Fr. Dumitru Staniloae provided a broad basis for pursuing an intellectual dialogue with modern society, especially in an area of the humanities, and armed with such a perspective, he went beyond a mere cultural or sociological understanding of Orthodoxy. Because each generation- and not just that of St. Maximus the Confessor- has its own Ambigua, the theological heritage too much submit to the hermeneutic of renewal and development, which in turn leads to a new form of transmission- Tradition. For Fr. Staniloae, this exegetical openness of the Tradition is the genius of Orthodoxy.
Fr. Staniloae was convinced that any theological development of the theme of the World represents in fact a new discovery of the active presence of God in human history and cosmic creation. Theological reflection leads to the experience of God, and vice-versa. Theology is a witness to the presence of God, and it implies a moral and spiritual responsibility. -Fr. Ion Bria, From the Preface
Fr. Dumitru Staniloae (1903-1993) is widely considered as one of the greatest Orthodox theologians of the twentieth century. He was Professor of Dogmatics at the Theological Institute in Bucharest, Romania, from 1947 to 1973. In 1990 he was made a Member of the Romanian Academy.
