# What is the Romanian Orthodox Church?
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The church shares the same beliefs and practices as the other Eastern Orthodox churches.
## History
The Romanian Orthodox Church traces its history back to the spread of Christianity into the region of modern-day Romania during the early years of the faith. According to tradition, the apostle Andrew preached the gospel in Dobruja. The first historical mention of Christianity on the territory of present-day Romania comes from the 2nd century AD during the Roman occupation. Several Daco-Roman Christian bishops exerted influence over the church until the 4th century when the first raids began and the Roman administration crumbled.
After the breakdown of the Roman Empire on the Danube, usually dated as occurring between 285 and 313, Romanians (known by other names at the time) came under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Around 400 AD, the regions of Oltenia and Muntenia experienced increasing raids from westward migrating peoples like the Huns and Gepids. This lasted until the 6th century.
Slavs and Bulgars began to arrive in the 6th century, gradually paving the way for the complete assimilation and incorporation of the region into the medieval Bulgarian Empire. Romanians were mostly Christianized by missionaries from the Byzantine Empire, beginning with the missions of Saints Cyril and Methodius. As early as the 7th century, Dionysius Exiguus, a Romanian scholar and monk in Constantinople, remarked in his Chronicon Orientalium about monks and hermits from Scythia Minor (Dobruja), Maeotide (Wallachia) and Scythia (Moldavia and parts of southern Ukraine) living and working in the region of Bithynia, located in Asia Minor.
In the 9th century, the first structuring of a Romanian Orthodox Church took place. As the Slavs, Bulgars and Magyars came to convert to Orthodox Christianity, the jurisdictional borders of the Ecumenical Patriarchate came to be settled south along the Danube River. After the Great Schism of 1054, the Orthodox in the Romanian-populated territories of Transylvania, parts of Transylvania, Maramureş and Bukovina, Chernivtsi Oblast which were under Hungarian rule, were placed under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, a number of dioceses were established in these territories. During the reign of Moldavia’s Prince Alexandru cel Bun, the deacon Nicodim was sent to the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1364 to receive permission to establish a metropolitan see for Moldavia. With the ascendancy of the Ștefăniţă rulers, these lands began to more fully embrace and identify as Romanian for the first time in history.
As the Turks began to conquer the Balkans, the Romanian Orthodox Church was suppressed and the ecclesiastical hierarchy disappeared. Only later, during the 16th century, the Orthodox in the principalities of Moldavia, Wallachia and Partium were brought back under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The primate of the Church carries the title of Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia. Miron Costin wrote that he originally fought to preserve the powers of the Prince during the Ottoman suzerainty, but later he fought on Michael the Brave’s side during the anti-Ottoman rebellion of 1594.
The autocephalous Metropolitan See of Moldavia was established in 1359 with its seat in Suceava and jurisdiction over all Daco-Romanians. In 1386, the Principality of Moldavia joined in a personal union with Wallachia, resulting in a wider common Romanian territory on both sides of the Carpathian Mountains. In 1401 Prince Alexander the Good signed the first-ever document in Romanian.
In 1441 Moldavia started to come under increased harassment from the Ottomans. In 1541 the southern and eastern parts of Moldavia came under Ottoman suzerainty as vassal tributary state. The western part of Moldavia was occupied by the Principality of Transylvania, which was a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire from 1570 until the end of the 17th century. In 1600, Wallachia came under complete Ottoman suzerainty.
The Russian Church spread its jurisdiction over the Russian protectorate of the Danubian Principalities geographically north of the river Danube: during the Russo-Turkish War (1828-1829), the Danubian Principalities were occupied by Russian troops, and then returned to Ottoman control as a result of the Treaty of Adrianople (1829). This was confirmed in the Treaty of Paris (1856).
During the War of Independence of 1877, the Congress of Berlin recognized an autonomous status for the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in the Ottoman Empire, and the Romanian Old Kingdom was formed as a suzerain state under the Ottomans. In 1881 the Romanian Orthodox Church became autocephalous. Following the Great Union of Bessarabia with Romania in 1918, the Metropolis of Bessarabia was founded in 1927. In 1945 the Metropolis of Besançon returned to the jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Today, the majority of Romanians belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church, amounting to 18.9 million people or 86.5% of the population. The Romanian Orthodox Church is organized into six provinces including Romania and the Republic of Moldova, with two more for Romanian-speakers in the Serbian Banat and in Western Europe.
