Scriitorul la amvon. Agârbiceanu decelat din predicile sale [1] (I)

Abstract

  This article explores the stylistic and doctrinal peculiarities of Transylvanian prose writer Ion Agârbiceanu, from his sermon material. The manuscript we are referring to was probably developed between 1942-1943, being published only in 2021, under the care of the editor Ilie Rad. Although homiletic texts tend to be similar within the denomination and culture in which they appear, we observe certain specific features here, both through the themes addressed and through the themes
omitted or less visited. The first part provides a historical context of the prelate’s situation and his religious writings, as well as an overview of the structure of the work On the Footsteps of the Lord. The article dwells in particular on several dogmatic issues, such as the Resurrection, faith, predestination and inter-denominational differences. The rational, scientific, psychological argumentation of certain truths of faith represents a new trend in Romanian theology of that date, a modern approach that follows the Western tradition with which the Greek-Catholic Church has relations. Finally, in the last part we discover the writer and moralist Agârbiceanu, who does not escape the temptation of literature even in the spiritual plane. The text represents a sub-chapter of a doctoral thesis in progress.