Romanian Orthodox Church
Encyclopedia
The Romanian Orthodox Church (Biserica Ortodoxă Română in Romanian
) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion
with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh
in order of precedence. The Primate
of the church has the title of Patriarch
. Its jurisdiction covers the territory of Romania
, with diocese
s for Romanians living in nearby Moldova
, Serbia
and Hungary
, as well as diaspora communities in Central and Western Europe, North America and Oceania.
It is the only Eastern Orthodox church using a Romance language. The majority of people in Romania
(18,817,975, or 86.8% of the population, according to the 2002 census data) belong to it, as well as some 720,000 Moldova
ns. The Romanian Orthodox Church is the second-largest in size behind the Russian Orthodox Church
.
Adherents of the Romanian Orthodox Church sometimes refer to it as Dreapta credinţă ("right/correct belief" or "true faith"; compare to Greek ὀρθὴ δόξα, "straight/correct belief").
and Wallachia
formed the modern state of Romania. The hierarchy of the Orthodox churches tends to follow the structure of the state. Therefore, shortly afterwards, in 1872, the Orthodox churches of the former principalities, the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia and the Metropolis of Moldavia
, decided to unite to form the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The 1866 Constitution of Romania
declared the Orthodox Church to be "independent of any foreign hierarchy", but it was a law passed in 1872 that declared the church to be "autocephalous". After a long period of negotiations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the latter finally recognized in 1885 the Metropolis of Romania, which was raised to the rank of Patriarchy in 1925.
Assessing the attitude of the Romanian Orthodox Church towards the Communist regime is difficult due to restricted access to ecclesiastical and relevant state archives. Nevertheless, as an institution it was more or less tolerated by the atheist regime, though controlled through "special delegates" and excluded from the public space; the regime generally focused on individuals. Its members' actions, both laity and clergy, range broadly from opposition to the regime and martyrdom, to survival, silent consent or collaboration. Not only the limited access to the Securitate
and Party archives or the events' recentness, but the particularities of each individual and situation, the understanding each had about how their own relation with the regime could influence others and how it actually did, make such a task cumbersome.
The Romanian Communist Party
, which gained power at the end of 1947, initiated mass purges that decimated the Orthodox hierarchy. Three archbishops died suddenly after expressing opposition to government policies, and thirteen more "uncooperative" bishops and archbishops were arrested. A May 1947 decree imposed a mandatory retirement age for clergy, allowing authorities to pension off old-guard holdouts. The 4 August 1948 Law on Cults institutionalised state control of episcopal elections and packed the Holy Synod with Communist supporters. In exchange for subservience and enthusiastic support for state policies, as well as 2500 church buildings and other assets from the now-outlawed Romanian Greek-Catholic Church
, the government provided salaries for bishops and priests, and financial subsidies for the publication of church books, calendars and theological journals. By weeding out the anti-communists and setting up a pro-regime and secret police-infiltrated Union of Democratic Priests (1945), the party endeavoured to secure the hierarchy's cooperation. By January 1953 some 300-500 Orthodox priests were being held in concentration camps, and after Patriarch Nicodim
's death in May 1948, the party succeeded in having the ostensibly docile Justinian Marina
elected to succeed him.
As a result of measures passed in 1947-48, the 2300 elementary schools operated by the church were closed, as were its 24 high schools, its academy of sacred music, three divinity schools, and 13 of its 15 theological seminaries. A new campaign struck the church in 1958-62 when more than half its remaining monasteries were closed, more than 2000 monks forced to take secular jobs, and about 1500 clergy and lay activists arrested (out of a total of up to 6000 in the 1946-64 period). Throughout this period Patriarch Justinian was careful to say the right things and avoid giving offence to the government; indeed the hierarchy claimed the arrests were not due religious persecution.
