Lucian Turcescu
Encyclopedia
Lucian Turcescu is a Romania
n-born Canadian
professor of theology
at Concordia University in Montreal
, Canada
.
He emigrated to Canada in 1992, and obtained his Ph.D.
in theology from the University of Toronto
in 1999. Turcescu taught for six years at St. Francis Xavier University
in Nova Scotia
, where he became an Associate Professor and Chair of the Religious Studies Department. In 2005, he was hired as an Associate Professor in the Department of Theological Studies
at Concordia University.
Turcescu has done research, published, and taught in several areas, including religion and politics, early Christianity, and ecumenism. One of his main ideas is that there was no concept of person before the fourth century CE, when Christian theologians (such as the Cappadocian Fathers) had to clarify what exactly they meant by one God in three persons. Another of his ideas which has attracted quite a bit of attention is that modern theologians, such as the influential Metropolitan John Zizioulas
of Pergamon, have not understood the fourth-century concept of person properly and instead applied to it modern existentialist and personalist readings (e.g., the difference between person and individual). He is also a proponent of the idea that functional democracies do not necessarily require the separation between church and state. Most of his research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He authored or co-authored over two dozens peer-reviewed articles which have been published in journals such as Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Europe-Asia Studies
, East European Politics and Societies, Problems of Post-Communism, Religion, State and Society, Modern Theology, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, and Vigiliae Christianae.
He organized international colloquia on “Religion and Politics in Eastern Europe” (Iaşi
, Romania, 2005)http://www.upelsinka.com/English/romania/main.htm and on “The Reception and Interpretation of the Bible in Late Antiquity” (Concordia University, 2006). He is Past President of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies (2004–2008), and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies since 2004.
Turcescu served as a member of the Board of Directors, Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion, and the Corporation’s combined program director (1999–2002). He also helped co-found and co-direct (2002–2005) the Centre for Post-communist Studies at St. Francis Xavier University.
Chapters:
Select Articles:
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n-born Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professor of theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at Concordia University in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
He emigrated to Canada in 1992, and obtained his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in theology from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in 1999. Turcescu taught for six years at St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a post-secondary institution located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The school was founded in 1853, but did not offer degrees until 1868. The university has approximately 5000 students.-History:...
in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, where he became an Associate Professor and Chair of the Religious Studies Department. In 2005, he was hired as an Associate Professor in the Department of Theological Studies
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at Concordia University.
Turcescu has done research, published, and taught in several areas, including religion and politics, early Christianity, and ecumenism. One of his main ideas is that there was no concept of person before the fourth century CE, when Christian theologians (such as the Cappadocian Fathers) had to clarify what exactly they meant by one God in three persons. Another of his ideas which has attracted quite a bit of attention is that modern theologians, such as the influential Metropolitan John Zizioulas
John Zizioulas
John Zizioulas is the Eastern Orthodox metropolitan of Pergamon. He is the Chairman of the Academy of Athens and a noted theologian.-Academic Education and Career:...
of Pergamon, have not understood the fourth-century concept of person properly and instead applied to it modern existentialist and personalist readings (e.g., the difference between person and individual). He is also a proponent of the idea that functional democracies do not necessarily require the separation between church and state. Most of his research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He authored or co-authored over two dozens peer-reviewed articles which have been published in journals such as Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Europe-Asia Studies
Europe-Asia Studies
Europe-Asia Studies is an academic peer-reviewed journal published 10 times a year by Routledge on behalf of the Institute of Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow, and continuing the journal Soviet Studies , which was renamed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union...
, East European Politics and Societies, Problems of Post-Communism, Religion, State and Society, Modern Theology, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, and Vigiliae Christianae.
He organized international colloquia on “Religion and Politics in Eastern Europe” (Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
, Romania, 2005)http://www.upelsinka.com/English/romania/main.htm and on “The Reception and Interpretation of the Bible in Late Antiquity” (Concordia University, 2006). He is Past President of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies (2004–2008), and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies since 2004.
Turcescu served as a member of the Board of Directors, Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion, and the Corporation’s combined program director (1999–2002). He also helped co-found and co-direct (2002–2005) the Centre for Post-communist Studies at St. Francis Xavier University.
Publications
Books:- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, Church, State and Democracy in Expanding Europe. Oxford University Press, 2011. ISBN13: 9780195337105.
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, eds., 1989-2009: Incredibila aventura a democratiei dupa comunism (in Romanian). Iasi: Editura Institutul European, 2010). ISBN 978-973-611-657-5.
