Romanian Orthodox biblical scholars examined the family and the challenges it faces in contemporary society during a two-day meeting held on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The gathering took place at St Elijah the Prophet Monastery in Nușeni, Bistrița-Năsăud County, Romania.
The symposium, entitled “The Family: A Unity in Two Hypostases. Scriptural Perspectives on the Relationship Between Man and Woman and Contemporary Pastoral Approaches to Family Life”, was organised by the Society of Romanian Orthodox Biblical Scholars (SBOR).
The event brought together academics and researchers from theological faculties across Romania, who presented scholarly papers and joined discussions on interpreting biblical texts and their relevance to the life of the Church.
Biblical perspectives on family life
On the first day of the symposium, Fr Marian Vild, from the Justinian the Patriarch Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest, delivered a lecture entitled “The Child: A Gift from God in the Gospel According to Luke”.
The programme continued with presentations by Fr Ion Sorin Bora, from Craiova, on the myrrh-bearing women in the Holy Gospels, and Fr Alexandru Atanase Barna, from Bucharest, on the challenges facing contemporary families and the teachings of the Holy Fathers concerning divorce.
The opening session was preceded by the Divine Liturgy. Later that day, Metropolitan Andrei of Cluj, Maramureș and Sălaj celebrated a Te Deum service of thanksgiving.
On this occasion, His Eminence emphasised the importance of biblical scholars’ work.
The meeting also featured book presentations, including works by the Priest-Martyr St Liviu Galaction of Cluj, as well as Professors Stelian Tofană, Octavian Florescu, Cătălin Varga and Constantin Preda.
Biblical research in the life of the Church
The president of SBOR, Fr Ioan Chirilă, a professor at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Cluj-Napoca, highlighted the need for coordinated research whose findings could be put to practical use in the Church’s work.
“We need coordinated work that produces substantial and effective results for the pastoral and missionary activity of our Church. That is why we must be organised, fully embrace a shared identity and promote forms of missionary language that are understandable in today’s society,” the priest said.
Fr Ioan Chirilă also emphasised that one of the objectives of this research is to establish distinctive points of reference rooted in Orthodox tradition.
The idea of establishing the Society of Romanian Orthodox Biblical Scholars dates back to 1912, when the late Metropolitan Nicolae Bălan, then a professor at the Theological-Pedagogical Institute in Sibiu, initiated the project.
