Dialog Teologic XXIX/57 (2026)
162 p., 17×24, ISSN 1453-8075, 25 lei.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53438/PLIH3382
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Adina BĂLAN
Mary Ward and personal discernment for a Synodal Church Today
This article examines Mary Ward’s time spent with the Poor Clares in Saint-Omer (1606) as a critical case study in vocational discernment aligned with the contemporary Synodal call for a missionary Church. It analyses her spiritual struggles, the guidance and the role of her spiritual director, her family’s resistance to her vocation, and her initial attempt to enter religious life with the Poor Clares in St. Omer and her later departure from them. It also frames this episode not as a failure but as a crucial stage in her discernment of a new path God was showing her. Finally, it argues that Mary Ward’s experience offers a powerful historical lens through which to interpret the Church`s call to mission through personal discernment as it is emphasised in the Final Document of the Synod in 2024. Reviewing her process we can understand better how a synodal Church translates personal vocational discernment into a co-responsible missionary mandate.
Matilda Andrici GABOR
Numerus interior e itinerarium animae. De musica come antropologia teologica dell’interiorità in Sant’Agostino
This article proposes a theological re-reading of Augustine’s De musica, arguing that it should not be interpreted as a merely technical treatise on Latin metrics, but as a foundational text for an Augustinian theology of interiority. Through a close analysis of Book VI and the doctrine of the hierarchy of numbers (numeri sonori, sensibiles, memoriales, iudiciales, aeterni), the study demonstrates that the concept of numerus transcends quantitative or rhythmic analysis and becomes an ontological principle that unifies cosmology, anthropology, and theology.
At the heart of Augustine’s reflection lies the affirmation that “non in sonis, sed in anima est numerus”: the true locus of rhythm is not external sound but the interior structure of the soul. This shift from exteriority to interiority reveals that music functions as a pedagogical path—an itinerarium animae—leading from sensible perception to intelligible order and ultimately to participation in eternal measure. The hierarchy of numbers thus articulates a dynamic ascent: from temporal sound to interior judgment, from judgment to immutable numbers, and from immutable order to the divine Wisdom that grounds all intelligibility.
The article situates Augustine’s doctrine within its philosophical background, particularly the Pythagorean and Platonic conception of number as cosmic harmony, while highlighting Augustine’s decisive theological transformation of this heritage. For Augustine, number is not an autonomous metaphysical principle but a vestige of the Creator’s wisdom. The numerus is neither divinized nor absolutized; it is a participatory structure that points beyond itself. In this sense, the order perceived in music is not salvific in itself, but symbolic of a higher order to which the soul is called to conform through conversion and humility.
The study further explores the anthropological implications of the numerus interior, especially in relation to memory and temporality. Music becomes a privileged locus for experiencing the distensio animi, the tension of the soul across past, present, and future. Through rhythm, the soul discovers both its dispersion in time and its vocation to unity. The musical experience thus anticipates Augustine’s later reflections in the Confessiones on time and interiority, revealing De musica as a germinal text for his mature theology.
The argument culminates in an ecclesial and mystical horizon. The interior measure recognized by the soul finds fulfillment in the communal rhythm of liturgical chant, where the numerus interior becomes numerus ecclesialis. Yet even liturgical harmony is not the final term. Augustine does not absolutize sound: music ultimately leads beyond itself to contemplative silence. The silence of God is not the negation of rhythm, but its fulfillment in the tranquillitas ordinis. Thus, De musica emerges as a true theology of interiority, in which cosmological order, anthropological structure, participatory ontology, and mystical ascent converge. Music becomes the temporal figure of the Christian journey: from exteriority to interiority, from time to eternity, from dispersion to unity, and from modulation to loving rest in God.
Eduard DOBRE
Die Ausbreitung des Kolpingwerkes in Mitteleuropa und das Auftreten der Katholischer Gesellenvereine in Rumänien
This article traces the origins and development of the Catholic Journeymen’s Associations, later known as Kolping Families, within the context of the social and economic upheavals brought about by the industrialization of Europe in the 19th century. Rapid modernization, the abolition of the guilds, and labor migration led to social insecurity, particularly among young craftsmen. Within this framework, Adolph Kolping developed an associative model based on solidarity, vocational training, religious education, and civic integration. His personal experience, from journeyman to priest, enabled him to directly understand the difficulties faced by young workers and to propose concrete solutions for communal support.
