The Orthodox Church and Romanian Society in a Century of History

The centenary year 2018 was honored by all Romanians by commemorating the events that led to the fulfillment of a great political ideal. The great Union succeeded by the generation of 1918 is to this day the most important political fulfillment for which an entire people has sacrificed itself. Although it lasted only two decades, Greater Romania continues to be seen as an achievement that was due not only to the sacrifices on the front during World War I, but also to the ability shown by Romanian politicians in the peace negotiations that followed. and which laid the foundations of today's Europe. Romania had in the first half of the last century an exceptional political class and a remarkable intellectuality. Along with them was the Romanian Orthodox clergy, which Romanian society saw as the catalyst for the struggle for national ideals, the unity of the people and the progress of the country.
The establishment of the communist regime, in fact a political regime of import and totally foreign to the Romanians, placed our country in an unequal partnership with communist Russia which dictated for three decades the policy in Bucharest and totally controlled the Romanian economy. The Romanian communists adopted the same attitude towards the Orthodox Church as the Stalinist regime which sought to eliminate the Orthodox clergy whom it had persecuted for decades through prisons and executions and deportations to the Siberia gulags. Romanian priests were also thrown into prisons and labor camps, most of which have never returned home. The hatred of the communist dictatorship destroyed people but also holy places with the disappearance of which pages of our country's history were lost. The communist regime was opposed to any form of spiritual life.
The fall of communism restored the freedom of our people, and this was enjoyed primarily by the Orthodox Church, the only institution that resisted the totalitarian dictatorship. The following years proved the ability of the clergy to adapt to the new requirements. The church came to be present again in schools, the army, hospitals and in social establishments. She herself became a protector of those tried by life for whom she set up schools, dispensaries and charities. His concern was also extended to Romanians settled abroad, so that today's image of the Church is totally different from that of the communist dictatorship.
Wanting to participate together with other institutions in honoring the history of our country at the turn of a century since the unification of all Romanians, the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at Ovidius University in Constanta organized on October 28, 2018, the international conference: 1918-2018. The Orthodox Church and Romanian society in a century of history. In addition to the papers presented by the teachers from our faculty in the volume, we also find the studies prepared by professors and doctoral students from other faculties in the country and abroad. We wanted to pay tribute to those who fought and sacrificed for our people, for the freedom we enjoy today.

Rev. Conf. Dr. Constantin Claudiu Cotan,
Faculty of Orthodox Theology,
"Ovidius" University of Constanta