Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai
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SIXTY YEARS FROM VATICAN II: POINTS OF NO RETURN AND NEW UNCERTAINTIES. TOWARDS A GLOBAL AND SYNODAL RECEPTION OF THE COUNCIL
Get PDFThis article aims to highlight some of the key issues for understanding the current moment in the reception of Vatican II and for a new phase in the research and implementation of its message at sixty years of its conclusion (1965–2025). The greatest novelty to consider, also in light of pope Francis’s pontificate, is the complexity of global Catholicism in the 21st century: this brings to the fore questions and interpretative frameworks of the Second Vatican Council that are both connected and partly different from those typical of the English-speaking, American and European theology, which dominated the interpretation of the council’s message for the first decades after Vatican II.
Article history: Received 30.10.2025; Revised 12.11.2025; Accepted 14.11.2025;Available online: 22.12.2025; Available print: 30.01.2026
MÁTÉ-TÓTH ANDRÁS: AZ IRGALOM KULTÚRÁJA. KONVIVENCIA KELET-KÖZÉP-EURÓPÁBAN [THE CULTURE OF MERCY. CONVIVENCE IN EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE], BUDAPEST: GONDOLAT, 2024, ISBN 9789635565573
Get PDFAs a Hungarian from Transylvania, I am a member of a minority shaped by a wounded historical consciousness, by the inner compulsion of cultural self- preservation, and by the persistent experience of social and institutional dependency. Certain components of the ontological insecurity intrinsic to minority existence resonate with the affective legacy of East-Central Europe – an inheritance that András Máté-Tóth, scholar of religion and theologian, comprehensively interprets in Az irgalom kultúrája. Konvivencia Kelet-Közép-Európában [The Culture of Mercy. Convivence in East-Central Europe], (Budapest: Gondolat, 2024). According to his central thesis, the social and religious dynamics of the region can be adequately understood only if wounded collective identity is placed at the core of the analytical framework. Such wounds, he argues, cannot be erased, yet they may be transformed: the path toward healing is convivence, the cultivated quality of coexistence that transcends the logic of retribution and mere tolerance and locates the social possibility of shared restoration within the culture of mercy.
Book Review history: Received 25.11.2025; Revised 04.12.2025; Accepted 06.12.2025.Available online: 22.12.2025; Available print: 30.01.2026
Creation or Evolution? – Seventh-day Adventists and Natural Science in Hungary
Get PDFIn my study, I examine the Seventh-day Adventist theological thought from the point of view of its response to the challenges of Darwinism and how this topic is reflected in Hungary. The subject is also interesting because the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (1863) and the publication of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species (1859) coincide, so the church had to deal with a topic that was – and still is – a major challenge for Christianity as a whole. As we shall see from the study, unlike many Christian denominations, the Church’s position has remained consistent throughout in rejecting Darwin’s theory from the outset and in trying to point out its potential pitfalls on an ideological basis. Hungarian Adventist theologians have also addressed this issue in a number of works. In the first part of my study, I will describe the ideological basis for the adherence to creationism in Seventh-day Adventist theological thought. I will then explore the ways in which this conviction was expressed in the writings of Hungarian Adventist theological thinkers in the 20th and 21st centuries (e.g. Jenő Szigeti, Attila Szabó). I will discuss the particular supra-denominational organization that brought together in Hungary all those researchers and scholars who argued against the theory of evolution. Finally, I will present the work of Zsuzsa Vankó, the most prominent Hungarian Seventh-day Adventist theologian on the subject
Erdély felekezeti helyzete egy utazó jezsuita szemével a 16. század végén. Antonio Possevino Commentario di Transilvania című művének értelmezése
Get PDFThe Confessional Landscape of Transylvania through the Eyes of a Travelling Jesuit at the End of the Sixteenth Century. An Interpretation of Antonio Possevino’s Commentario di Transilvania. This article offers a source-critical reading of Antonio Possevino’s Commentario di Transilvania, arguing that the text should be approached primarily as a strategically crafted report addressed to the Roman Curia rather than as a descriptive travel account. Written in the aftermath of Possevino’s 1583 mission to Transylvania, the Commentario was designed to evaluate the political, confessional, and institutional conditions under which a Catholic restoration might become feasible in a fragmented early modern principality.
The analysis shows that Possevino conceptualized Transylvania as a space of confessional fluidity rather than fixed religious alignment. In his assessment, religious pluralism, estate-based political structures, and the limited authority of the prince did not merely constrain Catholic renewal but also created specific openings for long-term intervention. Accordingly, the Commentario does not promote coercive conversion. Instead, it outlines a gradual strategy centred on education, elite formation, and the reconstruction of ecclesiastical institutions while repeatedly emphasizing the weakened organizational state of the local Catholic Church as the principal obstacle to reform.
