ro people and concepts

LLP Comenius Multilateral Partnership 2013-2015

A World with a View – Peopleand Concepts that changed Romania

Material prepared by:Daniela Livadaru (Teacher of

Religion)

and presented by:Macrina Bârlădeanu – 1oth Grade

StudentAlin Miron – 11th Grade StudentProject Meeting in Munich,

Germania- the 21st – the 26th of March 2014-

EUROPE SEEN THROUGH

ITS LEADING

PERSONALITIES

People and Concepts that changed Romania

Titu Maiorescu– 1840-1917 –

a Romanian literary critic, essayist, philosopher, pedagogue, politician, prime minister of Romania in 1912 and 1914, Internal Affairs minister , founder member of the Romanian Academy;

he is considered a Mecena of Romanian culture in an important transition phase;

Born on the 15th of February, 1840, in Craiova, in a high-esteemed intellectual family;

He graduated in 1858 at The Theresianum Academy in Vienna, as first in his class;

Eager to continue his studies, in 1859 he obtained his PhD in Philosophy at Giessen, in 1860 he got his license in Philology and Philosophy in Sorbona and in 1861 a license in Law at Paris;

People and Concepts that changed RomaniaTitu Maiorescu – 1840-1917

Early life

Photo showing Maiorescu in his youth

1863 – Dean of the Philosophy Faculty in Iaşi and History course professor, then Rector of the University of Iaşi;

1863, October – principal of “Vasile Lupu” Normal School in Iaşi, where he taught Pedagogy, Romanian Grammar, Psychology and Composition;

He reorganized the school and initiated the pedagogical practice of students;


Career as a university teacher

Maiorescu in his middle-ages

After his return to Romania, in 1861, he used his knowledge and skills to contribute to the progress of the recently formed state, after the union in 1859, and of the cultural and political life at an European level;

He had a rapid ascent: University professor at 22 years old, dean and rector at 23, academician at 27, deputy at 30 and minister at 34;

In 1861, he started to address the “popular prelections”, on different topics;


Involvement in social life

Maiorescu in his full ascent

1863 – he founded alongside with other foreign-educated friends The Junimea Society, the most influential intellectual and political association from Romania in the 19th century;

The earliest literary gathering was in 1864, to hear a translation of Macbeth;

Members started to meet each Sunday, discuss the problems of the day and review the newest literary works;


Foundation of the Junimea Society

Maiorescu in his full ascent

Annual lectures were held on broad themes, such as Psychological Researches (1868 and 1869), Man and Nature (1873) or The Germans (1875), addressing to intellectuals, students, lawyers, professors, government officials, etc.;

The society was frequented by the Romanian literature classics – Mihai Eminescu, Ion Creangă, Ion Luca Caragiale, Ioan Slavici – and many other important cultural personalities;


Impact of the Junimea Society

Romanian classics meeting at Junimea

Junimea brought a new wave of German influence, accommodating thus Romanticism;

In the same time, it introduced Realism into local literature, while only few literary figures represented the French-influence;

The society, through Maiorescu’s voice, favoured an accurate use of the Romanian language;

The society encouraged a move towards professionalism in the writing of history, as well as intensified research;


Impact of the Junimea Society

Pogor House in Iași, the headquarters of Junimea; nowadays, The Romanian

Literature Museum

1867 - Junimea started publishing its own literary review, Convorbiri literare (Literary Discussions), one of the most important publications in the history of Romanian literature;

The journal added a new, modern vision to the whole Romanian culture, defining itself through ethic and aesthetic value sense;

Many important Romanian poets, novelists, drama writers… published their works in this journal;


Literary Discussions journal

Cover from 1920, on the commemoration of Maiorescu’s

80th birth anniversary

As Minister of Education in late-19th century cabinets, he supported the creation of new opportunities in the field (schools in rural areas, selection of the best manuals, conservation of national heritage, mentoring, the granting of scholarships), amounting thus to the creation of an influential Romanian generation of historians;

He reacted against the prevailing interest in literary form at the expense of content and pointed toward a later reassessment of the uses of literature.


