Problema morții în gândirea Părintelui Stăniloae
The Problem of Death in Father Stăniloae’s Thinking

Summary/Abstract: The purpose to this study is to highlight Father’s Stăniloae theological reflections on the issue of death. In order to do that, the main objectives are: to show, firstly, that Father Stăniloae’s doctrine on death was inspiredby the writings of Saints Maxim the Confessor, John Damascene, Simeon Metaphrastes, John Chrysostom, and Gregory of Nyssa; the second objective is to present how Father Stăniloae divides the existence of thecreation into three stages: the creation before Christ, in Christ, and the oneafter the end of the present form of the world. The man and the cosmos continuously tend towards eschaton. Death is a gateway to life and itrepresents the transition from temporal to eternal. Christian’s true life begins only after his death. Death is therefore the way to full union with Christ, and it is the door through which we will step beyond mirror and guesses. The fear of death is due to the consciousness of the sinful statethat separated the man from God; this fear comes out of thinking at the eternal torment. By uniting himself with Christ, the believer graduallyovercomes this fear - that’s why the saints welcome their death joyfully.Death is a mystery of God for us. Father Stăniloae presents death as theresult of two consequences: of human freedom - namely death as the weakening of the soul in the flesh - and death as the teaching of life before God.

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