RELIGION
Romanians have traditionally been a very devout people. The vast
majority belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church, and regular church
attendance and participation in church functions have been a normal part
of daily life. In rural areas the clergy are heavily depended upon as
counselors and confidants. As in most peasant societies, the religious
beliefs and practices fostered and approved by the churches are often
intermingled with folklore. Belief in the evil eye, werewolves, and
vampires is common among peasants, although younger ones are less likely
to take such beliefs seriously.
Aware of the deep-seated religious beliefs of the people, the communist
government has done little to restrict their free expression, and
officially religion is viewed as a private and personal matter.
Religious persecution has been limited to clergymen who have openly
opposed the government and its policies. Government efforts, however,
have been aimed at controlling the churches and using their influence
with the people to further official policies and programs. At the same
time, public information media and schools have been attempting to
undermine the hold of religion on younger people by equating religious
faith with superstition and backwardness and stressing scientific and
empirical knowledge as the basis for a modern world view. Many religious
values are attacked as lacking a basis in true knowledge and reality.
Those values that the government wants to preserve and promote are given
a scientific-intellectual justification and are stripped of any
religious meaning.
In line with its view of religion as a private and personal matter, the
government has not published any statistical or other information
pertaining to the various religious communities since 1950. Research on
the role of religion in the daily life of the people has been
discouraged; therefore, up-to-date information is restricted to
observations by foreign visitors to the country. According to reports
from such observers, more than twenty years of communist effort to
undermine religion as a force in the life of people has been
unsuccessful. Some of the clergy have lost their former influence by
openly working on behalf of the government, and some young people
question the relevance of some beliefs and practices. The fundamental
faith of the people, however, has been little changed. Even longstanding
members of the party have been publicly criticized for subscribing to
religious views and practices.
CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS
The Constitution of 1965 guarantees freedom of conscience and freedom of
religion to all citizens. It also specifically guarantees the right not
to profess any religion. The organization and activities of any church
are regulated by state law, and religious organizations are prohibited
from operating any educational institutions other than those for the
training of clergy and members of religious orders.
Within these broad guarantees and prohibitions, the state exercises
strict control over the organization and activities of religious
denominations through its Department of Cults, which functions in
accordance with the General Regulations for Religious Cults passed by
the Grand National Assembly in 1948. Under these regulations the state
must approve the statute of organization and administration and the
statement of beliefs of any church before it can be recognized as a
legal body. Clerical appointments are subject to state approval, and all
clergy must take an oath of allegiance to the Socialist Republic of
Romania.
All legally recognized churches receive state subsidies for salaries of
clergy and other operating expenses; churches are not allowed to receive
any income or financial assistance directly. Budgets are subject to
approval by the Department of Cults, which may withhold funds for
individual parishes or for salaries of individual clergymen if their
activities are found to be in violation of the policies or laws of the
state. The Department of Cults may also suspend any policy decision,
regulation, or other measure passed by the governing body of a church if
it is deemed contrary to the provisions of law either directly or
indirectly.
State supervision and control of administrative and financial affairs of
religious denominations had existed in Romania before the communists
took power. The terms of the General Regulations for Religious Cults
followed in many ways the Law on Cults of 1928; however, several
differences in the degree of control point out the fundamental
difference in church-state relations in these two periods. Before 1948,
for instance, the churches could receive income from property and
donations in addition to the state subsidy. More important, however, the
earlier law gave the state no right to interfere in matters of belief
except in the case of minor sects whose specific beliefs were subject to
approval. The 1948 law makes the state the ultimate authority on matters
of faith as well as administration. Thus the intent of the earlier law
appeared to be the regulation of the activities of essentially
independent bodies, but the intent of the present law is to give
complete authority and control to the state.
In practice, state control of religious bodies has been carried out
through its control over finances and through its confirmation of
clerical appointments. No changes have been made in the traditional
methods of selecting and appointing clergy and laymen for the various
positions in the church. By using its power to confirm these selections,
however, the state has managed to fill all the important positions and
decisionmaking bodies with persons willing to cooperate and carry out
state policy. The state has refused to grant recognition to the Roman
Catholic Church because of the church's belief in the supremacy of the
pope in all matters of faith and morals and in church administration;
however, the church does function with the tacit agreement of the
regime.
THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
The Romanian Orthodox Church is the most important church in the country
and the one into which the vast majority of Romanians are born. It is an
independent Eastern Orthodox church headed by a patriarch in Bucharest.
Its membership in the 1950s, after the incorporation of the Uniate
church, was estimated at more than 15 million.
Romanians were introduced to Christianity during the period of Roman
rule of Dacia. By the tenth century they were known to be following the
Slavonic liturgy of the Eastern Christian Church. Old Church Slavonic
remained the liturgical language until the late sixteenth century, when
it began to be replaced by Romanian.
During the period of Turkish rule in Walachia and Moldavia and of
Hungarian rule in Transylvania, the Romanian Orthodox Church helped to
maintain the national consciousness of the Romanian people and was
active in their struggle to achieve national unity and independence (see
ch. 2). The Turkish policy of religious tolerance enabled the church to
thrive in Walachia and Moldavia; in Transylvania, however, a
post-Reformation settlement between the Hungarian rulers and the various
churches did not recognize the Romanian Orthodox Church as a legal
denomination.
In order to gain legal status and its accompanying freedoms and
benefits, a major portion of Romanian Orthodox clergy and laymen in
Transylvania agreed, in 1698, to accept the jurisdiction of the pope
while retaining Orthodox liturgy and ritual. The resulting Uniate church
was an important religious and political force in Transylvania until
the communist government forced it to reunite with the Romanian Orthodox
Church in 1948. As the church of the Romanian people in Transylvania,
the Uniate church played a major role in their emancipation and eventual
integration into a greater Romania.
With over 1.6 million adherents in 1948, the Uniate church in Romania
was the second largest and second most influential church in the
country. Fearing and resenting the influence of the Roman Catholic pope
with such a large number of its people, the communist regime decreed
that the Uniates be merged with the Romanian Orthodox Church and disavow
allegiance to the pope. Some Uniate clergy and laymen resisted and were
persecuted and imprisoned. The pattern for the dissolution of the Uniate
church was the same everywhere in Eastern Europe, and from 1946 to 1950
the Uniate congregations were absorbed into the various national
Orthodox churches.
Until the Romanian state was enlarged in 1918, the Orthodox faith was,
with minor exceptions, the exclusive religion of the country. The
Romanian Orthodox Church was legally accepted as the national church and
was supported by the state. Its hierarchy generally supported the
policies of the government both as individuals and as officials of the
church. The close relationship between church and state was of
particular significance in rural areas, where the church was often
called on to carry out local government functions. As the only literate
person in the area, the parish priest was often not only the spiritual
mentor of the population but also the teacher, judge, and government
official. The power of the church in relation to the population,
therefore, was based on both spiritual and governmental authority. In
the eyes of the devout peasant, the local priest was an important
authority on a variety of matters as well as a confidant and adviser.
The role of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the life of the country
changed considerably after World War I with the addition of substantial
populations of other faiths. Efforts to secure a favored position in its
legal relationship to the state and to other denominations were defeated
when pressure from the Roman Catholic and Uniate churches forced the
government to guarantee religious freedom and the complete equality of
all churches. At the same time, the Orthodox church's former role in the
administration of governmental affairs at the local level was being lost
to a growing secular civil service and educational system. The position
of the church in the life of the average communicant, however, continued
to be one of considerable power and influence. As the largest Orthodox
church outside of the Soviet Union, the Romanian Orthodox Church also
exercised a degree of leadership among other Orthodox churches.
