Religia Iubirii: The Spiritual Legacy of Ilarion Felea
Ilarion Felea was a Romanian Orthodox priest, theologian, and martyr who suffered under the communist regime. He was also a prolific writer and a passionate defender of the Christian faith and culture. His works, such as Religia Culturii (The Religion of Culture) and Religia Iubirii (The Religion of Love), offer a profound and inspiring vision of Christianity as a way of life based on love, wisdom, and beauty.
ilarion felea religia iubirii pdf download
In this article, we will explore some of the main themes and insights from his book Religia Iubirii, which was published posthumously in 1992. This book is a collection of his sermons, lectures, and articles on various topics related to the Christian doctrine of love. Felea shows how love is the essence and the goal of Christianity, as well as the source and the criterion of all true culture. He also explains how love can transform our personal and social life, our relationship with God and with our neighbor, and our understanding of ourselves and of the world.
Some of the topics that Felea discusses in Religia Iubirii are:
The nature and the degrees of love, from natural affection to supernatural charity.
The commandment and the example of Christ's love, which is self-sacrificial, universal, and unconditional.
The fruits and the effects of love, such as joy, peace, patience, kindness, forgiveness, humility, and holiness.
The obstacles and the enemies of love, such as selfishness, pride, hatred, envy, anger, violence, and sin.
The means and the methods of cultivating love, such as prayer, fasting, almsgiving, meditation, reading, art, and service.
The role and the responsibility of love in various domains of human activity, such as family, education, work, politics, culture, and society.
Felea's style is clear, eloquent, and persuasive. He combines theological depth with practical wisdom. He draws from various sources of Christian tradition, such as Scripture, Fathers, Saints, Liturgy, Hymns, Icons, and Mystics. He also engages with contemporary issues and challenges that face the modern world. He does not shy away from criticizing the evils and the errors that threaten the Christian faith and culture. He also does not hesitate to praise the values and the virtues that can enrich them.
Felea's message is relevant and timely for our times. He invites us to rediscover and to practice the religion of love that Christ taught us. He reminds us that love is not a sentiment or a slogan. It is a reality and a power that can change us and the world. He urges us to follow his example and to bear witness to his love in our words and deeds. He assures us that love is stronger than death and that it will triumph in the end.
If you are interested in reading Religia Iubirii by Ilarion Felea, you can download it for free from this link: https://archive.org/details/231307681IlarionFeleaReligiaCulturii. You can also find other works by him on this website: http://www.crestinortodox.ro/carti-ortodoxe/. e0e6b7cb5c