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The kind and dedicated bishop Vasile left into eternity, and we know that his departure brought much sadness in the hearts of the Christians of this Diocese, and not only, in the hearts of many believers who knew him. This funeral speech emphasizes the multitude of spiritual qualities that His Grace Vasile Flueraş had. He was a faithful man, he was a humble man, he led a pure and holy life, and he was a merciful man towards all the poor and needy.
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This article is an evocation of Bishop Vasile Flueraş whose strong point was the service at the altar. Father Vasile used to distribute gifts to his spiritual sons. His gifts were good books and sometimes rare books, if we think about the communist period. After the events of December 1989, Father Vasile was appointed confessor of the Faculty of Theology in Cluj-Napoca, he was ordained a monk and he became the Abbot of the Nicula Monastery (1991-1994). Later he was appointed Servant of the Archdiocesan Cathedral, then Ecclesiarch and Exarch of the Monasteries of the Diocese, then vicar bishop, when he carried out a remarkable spiritual activity. Starting with 2014, His Grace Vasile carried a heavy Cross of suffering, for 7 years. He was buried in the Crypt of Hierarchs under the Altar of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Cluj-Napoca.
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The article outlines the biographical path of Bishop Vasile Flueraş, from the years of his childhood and studies, to those of his service in the Church. Both at the Orthodox cathedral in the metropolis of Transylvania, where he was ecclesiarch, as well as at the Nicula monastery and the Calvaria church, Father Vasile Flueraş found himself under the same blessed protection of the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, all these holy places being dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos, Father Vasile having a special veneration and affinity towards the Mother of God, sharing three of her virtues that particularly characterized him too: humility, gentleness and tenderness of soul. In 1998, at the proposal of Archbishop Bartolomeu Anania, he was appointed vicar bishop of the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj, for his qualities of “monk and father confessor of great dignity and influence, whose spiritual zeal was doubled by an indisputable missionary vocation.” The reason for the call to the hierarchy of Father Vasile Flueraş was the dynamization of the missionary-pastoral and social-philanthropic activity of the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj. He was like an embodiment of the image of gentleness, of warm smile, of humility and tenderness and of a discreet and selfless philanthropist. Bishop Vasile Flueraş Someşanul was and will remain in the memory and in the hearts of those who knew him the man of God, the good shepherd, the father in the most authentic sense of the word.
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Kako ovo lijepo zvuči! To može napisati samo dobra i široka duša. A tako je jer nas je stvorio jedan Bog, jer su nas rodili mama i tata, osobe i članovi istog čovječanstva. Na spomendan sv. Franje Asiškog, u nedjelju, 4. listopada 2020., papa Franjo je hodočastio u Asiz na grob sv. Franje i potpisao novu encikliku (pismo) Svi smo sestre i braća (Fratelli tutti), to u talijanskom kontekstu znači braća i sestre. Već je značajna simbolika što je Papa išao nekamo izvan Vatikana potpisivati encikliku, a još je posebna simbolika što je išao u Asiz. Očito je da se ovaj Papa posebno nadahnjuje na idejama i životu sv. Franje, zato je uzeo i to ime, što je prvi put u povijesti papa. A i njegova enciklika Laudato sí, o čuvanju svega stvorenog, nadahnuta je idejama asiškog siromaška. To sve je „začinio“ imenovanjem gvardijana samostana u Asizu fra Maura Gambettija kardinalom, što je vjerojatno prvi put u povijesti da jedan gvardijan biva imenovan kardinalom. Moglo bi se reći da je isusovac Jorge Bergoglio postao franjevac.
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The wedding is that Holy Mystery in which, through the priest’s prayers and blessing, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given to those who come together as one through the union of the wedding (man and woman), thus, helping them build a Christian family.
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Many times in his letters Paul underlines that he is an apostle of Christ Jesus chosen, called and sent to proclaim the Gospel of God (cfr. Rom 1,1; 1 Cor 1,1; 2 Cor 1,1). In his teaching he willingly used different metaphors, among which those taken from the held of ecology had an important role. Paul makes use of them when speaks of the reality, the nature and the tasks of the Christian community (e.g.: Rom 7,4ff.; 9,21; 1 Cor 3,9), when he wants to describe his missionary activity or to express his apostolic consciousness (e.g.: 1 Cor 3,6; 3,10; 2 Cor 10,8; 13,10).