Leader of a generation

Maiorescu in his latest years


Romanian historian of religion, philosopher, fiction writer and professor;

He established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day.

He represents excellence in culture, being regarded as proof that Romania’s interwar culture could reach higher levels of depth, sophistication and creativity.

Mircea Eliade– 1907-1986 –

Born on the 7th of March, 1907, in Bucharest, in a religious family;

He attended the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Philosophy and Letters in 1928;

He studied Italian, English, Persian and Hebrew and he stayed a few years in British India with a scholarship, where he also learnt Sanskrit;

He studied Indian philosophy and he personally met Mahatma Gandhi;

Eliade received his PhD in 1933, with a thesis on Yoga practices, paper with significant impact in Romania and abroad;


Photo showing Eliade in his youth

Early life and study yearsMircea Eliade – 1907-1986

Treatise on the History of Religions (3 vols. 1976-1983) was praised worldwide for its coherence and ability to synthesize diverse and distinct mythologies;

Eliade is famous for his attempt to find broad, cross-cultural parallels and unities in religion, particularly in myths – the Eternal Return;

In The Sacred and the Profane Eliade argues that religious thought in general rests on a sharp distinction between the Sacred and the Profane. He shows how religion emerges from the experience of the sacred, and myths of time and nature.


Highly regarded as a historian of Religion

Mircea Eliade – 1907-1986

Eliade notes that, in traditional societies, myth represents the absolute truth about primordial time. It was the time when the Sacred first appeared, establishing the world's structure.

Eliade argues that all myths are, in that sense, origin myths: "myth, then, is always an account of a creation".

According to Eliade's theory, only the Sacred has value, only a thing's first appearance has value and this is the reason for the “nostalgia for origins" that appears in many religions, the desire to return to a primordial Paradise.


Myths and sacralityMircea Eliade – 1907-1986

According to Eliade, there are two types of people: the nonreligious man and the traditional man;

For traditional man, historical events gain significance by imitating sacred, transcendent events.

“The modern nonreligious man assumes a new existential situation”. In contrast, he lacks sacred models for how history or human behaviour should be, so he must decide on his own how history should be.

He sees in Christianity the ultimate example of a religion embracing linear, historical time, giving purpose to existence.


Existentialism and ChristianityMircea Eliade – 1907-1986

Mircea Eliade is also an intensely prolific author of fiction and non-fiction alike, publishing over 1,300 pieces over 60 years, novels, novellas, and short stories.

His experiences in the Himalayas, at Swami Shivananda's ashram, where he went to meditate, Eliade depicted in the novel Maitreyi (1933), which became a success.

He earned international fame with Le Mythe de L'éternal Retour (1949, The Myth of the Eternal Return), an interpretation of religious symbols and imagery, followed by Mythes, rêves et mystères (1957, Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries). Eliade was much interested in the world of the unconscious.

An important role play his autobiographic journal and essays containing personal reflections on his own life and works as well as on scholarly, religious, social, and political developments in Romania and the world;


Other Famous Literary Works


Mircea Eliade's earliest works, most of which were published at later stages, belong to the fantasy genre. The early writings also include two sketches for novels: The Wonderful Journey of the Five Beetles into the Land of the Red Ants and The Memoirs of a Lead Soldier. Eliade himself explained that The Memoirs of a Lead Soldier was an ambitious project, designed as a fresco to include the birth of the Universe, abiogenesis, human evolution, and the entire world history.


Fantasy Literature


An endowed chair in the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School was named after Eliade in recognition of his wide contribution to the research on this subject;

In 1990, Eliade was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy.

In Romania, Mircea Eliade's legacy in the field of the history of religions is mirrored by the journal Archaeus (founded 1997).

His legacy in the field of history of religions was scrutinized by various scholars, some of whom were his direct students at the University of Chicago.


LegacyMircea Eliade – 1907-1986

People and Concepts that changed RomaniaMircea Eliade – 1907-1986


Dumitru Stăniloae– 1903-1993 –

Orthodox theologian, academic, and professor, teacher of Orthodox spirituality and the spiritual life;

a guide and teacher of the theology of humility, a translator of Patristic treasures, and a tireless author of theological and spiritual works;

He is considered one of the foremost Christian theologians of the 20th Century.

