The Incarnation of the Son of God

Studia Theologica No. II (XX) / 2025 The veneration of holy icons, or the devout prayer of the believer to the prototype depicted in the icon Rev. Prof. Dr. Nicolae Chifăr

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).

Studia Theologica No. II (XVI) / 2023 The Presence in the Icon

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.

Studia Humanitatis No. I (XV) / 2023 The Aesthetics of Beauty. Notes on the Byzantine Icon: Theology and Art The Nun Atanasia Văetiși

The Byzantine icon is analysed from the perspectives of theology, history and aesthetics, beginning with the iconoclastic controversy of the 8th–9th centuries and the dogmatic arguments put forward by Patriarch Germanus I, Saint John of Damascus, Theodore the Studite and Nicephorus of Constantinople. The iconographic canon, the iconographic programme of the church and the stylistic features of Byzantine art—understood as an image of reality transfigured by grace—are described.

Studia Humanitatis No. I (XIII) / 2022 Mihai Eminescu, a Christian poet? Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Stancu

Mihai Eminescu’s poetry is analysed from a Christian Orthodox perspective, focusing on the theological reflection found in A Dacian’s Prayer, Angel and Demon, Melancholy and The Morning Star. The themes of the Trinity, the Incarnation, suffering and joy, human freedom, and the relationship between the Church and the Romanian people are explored through references to Lossky, Evdokimov and the Holy Fathers.

Studia Theologica No. I (VIII) / 2019 God’s goodness and the improved human being His Eminence Varsanufie

Goodness is examined as an essential attribute of God and a fundamental vocation of humankind, from the perspective of Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers: Clement of Alexandria, Dionysius the Areopagite, Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus the Confessor and John Cassian. Man’s participation in divine goodness, made possible through the Incarnation of the Saviour and the grace of the Holy Spirit, constitutes the path to spiritual improvement and likeness to God.

The Words of the Fathers No. III (VII) / 2018 A eulogy in honour of Saint Andrew the Apostle The Saint Proclu

This homily, translated from the Greek by Petru Molodeț and revised by Luiza Oancea and Octavian Gordon, is a eulogy dedicated to Saint Andrew the Apostle, which celebrates the power of apostolic preaching through imagery of fishing and light. The text elaborates on Andrew’s call to Peter — ‘I have found the Messiah’ — and highlights the superiority of apostolic grace over all the miracles of the Old Testament.

Studia Theologica No. I (V) / 2018 The Holy Cross – the pillar of unity in the Orthodox Church His Eminence Varsanufie

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.

Studia Theologica No. II (IV) / 2017 The icon – a testimony to the Incarnation of Christ the Saviour His Eminence Varsanufie

The theological foundation of icon veneration is examined through patristic, conciliar and liturgical sources, arguing that the icon's central dogmatic function is to bear witness to the Incarnation of the Son of God and the consequent possibility of human deification. Figures such as Saint Athanasius the Great, Saint John of Damascus, Father Stăniloae, and the Seventh Ecumenical Council are invoked to show that rejecting the icon is equivalent to denying the reality of Christ's Incarnation.

The Words of the Fathers No. II (IV) / 2017 The Eighth Homily, delivered to the people in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the day of the Nativity of the Lord Grigorie cel Mare

The Homily on the Nativity of the Lord, attributed to Saint Gregory the Great, presents a theological interpretation of the pericope from the Gospel according to Luke 2:1–14, in a translation from the Latin by Mihai Grigoraș. The text symbolically interprets Augustus’s census as a foreshadowing of the registration of the elect into eternity, the birth in Bethlehem as the revelation of Christ as the Living Bread, and the manger as the place of spiritual nourishment for the faithful. The homily also emphasises that the Incarnation restored peace between humankind and the angels, calling upon the faithful to lead a pure life, worthy of their dignity as fellow citizens with God.

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