The Romanian people - a Latin people as its language
in all its structural elements also makes evidence - is the only one in the
East of Europe that belongs to the Latin peoples. Its formation is the result
of the symbiosis of the native Thracian-Gaeto-Dacian population with the Latin
one and of the gradual assimilation of other nations temporarily settled in the
wide hearth in which it came to existence. Here, Christianity penetrated in
Apostolic times.
In Dobrudja - the ancient Scytia Minor - the Word of
the Gospel was preached by Saint Apostol Andrew - in the second half of the
first century A.D. After the Roman Empire had conquered Dacia (106 AD), the
number of the faithful increased either by settling here the followers of the
new faith who had left the Romanized populations in the Lower Danube or by
those who came in this place together with the colonists, the army, the miners
and the merchants who were sent by the Roman Empire in its new province.
The majority originated in provinces already
christianized by the Lord`s Apostles.
After the withdrawal of the Roman administration and
army in the North of the Danube, in 271 A.D. the Christians, being no longer
threatened by the pagan authority of Rome that chased and persecuted them for
there faith, increased in number and started to organise themselves as a
Church.
The great number of Dacian-Roman martyrs in the
South of the Danube during Emperor Diocletian`s persecutions (284 - 305), who
paid with there lives for confessing their faith in Christ, brings evindence of
the spreading of Christianity in this area at that time. Moreover it
strengthens the convinction that Christianity was much older in this area, as
long as, during the Roman period, there had been bishops and priests.
Christianity took swing with our forefathers on both
sides of the Danube during Constantinian Peace that followed the edict of
religious tolerance - Milan, 313 AD. Hence, in the Lower Danube, there
functioned numerous bishoprics, some of them certainly much older. One of these
was the see of Tomis founded in the last half of the 3rd century, with a
canonical autority on both sides of the Danube. In the 5th century it became an
autocephalous archbishopric and then a metropolitan Church. In the next century
it was canonicalyl independent and it had 14 bishopric sees.
In the 16th century, Emperor Justinian (527-565)
brought back the Byzantine rule on the left of the Danube and reunited it with
that on the right of the Danube, ecclestically too, by placing it under the
jurisdiction of the archbishopric Justiniana Prima which he had founded in 535.
Supported by such circumstances, the North-Danubian Christiandom made an
important progress. Basilicas and many other palaelo-Christian vestiges which
have been discovered all over our country up to the present confirms it.
The Romanian Christian terminology, especially that
which expesses tha basic notions of faith, constitutes another sign that our
ancestors were also preached the Gospel in Latin which they understood as a
Romanized population.
In conclusion, when the Romanian people appeared in
history as a Latin nation it was already Christian. Thus, the Romanian people
is one of the few nations that, without having a fixed date of its
Christianization, was born Christian and this is how it has remained up to the
present, being the only Orthodox Latin people, and at the same time, the oldest
Christian people in this part of Europe. Moreover, as a preacher of the Gospel,
it prepared the Bulgarians and the Slaves for Christinization. In its turn,
forced by historical circumstances, it had to receive the Slave language in the
cult of the Church, and it used it until the 17th century.
In the 14th century, after the formation of the
Romanian feudal States in the South and East of the Carphatians - Wallachia and
Moldavia - as a proof of there complete political independence, they started
organizing the Church. In 1359, a Metropolitan see was founded in Wallachia, at
Curtea de Arges, and in 1401, in Moldavia, the Metropolitan see of Suceava was
confirmed by the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
In 1370, another metropolitan Church is founded in
Wallachia with its centre at Severin, and at the beginning of the 16th century,
the bishopric sees in Ramnicu Valcea and Buzau. In the East of the Carpatians
there came into being the bishoprics of Roman and Radauti, in the 15th century,
in the 16th century the bishopric of Husi, and in 1864 the bishopric of the
Lower Danube.
