About the Journal

The Journal


Forum Theologicum Sardicense is a periodical published by the Faculty of Theology at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski.” It was founded under the title Bogoslovska Misŭl (“Theological Thought”) in 1994 with the aim of advancing the academic field of “theology and religion” in Bulgaria. Its first editor-in-chief was Prof. Ivan Denev, D.Th. (+2014). Subsequent editors-in-chief have included Prof. Slavcho Vŭlchanov, D.Th. (+2013), Prof. A. Hubanchev, D.Th., Prof. Dilyan Nikolchev, D.Th., and Assoc. Prof. Emil Ivanov, D.Th. At present, the journal is co-edited by Assoc. Prof. Svetoslav Ribolov, D.Th., and Prof. Pavel Pavlov, D.Th. The editorial board comprises representatives from various universities in Bulgaria and abroad.

The journal was published for more than two decades in four issues per year; however, since 2013 its frequency has been reduced to two issues annually in order to improve quality and optimize expenses. At that time, its title was also changed so as to enhance its recognition within the international scholarly community.

From its inception, the journal has been open to specialists from different academic fields relevant to theology and religious studies. It has published contributions from representatives of various local Orthodox Churches, as well as Roman Catholic and Protestant scholars, alongside researchers from across the world. In addition to Bulgarian, the journal accepts manuscripts in other European languages. All articles are accompanied by abstracts in English or German.

 

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Publication and authorship:

 

Each article proposed to be published in FThS must have scientific value. The authors should use footnotes and provide to the editorial board  a bibliographic list, at the end their work. If the work is being conducted under a project grant or funding and benefits, this subsidiary will be mentioned in the first footnote. The magazine does not charge for publication.

Plagiarism or self-plagiarism are prohibited and lead to the rejection of publication material.

Publication of the same article or study in several magazines leads to the rejection of the proposed work.

 

Author’s responsibilities:

Each study is reviewed before being published. The process used by FThS is double-blind review upon request and is done by the specialists from our Scientific Committee (PhD, professors and researchers from Bulgaria, Greece, etc.). After reviewing, the material can be accepted if certain changes need to be made in cooperation with the authors. Cooperation with the editors is expected and authors are obliged to participate in the review process.

 

Publishing ethics issues​

  • Editorial board provides guidelines for retracting articles;

  • The members of editorial board have to maintain the integrity of the academic record;

  • The editorial board also preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards;

  • The editorial board can ask the authors to provide corrections, clarifications or retractions when needed.

  • Editorial committee will deal with prevention of plagiarism or fraud situations.

Peer Reviewing

Forum Theologicum Sardicense is a double-blind peer review upon demand journal. Upon request the submitted article is reviewed by two specialists, who are familiar with the field or topic in question. Their corrections, if any, are submitted to the author and once the corrections are accepted the text is published.