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- Central European University, History, Graduate Studentadd
- East European intelligentsias, Social History, Religion and Politics, Balkan Studies, Revolutions, Reformed Theology and Ethics, and 97 morePolitical Culture, Religion, Holocaust Studies, Memory Distortion, Memory Studies, Cultural Memory, History and Memory, Social and Collective Memory, Theology, Romanian Language, European History, Intellectual History, Cultural History, Secular Humanism, History of Ideas, Racial and Ethnic Politics, German History, Italian (European History), History of Religion, History of Christianity, Liturgy, Ideology Studies, Balkan History, Contemporary Spirituality, Pilgrimage, Theory of Religion, Church History, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, Reformation History, Early Christianity, Ideology, Fascism, Iron Guard, Political Extremism/Radicalism/Populism, Nationalism, Conservative Revolution (Revolutions), Fascism (Revolutions), Conservative Revolution, Political Religion, Totalitarianism, Contemporary Christianity, Radical Orthodoxy (Theology), Orthodox Theology, Christian Orthodoxy and Nationalism, Neo-Fascism, Susannah Heschel, History, Geoff Eley, Education, Humanities, Historiography, Archival Studies, Comparative History, National Identity, Cold War, Central European history, Eastern European history, History of Communism, Nichifor Crainic, Philosophy, Anthropology, Cultural Theory, Eastern Christianity, East European studies, Eastern European Studies, Comparative Politics, Communism, South East European Studies, Romanian Studies, Romanian Orthodox Church, John Milbank, Guy Gedaliahu Stroumsa, Mark Mazower, John D. Caputo, William T. Cavanaugh, Steven T. Katz, Hans Belting, John Doyle Klier, Emilio Gentile, Yvonne Sherratt, Samuel Moyn, Carl Ipsen, Frederick Beiser, Anti-Semitism, Romanian Orthodox Theology, Interwar Europe, St Gregory Palamas, Church Fathers, St. John Damascene / St. John of Damascus, Byzantine Liturgy, Byzantine Theology, Palamism, Romanos the Melodist, Great Canon, Patristics, St Andrew of Crete, and Christina M Gschwandtneredit
- Double PhD (History and Orthodox Theology)edit
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The present essay details the intricate relationship between the Romanian Orthodox hierarchy and the conflict in Ukraine on various levels (philanthropic, social, ecclesiological, political). While most of the Orthodox bishops in Romania... more
The present essay details the intricate relationship between the Romanian Orthodox hierarchy and the conflict in Ukraine on various levels (philanthropic, social, ecclesiological, political). While most of the Orthodox bishops in Romania continue to voice their concern about the war, few condemn the complicity of the Russian Orthodox Church in endorsing the military involvement of Russia in Ukraine. Another factor that contributed to the moral anaesthesia of the Orthodox bishops has to do with the silent political preference for the pro-Russian, ultranationalist Alliance of the Union of Romanians party (AUR). While the Romanian Patriarchate condemned vehemently the political instrumentalization of Orthodoxy, against the official position of the hierarchy, a part of the regular and monastic clergy still nurtures admiration for Vladimir Putin, seen as the main benefactor of the Orthodox Church worldwide and his pro-Christian policies.
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The paper discusses the forging of a carceral legionary theophany based on oneiric experience and the apparitions of saints to imprisoned members of the Iron Guard in contemporary Romania. It also approaches the post-Communist... more
The paper discusses the forging of a carceral legionary theophany based on oneiric experience and the apparitions of saints to imprisoned members of the Iron Guard in contemporary Romania. It also approaches the post-Communist instrumentalization of the legionaries’ prison experience (dreams, visions of the Virgin and saints, “dreams of terror”) in supporting their claim of canonizing fascists martyrs as saints of the
Romanian Orthodox Church
Romanian Orthodox Church
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"To Murder or Save Thy Neighbour? Romanian Orthodox Clergymen and Jews during the Holocaust (1941-1945)," in Religion, Ethnonationalism, and Antisemitism in the Era of the Two World Wars, edited by Kevin P. Spicer and Rebecca Carter-Chand (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2022), 305-330.more
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The paper focuses on the ideological roots of the prison saints movement in contemporary Romania. The text uncovers the interwar and communist conceptual premises upon which the biographies of fascist martyrs for canonisation as saints by... more
The paper focuses on the ideological roots of the prison saints movement in contemporary Romania. The text uncovers the interwar and communist conceptual premises upon which the biographies of fascist martyrs for canonisation as saints by the Romanian Orthodox Church were shaped. As martyrs for the Christian faith, those deceased were depicted as respectable figures, showcasing their martyrdom on the same moral footing as the dissidents of former democratic parties opposing communism. Furthermore, the narrative strategies in shaping a fascist hagiography from the interwar up to the post-communist years stand as another critical issue for the present article.
