Studia Theologica

Patience is examined as a theological and spiritual virtue in contrast to the impatience and irascibility characteristic of contemporary society, which is marked by a fast pace and instant gratification. Taking as its starting point God’s long-suffering revealed in Holy Scripture, through the Holy Fathers such as Maximus the Confessor, Isaac the Syrian and Dumitru Stăniloae, and in the liturgical life of the Church, patience emerges as a means of participating in the divine life and a path to deification.

This article analyses the theology of the veneration of holy icons in the Orthodox Christian tradition, examining the contributions of Saints John of Damascus, Nicetas of Constantinople and Theodore the Studite regarding the relationship between the icon and its prototype, and the distinction between worship (latreia) and veneration (proskinisis kata timin). Icons are presented not as decorative or didactic objects, but as liturgical and sacramental means of communion with the prototype they represent, grounded Christologically in the reality of the Incarnation and validated by the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (787).

Authority in the Byzantine Church of the 11th century is analysed through the conflict between institutional authority and charismatic-mystical authority, with a focus on the figure of Saint Symeon the New Theologian. The tension between the secular humanism of Michael Psellos and the charismatic mysticism of Simeon, his dispute with Metropolitan Stephen of Nicomedia, and the modern interpretations of Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, paint a picture of authority gained through the mystical experience of the vision of God.

This article analyses the ‘slippery slope’ argument as a means of rejecting euthanasia, outlining its logical, consequentialist structure and four negative consequences commonly cited: the acceptance of involuntary euthanasia, pressure on the patient, the erosion of the doctor-patient relationship, and the weakening of the prohibition on killing. The proposed conclusion is that the argument remains valuable as a complementary element of Christian moral reflection, not as a sufficient ethical basis in itself.

This article traces the development of the theology of Christian art, from the reservations regarding images and music in the early centuries to the patristic and synodal justification of the icon, with a focus on the contributions of Saints John of Damascus and Theodore the Studite. Church art — iconography, unison chanting, sacred architecture — is understood as a Christological, Eucharistic and soteriological expression of the faith of the Orthodox Church.

The article explores the relationship between science and faith, arguing that the scientist is not a creator but an interpreter of the divine work, drawing on examples from the history of scientific discovery and the thinking of Romanian scholars such as Dr Nicolae Paulescu, Dr Victor Gomoiu and Prof. Ilie Bădescu, as well as the Church Fathers, from Saint Basil the Great to the Thomism of Thomas Aquinas.

Patristic literature from the 4th–5th centuries offers a wide-ranging interpretation of the resurrection of Lazarus as a symbol of post-baptismal penance, illustrated by the testimonies of Pope Damasus, Saints Gregory of Nazianzus, Ambrose and Jerome, who identify spiritually with Lazarus, and continued by the ecclesiastical exegesis of Chromatius of Aquileia and Peter Chrysologus, who link the miracle at Bethany to repentance, forgiveness and the joy of the general resurrection.

The 18th-century Colivari movement, led by Saint Nicodemos of Mount Athos (1749–1809) and Macarius of Corinth, sought to renew Orthodox theology and spirituality by reviving the Hesychast tradition of Saint Gregory Palamas, as evidenced by the publication of the Philokalia (1782) and the unfinished project of a complete edition of the Palamite works, which was thwarted by the revolutionary events in Vienna in 1797.

Divine love, rooted in the intra-Trinitarian life of the Holy Trinity, constitutes the archetypal model of man’s communion with God and of love for one’s neighbour. Through grace, the Holy Sacraments and liturgical life, human beings are cleansed of their passions, become deified and share in the inexhaustible love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the divine image being fully realised in communion and interpersonal love.

Taking as its starting point the crisis of marriage in contemporary culture, this article analyses Saint John Chrysostom’s teaching on the sacrament of marriage, identifying three fundamental principles drawn from his writings: self-restraint (σωφροσύνη), consolation and participation. Marriage is presented as a path to inner healing, spiritual perfection and deification, superior to any sociological or utilitarian understanding of the marital relationship.

