{"id":515016,"date":"2025-02-06T12:16:44","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T10:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=515016"},"modified":"2025-02-06T12:16:44","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T10:16:44","slug":"romanian-academy-president-patriarchate-natural-step-after-great-union-major-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/romanian-academy-president-patriarchate-natural-step-after-great-union-major-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Romanian Academy President: Patriarchate was a natural step after Great Union, but required major effort"},"content":{"rendered":"

The establishment of the Romanian Patriarchate was a natural consequence of the enthusiasm that followed the Great Union of 1918, but achieving it required immense effort from the country\u2019s leadership, said Academician Ioan-Aurel Pop, President of the Romanian Academy, in an interview published in Lumina<\/em> Newspaper<\/a> on the occasion of the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The enthusiasm of our people after the Great Union was so great and beautiful that it naturally led to the creation of the Patriarchate. But this does not mean that this great achievement happened effortlessly\u2014on the contrary, the efforts of those in leadership were immense,” he stated.<\/p>\n

Romanians and Their Unique Historical Development<\/h3>\n

Asked about the relationship between Romanian history and the evolution of church organization, Pop noted that “our people have had a distinct, unparalleled, and unrepeatable historical development.”<\/p>\n

“In the Middle Ages, Romanian states did not need patriarchates because our rulers did not aspire to imperial status or seek to overturn the established hierarchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” he explained. “Our metropolitans held a sufficiently high ecclesiastical rank to ensure the sovereign power of Romanian princes.”<\/p>\n

Unlike other Orthodox nations, Romanians did not create a separate patriarchate from the Great Church of Constantinople, as they did not share the imperial vocation of Byzantium. However, the Metropolises of Wallachia and Moldavia, and later the Metropolis of Transylvania, played a crucial historical role in consecrating princely power, defending independence, and supporting national identity.<\/p>\n

The Church at the Heart of the Community<\/h3>\n

Academician Pop emphasized that church centres historically moved along with political power. “The Church is the world itself, and its leadership is found at the heart of the community.”<\/p>\n

Just as Constantinople was established as the new capital after the decline of Rome, medieval Romanian metropolises shifted along with princely seats:<\/p>\n