The study presents succinctly the spiritual and intellectual portrait of the great philocalist writer Evagrius Pontic, making a brief presentation of some doctrinal aspects of his teaching about God, the Holy Trinity, man, cosmos, angels, demons, sin, etc., all of which define his spiritual doctrine.

Keywords: - Evagrius, God, Holy Trinity, man, cosmos, angels, demons, sin, world.

Revd. Ioan Mircea Ielciu, Associated Professor at the “Andrei Şaguna” Orthodox Faculty of Theology, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania.

Address : - Sibiu, Romania
E-mail : -

In the triumph of Christianity after Constantine’s victory at the Milvian Bridge some of the members of the curial aristocracy of the Roman Empire entered the Church and they became the fourth century Christian bishops. Most of them, like St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Elder, St. Gregory of Nazianzus were by birth members of the eastern empire’s municipal aristocracy, the so called curial class. Their education was founded on three traditional values: civic patriotism, devotion to Greek paideia and a strong sense of the importance of family ties and tradition. The implication of the Cappadocian Fathers in the social and political life, in civic and patriotic actions speaks about the „human aspect” of their holiness, about their aristocratic background as premise of the Christian leadership in the 4th century. Being aristocrats, they had the possibility to choose a leading position in their social class, but they did not because they understood with so much eagerness that only the imperatives of the Christian Gospel can give the true aristocracy, the Christ’s aristocracy.

Keywords: - Cappadocian Fathers, Christian leadership, bishop, civic patriotism, Christian aristocracy, Cappadocia

PhD. Ciprian Streza, Professor at the “Andrei Şaguna” Orthodox Faculty of Theology, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania.

Address : - Sibiu, Romania
E-mail : -

The study makes a detailed analysis of the episode of St. Apostle Paul’s encounter with the Stoic philosophers in the Athenian Areopagus, highlighting the subtleties of the Stoic and Judeo-Christian conception of God, cosmos, matter, world, man, etc. which confronted in the Apostle’s short dialogue with the Athenian philosophers, described in Acts 17, 17-20.

Keywords: - Paul in Areopag, God, stoicism, christianism, matter, world, man, cosmos

PhD Dan Ţăreanu, independent researcher.

Address : - Sibiu, Romania
E-mail : -

Der Beitrag versucht, zwei aufeinander folgende, durch die handelnden Personen klar voneinander abgrenzbare kirchenpolitische Etappen innerhalb der Entwicklung der Evangelischen Landeskirche A.B. in Rumänien hin zu einer dem Nationalsozialismus gleichgeschalteten Kirchenorganisation präsentieren: Die Grundhaltung sowie praktische Kirchenpolitik beider führender Geistlicher sollen vorgestellt und ihre prinzipiell gegensätzlichen Einstellungen profiliert werden. Dabei werden ausgewählte Quellen des Projekts der Edition der Protokolle der Kirchenleitung – des Landeskonsistoriums in Hermannstadt – (1919-1944) herangezogen.

Keywords: - Viktor Glondys, Wilhelm Staedel, național-socialism, politică, biserică, BisericaEvanghelică

Dr. Ulrich A. Wien, Akademischer Direktor des Instituts für Evangelische Theologie, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Deutschland

Address : - Universität Koblenz-Landau, Deutschland
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The study makes an insight into the history of the invasions and military confrontations that took place during the beginning of the 8th and the end of the 11th century, between the Vikings or the Varegs of the Scandinavian Peninsula, on the one hand, and the Christian Kingdoms and populations, from Kievan Russia, the Khazar empire, Azerbaijan, the Byzantine Empire, on the other, pursuing both the evolution of the Christianization of these kingdoms and populations. It is evoked the military and political-religious activity of some outstanding personalities who participated in the events of this era, such as King Harald Hardrada of Norway, Nikephoros II Phokas (963-969) Ioan Tzimiskes (969-976), Vasile II The Bulgarokton (976-1025), Alexios I Comnenus (1081-1118), John Comnenus (1118-1143) and Manuel I Comnenus (1143-1180). At the same time, the connections between Scandinavia, Kievan Russia and the Byzantine Empire are presented.

Keywords: - history, vikings, Varangians, sweds, Christianisation, Harald Hardrada, Basil II

Petruţ-Ciprian Terciu, PhD Student at the “Andrei Şaguna” Orthodox Faculty of Theology, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania.

Address : - Sibiu, Romania
E-mail : -

The study presents the history of the discovery and the significance of two little known short Byzantine treatises about spiritual life: «Against those who accuse the saints» (Kata hagiokatēgorōn) and «Logos in question and answer » written by Niketas Stethatos, the biographer and disciple of Symeon the New Theologian, in the context of the controversies developed on the occasion of the returning in 1052 AD of St. Symeon the New Theologian’s relics in Constantinople. The controversies evolved as an interesting discussion concerning the meaning of sainthood and its recognition in the eleventh century Byzantium on the background tension between the hierarchical view of patriarchs and the charismatic understanding of spiritual life promoted by Niketas. His two short treatises translated here into Romanian resume the plea for the possibility and the necessity of the saints’ existence in the actual life of the Church developed in Niketas’s more famous writings («The Life of Saint Symeon», and the «300 Chapters»). «Against those who accuse the saints» (Kata hagiokatēgorōn) offers a Biblical support of the case and the «Logos in question and answer» is an useful short summary of the charismatic understanding of spiritual life of St. Symeon the New Theologian systematized by his disciple Niketas Stethatos.

Keywords: - Niketas Stethatos, Symeon The New Theologian, sainthood, eleventh century Byzantium.

Archdeac. Ioan I. Ică jr, Professor at the “Andrei Şaguna” Orthodox Faculty of Theology, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania.

Address : - Sibiu, Romania
E-mail : -