Books by Mihai-D. Grigore
On mobility as a factor of power and state building in Eastern Christian of the medieval South-Ea... more On mobility as a factor of power and state building in Eastern Christian of the medieval South-East Europe. A book on polysystems and polycentricity of transfrontalier power. (In German). (Würzburg:Echter, 2025)
Orthodoxy in the Agora: Orthodox Christian Political Theologies Across History, 2024
The radical socio-political changes in the wake of the fall of
communism in many predominantly Or... more The radical socio-political changes in the wake of the fall of
communism in many predominantly Orthodox countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe have triggered an intense interest
in formulating a specifically Orthodox Christian political theology
in various forms. The volume focuses on these developments,
but also offers a panorama of the evolution of Orthodox political
theologies across time, from early Byzantium until today.
Studia Universitatis Babes Bolyai Theologia Orthodoxa 68:1, 2023
The objective of this volume is unpretentious. Showing the complexity,
variety, and subtility of ... more The objective of this volume is unpretentious. Showing the complexity,
variety, and subtility of multiple forms of mobility and movements is a genuine
exercise of fascination. We dive into the confessional life of Orthodoxy enlivened
by fears, hopes, and desires. The contributions are individual recordings that
together paint a larger picture of connectivity, communication, and exchange
within and beyond Orthodoxy across a broad temporal spectrum from the
sixteenth to the Russo-Japanese War at the beginning of the twentieth century.
(Mihai-D. Grigore, ed., Orthodoxy on the Move: Mobility, Networks, and Belonging Between the 16th and 20th Centuries, Special Issue, Studia Universitatis Babes Bolyai Theologia Orthodoxa 68:1 [2023], 245 p.)
Orthodoxa Confessio? Konfessionsbildung, Konfessionalisierung und ihre Folgen in der östlichen Christenheit Europas (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2018) OPEN ACCESS, 2018
This volume investigates an underresearched field in the religious history of Europe, the problem... more This volume investigates an underresearched field in the religious history of Europe, the problem of confessional formation and confessionalisation in non-Western Orthodox traditions of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The studies in this volume enrich the research on European dynamics of Christian denominations after 13th century until now and display new perspectives on mechanisms of religious and confessional identity within European Christianity with the main focus on the Orthodox traditions of the continent.
Collected contributions on the spread of Reformation in German Empire's adjiacent regions and on ... more Collected contributions on the spread of Reformation in German Empire's adjiacent regions and on the situation of Lutheran Churches in today's Europe: Reformation in France, Swiss, England, Holland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Transsylvania, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia,
A comparison of four mirrors of the prince (specula principum) with a focus on the little known w... more A comparison of four mirrors of the prince (specula principum) with a focus on the little known work "The Teachings to His Son Theodosius" of Neagoe Basarab, Prince of Wallachia between 1512 and 1521. The tertium comparationis is the syntagma 'Princeps Christianus' and its narrative in the discourses of the four mentioned authors. The book was twice awarded and it is about to appear in English translation!
A book on the Second Bulgarian Empire under the Asen Dinasty.
Anthology, Southeast Europe, German, History, Political Studies, Literature, Anthropology, Social... more Anthology, Southeast Europe, German, History, Political Studies, Literature, Anthropology, Social Studies, Cultural Studies
Peace of God, German, Early Middle Ages, Honor, Social ordines, Indo-Europeans, Historical Anthro... more Peace of God, German, Early Middle Ages, Honor, Social ordines, Indo-Europeans, Historical Anthropology, Church History
Papers by Mihai-D. Grigore
Medieval Mount Athos between Wealth and Poverty, ed. by Zachary Chitwood, 2024
There is a close connection between the intensity and the theological elaborateness of the endowm... more There is a close connection between the intensity and the theological elaborateness of the endowment deeds of the lords of Wallachia and their legitimacy to occupy the throne. The more legitimate their claim was, the fewer, shorter and more theologically 'sparse' their deeds of donation were for the Athos monasteries. A study on the guilty conscience of the powerful.
