the deification of man

Studia Theologica No. I (XIX) / 2025 Wisdom, from the heights of the divine throne to the depths of knowledge His Eminence Varsanufie

God’s wisdom is examined in its scriptural, patristic and Christological dimensions, ranging from the Old Testament wisdom traditions and identification with the divine Logos to Saint Gregory Palamas’s polemic with Varlaam of Calabria. The article demonstrates that divine wisdom is not an abstract attribute, but an ontological and transformative reality, accessible to humankind through the Incarnation of the Son, through the uncreated energies, and through the ecclesial and sacramental life of the Church.

Studia Humanitatis No. I (XIX) / 2025 The importance of studying the Church Fathers in young people’s culture Rev. Prof. Dr. habil. Constantin Necula, Prof. (PhD candidate) Constantin Ioan Necula, Associate Professor, Dr. habil. Alina Pătru

The study argues that the writings and lives of the Holy Fathers of the Church — from Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Basil the Great to Saint Gregory of Nyssa and Blessed Augustine — constitute an essential pillar in the cultural, spiritual and moral formation of young people in the 21st century. Patristic wisdom offers concrete answers to the identity crisis, ethical relativism and digital misinformation, and the authors propose an innovative patristic pedagogy, adapted to the digital generation through means such as podcasts, mobile apps and reading workshops.

Studia Humanitatis No. I (XIX) / 2025 The tattoo craze Rev. Dr. Marcel Stavără

The phenomenon of tattoos is analysed from a Christian Orthodox, psychological and medical perspective, arguing that it constitutes a sin against God and a desecration of the human body, which, according to Scripture and patristic teaching, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, sealed through Baptism and Chrismation and destined for deification.

Studia Theologica No. II (XVIII) / 2024 Temperance, the right path, the guardian of mind and body against the defilement of sin His Eminence Varsanufie

The virtue of temperance is examined as an essential means of attaining holiness, through self-control, discernment and the restraint of the passions, with reference to the teachings of Saints Basil the Great, John Cassian, Maximus the Confessor and Ephrem the Syrian. The sins of intemperance — gluttony, avarice and sexual immorality — are examined as forms of estrangement from God, whilst fasting and philanthropy are proposed as remedies.

Studia Theologica No. II (XVIII) / 2024 The Holy Sacrament of Marriage as a Church ceremony Rev. Prof. Dr. Emeritus Gheorghe Metallinós

The Holy Sacrament of Marriage is examined in its ecclesiological and Eucharistic dimensions, drawing on the teachings of Saint Paul the Apostle, Saint Ignatius Theophorus and Saint John Chrysostom, right through to Alexandre Schmemann and Ioan Ziziulas: the union of spouses in Christ is not merely a blessing of a biological fact, but an integration into the Body of the Church, at the centre of which remains the Divine Eucharist.

Studia Theologica No. I (XVII) / 2024 God’s love, the call to communion His Eminence Varsanufie

Divine love, rooted in the intra-Trinitarian life of the Holy Trinity, constitutes the archetypal model of man’s communion with God and of love for one’s neighbour. Through grace, the Holy Sacraments and liturgical life, human beings are cleansed of their passions, become deified and share in the inexhaustible love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the divine image being fully realised in communion and interpersonal love.

Studia Theologica No. I (XVII) / 2024 Building a Christian Marriage: St John Chrysostom’s Guide to Temperance, Comfort and Fellowship Rev. Prof. Dr. Bassam A. Nassif

Taking as its starting point the crisis of marriage in contemporary culture, this article analyses Saint John Chrysostom’s teaching on the sacrament of marriage, identifying three fundamental principles drawn from his writings: self-restraint (σωφροσύνη), consolation and participation. Marriage is presented as a path to inner healing, spiritual perfection and deification, superior to any sociological or utilitarian understanding of the marital relationship.

Studia Theologica No. II (XVI) / 2023 The ecclesiological nature of the Holy Sacrament of Matrimony Associate Professor Dr Nicolae Xionis

The Holy Sacrament of Marriage is analysed from an Orthodox theological perspective as an icon of Christ’s union with the Church, possessing an ontological and ecclesiological character, not merely a moral or social one. Drawing on the Holy Fathers — John Chrysostom, Athanasius the Great, Nicholas Cabasilas and Gregory of Nyssa — the article interprets the themes of creation, divorce, submission and idolatry in the light of the communion between God and humankind.

Studia Theologica No. II (XVI) / 2023 Saint Isaac the Syrian on ‘the sweetness of the Scriptures’ and the prayer of the heart Hieromonk Agapie Corbu

Drawing on St Paul’s image of the veil over the heart (2 Corinthians 3:14–18), this article analyses, on the basis of the writings of St Isaac the Syrian, the ascetic process of the spiritual reading of Scripture: from simple, quantitative reading in hesychia, through meditation and savouring the sweetness of the divine words, to the prayer of the heart and the vision of the divine light.

Studia Theologica No. I (XV) / 2023 God’s Providence, or On the Sustaining and Governing of the World through Love His Eminence Varsanufie

Divine providence, understood as God’s all-encompassing love and care for creation, is examined in relation to the freedom of rational beings, to sin, suffering and the deification of humankind, drawing upon the works of Saint John of Damascus, Saint Maximus the Confessor, Saint Justin Popovich and Thomas Spidlik, culminating in the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist.