Jesus Christ - The Redeemer of the world. Orthodox Dogmatic Theology Synthesis

Author(s): Marin Bugiulescu / Language(s): English Issue: 03/2016

The present article highlights in a synthesis of Dogmatic Theology the activity of Christ, the world’s Redeemer. The person and the work of the world’s Saviour, Jesus Christ, is the center of the teaching of faith, as He is the One Who accomplishes the whole work redeeming mankind and man from the slavery of sin and of death. The teaching on Jesus Christ the Embodied Son and Word of God (John 1:14; Hebrews 4:15), as it was formulated and preached by the Church in the ecumenical synods, maintains the unity of the Church, and, by the Church, of the whole world.

UNITATE PRIN CULTURĂ ȘI CREDINȚĂ

Author(s): Ioan Selejan / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 04-06/2018

The first figure I have learned in arithmetics was the figure “one”, expressed by means of a vertical line and a willow stick. I have then learned all the other figures, which consisted in a cluster of sticks. One loves and two, three divide and disunite. One may be considered by us, Romanians, sacred numbers, such as, in other cultures, seven acts a sacred number. Christ prayed that all be one (acc. to In. 17, 21). Christ blesses unity and grants the numeral “one” a major connotation, where love transcends the number itself. The unity of a people is not only the result of political, military and diplomatic actions, but also the fruit of the prayer of Christ and the sons of a kind. In this settings, even the most enlightened sons of the Church seem to be involved in the unification of Romanians.

FIREA UMANĂ ȘI PĂCATUL STRĂMOȘESC

Author(s): Ioannis Romanidis / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 04-06/2018

Human nature was not left untouched pursuant to the ancestral sin, nor was it permanently compromised, but it merely fell ill by disease of damage. The sin of our forefathers is a failure in exercising the freedom which man received from God, a failure which shall lead to the diminishing of the divine grace in the subjective-human life environment, by alienation from God. God, however, in His fore-wisdom, left a door by which to enter our world so as to redeem human nature from the inside, for he cast his mercy upon seeing the tragedy in which man was attracted by the devil. Ignoring the truth on the weakening of human nature and the origin of death leads to a misconception on God and His relationship with man and the world, which threatens the unity of the Church, making man a victim of the subjective representations about God, the world and themselves. The renewal of human nature by grace offers its primordial authenticity, pursuant to an interior war, an asceticism, 2 so necessary due to the contradiction present in the human nature following the naturalization of the sin from outside by hosting it within ourselves.

CURENTE FILOSOFICE ȘI IDEOLOGII POLITICEIMPACTUL LOR ASUPRA CREDINȚEI ȘI VIEȚII RELIGIOASE

Author(s): Alin Remus Muntean / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 04-06/2018

The purpose of this work is to offer a perspective of the history of philosophy, starting from its ancient beginnings and up to present times. However, this is not meant to be only a display of philosophical doctrines appearing in different stages of time, but undertakes to perform an in-depth study of such doctrines based on a benchmark subject, for this field, as well as for the general tendency of humanity: the tendency of knowing, but also the impact which such orientations shall have on religion and faith. The approach to such issue, i.e. knowing, commences from its two important roots: the spirit and the matter. The obvious progress of knowledge, as the fruit of thinking, is undisputedly strewn, up to the post-modern present, with conspicuous accents of empirical and rational – dogmatic domination.

CORESPONDENȚE MUZICALE ÎNTRE DOI BĂNĂȚENI DE FRUNTE. NICOLAE FIRU ȘI SABIN DRĂGOI

Author(s): Mihai Brie / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 04-06/2018

Oradea, an old Dacian settlement, carrying the ruins of Roman castrums over the ages, complying with the dress and ancestral valor of our forefathers, despite the many hindrances, shall become the most important cultural musical center in the Ţara Crişurilor. Starting with the 20th century, Hilaria’s activity would significantly increase along with the arrival of the teacher Nicolae Firu as conductor of the band. For 40 years (1900–1940), Hilaria and Nicolae Firu shall reach the highest peaks of glory within the cultural landscape of Crişana, but also of Transylvania, Banat or Bucharest, militating, by means of a deep cultural musical solidarity, for the strengthening of the unity between Romanians on both sides of the Carpathians.