The church's situation began to improve in 1962, when relations with the state suddenly thawed, an event that coincided with Romania's pursuit of an independent foreign policy course that saw the élite use nationalism to secure its position against Soviet pressure. The Romanian Orthodox Church, as an intensely national body which had made significant contributions to Romanian culture from the 14th century, was a natural partner. As a result of this second co-optation, now as an ally, the church was able to recover dramatically. Its diocesan clergy numbered about 12,000 in 1975, and by then it was already publishing eight high-quality theological reviews, including Ortodoxia and Studii Teologice. Orthodox clergymen consistently supported the Ceauşescu
régime's foreign policy, refrained from criticism of domestic policy, and upheld the Romanian line against the Soviets (over Bessarabia) and the Hungarians (over Transylvania). As of 1989, two metropolitan bishops even sat in the Great National Assembly
. The church maintained its silence when some two dozen historic Bucharest churches were demolished in the 1980s, and when plans for systematization
(including the destruction of village churches) were announced. A notable dissenter was Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa
, imprisoned for a number of years and expelled from Romania in June 1985 after signing an open letter criticizing and demanding an end to the regime's violations of human rights.
In order to fit its new circumstances, the Orthodox Church constructed a new ecclesiology to justify its subservience to the state in supposed theological terms. The "Social Apostolate" doctrine, developed by Patriarch Justinian, declared that the church owed its allegiance to the secular government and should be of service to that government. This notion inflamed conservatives, who were purged by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
, Ceauşescu's predecessor and a friend of Justinian's. The Social Apostolate called on clerics to become active in the People's Republic, laying the foundation for the church's submission to and collaboration with the state. Fr. Vasilescu, an Orthodox priest, tried to ground the Social Apostolate in the Christian tradition, citing Augustine of Hippo
, John Chrysostom
, Maximus the Confessor
, Origen
and Tertullian
. Based on this alleged tradition, Vasilescu concluded that Christians owed submission to their rulers because it was God's will. With recalcitrants removed from office, remaining bishops adopted a servile attitude, endorsing Ceauşescu's concept of nation, supporting his policies, and applauding his ideas about peace.
Collaboration with the Securitate
After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, the Church never admitted of willingly collaborating with the régime, but several Romanian Orthodox priests have admitted publicly after 1989 that they have collaborated with and/or were informers for the Securitate
, the Romanian Communist secret police
. A prime example was Bishop Nicolae Corneanu, the Metropolitan of Banat
, who admitted his efforts on the behalf of the Communist Party
, and denounced clergy activity with the Communists, including his own, as "the Church's prostitution with the Communist régime".
As Romania made the transition to a democracy, the Church was freed from state control, though the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations maintains control over a number of aspects of the church property, finances and administration. The state funds the church in proportion of religious adherents based on census returns and "the religion's needs" which is considered to be an "ambiguous provision". Currently, the state pays for the salaries of priests, deacons and prelates and the pensions of those who have retired, as well as expenses related to non-religious personal. This applies to all state-recognised religions.
The state also provides support for church construction and dilapidations with a preference towards the Orthodox parishes. The state funds all the expenses of the Orthodox seminaries and colleges including teachers and professor salaries with compensation as civil servants.
Since the fall of Communism, Greek-Catholic Church
leaders have claimed that the Eastern Catholic community is facing with a cultural and religious wipe-out: the Greek-Catholic churches are allegedly destroyed by the Orthodox Church representatives, whose actions are supported and accepted by the Romanian authorities.
, who belong to the Metropolis of Bessarabia
, as opposed to the majority, who belong to the Moldovan Orthodox Church
, under the Moscow Patriarchate. In 2001 it won a landmark legal victory against the Government of Moldova at the Strasbourg
-based European Court of Human Rights
.
This means that despite current political issues, the Metropolis of Bessarabia is now recognized as "the rightful successor" to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and Hotin, which existed from 1927 to 1944, when it was dissolved, its canonical territory being put under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church's Moscow Patriarchate
in 1947.
The Romanian Orthodox Church is organized as the Romanian Patriarchate
. The highest hierarchical, canonical and dogmatical authority of the Romanian Orthodox Church is the Holy Synod
.
