Keywords
grace
theology of the person
Neo-Palamism
theosis
Image of God
post-secularity
religiosity
religious-theological synthesis
How to Cite
Abstract
The article presents the results of a comprehensive study of the theological legacy of one of the most renowned Romanian theologians of the 20th century. Special attention is drawn to his anthropological discourse, which, thanks to the intellectual and spiritual quests of the Christian thinker, emerged as a completely natural and accomplished synthesis of Patristic and, specifically, Neo-Palamite ideas. It has been proven that Dumitru Stăniloae developed a relevant anthropological paradigm with significant axiological potential and, in many respects, can serve as a response to contemporary philosophical-anthropological challenges. Focusing research efforts on the problem of the human person in their inseparable connection with Divine being and the community, the author generalizes the significance of the doctrine of freedom, which is an integral attribute of human existence, theosis (deification), and assimilation to God. At the same time, the assertion is made that the thinker bases his moral-dogmatic system on the biblical and general Christian anthropological concept of man as the Image of God, by virtue of which he is called to theosis and to likeness to the Creator. The central construct of the article’s author is the accentuation of anthropological concepts, definitions, ideas, and established assertions formalized by Dumitru Stăniloae within the synthesis of Neo-Palamism as an evolution of modern Christian theology, which is acquiring new circulation within the structure of the Orthodox ecclesiastical-religious tradition of the post-secular era and the socio-psychological actualization of religiosity.
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