Sf. Pr. Dumitru Stăniloae: Sfințenie în familie, suferință, deschidere ecumenică și activitate intelectuală
Saint Priest Dumitru Stăniloae: Holiness in Family Life, Suffering, Ecumenical Openness, and Intellectual Activity

Author(s): Radu BORDEIANU
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Theology and Religion
Published by: Editura Doxologia
Keywords: Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae; biography; ecumenism; communism; family; intellectualism;
Summary/Abstract: The twentieth century saw a host of Orthodox theologians who had a dramatic impact on Christian theology in general and Eastern theology in particular. Bulgakov’s creativity, Florovsky’s neo-patristic synthesis, Schmemann’s liturgical restoration, or Zizioulas’s theology of communion are just a few examples that would qualify any of these figures as the greatest theologian of the past century. Where does Father Stăniloae stand among these authors, and what are the reasons for which he can be considered the greatest Orthodox theologian of the 20th century? In addition to the academic arguments that will be briefly addressed in this article, the reasons why Father Stăniloae is venerated as a holy confessor are of great importance.The 20th century saw a host of Orthodox theologians who had a dramatic impact on Christian theology in general. Among the many reasons for this, we will first examine holiness within the family, the raising of children, and the tragedy of losing infants. Second, we will discuss the suffering Father Stăniloae endured in communist prisons, the persecution following his release from prison, and the persistent betrayal by those who should have been close to him. Third, Father Stăniloae’s holiness is evident in his ecumenical openness. It is a tragedy that he has become, in the imagination (and manipulation) of some, a representative of the anti-ecumenical movement, when in fact Father Stăniloae published dozens of articles dedicated to ecumenism and, at various stages of his career, he engaged in ecumenical dialogues with an openness that is hard to imagine in today’s climate. In the fourth—and final—section, we will focus on the importance of study, highly serious intellectual endeavors, creativity, and the responsibility of theology for our times. These elements stand in contrast to the anti-intellectualism that characterizes certain Orthodox circles which proclaim themselves to be traditionalist, but in fact do not represent the Orthodox tradition as embodied by Saint Priest Confessor Dumitru Stăniloae—the greatest theologian of the 20th century.

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