Editorial RES 1/2017

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Language is an essential and defining feature of denomination and also its important medium in many ways. The relationship between language and denomination can be thought of in several categories. In the essay some of these categories are named and explained. Further ecumenical perspectives, which can be developed from the relationship between language and denomination, are demonstrated.</abstract>

Cultural Differences as the Core of the Ecumenical Issue: Relations between Language and Denomination

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> This paper emphasizes the importance of lived experience for debates on cultural differences. Theoretical perspectives are often helpful for discovering common traits of cultures. Moreover they are correctives for subjective perspectives on differences. However, cultural differences are experienced by encountering the possibly conflict-laden foreignness of the other. Hence, with regard to peacefully shared spaces, focusing on a phenomenological approach to experiencing the foreign seems to be more productive than normative approaches through theory of culture. Rather than normatively determining a common concept of culture, responsiveness and dialog - even unsuccessful dialog - are keys for bridging possible conflicts rooted in cultural differences.</abstract>

Culture, Cultural Difference and the Foreign

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> This article presents the features and meaning of the phrase „Christian Hellenism”, as it has been elaborated in the thinking of the Russian patrologist Georges V. Florovsky. He has based his thesis, namely that of the “radically Christianized” or “Churchified,” “New Hellenism” on three main points: 1) faith is always asserted in a “philosophical system”; 2) Semitic thinking is not radically opposed to Hellenism, because Judaism itself in Jesus’s time was a Hellenised Judaism; 3) Greek philosophy was the fertile, even providential environment in which Christianity could formulate and express its own experience. The result was a philosophia perennis, „something eternal and absolute in the thinking” of the Church. As closure of the study we briefly reflect upon the actuality, and the possibilities and limitations which are implied today in the notion of “Christian Hellenism”. The implications of Florovsky’s vision are thus assessed, both in what concerns the relationship between theology and culture, and in what concerns the ecumenical dialogue.</abstract>

The Philosophia perennis of Hellenistic Christianity: Theological and Ecumenical Implications of Fr. Georges V. Florovsky’s View

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> It is not only the case of Christianity that different religious options spring from cultural differences, but it goes the same for other religions too, even for ethnic religions. Using the example of today Judaism, this study seeks to show how different cultural backgrounds lead to different religious forms, and how they may bring about tensions between members of the same religion. I shall bring up to discussion situations where the cultural differences are finally bridged, as well as others where they persist, feeding the strained relationship. Via the example of Judaism, I shall elaborate on the importance of non-religious factors in the appearance of confessional differences and the attitude towards other practitioners. The material allows theologians to draw a comparison with the situation within Christianity and to reach to useful conclusions for Christian ecumenism.</abstract>

Cultural differences and their impact on the ecumenical issue in today’s Judaism

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> The purpose of this paper is to analyse the reception of the missio Dei paradigm in the Eastern Orthodox theology of mission. We will start with a short presentation of the genesis of the concept, and we will continue with its reception in the Protestant and Roman Catholic theology, as well as in the Eastern Orthodox thinking. The paper attempts to demonstrate that the contemporary way to understand the missionary theology and practice is in accordance with the Orthodox traditional missionary theology. At the same time, the article emphasizes the fact that the reception of missio Dei is connected with the view that different ecclesiastical bodies have about church itself. The conclusion includes some practical remarks about ways of applying the concept in the contemporary ecumenical missiology and in the field of spiritual missiology.</abstract>

Missio Dei – the contemporary missionary paradigm and its reception in the Eastern Orthodox missionary theology

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Cultural differences between Christian denominations, or even among members of one and the same denomination, are able to undermine their ecumenical efforts, to foster differences and tensions, instead of overcoming them. An example in this respect is the hostility with which some of the Orthodox met the Document on Ecumenism of the 2016 Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox in Crete. Why is it so? There are several ways to explain these developments. We try to find an explanation in early bondings, as understood through different attachment theories. We do this by asking three questions: Which is the general importance of bondings? Which is their significance for the Christian understanding of a person? Can they be regarded as an advantage or a disadvantage during the ecumenical becoming of a certain confessional identity?</abstract>

The Significance of Bond-based Attachments for Ecumenical Approachment

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> In this small essay, attention is drawn to the fact that the way people think and behave is influenced by the conditions of nature. Thinking has experience as prerequisite. In the cooler North, nature is differently perceived than in the warmer South. Consequences result thereof, in what regards how one understands and shapes one’s existence. The differences in mentality and life-style between East and West are largely culture-bound. In Europe as a whole, different conceptions can enrich each other.</abstract>

Nature- and Culture-bound Differences between North and South, East and West

Book Reviews

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Review of Ecumenical Studies Sibiu

 Publishing House and Owner: Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania  The Ecumenical Journal Sibiu (RES) is the academic journal of the Ecumenical Research Centre of Sibiu and serves both national and international ecumenical research, enjoying an international scientific support. The journal is issued three times per year, each issue dealing with a specific topic.  The initiative behind the founding of the RES journal is related to the ecumenical tradition of the city whose name it bears. In 2007, Sibiu was the cultural capital of Europe and home of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly. These events were not accidental, as Transylvania is characterized by a long tradition of tolerance between the various Christian denominations. There is no other region in Europe where Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Catholicism have shared for centuries the same political and geographical area.  RES aims to reflect international and Romanian theological academic work. The studies, articles and reviews published in it fall within the field of theology, but also include a multidisciplinary perspective: philosophy, history, ethics, social sciences etc. . Born in Sibiu, a symbol of multiethnic coexistence, interreligious tolerance and the confluence of several cultures, our journal aims to become a mouthpiece for research and global and local ecumenical projects. The Romanian and international authors are encouraged to express their own cultural and theological tradition in their continual quest for the dialogue with other cultural traditions and denominations. People shall thus understand that true identity develops only in dialogue, ecumenical dialogue playing a role in self-knowledge: when I meet the other, I understand better who I am myself. Removing false images, ecumenism does not lead to confusion and dilution of identity, but on the contrary - in this passage, through dialogue I go back to myself, changed by this encounter, enriched and strengthened in what I am. Thus, joint responsibility of all Christians shall manifest and strengthen regardless of the area they live in. Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 