ISTORIA MEDIEVALĂ A BANATULUI REFLECTATĂ ÎN OPERA LUI IULIU VUIA (I)

Author(s): Tiberiu Ciobanu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 04-06/2018

Iuliu Vuia was born on 11 March 1865 in the village of Felnac, Timiş county. His parents were Eutimiu Vuia and Ecaterina. According to his maternal bloodline, he was a descent of the illustrious Banatian scholar, Constantin Diaconovici Loga. He attended primary classes in his village, then he continued his studies at the middle school in Timişoara and graduated from the Pedagogic School of Arad in 1881. Between 1882 and 1883 he worked as a substitute teacher in Timişoara and, in his free time, as the secretary in the chancery of the erudite archpriest Meleţiu Drăghici. Iuliu Vuia was married twice. First to Elisabeta Oniţă, whom he met while teaching at the Confessional School of Remetea, between 1883-1884. Secondly, to Eugenia Pop, when he was a teacher at Chesinţ,, between 1885-1886. In 1887 his son, Romulus Vuia, was born. Between 1886-1910 Iuliu Vuia was the head-master of the village school in Comloşu Mare. After the Great Union he worked as a teacher at the Pedagogic School of Caransebeş. Very ambitious he graduated the secondary school (non-compuslsory attendance) and after passing the baccalaureate exams he attended the university courses for teachers at University of Cluj. After graduation he taught History and Geography at the Pedagogic School in Caransebeş. Iuliu Vuia was a prolific author of textbooks, History and Pedagogy books, studies and articles. An active participant at the preparatory actions for the Great Union, on 25 October 1918 he was elected a member of the National Romanian Council of Caransebeş. As a representative of the Reunion of the Banatian schoolmasters, he witnessed the great historic act on 1 December 1918. He was also elected in the Great National Council of Sibiu. El a fost ales, de asemenea, în Marele Sfat Naţional de la Sibiu. He died at Caransebeş in 1933. Selected works: Fragmente din istoricul pedagogicului confesional greco-ortodox român din Arad, Arad, 1887; Curs complet de istoria universală a pedagogiei, Caransebeş, 1892; Cartea de învăţătură pentru 134 Altarul Banatului şcoalele de repetiţiune economice precum şi pentru alte institute, Caransebeş, 1894, 400 pages.; Şcolile româneşti bănăţene în sec. XVIII-lea, Orăştie, 1896; Districtus Valachorum. Cercurile româneşti bănăţene. Cele din Timiş reconstruite pentru prima oară, Timişoara, 1930, 49 pages.

REFLECȚII DOGMATICE (V)

Author(s): Daniil Stoienescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 04-06/2018

The contemporary Orthodox Theology is altogether and at the same time, Path, Truth and Life (cf. Ioan 14, 6) for today’s world. The contemporary Orthodox Theology “yesterday, today and forever, is the same” (cf. Evrei 13, 8). The contemporary Orthodox Theology is, and especially should be equally prophetical, apostolic, patristic and eschatological, fulfilling its ecclesiological, sacramental and philocalic dimension.

O SCURTĂ ABORDARE MISTICO-LITURGICĂ ASUPRA RANDUIELII TUNDERII IN MONAHISM

Author(s): Rafael Povîrnaru / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 04-06/2018

One of the paths revealed by God to the Christians in order to reach the complete communion with Him is monachism or “the path of the angels”. The concept of “monachism” comes from the Greek word “μοναχος” which means “alone” or “unique”, but understood as a form of togetherness with the other members of the Church. Monachism is described by our Redeemer Jesus Christ in the Holy Gospel (Mt. 19,12; 22; 30) as an angelic state and, in the same time, as a form of anticipating the eschatological dimension.

