Teoctist Arăpașu
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Teoctist Arăpașu |
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Teoctist I, born Toader Arăpaşu (February 7, 1915 - July 30, 2007), was the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church from 1986 to 2007.
A promoter of ecumenical dialog, Patriarch Teoctist invited Pope John Paul II to visit Romania. It was the first visit of a Pope of Rome to a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism of 1054.
Studies and ecclesiastic career
He was born as the tenth of eleven children of Dumitru and Marghioala Arăpaşu, of Tocileni, Botoşani County. He attended the primary school in Tocileni (1921-1927).
In 1928 Arăpaşu became a novice at Sihăstria Voronei Hermitage, and later at Vorona Monastery. He became a monk on 6 August 1935 at the Bistriţa-Neamţ Monastery. In 1940, he began his studies at Theology School at the University of Bucharest, from which he graduated in 1945. On March 1 1945, he was sent to Iaşi, where he was ordained hieromonk on 25 March 1945, and archimandrite in 1946. Between 1946 and 1947, he studied Letters and Philosophy at the University of Iaşi.
At the beginning of 1947, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church revoked Arăpaşu's archimandrite rank due to his pro-Communist opinions, the decision being published in the official newsletter of the Romanian Patriarchy, the "Biserica Ortodoxă Română"[1].
Arăpaşu associated with Justinian Marina, who was a pro-Communist archiereus-vicar who attacked his superior, Irineu Mihălcescu, the Metropolitan of Moldavia, in the press. In the meantime, the Communists gained power in Romania and the Communist authorities replaced Irineu Mihălcescu with Justinian Marina.
Ascension to the patriarchal chair
In 1948, Justinian became Patriarch of Romania and in 1950, Arăpaşu became patriarchal bishop-vicar, being the secretary of the Holy Synod and the rector of the Theological Institute of Bucharest between 1950 and 1954.
In 1962, Arăpaşu was named bishop of Arad. In 1963, an attempt to make him the leader of the Romanian Orthodox community of the United States failed after the US authorities refused to grant him a visa. In 1973, he became the Archbishop of Craiova and Metropolitan of Oltenia and in 1977 the Metropolitan of Moldavia and Suceava.
In 1986, he became the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. He was accused of obedience to the Communist authorities, culminating with the approval of the demolition of 26 historical churches in Bucharest. He sent many congratulatory telegrams to Nicolae Ceauşescu, who also gave him many valuable old prints and other heritage objects.[citation needed]
On 18 December 1989, at the start of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Holy Synod had a meeting in which Teoctist anounced he agrees with the repression of the anti-communist movement in Timişoara, claiming the events were caused by foreign interferences.[2]
Just a few hours after the Ceauşescus ran away, Teoctist signed his resignation and fled incognito to the Sinaia Monastery, a location allegedly suggested to him by Gelu Voican Voiculescu.[2] On 18 January 1990, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church accepted the patriarch's resignation by announcing that he retired from his office, without giving any motivation. [2]
Receiving requests from believers from all over the country, the Holy Synod revoked (in April 1990) its decision of accepting the resignation. According to the Tismăneanu Report, this has been seen by the Romanian intelligentsia as a harmful event and the start of the neo-Communist restoration in Romania.[3]
After 1989, Arăpaşu promoted religious education in all levels of education and founded new theological seminaries as well as schools for church singers, historical monument restoration, and other specialties. He also organized foreign scholarships.
Patriarch Teoctist died of a heart attack on Monday, July 30, 2007, following cardiac complications after a prostate operation at the Fundeni Clinic Hospital. [4]
Controversy
In 1981, when he was the Metropolitan of Moldavia, Teoctist used money from the Orthodox Church to sponsor the Politehnica Iaşi football team and justified this as being an attempt to do something good for the local community.[5]
After 1989, various accusations were made in the Romanian press, including that he was a collaborator of the Securitate, the political police in Romania, that he allegedly was homosexual and that as a "legionnaire" (member of the "Legion of the Archangel Michael", an extreme-right Orthodox nationalistic movement of the interwar period, associated politically with the Iron Guard) he participated in the vandalizing of a Bucharest synagogue. The last two accusations were based on a 1950 file found in the archives of the Securitate. The official response of the Orthodox Church was that the file was made by the Soviets with the intent of destroying the Romanian Orthodox Church.[6]
In July 2006, historian Stejărel Olaru said he found in the archives of the Securitate documents which prove that Teoctist was an agent of influence, who did propaganda for the Communist regime.[7]
Death
The Patriarch died on July 30, 2007, after undergoing surgery for a prostate adenoma at the Clinical Institute of Fundeni. The surgery was not an emergency, but a scheduled operation. Along the day, the news received suggested he was recovering. According to the doctors, the death occurred following cardiac complications, at 17:00 (GMT+2). The Patriarch had a history of cardiac problems. His body was laid in the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest. [8]
After the session of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church the date of burial was set for Friday, August 3, 2007 at 11:00 (GMT+2) and took place at the Patriarchal Cathedral. PM Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu announced that the Government decided the date to be a National Day of Mourning. The burrial place was chosen by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church to be the Patriarchal Cathedral and the burrial service was officiated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, alongside Romanian Orthodox hierarchs and hierarchs representing other Eastern Orthodox churches. After the religious service, the Patriarch was given state honors.
At the funerals there were present delegations from 30 Orthodox Churches (took part in the event itself: Constantinople, Albania, Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Finland, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Greece, Cyprus, Poland, Czech Republic, USA) , the Holy See, different Christian denominations (Anglican Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Ethiopian Church and Syriac Church) other religious cults from Romania (The Romanian Muftiat) and Romanian political leaders. About 8000 faithfuls attended the funerals.
References
- ^ "Biserica Ortodoxă Română", no. 1-3 (January-March 1947).
- ^ a b c "Cumpăna Patriarhului", in România Liberă, 2 August 2007
- ^ Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania, Final Report of the Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania, p. 467
- ^ Observator de Bacău, 30 July 2007.
- ^ Cotidianul, Teoctist a bagat bani in fotbal, 5 May 2005
- ^ Observator Cultural "Patriarhul Teoctist: legionar laureat ori comunist promovat?", January 2001
- ^ BBC Romanian, Preoţi colaboratori ai fostei securităţi 28 July, 2006
- ^ "Head of Romanian Church Dies". guardian.co.uk.
- Article about Teoctist Arăpaşu in "Dicţionarul Teologilor Români"
- România Liberă, "Ce ar fi trebuit sa stie ambasadorul Taubman cand s-a dus la Patriarhie" 10 December 2005
- Article about nuns being beaten by Teoctist's communist allies, April 2006
- Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu, "The Devil's Confessors: Priests, Communists, Spies, and Informers", East European Politics and Societies, 19 (2005), no. 4, 655-685. doi:10.1177/0888325404272454
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