PORTRETUL ADVENTIȘTILOR ÎN RETORICA ORTODOXĂ ROMÂNEASCĂ A ÎNCEPUTULUI DE SECOL XX
THE PORTRAIT OF ADVENTISTS IN ROMANIAN ORTHODOX RHETORIC OF THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Summary/Abstract: The Portrait of Adventists in Romanian Orthodox Rhetoric of the Early 20th Century. This article analyzes how the Romanian Orthodox Church perceived and represented Adventism and, by extension, the phenomenon of the „repentants” in the first half of the 20th century. Using significant primary sources, such as apologetic brochures, catechetical works, and official publications of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the article captures not only the doctrinal content of the anti-sectarian polemic, but also its social function. The results show that the Orthodox discourse on Adventists evolved from dogmatic defense to an identity-based and ideological rhetoric, in which the „sectarian” becomes a symbol of internal otherness, fear of disorder, and the need for community control. Sociologically, the discourse drawn from the analyzed literature functioned as a mechanism for producing symbolic order and legitimizing the majority religious authority in a society caught between tradition and modernity.

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