The revised statutes of the Romanian Orthodox Church issued in 1949
differ little from those in effect before that date. Authority was
somewhat more centralized, and the prerogatives of the patriarch were
more clearly defined, but the structure of the church remained
essentially the same. The patriarchate is divided into five
metropolitanates, which in turn are divided into twelve dioceses. Each
diocese is composed of parishes encompassing 1,500 to 2,500 communicants
each. The clerical head at each level is assisted in his religious and
administrative duties by a council composed of one-third clergymen and
two-thirds laymen. The administration of monasteries falls under the
jurisdiction of the head of the diocese. Since a 1952 reorganization of
institutions for religious training, the Romanian Orthodox Church has
had two theological institutes for the training of clergy and six
schools for chanters and for monastic priests.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Roman Catholic Church is second in size of membership to the
Romanian Orthodox Church and, since the absorption of the Uniates by the
Orthodox church, the most important minority religion. Its estimated
membership of between 1.2 million and 1.5 million in the 1960s was
composed mostly of Hungarians and German Swabians (see ch. 4).
As the principal denomination of the Hungarian minority, the Roman
Catholic Church has played a cultural and political role in the life of
the country as well as a religious one. The well-organized body of the
church and its related institutions have been a natural vehicle for the
promotion of Hungarian group interests and the preservation of Hungarian
cultural traditions. Catholic schools, which were independent of
government control until 1948, most often used Hungarian or German as
the language of instruction.
The Concordat of 1927 between the Holy See and the Romanian state
defined the legal position of the Roman Catholic Church in Romania until
the communist takeover. It gave the church full equality with the
dominant Romanian Orthodox Church and other denominations and granted it
sole control over its educational institutions, hospitals, and
charitable organizations. In contrast to all other denominations, the
Roman Catholic Church was free from state administrative control and did
not receive any financial support from the state. The concordat was
abrogated by the Romanian government in 1948, and since that time the
position of the Roman Catholic Church has been unclear.
The Catholic bishops have refused to recognize the supremacy of the
state over church affairs as expressed in the General Regulations for
Religious Cults of 1948, and consequently the state has not granted the
church legal recognition as a religious denomination. Between 1948 and
1967 the government tried to force the church into submission by
systematically weakening its position. Uncooperative clergy were either
imprisoned or otherwise prevented from exercising their clerical and
administrative duties; all church schools, hospitals, and charitable
institutions were taken over by the government, and all other church
assets were confiscated. All but two monasteries and three convents were
disbanded, and even these were not permitted to accept new novices. In
addition, the organization of the church was reduced from six to two
dioceses, Alba-Iulia and Bucharest. Since the church has not been
receiving a state subsidy and has been forbidden to seek contributions,
most clergy have been supporting themselves by working at lay jobs.
Church buildings have been deteriorating because of lack of maintenance,
and many travelers have commented on the marked difference in appearance
between the decaying Catholic churches and the well-maintained Orthodox
churches.
As part of a general political liberalization in 1967 the arch-bishop of
Alba-Iulia, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Romania, and other
clergy were released from imprisonment. The action marked the reopening
of contacts between the Roman Catholic Church and the Romanian
government in an effort to reach a satisfactory agreement that would
normalize the position of the church in the country. Additional
government effort to reach an accommodation with the church has been
demonstrated by the appropriation of funds for the restoration of the
historic cathedral of Alba-Iulia. Other denominations had been receiving
regular funds for the maintenance and restoration of religious buildings
of historic or artistic significance, but the Roman Catholic Church had
been denied such funds until 1967. In 1972 contacts between Romania and
the Holy See, which had begun in 1967, were continuing. Several meetings
had taken place between the Romanian Orthodox patriarch, Justinian, and
Cardinal Koenig, who heads the Vatican secretariat for nonbelievers. No
agreement legalizing the position of the Roman Catholic Church in
Romania has been reached, however.
The government promoted the creation of the Catholic Church of Romania,
which was formed in 1951. It is administratively independent of the pope
and recognizes the supremacy of the state over church affairs. Legal
justification for the move was found in a statute passed in Transylvania
in the seventeenth century that placed the conduct of Catholic church
affairs in the hands of clergy and laymen directly subordinate to the
pope in order to preserve the church from engulfment by the
Reformation. In early 1972 the Catholic Church of Romania was headed by
a council composed of both lay and clerical members. It recognized the
pope as supreme authority on matters of faith, morals, and dogma but
rejected any organizational connection with the Holy See.
