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This is the table of contents of the issue.

Family constituted and still constitutes until today, an important segment of the society. In this research we will try to see how it is reflected its image in the works of one of the most important writers from the Romanian exile, namely Virgil Gheorghiu (1916-1992). Novels with autobiographical content like: The man who was travelling alone, together with the memorial writings, will constitute important sources of our investigation, together with the studies and articles dedicated to him during the time. We will try to emphasize on one side what his family meant to him and on the other, how he saw the family and understood it and its social, cultural and religious role. The research will bring into attention an aspect of the life and the work of the Romanian writer that has not been investigated until now and in the same time, to emphasize the aspects of actuality that can be found there.

These are the book reviews of the number.

This article examines the contribution to ecumenical dialogue of Ion Bria, an important Romanian theological and ecumenical personality. The value of his approaches is demonstrated by the fact that many contemporary authors start their research from his ideas, such as the concept oj the 'liturgy after the liturgy,' of which he was a significant proponent, and which are still relevant to ecumenical dialogue. At the time they were first proposed, they shifted ecumenical dialogue. Bria was also a good and careful observer of ecumenical and pan-Orthodox reality. He presented with objectivity the reality from his home space and made valuable comparisons between his spirituality and other confessional approaches, offering new topics of dialogue and creating bridges between churches. Keywords liturgy after the liturgy, Orthodoxy, communism, dialogue with Orthodox churches, missiolog y, The year 2019 marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Father Ion Bria, who is, as far as Romanian theology is concerned, one of the most important Orthodox thinkers [...]

Dumitru Stăniloae (1903-1993) was certainly one of the most important Romanian theologians of the 20th century. This fact explains why his works are until nowadays read, discussed or analysed and constitute the topic of different monographs, studies, articles or reviews. Among the long list of the texts that he published during his life, there still are some that were not enough referred or investigated. Or, when they were, the references almost always suggested his nationalist orientation, or the fact that the scholar placed himself among the Romanian thinkers of the interwar period with far-right orientation: the studies and articles published during the interwar period in journals like Telegraful Român from Sibiu, Luceafărul from Sibiu, Gândirea from Bucharest or Ramuri from Bucharest. Being aware of their significance, we will make an effort to consider them and emphasize how topics such as personal development and spirituality in the context of Romania at that time can be addressed. We will also examine the author's unique contributions to their exploration. Compared with the studies and articles published later, during the Communist period, which were mostly theological (in order to avoid the censorship, but also due to the preferences, orientation and formation of the author), these ones have a rich thematic orientation from the historical, ethnographical, theological, sociological, philological or philosophical perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Released in the end of 2020 on the tomb of Saint Francis of Assisi, Fratelli Tutti is at the moment the most recent social document of the Catholic Church. It comes to continue the direction suggested by previous encyclicals of nowadays head of the aforementioned institution, namely Pope Francis, like Laudato Si and in the same time, to offer a radiography of the contemporary society, showing why the Covid 19th pandemic times, migration or the misunderstanding of some of the economic principles that govern the society and in the same time to speak about the love for the neighbour, the compassion, the dialogue as solutions or to insist on the fact that the human rights are, in the contemporary form, insufficient, fact that should call to their re-evaluation and to the renewal of certain principles of dialogue at an international level. The present article therefore analyses the most recent social document of the Catholic Church, trying to bring it into attention its ecumenical relevance, its practical value and in the same time to present its minuses or the aspects that can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uta Andree, Benjamin Simon, Lars Roser-Israel (eds). Reforming Theology, Migrating Church, Transforming Society: A Compendium for Ecumenical Education. Hamburg: Missionshilfe Verlag, 2017. 324 pp. Intended as an supplementary tool for [...]

