In a statement for Basilica.ro, Father Cristinel Ioja, the Dean of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Arad, welcomed the canonization of the martyr priest Ilarion Felea, which he described as “excellent news, a source of joy and fulfilment.”

Arad’s theological higher education institution bears the name of the confessor priest Ilarion Felea and has made significant efforts to research and document his works over the past decades.

“The Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate represents a moment of fulfilment and confessional synthesis of the Church, reflected in the canonization of new Saints in the Romanian Orthodox Church,” Dean Cristinel Ioja said.

“The theological, spiritual, and confessional personality of Father Ilarion V. Felea is reflected in archival documents, in the testimonies of others about his life and theological thought, about the orthodoxy of his faith and sacrifice, in dozens of works, studies, and articles published in volumes, in specialized theological journals, in popular brochures, and in the periodicals of the time.”

The Dogmatic vision of St. Ilarion V. Felea

The Dean of the Faculty of Theology in Arad also mentioned several defining aspects of the theology and dogmatic vision of the confessor priest Ilarion V. Felea.

“In this context, the archival documents bear witness to the sacramental and pastoral-missionary work of Father Felea, centred on the link between Liturgy and philanthropy, in catechesis and uplifting the people through culture and spirituality, in intensifying Christian life.”

Father Cristinel Ioja highlighted the Saint’s deep spiritual dedication, emphasizing his constant commitment to Christ and the Church.

“Everything reveals the spiritual strength of Father, dedicated to serving Christ and the Church, the liturgical community, and witnessing through the culture of holiness and the Gospel amid society,” added the dean.

“The faith affirmed by Father Ilarion Felea is the pure faith of the Orthodox Church, free from dogmatic errors and sympathies for any current or conception foreign to the spirit of Orthodoxy.”

“The dogmatic aspects he expresses in his writings refer to the dogmatic, spiritual, and liturgical treasury of the Orthodox Church from whose perspective he confesses his faith and counters various theological, philosophical, or cultural conceptions alien to the life and thought of the Orthodox Church,” said the Dean.

“Father Felea’s theology is confessional, experiential-ecclesial, centred on the interrelationship between dogma-spirituality-worship, with a pronounced biblical foundation, expressed vividly and dynamically, especially through homilies from the church pulpit and as an extension of this, from the heights of the lectern at the Theological Academy in Arad.”

Patristic Aspects

The Dean also stated that St. Ilarion V. Felea developed “a living theology in correspondence with the life and experience of the Church.”

“In his work, we encounter an evident renewal of Orthodox theology, in the spirit and experience of the Fathers, through the unification and incarnation of theology, through the discovery of the Fathers and the Philokalia, through theological-pastoral reflection on the spiritual-liturgical depths of worship, all grounded in the Holy Scriptures, in the experimental Tradition of the Church, and the Lives of the Saints.”

“His entire theology and faith, persistently confessed as a priest and theology professor, were tested by the ultimate witness in the prison of Aiud on September 18, 1961.”

The good news of his canonization

Saint Ilarion Felea, continued Dean Ioja, “remains present today through the memory of those who knew him and through his work, and begins to bear fruit in the hearts of young people, many of whom admire his faith and confession.”

“Wherever he went, he shared light from the light of Christ, and his faith was none other than the faith once delivered to the Saints. All these can be contemplated in the icon approved by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, a synthesis of living and witnessing, of martyrdom and the eternal reward in the communion of Saints.”

“The news of the canonization has settled in everyone’s hearts as a truly ‘good news,’ a source of joy and fulfilment, as a building power in the confession of Christians and as an elevation in the theological work of the Church,” added Father Cristinel Ioja.

St. Ilarion V. Felea

Born on March 21, 1903, Father Ilarion Virgil Felea was a professor at the Department of Dogmatics and Apologetics of the Faculty of Theology in Arad from 1938 to 1948, where he also held the position of rector. The subjects taught were Dogmatic Theology, Moral Theology, Asceticism and Mysticism, and Practical Homiletics.

Photo: Lumina Newspaper

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