Mircea Eliade (1907–1986) was born in Romania. From 1928 to 1932 he lived in India, and upon returning home he began teaching philosophy at the University of Bucharest. In 1945 he emigrated to France, then moved to the United States. Since 1957 - Professor at the University of Chicago. Completing his work on the “History of Religious Ideas and Beliefs,” the researcher decided to create a small dictionary that would bring together the main provisions of his monumental work. This task was entrusted to Ion Culiano, a student of M. Eliade, now a professor in the Department of History of Religions at the University of Chicago. The book was prepared for publication after the death of M. Eliade.