DUE TO THE RELEVANCE OF THE TWO TOPICS IN THE CONTEMPORARY THEOLOGICAL SPACE, WE HAVE DECIDED TO FOCUS THERE ON THE WAY HOW THEY CAN BE USED IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE ECCLESIOLOGY AND ON THEIR RELEVANCE FOR THE ECUMENICAL FIELD. LITERATURE LIKE THE ONE PROVIDED BY DIFFERENT MIXT CATHOLIC AND ORTHODOX COMMISSIONS OF DIALOGUE HAS BEEN TAKEN INTO ATTENTION TOGETHER WITH DIFFERENT OTHER INFORMATION PROVIDED BY SCHOLARS FROM SPACES LIKE THE ORTHODOX, PROTESTANT OR CATHOLIC ONE. IN THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE TRIED THERE TO PUT AN EMPHASIS ON DIFFERENT ECCLESIOLOGICAL ASPECTS NECESSARY BOTH FOR THE SELF-UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH AND FOR THE WAY HOW THIS ASPECT CAN BE VALORIZED IN THE ECUMENICAL DISCOURSE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the first volume of the Oxford History of Modern German Theology, which focuses on the period from 1781 to 1848. The book fills a gap in contemporary historiographical research and offers a synthesis dedicated to this important topic. The volume is divided into five parts and covers various aspects of German theology during this time, including Protestantism, Catholic theology, German pietism, Protestant Enlightenment, historical criticism, and German-Jewish religious thought. The book provides a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of religious life in Germany during this period, including the intersection of religion and politics. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses two books: "On the Human Image of God" by Gregory of Nyssa and "Christian Emperors and Roman Elites in Late Antiquity" by Rita Lizzi Testa. The first book, edited by John Behr, provides a new edition of Gregory of Nyssa's work, accompanied by a comprehensive introduction and analysis of the author's ideas. The second book explores the relationship between Christianity and power in Late Antiquity, specifically focusing on the interaction between Christian emperors, the Senate, and Roman elites. Both books offer valuable insights into their respective topics and are relevant for both theological and secular research. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the book "Catholic Social Teaching in Practice: Exploring Practical Wisdom and the Virtues Tradition" by Andrew M. Yuengert. The book examines the relationship between the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and practical wisdom, focusing on topics such as the virtue of practical wisdom, prudence, lay formation, and the dialogue between Catholic Social Teaching and economics. Yuengert aims to show how the virtues can be applied in practical life and provide practical and pragmatic analysis. The book offers interdisciplinary perspectives and practical solutions for improving people's lives through the application of Christian principles. [Extracted from the article]

Important personality of the Romanian Theology of the 20th century, but also of the Universal Orthodox one, Fr. Andre Scrima was not only the delegate of the Ecumenical Patriarch Ahtenagoras to the Second Vatican Council, but also a professor and a writter with deep approaches in the ecumenical and spiritual field. In the same time, he has the epistolary vocation. Conscious of this fact, we try there to offer to the readers an unpublished letter kept in the Archives of the former Securitate, written in 1957, shortly after his arrival in Benares, where the Romanian clergyman will prepare a PhD. thesis. Addressed to his spiritual father, the Archimandrite Benedict Ghiuș, the document contains not only a complex description of the travel that he had before to arrive in India, but also a presentation of the meetings that he had, of his activity and of the way how the Orthodox faith was perceived in the ecumenical field by the Catholics and Protestants. The document is therefore important not only due to its autobiographical relevance, but also because it comes to show the way how the Romaian theologian from the French area understood the ecumenical realities, the role that the Orthodox Church could play in their evolution and also for the complex descriptions offered there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review of Sandu Frunză, Filosofie şi comunicare cotidiană: cărţile ar putea să-ţi schimbe viaţa [Philosophy and daily communication: the books could change your life], Iaşi: Editura Lumen, 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiritual autobiographies have represented and still represent an important genre in the theological, literary, historical and philosophical areas. For this reason, they must be discovered and valorised by contemporary research. In the present investigation, we will try to see how they can be used in philosophical and spiritual counselling and to emphasize the elements of complementarity which define them. At the same time, we will see how, through their testimonial dimension, this category of works manages to provide answers to the contemporary challenges faced by a potential reader, being used in processes such as self- disclosure, and to cover many potential social categories of readers (from priests and clergyman to young people, workers or the classic faithful, whether they have cultural interests or not). Examples from different confessional backgrounds, such as the Catholics Teresa of Avilla and Thomas Merton, the Orthodox John of Kronstadt and Silouane from Mount Athos or the Lutheran Dag Hammarskjold, will be provided in order to enhance a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the phenomenon and to see its practical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the fact that in the last time spirituality has become an important and used topic that it is often used outside of the Christian space, where it has the roots, we will try there to show what it means and should mean for this area. Also, we will present its relationship with the hesychasm, important mystical current and we will speak about the way how it could contribute to a potential reconfiguration of the theological discourse from nowadays and which should be its landmarks. The definition of spirituality from the Christian space having Biblical and Patristic roots will be therefore accompanied by the one of the hesychasm. The two ones will be also analysed in an attempt to offer a complex overview on the complex phenomenon that they define. The way how the two ones can be found in the ascetical and the monastic practices will be also emphasized there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]