Rev. Academician Dumitru Popescu pased away last night. His dead body will be laid tomorrow, 11 March 2010, at the chapel of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of “Patriarch Justinian” of Bucharest, the church of “Saint Ecaterina”, as Rev. Prof. Ştefan Buchiu, dean of the Faculty of Theology of Bucharest informed the “Basilica” News Agency.

The decease occurred at Saint John Hospital of Bucharest.

Rev. Prof. Ştefan Buchiu has also offered more information on the personality of the great academician, for Trinitas Radio station: “Rev. Acad. was a great personality of the Romanian Orthodox Church and first of all of the Romanian Orthodox theology. He illustrated, just like his great predecessors as Rev. Stăniloae, Rev. Chiţescu and others, the specific character of the Romanian Orthodox theology, especially in the comparisons to the theologies of the other Christian Churches and confessions. He was the rector and dean of the Faculty of Theology of “Patriarch Justinian” of Bucharest. He prepared many generations teaching Dogmatic Theology, so that today the majority of the disciples he formed are professors of Dogmatic Theology at the Faculties in our country. His theological work is remarkable and it was very appreciated both in the country and abroad. The fact that he has become corresponding member of the Romanian Academy tells a lot about what his personality represented, especially in the dialogue between theology and culture. Maybe these themes have been dealt with for the first time in the Romanian theology after 1990. On the other hand, he continued and promoted the thought of our great theologian Rev. Dumitru Stăniloae whose disciple he was, and prepared the Orthodox Theology to be in permanent dialogue with the other theologies emphasising the relationship between spirituality and the mission of the Orthodox Church”.