Ionut Biliuta - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ionut Biliuta

"Nationalism and Antisemitism in the Greek Catholic Church (1918-1944): Some Considerations over the Paradoxical Status of the Greek Catholics," Analele Universitatii din Bucuresti - Stiinte Politice 26 (2024): published first online.

"Appropriating Orthodoxy: Rhetorical Ambiguity and Religious Martyrdom for the Fascist Masses in Interwar Romania (1920–37)," Cultural History 14, No. 1 (2025): 69-95.

Cultural History, 2025

"A Schism in the Making? Orthodox Diplomacy, Jurisdictional Conflict, and Geopolitical Negotiations Between Romanian and Russian Orthodoxy in the Post-Communist Era," in Rimestad&Saggau, eds., Fault Lines in the Orthodox World (Palgrave, 2025), 285-306.

"Antisemitic Tropes in the Liturgy of the Saints of the Communist Prisons in Post-Communist Romania," in Alexandru Ionita, Stefan Tobler, eds., Orthodox Liturgy and Anti-Judaism (Berlin: Peter Lang, 2024), 231-252.

“The Traditional and Modern Sources of André Scrima’s Oevre: Religious Americanization, Competing Theophanies, and Transnational Theological Renewal in Contemporary Romania,” in Viorel Coman, Alexandru Tofan eds., Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the Culture of Dialogue ( Cerf, 2024), 271-291.

Review of Ecumenical Studies Sibiu

The Romanian Orthodox Church between the Alliance for the Union of Romanians and the Putinist Temptation: Ultranationalist Propaganda Among Orthodox Clergymen and the Russian War Agaianst Ukraine

Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Theologia Catholica Latina

The present essay details the intricate relationship between the Romanian Orthodox hierarchy and ... more The present essay details the intricate relationship between the Romanian Orthodox hierarchy and the conflict in Ukraine on various levels (philanthropic, social, ecclesiological, political). While most of the Orthodox bishops in Romania continue to voice their concern about the war, few condemn the complicity of the Russian Orthodox Church in endorsing the military involvement of Russia in Ukraine. Another factor that contributed to the moral anaesthesia of the Orthodox bishops has to do with the silent political preference for the pro-Russian, ultranationalist Alliance of the Union of Romanians party (AUR). While the Romanian Patriarchate condemned vehemently the political instrumentalization of Orthodoxy, against the official position of the hierarchy, a part of the regular and monastic clergy still nurtures admiration for Vladimir Putin, seen as the main benefactor of the Orthodox Church worldwide and his pro-Christian policies.

"Der Antisemitismus der Rumänisch-Orthodoxen Kirche: Konzeptionelle Kontinuitäten und theologische Entwicklungen im heutigen Rumänien," in Ökumenische Rundschau 72, no. 1 (2023): 49-60. (in print)

"Editorial," Review of Ecumenical Studies (Sibiu) 14, 2 (2022): 193-197.

Review of Ecumenical Studies, 2022

Ionuț Biliuta, "Legionary Dreams, Visions, and Divine Apparitions in the Communist Prisons: Designing a Fascist Carceral Theophany in Contemporary Romania," Review of Ecumenical Studies (Sibiu) 14, 2 (2022): 263–288.

Review of Ecumenical Studies (Sibiu), 2022

The paper discusses the forging of a carceral legionary theophany based on oneiric experience and... more The paper discusses the forging of a carceral legionary theophany based on oneiric experience and the apparitions of saints to imprisoned members of the Iron Guard in contemporary Romania. It also approaches the post-Communist instrumentalization of the legionaries’ prison experience (dreams, visions of the Virgin and saints, “dreams of terror”) in supporting their claim of canonizing fascists martyrs as saints of the
Romanian Orthodox Church

"To Murder or Save Thy Neighbour? Romanian Orthodox Clergymen and Jews during the Holocaust (1941-1945)," in Religion, Ethnonationalism, and Antisemitism in the Era of the Two World Wars, edited by Kevin P. Spicer and Rebecca Carter-Chand (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2022), 305-330.