A separate section examines Possevino’s reflections on the Orthodox Romanian population, whom he regarded as both socially marginalized and numerically significant. By analysing his arguments concerning origin, language, and ecclesiastical organization, the article demonstrates how historical and linguistic reasoning was mobilized to legitimize a pragmatic missionary approach that sought union with Rome without abandoning the Eastern rite.
Methodologically, the study situates the Commentario within the broader context of Jesuit information practices and Roman decision-making processes. Engaging critically with both Hungarian and Romanian historiography, it interprets Possevino’s text as a purpose-driven intervention shaped by institutional priorities and reads early modern Transylvania as a terrain of ongoing confessional negotiation rather than confessional settlement
Az interperszonális érzelemszabályozás és kötődés vizsgálata – első eredmények a saját érzelmek mások általi szabályozása és a bizonytalan kötődés vizsgálatában
Get PDFInvestigating Interpersonal Emotion Regulation and Attachment – Initial Findings on the Regulation of One’s Own Emotions by Others and on Insecure Attachment.
Theoretical background: Despite the central role of emotion regulation, researchers have only recently begun to examine the interpersonal aspects of this process in adults.
Aim: In this study, we sought to answer the question of what connections can be revealed between the regulation of one’s own emotions by others and insecure attachment.
Methods: We collected data from 792 people in an online, cross-sectional questionnaire study between September and November 2023. The majority of the participants were middle-aged (34.58 years, standard deviation 11.97 years), living in a relationship, and predominantly men (46.5%) and women (53.5%) with higher education (61.4%).
Measurement instruments: The study was conducted as part of a larger research project (ethical permit number: BTK/6890-1/2023). In this study, in addition to the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation (IERQ) questionnaire, attachment (ECR-R) and sociodemographic data were processed.
Results: Similar to previous research, we found associations. The regulation of one’s negative emotions by others – reassurance, social modelling, and perspective taking – and the regulation of positive emotions by others were also associated with attachment anxiety. Among the regulation of one’s negative emotions by others, reassurance and the regulation of positive emotions by others showed a negative association with attachment avoidance.
Conclusions: The examination of the relationship between the regulation of one’s emotions by others and attachment may be a priority area for future research, as it may help to clarify the adaptive and maladaptive roles of both
„PENSIONAREA POATE FI UN SFÂRȘIT, O ÎNCHIDERE, DAR ESTE ȘI UN NOU ÎNCEPUT”
Get PDFFraza inspirațională despre pensionare din titlul îi este atribuită lui Catherine Pulsifer, poetă și autoare canadiană, care exprimă o atitudine pozitivă față de schimbarea de viață pe care o presupune pensionarea, este o etapă a vieții, ce nu trebuie privită ca o pierdere, ci ca o oportunitate de a începe ceva nou. Ea poate fi folosită ca sursă de inspirație sau de încurajare, pentru cei care se pregătesc să se pensioneze, sau care tocmai au făcut-o. Este un mod de a continua activitățile plăcute pe care le desfășuram deja, dar trebuie privită și ca o oportunitate, de un nou început. Amintirile frumoase sunt cele care ne leagă de prietenii noștri și ne fac să ne simțim aproape de ei, chiar dacă nu ne vedem des, sau suntem la distanță. Prima mea întâlnire cu Pr. prof. dr. Isidor Martincă a fost în urmă cu cincizeci de ani, pe vremea când eram copil și ministrant în localitatea natală Săbăoani, când îl întâlneam în fiecare vară a lunii august la Sfânta Liturghie, și uneori chiar am ministrat, alături de părintele, care oficia acest cult divin. De fiecare dată când ministram cu alți copii, părintele ne punea des, întrebări din catehism, iar mai apoi ne oferea câte o iconiță cu Maica Domnului, și ne întreba plin de iubire: „care dintre voi ați dori să vă faceți preot?” Aproape toți care au fost întrebați, au răspuns afirmativ, însă ulterior, mulți dintre ei s-au îndreptat în viață către alt drum
GLI ALBORI DELLA SCUOLA FRANCESCANA: In memoriam magistri Isidor Mărtincă, sacerdos
No full textThe Beginnings of the Franciscan School. Intellectual education is a fundamental concern of every society and every institution; they could not stand today without it. This article aims to offer a brief look at the beginnings of the Franciscan school. Although intellectual formation was not initially part of St. Francis’ charism, he later realised its importance and usefulness for the noble mission entrusted to him and, by extension, to his fraternity. Embracing the invitation of the Church of his time, he allowed study and authorised the foundation of schools, of course, “as long as the spirit of holy prayer is not extinguished”. The apostolate of the brothers also immediately took on this dimension. Houses of study began to appear during the last years of St. Francis’ life and a network of schools took shape by the end of the 13th century. The issue of the study has aroused bitter controversy over the centuries, even causing divisions among the friars. This study attempts to shed more light on the beginnings of the Franciscan school, mentioning some of them and their early masters.
