Dumitru Stăniloae (Romanian:[duˈmitrustəniˈlo̯aje]; 29 November [O.S. 16 November] 1903 – 4 October 1993), alsoAnglicized asDemetrius Staniloae, was aRomanianOrthodox Christian priest, theologian and professor. He worked for over 45 years on a comprehensiveRomanian translation of the GreekPhilokalia, a collection of writings on prayer by theChurch Fathers, together with thehieromonkArsenius Boca, who brought manuscripts fromMount Athos. His book,The Dogmatic Orthodox Theology (1978), made him one of the best-known Christian theologians of the second half of the 20th century. He also produced commentaries on earlier Christian thinkers, such as StGregory of Nyssa, SaintMaximus the Confessor, and StAthanasius of Alexandria.
He is a controversial figure outside the Orthodox Church view, in his early activity as a journalist he promotedantisemitism and praised totalitarian figures such asIon Antonescu andAdolf Hitler, before and duringWorld War II.[1][2][3][4] He was recruited by theSecuritate under the codename "Văleanu Ion" as an informant following his release from prison in 1963 but he did not cooperate. Accused of being a "mystical element with hostile concepts" he would be removed from the network of informants in 1973.[5]
He married on 4 October 1930, and his wife gave birth to twins in 1931, named Demetrius and Maria. He and his wife had another daughter, Lidia, on 8 October of the following year; and that year he met and befriended ultra-right ideologistNichifor Crainic.
In January 1934, Stăniloae took over as editor in chief of the Transylvanian bi-weekly church newspaperTelegraful român(The Romanian Telegraph). He would hold the position until May 1945. Under the previous editor in chief, George Proca,Telegraful român had published ambivalent articles about the Jewish minority. Under Stăniloae, the editorial line became aggressively antisemitic. It published eulogies of legionariesIon Moța andVasile Marin, far-right politicianA. C. Cuza, Romanian dictatorIon Antonescu and evenAdolf Hitler. As antisemitic legislation was adopted by the successive Romanian governmentsTelegraful supported the legislation. Deportations ofRoma and Jews were also encouraged. Some editorials (including a 1942 article suggestively titledAu să dispară din Europa, i.e.,They will disappear from Europe) go as far as advocating theFinal Solution:[9]
"The newspaper Raza from Bessarabia prints the joyful news that the last Jewish convoy from Chişinău is heading towards the Russian steppe, and thus the city got rid of the Jewish cancer. According to the aforementioned newspaper, the departure of the Jews took place with the same swiftness in the other cities of Bessarabia. So it should be – in Bessarabia and all the other provinces of the country."
As a result of his political writing and his notability, a generation of theologians, associated with him or sharing his political views - in particular antisemitism, is known as "Stăniloae Generation".[10]
Stăniloae was ordained adeacon on 8 October 1931 and was ordainedpriest on 25 September 1932. In June 1936 he becamerector of the Theological Academy in Sibiu. In 1940, at the initiative of poetSandu Tudor, theRugul aprins (Burning Bush) group was founded. It was composed ofpriest-monk Ivan Kulighin (confessor of RussianMetropolitan bishop ofRostov, refugee atCernica Monastery), priest-monk Benedict Ghius, priest-monk Sofian Boghiu, Prof. Alex. Mironescu, poetVasile Voiculescu, architect Constantin Joja, FatherAndrew Scrima andJohn Marin Sadoveanu. The group gathered regularly at theCernica andAntim monasteries, maintaining Christian life inBucharest.
In 1946 he was asked by metropolitan bishop Nicholas Bălan, under pressure fromPetru Groza, firstCommunist Prime Minister of Romania,[11] to resign as rector of the Theological Academy in Sibiu. He remained a professor until 1947, when he was transferred to theUniversity of Bucharest's Faculty of Theology, as theAscetics andMystics chair.
Because of political unrest in Romania in 1958, following a split in theRomanian Communist Party, Father Demetrius was arrested by theSecuritate on 5 September. While he was inAiud Prison as a political prisoner, his only surviving child, Lidia, gave birth to his grandchild, Demetrius Horia. Lidia was asked to leave the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Physics because of the arrest of her father.
He was freed from prison in January 1963, and then began work as a clerk at the HolySynod of theRomanian Orthodox Church, and began teaching again in October. He attended conferences inFreiburg andHeidelberg at the invitation of Prof.Paul Miron, with the permission of the State Department of Cults, who wanted to change the image of Romania.[12] While lecturing atOxford University, he became friends with the theologianDonald Allchin. He retired in 1973.