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The present text discusses fascist antisemitism displayed by Orthodox clergymen during the interwar and the Holocaust. By referring to several antisemitic metaphors (the Jews as the exploiter, as the force behind world Freemasonry, as the... more
The present text discusses fascist antisemitism displayed by Orthodox clergymen during the interwar and the Holocaust. By referring to several antisemitic metaphors (the Jews as the exploiter, as the force behind world Freemasonry, as the persecutor of Christians or the legionary indictment on the Christian commandment of universal love) employed by fascist priests in the legionary newspapers, the articles show the causalities and continuities between the interwar years and the Holocaust period in the fascist imaginary of Orthodox priests.
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The violent behavior of fascist Orthodox clerics serving in the Transnistrian Orthodox Mission during World War II contributed to the “Romanianization” of Transnistria initiated by the Antonescu government in 1941. These churchmen stand... more
The violent behavior of fascist Orthodox clerics serving in the Transnistrian Orthodox Mission during World War II contributed to the “Romanianization” of Transnistria initiated by the Antonescu government in 1941. These churchmen stand out as bystanders, beneficiaries, and even perpetrators of the Holocaust. Subscribing to the antisemitic programs of the outlawed Iron Guard and of the Antonescu government, these men took an active part in exploiting, robbing, and even murdering both local Jews and other deportees from Bessarabia, Bucovina, and elsewhere in Romania. They illustrate both the suffusion of fascist ideology into all sectors of Romanian society and the role of clergy at every level.
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This text discusses several aspects of the interwar history of the Orthodox Church in Romanian Transylvania through the lens of the early life and political achievements of Father Liviu Stan (1910–1973). By using a microhistorical... more
This text discusses several aspects of the interwar history of the Orthodox Church in Romanian Transylvania through the lens of the early life and political achievements of Father Liviu Stan (1910–1973). By using a microhistorical approach, his life stands as proof of the ability of ideological reconversion to describe the various totalitarian challenges that defined the destiny of an entire generation of Orthodox theologians in the twentieth century. Rather than painting the biographical tapestry of Father Stan's life, the main focus of this text falls precisely on his interactions with various ideologies (Fascism and Communism), his ideological and professional reconversions, and Transylvanian Orthodox theologians’ ability to survive when confronted with various totalitarian challenges.
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The present paper discusses the anti-Greek Catholic and anti-Jewish attitudes of some Orthodox clergy as reflected in the interwar legionary press. By making reference to several newspapers (Legiunea, Predania, Glasul strămoșesc) the... more
The present paper discusses the anti-Greek Catholic and anti-Jewish attitudes of some Orthodox clergy as reflected in the interwar legionary press. By making reference to several newspapers (Legiunea, Predania, Glasul strămoșesc) the article sheds light on the political mobilization of the legionary Orthodox clergymen and intellectuals in support of the xenophobic agenda regarding other denominations (especially the Greek-Catholics) and religious groups (the Jews) in interwar Romania.
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The paper discusses the interwar activism of Orthodox laymen and the founding of the organization of the "Romanian Orthodox Fellowship". It addresses how this initiative of Orthodox laity and clergy meant to counterbalance both the... more
The paper discusses the interwar activism of Orthodox laymen and the founding of the organization of the "Romanian Orthodox Fellowship". It addresses how this initiative of Orthodox laity and clergy meant to counterbalance both the Greek-Catholic oriented propaganda in the intellectual milieus and the corrosive influences of modernity, stemming from secular circles. Another aim targeted by the paper is to emphasize that Archbishop Andrei Șaguna's 19th century reflections about the status of the ecclesiastical collegiality between the clergy and the laymen in the institutional structures of the Orthodox Church received their actual confirmation with the formation of the "Romanian Orthodox Fellowship" of intellectuals and their theological framework with the theological reflections highlighting the importance of the laity laid by Fr. Liviu Stan (1909-1973).
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Co-editor with With Aleksandar Bogdashkin and Aleksandar Galkin, Beregynia, 26, no. 3 (2015)
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... 1998). 4 Zigu Ornea, The Romanian Extreme Right. The Nineteen Thirties, (Boulder: East European Monographs, 1999). Page 6. 6 ... general and of Romanian nationalism in particular. Irina Livezeanu was the first scholar in the ...
