Fr Emanuel-Pavel Tăvală, cultural adviser to the Archdiocese of Sibiu and lecturer at the Faculty of Law of Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, has been elected president of the European Consortium for Church and State Research.
The election took place on Saturday during the organisation’s General Assembly in Copenhagen, where the Romanian priest secured a majority of members’ votes.
Among the priorities of the consortium’s new leadership is amending its statutes to allow additional members from countries already represented and potentially from countries outside the European Union.
Other objectives include raising the organisation’s profile online and within European universities, as well as attracting young researchers.
European research consortium
The European Consortium for Church and State Research was officially established on 12 December 1989, although cooperation between specialists in the field began as early as 1978.
The organisation brings together university academics interested in examining relations between European states and religious communities from historical, political and, above all, legal perspectives.
The consortium holds annual meetings devoted to church-state relations, at which members present research papers and national reports. The conclusions of these meetings may help inform future legislation.
Its publishing activities include the European Journal for Church and State Research and the volume State and Church in the European Union, which has been translated into several languages.
In cooperation with research institutions in Strasbourg, the consortium has also developed a bibliographical database covering law and religion in 27 European countries.
Who is Fr Emanuel-Pavel Tăvală
Fr Emanuel-Pavel Tăvală is a lecturer in the Department of Public Law at the Faculty of Law of Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.
He studied law and theology in Sibiu and undertook doctoral research into the history of the Romanian Orthodox Church under the supervision of Fr. Mircea Păcurariu, a member of the Romanian Academy.
In 2009, he completed his doctoral research on the Romanian diaspora in Western Europe.
He also completed doctoral studies in comparative canon and religious law at the universities of Bern, Switzerland, and Trier, Germany, as well as a doctorate in law from the University of Sibiu.
He currently serves as cultural adviser to the Archdiocese of Sibiu and parish priest of the Three Oaks 1 Church in Sibiu.