Father Dumitru Stăniloae was canonised in 2025 as theRomanian Orthodox Church celebrates 140 years of autocephaly and 100 years since obtaining the status of a patriarchate.[13] On July 11th and 12th, 2024, the Romanian Orthodox Church officially approved the canonization of Stăniloae along with 15 other Romanian Orthodox saints. His feast day is on October 4th.[6][14]
“We question whether elevating to sainthood individuals who, during their lives, shared the values of fascism through words or deeds is consonant with Christian ethics”
"Some saints venerated in the Orthodox Church have had, at certain times in their lives, attitudes, and gestures that are hard to understand or even contrary to Christian teachings. However, the Church considers the sinner's change of life and, especially, how they ended their lives, without encouraging (sanctifying) certain deviations that these persons may have had during their lives."
The Victory of the Cross: A Talk on Suffering, Fairacres Publications, Oxford, 1970 (ISBN978-0728300491)
Theology and the Church, SVS Press, Crestwood, 1980 (ISBN978-0913836699)
Liturgy of the Community and the Liturgy of the Heart: From the Viewpoint of the Philokalia, Fairacres Publications, Oxford, 1980 (ISBN978-0948108037)
Prayer and Holiness: The Icon of God Renewed in Man, Fairacres Publications, Oxford, 1982 (ISBN978-0728300934)
Eternity and Time, Fairacres Publications, Oxford, 2001 (ISBN978-0728301535)
Orthodox Spirituality: A Practical Guide for the Faithful and a Definitive Manual for the Scholar, STS Press, South Canaan, 2002 (translation of Orthodox Spirituality, Bucharest, 1981) (ISBN978-1878997661)
Ștefan Buchiu,Father Dumitru Stăniloae – The Theologian of Divine Love (Părintele Dumitru Stăniloae – teologul iubirii dumnezeiești), 2022, ISBNISBN978-606-29-0537-8. This anthology compiles 20 articles exploring Stăniloae's theological insights, reflecting his influence on contemporary Christian theology and practice.
Kevin M. Berger,Towards a Theological Gnoseology: The Synthesis of Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae Vol's 1-2 (2003. UMI, Ann Arbor)Catholic University of America, Doctoral Dissertation
Radu Bordeianu,Dumitru Stăniloae: An Ecumenical Ecclesiology (2011. T&T Clark, Bloomsbury)ISBN978-0567334817
Andrew Louth, 'The Orthodox Dogmatic Theology of Dumitru Staniloae', inModern Theology; 2 (1997), p. 253-266
Charles Miller,The Gift of the World – An introduction to the theology of Dumitru Stăniloae (2000)
Mihail Neamțu, 'Between the Gospel And the Nation: Dumitru Stăniloae's Ethno-Theology', inARCHAEUS. Studies in History of Religions; 10:3 (2006)'[1]
Ivana Noble, 'Doctrine of Creation within the Theological Project of Dumitru Stăniloae',[2], inCommunio Viatorum; 49:2 (2007), pp. 185–209.
S.-L. Toma,Η πατερική παράδοσις εις το έργον του π. Δημητρίου Στανιλοάε και ο σύγχρονος κόσμος (2007. Θεσσαλονίκη: Πουρναράς).
Lucian Turcescu, 'Dumitru Stăniloae', Commentary and Original Source materials in English translation, inThe Teachings of Modern Christianity on Law, Politics, and Human Nature, edd. J. Witte and F. Alexander (2 vols. 2005.Columbia University Press, New York), 1:685–711 and 2:537–558. [The two volumes received the Choice Outstanding Academic Titles Award for 2006.]
Lucian Turcescu, ed.Dumitru Staniloae: tradition and modernity in theology (2002. Center for Romanian Studies, Iași)ISBN973-9432-29-8
Mircea Ițu (2006), "Îndumnezeirea omului in viziunea lui Dumitru Stăniloae" ("Inner godliness of the human being in Demetrius Stăniloae's vision"), inLumină lină, number 4, New York, pp. 15–23. ISSN 1086-2366
(in Romanian)Scurtă interpretare teologică a națiunii by Demetrius Stăniloae
(in Romanian)Învierea Domnului și importanța ei universală by Demetrius Stăniloae
(in German) Liviu Jitianu:Christologische Symphonie von Mensch und Welt. Grundzüge einer neupatristischen orthodoxen Theologie im Werk von Dumitru Staniloae. Dissertation, Freiburg University, Freiburg 2006 ("Christological symphony of man and world. Outlines of a neo-patristic orthodox theology in the works of Demetrius Staniloae";online version)
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