Theology

An attempt to deconstruct the ideological controversy creationism vs. evolutionism by discussing the possibility of articulating the doctrine of creation (through the Logos) and the theory of evolution.

Cited in Basarab Nicolescu, From Modernity to Cosmodernity: Science, Culture, and Spirituality (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014) at 228, n.28, and 241.

Three patristic approaches to Genesis 1 (in Romanian). The three approaches, the apologetical, the ethical and the mystical, are illustrated by the relevant writings of St Basil the Great, St John Chrysostom, St Maximus the Confessor and St Symeon the New Theologian. There are also a few brief references to Clement the Alexandrine and St Athanasius the Great. The idea is that there is no such thing as one standard patristic interpretation of Genesis 1.

This article offers a contrary view to the modern myth of "Hellenic Alexandria vs. Christian Antioch." Fifth century Christology shows that it was quite the other way round. While Nestorius' concerns were largely metaphysical, focusing on preserving Christ's divinity "untainted" by the union with humanity, Cyril explored the outcomes of New Testament's doctrine of incarnation.

An investigation of the eighth century Byzantine poem, The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete, from the viewpoint of its literary genre, theological and spiritual message, and hermeneutical significance.

[Quoted in Eugen J. Pentiuc, The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition (Oxford University Press, 2014) at 261-62, 366, 381, 403, 404]

This article explores a few aspects pertaining to St Basil’s contributions to the Christian worldview. Less researched in recent times – at least from this viewpoint –Basilian thinking can surprise contemporary readers by its fresh and balanced approach. In fact, it offers solutions to current challenges, such as bridging scientific and theological worldviews, and depicting a universe full of divine presence and meaning. The analysis proceeds by discussing St Basil’s contributions to science and theology, then his vision of the cosmos as a theological school, and finally his vision of the world as a synergetic framework where divine and cosmic energies creatively interact.
For a revised and expanded version, see
https://www.academia.edu/4577069/Christian_Worldview_Understandings_from_St_Basil_the_Great_Cappadocian_Legacy_

In his treatise On the Divine and Deifying Participation, St Gregory Palamas introduced an important nuance. Namely, he pointed out the existence of a radical difference between the direct (deifying) and indirect (providential) ways of experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit. By emphasising this difference, Palamas did not question the Holy Spirit’s omnipresence; instead, he considered the various receptive capabilities naturally pertaining to created beings and the consequences of the human persons’ existential choices. The aim of this article is to explore St Gregory’s significant contribution to pneumatology and the spiritual life within the framework of the traditional theory of divine participation.

The paper begins by briefly describing the famous ‘theory of everything’ expounded by St Maximus the Confessor in Difficulty 41. This fascinating Maximian narrative endeavours to give an account of the whole of reality, in its complex multi-level structure. Although St Maximus maintains, by way of introduction, that this teaching draws on the tradition of the saints, nothing similar can be found in the writings of the previous Church fathers. Contemporary scholars have at times attempted to search for the roots of this tradition, without much success. Not claiming to be exhaustive, this paper explores one such possible track, ignored by scholarship, within two passages (11 and 17) in St Gregory the Theologian’s Oration 38.
For a revised and expanded version, see
https://www.academia.edu/4577072/Seeking_Out_the_Antecedents_of_the_Maximian_Theory_of_Everything_St_Gregory_the_Theologian_s_Oration_38_Cappadocian_Legacy_

The Experience of the Holy Spirit in Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Palamas. The article (in Romanian) compares the experience of the Holy Spirit as articulated by St Basil the Great and St Gregory Palamas, with special reference to the perceptions of the (hesychast) saints.

The article (the only one I published in French) deals with the various aspects pertaining to the ecclesial tradition, focusing on the distinction between form and content. It utilises this distinction as a hermeneutical tool meant to facilitate a traditional understanding of Genesis 1.

The paper offers a sample of my kind of work with the students of St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College. It contains a new English translation of Letter 4 (on Christology), which on the one hand makes the text readable and on the other hand provides readers with some pertinent comments.

The author explores chapters five and six of the Letter to Diognetus for a traditional alternative to the problematic attitudes regarding secular society that occur in contemporary Christianity. Thus he reiterates the challenge launched by Marrou more than sixty years ago, which is to infer from the Letter – beyond its immediate import for early Christians – guidelines for the contemporary ecclesial experience. The article addresses the immediate context and character of the text, progressing to an analysis of the two chapters, and ends by highlighting the relevance of this information for contemporary Christianity. The article adds to current Diognetian studies by identifying as yet ignored traces of it in later Christian literature.