The development of the concept of authority within the Romanian Orthodox Church during the Twentieth Century
Adopting the presupposition that religious authority is a relational category, both its nature and forms of expression are explored within the context of the specific goal of the ecclesial community as defined by the Orthodox paradigm of revelation-communion-deification. Accordingly, the role of authority in Orthodoxy is to enable the people of God and the entire creation to grow towards eschatological self-realization, that is, theosis. The key to understanding authority from a relational perspective is the concept of 'space', which provides for both freedom and relatedness between the elements involved. However, since the concept of space is a dynamic category due to its organic link with concrete historical communities, it follows that every community is challenged by both internal and external factors to re-evaluate its approach to the question of authority. Such a process has taken place within the Romanian Orthodox Church during the twentieth century. More precisely, four events have influenced the Romanian Church's view of authority: the translation of Scripture into modern Romanian by Fr. D. Comilescu; the tension between Scripture and Tradition emphasized in the work of Fr. T. Popescu; the emergence
Negrut, Paul
Philosophy
The development of the concept of authority within the Romanian Orthodox Church during the Twentieth Century. Adopting the presupposition that religious authority is a relational category, both its nature and forms of expression are explored within the context of the specific goal of the ecclesial community as defined by the Orthodox paradigm of revelation-communion-deification. Accordingly, the role of authority in Orthodoxy is to enable the people of God and the entire creation to grow towards eschatological self-realization, that is, theosis. The key to understanding authority from a relational perspective is the concept of 'space', which provides for both freedom and relatedness between the elements involved. However, since the concept of space is a dynamic category due to its organic link with concrete historical communities, it follows that every community is challenged by both internal and external factors to re-evaluate its approach to the question of authority. Such a process has taken place within the Romanian Orthodox Church during the twentieth century. More precisely, four events have influenced the Romanian Church's view of authority: the translation of Scripture into modern Romanian by Fr. D. Comilescu; the tension between Scripture and Tradition emphasized in the work of Fr. T. Popescu; the emergence
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