(in: Zachary Chitwood, ed., Medieval Mount Athos between Wealth and Poverty (Leiden: Brill, 2024), 197-215
Ostkirchliche Studien, 2023
An extended review I made in "Ostkirchliche Studien" of the book of the Serbian theologian with F... more An extended review I made in "Ostkirchliche Studien" of the book of the Serbian theologian with Fordham University Press
The Defence of the Faith. Crusading on the Frontiers of Latin Christendom in the Late Middle Ages, 2024
At the heart of Leo X's (1513–21) ambitious and very subversive crusade policy was, in Eastern Eu... more At the heart of Leo X's (1513–21) ambitious and very subversive crusade policy was, in Eastern Europe, a most unlikely ruler: Neagoe Basarab, who ruled Wallachia from 1512 through 1521, was not well viewed by the new Ottoman sultan Selim I (1512–20). Basarab responded immediately to Pope Leo X's crusade plans and pushed the Hungarians and Poles to build a new Christian alliance to free the European Southeast from the Ottomans. The article begins by analysing the geopolitical situation of Wallachia at the beginning of the sixteenth century in the context of the Ottoman Civil War (1509–13). After that, it discusses Prince Neagoe Basarab and his diplomatic network, with a special focus on his legations to the Venetians and Pope Leo X, as well as on his contacts with the Hungarian and Polish courts in the matter of crusade, before finally closing with several short theoretical conclusions regarding the dialectics between 'core' and 'periphery'.
Religion und Gesellschaft in Ost und West, 2023
The Romanian Orthodox Church has revived after the system change, in 1989. The church has launche... more The Romanian Orthodox Church has revived after the system change, in 1989. The church has launched a number of social initiatives, and religious education has been reintroduced in state schools. The Romanian state supports the Orthodox Church, so a close partnership has developed between the two institutions. Within the population, the church enjoys great popularity to this day. (in German)
(in "Religion und Gesellschaft in Ost und West" 10 [2023], 13-16)
Pathways Through Early Modern Christianities, 2023
This paper represents a historical application of Itamar Even-Zohar's structuralist concept of 'p... more This paper represents a historical application of Itamar Even-Zohar's structuralist concept of 'polysystem'. The case study was on the politicization of the late Byzantine Hesychasm on the way from pure mystical spirituality towards political ideology.
The main theses: The Orthodox Commonwealth rises to an alternative and trans-imperial order functioning as a dynamic polysystem animated by the polycentric synergy between administrative centres (e.g., Constantinople, Pec, Tarnovo), spiritual centres (e.g., Athos, Paroria), and politico-economical centres (Serbia, Bulgaria, Wallachia, Moldavia, Kievan and Muscovite Rus).
(appeared in: Andreea Badea, Bruno Boute, Birgit Emich, eds., Pathways Through Early Modern Christianities, Vienna: Böhlau 2023), 237-260)
Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte/Contemporary Church History, 2022
In this essay, I have dealt with the national project of the Romanian Great Church in the context... more In this essay, I have dealt with the national project of the Romanian Great Church in the context of the fall of empires at the beginning of the 20th century. On the one hand, I have shown the influences of the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms on the Romanian Orthodox Church, and on the other hand, those of the Habsburg laws of tolerance. As sources, I have used church orders and constitutional law. (published in German)
Erfurter Vorträge zur Kulturgeschichte des Orthodoxen Christentums 20, 2021
In this study I was interested to give a historical transregional perspective on "political hesyc... more In this study I was interested to give a historical transregional perspective on "political hesychasm" which I understood as dynamics of interconnectedness in the Orthodox world. I was addressing mobile actors and power agents involved in this interwoven phenomenon, as well as the synergy of interconnected centers, from the spiritual-theological to economic-financial ones. My thesis was that the dynamics of becoming from spiritual-mystical hesychasm to ideological political agency, took shape in the formation of a polycentric order, which welded the Orthodox traditions into a coherent cultural space of the so-called "Orthodox Commonwealth". I described this polycentric order on the basis of the Danubian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia.