There are six Metropolitanates and ten archbishoprics in Romania, and more than twelve thousand priests and deacons, servant fathers of ancient altars from parishes, monasteries and social centres. Almost 400 monasteries exist inside the country for some 3,500 monks and 5,000 nuns. Three Diasporan Metropolitanates and two Diasporan Bishoprics function outside Romania proper. As of 2004, there are, inside Romania
, fifteen theological universities where more than ten thousand students (some of them from Bessarabia
, Bukovina
and Serbia
benefiting from a few Romanian fellowships) currently study for a doctoral degree. More than 14,500 churches (traditionally named "lăcaşe de cult", or worshiping places) exist in Romania for the Romanian Orthodox believers. As of 2002, almost 1,000 of these were either in the process of being built or rebuilt.
Most Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches, including the Romanian, maintain a respectful spiritual link to the Ecumenical Patriarch, currently Bartholomew I.
In December 2007 Russia
n Duma
United Russia
’s MP
Konstantin Zatulin
accused the Romanian Orthodox Church of “proselytism
” against the Russian Orthodox Church
in Moldova (and Transnistria
) with the aim of annexing these territories into Romania.
(1903 - 1993) is considered one of the greatest Orthodox theologians of the 20th century, having written extensively in all major fields of Eastern Christian systematic theology
. One of his other major achievements in theology is the 45-year-long comprehensive series on Orthodox spirituality known as the Romanian Philocaly, a collection of texts written by classical Byzantine writers, that he edited and translated from Greek.
Archimandrite
Ilie Cleopa (1912 - 1998), elder of the Sihastria Monastery, is considered one of the most representative spiritual fathers of contemporary Romanian Orthodox monastic spirituality.
, Metropolitan of Ungro-Vlachia (Muntenia or Wallachia
and Dobrogea or Dobruja
) and Patriarch of All of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Locum Tenens of Caesarea in Cappadocia.
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
) is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh
Eastern Orthodox Church organization
This article covers the organization of the Eastern Orthodox Churches rather than the doctrines, traditions, practices, or other aspects of Eastern Orthodoxy...
in order of precedence. The Primate
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
of the church has the title of Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
. Its jurisdiction covers the territory of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, with diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s for Romanians living in nearby Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and 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...
, as well as diaspora communities in Central and Western Europe, North America and Oceania.
It is the only Eastern Orthodox church using a Romance language. The majority of people in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
(18,817,975, or 86.8% of the population, according to the 2002 census data) belong to it, as well as some 720,000 Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
ns. The Romanian Orthodox Church is the second-largest in size behind the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
.
Adherents of the Romanian Orthodox Church sometimes refer to it as Dreapta credinţă ("right/correct belief" or "true faith"; compare to Greek ὀρθὴ δόξα, "straight/correct belief").
The Church in the Kingdom of Romania
In 1859, the Romanian principalities of MoldaviaMoldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
formed the modern state of Romania. The hierarchy of the Orthodox churches tends to follow the structure of the state. Therefore, shortly afterwards, in 1872, the Orthodox churches of the former principalities, the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia and the Metropolis of Moldavia
Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina
The Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina, in Iaşi, Romania, is one of the main bishoprics of the Romanian Orthodox Church.-History:Recognised, in 1401, by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Metropolis of Moldavia united, in 1872, with the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia to form the...
, decided to unite to form the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The 1866 Constitution of Romania
1866 Constitution of Romania
The 1866 Constitution of Romania was the fundamental law that capped a period of nation-building in the Danubian Principalities, which had united in 1859. Drafted in a short time and using as its model the 1831 Constitution of Belgium, then considered Europe's most liberal, it was substantially...
declared the Orthodox Church to be "independent of any foreign hierarchy", but it was a law passed in 1872 that declared the church to be "autocephalous". After a long period of negotiations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the latter finally recognized in 1885 the Metropolis of Romania, which was raised to the rank of Patriarchy in 1925.