In Transilvania there were orthodox bishopric
centres, too: at first at Dabaca, then at Vad, Feleac Geoagiu, Balgrad (Alba
Iulia) Ienopolea, Caransebes, Arad, Oradea and Sighetu Marmatiei. The
Metropolitan Church of Transilvania was abolished in 1701 and reactivated as a
new bishopric in 1761. In 1864 it became a Metropolitan Church as it is today.
The metropolitans of Wallachia and Moldavia
toghether with there Church have always been in a canonical relationship with
the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and they have always enjoyed a
special honour in the Orthodox world.
In 1885, the ecumenical patriarch Joachim IV signed
the tomos recognizing the authonomy of the Romanian Orthodox Church which granted
it complete equality in rights with the other sister - Orthodox Churches, and
also maintained dogmatically, canonically and liturgically, a relation of
interdependence to them. The patriarchal tomos, also signed by the other
members of the Ecumenical Holy Synod, was the third document of this kind,
after those in 1850 (promulgated for the Church of Greece) and in 1873 (for the
Serbian Church).
In 1925, the Romanian Orthodox Church was raised at
the rank of a Patriarchate. This religious event was the consequence of state
unification on the 1st of December 1918, as well as a natural illustration of
the role of the Church in the history of the Romanian people. It’s a
unanimously recognized fact that at the crucial moments of the
Romanians`history, the Orthodox Church has been a primordial factor in
preserving and affirming our national identity. The first books in Romanian
were printed by Church establishments; the first Romanian schools were also
organized by Church establishments.
The first patriarch, Miron Cristea, enthroned on the
1st of November 1925 was followed by the patriarchs Nicodim Munteanu (1939 -
1948), Justinian Marina (1948-1977) and Justin Moisescu (1977 - 1986). On the
16th of November 1986, his Beatitude Teoctist, former metropolitan of Moldavia,
was enthroned as Patriarch. (He has been a hierarch since 1950).
The census of the population in 1992 showed the
existence of almost 19,8 milions Christian Orthodox people (86,8 %) out of the
population of the country, which places the Romanian Orthodox Church (from a
numerical point of view) on the second place among the Orthodox Churches, after
the Russian Church, which has almost 50 millions Orthodox Christians.
The Romanian Orthodox Church, develops its activity
on the basis of the statute of organisation and functioning sanctioned by the
Holy Synod in 1948 and acknowledged by the Presidium of the Grand National
Assembly by the Decree no.233 on the 23rd of February 1949. There are also
other 10 Church regulations for the proper functioning of different fields of
activity (deliberative and executive organs as Church units, monasticism,
appointment or transfer of clergy, theological education, confessional
cemeteries, etc.).
The statute of organization and functioning of the
Romanian Orthodox Church and the regulations of application have suffered
important modifications and additions. The modifications made by the leadership
of the Romanian Orthodox Church, after December 1989 have no longer been
sanctioned by state organs.
The Romanian Orthodox Church is organized as a
Patriarchate with the title of the Romanian Patriarchate. The highest authority
of the Romanian Orthodox Church for all the dogmatic, canonical, as well as
Church problems of any kind is the Holy Synod. It consists in the Patriarch and
the appointed hierarchs (metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, vicars). Between
two sessions of the Holy Synod the problems that may appear are solutioned by
the Permanent Synod, which consists in the Patriarch and the appointed
metropolitans.
As a central representative organ of the Romanian
Orthodox Church for al the administrative and economical problems, as well as
for those which does not fall under the responsibility of the Holy Synod, there
is the Church National Assembly, which consists in three reprezentatives of
each diocese (a priest and two lay people), designated by the respective
diocesan meetings on a four-year period. The supreme administrative organ both
of the Holy Synod and of the Church National Assembly is the Church National
Committee. This consists in three priests and six lay people, elected by the
Church National Assembly on a four - year period and patriarchal administrative
councilors as permanent members.