(Original in German, appeared in Erfurter Vorträge zur Kulturgeschichte des Orthodoxen Christentums 20 (2021), Single Issue, 32 p.)
Travaux et Mémoires 25/1, 2021
Every confession is a Church, but not every Church is a confession. The inclusion of the Orthodox... more Every confession is a Church, but not every Church is a confession. The inclusion of the Orthodox world in the integrative confessional history of Europe is long overdue. The following contribution addresses this desideratum. It describes the Orthodoxy as being a confession because
it fulfills the three momenta defining any confession: the universal, the temporal, and the confessional momentum. Using a complex approach combining ecclesiology, theory of history, and historical analysis, it shows that Eastern Orthodoxy is a Christian confession, just as Catholicism,
Lutheranism, the Reformed faith, and Anglicanism are confessions. To this end, I contrast, on the one hand, the dogmatic-traditionalist paradigm of the neopatristic synthesis developed by the Russian theologian Georges Florovsky with a historiographical paradigm of the historical presence of Orthodoxy in the world and history. For this purpose, I comment abundantly on the concepts of confessionality developed by the German hermeneutics of history in the 20th century. On the other hand, I point out how Orthodoxy historically became a confession by possessing in the Synodikon of Orthodoxy its Bekenntnisschrift and thus a confessional identifier. In conclusion, I maintain that only that study of the Eastern Church which is based on historical methodology and on the historical observation of plurality can guarantee the integration of Orthodoxy into the pan-European history of Christianity, into a fair Ecumenism, and thus overcome the East-West polarity.
(in Travaux et Mémoires 25/1 (2021): Le monde byzantin du XIIIe au XVe siècle anciennes ou nouvelles formes d’impérialité, ed. Marie-Hélène Blanchet, Raúl Estangüi-Gómez, 827-868)
Summerschool 'Grenzgänger des Jenseits: Engel, Dämonen und Heilige in der Frühen Neuzeit', 2022
A historical itinerary through the cultural and anthropological phenomenology connected to Vampir... more A historical itinerary through the cultural and anthropological phenomenology connected to Vampirism in Europe, focusing on South-East Europe. We started with the 'Vampire-Plague' in the 18th c. Europe and ended with literary processing of the Vampire mythos by Bram Stoker in 'Dracula', Mircea Eliade in 'Domnisoara Christina' or Dana Grigorcea in 'Die nicht sterben'. Subsequently we worked together on a source of Early Modern Vampirism, Johann Christoph Harenberg, 'Vernuenftige und Schriftliche Gedancken über die Vampirs', Wolffenbuetel 1733.
(Campus Westend, Frankfurt am Main, July 25-28, 2022)
Materialdienst des konfessionskundlichen Instituts Bensheim, 2021
Abstract: The article offers a synthetic overview of the systematic underpinning of human dignity... more Abstract: The article offers a synthetic overview of the systematic underpinning of human dignity and human rights in the dogmatics and ethics of the Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches. The discourse unfolds across important semantic fields such as “image of God in the human”, “assimilation to God”, “human dignity as a moral performance”, “the human as a person” or “Christian community (koinonia)”. The contribution ascertains an inadequate, hesitant, and inconsistent theological-systematic discussion of human rights in the orthodox traditions. (Published in German, in: MdKI 72/3 [2021], 132-135)
Dominanz und Innovation, 2021
In this paper, I show the artificial character and polemical anti-Western potential of historiogr... more In this paper, I show the artificial character and polemical anti-Western potential of historiographic concepts such as "Byzantine Commonwealth" (Dimitri Obolensky) and "Orthodox Commonwealth" (Paschalis Kitromilides). I discuss the space theory of the German Friedrich Ratzel ("geo-politics") and the French Fernand Braudel to show in the light of Reinhard Koselleck's "Begriffsgeschichte" how historiographic conceptual tools serve as discourses of power.
