Saint Dumitru Staniloae

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Our Holy Father St Dumitru was born in 1903 in the Romanian village of Vladeni, Brasov County. Raised by a pious mother who was the niece of a priest, and in a community where participation in the liturgical life was central, Dumitru developed a deep love for the church.

He graduated from Chernivtsi University in 1927, completing a thesis entitled “Baptizing Children”. He then undertook Byzantine and Dogmatic studies before travelling to Berlin, Paris, and Constantinople where he studied the works of St Gregory Palamas.

In 1930, he married Maria Mihu with whom he bore twins - both of whom died at young ages. He was ordained a priest in 1932, and in 1933 the couple had another daughter Lydia.

In 1936, Fr Dumitru became rector of the Theological Academy in Sibiu. But due to the post WWII Communist takeover of Romania and the oppression of the Church, Fr Dumitru was forced to step down in 1946. He was transferred to the University of Bucharest and taught in the Faculty of Theology as a professor of dogmatics.

In 1950, he began to attend meetings of the Rugul Aprins (Burning Altar) group. This Orthodox resistance movement to the totalitarian communist state brought together intellectuals and clergy to focus on prayer, meditation, and theological discussions.

In 1958, after the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from Romania, a wave of political arrests were made, including members of the Rugul Aprins group. Fr Dumitru was among those imprisoned, and he suffered in isolation until his release in 1963.

He then began working for the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. In 1965, he was asked by the government to write articles to project an image of religious freedom in Romania, and he attended theological conferences in Germany and the UK.

A great contemporary theologian, Fr Dumitru spent over 45 years translating the Philokalia into Romanian, and became widely known for his book “The Dogmatic Orthodox Theology (1978)”. He also wrote insightful commentaries on St Gregory of Nyssa, St Maximus the Confessor and St Athanasius of Alexandria.

He reposed in 1993 at age 90, and was canonized on February 4, 2025.