History of the Romanian Orthodox Church (I)

Course Code: TP107 • Study year: I • Academic Year: 2022-2023
Domain: Theology • Field of study: Pastoral Orthodox Theology
Type of course: Compulsory
Language of instruction: Romanian
Erasmus Language of instruction: English
Name of lecturer: Viorel Alin Albu
Seminar tutor: Razvan Brudiu
Form of education Full-time
Form of instruction: Lecture
Number of teaching hours per semester: 42
Number of teaching hours per week: 3
Semester: Autumn
Form of receiving a credit for a course: Grade
Number of ECTS credits allocated 4

Course aims:

- to define, describe, and explain the key concepts, theories, methods specific to the historical discourse and to develop in students some specific skills about the quantitative and qualitative historical research;
- to identify and use the specific bibliographic and archival resources;
- to develop skills of analysis and interpretation of historical data;
- to identify the most important events and personalities which have marked the historical evolution of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Romanian culture, and to notice the dynamics of events;
- to apply the principle of right interpretation of the historical phenomenon by the just reporting to its influence on the present

Course Entry Requirements:

N/A

Course contents:

1. Introduction to the History of the Romanian Orthodox Church; 2. The beginnings of Christian life in Dacia; 3. Linguistic arguments regarding the origin and age of the Romanians’ Christianity; 4. Christian martyrs in the Danube lands at the beginning of the 4th century; 5. Archaeological proofs on the spread of Christianity in the north of the Danube in the 3rd-6th centuries; 6. Dacian-Roman Christianity in the Danubian northen provinces in the 4th century; 7. Bishopric of Tomis; 8. Dacian-Roman Theology; 9. The Romanian Church in the 7th-11th centuries; 10. The religious life of the Romanians from Transylvania and Banat in the 9th-13th centuries; 11. The religious life of the Romanians from the extra-Carpathian territories - 12th-13th centuries; 12. The beginnings of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Wallachia (Valahia/Țara Românească); 13. The beginnings of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Moldavia (Moldova); 14. The religious life of the Romanians from Transylvania - 14th-16th centuries; 15. Editorial activity in Wallachia and Transylvania in the 16th century.

Teaching methods:

Lecture, exemplification, conversation, debate

Learning outcomes:

- critical, selective and systematic attitude towards historical information; - ability of applying the principles for understanding a historical document in an appropriate manner, respectively, to take into account all elements involved (linguistic, socio-cultural, political, religious, etc.), and interpret both in a synchronous and diachronic mode; - critical reading skills on bibliographic sources and ability to initiate own research; - interpretation and critical evaluation of the history of the Romanian Church in different contexts.

Learning outcomes verification and assessment criteria:

Written paper-interpretative essay – 20%.Frontal evaluation/ Oral exam: 80%

Recommended reading:

Mircea Păcurariu, Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe Române, Trinitas , Iași , 2004 , x
Alexandru Moraru, Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe Române. Note de curs, ”1 Decembrie 1918” , Alba Iulia , 2002-2003 , x
Alin Albu, Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe Române. Evenimente, personalități, instituții, Reintregirea , Alba Iulia , 2013 , 388
I. G. Coman, Scriitori bisericeşti din epoca străromână, EIBMBOR , Bucureşti , 1979 , x
Mihail Diaconescu, Istoria literaturii dacoromane, Alcor Edimpex , Bucureşti , 1999 , 830