Abstract:
Father André Scrima emphasised in his works the importance of monasticism as an inward
phenomenon of the church, and he even believed that the Orthodox Church can be considered
a ‘monastic’ church, given that monasticism is itself ecclesial. Trying to explain this ecclesial
function, Father Scrima developed a unique, fresh vision regarding the role that the monk had
throughout history, and this article sought to summarise some of these observations as they
emerged from the writings of Father Scrima.
CONTRIBUTION : The article focuses on Father Scrima (1925–2000) and argues that this remarkable
Romanian theologian is often overlooked. He was gifted with an incredible memory and an
outstanding capacity to bring together information from different fields of knowledge – the
so-called classical culture – with universal cultural elements, patterns, traits or institutions that
are common to all human cultures worldwide, presenting them in a theological interpretation.
Description:
Special Collection: Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania, sub-edited by Daniel Buda (Lucian Blaga University) and Jerry Pillay
(University of Pretoria).
The author is participating as
the research associate of
Dean Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay,
Faculty of Theology and
Religion, University of
Pretoria.
