Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae (en)

Patriarch of Orthodox dogmatic theology

God, the Scriptures say, has appointed for every nation an angel of its own – a guardian, a kind of governor of the kingdom, set up in the dwelling places of the earth. He also seems to have appointed a ruler for every age, most often among men. For our time, at least in this country, Father Stăniloae has been appointed, because he has found himself best suited for this office. With his imposing stature, unshakable health, inexhaustible energy for work, tenacious to the point of stubbornness, consistent to the point of sacrifice, he carried his age on his shoulders […]

A judgment without fault

I went to see Father Stăniloae in Saint-Sergius, where he lives in a student room. He had been in Paris for a few days. No one knew that he was going to receive the title of Doctor Honoris Causa, no Romanian was present at the ceremony. According to Olivier Clement, who gave a beautiful speech, the Russians in Saint-Sergius were not very happy, given the Russian ambition to be the first in Orthodoxy, but they were obliged to bow down before Stăniloae and a theologian like Olivier Clement. There’s something else: the fear of displeasing the Patriarchate in Bucharest, since […]

Memories of Father Dumitru Stăniloae

The work and thought of Father Dumitru Stăniloae, the greatest theologian the Romanian nation has produced, of great spiritual stature, have remained fundamental landmarks in contemporary theological research. But the profound theological study of Fr. Stăniloae was also strongly reflected in the life of his Holiness. This is testified to by those who crossed his threshold to find a useful word or to obtain clarification of the questions that preoccupied him at a time that was not conducive to spiritual concerns. I talked to some of Father’s disciples to find out why they sought him out, what was so special […]

What did Father Stăniloae mean to me?

Although I knew Father Stăniloae very well, I was afraid to write down the memories that connect me with him, remembering the verses of Letter I: “And above all, the little rune will speak,/ Not glorifying you… polishing itself,/ Under the shadow of your name”. Mrs Lidia Stăniloae urged me to overcome this inhibition because I knew him so well as his disciple.

“Father Dumitru Stăniloae is the most precious gift that the land of Transylvania has given to our national landscape”.

From now on he is really with us. He [Dumitru Stăniloae] belongs to the line of those who do not go away: having entered eternity, he returns with it in the chalice; a working priesthood beyond the ages. There was a time when we worked together, in the same room in the Antim monastery, on a floor lined with ink. We had just come from Aiud, we were waiting for our hair to grow and we were writing for magazines, at least we didn’t have the “right to sign” yet: he, Stăniloae, had to get a pseudonym, a pseudonym under […]

Father Stăniloae, man and theologian of prayer. Testimony of a disciple

I have chosen the theme “Father Stăniloae, man and theologian of prayer” as the theme of my testimony about Father Stăniloae. This, of course, can be seen in all his works. It is not only his very thorough studies and constant theological formation that explain the ethos of his theology, but also the fact that he himself was a man of prayer. His Holiness did not flaunt this aspect of his life. I will only give a few testimonies of some moments that I happened to experience in his presence.

The Dungeon – Theology Chair of Father Dumitru Stăniloae

Colonel Cr[ciun addressed the crowd with his usual air of importance. Shortly afterwards, two more – the last. One is a sturdy fellow, with a massive figure, Tatar features, tanned (probably from working in the sun), contrasting with the pallor and weakness of most of those present. The other is a tall, grey-haired man with a dull face and a weak smile. Colonel Christmas introduces them: – Mr Petre Pandrea, one of our Marxists, who came to you thanks to a mistake. This, Crăciun adds, pointing to the other, is Father Stăniloae. The name of Father Stăniloae hit my eardrum […]

Together with my father, Dumitru Stăniloae

In the following, we will recount some of the memories of my father, stories that he either told us or that we experienced. Some chronological and other clarifications will be made only in cases where the writings published so far have committed errors and dilettantism too obvious to be ignored, because unfortunately they are not lacking in some biographical accounts. We regret, therefore, if there are inconsistencies with the statements of the biographers, in which case we may be guilty of a lack of scientific style, but we are trying to put into our lines a part of the love […]

Father Stăniloae – a man familiar with God

His cell Father lives in a double studio apartment, or what is known in the West as a small studio. He was given one of the rooms, which measured no more than ten square metres. Beyond it is the bedroom with windows, where, at the foot of the double bed, is the table at which Father Dumitru Stăniloae worked on much of his writing. Beyond that, there is a bookcase on two walls, a coffee table behind which the priest usually sits, a sofa and two or three chairs. The books, too many for the library’s capacity, are packed as […]

The arrest and sentencing of Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae

Like the majority of the Romanian elite, Dumitru Stăniloae had experience of prison, spending time in Jilava and Aiud prisons between 1959 and 1963. His arrest and conviction are closely linked to the actions of the Securitate in the late 1950s, which aimed to destroy the last potential centres of resistance to communism. After the experience of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the withdrawal of the Red Army from Romania, the communist power in Bucharest launched a new wave of persecution to prevent any manifestation of opposition by those who hoped that the departure of Soviet troops would in […]

In isolation with Father Stăniloae

We soon found out that the old man I mentioned was Father Stăniloaie (!), the great theologian who spoke to us every evening. He was weak, his voice was hard to hear, so when he spoke there was complete silence. There were 8 priests with us, including a Greek Catholic bishop, who listened to his words with respect and devotion.

Father Stăniloae – lecturer in the Aiud prison

In the bath I sat among such good people as Father Beju, Father Grebenea… Professor Manu, who was about three cells away from us, gave lessons in English and American history, which he passed on to us. (…) Father Stăniloae once gave a lecture on the icon. The audience wrote it down on soap. Some wrote something, others something else, so that in the end they could put it all together. Then someone in their cell typed it out in Morse code and that’s how we all heard it. After that, when I read various theological studies, nowhere did I […]