Celebrating the Life of Corneliu Constantineanu

Corneliu, passionate scholar, dreamer, mentor, and friend. He was the kind of person who can be best described in stories and impressions: the person who called in the middle of night with creative, new ideas in order to dream together. The one who was perfectly at home and in full enjoyment immersed in a foreign culture, because he was fascinated and invigorated by the local expressions of faith. The person who was beaming and laughing after a hike in full formal attire, his dress shoes caked in mud. The man who dreamt and then made it happen for an entire new Master’s and PhD program in Faith and Public Life in Eastern Europe.

Eye-crinkling bursts of laughter, loud joy that fills the room, excited curiosity, leaned-in listening, piles and piles of books, masses of post-it notes across a board, defiant hope. 

A few weeks ago, INFEMIT lost our brother and dear friend. Because Corneliu Constantineanu was so many things to so many people, and to INFEMIT, he was an integral part of our team, we choose to remember his life through the words and stories of many members of our community:

Al Tizon: The bond created by God and God’s mission is deep and strong; so too then is the pain when a friend and partner in ministry dies. As a fellow member of INFEMIT’s Networking Team with Corneliu, the pain of his loss is almost unbearable. I say this even as I continue to hope in the resurrection.

Tom Harvey (OCMS): St Philips St James Church in Oxford is dark and cold in winter, but when Corneliu Constantineanu entered as OCMS student, scholar, trustee, and friend his grin, light and warmth lit up our sanctuary. Indeed, that light in his life, scholarship, and service illuminated all OCMS strives to be in mission and devoted research: relevance, excellence, compassion, wisdom, justice, faith, hope, koinonia, and love. Corneliu produced what most of us only strive for; works that not only interpret the Word of God faithfully but transform our world holistically by it. His wealth of knowledge and wisdom, he did not horde, but as teacher, leader, and friend he shared freely to enrichen our life, faith, and service. We are honoured by Corneliu in his scholarship and service, grieved at his passing and our loss, and yet warmed by the memory of our brother in Christ who graced us with his smile and embrace. Requiescat in pace.

Ben Quarshie: As members of the INFEMIT Networking Team, I got to know Corneliu for more than a decade. I found him to be a genuine, open and warm-hearted person. Unassuming, always smiling, jovial and humble, Corneliu got along well with everybody. A man of faith, he was always an optimist, who found the positive in everybody and in every situation.

Corneliu was a dedicated, hard-working person, always concerned about others. A person with great intellect, he used his God given gifts in the service of Christ through his contribution to and advancement of theological education.

Corneliu, brother, friend, colleague, rest in peace till we meet again.

Ruth Padilla DeBorst: A dear friend and colleague in the Networking Team of INFEMIT for over a decade, a passionate, creative and dedicated pioneer in theological education, Corneliu brought laughter and depth, energy and perspective to our life and work together. His gusto for life and his tireless and fruitful dedication to God’s work were contagious, a gift and inspiration to all who had the privilege of knowing him. We have no words to express our deep sadness at his departure. The loss is immeasurable!

We accompany his widow, Ioana, and his daughters, Anamaria and Carmen in prayer. And we walk with our common friend, Marcel Valentin Măcelaru, as he faces life without his intimate friend and co-conspirer in so many fruitful endeavors. God have mercy on us all!

Tori Greaves: It’s hard to believe that Corneliu and I were only ever together in person for two events in 2015 and 2017 – hard to believe because, whether online or in-person, Corneliu’s presence was always felt deeply in the warmth and enthusiasm that he showed. I’ll never forget the first time we met, when I was running logistics for an event, and he and Marcel arrived in the guest house lobby at 1:00 AM. Although I was exhausted, Corneliu and Marcel brought in a burst of energy. They simply set their luggage aside, plopped down on the lobby couch, and sat and talked with me for a half an hour – though it felt like no time had passed. Corneliu’s enthusiasm, the way he valued people, and his passion for his work will continue to inspire me to live in a way that earnestly pursues God’s love in every area of life.

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In INFEMIT’s online retreat in June of 2020, one of the last meetings we held with Corneliu, he shared these words with us:

“One of the greatest blessings of INFEMIT for me was that it enabled me not only to come in contact with a worldwide redeemed Church, but in a sense to see what God is doing and how our different manifestations and faithfulness to the Gospel look like in different parts of the world, and this has been for me something that has shaped me and changed my understanding – and deepened my understanding of the Gospel. I should say that it was out of that larger, broader understanding that I was able actually to give my own contributions to designing [these] kinds of programs in our part of the world and hopefully continue to do so as we have now a younger generation coming up to continue the work and carry on the work.”

Likewise, we, the community of INFEMIT, feel that being in fellowship with Corneliu allowed us to expand our understanding of the Gospel and our dreams for what the Church can look like in the midst of the realities of our world. We assume his words as a call to carry on his legacy and ensure that younger generations of scholars are encouraged and empowered to blaze new trails in understanding and living out the holistic Gospel for the transformation of our world.