Perspective intercreștine asupra experienței de desomatizare (NDE). Repere teologic ortodoxe și psiho pastorale
Inter-Christian Perspectives on Near-Death Experiences (NDE): Eastern Orthodox Theological and Pastoral Considerations

Summary/Abstract: The article analyzes Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), understood as experiences of disembodiment, from an Eastern Orthodox theological and psycho pastoral perspective, as a phenomenon with strong inter-Christian and ecumenical implications. Drawing on the classic specialist literature (Raymond Moody, Eben Alexander, and others) as well as contemporary testimonies, the study describes the essential phenomenological features of NDEs, such as the exit from the body, the encounter with a loving “being of light,” the life review, the emphasis on deeds of love, and the profound transformation of one’s attitude toward life and death. The study also shows how these traits appear, with remarkable consistency, in persons coming from different confessional and cultural backgrounds. Based on these convergences, the article highlights the potential of NDEs to function as a common ground for inter-Christian reflection on eschatology, without relativizing doctrinal differences. In critical dialogue with Orthodox thanatology, it is underlined that hermeneutical primacy belongs to Revelation and the patristic Tradition, while NDEs can at most serve as “clues” or empirical signs that existentially confirm already revealed truths: the reality of the life to come, the continuity of consciousness after death, the personal character of God, and the decisive importance of love and good works. From a psycho pastoral perspective, experiences of disembodiment prove to be a valuable tool for strengthening faith, anchoring the person in transcendence, reorienting existential priorities from the material to the spiritual, and counteracting the materialist culture of relativism. The article concludes that a mature ecumenical approach to NDEs, firmly rooted in the dogmatic consciousness of the Church, can support both inter Christian dialogue and a pastoral-missionary renewal of the Christian discourse on death, the soul, and eternal life.

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