PREZENTĂRI BIBLIOGRAFICE

Author(s): Vasile Muntean,Alexandru Nan,Cristinel Ioja,Marius Florescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 04-06/2018

Прилог расправи о називу манастира Туман

Author(s): Srećko Petrović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 166/2018

The problem with the origin of the name of Tuman Monastery near Golubac has so far been addressed by several authors who have proposed several different solutions. This paper is an attempt to point out other aspects that should be examined using the available historical and linguistic material, which the previous researchers did not take into account. There were interpretations and etymological explanations proposed earlier, the assumptions about the name of the monastery based on the words from the ancient Greek or Latin and according to the same name of one Armenian monastery etc. Paying due respect to the preserved traditions of the foundation and the name of this monastery, we believe that in the discussion of its name it was necessary to refer to the possible Slavic origin of the name – especially in the light of the numerous existing parallels in the toponyms of the regions inhabited mainly by the Slavic people, as well as its Pre-Indo-European, or perhaps Asiatic, i.e. Mongolian-Tatar background. It is not known when the Tuman monastery got its present name. The first mention of the monastery in the village of Tuman near Golubac dates from the second half of the 16th century. A few Serbian authors claim that in Armenia there was/is a monastery of the same name, according to which the monastery of Tuman near Golubac was named. However, the existence of this monastery is not certain. It remains to be examined whether the toponym of St. Tuman, recorded in the areas of today’s Turkey which had been inhabited by the Armenians until the beginning of the 20th century, has any connection with the name of Tuman monastery near Golubac.

Нова православна духовна музика

Author(s): Milorad Marinković / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 46/2017

Article The New Orhtodox Sacral Music was made as an aesthetic-teoretical programm should encompass and interpret the basics, which I believe, it could be build the new develop of new orthodox music This study should explain beginnings which I have been taken as a composer trough designing and composing mz PhD artistic project – composition Božićni kondak for mixed choir accapella, solists and percussions. When in musical history begun the discontinuity in some genre or in some style, the establishment of some past genres/styles was not only artistic, but researching-theoretical assignment. Whitout knowing the basics of: theology, the sacred order of the church, the problem of perception (orhtodox) choir music and its applying in sacred manifestations, and church singing – I would not started this whole project. This disciplines are not familiar often to contemprorary composers (but in the past situation was different – the orhtodoh music tradition was part of everyday life and culture), and its hard for many of them to establish the conitnuitety with this tradition; so this new orhtodox music is based on new, independent, but competent intrepretation of traditional chucrh music. This study should help anyone who will start to compose church music and re-examined their knowledge in this field. In first three capters are being considered the existential aspects of: history, generes, structural-arragement of compositions, and stilisticaesthetic in the byzanic-slovenic/European-Christian teritory. The knowing of roots of orthodox singing and its teology basics, as well as knowing the literary hymnographic heritage are necessary for developings in church generes this days. Many arhaic musical arrangement principes could be plot for contemproray compositional tehniques of church music. The aim of this article is to put in foucs some of this tehniques. In the forth and fifth chepters are being considering the circumstances of these days church music and perspectives of its future developing, which I see it contextualizes it too. The goal was also to point on plenty ways of developing of this genre and my approuch is just one of them. The researching space is huge and researchers of conteproray music could present many answers. The church music could still give the inspiration and many contemproray composers create in this music field of orthodox church music. As a rusalt of whole stylistc developing, today we have available lots of expressive resources which could be used in developing of own style. From claster sound, trough minimalism and usage of alequational structures to the re-actualisation of tonal usage of ancient songs; and return into the medieval, renaissance, baroque, and even romantic procedures – so all it belongs within the possible range into the compositional-technique and stzlistic solutions which could be seen in contemproray church music. Church music as a genre is not part of comerical music, so it could be persistent in its own autochthonous deleping way, testifying the possibility of new Christian humanism in future.

IDENTITATE, UNITATE ȘI MISIUNE

Author(s): Mihai Himcinschi / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2018

The problem of the unity of faith and the theological dialogue are two main concerns of the contemporary theology and theologians. The interferencesof the Christian religious space, and not only this aspect, are invoked nowadays by the rapid changes from the social, cultural and economic environment. Europe, a synthesis-continent of two worlds, the Orient and the Occident, is forced today, not for the first time in the history, to establish its spiritual borders and to (re)define its own culture. The first approach, from this perspective, was the theme of the unity, a fact that has led to an over-state: the European Union. This challenge, first of all, has led to the resurrection of the desire for Christian unity – in few states, to be honest– and especially to the restructuring of the religious feeling based on the liberty of consciousness of the human being. Secondly, it has stimulated and has reconsidered the national feeling of the member states, each of them with its cultural, spiritual, linguistic, etc. specificity. After 100 years from the Great Union from 1918, the Romanians are asked to confess their unity of nation, culture and faith. If the final judgement of the human race is a fact for the future and one of its issues will be the nation (Apoc. 5:9), we have to meditate on the answer given by our Romanian nation.