Communist period
Securitate
The Securitate was the secret police agency of Communist Romania. Previously, the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului. Founded on August 30, 1948, with help from the Soviet NKVD, the Securitate was abolished in December 1989, shortly after President Nicolae Ceaușescu was...
and Party archives or the events' recentness, but the particularities of each individual and situation, the understanding each had about how their own relation with the regime could influence others and how it actually did, make such a task cumbersome.
The Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
, which gained power at the end of 1947, initiated mass purges that decimated the Orthodox hierarchy. Three archbishops died suddenly after expressing opposition to government policies, and thirteen more "uncooperative" bishops and archbishops were arrested. A May 1947 decree imposed a mandatory retirement age for clergy, allowing authorities to pension off old-guard holdouts. The 4 August 1948 Law on Cults institutionalised state control of episcopal elections and packed the Holy Synod with Communist supporters. In exchange for subservience and enthusiastic support for state policies, as well as 2500 church buildings and other assets from the now-outlawed Romanian 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....
, the government provided salaries for bishops and priests, and financial subsidies for the publication of church books, calendars and theological journals. By weeding out the anti-communists and setting up a pro-regime and secret police-infiltrated Union of Democratic Priests (1945), the party endeavoured to secure the hierarchy's cooperation. By January 1953 some 300-500 Orthodox priests were being held in concentration camps, and after Patriarch Nicodim
Nicodim Munteanu
Nicodim Munteanu also known as Patriarch Nicodim was the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church between 1939 and 1948.-Biography:...
's death in May 1948, the party succeeded in having the ostensibly docile Justinian Marina
Justinian Marina
Justinian Marina was a Romanian Orthodox prelate...
elected to succeed him.
As a result of measures passed in 1947-48, the 2300 elementary schools operated by the church were closed, as were its 24 high schools, its academy of sacred music, three divinity schools, and 13 of its 15 theological seminaries. A new campaign struck the church in 1958-62 when more than half its remaining monasteries were closed, more than 2000 monks forced to take secular jobs, and about 1500 clergy and lay activists arrested (out of a total of up to 6000 in the 1946-64 period). Throughout this period Patriarch Justinian was careful to say the right things and avoid giving offence to the government; indeed the hierarchy claimed the arrests were not due religious persecution.
The church's situation began to improve in 1962, when relations with the state suddenly thawed, an event that coincided with Romania's pursuit of an independent foreign policy course that saw the élite use nationalism to secure its position against Soviet pressure. The Romanian Orthodox Church, as an intensely national body which had made significant contributions to Romanian culture from the 14th century, was a natural partner. As a result of this second co-optation, now as an ally, the church was able to recover dramatically. Its diocesan clergy numbered about 12,000 in 1975, and by then it was already publishing eight high-quality theological reviews, including Ortodoxia and Studii Teologice. Orthodox clergymen consistently supported the Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
régime's foreign policy, refrained from criticism of domestic policy, and upheld the Romanian line against the Soviets (over Bessarabia) and the Hungarians (over Transylvania). As of 1989, two metropolitan bishops even sat in the Great National Assembly
Great National Assembly
The Great National Assembly was the legislature of the Romanian People's Republic and the Socialist Republic Romania. When Communism was overthrown in Romania in December 1989, the National Assembly was replaced by a bicameral parliament, made up of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.The Great...
. The church maintained its silence when some two dozen historic Bucharest churches were demolished in the 1980s, and when plans for systematization
Systematization (Romania)
Urban planning in communist countries was subject to the ideological constraints of the system. Except for the Soviet Union where the communist regime started in 1917, in Eastern Europe communist governments took power after World War II....
(including the destruction of village churches) were announced. A notable dissenter was Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa
Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa
Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa was a Romanian priest and dissident. He served 21 years in prison during the Communist regime. He was first imprisoned in 1948, but his 1978 imprisonment he claimed was harsher. He had criticized Nicolae Ceauşescu's repressions and became seen as an "enemy of the state"....
, imprisoned for a number of years and expelled from Romania in June 1985 after signing an open letter criticizing and demanding an end to the regime's violations of human rights.
