Brief introduction

Founded in 1949 by the venerable Patriarch Justinian Marina to respond to the religious challenges and missionary needs of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Ortodoxia journal has hosted in its pages the most authoritative positions of the great personalities of Romanian theology regarding the promotion of the teaching of the Orthodox faith and relations with sister churches and the great religions of the world. The role of this publication was synthetically defined since the first issue by its founder:

"The appearance of this journal – with the natural shortcomings of any beginning – records the first steps that the Romanian Orthodox Church takes, with an unwavering will not to stop halfway on the path to fulfilling its Holy mission. Ortodoxia aspires to be the banner of our wishes, of the keepers of the sacred treasure left by the Savior, to see the Orthodox Churches united in a front, testifying, through eloquent deeds, the ecumenical unity of Orthodox Christianity" († Justinian, "Foreword", in: Ortodoxia I (1949), no. 1, p. 10).

Aimed primarily at academic theologians and Orthodox clergy, the journal soon also became a herald of church teachings for lay believers through the current topics it addressed. This aspect can be seen from the first published issues, which included articles on well-defined themes: The truth about the religious union from 1700 (no. 4/1949), Orthodoxy and Protestantism (no. 3/1950), 1500 years since the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (no. 2/1951), The Holy Places of the East (no. 1/1952), Relations between State and Church (no. 3-4/1952), The problem of Mount Athos (no. 2/1953), 500 years since the Fall of Constantinople (no. 3/1953), Nine hundred years since the Great Schism (no. 2-3/1954).

Over the years, numerous external church events have been recorded in the pages of the church periodical, which are grouped into various sections: "Interdenominational Issues", "Orthodox Missionarism", "Church and Life", "Chronicle of the Orthodox Churches", "In memoriam", "Notes on Books and Journals", "Notes and Comments".

Referring to these moments in recent history, renowned theologians have formulated well-argued points of view anchored in the biblical and patristic tradition of the Church. Among those who have strengthened the prestige of the journal through their analyses and studies, we recall: Holy Confessor Priest Dumitru Stăniloae, Rev. Prof. Ioan G. Coman, Rev. Prof. Dumitru Fecioru, Prof. Nicolae Chițescu, Rev. Prof. Petre Vintilescu, Rev. Prof. Ioan Rămureanu, Deacon Prof. Nicolae Balcă, Rev. Prof. Mircea Chialda, Rev. Prof. Ion Bria, Rev. Prof. Athanasie Negoiță, Rev. Prof. Ene Braniște, Rev. Prof. Milan Șesan, Prof. Alexandru Elian, Prof. Constantin Pavel and many others.

The editorial team of this publication has always included hierarchs and prominent personalities of our Church, professors from theological institutes (Prof. Teodor M. Popescu, Rev. Prof. Liviu Stan, Rev. Prof. Petru Rezuș, Rev. Prof. Corneliu Sârbu, Rev. Prof. Dumitru Abrudan), who benefited from the competent experience of editors such as: Al. Cerna-Rădulescu, Rev. Ioan Gagiu, Ion Ciutacu, Dan Dumitrescu, Constantin Costache. Thanks to the efforts of these hard workers, the Ortodoxia journal has maintained a regular publication of four issues per year, whose technical execution and distribution have been constantly ensured by the Church Books Printing House.

Regarding the scientific quality of the published materials and the academic level, these have increased considerably over time, especially after the collapse of the communist regime, the number of contributors and the diversity of themes increasing along with the new socio-political context, in which believers felt more and more acutely the challenges brought by globalization, secularization and technologization. Thus, concerns regarding Orthodox spirituality, bioethics and human health – both spiritual and physical –, music or iconographic art naturally found their place in the pages of the journal.

Due to its rich content, its gradually acquired prestige and its age, the Ortodoxia journal entered in the church consciousness of the Romanian people. For these important reasons and in order to maintain its important place among the church periodicals in Romania, it was taken into account that the presentation and editorial style of the journal be fully in accordance with the quality standards of the time.

In order to respond to new challenges in the social sphere and to take into account the demands of a dynamic and current mission, a new series of the Ortodoxia journal was inaugurated with issue 1/2009. Linked both to the celebration of six decades of publication and to the existence of a new ecclesial and social framework, this editorial reorganization is intended to contribute to an authentic Orthodox confession in the contemporary world and to promote close pan-Orthodox relations.

To achieve this objective, the new series benefits from a new graphic vision and a regrouping of content that continues the journal's established sections, which it complements with new ones, aiming at a creative recovery of patristic sources, but also a synchronization with scientific Orthodox theology: "Studies", "Orthodoxy in Dialogue", "Patristic Orthodoxy", "Contemporary Orthodoxy", "Chronicle of Orthodox Churches", "Notes on Books and Journals".

In the context of the expected three-quarters of a century anniversary since the founding of the Ortodoxia journal, the editorial staff has managed in recent years to create a table of contents for the journal and update the publication's web page, providing readers with information on the history, publication conditions, and a very useful index of authors.

By translating the summaries of the articles into an internationally spoken language, the journal benefits from a broader opening, thus also reaching out to Orthodox readers from other linguistic areas, while also contributing to knowledge and dialogue with sister Orthodox Churches.

At the same time, in order to highlight the international accessibility of the journal, the greatest possible visibility of the published studies was facilitated by disseminating the table of contents and two sections online, thus aiming for a much better receptivity not only through libraries and parish subscriptions in the Romanian Patriarchate.

As proof of the certificated academic prestige of the Ortodoxia Journal, the editorial team has managed to obtain, starting with 2023, the inclusion of the publication in the international databases ERIH Plus and Index Copernicus. Thus, by indexing its electronic version, the journal responds in a faster and more accessible way to the needs of information of the believers and researchers in the country and abroad.

With the joy of celebrating the 75th anniversary since the founding of the Ortodoxia journal, we express our hope that it will succeed in further transmitting the values ​​of the true ancestral faith, in a lively language appropriate to the times, and we pray to God to bless the hardworking editorial staff, the collaborators and all its readers, increasing their love and zeal for the mission of the Church among Romanians, today spread throughout the world.