## Organization and Structure
The Romanian Orthodox Church is organized and structured similarly to the other Eastern Orthodox churches. At the top is the Patriarch, currently Patriarch Daniel, who resides at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, Romania.
Below the Patriarch are metropolitans, archbishops, and bishops. There are six metropolitan sees in Romania, covering historic regions Transylvania, Moldavia and Dobruja. The church is divided into 41 dioceses across Romania and the Republic of Moldova, and has over 12,000 priests and deacons. There are also two dioceses for Romanian Orthodox communities in Western Europe and Southern Europe.
Monasteries and convents are common across Romania, many dating back hundreds of years. There are currently over 800 monasteries and convents in Romania. The Romanian Orthodox monastic establishment has always been the stronghold of Romanian culture and spirituality.
There are several theological seminaries and religious schools to train clergy. Major theological seminaries include those in Bucharest, Iaşi, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Craiova and Sibiu. The Faculty of Orthodox Theology also exists at universities in Bucharest, as well as Arad, Galați and Oradea.
Laity meet in local community parish churches across Romania and Moldova. Parish priests are assigned to each parish church and are responsible for liturgical services and spiritual guidance of the laity. The laity participate in the services and sacraments. All major life events like baptisms, weddings, funerals happen through the parish church community.
The church has a complex administrative structure to govern its organization and activities. This includes departments, committees and councils overseeing matters related to faith, rituals, publications, social work, monastic life, youth work, media relations, construction, finances and legal affairs. There are also organizations for women, youth and theological students.
Every six years, a Great and Holy Synod is held as the supreme authority in the Church. It is comprised of all the bishops of the church who gather to review dogmatic theology and canon law questions facing the church. It has full legislative, executive and judicial power. The Great Synod elects the Patriarch and approves the establishment of new bishoprics, among other administrative duties.
## Beliefs and Practices
As an Eastern Orthodox church, the Romanian Orthodox Church upholds all the standard beliefs and doctrines of Eastern Orthodoxy. This includes belief in the Holy Trinity, veneration of icons, apostolic succession, and the Bible along with Holy Tradition.
Doctrinally, the church affirms the Nicene Creed and teachings from the seven ecumenical councils alongside Orthodoxy’s patristic tradition. It rejects doctrinal developments like the filioque clause accepted in Catholicism and Protestantism.
Orthodox anthropology makes a distinction between the image and likeness of God within humanity. The image of God denotes human reason and freedom, while the likeness of God refers to human assimilation to God through virtue and works. This includes theosis or deification as the end goal of human life.
Salvation is a process of divinization and reconciliation with God. This is pursued through participation in the church’s sacramental mysteries, following the commandments, and spiritual disciplines like prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The church upholds both faith and works as necessary for salvation.
The Eucharist, known as the Divine Liturgy, is the central focus of worship and Christian life. It is believed to be the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ through the transformation of the bread and wine.
Veneration of Mary as the Theotokos and of the saints is upheld by the church. Icons are seen as sacred religious images that point the faithful towards divine grace and the transfigured state of heavenly existence.
The church acknowledges the seven sacraments from baptism to marriage to holy unction. These impart grace to the believer and are necessary to live the Christian life.
Monasticism and asceticism are highly valued. Monks and nuns occupy a special place as they entirely devote themselves to prayer, service and spiritual discipline.
Liturgical worship follows the Eastern Orthodox liturgy structured around the Divine Liturgy. Services incorporate chant, music, incense and ornate ritual vestments and sacred art. Special periods like Great Lent, Holy Week and Pascha feature more frequent and complex services.
Scripture and Holy Tradition are held in unity as the two modes by which the faith is revealed and transmitted. The Bible is the supreme authority and canonized at the Septuagint for the Old Testament and the Byzantine text for the New Testament.
The church upholds moral stances against abortion, birth control, homosexuality and other issues based on Orthodox teachings on marriage, family and human sexuality. These positions have brought controversy in modern times as Romanian society has secularized.
In general, the Romanian Orthodox Church is traditionalist in theology and praxis, maintaining historic beliefs, rituals, ecclesiology and spirituality characteristic of Eastern Orthodoxy since the patristic era. It resists liberalizing or modernist trends in Western Christianity.
## Notable Figures
As an ancient church, the Romanian Orthodox Church has produced many notable figures who have influenced Romanian culture and society.
Several saints have Romanian origins like Leontius and Daniel the Hermit. Other important saints include Prince Stephen the Great of Moldavia, Martyr Oprea Miclăuș of Săliște, and New Martyr Saint Aristide.