Constructing Fascist Hagiographies: The Genealogy of the Prison Saints Movement in Contemporary Romania

Contemporary European History, 1-21, 2021

The paper focuses on the ideological roots of the prison saints movement in contemporary Romania.... more The paper focuses on the ideological roots of the prison saints movement in contemporary Romania. The text uncovers the interwar and communist conceptual premises upon which the biographies of fascist martyrs for canonisation as saints by the Romanian Orthodox Church were shaped. As martyrs for the Christian faith, those deceased were depicted as respectable figures, showcasing their martyrdom on the same moral footing as the dissidents of former democratic parties opposing communism. Furthermore, the narrative strategies in shaping a fascist hagiography from the interwar up to the post-communist years stand as another critical issue for the present article.

Review of Ecumenical Studies 13, Issue 2, 2021

"Diaspora ortodoxă în perioada comunistă. Cazul revistei Biserica românească," Mitropolia Ardealului I (36), nr. 2 (April-June 2021): 198-224.

Mitropolia Ardealului, 2021

Antisemitism in Orthodox Guise: Accommodating Fascist Antisemitism with Newspaper Rhetoric in Interwar Romania,” Anuarul Institutului de Cercetari Socio-Umane Gh. Sincai 22 (2019): 180-206.

AICSU, 2019

The present text discusses fascist antisemitism displayed by Orthodox clergymen during the interw... more The present text discusses fascist antisemitism displayed by Orthodox clergymen during the interwar and the Holocaust. By referring to several antisemitic metaphors (the Jews as the exploiter, as the force behind world Freemasonry, as the persecutor of Christians or the legionary indictment on the Christian commandment of universal love) employed by fascist priests in the legionary newspapers, the articles show the causalities and continuities between the interwar years and the Holocaust period in the fascist imaginary of Orthodox priests.

“Christianizing” Transnistria: Romanian Orthodox Clergy as Beneficiaries, Perpetrators, and Rescuers during the Holocaust

Holocaust and Genocide Studies 34, Issue 1 (Spring 2020): 18-44, 2020

The violent behavior of fascist Orthodox clerics serving in the Transnistrian Orthodox Mission du... more The violent behavior of fascist Orthodox clerics serving in the Transnistrian Orthodox Mission during World War II contributed to the “Romanianization” of Transnistria initiated by the Antonescu government in 1941. These churchmen stand out as bystanders, beneficiaries, and even perpetrators of the Holocaust. Subscribing to the antisemitic programs of the outlawed Iron Guard and of the Antonescu government, these men took an active part in exploiting, robbing, and even murdering both local Jews and other deportees from Bessarabia, Bucovina, and elsewhere in Romania. They illustrate both the suffusion of fascist ideology into all sectors of Romanian society and the role of clergy at every level.

Fascism, Race, and Religion in Interwar Transylvania: The Case of Father Liviu Stan (1910–1973)

Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture 89, Issue 1, 101-124, 2020

This text discusses several aspects of the interwar history of the Orthodox Church in Romanian Tr... more This text discusses several aspects of the interwar history of the Orthodox Church in Romanian Transylvania through the lens of the early life and political achievements of Father Liviu Stan (1910–1973). By using a microhistorical approach, his life stands as proof of the ability of ideological reconversion to describe the various totalitarian challenges that defined the destiny of an entire generation of Orthodox theologians in the twentieth century. Rather than painting the biographical tapestry of Father Stan's life, the main focus of this text falls precisely on his interactions with various ideologies (Fascism and Communism), his ideological and professional reconversions, and Transylvanian Orthodox theologians’ ability to survive when confronted with various totalitarian challenges.

"Appropriating Orthodoxy: Rhetorical Ambiguity and Religious Martyrdom for the Fascist Masses in Interwar Romania (1920–37)," Cultural History 14, No. 1 (2025): 69-95.

Cultural History, 2025

Review of Ecumenical Studies Sibiu

The Romanian Orthodox Church between the Alliance for the Union of Romanians and the Putinist Temptation: Ultranationalist Propaganda Among Orthodox Clergymen and the Russian War Agaianst Ukraine

Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Theologia Catholica Latina

"Editorial," Review of Ecumenical Studies (Sibiu) 14, 2 (2022): 193-197.