The article analyses the significance of the human person in the context of medically assisted reproduction, contrasting two opposing approaches: the Roman Catholic approach, which rejects these methods on the grounds that they undermine human dignity by separating the conjugal act from procreation, and that of bioethicists such as John Harris and Torbjörn Tännsjö, who accept them on the grounds of reproductive freedom. From the perspective of Orthodox theology, assisted reproduction does not, by definition, infringe upon human dignity, provided that it is therapeutic in nature, is intended for the spouses, and does not result in the destruction of embryos.

The article argues, drawing on the teachings of Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint Maximus the Confessor, that the Church cannot be isolated from medical and political issues, as it perceives the human being as an integral psychosomatic entity. Through a theological analysis of death as disintegration and of the Covid-19 pandemic, the author demonstrates that compulsory vaccination and the social and moral divide between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated constitute a form of social death, to which the Church must oppose the unity of sacramental life.

Fulgențiu of Ruspe, an African bishop of the 5th and 6th centuries and an apologist against Arianism and Semi-Pelagianism, is presented through his biography, works and an analysis of his treatise De remissione peccatorum, in which he argues that the forgiveness of sins requires genuine repentance, a change of heart and man’s cooperation with God in this life.

The article analyses goodness as a divine attribute and a moral category, demonstrating that it is not an innate or passive quality, but a free act of the will, peculiar to personal beings. Drawing on Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Father Dumitru Stăniloae and the words of the Saviour in Luke 18: 19, the author shows that true goodness has God as its sole source and is realised only through man’s conscious communion with Him.

This article provides an overview of the main academic sources devoted to Polovragi Monastery, analysing the contributions of Alexandru Ștefulescu, Archimandrite Veniamin Micle and the album Polovragi, the Monastery Close to Heaven. History. Spirituality. Art. The reader gains a comprehensive overview of the history, architecture and iconographic programme of this Brâncoveanu foundation, with an emphasis on the stylistic links between Polovragi and Hurezi Monastery.

The Holy Sacrament of Marriage is analysed from an Orthodox theological perspective as an icon of Christ’s union with the Church, possessing an ontological and ecclesiological character, not merely a moral or social one. Drawing on the Holy Fathers — John Chrysostom, Athanasius the Great, Nicholas Cabasilas and Gregory of Nyssa — the article interprets the themes of creation, divorce, submission and idolatry in the light of the communion between God and humankind.

The iconography of the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God at Polovragi Monastery, a masterpiece of the Brâncoveanu School completed in 1703 by the icon painters Andrei, Simeon, Istrate and Hranit, is analysed in detail in relation to the Byzantine iconographic tradition and the three thematic cycles — dogmatic, liturgical and festive — illustrating features such as the cycle of the life of Patriarch Joseph, the Sundays of the Pentecostarion and the scene of the Massacre of the Innocents, which are characteristic of the school of the painter Constantinos.

The Orthodox icon is analysed from the perspective of the theology of the divine presence, following the thought of Pavel Evdokimov, Boris Bobrinskoy, Michel Quenot, Leonid Uspensky and Pavel Florensky, with an emphasis on the distinction between the icon and the religious painting, on the Christological foundation of the icon, and on Florensky’s triad of ‘face–image–mask’, through which humankind is called to bear the likeness of God.

The article analyses the relationship between globalisation, world governance and Orthodox theology, arguing that the cultural, political and religious homogenisation imposed by globalisation suppresses the freedom and identity of the human person. Orthodox theology’s response lies in the universality of the Church as the Body of Christ, the knowledge of revealed truth and the ontological freedom of the human person renewed in Christ, the only elements capable of achieving the unity of the world without abolishing the distinctive characteristics of each people.

Building on Saint Anastasius of Sinai’s definition of Orthodoxy as true knowledge of God and creation, the article argues that Orthodoxy is not provoked by the world, but rather provokes in itself, just as the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Praetorium before Pilate calls man to repentance, holiness and participation in the absolute and unchanging Truth.

Patristic theology on the Holy Cross as the pillar of the Church’s unity is the central theme of this study, which analyses the teachings of the Holy Fathers — including Saint Maximus the Confessor, Saint Athanasius the Great, Saint Cyril of Alexandria and Father Dumitru Stăniloae — on the connection between the Sacrifice and the Resurrection of Christ the Saviour and ecclesial unity. The Cross, through its two arms, unites heaven with earth and man with his fellow human beings, whilst the Church is the place where the lost communion between God and man is restored, foreshadowing the perfect unity of the Kingdom of God.