Education
He attended seminary in Iași, followed by the theology faculty of Bucharest University from 1905 to 1909.
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Ioan Savin
Edit Profileprofessor of philosophy theologian
Career
A professor and a widely published writer, he spent several years in prison under the early communist regime. He began primary school in his native village in 1891, continuing in Bârlad. He entered a seminary at Roman in 1892 and at Iași in 1895.
Upon the proposal of his professor Irineu Mihălcescu, he was selected for a scholarship that allowed him to take specialized courses in philosophy and theology at Berlin and Heidelberg from 1910 to 1915.
He obtained a doctorate under the supervision of Ernst Troeltsch. Savin saw combat as a second lieutenant in World War I. Afterwards, he taught Romanian and German at Bolhrad High School in the newly acquired Bessarabia province.
In 1920, he was called to the national capital Bucharest to become inspector general at the Religious Affairs and Arts Ministry. His only other government experience came from the end of 1937 to early 1938, when Goga, then prime minister, named him undersecretary of state at the Education Ministry.
His first university post was at Iași University, where he taught at the theology faculty.
From 1927 to 1941, he was a professor of philosophy of religion and apologetics at the theology faculty in Chișinău, serving as dean for a period. From 1941 to 1947, he taught at the Bucharest apologetics department. In 1936, he took part in the Orthodox theology professors" congress at Athens.
Through his efforts, introductory theology became a recognized branch of Romanian Orthodox theological education.
He wrote numerous books, studies, and articles, with a particular focus on apologetics. He was also interested in dialogue between religion and science, as well as culture.
The author of several anti-Bolshevik works, he was forced to retire in 1948, at the onset of the communist regime. Arrested in May 1950 by the Securitate secret police, he was charged with "intensive activity against the workers" movement" and sent to Sighet prison, from which he was released in July 1955.
In 1962, he was permitted to publish under his brother"s name, and under his own name in 1970.
He died in 1973 and was buried in Cernica, Ilfov County.
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Savin"s works sought to defend religious and moral values, addressing issues relevant to his day. Also in 1962, he was denied a pension because, as a theology professor, he had combated historical materialism.
