The aim of the current study is to understand from a historical point of view the life of the Spanish Christians in the 9th century under the Muslim rule. After the fall of the Visigoth kingdom in Spain, since 711 a new life began for Spanish Christians under the Muslim rule. Due to the Islamic laws governing their country, Christians lost many rights and civil liberties. Under this socio political context, the case of martyrs in the capital Umayad of Córdoba (756-912), reveals itself as a complex phenomenon caused by the oppressive situation in which Christians lived. Their sufferings are depicted in the work of St. Eulogius of Córdoba († 859), Memorialis Sanctorum and continued in the work of his friend Alvaro Paulo, Indiculusluminosus: in defensive servorum tuorum, Domine. Starting with Saint Perfecto’s martyrdom in 850, the accounts of the martyrs of Córdoba ended with the very suffering of St. Eulogius in 859.

Keywords: - Christian martyr, Muslim rule, 9th century, blasphemy, Spain

Father Ilie Tabarcia, is a parish priest in the parish of Saint Paisie of Neamt, for the Romanians in the Spanish town of Collado Villalba, the Dean of Seville, at the diocese of Spain

Location : - Collado Villalba, the Dean of Seville, Spain
E-mail : - ilietabarcea@yahoo.com

The history of the Russian Orthodox Church in 20th and 21st Century is a tragic one. This begins with the Bolshevik Revolution, known as one of the biggest fraternal conflicts, causing the martyrdom of thousands of people. The same painful event separated the Russian Orthodoxy into two parts. Therefore the Russian Orthodox diaspora was ruled since 1921 by an Archdiocesan Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) , formed abroad.
For ROCOR, the question of martyrdom following the bloody persecution of the communist regime against its own people has always been of fundamental importance. ROCOR has always considered itself as an integral part of the Russian Orthodox Church under the leadership of Patriarch Tihon (Bellavin) and has repeatedly called on the West to help the Russian people and stop bloody repressions.
Because ROCOR wished that the martyrdom of thousands of believers would not remain insignificant decided in 1981, under the leadership of the new Primate of ROCOR, Metropolitan Filaret (Voznesenskij) to canonize New Russian martyrs and confessors of the 20th Century. This meant for all Orthodox Russian diaspora a victory of Orthodoxy over the atheist regime in Russia.
Moreover, after the fall of communism and the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the martyr's sacrifice proved to be one of the main points of negotiations throughout the process of restoring Canonical Communion to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarchate of Moscow has canonized the martyrs at the Jubilee Sobor in 2000, which in May 2007 led to the signing of the „Canonical Communion Act„ and thus to the reunification of Russian Orthodoxy.

Keywords: - Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, ROCOR, AES, Moscow Patriarchate, russian orthodox diaspora, Canonical Communion, martyrdom, canonization of New russian martyrs and confessors, communism

Dr. Candidate Mihai MOTRICALĂ is originally from Republic of Moldavia. He studied Orthodox Theology at ”Lucian Blaga” University and historical theology at Humboldt University, Berlin. He submitted a doctoral dissertation on history, development, the process of unification with the Moscow Patriarchate and future perspectives of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Location : - Republic of Moldavia
E-mail : -

This study analyses the history of the Orthodox Church from the region of Maramureș in different political and confessional backgrounds and the martyrdom of its hierarchy, as well as the struggle for the preservation of orthodox faith in periods of religious (in)tolerance.

Keywords: - martyrdom, orthodox church of Maramureș, bishops, orthodox diocese, religious tolerance..

Drd. Dumitrița Daniela FILIP studied Orthodox Theology, Section of Didactic Orthodox Theology- Preservation and Restoration at Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania and is presently the coordinator of the museum of the Romanian-Orthodox Dioceze of Maramures and Satmar. She writes a doctoral dissertation on theology and iconographic art in the region of Maramures.

Location : - Maramures, Romania
E-mail : -

This article contents a few references to the beginnings of Christianity in Japan and the first persecutions suffered by Catholic Christians in Japan. It focuses on the challenges and restrictions the Orthodox mission and its first believers suffered in Japan at its beginnings. Orthodox Christians did not suffer in Japan a real persecution, but rather was the victim of prejudices of Japanese related with this new believe. Some Japanese Christians and missionaries were imprisoned, and the mission faced several restrictions and burdens which could not stop the grow of Orthodoxy in this country.