Within each diocese (bishopric or archbishopric)
there functions the Diocesan Assembly as a deliberative organ for all the
church, administrative, cultural and economical problems. The Diocesan Assembly
consists in the representatives of the clergy and of the faithful, a third per
cent, respectively two thirds per cent. The executive organ of the Diocesan
Assembly is the Diocesan Council which consists in the bishop, the vicar and
the administrative councilors as permanent members, and nine members (three
priests and six lay people) elected for four years by the Dioceaan Assembly.
The parish, the basic unit of the Church has as, its
deliberative organ, the Parish Assembly which consists in all the major men in
the parish. The executive organ is the Parish Council elected by a Parish
Assembly on a four - year period. The Parish Assembly also elects the Parish
Committee which consists in women especially, which has philanthropic
functions.
The parishes of a diocese are organized in deaneries
which are administrative units that include several tens of parishes. These are
leaded by an archpriest who pursues the good unfolding of the pastoral and
administrative activities of priests and parishes.
The monastery is a settlement where a religious
community of monks and nuns lives. They dedicate their life to prayer, poverty,
chastity and obedience. The leader of the monastery is the abbot supported by
the monastic community, the spiritual council and the economical council.
Juristidictionally, the Romanian Patriarchate
consists in five metropolitan sees in the country and the metropolitan see of
Basarabia (reactivated in December 1992) and the Romanian Metropolitan See of
Germany and Central Europe. On December 31, 1998 there functioned: 10
archbishoprics and 13 bishoprics, 143 deaneries of archpriests, 10.069
parishes, 347 monasteries, 124 hermitages and 5 succursal monasteries.
On December 31, 1998 there served 10068 priests and
161 deacons, assisted by 3382 psalm- readers.
In monastic settlements there lived 2482 monks and
4246 nuns. In 1998 the Romanian Orthodox Church posessed 13627 places of
worship (23 cathedrales, 9878 parish churches, 2794 affiliated churches, 353
cemetery churches, 353 monastic churches, 123 monastic chapels and 129
patriarchal chapels) and 5220 parish houses. Almost 2400 places of worship are
hystorical and architectural monuments. In 1998 there were built 145 churches,
other 731 being in construction.
In the Romanian Patriarchate there function 19
schools for psalm-readers were almost 1700 pupils attend a 3-year period of
studies, 9 theological - medical post-secondary schools, 39 theological
seminaries (among them 6 are monastic) were almost 6000 pupils study. In the
university education, in 14 universitary centers (Alba Iulia, Arad, Baia Mare,
Bucuresti, Cluj, Constanta, Craiova, Galati, Iasi, Oradea, Pitesti, Sibiu,
Targoviste, Timisoara) there are theological faculties with one or more
specializations: pastoral theology (10 centers) theology - philology (14)
theology - social assistance (8), theology - cultural patrimony (3) and
theology- Christian archaeology (1). In all these faculties there are almost
6700 students. In the faculties in Bucharest, Iasi, Sibiu, and Cluj there are
organized one - year Master's studies and doctor`s courses.
After 1989, editorial and publishing activity took a
full swing. In 1998 there were 43 reviews and publications, (5 central, 38
diocesan and parish ones). Last year there were published 50 titles of
theological,religious, historical and spiritual books. The official gazette of
the Romanian Patriarchate is Biserica Ortodoxa Romana (The Romanian Orthodox
Church) and it has been printed for 115 years. The oldest religious publication
is Telegraful Roman (The Romanian Telegraph) which has been printed by the
Archbishopric of Sibiu for 146 year. Important reviews of theological research
studies are: Studii Teologice (Theological Studies), Ortodoxia (Orthodoxy),
Vocea Bisericii (The Voice of the Church), Revista Teologica (The Theological
Review), Mitropolia Olteniei) The Metropolitan Church of Oltenia), Teologie si
Viata (Theology and Life), Altarul Banatului (The Altar of Banat) and others.
