ICOANA CREDINȚEI INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH Printed with the blessing of His Eminence † NIFON, Metropolitan and Archbishop of Târgovişte Volume 2, Number 4, June 2016 Valahia University Press Târgovişte 2016 ICOANA CREDINȚEI VoL. 2 No. 4/2016 ICOANA CREDINŢEI EDITORIAL BOARD AND STAFF President His Eminence Metropolitan NIFON, Archdiocese of Târgovişte, PhD Prof., Faculty of Orthodox Theology and Education Sciences, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, Romania Page | 2 Advisory Board Nicolae IOANNIDIS, Arch. Prof. Dr. Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Athens, Greece Georgios METALLINOS, Fr. PhD. Prof., Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Athens, Greece Nicolae, NECULA, Fr. PhD Prof., Faculty of Orthodox Theology “Bucuresti” University, Bucuresti, Romania Leon ARION, Fr. PhD Prof., Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, Romania Gheorghe ANGHELESCU, Prof., Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, Romania Ion STOICA, Fr. PhD Prof. Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, Romania Claudia VLAICU, PhD Prof, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, Romania Floricica STEFAN, Prof. C.N. Constantin Cantacuzino, Târgoviște, România Cosmin SANTI, Fr. PhD Asist.,Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, Romania Alexandru-Traian MIU, PhD Asist., Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște Paul SCARLAT, PhD, Multidisciplinary Science and Technology Research Institute “Valahia” University Editorial Board Pablo ARGARATE, PhD Prof. and Head of Department at the Institute for Ecumenical Theology, Eastern Orthodoxy and Patristics at Graz University, AUSTRIA, Lucian TURCESCU, PhD Prof., Department of Theological Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, CANADA Marian VILCIU, Fr. PhD Prof. Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, ROMANIA, Florea STEFAN, Fr. PhD Prof., Faculty of Orthodox Theolog, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, ROMANIA, Marina KOLOVOPULU, PhD Professor, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Athens, GREECE, Nicolae XIONIS, PhD Professor, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Athens, GREECE, Ion CROITORU, PhD Lecturer, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, ROMANIA, Ribolov, SVETOSLAV, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Sofia University, Sofia, BULGARIA Aleksi, KSHUTASHVILI, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Tbilisi University, GEORGIA Marian BUGIULESCU, Fr. PhD, Multidisciplinary Science and Technology Research Institute “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, ROMANIA Alexandru-Corneliu ARION, Fr. PhD Lect. Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Valahia” University, ROMANIA Editor-in-chief Marin BUGIULESCU, Fr. PhD. Scientific Researcher - Multidisciplinary Science and Technology Research, Valahia” University, Târgoviște, Romania Journal of Faculty of Orthodox Theology and Education Sciences, “Valahia” University, Târgoviște, Romania Address: Aleea Sinaia, no. 13, Mail: 130004, Târgoviște, Dâmbovița, Romania, Web: http://revistaicoanacredintei.tk Email: [email protected] [email protected] www.facebook.com/icoana.credintei Text correction and Co-Editor Alexandru-Corneliu ARION Grafic disinger: Marin BUGIULESCU, © Icoana Credintei. Copyright is warranted by national and international laws. STUDIES AND ARTICLES Page | 2 ICOANA CREDINȚEI VoL. 2 No. 4 /2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page | 3 Editorial Board of ICOANA CREDINTEI...........................................................................2 Table of contents .....................................................................................................................3 Preface......................................................................................................................................4 *DOGMATIC THEOLOGY STUDIES Fr. PhD Prof. Vasile RĂDUCĂ, Metanoia in the thinking of Saint John Chrysostom..............................................................................................................................5 Fr. PhD. Marin BUGIULESCU, Theological and Dogmatic Definition of the God-Man Jesus Christ Person……………….......................................................................................13 Fr. PhD Assist. Florin VÂRLAN, Jesus Christ, our teacher and our guide ........................21 PhD Mihai Sebastian STOIAN, The sacramental nature of man and creation...................27 Prof. Ben Carlo N. ATIM, The (Re)Turn of the Prophets: Prophetic Portrait as a Paradigm of Critique for Post-Secular Society..................................................................34 Phd candidate, Constantin–Valentin BUGIULESCU, The soteriological importance of the hypostatic union …………………………………………………………………….49 *EDUCATION, MORALITY AND SPIRITUALITY PhD Prof. Lehel BALOG, The Redemption of the Feeling in Kierkegaard’s and Tillich’s Thought ..................................................................................................................60 Fr. PhD Assist. Prof. Leontin POPESCU, The existence of the evil in the world: a challenge for philosophy and theology.............................................................................68 Fr. PhD Florea ŞTEFAN, A bioethical perspective on man’s life and death……...............83 Fr. PhD Alexandru-Corneliu ARION, The concept of “persona” in Hinduism and Christianity. A theological approach..................................................................................90 PhD Traian-Alexandru MIU, Ethnocentrism - the danger of cultures’ collision..............101 PhD Olanrewaju Abdul SHITTA-BEY, The human will debate between Western and Yoruba philosophical traditions.................................................................................106 Presentation of ICOANA CREDINTEI............................................................................117 STUDIES AND ARTICLES Page | 3 ICOANA CREDINȚEI VoL. 2 No. 4/2016 Preface This current issue of our International Journal deals with an interesting series of theological and spiritual problems, which are circumscribed into two sections: Dogmatic Theology studies and Education, morality and spirituality. Thus, 1-st PART comprises valuable studies such as: “Metanoia in the thinking of Page | 4 Saint John Chrysostom”, by Rev. PhD. Vasile Răducă, where the author stresses on the Mystery of Repentance and its practice in the thinking of the celebrated Cappadocian, the first Church Father who gave special attention to the spiritual aspect of repentance. PhD. Marin Bugiulescu presents “Theological and dogmatic definition of the God- Man Jesus Christ Person”. The central dogma of Christianity is the Trinitarian one. Regarding the Person and the work of Christ, the Church officially stated that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly Man, and His Person includes the divine nature, from eternity, yet united in time with the human nature, each nature having its own will, and the human will following the divine one. PhD. Florin Vârlan tries to demonstrate that Jesus Christ is our divine teacher and guide. Prof. Ben Carlo Atim in his “The (Re)Turn to the Prophets: Prophetic Portrait as a Paradigm of Critique for Post-Secular Society” introduces the idea that a portrait of a prophet is a doable paradigm for critiquing the socio-political, economic, and cultural condition of the post-secular society and attempts to find the prophets in our age. In the 2-nd PART, Prof. Lehel Balogh tries to investigate and compare the thinking of two highly influential Christian philosophers of the 19th and the 20th century: Søren Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich. Both of them attempted to “redeem” and reaffirm the significance of feelings and the subjective side of reality. “A bioethical perspective on man’s life and death” is an attempt of Prof. Florea Ştefan to tackle an interdisciplinary approach to the problems of bioethics related to the human existence, namely life and death: abortion and euthanasia. PhD Lect. Alexandru-Corneliu Arion examines in his paper: “The concept of persona in Hinduism and Christianity”, analysed from theological point of view. Despite the insistence on a personal relationship between man and divinity that we find at some classical Hindu thinkers, ultimately, what remains is the absolute and impersonal reality of Brahman, whereas in Christianity, the problem of person and that of hypostasizing nature is expressed in such a way that excludes simultaneous emphasis on unity (One) or plurality (Multiple). In his “Existence of the evil in the world: a challenge for philosophy and theology” Prof. Leontin Popescu considers maybe the most difficult problem man has tried to decipher in his history: the existence of the evil. And even if man and universe feel its consequences, it exists not as something given, but as possibility. Olanrewaju Abdul Shitta-Bey introduces us into a space quite alien, once his study deals with a “Human will debate between Western and Yoruba philosophical traditions", peculiar to Nigerian population, and PhD. Traian-Alexandru Miu presents the topic of Ethnocentrism, viewed as the danger of cultures’ collision. PhD. Mihai Sebastian Stoian focuses on the sacramental nature of man and creation and last but not least, Constantin-Valentin Bugiulescu reviews an oft-discussed dogmatic topic: “The soteriological hypostatic union”. June 2016 Co-Editor Fr. PhD. Lect. Alexandru-Corneliu ARION STUDIES AND ARTICLES Page | 4 ICOANA CREDINȚEI VoL. 2 No. 4 /2016 *DOGMATIC THEOLOGY STUDIES Metanoia in the thinking