Sofronie of Cioara
Encyclopedia
Sofronie of Cioara is a Romanian Orthodox
saint
. He was an Eastern Orthodox
monk
who advocated for the freedom of worship of the Romanian population in Transylvania
.
, which was at the time part of the Austrian Habsburg Empire
. His Christian given name
name was Stan and his family name
was Popa (or Popovici, according to other sources). His family name suggests that one of his ancestors was a priest, as in Romanian popǎ means priest. Sofronie also became an Orthodox priest and he remained in Cioara until the death of his wife, when he went to the a monastery in Wallachia
(possibly the Cozia Monastery
) and became a monk.
After becoming a monk, Sofronie returned to Cioara and built a small wooden Orthodox monastery in the forest close to the village. He devoted his life to monasticism
until 1757, when he started to lead the peaceful uprising of the Romanian Orthodox population in Transylvania against the Habsburg policy of encouraging all Romanians to join the Greek-Catholic Church
.
religion served to strengthen the other forces of cohesion, dynastic, absolutism, bureaucratic, or military, and provided a political instrument for domination and unification. In addition to various measures designed to protect Catholicism, which at the time was very weak in Transylvania (predominantly Romanian Orthodox), the Habsburgs tried to strengthen it in other ways. The fact that the Romanian people, due to their Orthodox religion, were only tolerated in Transylvania presented an excellent opportunity, and the Habsburgs believed that by winning over the Romanians they would strengthen their position in the region.
In 1701, the Emperor Leopold I
decreed Transylvania's Orthodox Church to be one with the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, Transylvanians were encouraged to become Catholics and adhere to the newly created Greek-Catholic Church
by retaining their Orthodox ritual, but accepting the four doctrinal points established by the Council of Florence
between 1431 and 1445: the Pope
as the supreme head of the church; the existence of Purgatory
; the Filioque clause
; and the use of unleavened bread in Holy Communion
. The clergy first had to be won over with the material advantages of the union, which would mean equality with the Catholic priesthood, including their income and their privileges. However, many of the Orthodox priests did not join the Union and, as Seton-Watson wrote in his book, "despite all handicaps, the devotion of the common people to the ancient faith was truly touching and the latent demand for an Orthodox bishop and freedom of religion slowly became more vocal and was roused by the Uniate example".
destroyed Sofronie's small monastery in an attempt to eliminate the Orthodox resistance in Transylvania. The authorities also started to arrest all the members of the Orthodox clergy preaching against the union. In order to escape the arrest, Sofronie was forced to leave Cioara, but the Orthodox community of the region, continued to remain faithful to their religion.
After some evidence of popular discontent of the Transylvanian Orthodox, in 1759 the Empress Maria Theresa
issued her first Edict of Toleration, which seemed far too modest in scale to the people concerned, and only served to increase disturbances.
On 6 October 1759, Sofronie addressed the Romanian Orthodox community from Brad
, in Hunedoara county
, informing the people that the Empress' Edict of Toleration allowed the Romanian population in Transylvania to choose freely between the Orthodox and the Greek-Catholic Church. The authorities in Vienna became worried and imperial troops hunted down the preacher. He was arrested by the authorities and jailed in Bobâlna, a village in the Hunedoara county. On 13 February 1760, Sofronie was forcibly released, after the revolt of some 600 Romanian peasants led by the Orthodox priest from Cioara, Ioan.
Sofronie continued his preachings against the Union with Rome in Ţara Zarandului and Ţara Moţilor
. On 21 April 1760 he addressed the Romanian Orthodox community from Zlatna
, and on 12 May, he addressed the one from Abrud
. The Austrian Council of Ministers in Vienna
, alarmed by his popularity, decided on 3 June to arrest and then kill Sofronie.
On 2 August in the Abrud Church, Sofronie was once again arrested by the authorities and transferred to Zlatna. After the revolt of some 7,000 peasants from the area, he was once again forcibly released and then guarded and kept in hiding by the peasantry employed in the royal mines of Abrud. For a time, they were in virtual revolt and openly declared that "the power of the lords is at an end, it is we who are now the masters".
On 14–18 February 1761, at Alba Iulia
, Sofronie organized a meeting of the Transylvanian Orthodox Synod, which demanded total freedom of worship in Transylvania. The Austrian authorities sent the General Adolf von Buccow to pacify the region and arrest Sofronie, who, just before being arrested, managed to escape to Wallachia
, where he had many sympathizers. Sofronie remained in Wallachia until his death. He continued to dedicate his life to Orthodox monasticism, as a monk at the monasteries of Robaia (1764–1766), Vieroşi (1766–1771) and then Curtea de Argeş, all in the Argeş County
.