- Lorenzo DiTommaso and Lucian Turcescu, eds., The Reception and Interpretation of the Bible in Late Antiquity: Proceedings of the Montreal Colloquium in Honour of Charles Kannengiesser, 11-13 October 2006, Leiden: Brill, 2008. ISBN 978 90 04 16715 5.
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, Religion and Politics in Post-communist Romania, Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN 0-19-530853-0 Romanian translation: Lavinia Stan si Lucian Turcescu, Religie si politica in Romania postcomunista (Curtea Veche, 2010).
- Lucian Turcescu, Gregory of NyssaGregory of NyssaSt. Gregory of Nyssa was a Christian bishop and saint. He was a younger brother of Basil the Great and a good friend of Gregory of Nazianzus. His significance has long been recognized in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity...
and the Concept of Divine Persons, Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2005. ISBN 0-19-517425-9 - Lucian Turcescu, editor, Dumitru StăniloaeDumitru StaniloaeDumitru Stăniloae was a Romanian Eastern Orthodox priest, theologian, academic, and professor. Father Stăniloae worked for over 45 years on a comprehensive Romanian translation of the Philokalia, a collection of writings by the Church Fathers, together with the hieromonk, Arsenie Boca, who brought...
: tradition and modernity in theology, Iași, Romania; Palm Beach, Fla.: Center for Romanian Studies, 2002. ISBN 973-9432-29-8
Chapters:
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "Religion and Politics in Post-Communist Romania," in Quo Vadis Eastern Europe? Religion, State, Society after Communism, ed. by Ines A. Murzaku (Ravenna: Longo Editore, 2009), 221-35.
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "The Romanian Greek Catholic Church after 1989," in Stephanie Mahieu and Vlad Naumescu, ed., Churches In-Between: Greek Catholic Churches in Postsocialist Europe (Berlin: LIT Verlag, 2008), 99-109.
- Lucian Turcescu, “The Concept of Persons in Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus,” in Matthieu Cassin et al., eds., Grégoire de Nysse: La Bible dans la construction de son discours. Actes du colloque de Paris, 9-10 février 2007 (Paris: Études augustiniennes, 2008), 287-299.
- Lucian Turcescu, “Biblical Hermeneutics in Gregory of Nyssa’s De opificio hominis,” in L. DiTommaso and L. Turcescu, eds., The Reception and Interpretation of the Bible in Late Antiquity (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2008) 511-526.
- Lucian Turcescu, “Dumitru Staniloae,” Commentary and Original Source materials in English translation in The Teachings of Modern Orthodoxy on Law, Politics, and Human Nature, eds. John Witte, Jr. and Frank Alexander (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 2007) 295-342.
- Lucian Turcescu, “Hypostasis,” “Persona,” and “Prosopon” in Lucas F. Mateo-Seco and Giulio Maspero, eds., Diccionario de San Gregorio de Nisa (Spanish edition: Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2006), pp. 512–518, 724-733, 761-764 and Gregorio di Nissa Dizionario (Italian edition: Rome: Città Nuova, 2006), 314-318, 452-457, 476-478.
Select Articles:
- Lavinia StanLavinia StanLavinia Stan is a professor of political science at St. Francis Xavier University in Canada...
and Lucian Turcescu, "The Devil's Confessors: Priests, Communists, Spies, and Informers," East European Politics and Societies, 19 (2005), no. 4, 655-685. - Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "Pulpits, Ballots and Party Cards: Religion and Elections in Romania," Religion, State and Society, 33, no. 4 (December 2005) 347-366.
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "Religious Education in Romania," Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 38, no. 3 (September 2005), 381-401.
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "Religion, Politics and Sexuality in Romania," Europe-Asia Studies, 57, no. 2 (March 2005), 291-310.
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "Politicians, Intellectuals and Academic Integrity in Romania," Problems of Post-Communism, 51, no. 4 (July/August 2004), 12-24.
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "Church-state Conflict in the Republic of Moldova: The Bessarabian Metropolitanate," Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 36, no. 4 (December 2003), 443-465.
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "The Romanian Orthodox Church and Post-Communist Democratization," Europe-Asia Studies, 58, no. 2 (2002), 1467-1488. Republished in East European Perspectives, 3, no. 4 (22 February 2001), and 3, no. 5 (7 March 2001).
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "Politics, national symbols and the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral," Europe-Asia Studies, 8 (2006), 1119-1139.