In order to fit its new circumstances, the Orthodox Church constructed a new ecclesiology to justify its subservience to the state in supposed theological terms. The "Social Apostolate" doctrine, developed by Patriarch Justinian, declared that the church owed its allegiance to the secular government and should be of service to that government. This notion inflamed conservatives, who were purged by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was the Communist leader of Romania from 1948 until his death in 1965.-Early life:Gheorghe was the son of a poor worker, Tănase Gheorghiu, and his wife Ana. Gheorghiu-Dej joined the Communist Party of Romania in 1930...
, Ceauşescu's predecessor and a friend of Justinian's. The Social Apostolate called on clerics to become active in the People's Republic, laying the foundation for the church's submission to and collaboration with the state. Fr. Vasilescu, an Orthodox priest, tried to ground the Social Apostolate in the Christian tradition, citing Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
, Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor
Maximus the Confessor was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, he was a civil servant, and an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius...
, Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
and Tertullian
Tertullian
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
. Based on this alleged tradition, Vasilescu concluded that Christians owed submission to their rulers because it was God's will. With recalcitrants removed from office, remaining bishops adopted a servile attitude, endorsing Ceauşescu's concept of nation, supporting his policies, and applauding his ideas about peace.
Collaboration with the SecuritateSecuritateThe Securitate was the secret police agency of Communist Romania. Previously, the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului. Founded on August 30, 1948, with help from the Soviet NKVD, the Securitate was abolished in December 1989, shortly after President Nicolae Ceaușescu was...
After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, the Church never admitted of willingly collaborating with the régime, but several Romanian Orthodox priests have admitted publicly after 1989 that they have collaborated with and/or were informers for the SecuritateSecuritate
The Securitate was the secret police agency of Communist Romania. Previously, the Romanian secret police was called Siguranţa Statului. Founded on August 30, 1948, with help from the Soviet NKVD, the Securitate was abolished in December 1989, shortly after President Nicolae Ceaușescu was...
, the Romanian Communist secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
. A prime example was Bishop Nicolae Corneanu, the Metropolitan of Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
, who admitted his efforts on the behalf of the Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
, and denounced clergy activity with the Communists, including his own, as "the Church's prostitution with the Communist régime".
After 1989
The state also provides support for church construction and dilapidations with a preference towards the Orthodox parishes. The state funds all the expenses of the Orthodox seminaries and colleges including teachers and professor salaries with compensation as civil servants.
Since the fall of Communism, 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....
leaders have claimed that the Eastern Catholic community is facing with a cultural and religious wipe-out: the Greek-Catholic churches are allegedly destroyed by the Orthodox Church representatives, whose actions are supported and accepted by the Romanian authorities.
The Church in Moldova
The Romanian Orthodox Church also has jurisdiction over a minority of believers in MoldovaMoldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, who belong to the Metropolis of Bessarabia
Metropolis of Bessarabia
The Metropolis of Bessarabia is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan bishopric of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Metropolis of Bessarabia was created in 1923 and organized in 1925, when the Archbishopric of Chișinău was raised to the rank of metropolis...
, as opposed to the majority, who belong to the Moldovan Orthodox Church
Moldovan Orthodox Church
The Moldovan Orthodox Church is an autonomous church under the Russian Orthodox Church, whose canonic territory covers the Republic of Moldova....
, under the Moscow Patriarchate. In 2001 it won a landmark legal victory against the Government of Moldova at the Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
-based European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
.
This means that despite current political issues, the Metropolis of Bessarabia is now recognized as "the rightful successor" to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and Hotin, which existed from 1927 to 1944, when it was dissolved, its canonical territory being put under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church's Moscow Patriarchate
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
in 1947.
Organization
Patriarchate
A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. A patriarch, as the term is used here, is either* one of the highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, earlier, the five that were included in the Pentarchy: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but now nine,...
. The highest hierarchical, canonical and dogmatical authority of the Romanian Orthodox Church is the Holy Synod
Holy Synod
In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod...
.