Born on the 16th of November, 1903, in Vlădeni, Braşov, in a peasant family;

He graduated in 1922 at Andrei Şaguna Confessional Humanist Lyceum in Braşov and the Theology Faculty in Cernăuţi în 1927, obtaining his PhD in Theology at Cernăuţi, in 1928;

He specialized in Byzantinology and Dogmatics, attending courses in Munich, Berlin, Athens, Paris and Constantinople;

People and Concepts that changed RomaniaDumitru Stăniloae – 1903-1993

Early life

Photo showing father Stăniloae in his youth

1934 – Fr. Stăniloae became the director of the newspaper Romanian Telegraph, a position he held until 1945;

1929 – associate professor and then rector (1936) of the Theological Academy in Sibiu, position held till 1946;

1958 – he was arrested for attending the Burning Altar group, a movement for the rejuvenation of Orthodox Christian life in Bucharest, and confined to prison till 1963;



Father Stăniloae in his middle-ages

1963 – after his release, he began working for the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church;

1965 – he was asked by the Romanian State Department of Cults to write articles and take part in studies as the government attempted to project an image of religious freedom in Romania, which permitted to travel and attend worldwide conferences (Freiburg, Heidelberg, Oxford);

He received honorary doctoral degrees (Thessaloniki, 1976); St. Sergius Orthodox Institute in Paris (1981); Belgrade (1982); Athens (1991); Bucharest (1992);



A.M. Allchin (left), a famous Anglican theologian, and Father Stăniloae (right)

A gifted linguist who wrote in five languages and knew very well old Greek and Latin, he is the author of an impressive work (more than 90 books, 275 studies, 33 translations and so on), covering all fields of Theology;

His foremost works are Philokalia (translated from old Greek, with extensive commentaries between 1946-1991), The Orthodox Dogmatic Theology (1978), The Orthodox Spirituality (1981).


His main works

Many of the books in his library are written by himself

The world is a manifestation of God;

The whole world ought to be regarded as the gift of God to humankind;

The more human beings discover the beauty of created things and the greater the gratitude and love which responds to God, the more God will respond with still greater love;

It is very simple to conceive of God and to know Him;


Creation and the Experience of God

He strongly affirmed that God is first of all Love

He placed great emphasis on solidarity between humanity and creation;

Humanity is in a position to profoundly affect the entire cosmos, by poisoning and diminishing its spiritual dimension or respecting it;

The whole natural order is destined for glory alongside redeemed humanity;

Humankind is responsible for sanctifying the entire creation;


Rediscovering Cosmic Christianity

He sees the human as a priest of creation, offering the world back

to God

His theology is rather a confession of faith than an abstract system;

He emphasizes the concept of person and communion, asking for love and solidarity among people;

His perspective focuses on human freedom and its true fulfillment in God;

Father Stăniloae invites us to rediscover ourselves, our humanity and kindness and to put them into practice;

The final goal of our life should be the quest for divine, our moral restoration and deification;


Impact of his thinking

A “flying eagle”, working for the spiritual conversion of heart and

mind

In your life be decisive, without compromise or confusion, clear and consistent.

Make your belief alive within you: life, not theory.

Always ask yourself what are you running after in your life, so as not to drown in the sea of life.

We have to do our best to discern in any man in a crowd a valuable face of God that should deserve being loved, that should need my love, a fact that makes me leave behind the barrenness of loneliness.


Some quotes

Time is the distance between the call of God and our reply.

Kindness is the support of patience and the door to love.

Prayer sets free the human being, releases him from his exterior nature and from himself.

You are necessary to me, not to make you my subordinate and my serf, but because I want you to be in the centre of my preoccupation and my serving towards you. You are necessary for me in order to replace the need for myself with the need and caring for you, to put you in the place of my ego.


Some quotes

ro people and concepts

Documents

romanian literary critic

romanian academy

romanian grammar

romanian language

junimea society

romanian literature

literary review

literary figures