Historically, rulers like Stephen the Great connected national identity with the Orthodox church. Prince Neagoe Basarab sponsored the building of Curtea de Argeș cathedral in the 16th century.
In more recent times, Patriarch Justinian oversaw the gaining of autocephaly. Patriarch Miron Cristea served as Prime Minister of Romania. Patriarch Teoctist had an anti-communist role during the fall of Ceaușescu. The current Patriarch Daniel focuses on moral renewal and catechesis.
Theologians and writers like Dumitru Stăniloae and Father Arsenie Boca revived spirituality during oppressive political times. Ecumenist theologians like Dumitru Cornilescu also emerged in the 20th century.
Monks and nuns at the high holy monasteries of Romania maintain ancient traditions of prayer, iconography, chant and spiritual counsel. Elder Cleopa Ilie of Sihastria monastery is a renowned recent example.
Overall, the Romanian Orthodox Church has fostered faith and culture for Romanians across many centuries through its clergy, monastics, theologians, hymnographers, artists and other luminaries devoted to Orthodoxy’s historic spirituality and witness.
## Relationship to Other Churches
As part of Eastern Orthodoxy, the Romanian Orthodox Church has overlap and similarities with other national Eastern Orthodox churches like those of Russia, Greece, Serbia and elsewhere. It maintains full communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and all Orthodox jurisdictions.
In relation to Catholicism, there have been historic tensions since the Great Schism of 1054. Yet today there is greater openness and dialogue, though key doctrinal differences remain around issues like the papacy.
With Protestantism, there are major divergences on theology, ecclesiology and praxis. But the 20th century saw greater contacts with Evangelicalism and mainline Protestant churches, partly through the ecumenical movement and diaspora encounters.
Regarding other Christian groups in Romania, the Orthodox church has limited interaction with Eastern Catholic communities, some converts to the faith. There are long-established Protestant churches in Romania like Lutheranism and Calvinism the Orthodox church recognizes through ecumenical relations.
Baptists, Pentecostals and other Evangelicals entered Romania more recently via missionaries in the 19th century onward. This has created tensions between Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism.
The church is also in dialogue with non-Christian faiths in Romania like Judaism, Islam and others. But assurances on Orthodoxy’s role in society are maintained by the church in such exchanges.
Historically, Christianity came to Romania through the Eastern Orthodox faith which remains dominant. This gives the Romanian Orthodox Church a sense of responsibility to uphold tradition amidst Romania’s changing religious landscape, even as it pursues selected ecumenical and interfaith gestures.
## Current Challenges and Issues
Some current major issues and challenges facing the Romanian Orthodox Church include:
– Declining religious observance and practice among youth as Romanian society secularizes. Efforts to catechize and evangelize youth are underway.
– Emigration of Romanians which weakens local parish communities. Providing ministry to diaspora communities abroad is a growing need.
– Finding the balance between tradition and adaptation with issues like implementing digital technologies in the church.
– Ecumenical and interfaith questions on relating to minority Catholic, Protestant and non-Christian groups.
– Rapprochement with the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church and healing historic tensions.
– Overcoming collaboration of parts of the church hierarchy with the communist regime, through repentance.
– Maintaining moral and social influence on issues like abortion and LGBTQ within an increasingly progressive culture.
– Financial and sex abuse scandals which have surfaced involving clergy and church bodies.
– Preserving unity across diverse theological and political viewpoints within current clergy and the faithful.
– Overlapping jurisdiction with the autonomous Orthodox Church of Moldova, which seeks more self-governance.
– general decline in religious observance as Romania modernizes and secularizes like other Eastern Orthodox countries.
The Romanian Orthodox Church built up moral authority through resisting communism. Challenges today involve sustaining Christ-centered spiritual vitality and moral witness in a drastically changed post-communist setting.
## Conclusion
In conclusion, the Romanian Orthodox Church has played a central role in the culture, society and identity of Romania for over a thousand years since Christianity first spread to the region. It upholds theology and traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy while adapting them to Romanian language and customs.
The 20th century saw oppression under communism followed by revival after the fall of totalitarian rule. Moving forward the church faces the challenges of speaking to an increasingly secular society and declining religious practice as Romania modernizes and embraces contemporary values. How it balances change and continuity will determine its future influence on the faithful within its canonical borders and among the Romanian diaspora worldwide.
