Relationship between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Iron Guard

Numerous rank-and-file priests joined the Iron Guard ranks and actively supported its policies;[3] so did a minority of influential high-ranking clergymen such as Nicolae Bălan or Vartolomeu Stănescu.

The Holy Synod [ro] of the Romanian Orthodox Church was quick to condemn the Rebellion but, at the same time, numerous priests who had actively taken part in it were protected from repercussions by their respective bishops.

In the early twentieth century the curriculum of a priest included subjects such as hygiene, calligraphy, accountancy, psychology, Romanian literature, geometry, chemistry, botany, and gymnastics.

From this profession of Christian faith, Moța proceeded to highlight the more earthly goals of the ultranationalist movement, writing "In this consists salvation, with freedom from the Yids and from all the deadly plagues that consume us: in restoring fruitfulness in the godly vine [în via dumnezească], which today is sick and barren, in our nation (at least here), fallen into satanic claws that lay waste to the soul and bring it loss".

Several high-ranking clergymen initially praised the legionnaires for their work camps; however, on October 23, 1935 Patriarch Miron Cristea forbade priests from participating in such projects.

Hence, he started providing financial support to far-right intellectuals like Nichifor Crainic or Nae Ionescu via periodicals like Calendarul ("The Calendar"), Cuvântul ("The Word"), and, later, Sfarmă-Piatră ("Stone Crusher").

Police records show that the priests of Tetoiu and Tomșani, both Iron Guard members, were released on February 7, 1934, as well as three students of Theology and a church cantor from Stroești.

Participants included prominent Iron Guard activist Mihai Stelescu, Moldavian student leader Sandu Valeriu, and Tiana Siliman from Botoșani, the fiancée of Nicolae Constantinescu, Duca's assassin.

[21] Prominent legionnaires Ion Moța and Vasile Marin were killed by the same grenade on January 13, 1937, at Majadahonda where they were fighting for the Nationalist faction in the Spanish Civil War.

In Cluj the service was led by vicar Nicolae Colan who praised the struggle of Moța and Marin against the "red madness", then Ion Agârbiceanu made a speech on behalf of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church.

[41] Four high ranking Orthodox clergymen participated: metropolitans Nicolae Bălan of Transylvania and Gurie of Bessarabia, bishop Vartolomeu Stănescu of Râmnicu Vâlcea and vicar Veniamin Pocitan of Bucharest.

[42][39][2][43][44] Nicolae Bălan, prayed: "We praise you, Father, that You send the light of the exemplary sacrifices of Your chosen ones, Ioan and Vasile, so that we might escape from the darkness of ambivalence, of doubt and of any quelling of the soul in the face of our destiny... May their names be written in your Book of Life and may they remain in the memory of our people forever and ever."

[45] Shortly after the funeral, Orthodox theologian Gheorghe Racoveanu and priest Grigore Cristescu founded the theological journal Predania ("The Tradinion") and Nae Ionescu quickly became involved in the project.

Moreover, following the lead of Metropolitan Bălan who wrote the anti-Masonic manifest, the Synod issued a "Christian point of view" against political secularism stating that the Church was in its right to choose which party was worthy of support, based on moral principles.

[4] The period known as the "Royal dictatorship" began on February 10, 1938, when King Carol II suspended the Constitution, banned all political parties and appointed Orthodox Patriarch Miron Cristea as Prime-Minister.

[48] Nicodim Munteanu had been rather sympathetic of the Legion in its early days; he had also met Codreanu during his tenure as bishop of Huși,[49] but by the time he became Patriarch his views were aligned with Cristea's and he saw the anti-establishment nature of the Iron Guard as a threat.

They nonetheless maintained close ties with the legionary underground and the library of the academy served as a hiding place for propaganda material, manuscripts of wanted legionnaires and, in some instances, even weapons.

[55][5] It's worth noting that even before the insurrection, five students from the St. Nicholas Seminary in Râmnicu Vâlcea, all members of the Legion's youth organization, the Brotherhood of the Cross, vandalized the local synagogue and stole vestments, manuscripts, and other objects.

[29] Nicolae Bălan, on the other hand, and his legionnaire acolytes at the Theological Academy in Sibiu escaped unbothered with the exception of Spiridon Cândea who was detained for a few months in a camp in Tismana.

[58] Historian Ion Popa, however, citing intelligence service cables, argues that when Radio Donau finally aired the announcement about the creation of Horia Sima's Government in exile in December 1944, Visarion Puiu was listed as a member.

Popa's argument is based on the fact that the communists had not targeted Puiu for arrest until December 14, 1944, after the Radio Donau broadcast, when the clergyman's name appeared on a list designating him as Religious Secretary of the Iron Guard Government in exile.

Chaplain (Colonel) Herbert E. MacCombie of the 36th Infantry Division reported on his encounter with the Romanian clergyman: "He (i.e., Puiu) told me that the Germans had been paying him several hundred marks a month, plus food and lodgings to support their cause.

Horia Sima, who had survived the War and remained the leader of a now exiled Iron Guard, recognized the importance of émigré Orthodox Church structures and re-established contact with Puiu in 1949.

According to a secret document dated 1955, Puiu asked the communist leader Gheorghiu Dej for the full restoration of his clerical rank, as he wished to be appointed Metropolitan of Moldavia.

She also cited a 2012 travel agency advertising Aiud, a town where many political prisoners had been held, with a leaflet reading: "Come to pray and bring your gratitude to the Romanian martyr saints who sacrificed themselves for the sins of our nation when the red beast tried to suffocate our Christian Orthodox belief.

The Romanian government addressed these concerns by amending the legislation on Holocaust denial to include a legal definition of the Iron Guard movement as a fascist and criminal organization, thus banning the public display of its symbols.

[72] Pârvu's 2011 birthday celebration caused public scandal when nuns at the Petru Vodă monastery sang the iconic Iron Guard song "Holy Legionary Youth".

The final sentence read: "The Romanian Patriarchate does not initiate and promote racist, xenophobic, and antisemitic movements and does not support enmity based on religious or ethnic reasons as they are contrary to the Gospel of love toward all people."

"[7] In the particular case of Timișoara, Cecilie Endresen noted that students of Orthodox theology with neo-legionary sympathies had some connection to the periodical Gazeta de vest ("The Western Gazette").

Gazeta de vest was the first post-1989 neo-legionary publication and Endresen describes it as "characterised by poor layout and rhetoric that is conspicuously hateful and racist even by (neo-)Legionary standards".