The associations initiated by Kolping sought not only to provide material support to young people but also to train them to become skilled professionals, active Christians, and responsible citizens. The movement’s expansion into Central and Eastern Europe was supported by the Catholic Church, parish networks, and collaboration with the local clergy. Through this expansion, the movement took on a European dimension focused on solidarity and social good. The migration of young people from Western to Eastern Europe was driven by the lack of economic prospects in industrialized regions and the demand for skilled labor in a modernizing society.
In this context, Wallachia, Moldavia, and the provinces of the Habsburg Monarchy became important destinations for migrating artisans. In Bucharest, the Catholic Journeymen’s Association was founded in 1859 with the aim of supporting young people from various European regions through vocational courses, civic education, and religious instruction. Although the founding process was difficult due to the temporary nature of migration and the local social context, associations nevertheless emerged in Bucharest as well as in the Banat, Transylvania, and Bukovina, within the parishes of some industrial urban centers.
These associations created the necessary framework for education, social interaction, protection, and integration and benefited from the support of the clergy, bishops, local political elites, and industrialists. They offered courses in vocational and religious education, assistance for the sick, access to libraries, dormitories, and cultural activities, thereby contributing to the formation of a stable community. In summary, this text highlights that the Kolping Movement served as an important model of social modernization, in which youth mobility, vocational training, civic education, and community support promoted both industrial development and social stability.
Tarciziu-Hristofor ȘERBAN
Nostra Aetate et Dei Verbum : Vers une vision renouvelée dans la compréhension des textes fondateurs de l’Église et dans la définition de ses relations avec le peuple juif
This article was originally conceived as a conference held within the International Symposium entitled „Judeo-Christian Dialogue. Roots and Perspectives” organized by the „Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion”, the „Office of Biblical Pastoral Care”, the „Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Theological Institute” in Iași” and the „Faculty of Catholic Theology of the A.I. Cuza University in Iași” and which took place on October 22, 2025, in the Aula Magna of the „Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Theological Institute” in Iași. This Symposium was occasioned by the 60th anniversary of the promulgation of the Council’s Declaration Nostra Aetate and of the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum by the Second Vatican Council. The article aims at reconstructing the process of reflection that led the Fathers to the elaboration of these two documents that are the basis for a renewed vision of the founding texts (Sacred Scripture) of the Church and of its relationships with the Jewish people.
Sorin Benescu
The Divine Attribute of Mercy in Ioan Scotus Eriugena: Differences and Confluences with Jewish Kabbalah
This article undertakes a comparative theological and metaphysical analysis of the divine attribute of Mercy (Misericordia) as it is implicitly and explicitly understood in the Neoplatonic Christian philosophy of Ioan Scotus Eriugena and as it is systematically articulated by the Sefirah of Chesed (חסד) in Jewish Kabbalah, particularly within the Zoharic tradition. While separated by chronology, geography, and religious tradition, both Eriugena and the Kabbalists grappled with the fundamental paradox of a transcendent, unknowable God who is simultaneously an immanent, compassionate, and creative force. This study argues that Eriugena’s concept of Mercy is not a distinct, isolated attribute but is deeply embedded within his holistic vision of the divine nature (physis) as a process of creative self-manifestation, procession, and return (reditus). Mercy, for Eriugena, is the very dynamic of theophany—God’s act of creating, sustaining, and ultimately redeeming creation by becoming knowable within it. In Kabbalah, Chesed is a foundational Sefirah, the principle of unbounded love and grace, which must be balanced by Gevurah (Judgment) to ensure the stable manifestation of the cosmos. By juxtaposing Eriugena’s processional Mercy with Kabbalah’s emanational Chesed, this article illuminates profound confluences in their understanding of Mercy as the engine of creation and the promise of cosmic restoration. However, it also highlights crucial differences rooted in their respective Christological and Torah-centric frameworks, particularly concerning the means and finality of divine redemptive action. The analysis reveals a shared „grammar” of apophatic theology and emanationist metaphysics, suggesting a common heritage of Neoplatonic thought, while underscoring the unique theological syntheses achieved within Christian and Jewish mysticism.