In reprisal for Sofronie's escape to Wallachia, General Buccow had almost all Orthodox monasteries in Transylvania burnt down. However, disturbances went on and, to bring back order, the Empress issued a new Edict of Toleration in 1769, which gave legal status to the "Eastern Greek Cult" (i.e. the Orthodox), making it an official religion in Transylvania. In reality tensions remained, and only under Emperor Joseph II
was a climate of religious tolerance brought in with the Edict of 8 November 1781. This resulted in many Romanians going back to the Orthodox Church, showing that an element of compulsion was present in many of the previous conversions.
Historian Keith Hitchins proposed an explanation for the strong devotion of the common people to their ancient faith, even though the Union with Rome would have brought them many more advantages and privileges.
The intellectuals linked with the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church
had a different approach to the problem of the Romanian nation in Transylvania. They possessed a keen sense of history and they thought increasingly in terms of 'nation', creating in this way a new path of development for the Romanians in Transylvania.
The Orthodox movement led by Sofronie, focused on religion, and the movement of the Greek-Catholic scholars, focused on the idea of nation, in the end had complementary effects. They both kept alive the connection between the Romanians in Transylvania and those from Wallachia
and Moldavia
and can therefore both be seen as important steps made by Romanians towards their national unity.
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church 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...
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
. He was an Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
who advocated for the freedom of worship of the Romanian population in 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...
.
Early life
Sofronie was born in the first half of the 18th century in the Romanian village of Cioara, now Săliştea, TransylvaniaTransylvania
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...
, which was at the time part of the Austrian Habsburg Empire
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
. His Christian given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
name was Stan and his family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
was Popa (or Popovici, according to other sources). His family name suggests that one of his ancestors was a priest, as in Romanian popǎ means priest. Sofronie also became an Orthodox priest and he remained in Cioara until the death of his wife, when he went to the a monastery in 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...
(possibly the Cozia Monastery
Cozia Monastery
Cozia Monastery, erected close to Călimănești by Mircea cel Bătrân in 1388 and housing his tomb, is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania....
) and became a monk.
After becoming a monk, Sofronie returned to Cioara and built a small wooden Orthodox monastery in the forest close to the village. He devoted his life to monasticism
Monasticism
Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...
until 1757, when he started to lead the peaceful uprising of the Romanian Orthodox population in Transylvania against the Habsburg policy of encouraging all Romanians to join the 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....
.
Religion in Habsburg Transylvania
The Habsburg Empire was a conglomerate of different states and people. In this conglomerate, the Roman CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
religion served to strengthen the other forces of cohesion, dynastic, absolutism, bureaucratic, or military, and provided a political instrument for domination and unification. In addition to various measures designed to protect Catholicism, which at the time was very weak in Transylvania (predominantly Romanian Orthodox), the Habsburgs tried to strengthen it in other ways. The fact that the Romanian people, due to their Orthodox religion, were only tolerated in Transylvania presented an excellent opportunity, and the Habsburgs believed that by winning over the Romanians they would strengthen their position in the region.
In 1701, the Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
decreed Transylvania's Orthodox Church to be one with the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, Transylvanians were encouraged to become Catholics and adhere to the newly created 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....
by retaining their Orthodox ritual, but accepting the four doctrinal points established by the Council of Florence
Council of Florence
The Council of Florence was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It began in 1431 in Basel, Switzerland, and became known as the Council of Ferrara after its transfer to Ferrara was decreed by Pope Eugene IV, to convene in 1438...
between 1431 and 1445: the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
as the supreme head of the church; the existence of Purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
; the Filioque clause
Filioque clause
Filioque , Latin for "and the Son", is a phrase found in the form of Nicene Creed in use in the Latin Church. It is not present in the Greek text of the Nicene Creed as originally formulated at the First Council of Constantinople, which says only that the Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father":The...
; and the use of unleavened bread in Holy Communion
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
. The clergy first had to be won over with the material advantages of the union, which would mean equality with the Catholic priesthood, including their income and their privileges. However, many of the Orthodox priests did not join the Union and, as Seton-Watson wrote in his book, "despite all handicaps, the devotion of the common people to the ancient faith was truly touching and the latent demand for an Orthodox bishop and freedom of religion slowly became more vocal and was roused by the Uniate example".
Sofronie's movement (1759–1761)
Sofronie, as a Transylvanian Orthodox monk, preached against the union with the Catholics and against the increasing pressure put on the Orthodox communities to join this union. In the spring of 1757, the Hungarian authorities from the nearby village of Vinţu de JosVintu de Jos
Vinţu de Jos, also known as Vinţ is a commune located in the centre of Alba County, Romania. It is composed of eighteen villages: Câmpu Goblii , Ciocaşu , Crişeni , Dealu Ferului , Gura Cuţului , Haţegana , Inuri , Laz , Mătăcina , Mereteu...
destroyed Sofronie's small monastery in an attempt to eliminate the Orthodox resistance in Transylvania. The authorities also started to arrest all the members of the Orthodox clergy preaching against the union. In order to escape the arrest, Sofronie was forced to leave Cioara, but the Orthodox community of the region, continued to remain faithful to their religion.