There are six Metropolitanates and ten archbishoprics in Romania, and more than twelve thousand priests and deacons, servant fathers of ancient altars from parishes, monasteries and social centres. Almost 400 monasteries exist inside the country for some 3,500 monks and 5,000 nuns. Three Diasporan Metropolitanates and two Diasporan Bishoprics function outside Romania proper. As of 2004, there are, inside Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, fifteen theological universities where more than ten thousand students (some of them from Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
, Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
benefiting from a few Romanian fellowships) currently study for a doctoral degree. More than 14,500 churches (traditionally named "lăcaşe de cult", or worshiping places) exist in Romania for the Romanian Orthodox believers. As of 2002, almost 1,000 of these were either in the process of being built or rebuilt.
Relations with other Orthodox jurisdictions
In December 2007 Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
’s MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Konstantin Zatulin
Konstantin Zatulin
Konstantin Fyodorovich Zatulin is a Russian politician, first deputy chairman of the committee of the State Duma for the CIS and relations with Russian nationals abroad.-Biography:...
accused the Romanian Orthodox Church of “proselytism
Proselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
” against the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
in Moldova (and Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
) with the aim of annexing these territories into Romania.
Famous theologians
Dumitru StăniloaeDumitru Staniloae
Dumitru Stăniloae was a Romanian Eastern Orthodox priest, theologian, academic, and professor. Father Stăniloae worked for over 45 years on a comprehensive Romanian translation of the Philokalia, a collection of writings by the Church Fathers, together with the hieromonk, Arsenie Boca, who brought...
(1903 - 1993) is considered one of the greatest Orthodox theologians of the 20th century, having written extensively in all major fields of Eastern Christian systematic theology
Systematic theology
In the context of Christianity, systematic theology is a discipline of Christian theology that attempts to formulate an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the Christian faith and beliefs...
. One of his other major achievements in theology is the 45-year-long comprehensive series on Orthodox spirituality known as the Romanian Philocaly, a collection of texts written by classical Byzantine writers, that he edited and translated from Greek.
Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
Ilie Cleopa (1912 - 1998), elder of the Sihastria Monastery, is considered one of the most representative spiritual fathers of contemporary Romanian Orthodox monastic spirituality.
List of Patriarchs
- MironMiron CristeaMiron Cristea, was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian cleric and politician....
(1925-1939) - NicodimNicodim MunteanuNicodim Munteanu also known as Patriarch Nicodim was the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church between 1939 and 1948.-Biography:...
(1939-1948) - JustinianJustinian MarinaJustinian Marina was a Romanian Orthodox prelate...
(1948-1977) - IustinIustin MoisescuIustin Moisescu was Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church from 1977 to 1986.-Theological preparation:...
(1977-1986) - TeoctistTeoctist ArapasuTeoctist was the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church from 1986 to 2007.Teoctist served his first years as patriarch under the Romanian Communist regime, and was accused by some of collaboration...
(1986-2007) - DanielPatriarch Daniel of RomaniaDaniel, born Dan Ilie Ciobotea is the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The elections took place on September 12, 2007. Daniel won with a majority of 95 votes out of 161. He was officially enthroned on September 30, 2007 in the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest...
(since 2007)
Current leaders of the Church
The chair is currently held by Daniel I, Archbishop of BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Metropolitan of Ungro-Vlachia (Muntenia or Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
and Dobrogea or Dobruja
Dobruja
Dobruja is a historical region shared by Bulgaria and Romania, located between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta, Romanian coast and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast...
) and Patriarch of All of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Locum Tenens of Caesarea in Cappadocia.
- Teofan Savu , Metropolitan of Moldavia and BukovinaMetropolis of Moldavia and BukovinaThe Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina, in Iaşi, Romania, is one of the main bishoprics of the Romanian Orthodox Church.-History:Recognised, in 1401, by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Metropolis of Moldavia united, in 1872, with the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia to form the...
http://www.mmb.ro/en/index.php?pagina=11 - Laurenţiu Streza, Metropolitan of TransylvaniaTransylvaniaTransylvania 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...
