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A muddy torrent of quasi-theological apocrypha, dicta, narratives, and sermons contributes to what the Russians euphemistically call the "special military operation" in Ukraine. It bursts forth from the quills and lips of senior Orthodox hierarchs, including the Russian patriarch himself, as well as smaller figures who together constitute an eco-system within and around the Moscow Patriarchate including priests, lay theologians and activists. This torrent has swollen and become potent enough to rotate the millstones of war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with the emergence of organised forms of resistance to the Bolshevik policies of secularisation, and the role that documents introduced into the religious landscape in the 1920s by the Soviet regime played in it. Integral to the Bolshevik campaign of eliminating religions, the mandatory registration of religious communities transposed into the religious landscape the organisational forms and techniques of the production of documents characteristic of bureaucracy, which enhanced the capability of believers to pose an organised resistance to antireligious policies. This paper measures the consequence of these documents and bureaucratic practices, their role in the consolidation of religious organisations and the creation of antagonism between parishioners and state officials. My study is centred on the case of the Orthodox Church of our Lady of Kazan from Cioburciu (Moldavian Region of Soviet Ukraine), the construction of which was at the heart of the confrontation of Orthodox believers from this settlement with the Soviet authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the role of Byzantine liturgical hymnography within the Jewish-Orthodox Christian dialogue. It seems that problematic anti-Jewish hymns of the Orthodox liturgy were often put forward by the Jewish side, but Orthodox theologians couldn't offer a satisfactory answer, so that the dialogue itself profoundly suffered. The author of this study argues that liturgical hymnography cannot be a stumbling stone for the dialogue. Bringing new witnesses from several Orthodox theologians, the author underlines the need for a change of perspective. Then, beyond the intrinsic plea for the revision of the anti-Jewish texts, this article actually emphasizes the need to rediscover the Jewishness of the Byzantine liturgy and to approach the hymnography as an exegesis or even Midrash on the biblical texts and motives. As such, the anti-Jewish elements of the liturgy can be considered an impulse to a deeper analysis of Byzantine hymnography, which could be very fruitful for the Jewish-Christian Dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before the Russian revolution of 1917 and subsequently in exile, the leading figures of the Russian religious renaissance were deeply engaged in social and political questions. Vladimir Soloviev, Sergius Bulgakov and Nicolas Berdyaev in particular presented Christian philosophies and theologies as alternatives to secular philosophies which captivated the Russian intelligentsia in late imperial Russia. Their thinking was consistent with evangelical precepts and the social thinking and actions of the early Fathers of the Church, even if not always couched in explicitly Christian terms. Major Christian theological and spiritual principles inspiring their theologies include the equality of all human beings, the evangelical imperative of love of neighbour as a reflection of love of God, the uniqueness of the human person, and freedom. Social and political thinking during the Russian religious renaissance provided a solid, if inadequately recognized, basis for the development of later Orthodox social and political theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthodox Christianity remains relatively understudied and its scholarly analysis still suffers from widespread misconceptions. This article's opening section is devoted to de-bunking of past biases, as these emerge in conventional or traditional modernist images of Orthodoxy in scholarship. Next, the article lays out a global perspective and argues that such a perspective can contribute greatly toward a different understanding of the relationship between Orthodox Church and politics. It proposes a series of distinct church-state patterns as observed in Orthodox pre-modern and modern societies. The variety of these arrangements strongly suggests the need to overturn past interpretations and to accept the basic premise that Orthodox Christianity has a multifaceted relationship to society and culture - as well as to accept the notion that, from within the lenses of historical globalization, Orthodoxy has experienced historical change and that its current version is in fact not the relic of an unchanged tradition but rather the product of social change and of adjustment to globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper discusses the anti-Greek Catholic and anti-Jewish attitudes of some Orthodox clergy as reflected in the interwar legionary press. By making reference to several newspapers (Legiunea, Predania, Glasul Strămoșesc) the article sheds light on the political mobilization of the legionary Orthodox clergymen and intellectuals in support of the xenophobic agenda regarding other denominations (especially the Greek-Catholics) and religious groups (the Jews) in interwar Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of Romanian folkloric tradition, the carol represents one of the oldest cultural elements. The first part of this article defines the genre and functions of the Romanian carol, and explains that its basic function is the conveyance of wishes, referring to all aspects of the social and personal life of the recipient. As far as the nature of the carol is concerned, the second part of the article reveals some characteristics of the sense and symbol of the religious carol, concluding that carols are part of those traditional texts and melodies that can be called Eucharistic chants. Their preservation and practice in different areas of the country highlight their worth, as they essentially represent liturgical echoes arising from the ethnogenesis of the Romanian nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights on the Psalm 103 Project of The Saint John of Damascus Society with the mission to reveal Orthodox Christianity through creative sacred music collaboration of six composers. Among the composers mentioned include Matthew Arndt, John Michael Boyer, and Alexander Khalil. It also mentioned the priority in building public awareness and fundraising.

