THE CHURCHES OF RUMANIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600060247-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 1, 2011
• Sequence Number: 247
• Publication Date: August 17, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFtCATICP: COir'FIBEFIT]-I-L
CENTRAL I~ITELUGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SUBJECT The ChurcL?5X1f Rumania
PLACE
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DATE
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At1R 199k
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1. UP to 19k6, the churches of Rumania were the Orthodox Church which
served approximately 75 per cent of the population; the Greek Catholic
Church, 10 per cent; the Roman Catholic, protestant, Evangelical,
Lutheran, Calvinist, Moslem, and Baptist Churches, the remaining 15 per
cent. These latter were the religions of the minorities: tIungarians,
German::, Turkish, etc. Sveryone vae free to choose a religion recognized
by the state.
2. In general, religion was transmitted from father to sin. Everyone
belonged to his religion according to tradition. For example, if two
R~imanian citizens, he an Orthodox and she a Greek Catholic, married and
'rad children, the male children would follow the Orthodox religion, and
the female children the Creek Catholic religion.
The state subsidized only two of the churches, the Or~hodox. and the
Greek Catholic. The entire "C:iurch clergy" was paid by the state. ?'he
priests received sa]aries like all other state employees.
~:. The Orthodox Church, largest in Rumania, was organize3 as follutto. The
Ci:?zz'ch was headed by the patriarch of Rumania, with residence in Buc'nares.
He was considered the supreme head of the church and was completely
independent of all other Qrthodox Churches in the wrld. He was the leader
of the R++e~niwna in Rumania proper, as well as those cf the Serbian Banat,
Montenegro, and the Timoc Valley. The country was divided into
admiuis?trative regions eP.ch with a chief church representative subordinate
to the Bucharest patriarch.
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The Metropolitanate
of Muntenia ~ITngro-
VlahieiJ (Bucharest)
Bishopric of Creiova
Aiahnnrin r.f 88mIIicul v&1Cco
-r- --
Bishopric of Curter Pe Arges
Bishopric of Targoviate
The Metropolitanate
of Bessarabia (Chisinau)
The Metropolitanate The A~letropolitanate
of Moldavia (Iasi) of Bucovina (Cernauti)
Bishopric of Roman Bishopric of Husi
The Metropolitanate
of Transylvania (Bibiu)
Bishopric of Club
Bishopric of Maramures (Sighet)
Bishopric of Oradea-Me.re
Bishopric of Arad
Bishopric of the Banat
The bishoprics were in turn divided into dioceses, and these into parishes.
5? There were also monasteries, ancient retreats of monks situated at the foot of
the Carpathian Mountbins. Each monastery had its own lands and cultural
institutions and was a haven of spiritual relaxation for the faithful seeking
shelter there in times of iavasion or during their holidays. Each monastery was
headed by an abbot (stareti) why was in charge both of the properties ar_d the
religious services. The monastic. regions were also subordinate to the Bucharest
Patriarch.
Bishopric of Chisinau
.~
6. The members of the priesthood rankad as follows: patriarch, metropolitan, bishop,
a
hbi h
8. The Greek Catholic, or Uniate Church as it was called in Rumania, had its main seat
in Blaj. The 2fietropolitan See of B]a,j was an important cultural and theological
^.enter. The theological school in Bls~ trsined Greek Catholic priests for the
entire country. From the religious point of view (dogma) there ie no difference at
al'1 between the Greek Ca`?.holics and the Orthodox. However, Greek Catholics formerly
belonged to the Church of Rome and did not recognize thr_ Bucharest Patriarch as
their head.
rc s op, arhierei (with the same rank as a bishop but with no bishopric),
archimandrite, protopope, priest, archdeacon, deacon, and monk. There is also an
Orthodox Army bishop whose see was at Alba-Iulie. The present incumbent is Bishop
Vaeile Ciopron. Only archdeacons, priests, and pretopopes are allowed by canon law
to marry, but if they are widowed, they could nc~t remarry.
To become a priest, a candidate had to have eight years of high school, the
baccalaureate, the four yearr. of study at a theological school or seminary. There
are three of the latter, in Bucharest, in Sibiu, end in Cluj. The theologicsl schools
were "located in Oradea Mare, Arad, Timisoara, Craiova, Iasi, and Cerna~ati.
the co~incils of govr:rnmeat up to 1944 and played as important part in~ths events
which led to the union of Transylvania with the mother country in 191A-1.g~O.
Bishop Aicolae Coln of Cluj, a highly cultivated man and a staunch
defender of Orthodox t":~c'istlarity.
Dr. Liviu MunteaauL Rector of the Cluj Theological Seminary, belongs to
the same elite group as the other two. He was a great admirer of the i75. His
daty?itrr ora~ killed in 1949 by the Comm~:ui ts.
~tropolitan Nicolas Galan, a great patriot, ose see was at Sibiu sad who
5? rlaong the important clerics in the Orthodox Church
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lU. Conditions changed co~lete>, is 1946 vhea the Cewmiste isposed s
new rule of beharior on prigts. Isroa the start, the f?n~ists tried
to Bate tha prieots their political tool. They tried forcing that to
accuse such statesNn a. Jgliu lfaniu, George ~ratlanu. (inn) lac e,
they began to laugt- saying they would not accept such things and Cas~ur-ists
had no bueiaese im church.
-ead-
in s church Sn 1(orwber 1946 a mote vas bra~ght
y s COssnoist and the priest vaa forced to errs service and to
read ~:he goreisent note asHag for ?the death of J1Y7.1u Ilaniu and George
Brstianu ss traitors of the people". The church vas tall of people and
C~F1Da:iTL1L
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