Anastasius the Librarian’s Papal Interpolations into Pope Adrian I’s Letter to the Emperors (JE 2448)

In recent years, the scholarly consensus that certain passages weighing in upon Papal Primacy in the letters of Pope Adrian I to the Ecumenical Council of Nicea II (JE 2448 and 2449) were originally missing in the Greek, and thereby not read out during the council, has been called into question. Though the aforementioned passages are missing from every Greek manuscript, they are found in the Latin retroversion of the Greek made by Anastasius the Librarian and in an independent Latin witness, the Collectio Britannica. While one may infer that Anastasius faithfully preserved the renderings of the Greek before it was allegedly corrupted, the weight of evidence inveighs against this as the aforementioned Papal Primacy passages lack any sign of retroversion. Furthermore, they contain fingerprints of forgery, including anachronisms and unattested Papal quotations whose words are borrowed to devise new, advanced jurisdictional claims similar to another contemporary forgery, the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals.

Evangelizing, pastoral theology, laics mission, koinonia, parish life, catechesis

Patrick (Craig) TRUGLIA, Columbia University, M.A. Profession: Missionary (to Cambodia) and English Language Orthodox Apologist.

Syracuse, NY (United States of America)

craigtruglia@gmail.com

New Media and the Mission of the Church – Some Notes on a Topical Issue

In the context in which the truly overwhelming impact that new-media generates in post-modern society has repercussions, in an increasingly obvious way, on the Church and its pastoral-missionary activities, our study aims to identify and evaluate some of the aspects that define the interaction of the ecclesial institution with the new electronic means of communication. We will therefore try to develop a possible perspective on how public discourse and the Church’s ministry can relate to the new technologies and their particularities, highlighting the opportunities that new media open up from a missiological point of view, as the recent pandemic conjuncture has proved. After all, the new media are a truly defining component of the contemporary world; ignoring them is, of course, possible, but at a price which, realistically speaking, no contemporary institution can afford, the Church being no exception to the global and imperative need to assimilate and put the new technologies into practice.

new-media, globalization, Christian mission, post-modern society, Romanian Church life

Aurel PAVEL, teaches Missionary Theology at the Andrei Şaguna Orthodox Faculty of Theology, Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu

Sibiu, Romania

aurelpavel@yahoo.com

Human Sexuality – Vector of Sin or Formative Power?

The study delves into historical and contemporary perspectives on human sexuality, particularly within Christian theological frameworks. It explores ancient philosophies’ impact on Christian views, such as Platonism and Manichaeism, which influenced thinkers like Augustine. Augustine’s notion of original sin, intertwined with sexuality, contrasts with St. Gregory of Nyssa’s perspectives, suggesting sex as a consequence of the fall rather than inherently sinful. Fr. John Behr’s reinterpretation adds an eschatological dimension, emphasizing the dual genesis of humanity, biological and Christological, through baptism. While Augustine’s theology persists in associating sexuality with guilt, Behr’s approach offers a more positive outlook, framing sexuality as integral to human growth and transcendence. The study highlights the evolving understanding of sexuality within theological discourse and its implications for contemporary beliefs and practices.

Human sexuality, Augustine, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Original sin, Christian theology, Platonism, Manichaeism, Fr. John Behr, Eschatological, Baptisma

Vasile TUDORA is a Master Student at the Faculty of Theology „Andrei Șaguna”, „Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu.

Sibiu, Romania

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The Morality of the Family Institution Today and the Devaluation of Its Ideals. Existential, Moral and Future Aspects

The family is one of humanity’s most important values and an exceptional school of moral perfection, with each new generation growing up and forming within a family. However, as a consequence of secularisation and other trends in society, we are currently witnessing a painstaking and assiduous attempt to destroy this holy institution by distorting and devaluing its meaning, by promoting alternatives to the family and by trying to redefine or even recreate this millenary and holy institution in order to make it as appropriate as possible to the trends of the present age. All these realities have to some extent disrupted the Family. The present study aims to outline all the reasons why the family is in a state of crisis today, while at the same time demonstrating the acute need for society and the Church to revive the family in the depths of its primordial meaning.

family institution, family crisis, secularism, devaluation of family, trial marriages, libertinism

Emanuel-Ioan PAVEL, PhD Student of the Faculty of Theology „Andrei Șaguna”, „Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu

Sibiu, Romania

pavel_emanuel@yahoo.com

Yatō Bhāvastatō Rasaḥ: Perspectives on Rasa Theory and Its Importance

Indian Classical Drama is a field widely discussed, from Sanskrit treaties to modern theoreticians, but little was written about it by the Romanian academics, much less in the Theological field. For this instance, the present paper is an attempt in providing a short introduction to one of the “cornerstones” of Classical Drama: rasa. Classical Theatre exceeds the expectations of realism, developing ‘exaggerations’ understood only in the context of a fictional dramatic universe, created specifically for them to meet their purpose: the aesthetic experience. To accede such a cosmos of beauty, sophistication (based on imagination, sensibility, and openness of the mind) is required from the audience, and not only from the performers, with the goal of transcending oneself through aesthetics, and even uniting with Brahman.

rasa, relish, flavor, taste, emotion, sentiment, theory of generalization

Vlad-Anton ȘTEFĂNOAIA “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, “Systematic Theology” Master’s Program

