Priest-martyr Aurel Munteanu remembered in Huedin on his 140th birth anniversary

On Tuesday, Huedin Orthodox Deanery organised a memorial symposium honouring the priest-martyr Aurel Munteanu, on his 140th birth anniversary. The event was preceded by a memorial service for the Romanian priest killed by Horthy’s troops on September 10, 1940.

The symposium entitled “140 years since the birth of the priest-martyr Aurel Munteanu” took place at the administrative headquarters of the Huedin Deanery.

The cultural event included the launch of a commemorative volume entitled “140 years since the birth of dean Aurel Munteanu”, coordinated by Rev. Dan-Ionuț Lupuțan and Prof. Mădălin-Sebastian Lung.

His Grace Assistant Bishop Benedict of Bistrița referred to Fr. Aurel Munteanu’s personality.

“On his 140th birth anniversary, we look with gratitude and admiration to his personality and the effigy associated with him in the history of the Church and our nation,” the assistant bishop to the Cluj Archdiocese said on May 3.

“This natural and necessary piety exercise rests on how he ended his life, making his biography a page of recent hagiography through details, language and symbolic value. And, above all, through attitudes,” the assistant bishop to the Archdiocese of Vad, Feleac and Cluj underlined ending his speech.

During the symposium, scientific lectures were given by Fr. Dan-Ionuț Lupuțan, Dean of Huedin, Dr Mircea Gheorghe Abrudan, scientific researcher at the Institute of History “George Barițiu” of the Romanian Academy, Dr Vasile Todincă, scientific researcher at the Cris Country Museum in Oradea and Alexandra Cotae, representative of the Academy of Elites, Models and Values in Cluj-Napoca.

The memorial symposium organised in honour of the martyred dean Aurel Munteanu is part of the events dedicated to Huedin Deanery’s centennial.

Fr. Aurel Munteanu was killed on September 10 1940, two days after the entry of Horthy troops in Huedin, as Northern Transylvania was assigned from Romania to Hungary.