Christine Hall

Spiritual tradition and ecclesiology in the Romanian Orthodox historical and political context

This article addresses one of the aims of the 2009 Windsor Consultation on Orthodox Ecclesiology, which was to identify live topics for research within that overall subject area. Drawing examples from the spiritual tradition of the Romanian Orthodox Church, in its historical and political context, the article highlights the permeating influence of monasticism, then focuses on the renaissance of mystical theology in the mid-twentieth century, as associated with figures such as Nichifor Crainic, theologian and poet, and Sandu Tudor, founder of the hesychast-inspired movement Rugul Aprins (The Burning Bush). Since 1989, the lives of many Romanian spiritual figures of the twentieth century have become better known, and a form of resurgence of Rugul Aprins has been taking place. In the current reconfiguration of Europe, where religious faith presents an increasing challenge to laïcité, the potential and distinctive contribution of the Orthodox spiritual tradition is reasserting itself and should be more widely examined, with particular attention to significant works suppressed in the communist period and still too little known.

The Recollections of Patriarch Justinian of Romania: an intriguing document

The recently published Amintiri (Recollections) of Patriarch Justinian Marina (1902–77) make a fascinating addition to the study of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the communist period, set against the pre-communist historical and political background. Their author was a priest in Oltenia from 1924, Assistant Bishop to the Metropolitan of Moldavia, 1945, Metropolitan of Moldavia, 1947, and Patriarch of Romania, 1948 to 1977. This review article first examines the unusual way in which the Amintiri were produced, and the use of sources in current Romanian historiography, as described and evaluated in their introductory study by the editors, Professor Remus Rus, Emeritus Professor of the Justinian Marina Orthodox Faculty of Theology, University of Bucharest, and Dorin-Demostene Iancu, doctorand at the Nicolae Iorga Historical Institute and librarian at the Holy Synod Library, Bucharest. It then focuses on the historico-political context in which Patriarch Justinian produced his recollections, and on his ‘inheritance’ from his predecessors, Patriarch Miron Cristea (1868–1939) and Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu (1864–1948). The precise purpose of the Amintiri remains somewhat elusive, though possibilities may be deduced from the text and from the contemporary historical context. Finally, three major themes addressed by Patriarch Justinian are considered – the socio-political concerns of his work, the question of his relations with Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and other communist leaders, and his visits to Moscow in 1946 and 1948.

Research on the diaconate: a retrospective view of promise and challenge

This editorial article briefly reviews retrospectively the research undertaken by the Anglo-Nordic Diaconal Research Project (ANDREP), which has been concerned primarily with the Churches of Sweden and Norway, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Church of England, with reference to ecclesiology and praxis in other churches, and to concommitant research and ecumenical developments elsewhere, in relation to the diaconate. From the publication of the WCC Faith and Order Paper on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM, 1982) and throughout the period of the formation of the Porvoo communion of Churches, there appeared to be great promise for the renewal of the deacons ministry. However, it became apparent that, in the Church of England at least, renewal of the diaconate was not generally regarded principally as an end in itself but as a means of advancing the cause of womens ordination to priesthood. Furthermore, mono-presbyterate and the variety of meanings given to the term ‘diakonia’ have presented a number of problems. Fundamental principles of ecclesiology pertaining to the diaconate also were – and remain – unknown or disregarded in much church practice. A number of challenges which consequently arise for the churches have been identified over time and are addressed in this issue of the International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church (IJSCC), vol. 13, no. 4 (2013), on the theme of ‘The Ministry of the Deacon in Times of Ecumenical Reconfiguration’.

Orthodoxy and the Cold War: Religion and Political Power in Romania, 1947–65

remarkable frescoes by talented artists. The Dormition monastery has its own journal with the title Krymskii Afon (Crimean Athos). In Crimea this re-playing of the Orthodox refashioning of Crimea in the nineteenth century is complicated by the divisions of the Orthodox Church in the Ukraine. The question of who is the rightful heir in the Crimea is further complicated, Kodelsky notes, as returning Tatars stake their own claims to overlapping sacred sites. This could be a recipe for tension and conflict. Kodeslky concludes her study with the joint declaration of Metropolitan Lazar and Mufti Emirale Ablaiev in 2004, noting the rebirth and renewal in Crimea of both Orthodoxy and Islam ‘as the two founding confessions in the autonomous republic’, asking both politicians and the media to avoid ‘playing with interconfessional relations’ in a way that ‘might have tragic results for future populations’. This focussed historical study of the Crimea, with its contemporary replay, not only introduces us to an area largely unknown in the west but is also suggestive of parallels in other places.

