Beginning with his teens, Calciu-Dumitreasa was involved in the activity of the fascist Iron Guard (also known as the "Legionary Movement"), being first arrested for this in 1942.
[1] For his role in the experiment he received a new sentence of 15 years of forced labour, however he was released in May 1963 and assigned compulsory residence.
Calciu-Dumitreasa was again arrested in 1978 and convicted to 10 years of prison for criticizing the regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu during his sermons at the Orthodox Theological Seminary, where he was working as a professor.
[3] While Calciu-Dumitreasa was celebrated as a dissident and intensely promoted in anti-communist propaganda directed at Romania, his past association with fascism was constantly ignored, "if not intentionally hidden".
[4] He remained critical of certain Romanian Orthodox bishops to his last day, claiming they were former Securitate secret police infiltrators.