(Appeared in Diana Hitzke, ed., Dominanz und Innovation. Epistemologische und künstlerische Konzepte kleiner europäischer Kulturen, Bielefeld: transcript 2021, pp. 75-94)
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Books by Mihai-D. Grigore
communism in many predominantly Orthodox countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe have triggered an intense interest
in formulating a specifically Orthodox Christian political theology
in various forms. The volume focuses on these developments,
but also offers a panorama of the evolution of Orthodox political
theologies across time, from early Byzantium until today.
variety, and subtility of multiple forms of mobility and movements is a genuine
exercise of fascination. We dive into the confessional life of Orthodoxy enlivened
by fears, hopes, and desires. The contributions are individual recordings that
together paint a larger picture of connectivity, communication, and exchange
within and beyond Orthodoxy across a broad temporal spectrum from the
sixteenth to the Russo-Japanese War at the beginning of the twentieth century.
(Mihai-D. Grigore, ed., Orthodoxy on the Move: Mobility, Networks, and Belonging Between the 16th and 20th Centuries, Special Issue, Studia Universitatis Babes Bolyai Theologia Orthodoxa 68:1 [2023], 245 p.)
Papers by Mihai-D. Grigore
(in: Zachary Chitwood, ed., Medieval Mount Athos between Wealth and Poverty (Leiden: Brill, 2024), 197-215
(in "Religion und Gesellschaft in Ost und West" 10 [2023], 13-16)
The main theses: The Orthodox Commonwealth rises to an alternative and trans-imperial order functioning as a dynamic polysystem animated by the polycentric synergy between administrative centres (e.g., Constantinople, Pec, Tarnovo), spiritual centres (e.g., Athos, Paroria), and politico-economical centres (Serbia, Bulgaria, Wallachia, Moldavia, Kievan and Muscovite Rus).
(appeared in: Andreea Badea, Bruno Boute, Birgit Emich, eds., Pathways Through Early Modern Christianities, Vienna: Böhlau 2023), 237-260)
(Original in German, appeared in Erfurter Vorträge zur Kulturgeschichte des Orthodoxen Christentums 20 (2021), Single Issue, 32 p.)
it fulfills the three momenta defining any confession: the universal, the temporal, and the confessional momentum. Using a complex approach combining ecclesiology, theory of history, and historical analysis, it shows that Eastern Orthodoxy is a Christian confession, just as Catholicism,
Lutheranism, the Reformed faith, and Anglicanism are confessions. To this end, I contrast, on the one hand, the dogmatic-traditionalist paradigm of the neopatristic synthesis developed by the Russian theologian Georges Florovsky with a historiographical paradigm of the historical presence of Orthodoxy in the world and history. For this purpose, I comment abundantly on the concepts of confessionality developed by the German hermeneutics of history in the 20th century. On the other hand, I point out how Orthodoxy historically became a confession by possessing in the Synodikon of Orthodoxy its Bekenntnisschrift and thus a confessional identifier. In conclusion, I maintain that only that study of the Eastern Church which is based on historical methodology and on the historical observation of plurality can guarantee the integration of Orthodoxy into the pan-European history of Christianity, into a fair Ecumenism, and thus overcome the East-West polarity.
(in Travaux et Mémoires 25/1 (2021): Le monde byzantin du XIIIe au XVe siècle anciennes ou nouvelles formes d’impérialité, ed. Marie-Hélène Blanchet, Raúl Estangüi-Gómez, 827-868)
(Campus Westend, Frankfurt am Main, July 25-28, 2022)
(Appeared in Diana Hitzke, ed., Dominanz und Innovation. Epistemologische und künstlerische Konzepte kleiner europäischer Kulturen, Bielefeld: transcript 2021, pp. 75-94)