Cuvinte-cheie: Şcolile franciscane, formare intelectuală, formare teologică, spiritualitate franciscană, Sfântul Francisc, ordinul francisca
Daniel Nica, Cine sunt eu? Autenticitatea și limitele sale morale, Rățoi et Revelatio, Oradea, 2022
Get PDFCartea abordează una dintre cele mai importante întrebări pentru om, mai ales pentru cel contemporan: cine sunt eu? Pentru a răspunde, autorul explorează conceptul de autenticitate, analizându-i originile, formele și contestările și propune o actualizare a lui într-o formă normativă. În prima parte, plecând de la exemple de viață cotidiană, autorul prezintă relevanța autenticității pentru individ și trece, fără niciun efort pentru cititor, la perspectiva filosofică în care va aborda autenticitatea. Conceptul este plasat în orizontul eticii, legat fiind de răspunsul la întrebarea „ce este viața bună?”, și este conturat prin raportare la două concepte apropiate, autonomia și sinceritatea. Autonomia este reprezentată de auto-normarea kantiană, iar sinceritatea este considerată transparența față de ceilalți, însă echivalarea sincerității cu asumarea totală a unui rol social ar fi avut nevoie de nuanțări sau clarificări pentru a fi pe deplin convingătoare. Proiect modern, autenticitatea nu se lasă prinsă într-o singură definiție riguroasă, de aceea autorul indică trei sensuri ale autenticității, reprezentat fiecare de către un filosof: descoperire de sine (Rousseau), angajament existențial (Kierkegaard) și reinventare de sine (Nietzsche). Partea a doua dezvoltă aceste trei modele exemplare care ilustrează felul în care modernul și-a construit identitatea pe trei axe: individual–colectiv, simțire–rațiune, pasivitate–creativitate
Community-level physiological profiling of carbon substrate metabolization by microbial communities associated to sediments and water in karstic caves from Romania
Get PDFCave ecosystems comprise specialized microbial communities that play essential roles in biogeochemical cycles; yet their metabolic capabilities and ecological functions are not fully understood. As conventional cultivation techniques provide limited insights into the metabolic capabilities, methods based on direct functionality screening may improve our knowledge of cave microbial activity. In this study, the Community-Level Physiological Profiling (CLPP) based on Biolog® EcoPlate™ approach was applied to assess carbon (C) substrate utilization by microbial communities associated with 36 environamental samples collected from five karstic caves (Cloșani, Ferice, Leșu, Muierilor, and Topolnița) in Romania. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) statistics were employed to infer the patterns of C substrate metabolization and their environmental drivers. Environmental variables such as sodium (Na) and electrical conductivity (EC) significantly impacted C substrate utilization capabilities as indicated by both PCA and GAM. The latter analysis elucidated non-linear relationships between variables, such as EC, Na, and Mg, and microbial metabolic diversity indices. However, distinct C substrate utilization patterns were detected among sampled sites and chemical types. Unlike moonmilk samples where associated microbial communities appeared as exhibiting low C substrate utilization, the highest activity was shown in cave pool water samples with the associated microbial communities extensively consuming D-galacturonic acid and Tween 80. Conversely, substrates like L-threonine and α-ketobutyric acid showed limited utilization across all cave samples. Average Well Color Development (AWCD) and Shannon diversity indices indicated that microbial communities associated to samples from Cloșani and Muierilor caves demonstrated the highest metabolic diversity. Our findings suggested that metabolic profiling using Biolog® EcoPlate™ method combined with multivariate statistical methods might prove a suitable analysis approach to effectively screen for cave microbial functionality and the probable environmental drivers. Besides, this work distinguishes from similar studies by relying on GAM analysis to predict the environmental factors governing the microbially-mediated organic carbon degradation in subterranean ecosystems.
Article history: Received 28 February 2025; Revised 30 April 2025; Accepted 18 May 2025; Available online 25 June 202
Forage, preen or fight? A study of interspecific water bird interactions at Crișul Repede River
Get PDFAnalyzing the behavior of birds offers insight into the conservation of biodiversity, a heavily discussed subject in the fields of ecology as well as ornithology. As it has been previously proven (Rushton et al., 1994), slow-flowing areas of rivers represent important habitats for birds all throughout the year and the conservation of this type of habitats has been known to have a positive effect on the population of many water bird species (Rolls et al., 2012). Therefore, this study explores the dynamic of interspecific interactions between water birds in open water areas from the Afon Peța portion of the Crișul Repede River in Bihor, Romania. We collected data over 8 months, from October 2022 to May 2023 and identified 23 bird species and three types of interactions between them: cooperation for foraging, for grooming, and aggression. The frequency of various interactions was directly proportional to the number of individuals observed on the area, however, we found no connection to the month or the season. Additionally, we detected no preference regarding the interaction partner species. We found a strong correlation between the number of individuals and the number of interactions in all species. The results obtained through this study will help broaden the knowledge about common aquatic bird species in the area, as well as the dynamic of behaviours over the course of three seasons.
Article history: Received 18 March 2025; Revised 7 June 2025; Accepted 11 June 2025; Available online 25 June 202