Keywords: - Christianity in Japan; Russian-Orthodox mission in Japan; Persecution of Cjristians in Japan; St. Nicolas Cathedral in Tokyo;

Phd. Candidate Rev. Alexandru NICODIM studied Orthodox Theology in Bucharest and serves presently as Parish priest at St. Nicholas Brosteni Church, Archdiocese of Bucharest. He served between 2008-2013 as Parish priest of the Romanian Parish in Tokyo, Japan and was, at the same time, official representative of the Patriarchate of the Romanian Orthodox Church to the Autonomous Orthodox Church in Japan. He writes a doctoral dissertation on the history, present situation and future perspectives of the Orthodox Church in Japan.

Location : - Bucharest, Romania
E-mail : -

This article introduces a commented Romanian version of the disputed Greek letters of pope Gregorius II to Leon III, the first iconomach Byzantine emperor. These letters were traditionally considered a primary source of information regarding the very first stages of Iconoclast controversy. Discussing the details of the discovery and whole range of opinions and interpretations given by modern scholars, the author confirms the theory of their first critical editor, J. Gouillard, restated by G. Dagron, and considers the disputed Greek letters of pope Gregorius II to Leon III as fabricated by a Byzantine Iconodule monk around 800 AD and therefore as representing an ignored manifesto of of the Byzantine Orthodoxy, a precious witness for the classical political theology of the Byzantine Orthodoxy embedded later also in the famous Synodikon of Orthodoxy from 844.

Keywords: - Greek correspondence of pope Gregory II, Byzantine Emperor Leon III, iconoclast dispute, byzantine theological and political thinking, confession of faith, theological culture.

Arhid. Dr. Ioan I. Ică jr, profesor la Facultatea de Teologie „Andrei Şaguna” din cadrul Universităţii „Lucian Blaga” din Sibiu.

Location : - Sibiu, România
E-mail : - dcisis@rdslink.ro

In this paper we study the difficult authorship problem of the Homily on the Cross and the Transfiguration traditionally attributed to Timothy of Antioch. We also provide a Romanian translation of the text. Moreover, we highlight the importance of the generic authorship problem in the study of patristic homilies, a problem which has not received much attention in the Romanian patristic research.

Keywords: - Timothy of Antioch, Timothy of Jerusalem, Transfiguration, homily, authorship

Pr. Dr. Radu Gârbacea, asistent la Facultatea de Teologie „Andrei Şaguna” din cadrul Universităţii „Lucian Blaga” din Sibiu

Location : - Sibiu, România
E-mail : - radu_garbacea@yahoo.com

Codex Theodosianus is a historical source often overlooked that reflects undiscovered details regarding the late Antiquity and is at the same time a very important witness of the ascension of the Church in Roman society. Although it is the shortest section of the Codex, Liber XVI.11: De religione describes through laconic passages the realities that the Christianity faced in North Africa at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries.

Keywords: - Codex Theodosianus, Roman Law, Late Antiquity, Donatism, Honorius

Asistent universitar la Facultatea de Teologie ,,Sfântul Andrei Șaguna” Sibiu

Location : - Sibiu, România
E-mail : -

This article introduces and explaines the message of the consultation on Discrimination, Persecution, Martyrdom which took place in Tirana, Albania, 2-4 November 2015.

Keywords: - Discrimination; Persecution; Martyrdom; Global Christianity; Global Christian Forum; World Council of Churches

Revd. Aurel PAVEL, Professor at the “Andrei Şaguna” Orthodox Faculty of Theology, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania. // Revd. Daniel BUDA, Associated Professor at the “Andrei Şaguna” Orthodox Faculty of Theology, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania. He is also Program Executive for Church and Ecumenical Relations in the World Council of Churches

Location : - Sibiu, România // Geneva, Elveția
E-mail : - aurelpavel@yahoo.com // daniel.buda@ulbsibiu.ro