Sibiu, Romania

vladantonst@gmail.com

Sfântul Andrei Cretanul – enigmele istorice ale unui profil hagiografic

Despite the wide diffusion of his famous homilies and hymnographical canons and his rapid canonization, the historical figure of saint Andrew of Crete, monastic bishop, brilliant Byzantin Church poet and preacher is still insufficiently known. The present study analyzes all the pieces of his hagiographical and historical dossier (several notes in synaxaria and chronicles and two Lifes translated here in Romanian), and their editions and critical interpretations. The Life of St. Andrew written a few years after his death by the imperial lay official Nicetas (BHG 114) and its later anonymous abbreviation (BHG 114a) were edited only in 1898 (A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus) and 1912 (B. Latysev), being studied by the scholars S. Vailhe (1902), Th. Detorakis (1970) and Marie-France Auzepy (1985). Read carefully on their contexts, these documents allowed the somehow surprising restitution of the real historical career of the famous Byzantine hymnographer and homilist. Born in Damascus and educated in Jerusalem, Andrew came in 685 in Constantinople living here as monk. Between 695-711 he activated as a deacon at Hagia Sophia and director of the Patriarchal orphanage. During the ephemeral abrogation of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, he was appointed as metropolitan of Crete Island under the permanent attacks of Arabians. His resistance to the imperial iconomachic policy caused his recall in 730 by Leo III in Constantinople, where he remained under surveillance till 740, when he was sent to die in exile in Lesbos Island.

Andrew of Crete, Hymnography, Hagiography, Constantinople, 6th Ecumenical Council, Iconoclasm

Archdeacon Ioan I. Ică jr is a professor at the Faculty of Theology „Andrei Șaguna”, at the University „Lucian Blaga” of Sibiu

Sibiu, Romania

ioan.ica@ulbsibiu.ro

Dimitrie Cantemir, Cuvânt Panegiricesc de laudă Marelui Mucenic Dimitrie din Tesalonic (1719), ediție îngrijită, studiu introductiv și traducere de Andrei și Valentina Eșanu, Editura Doxologia, Iași, 2017, 82 p., ISBN: 978-606-666-653-4

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Parish priest at Moieciu de Jos parish. PhD student of the Faculty of Theology „Sf. Andrei Șaguna”, „Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu

Brașov, Romania

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Ligia Ruscu, Cantemir: inorogul în lavirinthul neștiinții, Editura Polirom, Iași, 2023, 202 p., ISBN: 978-973-46-9449-5

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Parish priest at Moieciu de Jos parish. PhD student of the Faculty of Theology „Sf. Andrei Șaguna”, „Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu

Brașov, Romania

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Martin Baumann, Alexander-Kenneth Nagel, Religion und Migration, Seria Studienkurs Religion, Ed. Nomos, Baden-Baden, 2023, 243 p., ISBN: 978-3-8487-7916-1 (print), 978-3-7489-2305-3 (ePDF)

Seria Studienkurs Religion a Editurii Nomos din Germania oferă excelente introduceri în tematici din sfera religiosului. Subintitulată „Lehrbuchreihe für Studierende der Religions- und Kulturwissenschaft sowie Lehramtsstudierende” (serie de manuale pentru studenții studiilor religioase și culturale, precum și pentru cei cu profil didactic), seria reunește lucrări care își propun să ofere în limbaj accesibil informațiile de bază, fundamentate științific și orientate spre rezolvarea problemelor din viața reală. Aceste volume sunt adevărate comori pentru toți cei care vor să dobândească o perspectivă corectă asupra unui domeniu de actualitate, să înțeleagă toate ramificațiile și complicațiile acestuia și în același timp să găsească soluții pentru multiplele provocări ale lumii de azi.

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Dr. Alina PĂTRU is Lecturer in History and Philosophy of Religions at the Andrei Şaguna Orthodox Faculty of Theology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania. Adress: Andrei Şaguna Orthodox Faculty of Theology Sibiu, Str. Mitropoliei nr. 20, RO – 550179 Sibiu.

Sibiu, Romania

patru_alina_ro@yahoo.com

PS Damaschin Dorneanul, Dimensiunea mistagogică a Săptămânii Sfintelor Pătimiri Elemente de antropologie ,Editura Crimca, Suceava, 2022, 863 p., ISBN 978-606-734-149-2

Cu binecuvântarea ÎPS Părinte Arhiepiscop dr. Calinic Dumitriu, la finalul anului 2022, Editura „Crimca” a Arhiepiscopiei Sucevei şi Rădăuţilor a oferit cititorilor o lucrare de mare frumuseţe prin vestmântul ei tipografic şi cu adâncă înţelepciune din punct de vedere al conţinutului – cartea PS dr. Damaschin Dorneanul, Episcop-Vicar al Arhiepiscopiei Sucevei şi Rădăuţilor, intitulată „Dimensiunea mistagogică a Săptămânii Sfintelor Pătimiri. Elemente de antropologie duhovnicească” (863 pp).

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Pr. Conf. Dr. Habil. Lucian Vasile Petroaia, Facultatea de Istorie, Filosofie şi Teologie a Universităţii „Dunărea de Jos” din Galaţi

Galați, Romania

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Victor Țvircun, Dimitrie Cantemir – repere biografice. Editura Academiei Romane/Editura Istros, București/Brăila, 2017, 374 p., ISBN: 978-973-27-2873-4

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Parish priest at Moieciu de Jos parish. PhD student of the Faculty of Theology „Sf. Andrei Șaguna”, „Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu

Brașov, Romania

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