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Lawyer Zosim Chirtop was one of the most representative personalities in Transylvania at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Although his work was mostly political and national, he found time and resources to support various causes. First of all, he was one of the benefactors of the Lower Gymnasium from Brad for whom he donated money in many occasions. The financial support of the Romanian schools in Transylvania was a constant of his philanthropic activity. Zosim Chirtop paid special attention to supporting Romanian students. Mainly, he helped Romanian students in Cluj, where he also studied law at the university. The “Petru Maior” Society from Budapest and the “România Jună” Academic Society from Vienna also knew his generosity. Zosim Chirtop also supported the church, his philanthropic activity in this field having a strong ecumenical side helping with money both the Orthodox Church and the Greek-Catholic Church.
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Preaching or service of the Word represents a significant part of every liturgy or worship which is why this liturgical context is worth closer examination. In this paper, this issue is addressed through an overview of other contexts that, together with liturgy, shape the dynamics of preaching: historical, pastoral, and theological contexts. What follows is an analysis of four models of worship structure that differ in the way preaching relates to other elements of worship – Word and table as complementary (Roman Catholic perspective), Word and table as complementary (Protestant perspective), Word as the center of worship, and Word as a catalyst. The account of each model presents the key arguments used to support this particular understanding of preaching, the crucial features of the proclamation of the Word, its most significant hallmarks, as well as its main advantages and disadvantages. Toward the end of the paper, the author suggests an additional model, partly endorsed by the findings of his empirical research. According to this model, preaching can be perceived as a space of freedom, surprise, deliverance, and change within the wider liturgical environment as a space of security, stability, order, and identity affirmation. In conclusion, it is suggested that our understanding of preaching is enriched every time we manage to lift our eyes above the limitations of our church traditions and personal experiences, and that study of the liturgical context serves as a good choice for the beginning of such research.
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This study addresses suicide as a real problem for social communities. With the development of social and cultural societies, this issue of suicide has become more and more common and discussed. This study will analyze, in the first part of it, an explicit approach on the meaning of the notion of suicide. We will focus on the explanation that Vasile Dongoroz offers from the point of view of criminal law; Thomas Beauchamp from a philosophical point of view and Emile Durkheim from a sociological point of view. Then we will offer a medical perspective on suicide, focusing on the explanation of medical terms and processes by which certain suicidal acts are committed. In the third part, we discuss the philosophical approach to suicide, presenting an evolution of the discussions as we find it categorized in certain historical periods. In the fourth part, we will approach the theological perspective on the suicidal act. We will turn to the theological understanding of suicide through the prism of five subchapters, drawing on biblical principles to better understand the Christian view of suicide. At the end we will find three important moral issues to which Christian thinking, grouped in religious communities must proclaim answers for social life.
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The final speech given by Samuel to mark the passing from a theocratic to a monarchical regime is distinguished by a strategy of motivation to obedience, following his personal example. The community thus has the opportunity to meditate on the fact that they are changing a leadership system represented by a person of integrity that has honorably undertaken their leadership tasks. By means of this strategy, Samuel’s generation benefited from the example of their leader to whom they could relate to, and whose faith could be followed in circumstances of social transition. The description of the immaculate journey of the leader using rhetorical techniques is displayed by presenting a living example that refers to the fact that faithfulness is achievable with respect to Yahweh's perfect commandments in Deuteronomy and has the role of convincing the nation that their request for a king was sinful.
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Religion and spirituality are common motivations for travels, with many major tourist destinations developing largely due to their connections with people, places, and sacred events. Pilgrimages are one of the most important forms of domestic tourism in Israel and the Palestinian territories. On November 16 of each year, the church of St. George in Lod is filled with hundreds of worshippers, who arrive for the Feast of St. George / Khidr, on the day commemorating the translating of his relics to the church at the heart of Lod. Pilgrims travel from Nazareth and Bethlehem, or from Jordan to receive the blessing of the saint, who is the patron saint of all of Palestine. They light candles together in what is one of the last truly shared feasts between Muslims and Christians in the region. This multilateral holiday expressing the pluralism of the society, its willingness to develop inter-faith relations and to embrace multiculturalism, is a true heterogeneous manifestation, which can certainly be called a “post-modern” pilgrimage. Guided by these circumstances, the author’s main objective in this research is to present an in-depth analysis of the current state of St. George of Lod’s cult and the pilgrimage dedicated to his shrine. In this paper, he provides conceptual information about the landscape of the city of Lod in Israel and the church of St. George, and he describes the rituals and interreligious coexistence (Christians, Muslims and, more recently, secular Jewish tourists) from around the sanctuary. He also outlines the main features as well as the drastic change of the pilgrimage in the modern period, taking into account the hagiography and veneration of St. George in Israel / Palestine, migration, tourism, and the celebration of the pilgrimage itself, which play essential roles in understanding this feast day of Saint George.
