Religion in Romania . The most common religious trend in Romania is Orthodoxy , according to the 2002 national census , 86.7% of the country's total population included Orthodoxy. The vast majority of Orthodox Romanians belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church . Other Christian denominations have a much smaller number of adherents - Latin Catholics, about 4.7% of the population, Greek Catholics - 0.9%, Protestants - 6.5%. About 67 thousand people, mainly ethnic Turks living in the Dobrudja region, declared themselves as Muslims . During the census, 6,179 people identified themselves as practicing Judaism , 23,105 people declared an atheistic (non-religious) worldview.
Within the meaning of the current Constitution , Romania is a secular state ; declared the principle of freedom of conscience and the equality of all officially recognized religions before the law [1] . The Law on Religious Freedom of January 11, 2007, in Article 7 reads: “The Romanian state recognizes the important role of the Romanian Orthodox Church and other churches and cults recognized in the national history of Romania and in the life of Romanian society.” [2] In practice, large religious organizations, primarily the Romanian Orthodox Church, enjoy state support; high-ranking clergy receive a salary from the state treasury [3] .
| Denomination | Population | % |
|---|---|---|
| Christianity | 21 455 354 | 98.8 |
| Orthodoxy | 18 806 428 | 86.7 |
| Catholicism | 1,223,882 | 5,6 |
| Latin rite | 1,028,401 | 4.7 |
| Greek Catholics | 195 481 | 0.9 |
| Protestantism | 1,425,044 | 6.5 |
| Calvinism | 698,550 | 3.2 |
| Pentecostals | 330,486 | 1,5 |
| Baptism | 129 937 | 0.6 |
| Adventists | 97 041 | 0.4 |
| Other | 169 030 | 0.8 |
| Islam | 67 566 | 0.3 |
| Judaism | 6 179 | 0,03 |
| Other religions | 87,225 | 0.4 |
| Atheists and non-religious | 23 105 | 0.1 |
| Refused to answer | 18 492 | 0.1 |
Content
Orthodoxy
History
The Romanian Orthodox Church proclaimed its autocephaly in 1865 (3 years after the formation of the Romanian state), but the Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized the autocephaly of the Romanian Church only 20 years later, in 1885 . In 1919, the Council took place, uniting the dioceses of Romania, Transylvania and Bukovina . Under the Romanian Constitution of 1923, the Romanian Orthodox Church was declared the country's national church.
In 1948, a communist regime was established in Romania. Unlike most other communist states in Romania, the Orthodox Church was not subjected to serious persecution or restraint, although the whole church life was tightly controlled by the state. From 1948 to 1977, the Church was led by Patriarch Justinian .
The Primate of the Church since 1986, Patriarch Feoktist, after the fall of the communist regime, in January 1990, resigned, but was reinstated by the Synod in April of that year. Since 2007, the Church has been led by Patriarch Daniel .
There are certain tensions with the Russian Orthodox Church over the creation of the Bessarabian Metropolitanate of the Romanian Orthodox Church on the territory of Moldova . On January 21, 2008, President of Moldova Vladimir Voronin and Patriarch Alexy II jointly condemned the policies of the Romanian Patriarchate on the territory of Moldova [5] . Relations also remain tense with Romanian Greek Catholics , claiming the return of temple buildings taken from them during the communist regime and transferred to the Orthodox.
Strength and Structure
According to the 2002 census, 18,817,975 people (86.7%) of the population called themselves Orthodox [6] . Regarding the regularity of visiting religious buildings, according to a 2007 survey, 7% of the population goes to church weekly or more often, 31% several times a month, 20% about once a month, 33% once or twice a year, 7% not attend religious buildings [7] .
The Romanian Orthodox Church is divided into 6 metropolises with centers in Bucharest , Craiova , Timisoara , Cluj-Napoca , Sibiu and Iasi . In 1992, the Bessarabian Metropolis was recreated on the territory of Moldova , as the successor to the Metropolitanate that existed in Bessarabia before joining the USSR in 1940. Each metropolis consists of several archdioceses and dioceses . There are a number of dioceses abroad designed to feed the diaspora . The church owns 296 monasteries and 97 monasteries. The supreme authority is the Holy Synod, consisting of the Primate (Patriarch) and all the bishops of the Church.
Catholicism
The second largest religious denomination in the country is Catholics . According to the 2002 census, 1,028,401 people (4.7%) of the Roman Catholic religion live in the country. 191 556 people (0.9%) according to the census belong to the Greek Catholics [6] .
Roman Catholics are mainly concentrated in the west of the country, in Transylvania . In 1992, according to the Romanian Ministry of Culture and Religion of Latin Catholics, there were about 1.2 million, of which 770,000 were ethnic Hungarians , 360,000 ethnic Romanians and 70,000 ethnic Germans [8] .
Romanian Greek Catholics are united in the Romanian Greek Catholic Church , which has been in the status of Supreme Archbishopric since 2005. Data on the number of Greek Catholics vary and are the subject of debate. If according to the Vatican Annuario Pontificio in 2007 there were more than 776,000 parishioners [9] , then according to the census of Romania held in 2002, there were only 191 556 Greek Catholics [6] . The catholic-hierarchy directory cites a figure of 758,000 people [10] . Most parishioners of the church are concentrated in the northwestern regions of the country.
In total, there are 12 Catholic dioceses, 6 Latin rites, 5 Greek Catholics, and 1 diocese of Armenian Catholics in Romania [11] .
Protestantism
According to the 2002 census, the total number of Romanian Protestants was 1,425,044 people (6.5% of the population). The largest Protestant denominations are the Reformed Church of Romania ( Calvinism ) - 698 550 (3.2%), the Apostolic Church of God ( Pentecostals ) - 330 486 (1.5%), Baptists - 129 937 (0.6%), Adventists - 97 041 (0.4%). A significant part of the followers of the Reformed Church are ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania; In the eastern part of Hungary, on the border with Romania, Calvinism is the most common religion.
Islam
The history of Islam in Romania is quite ancient, but currently the number of Muslims in the country is small - 67,566 people (0.3%) of the population [6] . The vast majority of Romanian Muslims (about 97%) live in northern Dobrudja (the region around the Danube Delta ), where there is a historical Turkish community. Most Romanian Muslims are ethnic Turks .
See also
- Jehovah's Witnesses in Romania
Links
Notes
- ↑ Art. 29 - Libertatea conștiinței . Constituția României .
- ↑ Legea nr. 489/2006 privind libertatea religioasă și regimul general al cultelor
- ↑ The Romanian government doubled the salary of Patriarch Daniel, effectively equalizing it with the presidential Interfax.ru November 22, 2007
- ↑ 2002 census data
- ↑ Alexy II and Vladimir Voronin do not agree with the behavior of Romania and the Romanian Church towards Moldova. Interfax.ru January 21, 2008
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Census results. 2002 Archived on July 6, 2009.
- ↑ Survey September-October 2007 (inaccessible link)
- ↑ Website of the Ministry of Culture and Religions of Romania Archived on September 28, 2007.
- ↑ Annuario Pontificio −2007
- ↑ Church statistics on the catholic-hierarchy website
- ↑ gcatholic.org