THE CHURCHES OF RUMANIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000400670005-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 20, 2003
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: August 17, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY25X1
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY Rumania
SUBJECT The Churches of Rumania
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PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF
INFORMATION
TNI[ DOCUY[MT CONTAINS INIONYATION AIIECTiN. THE NATIONAL D[ItN{!
01 TN! UNITED STATES, ^ITHIN TML Y[AM INN 0/ TITLE Ii, SECTIONS 705
AND 714, or TN[ U.N. COD[, A! AMENDED. ITS TNANSYI$SION Al REV!.
LOTION 01 ITS CONTtNtf TO OR R[C[11T Y ANNIE" AY INORIStD PINSON If
IRONI.IT[0 EY LA.. iN[ REIROOVCTION OF TIDRY IS IRON1EIt[0.
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17
Aug 1954
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SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1. Up to 1946, 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: Hungarians,
Germans, Turkish, etc. Everyone was free to choose a religion recognized
by the state.
2. In general, religion was transmitted from father to son. Everyone
belonged to his religion according to tradition. For example, if two
Rumanian citizens, he an Orthodox and she a Greek Catholic, married and
had children, the male children would follow the Orthodox religion, and
the female children the Greek Catholic religion.
3. The state subsidized only two of the churches, the Orthodox and the
Greek Catholic. The entire "Church clergy" was paid by the state. The
priests received salaries like all other state employees.
4. The Orthodox Church, largest in Rumania, was organized as follows. The
church was headed by the Patriarch of Rumania, with residence in Bucharest.
He was considered the supreme head of the church and was completely
independent of all other Orthodox Churches in the world. He was the leader
of the Rumanians in Rumania proper, as well as those of the Serbian Banat,
Montenegro, and the Timoc Valley. The country was divided into
administrative regions each with a chief church representative subordinate
to the Bucharest Patriarch.
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The Metropolitanate
of Muntenia fUngro-
Vlahiei (Bucharest)
Bishopric of Craiova
Bishopric of Ramnicul Valcea
Bishopric of Curtea De Arges
Bishopric of Targoviste
The Metropolitanate
of Bessarabia (Chisinau)
Bishopric of Chisinau
The Metropolitanate The Metropolitanate
of Moldavia (Iasi) of Bucovina (Cernauti)
Bishopric of Roman Bishopric of Husi
The Metropolitanate
of Transylvania (Sibiu)
Bishopric of Cluj
Bishopric of Maramures (Sighet)
Bishopric of Oradea-Mare
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 Mountains. 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 invasion or during their holidays. Each monastery was
headed by an abbot (stareti) who was in charge both of the properties and the
religious services. The monastic regions were also subordinate to the Bucharest
Patriarch.
6. The members of the priesthood ranked as follows: patriarch, metropolitan, bishop,
archbishop, arhiereu (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-Julia. The present incumbent is Bishop
Vasile Ciopron. Only archdeacons, priests, and protopopes are allowed by canon law
to marry, but if they are widowed, they could not remarry.
7. To become a priest, a candidate had to have eight years of high school, the
baccalaureate, the four years of study at a theological school or seminary. There
are three of the latter, in Bucharest, in Sibiu, and in Cluj. The theological schools
were located in Oradea Mare, Arad, Timisoara, Craiova, Iasi, and Cernauti.
8. The Greek Catholic, or Uniate Church as it was called in Rumania, had its main seat
in Blaj. The Metropolitan See of Blaj was an important cultural and theological
center. The theological school in Blaj trained Greek Catholic priests for the
entire country. From the religious point of view (dogma) there is no difference at
all between the Greek Catholics and the Orthodox. However, Greek Catholics formerly
belonged to the Church of Rome and did not recognize the Bucharest Patriarch as
their head.
9. Among the important clerics in the Orthodox Church
Metropolitan Nicolae Balan, a great patriot, whose see was at Sibiu and who
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as Metropolitan of Transylvania, Crisana, and Maramures.
2 5X1Xhe was a man of action and staunch defender of the ancestral faith. He sat in
the councils of government up to 1944 andplayed an important part in the events
which led to the union of Transylvania with the mother country in 1918-1920.
Bishop Nicolae Colan of Cluj, a highly cultivated man and a staunch
defender of Orthodox Christianity.
Dr. Liviu Munteanu, Rector of the Cluj Theological Seminary, belongs to
the same elite group as the other two. He was a great admirer of the M. His
daughter was killed in 19+9 by the Conmzc .nists .
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10. Conditions changed completely in 19+6 when the Communists imposed a
new rule of behavior on priests. From the start, the Communists tried
to'make the
priests their political tools. They tried forcingthem to
accuse such statesmen as Juliu Maniu, George Bratianu, (fnu) Mihalache,
'
2 5X1 and
Professor (fnu) Petrovici in their sermons and asking that they be
undshed for having led the people aainst the Communists.
25X1 in a church in November 1946 IIa not Iwas brought
by a Communist and the priest was forced to terrupt a service and to
25X1 read the government note asking for the death of Juliu Maniu and George
25X1 Pratianu as traitors of the people". The church was full of people and
they began to laugh saying they would not accept such things and Communists
.had no business in church.
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