Review of Ecumenical Studies, 2022

Review of Ecumenical Studies (Sibiu), 2022

Constructing Fascist Hagiographies: The Genealogy of the Prison Saints Movement in Contemporary Romania

Contemporary European History, 1-21, 2021

Review of Ecumenical Studies 13, Issue 2, 2021

"Diaspora ortodoxă în perioada comunistă. Cazul revistei Biserica românească," Mitropolia Ardealului I (36), nr. 2 (April-June 2021): 198-224.

Mitropolia Ardealului, 2021

Antisemitism in Orthodox Guise: Accommodating Fascist Antisemitism with Newspaper Rhetoric in Interwar Romania,” Anuarul Institutului de Cercetari Socio-Umane Gh. Sincai 22 (2019): 180-206.

AICSU, 2019

“Christianizing” Transnistria: Romanian Orthodox Clergy as Beneficiaries, Perpetrators, and Rescuers during the Holocaust

Holocaust and Genocide Studies 34, Issue 1 (Spring 2020): 18-44, 2020

Fascism, Race, and Religion in Interwar Transylvania: The Case of Father Liviu Stan (1910–1973)

Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture 89, Issue 1, 101-124, 2020

The Archangel’s Priests: Investigating the Relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Iron Guard in Interwar Romania (1930–1941) (Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitara Clujeana, 2025).

Volumul este o colecție de optsprezece studii ce răspund provocărilor legate de locul interpretăr... more Volumul este o colecție de optsprezece studii ce răspund provocărilor legate de locul interpretării biblice între Biserică și Universitate, respectiv între o abordare spirituală și una academică, intelectuală, în încercarea de a depăși dihotomiile spre care facil se poate îndrepta interpretul neexperimentat. Contribuțiile au fost organizate în trei capitole care oglindesc stadiul, nevoile și perspectivele cercetării biblice românești și nu numai. Primul, intitulat Metode și interferențe în studiile biblice demonstrează capacitatea unei solidarități critice a autorilor atât față de tradiția academică sau științifică, dar și față de cea bisericească ori patristică. Capitolul al doilea, numit Biblie și Liturghie, vrea să atragă atenția asupra necesității studierii textelor liturgice ca surse primare pentru ermineutica biblică, domeniu din care nu pot lipsi cercetările legate de imnografia bizantină, omiliile patristice și lecționarele biblice. Ultimul capitol este dedicat perspectivelor deschise de confruntarea cu tema volumului, de aceea numele de Noi orizonturi. Aici se dovedește promițătoare colaborarea bibliștilor cu filosofia contemporană și instrumentele ei ermineutice care ar putea înlesni atât comunicarea Bisericii cu Universitatea, cât și pe cea interconfesională. Faptul că autorii acestui volum provin din cinci confesiuni creștine subliniază interesul comun pentru scrierile biblice ca fundament al creștinismului și se înscrie perfect în intenția volumului găzduit de seria Studia Oecumenica a Centrului de Cercetare Ecumenică din Sibiu.
Alexandru Ioniță

This book aims to revisit the historical canon regarding the formation of intellectual elites dur... more This book aims to revisit the historical canon regarding the
formation of intellectual elites during successive projects of
modernization during 19th and 20th centuries. While existing
works on the topic focus either on the elimination of previous
elites in times of radical social change or on the creation of new
elites by each new political regime, we focus on a third
mechanism: the recuperation/conversion of previous intellectual
elites for new modernization projects. This mechanism of
historical and social change appears at every major transition
(“historical disjuncture”) but is given less importance both in
history/social sciences and in public discourse.
Almost without exception, the successive visions of
modernity fail in their attempt to transform the deep social
strata in spite of their explicit goals in that regard. Nevertheless,
each one creates new, imperfect, and fragmentary ways of
intervening and programming the newly instituted populations,
individuals and fields of activity. New conceptual vocabularies
were brought forth – by imitation or explicit distancing – out of
the failed discourses and reforms and larger spaces for expert-led
intervention were opened for subsequent reforms and projects
of modernization.
Scrutinizing the moments of discontinuity in modern and
contemporary Romanian history, this book will argue that, far
from a complete break with a past, each modernization projects
builds on and has to incorporate pre-existing social
processes/resources.

Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, 2021

Contextualizing Bethune in religious, rather than broader, terms further endears her to a core co... more Contextualizing Bethune in religious, rather than broader, terms further endears her to a core constituency of the faithful, but that presentation is repetitive. Still Bethune's wisdom will shine through to a wider circle of admirers. Her unwavering faith extends to her optimistic view of American democracy, despite its troubled race relations. She acknowledged that the dreams of Black Americans for justice and equality were a long way from being realized. Jongintaba quotes prolifically from her speeches at home and abroad to endorse his central metaphor of a spiritual village and finds several examples to confirm that notion. It is the backdrop for all her numerous accomplishments and informs her world view, he argues. This hopeful rendering extends not only to Black Americans but outward to the world. The bibliography is impressively ample, but the absence of an index dilutes that strength. Some casual readers who are among the many who revere Bethune may welcome this book as a tribute and reference point. It is something that the author clearly intends. Despite its limitations, Jongintaba can be counted among recent researchers who are bringing Bethune the scholarly attention she deserves. If this book ignites further study or helps to expand the legacy of this singular and most consequential American woman, it is to be commended.

Review of Ecumenical Studies (Sibiu), 2021

Review of Ecumenical Studies,12, 3 (2020), 540-544.

Daniela Dumbravă et Bogdan Tătaru-Cazaban (textes édités par), André Scrima. Expérience spirituel... more Daniela Dumbravă et Bogdan Tătaru-Cazaban (textes édités par), André Scrima. Expérience spirituelle et langage théologique. Actes du colloque de Rome, 29-30 octobre 2008, Orientalia Christiana Analecta 306, Roma, Pontificio Istituto Orientale 2019, 255 p., ISBN: 978-88-7210-401-9

Ortodoxia 10, no. 3, 2018

Archiva Moldaviae , 2018

Recenzii 477 lucrării. Scriam mai sus că istoriografia românească aștepta legitim o biografie a l... more Recenzii 477 lucrării. Scriam mai sus că istoriografia românească aștepta legitim o biografie a lui Ionel Brătianu. Mă tem că o asemenea biografie, care să îndeplinească minime exigențe ale cercetării moderne, se lasă încă așteptată. În aceste condiții, asumarea istoriei noastre pare întotdeauna mai dificilă decât construirea prezentului. Bogdan Caranfilof Gerhard Velburg, În spatele frontului. Marele război așa cum l-am văzut eu: decembrie 1916 -iunie 1918. Însemnările unui soldat german în România ocupată, traducere din germană, introducere și note de Ștefan Colceriu, București, Editura Humanitas, 2018, 356 p.

While the Germans quickly repressed Ukrainian nationalist aspirations, they left a valve open for... more While the Germans quickly repressed Ukrainian nationalist aspirations, they left a valve open for the release of activist energy, first in the form of pogroms and later by creating Ukrainian police units. In the early days, anti-Sovietism linked Nazi propaganda and the German occupation to local fears and hopes, most visibly in Lviv. As Struve points out, German and Ukrainian perpetrators also shared a mindset in which elevated aggressive impulses and a sense of euphoria merged with rational considerations about settling old scores and establishing a new order. Anti-Jewish violence by relatively few Ukrainian men, German soldiers, SS-men, and policemen attracted others, including women, adolescents, and children, to participate in collective rituals that combined public humiliation, assertion of power, and "cleansing" aspirations (pp. 353-76, 675-81). The book's final chapter points to similar dynamics in other parts of the German-occupied Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, especially in Lithuania and Latvia. Where the occupying forces prescribed a more traditional form of order, as in the area under Hungarian occupation, fewer deaths occurred (pp. 630-67).