In servitutem Sanctorum. An incursion into the activity of the Bollandist Society

In servitutem Sanctorum. An incursion into the activity of the Bollandist Society
Pr. Dr. Pr. Pr. Constantin OPREA
The work In servitutem Sanctorum. An incursion into the work of the Bollandist Society, signed by Father Constantin Oprea, is a remarkable contribution to church historiography and, at the same time, an honest and thorough academic endeavor in the service of knowledge of the universal Christian tradition. From the very first pages, the reader is invited into a dense and challenging intellectual space in which history, theology, philology and textual criticism are harmoniously interwoven.
The Bollandist Society, founded in the 17th century by Flemish Jesuits led by Jean Bolland, was one of the most rigorous and systematic hagiographical research initiatives in the whole of Europe. Those who followed this beginning transformed what was by then a devotional narrative tradition into a critical corpus of texts, often edited with a philological acumen worthy of the highest academic standards. What characterized the members of this society was not only scholarship, but also a deep awareness of their mission: to discern the historical truth of holiness and to make it accessible to succeeding generations.
Pr. Prof. Univ. Dr. Emanoil Băbuș
Faculty of Orthodox Theology „Justinian Patriarch” of Bucharest