The National Council for Scientific Research, through its Commission for Humanities, initiated during the last months of 2020 the evaluation of Scientific Journals and Publishing Houses in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Last conducted in 2012, the re-evaluation is projected to take place from now on every four years. The editorial team of the Review of Ecumenical Studies is happy to receive an official recognition of its work in recent years, as the RES has just been awarded an “A ranking” for the period 2020-2024.
The Journals’ Editorial Teams were asked to present an application form containing points such as: the Journal’s history, contribution to the dissemination of significant research results in the field, the impact on the field, distribution in the country and abroad, publication of critical book reviews, the percentage of foreign language articles and the presence of authors from outside the institution and outside the country, indexing databases where the journals are present, strategies for drawing article proposals, presentation of the peer-review procedures. The evaluation criteria tried to measure, among many others aspects, the ability of the journal to engage in ongoing discussions in the field within not only the national, but also the international scientific community.
Over the years, the objectives and focus of the review have developed so that presently the RES is not just an expression of the work within the Institute for Ecumenical Research or from the Romanian theological world but has become a forum for voices from worldwide Christian theology, as the high percentage of international scholars publishing in RES rightly indicates. The journal has followed a very strict double blind peer review procedure and has sought to be the expression of a theology that has the academic tools and discourse to properly engage with other academic disciplines. Its academic rigour alongside its stated thematic openness has allowed the journal to address increasingly diverse topics of theological relevance pertaining not only to Christian denominations, but also to other religious groups as well.
The Editorial Team of the Review of Ecumenical Studies would like to thank to all authors, external peer-reviewers, and collaborators. The ranking that RES has received is a formal recognition of the professionalism and publishing ethics that the editorial team and its collaborators have cultivated in their work and that they are committed to observe for the RES issues to come as well.