In the Romanian Patriarchate there functions the
Orthodox Bible and Mission Institute which coordinates the publishing
activities. Beside the Publishing House of the Bible and Mission Institute
there also function other Church Publishing Houses at the Neamt Monastery,
Sibiu, Timisoara, Iasi, Cluj, Ramnicu-Valcea, Alba-Iulia, Oradea, Beius, the
Sihastria Monastery. These publishing houses has published tens of thousands of
books, fundamental works, first of all the Holy Scripture, then the New
Testament, the Psalter, the Little Bible, books of Christian teaching,
catechisms, the lives of the Saints, books of prayer, theological works,
translations of the Holy Fathers, schoolbooks and universitary studies.
Within the Romanian Orthodox Church there are
organized 95 museum collections of art and centers for patrimony books and old
church objects preserving: 11 diocesan centers, 44 in the monasteries, 26 in
parishes and 14 in deaneries and in other places.
Valuable libraries of the Romanian Orthodox Church
are : the Library of the Holy Synod, the Library of the Metropolitan Church of
Sibiu and the libraries of the Neamt and Cernica Monasteries.
After 1989, the Romanian Orthodox Church resumes its
activity of religious assistance in the army, prisons, hospitals and
philantropic settlements (orphanages, asylums etc).
On December 31, 1998 there were 87 places of worship
in hospitals were 125 priests served, 37 priests served in prisons, 42 priests
served in 38 places of worship in the army, 46 priests in 13 places of worship
in schools and 3 priests served in 7 asylums and orphanages.
For supporting the poor, orphans, helpless old
people and persons with a handicap, the Romanian Orthodox Church founded a
series of settlements as: the asylums in Suceava, the Recea Monastery, the
Tocile parish (Brasov county), Campeni village, Amaru (Buzau), Stavropoleos
parish (Bucharest), Iasi, Saint Sabbas (Buzau), the Ramet Monastery (Alba). The
Church has also organized consulting rooms in Bucharest, the Saint Elijah
parish, Iasi, Timisoara, Braila, the Recea Monastery, Sibiu.
After the Revolution in December 1989 there were
reestablished or founded associations or foundations for supporting the mission
and charity activity of the Church. There were reactivated: Oastea Domnului
(The Lord`s Army) - initiated by the priest Iosif Trifa at Sibiu in 1926 -
Fratia Ortodoxa (the Orthodox Brotherhood), Societatea Nationala a Femeilor
Ortodoxe Romane (The National Society of Romanian Orthodox Women). There were
also founded other organizations like: Liga Tineretului Ortodox (the League of
Orthodox Youth), Asociatia Studentilor Crestini Ortodocsi Romani (The
Association of Romanian Orthodox Christian Students), Saint Stelian
(Bucharest), Saint Sabbas (Buzau), Civica (Timisoara), The Great Saint Martyr
Minas (Constanta), Precista Mare (Roman), Saint Nicholas (Bacau and Sibiu),
Saint Gregory Palamas (Bucharest), Bishop Grigorie Leu (Bucharest), the
Foundation Bishop Melchisedec (Roman), the Christian Cultural Association Miron
Cristea (Sfantu Gheorghe-Covasna) etc.
Within the international church organisations the
Romanian Orthodox Church develops and maintains relations with almost all the
Christian Churches in the world, particulary with the sister - Orhodox
Churches. There have been mutual visits and contacts with the Old - Oriental
Churches, the Roman - Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Protestant
Churches in Europe and America.
The Romanian Orthodox Church is a member of the
World Ecumenical Council of Churches and of the European Church Conference. It
also takes part in the activities of the international Christian organisations
of youth, women and others
.
Beyond the borders of the contry there are several millions
of orthodox Romanians organized in Church units. Because of the difficult
conditions of post-war history they were partly under foreign canonical
jurisdiction. The greatest part belongs to the Metropolitan Church of Basarabia
and the North of Bucovina. The Romanian Orthodox Church has never recognized
the breaking of these limbs out of its body and their passing to other
juristiction. In 1992 the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church reactivated the
autonomous Metropolitan Church of Basarabia with its see in Chisinau (the
Republic of Moldavia). Petru Padurar, former bishop of Balti was elected
metropolitan.