In a world where increasingly more voices from different geographical areas talk speak about equality between people, religions are called to uphold and preach human dignity and rights of all people, without taking account of race, sex or religion. In the interreligious dialog, the meetings between representatives of Christianity and Islam have multiplied considerably and they deal with themes analyzing preaching and defending human rights at all levels of life. From the preceding discussion it is clear that the human rights issue is quite sensitive, especially after the latest political, economic and social events that have shaken the world in which we live. After the period of time that the proclamation and recognition of global human rights were made as contained in the various international documents, it was passed into a new phase where the followers of different religions should work together for human dignity and human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a synthesis of the author's long-term pursuits which were completed by a doctoral thesis. He has a twofold objective: on the one hand, the first part of the study he will offer a brief review of the main names (respectively works) related to the renewal of Orthodox theology in the 20th century; on the other hand, for a better understanding of the sources of this direction of theological revival, in the second part he will analyse the idea of Sacred Tradition as ecclesial way of life. In the end, he will describe the contributions, in various theological chapters, by Orthodox neo-patristic theologians; he will also signal a series of adverse aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issue of Euthanasia from the perspective of an Orthodox theology of communion. It demonstrates, that issues related to Euthanasia including moral and ethical issues cannot be limited to the individual and his context, but are in fact issues that should and do incorporate the wider community. The emphasis of Orthodox Theology on Communion and on the community could present possibilities of how to deal with Euthanasia by transferring the debate from the context of the individual and his or her choice or choice of other immediate individuals to an ecclesially centred platform. Just as there is a tendency for greater individualisation in society there is a tendency to moral and ethical individualisation and atomisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last century both Orthodox and Catholic theologians have improved their reflection on the Eucharistic sacrifice drawing on the richness of the Fathers teachings and of the liturgy and in critical distance from several aspects of the medieval theology. They have also developed their thinking in a theological dialogue involving the Eastern and Western mentalities, which could show different approaches but also lots of similarities. The relation between the Eucharistic sacrifice and Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, the connection with the Church's sacrifice, the mystic sacrifice, the boundary existing in the liturgical cult between sacrifice and sacrament are equally treated in the Orthodox and the Catholic theologies. Odo Casel and Dumitru Stăniloae are among the most creative theologians in their conceptions of the sacrifice. The mystery of Christian worship in Casel's doctrine and Stăniloae's teaching on the permanent state of sacrifice of Christ are original reflections in modern theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the mystical theological approach specific to the Eastern Orthodox theologian Dumitru Stăniloae with the more speculative theological approach of the Reformed theologian John Calvin, in order to find a common ground for dialogue in the doctrine of unio mystica applied to Christology. The main outcome of this comparison comes from the combination of juridical theological elements of the Reformed approach with the participative elements, more commonly present in the Eastern Orthodox theology. In fact, the participative flavour dominates both theological discourses. The reason is found in the conviction that the believers union with Christ is accomplished not only in His divinity, but also in His humanity; more precisely in the benefits of Christ's righteousness. Cautiously, both theologians believe that unio mystica implies participatio substantia. As such, this comparative study concludes how close the two theological perspectives are in seeing justification and sanctification as inseparable in applied soteriology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Georgia is a multicultural and multiethnic country where people of many faiths have co-existed since ancient times. Despite living under the officially atheist Soviet regime for most of the last century, for the Georgian people Orthodox Christianity was always the main institution that preserved national identity. To teach religion in schools was an important question after the independence was achieved. Due to great effort, in 1988 the "history of Christian religion" was introduced at secondary schools of humanities, which was considered the best way of studying the artistic and literary heritage of Georgia. After 20 years it turned out that religious education (RE) in schools was not successful; it had at least one deficiency because it had become a way to advance Orthodox Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the 18th General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) that was held in Paris, France from June 21 to 24, 2011. It cites aspects of the European Parliament Resolution that relate to Christians' freedom of religion. Furthermore, the event highlights on resolutions for the genocide against Christians during Ottoman Empire, as well as for the violation of the religious rights of enclaved Greek Cypriots in Cyprus.

Oikonomia is a principle in Orthodoxy meant to guide the pastoral actions of the Church and of its representatives so that each individual and the whole humanity should achieve salvation. In the gap between akribeia and oikonomia the latter has priority in principle, because God's mercy triumphs over His judgment. The existence of various Churches with different liturgy, theology and spirituality does not contradict the unity of the Church; the differences have existed since the beginning of Christianity and are absolutely necessary, considering the unfathomable divine mystery and the diversity of human cultures. Therefore it is time for the active participants in the ecumenical movement to turn the priority of oikonomia over akribeia into a norm of their actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Judaism and Christianity have existed on the territory of Belarus and Russia for hundreds of years. However there is a number of factors impeding the constructive dialogue of these religions. In the paper there will be shown the stance of different groups of Russian Orthodox Church (the predominant Christian confession on these territories) towards Judaism. These data will show what the very Christian barriers of dialogue are and the factors impeding the dialogue from the viewpoint of Judaism. In the second part of the paper there are given examples of cooperation of Orthodox Christians and Jews at the present time that, however, represent probably the initial stage of dialogue between these two religions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the bilateral dialogue between Christian Orthodoxy and Judaism. The dialogue started in the 1970's and has been organized seven times until now. The attention is focused on the context in which the bilateral meetings started, on the highlights of each consultation and on its impulses for the future work. The evaluation of the success of this process depends on the expectancies and on the way in which contextual factors are valued. The paper also opens perspectives for further theological work with the aim of bringing the two religious groups closer to each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Olivier Clément, André Scrima practises a „contemplative minds' ecumenism”, that, in my opinion, is to be understood as a methodical attempt to exploit the noetic potential of ecumenism. The present article tries to follow the contemplative topics which André Scrima, through his „oriental point of view”, relates to ecumenism, namely the spiritual experience of the unity, the articulation between the uncreated and created dimensions of reality, the person's identity and the status of history as moment of divine economy. I also raise the question of what quality should be assigned to the distinction between the Christian Occidental and Christian Oriental styles; a distinction used by André Scrima to set up the concept of Christian „complementarity” or „completeness”, as a precious benefit of the ecumenical effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]