Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Theologia Orthodoxa

Defining Christian Bioethics: Foundations for Moral Decision-Making in a Pluralistic World

Sorin BUTE — 2024-06-30

This article examines the challenges faced by Christian bioethics in a pluralistic world. It explores the methodology of bioethics within the context of Christian theology, particularly Orthodox theology. It delineates a triangular research method encompassing biomedical facts, anthropological insights, and ethical principles. Moreover, it discusses the dual methodology of Orthodox Church Fathers, emphasising the interplay between reason and faith. The article argues for a holistic approach to moral decision-making, integrating experiential encounter with divine truth alongside rational analysis. It underscores the significance of conversion, asceticism, and liturgical experience in guiding ethical discernment, ultimately advocating for a shift from being-for-death to being-for-life as the foundation for moral clarity in bioethics.

Moral Questions About In Vitro Fertilization. Can There Be a Pastoral Approach?

Petru CERNAT — 2024-06-30

For Christian communities, medically assisted procreation is an active challenge. Whether we are talking about techniques that use in vivo fertilization, or whether we are talking about techniques that use in vitro fertilization, the reservations from the perspective of Christian morality are obvious. However, in the last 25 years, the Orthodox Church (at least the one in Greece and the one in Russia) has felt the need to compose documents that evaluate these techniques and that provide pastoral guidance to those who cannot assume life without children or adoption. This study outlines the steps that the Church recommends before using in vitro fertilization techniques and invites to reflect on embryo adoption.

Knowledge, Conscience, Consciousness, Awareness, or About the Presence and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Spiritual Life and Their Challenges

Magdalena BURLACU — 2024-06-30

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) into spiritual life presents unique challenges and opportunities. This article explores the regulatory deficiencies in the application of AI in religious settings. The existence of controversial platforms such as Biserica GPT emphasizes the need for specific ethical norms designed for spiritual life. The article advocates for an approach that recognizes the capacity of AI to improve communication and social unity, while underscoring ethical concerns and the significance of authentic human spiritual direction. The proposed ethical criteria include transparency, accountability, and the safeguarding of human dignity. They emphasize the need for a cooperative effort between programmers, operators, and those possessing spiritual expertise to ensure that AI is used as a tool rather than functioning as a substitute for authentic spiritual direction.

Palliative Care ‒ The Alternative to Euthanasia

Sorin-Grigore VULCĂNESCU — 2024-06-30

I believe that better education about palliative care (PC) and its more intensive and widespread use, followed by the continued development of palliative medicine, are superior to any type of assisted dying. In this study I present the Christian alternative, the practical alternative to euthanasia and other options for ending earthly life, insisting on PC. It is the real, viable and acceptable example of easy death, with a Christian origin and mission, as opposed to the expansion of assisted death services, which have entered a process of de-Christianization, dissolution and discredit.

Editorial

Gabriel NOJE — 2024-06-30

This special issue of the journal showcases the contributions of Orthodox theologians and researchers, both domestic and international, who are dedicated to addressing the challenges posed by advancements in the biomedical field and the current cultural context. As readers will discover, most of these studies focus on pressing bioethical issues related to the beginning and end of life, as well as ethical dilemmas that may arise during life, such as our relationship to the outcomes produced by artificial intelligence. We believe these studies will offer fresh and comprehensive Christian perspectives, fostering a better understanding of the moral and bioethical challenges we face.

Dr. Petru Cernat, Identitatea embrionului uman. O perspectivă teologică și bioetică [The Identity of Human Embryo. A Theological and Bioethical Perspective], Doxologia Publishing House, Iași, 2022, 401 p.

Gabriel NOJE — 2024-06-30

This volume represents the publication of the author’s doctoral thesis, defended in 2021 at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, and deals with the identity of the human embryo from the perspective of Orthodox Moral Theology and bioethics. In his introduction (p. 17-38), Petru Cernat states that the work is based on “the desire to decipher a framework for dialogue between theology, philosophy and the world of sciences regarding the identity card of the human embryo” (p. 19). The author also sets out the hypothesis on which his research is based, outlines the aim of his research and details the five objectives he is pursuing in this endeavor. As we can see from the presentation of the state of the research, Petru Cernat’s work aims to take forward the already existing debates on the identity of the embryo and to offer a theological response to this subject of capital importance for Christian anthropology and bioethical reflection.

Postscriptum for Jahr – About the Father of Bioethics and the Bioethical Imperative

Dejan DONEV — 2024-06-30

Fritz Jahr (1895-1953) is widely recognized as the Father of Bioethics. In 1926, he introduced the term “bio-ethics” in an article published in Das Mittelschulwesen. Influenced by Wilhelm Wundt's comparative studies on physiology and psychology in humans, animals, and plants, as well as the philosophical musings on the possible soul-life of plants by Fr. Th. Fechner and others in the late 19th century, Jahr sought to redefine ethical considerations. He expanded Kant’s Categorical Imperative into what he called the Bioethical Imperative: “Respect every living being in principle as an end in itself and treat it, if possible, as such.” While Kant’s imperative was grounded in the "Sanctity of the Moral Law," Jahr's Bioethical Imperative is based on the "Sanctity of Life," emphasizing compassion for all living beings and coexistence.

The Nazi Protectorate of Mount Athos. Between Illusion and Reality

Claudiu BOIA — 2024-06-30

This study presents the situation of the monastic communities of Mount Athos in the context of the Second World War and their relations with the Nazi power. The conquest of Greece in 1941 by the Axis powers created confusion among the monks of the Holy Mountain, who tried to preserve the monastic tradition and the Orthodox Christian faith in the new political context. The lack of information of the Athos monks, as well as the opportunism characteristic of the Nazis, led to a blurred situation regarding the political authority to which the Holy Mountain had to report. This gave rise to the idea of a Nazi protectorate, but also to the illusion that this protectorate could improve the life and status of the monks in the Athos monasteries. The historical reality of those years is very difficult to unravel because of the war, but it is necessary to discover it to understand what really happened then.