Alexandru Sterca-Sulutiu
Encyclopedia
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
Eastern Catholic cleric in Imperial Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, and the Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of the Transylvanian Greek Catholic Church
Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic
The Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic is an Eastern Catholic Church which is in full union with the Roman Catholic Church. It is ranked as a Major Archiepiscopal Church and uses the Byzantine liturgical rite in the Romanian language....
. He was the brother of 1848 revolutionary
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
commander Ioan Sterca-Şuluţiu
Ioan Sterca-Sulutiu
Ioan Sterca-Şuluţiu was an ethnic Romanian bureaucrat in the administration of Imperial Austrian Transylvania, owner of gold mines at Abrud, and the brother of Greek-Catholic Metropolitan Alexandru Sterca-Şuluţiu...
.
During his service the Diocese of Alba Iulia and Făgăraş (centred at Blaj
Blaj
Blaj is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 20,758 inhabitants.The landmark of the city is the fact that it was the principal religious and cultural center of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church in Transylvania....
) was removed from the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Esztergom
Archdiocese of Esztergom
The archbishopric of Esztergom was a historical diocese created in 1000 under Stephen I of Hungary largely on the territory of Upper Hungary. After the Treaty of Trianon, its territory was reduced to its present-day extent and it became the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest on 31 May 1993...
(in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
) and became an ecclesiastic province in its own right, with the Dioceses of Oradea Mare
Diocese of Oradea Mare
*Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea Mare*Greek Catholic Diocese of Oradea Mare*Reformate Bishopric of Oradea Mare *Orthodox Bishopric of Oradea Mare...
, Gherla and Lugoj as suffragans (subordinate dioceses).
Origins and studies
Born in AbrudAbrud
Abrud is a town in the north-western part of Alba County, Transylvania, Romania, located on the river Abrud. It administers three villages: Abrud-Sat, Gura Cornei and Soharu.-Population:...
, Şuluţiu came from a noble Romanian family of Transylvania. He studied at Abrud, Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,747, located on the Mureş River. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania...
and Blaj, where he prepared for the priesthood in the diocesan seminary. On November 8, 1814, he married Ana Aron of Bistra, and on December 6 of the same year he was made a priest. His wife died on February 18, 1818, leaving him a widower.
Ecclesiastical career
In 1836 he became the archpriest of ŞimleuSimleu Silvaniei
Şimleu Silvaniei is a town in Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 16,066 people .Three villages are administered by the town: Bic , Cehei and Pusta .-History:...
. In the electoral synod on September 30, 1850, he ended up first of the candidates running to fill the episcopal seat of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia. On November 18, 1850, he was named to the post, while on July 22, 1851, he was consecrated bishop in Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Oradea
Oradea
Oradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...
.
On December 6, 1853, Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
removed the diocese of Făgăraş from the metropolitan jurisdiction and primacy of the archbishop of Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
, and raised it to the dignity of archdiocese and metropolitanate. Through this act, Bishop Şuluţiu became both Archbishop and Metropolitan. On October 28, 1855, he was installed in his new post in a great ceremony held at Blaj in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Cardinal Michele Viale-Prelà (Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bologna
Archdiocese of Bologna
The Archdiocese of Bologna is a Roman Catholic archbishopric in northern Italy, with the archiepiscopal seat in Bologna Cathedral. The current Archbishop is Cardinal Carlo Caffarra since 2003.The archdiocese has the following suffragans:*diocese of Imola...
).