Romanian Orthodox Church

The Romanian Orthodox Church is an Eastern Orthodox church. The Eastern Orthodox is made up of a number of self-governing churches. These churches have their own leadership and make their own decisions, but they are affiliated with each other. They are overseen by a head bishop called a patriarch, even though the patriarch does not have any real sway over the individual churches.

Many different Eastern Orthodox churches exist, but the Romanian Orthodox Church is one of the largest—second only to the Russian Orthodox Church. According to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, as of 2015, the church had nearly nineteen million members in Romania. About 86 percent of Romania’s population identifies as Romanian Orthodox, even though not all those people attend liturgy regularly. The Romanian Orthodox Church’s main location is in Romania, but Romanian Orthodox churches also exist in parts of Western Europe, North America, and Australia. Romanians who moved from their homeland took their faith with them to their new lands.

History

Christianity first arrived in the area that is now Romania in the first century CE. Archeologists have found examples of churches and shrines to Christian martyrs in the area that date back before the third century. The early church in Romania was influenced by the Latin language and culture, but eventually the Slavic language and culture had more of an influence. Eventually the Romanian church became a recognizable part of the Eastern Church that was aligned with Constantinople.

The two main centers of the early Christian church were in Rome and Constantinople. These cities were separated by a great distance, and they had different languages, customs, and politics. Eventually these differences caused divisions in the church, with the Western Church aligning with Rome and the Eastern Church aligning with Constantinople. Eventually, the two churches split from each other in 1054 in what became known as the Great Schism. The groups aligned with the church in Constantinople mostly became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Romanian Orthodox Church remained loyal to the patriarch in Constantinople. In 1568, the Romanian Orthodox Church started saying its liturgy in Romanian.

When Romania was under the rule of the Soviet Union, the Romanian Orthodox Church was somewhat restricted, but it was less restricted than many other religious organizations because it cooperated with the Soviets. During the Soviet crackdown, however, more than one thousand monks and nuns were expelled from their homes, and many monasteries were forcibly closed. Monostatic life was a very important part of the Romanian Orthodox religion, and the Soviets made it difficult for the church to recruit new monks and nuns. After Romania received its independence, the church was criticized for the concessions it made with the Soviet government. Over time, relations between the Romanian Orthodox Church and other Orthodox churches normalized, despite the Romanian church’s continued cooperation with the Soviets.

The Romanian Orthodox Church attempts to help some of the social problems in Romania. Many Romanians believe that the church can help rebuild the country, which is still experiencing the negative effects of Soviet rule. The Romanian Orthodox Church is also influential in the Romanian government, and it receives money from the government, including grants to build new churches. Construction began on a significant natural cathedral in 2010, but by 2018, with the People's Salvation Cathedral consecrated but still unifinished, the building had generated national as well as international controversy regarding the amount of money the country's government was dedicating to the project, particularly at the likely expense of areas in need of funding such as education and health.

Beliefs

The Romanian Orthodox Church has beliefs that are similar to other Eastern Orthodox churches. Members of the church believe that there is one true God who is made up of three separate parts: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They also believe that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. They believe he was conceived by the Virgin Mary, and he died to atone for the sins of all people. They believe that people will be judged on their beliefs and actions when they die and will either go to heaven or hell.

The Romanian Orthodox Church holds that worship, including daily prayer and celebrating the liturgy, is a very important part of the faith. Many Eastern Orthodox Christians pray multiple times a day. Monastic life is also very important, and monks and nuns have an important role in the Romanian Orthodox Church. The church has a number of monasteries in Romania, Western Europe, and North America.

The Romanian Orthodox Church does have some Latin influences in its practices. This is mainly because of the location of Romania, which helped bridge the locational divide between Rome and Constantinople. The Romanian Orthodox Church is the only Orthodox church with noticeable Latin influences. Nevertheless, the Romanian Orthodox Church is aligned with the church of Constantinople and is in schism with the Roman (or Latin) Catholic Church.

Although Romanian civil code does not permit same-sex marriage, the Romanian Orthodox Church was a prominent promoter of a push for a 2018 referendum to alter the country's constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman; however, the referendum failed after low voter turnout.

Organization

The Romanian Orthodox Church has an organization that is similar to other autocephalous (having their own leader) Eastern Orthodox churches. The Patriarch of Constantinople is the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, but the patriarch has no real power over the churches. The Romanian Orthodox Church has its own patriarch who is in charge of the church and gets the position by being elected.

The next level of the hierarchy includes the bishops of the church, who are seen as the successors of Jesus's apostles. The synod of the church is a group of bishops who help make decisions and lead the church. Priests and deacons are the next members of the hierarchy. The church also includes monks, nuns, and the laity. All religious members of the church receive a sacrament when they enter their positions. Members of the laity become full members of the church when they receive baptism, chrismation, and communion.

Bibliography

"Administrative Organisation." Romanian Orthodox Church, Romanian Orthodox Church, patriarhia.ro/administrative-organisation-5656-en.html. Accessed 9 July 2015.

Dunlop, Tessa. "Romania's Costly Passion for Building Churches." BBC, 7 Aug. 2007, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23420668. Accessed 9 July 2015.

"Eastern Orthodox Church." BBC, 11 June 2008, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/easternorthodox‗1.shtml. Accessed 9 July 2013.

Gillet, Kit. "A Big Cathedral, a Big Bill, and a Big Debate in Romania." The New York Times, 3 Dec. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/12/03/world/europe/romania-bucharest-cathedral.html. Accessed 28 Jan. 2019.

Kakissis, Joanna. "Romanian Referendum to Ban Same-Sex Marriage Fails." NPR, 8 Oct. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/10/08/655528971/romanian-referendum-that-would-define-marriage-fails. Accessed 28 Jan. 2019.

McGucki, John Anthony. "The Patriarchal Church of Romania." The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Its History, Doctrine, and Spiritual Culture. Wiley-Blackwell, 2008.

"The Orthodox Church of Romania." CNEWA, Catholic Near East Welfare Association, www.cnewa.org/default.aspx?ID=19&pagetypeID=9&sitecode=hq&pageno=1. Accessed 28 Jan. 2019.

"Our Faith." The Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas, Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in the Americas, www.romarch.org/pags.php?id=22. Accessed 9 July 2015.