UNITATEA LITURGICĂ - PREMISĂ A UNITĂȚII NAȚIONALE

Author(s): Dumitru A. Vanca / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2018

Preceding with almost two centuries the State and political unity of Romanians, linguistic unity, mainly due to liturgical texts, contributed to the consolidation of national identity. The translation of liturgical texts into Romanian was hierarchical and progressive in the sense that it was initiated from the bottom up, beginning with the most needed: homilies, biblical texts and the Divine Liturgy. The end of this translation and negation process was marked by the martyr Metropolitan Antim the Iberian, who set the ultimate model of the most important liturgical forms: the Liturgy and the Euchologion. Smart enough as to select the best Romanian translations existing at the time, Antim gifts the Romanians with a paradigmatic text for all future editions. We have also included in our study a relevant historic moment: Romanian and its supra-ethnic character, an approach supported by pastor and intellectual Stephan Ludwig Roth who, in the XIXth century, believed that Romanian had the best ingredients to become the language of al Transylvanian ethno-linguistic groups.

Początek działalności arcypasterskiej władyki Hilariona Ohijenki w roku 1940

Author(s): Andrij Smyrnov / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2016

The metropolitan Ilarion Ohiienko (1882–1972) was prominent Ukrainian Orthodox cleric, linguist, church historian, and cultural figure. In May 1937 the wife of Prof. Ivan Ohiienko died. And soon, in 1940, upon the recommendation of the Ukrainian Church Rada, the Council of the Orthodox Church in the General government, headed by metropolitan Dionisii Valedynskyi, elected Prof. I. Ohienko as Bishop of Kholm and Pidliashia. The Metropolitan of Warsaw Dionisii tonsured Ivan Ohiienko as a monk at St. Onuphrius monastery in Jableczna on October 9, 1940, giving him the name of Ilarion. The next day, Metropolitan Dionisii ordained him a deacon, and on October 11 his ordination as hieromonk took place, as well as his promotion to the rank of archimandrite. The episcopal nomination of archimandrite Ilarion took place in the Kholm Cathedral on October 19, 1940 and his episcopal ordination took place the next day, presided by Metropolitan Dionisii of Warsaw. Ohiienko began to Ukrainianize the Orthodoxy in the Kholm region, by introducing Ukrainian practices in the church rite and the use of Ukrainian in services and ordaining several Ukrainian priests. In August 1951 he was elected metropolitan of Winnipeg and head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.

Analiza moralna uczynków starców na przykładzie wybranych Apoftegmatów Ojców Pustyni

Author(s): Volodymyr Mosorov,Stanisław Skobel / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2018

The article presents spiritual guidance, startchestvo in the Eastern Churches. On the basis oftwo sayings of the Desert Fathers the author carried out a moral analysis of two spiritual starets’ behavior. Based on this analysis behavioral and moral norms were determined which regulated starets’activities. We presented problems which can be observed in spiritual guidance when a starets violates the norms in relation to his supervisees. We pointed out that this violation in pastoral ministry can becaused by the phenomenon called “mock startchestvo”.

Sakramenty inicjacji chrześcijańskiej w Cerkwi greckokatolickiej w świetle nauczania metropolity Andrzeja Szeptyckiego i biskupa Hryhoryja Chomyszyna

Author(s): Adam Kubasik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2018

In their pastoral service the hierarchs of the Greek Catholic Church found it very importantto explain the meaning of holy sacraments. They stressed their role in Christian life. However, therewas a significant difference between the teachings of bishop Khomyshyn and archbishop Sheptytsky. Khomyshyn focused on theological aspects, while Sheptytsky mixed theology with politics.