In 1993, there was founded the Romanian Metropolitan
Church of Germany and Central and North Europe with the See in Berlin. Seraphim
Joanta was elected metropolitan.
Beside these there are a few other dioceses abroad:
the Romanian Orthodox Archbishopric for Western Europe, with its see in Paris
(Iosif Pop has been archbishop since 1998) the Orhodox Missionary Archbishopric
in America and Canada, with its see in Detroit (archbishop Victorin Ursachi),
the Romanian Orthodox Bishopric in Gyula (Hungary, bishop Sofronie Drencec) and
the Romanian Orthodox Bishopric in Varset (Jugoslavia).
In some other countries there are Romanian parishes
or settlements under the direct jurisdiction of our Patriarchate. In Israel,
there are the Romanian Orthodox settlements in Jerusalem and at the Jordan. In
Australia and New Zeeland there are five parishes and three affiliated churches
and there is a parish in Sophia (Bulgaria).
Outside the jurisdiction of the Romanian
Patriarchate there is the Romanian Orthodox Bishopric in America and Canada,
with its see in Grey Tower, leaded by Nathanael Pop, the Romanian Orthodox
Bishopric in Europe, with the see in Paris and the free Romanians`Orthodox
Bishopric with its see in Freiburg (Germany).
THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH IN WALLACHIA AND DOBRUDJA
It was founded in 1359 under the name of the
Metropolitan Church of Ungrovlahia with it See at Curtea de Arges. Iachint was
its first metropolitan.In 1517 the Metropolitan See moved from Curtea de Arges
to Targoviste then to Bucharest in 1668 where it has been ever since. The
present title was endorsed after 1990. The See is in Bucharest, and the
metropolitan is also the patriarch. It consists in the folowing dioceses: the
Archbishopric of Bucharest, the Archbishopric of Targoviste, the Archbishopric
of Tomis, the Bishopric of Arges, the Bishopric of Buzau, the Bishopric of the
Lower Danube, the Bishopric of Slobozia and Calarasi and the Bishopric of
Alexandria and Teleorman.
THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF MOLDAVIA AND BUCOVINA
It was sanctioned by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in
1401 when it had its See at Suceava. Iosif was its first metropolitan. At the
middle of the 17th century its See moved to Iasi where it has been ever since.
It consists in : the Archbishopric of Iasi, the Archbishopric of Suceava and
Radauti, the Bishopric of Roman and the Bishopric of Husi.
THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF TRANSILVANIA, CRISANA AND
MARAMURES
The Transilvanian Metropolitan Church has lasted
since the second half of the 16th century. Its first metropolitan was Eftimie.
At the end of the 17th century, the Ortodox Metropolitan Church in Alba Iulia
ceased its activity when its metropolitan Atanasie Anghel and a part of his
clergy and the faithful passed to the Catholic Church. The Orthodox
Metropolitan Church of Transilvania was reactivated only in 1864 with its See
at Sibiu. Andrei Saguna was its first metropolitan. It consists in: the
Archbishopric of Sibiu, the Archbishopric of Vad, Feleac and Cluj, the
Archbishopric of Alba Iulia, the Bishopric of Oradea, the Bishopric of
Maramures and Satmar, the Bishopric of Covasna and Harghita.
THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF OLTENIA
It was founded in 1370. Its first See was at Severin
but it had a short existence. It was transformed in a bishopric with its See at
Ramnicu-Valcea. It was reactivated as a Metropolitan Church in 1939 with its
See at Craiova, abolished in 1945 and reactivated in 1949. It consists only in
two dioceses: the Archbishopric of Craiova and the Bishopric of Ramnic.
THE METROPOLITAN CHURCH OF BANAT
It was founded in 1974 with the See in Timisoara. It consists in : the Archbishopric of Timisoara, the Bishopric of Arad and the Bishopric of Caransebes.