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Church and Politics
Kirche und Politik
Kirche und Politik
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Volumul este o colecție de optsprezece studii ce răspund provocărilor legate de locul interpretării biblice între Biserică și Universitate, respectiv între o abordare spirituală și una academică, intelectuală, în încercarea de a depăși... more
Volumul este o colecție de optsprezece studii ce răspund provocărilor legate de locul interpretării biblice între Biserică și Universitate, respectiv între o abordare spirituală și una academică, intelectuală, în încercarea de a depăși dihotomiile spre care facil se poate îndrepta interpretul neexperimentat. Contribuțiile au fost organizate în trei capitole care oglindesc stadiul, nevoile și perspectivele cercetării biblice românești și nu numai. Primul, intitulat Metode și interferențe în studiile biblice demonstrează capacitatea unei solidarități critice a autorilor atât față de tradiția academică sau științifică, dar și față de cea bisericească ori patristică. Capitolul al doilea, numit Biblie și Liturghie, vrea să atragă atenția asupra necesității studierii textelor liturgice ca surse primare pentru ermineutica biblică, domeniu din care nu pot lipsi cercetările legate de imnografia bizantină, omiliile patristice și lecționarele biblice. Ultimul capitol este dedicat perspectivelor deschise de confruntarea cu tema volumului, de aceea numele de Noi orizonturi. Aici se dovedește promițătoare colaborarea bibliștilor cu filosofia contemporană și instrumentele ei ermineutice care ar putea înlesni atât comunicarea Bisericii cu Universitatea, cât și pe cea interconfesională. Faptul că autorii acestui volum provin din cinci confesiuni creștine subliniază interesul comun pentru scrierile biblice ca fundament al creștinismului și se înscrie perfect în intenția volumului găzduit de seria Studia Oecumenica a Centrului de Cercetare Ecumenică din Sibiu.
Alexandru Ioniță
Alexandru Ioniță
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This book aims to revisit the historical canon regarding the formation of intellectual elites during successive projects of modernization during 19th and 20th centuries. While existing works on the topic focus either on the elimination of... more
This book aims to revisit the historical canon regarding the
formation of intellectual elites during successive projects of
modernization during 19th and 20th centuries. While existing
works on the topic focus either on the elimination of previous
elites in times of radical social change or on the creation of new
elites by each new political regime, we focus on a third
mechanism: the recuperation/conversion of previous intellectual
elites for new modernization projects. This mechanism of
historical and social change appears at every major transition
(“historical disjuncture”) but is given less importance both in
history/social sciences and in public discourse.
Almost without exception, the successive visions of
modernity fail in their attempt to transform the deep social
strata in spite of their explicit goals in that regard. Nevertheless,
each one creates new, imperfect, and fragmentary ways of
intervening and programming the newly instituted populations,
individuals and fields of activity. New conceptual vocabularies
were brought forth – by imitation or explicit distancing – out of
the failed discourses and reforms and larger spaces for expert-led
intervention were opened for subsequent reforms and projects
of modernization.
Scrutinizing the moments of discontinuity in modern and
contemporary Romanian history, this book will argue that, far
from a complete break with a past, each modernization projects
builds on and has to incorporate pre-existing social
processes/resources.
formation of intellectual elites during successive projects of
modernization during 19th and 20th centuries. While existing
works on the topic focus either on the elimination of previous
elites in times of radical social change or on the creation of new
elites by each new political regime, we focus on a third
mechanism: the recuperation/conversion of previous intellectual
elites for new modernization projects. This mechanism of
historical and social change appears at every major transition
(“historical disjuncture”) but is given less importance both in
history/social sciences and in public discourse.
Almost without exception, the successive visions of
modernity fail in their attempt to transform the deep social
strata in spite of their explicit goals in that regard. Nevertheless,
each one creates new, imperfect, and fragmentary ways of
intervening and programming the newly instituted populations,
individuals and fields of activity. New conceptual vocabularies
were brought forth – by imitation or explicit distancing – out of
the failed discourses and reforms and larger spaces for expert-led
intervention were opened for subsequent reforms and projects
of modernization.
Scrutinizing the moments of discontinuity in modern and
contemporary Romanian history, this book will argue that, far
from a complete break with a past, each modernization projects
builds on and has to incorporate pre-existing social
processes/resources.
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The State, Antisemitism, and Collaboration in the Holocaust: The Borderlands of Romania and the Soviet Union , Diana Dumitru (New York: Cambridge University Press in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2016), xvii + 268 pp., hardcover $99.99, electronic version available.more
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10.1353/imp.2017.0090