After some evidence of popular discontent of the Transylvanian Orthodox, in 1759 the Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
issued her first Edict of Toleration, which seemed far too modest in scale to the people concerned, and only served to increase disturbances.
On 6 October 1759, Sofronie addressed the Romanian Orthodox community from Brad
Brad, Hunedoara
Brad is a city in Hunedoara County in Romania. Its name comes from the Romanian word brad, "fir".*Romanians - 15,945*Hungarians - 299*Roma - 157*Germans - 53*Others - 31...
, in Hunedoara county
Hunedoara County
Hunedoara is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 485,712 and the population density was 69/km².*Romanians - 92%*Hungarians - 5%*Romas - 2%*Germans under 1%....
, informing the people that the Empress' Edict of Toleration allowed the Romanian population in Transylvania to choose freely between the Orthodox and the Greek-Catholic Church. The authorities in Vienna became worried and imperial troops hunted down the preacher. He was arrested by the authorities and jailed in Bobâlna, a village in the Hunedoara county. On 13 February 1760, Sofronie was forcibly released, after the revolt of some 600 Romanian peasants led by the Orthodox priest from Cioara, Ioan.
Sofronie continued his preachings against the Union with Rome in Ţara Zarandului and Ţara Moţilor
Tara Motilor
Țara Moților , also known as Țara de Piatră is an ethnogeographical region of Romania in the Apuseni Mountains, on the superior basin of the Arieș and Crişul Alb River rivers...
. On 21 April 1760 he addressed the Romanian Orthodox community from Zlatna
Zlatna
Zlatna is a town in Alba County, central Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 8,607.- Administration :The town administers eighteen villages: Boteşti , Budeni , Dealu Roatei , Dobrot, Dumbrava, Feneş , Galaţi , Izvoru Ampoiului , Pârău Gruiului , Pătrângeni ,...
, and on 12 May, he addressed the one from Abrud
Abrud
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:...
. The Austrian Council of Ministers in 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...
, alarmed by his popularity, decided on 3 June to arrest and then kill Sofronie.
On 2 August in the Abrud Church, Sofronie was once again arrested by the authorities and transferred to Zlatna. After the revolt of some 7,000 peasants from the area, he was once again forcibly released and then guarded and kept in hiding by the peasantry employed in the royal mines of Abrud. For a time, they were in virtual revolt and openly declared that "the power of the lords is at an end, it is we who are now the masters".
On 14–18 February 1761, at 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...
, Sofronie organized a meeting of the Transylvanian Orthodox Synod, which demanded total freedom of worship in Transylvania. The Austrian authorities sent the General Adolf von Buccow to pacify the region and arrest Sofronie, who, just before being arrested, managed to escape to 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...
, where he had many sympathizers. Sofronie remained in Wallachia until his death. He continued to dedicate his life to Orthodox monasticism, as a monk at the monasteries of Robaia (1764–1766), Vieroşi (1766–1771) and then Curtea de Argeş, all in the Argeş County
Arges County
Argeș is a county of Romania, in Wallachia, with the capital city at Pitești.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 652,625 and the population density was 95/km².*Romanians – 96%*Roma , and other.-Geography:...
.
In reprisal for Sofronie's escape to Wallachia, General Buccow had almost all Orthodox monasteries in Transylvania burnt down. However, disturbances went on and, to bring back order, the Empress issued a new Edict of Toleration in 1769, which gave legal status to the "Eastern Greek Cult" (i.e. the Orthodox), making it an official religion in Transylvania. In reality tensions remained, and only under Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
was a climate of religious tolerance brought in with the Edict of 8 November 1781. This resulted in many Romanians going back to the Orthodox Church, showing that an element of compulsion was present in many of the previous conversions.
Results of the movement and its legacy
Sofronie's movement led to the peaceful uprising of the Romanian Orthodox peasant population in order to change the status of their Church from only "tolerated", despite being the majority of the Transylvanian population, to "officially recognised". In the end, the Orthodox achieved a notable victory: recognition by the court of Vienna of the legal existence of their church and the appointment of a bishop in the person of Dionisie Novacovic. He was the first bishop for the Transylvanian Orthodox population since 1701, when the authorities abolished the Orthodox Metropolitanate from Alba Iulia.Historian Keith Hitchins proposed an explanation for the strong devotion of the common people to their ancient faith, even though the Union with Rome would have brought them many more advantages and privileges.
The intellectuals linked with the 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....
had a different approach to the problem of the Romanian nation in Transylvania. They possessed a keen sense of history and they thought increasingly in terms of 'nation', creating in this way a new path of development for the Romanians in Transylvania.
The Orthodox movement led by Sofronie, focused on religion, and the movement of the Greek-Catholic scholars, focused on the idea of nation, in the end had complementary effects. They both kept alive the connection between the Romanians in Transylvania and those from 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 Moldavia
Moldavia
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 can therefore both be seen as important steps made by Romanians towards their national unity.