Romanian Church & State Security

[Tamara]

Gabriel and OB,

I think the problems are much deeper. Communism is still having an effect on the Orthodox Church in Romania. Please read below. Those who were communists have not all passed on yet. The Church of Romania is going to need all the help we can give them.

sincerely, Tamara

Romanian Orthodox Church protests allegations it had ties to communist secret police - The Associated Press
August 10, 2007

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Romania's Orthodox Church protested August 10 allegations by a former anti-communist dissident that some of its top officials had ties to the communist-era secret police, the feared Securitate.

Mircea Dinescu, a poet who is now a board member of the state council for studying the Securitate archives, had claimed the late Metropolitan and Archbishop Antonie Plamadeala, who died in 2005, had been an undercover Securitate officer.

Dinescu added that the council would check the Securitate files of leading clerics to ensure the church does not pick "a Securitate general" as new patriarch in upcoming elections. Patriarch Teoctist died last month, and elections to replace him are scheduled for September 12.

On August 10, the church's spokesman, Costel Stoica, said Dinescu broke the council's rules about publishing information from the Securitate archives. The church filed a complaint with the council, saying Dinescu should be held responsible for his statements.

"Dinescu's statements are not proven ... Plamadeala was imprisoned" during communism, said Stoica. He said the church acknowledges that some of its clerics "did not resist pressures" and collaborated, but the problem should not be generalized.

Dinescu said the complaint was "ridiculous" and the church should be the first to ask for its clerics' files to be published.

"Why doesn't the church want to rid itself of Satan?" he asked.

Plamadeala, who was a former political prisoner, was known for improving ties with other churches.

In 1985 he invited the Rev. Billy Graham to preach in Romania on behalf of a group of 14 religious denominations. Graham accepted and went on an 11-day preaching tour in Communist Romania.

In recent years, several high church officials have acknowledged collaborating with the Securitate.


http://www.orthodoxnews.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=WorldNews.one&content_id=16316&CFID=52097792&CFTOKEN=74058360

[GabrieltheCelt]

Dinescu added that the council would check the Securitate files of leading clerics to ensure the church does not pick "a Securitate general" as new patriarch in upcoming elections.

On August 10, the church's spokesman, Costel Stoica, said Dinescu broke the council's rules about publishing information from the Securitate archives. The church filed a complaint with the council, saying Dinescu should be held responsible for his statements.
 
"Dinescu's statements are not proven ... Plamadeala was imprisoned" during communism, said Stoica. He said the church acknowledges that some of its clerics "did not resist pressures" and collaborated, but the problem should not be generalized.
 
Dinescu said the complaint was "ridiculous" and the church should be the first to ask for its clerics' files to be published.
 
In 1985 he invited the Rev. Billy Graham to preach in Romania on behalf of a group of 14 religious denominations. Graham accepted and went on an 11-day preaching tour in Communist Romania.
In recent years, several high church officials have acknowledged collaborating with the Securitate.

So, if I understood this article correctly, we have a person (Dinescu) who's on some state council that is going thru the Securitate files. Said council has found that "several high church officials have acknowledged collaborating with the Securitate." The Church officials counter with a complaint because he (Dinescu) was...right? The Romanians have a right to know which clerics collaborated with the Securitate and to what extent they collaborated. IMHO, the Romanian Church would do well to publicly admit said collaborations, *possibly* repremand the guilty clerics, and most certainly repent and apoligize to all Romanians. IMHO, that would go miles and miles in regaining trust with the laity (many of whom have given up on Orthodoxy and either left Christianity or joined up with the Pentecostals. And BTW, why was this Plamadeala person inviting non-Orthodox to preach to Orthodox?). Now before you start typing out your rebuttals, ask yourself this question: are you bothered by the cover-ups of Metropolitan Herman? All he did was allegedly steal money and we all cry 'foul'. Imagine if he had collaborated with a brutal dictator? What would you all say then? Just curious. This is one of the reasons I say the Romanian Church has failed, thus far, after the fall of Communism. 

[Elisha]

Now before you start typing out your rebuttals, ask yourself this question: are you bothered by the cover-ups of Metropolitan Herman? All he did was allegedly steal money and we all cry 'foul'. Imagine if he had collaborated with a brutal dictator?

Yes, I'm bothered by the cover-ups.  I don't recall actually reading allegations that +HERMAN stole money - more that his predecessor or the former administration did.

[ma2000]

Forgive me, brothers ans sisters.

Dinescu is a poet who wrote some poems against Ceausescu in the 80's. He is a member of CNSAS (The National Council for Studying Securitate's Archives).
Last year the archives were transfered from SRI (Romanian Information Service - local CIA) to CNSAS. They said that all the files have been transfered to them.
However, this is very unlikely.

Dinescu publicly attacked Metropolitan Plamadeala suggesting that CNSAS has studyed his file. The Romanian Church asked him to present the file to the public. He then reviewed his statement and said that he didn't actually read the file and CNSAS doesn't have it, but a "friend" of his read it. He broke CNSAS ethics because he:
- accused of colaborationism a person prior of CNSAS pronounce a decision;
- he based his accusations on his "friend's" word and not on documents.

He then said that he wouldn't be surprised that in the near future they will get new files on the hierarchs of the Romanian Church. They don't have such files in the CNSAS archive, but yet, he didn't complain to SRI that they didn't present to CNSAS all the files.
It's all politics...
It's not the first time CNSAS is used as a political instrument.

[augustin717]

I

MHO, that would go miles and miles in regaining trust with the laity (many of whom have given up on Orthodoxy and either left Christianity or joined up with the Pentecostals.

Odd as it may seem, but the RoOC is the most trusted institution in Romania, with a percentage as high as 70, of the population. That is what the polls show, constantly.

[Αριστοκλής]

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Αριστοκλής

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