Настанак завршног дела Савиног житија Светог Симеона у светлости хиландарског рукописа број 387

Author(s): Tihon Rakićević / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 14/2017

A number of modern researches focused on the problem where Saint Sava began to write Typikon of Studenica, the biography of the ktetor. After discovery of the template, namely of a St. Theodore Stoudite’s text, that was used for the completion of Typikon of Studenica, it was necessary to follow up the aforementioned investigation. Our research of ten manuscripts specifies and complements contemporary data regarding the origin of final parts of the Sava’s text. We have used and studied manuscripts as following: 1) Hellenic manuscripts – Ambr. gr. C 02 (late IX century), Paris. gr. 1018 and Ottob. gr. 251 (early X century); GIM, Sin. gr. 374 (Vlad. 205) (beginning of XI century), GIM, Sin. gr. 375 (Vlad. 206) (second half of XI century), Ambr. gr. Е 101 sup. and Marciana Gr. II, 40 (XII century). 2) Serbian Slavonic manuscripts – Chilandar 387 (second quarter of XIII century), Dečani 87 and HAZU IV d 4 (end of XIII or the beginning of XIV century). These manuscripts either precede or are close to the time when the Life of St. Sava was composed. Theodore Stoudite’s text of the 56 Small Catechesis is the sermon found in all above mentioned manuscripts, in Hellenic (Τῇ Κυριακῇ τῆς А΄ἑβδομάδος) or in Serbian Slavonic (Вь недѣлю  недѣлѥ [поста]) manuscripts. Comparison of the mentioned places with the final sentences of Typikon of Studenica (the manuscript IX H 8 [Š 10]) lead to single out the manuscript Chilandar 387 as of great significance. Comparison of the mentioned manuscripts clarifies to what was the scribal tradition of the Stoudite instructions that were used by Sava. The final conclusions shed light on some creative moments of his life. It may be assumed that the manuscript Chilandar 387 represents a very important source for studying Stoudite’s instructions in the Serbian Slavonic scribal tradition.

JUSTINIAN CEL MARE ȘI APORTUL SĂU PENTRU APĂRAREA DREPTEI CREDINȚE

Author(s): Emanuel Gafița / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 07-09/2018

Justinian the Great (Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus) became famous for his enviable ambition and his perseverance in praising himself, as well as for the self-proclaimed title of emperor of the Romans. Upon declaring the autokrator ἰσαπόστολος, meaning “the equal of apostles”, he ranked it above the people, the state and even above the church, also legalizing the inaccessibility of the monarch to worldly judgment, as well as to the holy one. A Christian emperor could not, obviously, have divided himself, which is why isapostolos turned out to be quite an opportunistic category, the highest rank accessible to man.

IMPORTANȚA PREDICII ȘI CATEHEZEI PENTRU PASTORAȚIE

Author(s): Marius Ioana / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 07-09/2018

Preaching is a divine commandment and a way of serving God, but also a synergistic act, because man’s word is filled with the Holy Spirit that gives it the power to make transformations. The word represents life; by means of the Spirit of Jesus, it creates and makes all that is necessary for religious accomplishment. The revealed message is transmitted to the listeners who then take responsibility and engage themselves in a process of transformation, of “rebirth”, in a “life in Christ” dynamics, all the way to religious accomplishment. The purpose of a sermon is exactly this dynamics of birth and accomplishment, by means of a chromatic transformation, that is continuous, dialogical and interpersonal, between man and God, based on the revealed word.

VASILE GOLDIȘ, ,,PĂRINTE ” AL UNITĂȚII ROMÂNILOR

Author(s): Teofan Mada / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 07-09/2018

In the Great Union’s Centennial Year, we shall, with reverence, bow before the person and activity of Vasile Goldiş, one of the most important figures of Arad, at the beginning of the 20th century. Arad had steadily become an iconic location, where the aspirations of each individual confront the exigencies, expectations and dreams of all Romanians, where private groups become aware of the fact that their wishes must be harmonized with the wishes of the collectivity. In this city, the common good of all Romanians had “kneaded”, this is the place where everyone was working towards a common good for Romanian unity. In fact, such harmonization of own desires with those of the community make up the common good. It was in this city that, joined by other high Hierarchs, teachers, priests and thinkers, the thinker Vasile Goldiș showed the authentic side of political attitude and its reason to exist: a priceless ministration brought forth for the good of the entire collectivity. However, the Christian Vasile Goldiș was also an apprentice of Jesus Christ, thus meaning that they did not let themselves fascinated by the earthly logic of power, but served the light of truth and God’s love, while on this planet.