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Being made of clay, man essentially belongs to creation, whose son he is, but whose priest he becomes, through the breath of life received from God. Thus, man has the mission to humanize and spiritualize creation, in order to be deified with it. If man has been ordained by God as the priest of the inanimate and unreasoning creation, every Christian is the bearer of the universal priesthood of God’s people. Since every man’s life is connected, in one way or another, more or less, to the servants of God, this pastoral letter will speak of the holy sacrament of priesthood.
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Notable romanian researchers have been preoccupied with the old manuscripts, which include a wide range of homiletical and literary works, which have numerous speeches of mourning. Among these homiletical manuscripts we found such a speech, signed by the preaching monk Dionisie from the Neamţ Monastery, delivered on the occasion of the 40-day memorial service for Prince Iancu, son of the Phanariot ruler Constantin Ipsilanti. In this study we have made a brief analysis of the text and a general description of the content, we present the plan of the sermon, the analysis of the content and the stylistics, as well as the writing strategies and the linguistic peculiarities.
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This essay highlights the need for prayer and its effects. The only remedy for the human pain that surrounds us is converting it to God. He who truly prays finds the power to assert the spirit fully and effectively by cultivating a life of prayer. The life of prayer is the life of God in us. It is an active ferment for the transformation of the human soul. From a social point of view, prayer makes the human heart always act with mercy and justice. Prayer is a progressive opening of the relationship towards the other. The life of prayer can change for the better the image of this world by renewing human life.
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Review of: David R. Helm, Ekspozicijsko propovedanje, Novi Sad: Projekat Timotej, 2020., str. 126.
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Letter to the Inner Child – Expressive Writing in Literary Context. The para-digm of expressive writing and its well-known benefits in the field of improving mental health are well known since the end of the twentieth century. In my essay, I would like to explain the connections of this approach with the highly influential works of John Bradshaw as well as the concept of self-healing through expressive writing with the help of the example found in the classical Hungarian epistolary novel Fanni hagyományai.
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Strengthening the Self with Therapeutic Writing. Fiction as a Tool. In therapy, we can integrate in our work things that did not happen actually. This is also valid in the case of writing therapy. When a patient accepts a fictional practice, and tries to perform it, it breaks down his own self-defense mechanism more easily. Such a fictional practice could be talking with a body part or bad trait, rewriting the story of a trauma, introducing new characters, or telling the story from a different per-spective. A world that does not follow the rules of reality can give an internal libera-tion that strengthens the self, weakened by external conditions, and heals the dam-aged self.That is what Celia Hunt’s book, Therapeutic Dimension of Autobiography in Cre-ative Writing, is about, and Thompson Kate in her The Therapeutic Journal Writing. An Introduction for Professionals and James W. Pennebaker and John F. Evans in their Expressive Writing: Words That Heal also devote several chapters specifically to this topic.The most important criteria in this type of writing are to be truly authentic without any role-play.The wisdom of trauma lies in not identifying with the circumstances that make our life narrow and turning to the whole world. This is analogous to religious con-version, the search for the Kingdom of God, the childish open-minded view of the world that Jesus encouraged us to have.
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An essay on the life of An essay on the life of Anton Durcovici
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This article explores opportunities for Church action after the pandemic, from three different perspectives: missionary, anthropological and spiritual. The missionary perspective; using an existential-analytical approach, should contribute to the Church becoming less focused on her- self and more committed to in its mission for the good life. From an anthropological perspective, Church work is directed to the human being as the image of God and pleads for anthropological aspects to be taken into account in the shaping of Church practice. With the spiritual perspective, the plea is made for Church activity after the pandemic to open up spaces in which human beings, in the experience of their worthiness to love, understand and learn to love themselves without measure and without conditions.
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