Ecclesiology and the Pentecostal Churches

As adumbrated in its title, Ecclesiology and the Pentecostal Churches, the present issue of IJSCC focuses on a range of perspectives on ecclesiology to be found in the expanding Pentecostal Churches in a number of parts of the world, rather than on a pre-conceived notion of ‘Pentecostal Ecclesiology’, whatever that might be taken to be. We are most grateful to Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, who has considerable experience and strong research interest in Pentecostal-Charismatic theologies, for agreeing to act as Guest Editor. Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, USA, and Docent in Ecumenics, University of Helsinki, he is a prolific writer with wide research experience, and extensive editorial involvement, most recently as editor of The Spirit in the World: Emerging Pentecostal Theologies in Global Contexts (2009). He has drawn together in this issue contributions from very significant names in the Pentecostal world, and his Guest Editorial is a most interesting analysis on the subject ‘Pentecostal ecclesiology – does it exist?’ We also thank the authors and book reviewers whose work is published here for their generous response, which has given an excellent balance to the issue, both as a source for readers who are already scholars in the field and for those who will come to this collection of articles as a way to deeper understanding of an important development in contemporary ecclesiology. May we also draw attention to a very different ecclesiological scene examined in the very recent special issue (vol. 11, nos. 2–3), in which we published the papers of the Windsor Consultation on Orthodox Ecclesiology (see vol. 10, no. 1 for a report on its proceedings). There is to be a follow-up consultation in Thessaloniki in February 2012, of which a report will appear in IJSCC vol. 12, no. 2 (May 2012) and papers will be published in a later issue of the journal.

Report on a Consultation on Orthodox Ecclesiology St George's House, Windsor Castle 2009

A Consultation on Orthodox Ecclesiology was convened at St George’s House, Windsor Castle, from 7 to 9 December 2009. The programme and participation were organised by Dr Geoffrey Rowell, Professor Sven-Erik Brodd and Dr Christine Hall, in consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia and other Orthodox scholars, and in association with Editorial Consultants and Editorial Board members of the International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church (IJSCC). Support funding was generously provided by Taylor & Francis, publishers of IJSCC; the Olaus Petri Foundation, Faculty of Theology, Uppsala, and a number of organisations, trusts and individuals in the UK and elsewhere. Acknowledging the growing importance ofOrthodox ecclesiology inmany parts of the world, the aim of the Consultation was to explore a wide range of ecclesiological topics that are of current concern and interest to the Orthodox Church, both in its ecclesial life and in its ecumenical relations and to identify openings for exchange of scholarship and for future research projects. Impetus for this came initially from the Faculty of Theology of the University of Uppsala, where a platform to support a number of areas of ecclesiological research is being put in place, andwhich contributed generously to the costs of the Consultation.

Ecclesiology in Africa

We are delighted to publish this Special Issue of The International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church (IJSCC) on Ecclesiology in Africa and we thank Professor Hans Engdahl, University of the Western Cape (UWC), and Professor Sr Teresa Okure, SHCJ, Catholic Institute in West Africa (CIWA), for accepting our invitation to act as Guest Editors. They have enabled a varied collection of articles and book reviews, each in its different way opening onto a vast subject area beyond itself, to be brought together under one cover. We are particularly grateful to the authors and book reviewers, with whom we have enjoyed working over the past few months. The group of contributors connected with CIWA (Bernard Ukwuegbu, Joseph Faniran, Sr Mary Gerard Nwagwu, Ferdinand Nwaigbo) and with UWC (Lutasha Ndesi, Daan Cloete, Darryl Abrahams) and University of the Free State (Mogomme Masoga), together with Paul Gifford (SOAS), Dirkie Smit (Stellenbosch), Puleng LenkaBula (UNISA), Priscille Djomhoué (Faculty of Protestant Theology, Yaoundé) and Stephen Hayes (Orthodox Archdiocese of Johannesburg and Pretoria) represent not only a wide range of church backgrounds and scholarly expertise but a strong commitment to ecclesiology in Africa. It has often been observed that the demographic balance of the Christian world has shifted to ‘the Global South’, and that African Christianity has already a significant influence and is likely to have more. African churches, with some notable ancient exceptions such as Ethiopia, grew out of missionary endeavour that was inevitably entangled in different ways with colonialism. The independence of African churches, and their need to find and articulate their own self-understanding has been significantly conditioned by this colonial inheritance. At the same time there have been influences from traditional African cultures, and an explosion of African indigenous churches, often susceptible to syncretistic expressions of Christianity. Pentecostalism has also been a significant influence. In South Africa the churches played different rôles in the struggle with apartheid, the Dutch Reformed Church’s advocacy of ‘separate development’ owing something to the originally eirenic concept of pillarisation propounded by Abraham Kuyper in the Netherlands to enable Protestants and Catholics to live alongside one another. For all these reaons, and many more, a special issue devoted to Ecclesiology in African is important. Like all issues of IJSCC, Ecclesiology in Africa is available for purchase as a single issue. We hope that it will be widely read and that it will stimulate further