian, entitled Historie evangheliceasca, where facts of saint history from birth of John the Baptist to the Ascension of Jesus are revealed on the basis of gospels. The course was destined for the so-called „moralists”, who attended a shorter training programme to become priests. Extremely interesting is the final section of this course, which includes directions addressed to the same clerics, these referring to the questions that must be addressed believers during confession. They are arranged according the ten commandments, church imperatives, seven deadly sins, but also according social and professional status of those who confessed. In fact, the text represents the first confessional textbook from the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church. Another dimension of Teodor Pop’s activity presented within the study is that of translator of books from the Old Testament: Psaltirea, whose publishing was ended in 1835 by Timotei Cipariu, in etymologic ortography, and other several translations that remained handwritten (Pildele lui Solomon, Ecleziastul and Cântarea cântarilor, from amongst the poetic-sapiential books, Isaia, Ieremia and Plângerile, Iezechiel and Daniel, from amongst the prophetical ones). The third side of his activity was that of author of exhortations, sermons and spiritual exercises addressed either to clerics from the Seminary or believers. Analysis of these writings’ content and notice of their essential significations, made within this study, will be followed in the future by investigation of models used by Teodor Pop, to may evidentiate modifications that the modern theological culture of Romanians from Transylvania underwent.

• Details
• Contents