, http://mitropolia-ardealului.ro/ - Andrei Andreicut, Metropolitan of ClujCluj CountyCluj ; is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, with the capital city at Cluj-Napoca.-Demographics:In 2007, it had a population of 692,316 and a population density of 104/km².*Romanians – 80%*Hungarians – 17.5%*Roma – 2.5%-Geography:...
, AlbaAlba CountyAlba is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, its capital city being Alba-Iulia with a population of 66,406.- Demographics :In 2002, it had a population of 382,747 and the population density was 61/km².* Romanians - 90.4%* Hungarians - 5.4%...
, CrişanaCrisanaCrișana is a geographical and historical region divided today between Romania and Hungary, named after the Criș River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru and Crișul Repede....
and Maramureş - Nicolae Corneanu, Metropolitan of the Banat
- Irineu Popa, Metropolitan of Oltenia
- Petru PăduraruPetru PăduraruPetru Păduraru is a Bessarabian priest and the current Metropolitan of Bessarabia.- Biography :Petru Păduraru was born on October 24, 1946 in Țiganca, Cahul District....
, Metropolitan of BessarabiaMetropolis of BessarabiaThe Metropolis of Bessarabia is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan bishopric of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Metropolis of Bessarabia was created in 1923 and organized in 1925, when the Archbishopric of Chișinău was raised to the rank of metropolis... - Iosif Pop, Archbishop of Paris and Metropolitan of France, Western and Southern Europe
- Serafim Joantă, Metropolitan of Germany and Central Europe
- Nicolae Condrea, the Most Reverend Archbishop of America and CanadaRomanian Orthodox Archdiocese of America and CanadaThe Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Archdiocese currently covers all of the Americas under the leadership of Nicolae Condrea, with the diocesan center located in Chicago, Illinois.-External links:*...
See also
- Romanian People’s Salvation Cathedral
- Patriarch of All RomaniaPatriarch of All RomaniaThe Patriarch of All Romania is the title of the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church. As of September 12, 2007, the chair is occupied by Daniel Ciobotea.-Metropolitans of Ungro-Wallachia:* Maxim * Macarie II * Ilarion II...
- List of Romanian Orthodox monasteries
- Romanian Orthodox icons
- Frumuşeni MosaicsFrumuseni MosaicsThe Frumuşeni Mosaics are a set of millennium-old mosaics discovered in Romania at "Fântâna Turcului" , close to the locality of Frumuşeni, on the left bank of Mureş River, near the city of Arad...
- Byzantium after ByzantiumByzantium after ByzantiumByzantium after Byzantium is a 1935 book by the Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga, which gave its name to a national cultural movement. It refers to the Byzantine imperial influence on the political, social, cultural, and intellectual development of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia...
- Religion in RomaniaReligion in RomaniaRomania is a secular state, and it has no state religion. However, an overwhelming majority of the country's citizens are Christian. 86.7% of the country's population identified as Eastern Orthodox in the 2002 census...
- Orthodox Church of FranceOrthodox Church of FranceThe Orthodox Church of France is an autonomous Orthodox church in France, composed of a single diocese, that follows Western Rite Orthodoxy...
- Orthodox Church in America Romanian EpiscopateOrthodox Church in America Romanian EpiscopateThe Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America is one of three ethnic dioceses of the Orthodox Church in America , and a former diocese of the Romanian Orthodox Church...
- List of members of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church
- Religious education in RomaniaReligious education in RomaniaThe Romanian Revolution of 1989, which ended the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu in December 1989, offered the 15 religious denominations then recognized in Romania the chance to regain the terrain lost after 1945, the year when Dr. Petru Groza of the Ploughmen's Front, a party closely...
External links
- Romanian Patriarchy
- The Metropolitanate of Moldavia and Bucovina and the Archdiocese of Iaşi Boscorodirea
- Archdiocese of Bucharest Portal Ortodox Românesc Romanian Patriarchs Pilgrimage Centre in Iaşi, Romania
- Article on Romanian Orthodox Church on CNEWA website