Chapter 1
The Sea, Cradle of Divine Spirituality
Constantin Jurca ˘ and Alina Buzarna-Tihenea (Ga ˘lbeaza ˘)
Abstract Across human history, countless scientific works about the sea have been
written, and some of them have an eternal nature. The sea, blessed by God since the
Genesis (The Bible. “The Old Testament. The Genesis”) (“And God said, “Let the
water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of
the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with
which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and
every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed
them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and
let the birds increase on the earth”.” (The Bible. “The Old Testament. The Genesis”,
Ch. 1, verse 20–22, p. 2)), has generously offered the most diverse and necessary
resources for the existence of humanity. In this respect, since the oldest times, the
sea has generated a favorable climate for the development of trade, communication,
civilization and great geographical discoveries.
The sea has the great merit of approaching the created man to his Creator. It was
one of the main instruments whereby God revealed Himself, showing the power,
greatness and beauty of His creation. “The Word of God” was spread by the waters
of seas and oceans, to the most remote places of the world. The Savior’s “Gospels”
and Teachings were spread by the sea and by the roads crossing the Roman Empire.
The first Christian communities and churches were established and fortified in
seashore cities, and Christianity was spread by the sacrifice of Christ’s disciples
and apostles. The sea also consolidated the spirit of sacrifice and human solidarity.
The law of retaliation (eye for eye, tooth for tooth) was replaced by the law
professing the Love of God and of our fellow men. Moreover, the endless sea
brings us closer to heaven, as it intermingles with the infinite horizon; the sea is a
symbol of the union between the terrestrial level and the celestial one, as the sky
mirrors itself into the sea.
C. Jurca ˘ (*)
Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences, Ovidius University of Constanta,
Constanța, Romania
e-mail: daniellajurca@yahoo.com
A. Buzarna-Tihenea (Ga ˘lbeaza ˘)
Faculty of Letters, Ovidius University of Constanta, Constanța, Romania
e-mail: alina_buzarna84@yahoo.com
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
C.W. Finkl, C. Makowski (eds.), Diversity in Coastal Marine Sciences, Coastal
Research Library 23, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57577-3_1
3
The Sea, Cradle of Divine Spirituality
Constantin Jurca ˘ and Alina Buzarna-Tihenea (Ga ˘lbeaza ˘)
Abstract Across human history, countless scientific works about the sea have been
written, and some of them have an eternal nature. The sea, blessed by God since the
Genesis (The Bible. “The Old Testament. The Genesis”) (“And God said, “Let the
water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of
the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with
which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and
every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed
them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and
let the birds increase on the earth”.” (The Bible. “The Old Testament. The Genesis”,
Ch. 1, verse 20–22, p. 2)), has generously offered the most diverse and necessary
resources for the existence of humanity. In this respect, since the oldest times, the
sea has generated a favorable climate for the development of trade, communication,
civilization and great geographical discoveries.
The sea has the great merit of approaching the created man to his Creator. It was
one of the main instruments whereby God revealed Himself, showing the power,
greatness and beauty of His creation. “The Word of God” was spread by the waters
of seas and oceans, to the most remote places of the world. The Savior’s “Gospels”
and Teachings were spread by the sea and by the roads crossing the Roman Empire.
The first Christian communities and churches were established and fortified in
seashore cities, and Christianity was spread by the sacrifice of Christ’s disciples
and apostles. The sea also consolidated the spirit of sacrifice and human solidarity.
The law of retaliation (eye for eye, tooth for tooth) was replaced by the law
professing the Love of God and of our fellow men. Moreover, the endless sea
brings us closer to heaven, as it intermingles with the infinite horizon; the sea is a
symbol of the union between the terrestrial level and the celestial one, as the sky
mirrors itself into the sea.
C. Jurca ˘ (*)
Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences, Ovidius University of Constanta,
Constanța, Romania
e-mail: daniellajurca@yahoo.com
A. Buzarna-Tihenea (Ga ˘lbeaza ˘)
Faculty of Letters, Ovidius University of Constanta, Constanța, Romania
e-mail: alina_buzarna84@yahoo.com
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
C.W. Finkl, C. Makowski (eds.), Diversity in Coastal Marine Sciences, Coastal
Research Library 23, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57577-3_1
3