PROTESTANT CHURCHES
Protestantism is closely identified with the Hungarian and German
minorities of Transylvania. Although the churches themselves have
refrained from any political activity on behalf of the minorities, their
ethnic composition has made them politically significant at times. The
Protestant population, estimated at about 1.2 million in 1950, was
divided into Calvinist, Lutheran, Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist,
Evangelical, and Pentecostal churches.
The largest Protestant denomination is the Reformed (Calvinist) Church,
with a membership estimated at 780,000 in 1950. The membership of this
church is almost entirely Hungarian, and its center is at Cluj, a
Calvinist stronghold since the Reformation. Most of the Hungarian
aristocracy in Transylvania adopted Calvinism during the Reformation, a
period when the Roman Catholic Church was weak in that region. This
weakness of the Roman Catholic Church and the political and economic
independence of the Transylvanian nobles prevented an effective
counterreformation and allowed Protestantism to remain strong in
Transylvania while the rest of Hungary was Roman Catholic.
Next in size are the Lutherans, with an estimated membership of 250,000
in 1950. Lutheranism is represented by the Evangelical Church of the
Augsburg Confession, headed by a bishop at Sibiu, and the Evangelical
Synodal Presbyteral Church of the Augsburg Confession, headed by a
bishop in Cluj. Membership of both churches is predominantly German.
Lutheranism was adopted by the Transylvanian Saxons at the same time
that Calvinism was adopted by the Hungarians. In 1938 there were 400,000
Lutherans in Romania; their number was reduced through the loss of
northern Bukovina and through the emigration of Saxons to Germany during
the 1940s. Continued emigration is further reducing the Lutheran
population.
The Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, and Pentecostal churches were united
by government decree in 1950 into the Federation of Protestant Cults.
The estimates of the membership at the time of the merger vary greatly,
but it probably included between 50,000 and 100,000 Baptists, 15,000 to
70,000 Adventists, and about 5,000 Pentecostals. Before their merger
none of these churches had a central organization in Romania, as their
congregations were directed from abroad.
In the reorganization of theological education in 1948, the Department
of Cults assigned one school for church singers and one theological
institute for the training of clergy to each Protestant denomination.
There was some indication that all denominations had difficulty
recruiting young men for the ministry after World War II. After more
than a decade of complete isolation from their fellows in other
countries, all the Protestant churches resumed an active association
with the World Council of Churches in 1961.
OTHER RELIGIONS AND CHURCHES
Government statistics on the ethnic composition of the population in
1956 listed 146,000 Jews. Jewish sources outside the country estimated
the size of the community in 1968 at between 80,000 and 110,000. Once an
important ethnic and religious minority, the Jewish community has shrunk
as a result of territorial losses, extermination during World War II,
and emigration. Between 1958 and 1969 large numbers of Jews emigrated to
Israel with the encouragement of the chief rabbi and the Romanian
government. Many of the rabbis have emigrated with their congregations,
leaving only nine rabbis to care for some seventy congregations. Most of
the congregations were directed by laymen but received regular visits
from one of the rabbis. The only rabbinical school in the country was
closed in the 1950s. The congregations are supervised by the Federation
of Jewish Communities, which is the legally recognized representative
body of the Jews in Romania and is headed by the chief rabbi.
Islam is the religion of the Tatars and Turks in Dobruja. Moslems were
estimated to number between 30,000 and 35,000 in the mid-1950s. Mosques,
most of them built during the Turkish occupation of the area, are found
throughout the region. The seat of the grand mufti, religious head of
the Moslems in Romania, is at the Central Mosque in Constanta.
Unitarianism was introduced into Transylvania in the mid-sixteenth
century, when a group of former Calvinists founded a Unitarian church in
Cluj. The church has always been closely connected with the Hungarian
minority, from which it draws most of its members. The number of
adherents in the mid-1950s was estimated at 70,000. The seat of the
Unitarian Church is in Cluj, which is also the location of its seminary.
Two other legally recognized churches are the Armenian-Gregorian Church
and the Christians of the Old Rite. The Armenian-Gregorian Church is
headed by a bishop in Bucharest, and the Christians of the Old Rite,
also known as Old Catholics, by a bishop in Bukovina. Each had an
estimated membership of 25,000 in the 1950s.