Although not valued as the most salient features of the “Romanianness”, these religious elements ensured nevertheless a significant socio-political influence for the ecclesiastical leadership, which could occasionally mobilize ethno-religious loyalties for obtaining strategic political gains.ĢThe aim of this paper is to explore the tempestuous post-1989 inter-confessional conflict between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church, and the resulting redefinition of the relationship between state and church. However, the Romanian national ideology has encompassed also an important religious dimension, with two main components : Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the Old Kingdom and Greek-Catholicism in Transylvania. They even do not name each other Romanians anymore, but the Orthodox call the other Popeists, while the United call those not United - Muscals.ġHistorically, Romanian nationalism has exhibited close similarities with the ethno-linguistic type of nationalism which characterized most of the national movements in East-Central Europe : national community was defined primarily in terms of shared language and descent. So much our people is harmed here by priests that they either sympathize with foreigners or associate exclusively with fellows of their same religion, rather than as United with Orthodox and vice-versa.

I myself lost any hope that the Romanian can have any positive future. At the same time, both parts reserve for themselves that honest, brotherly and saint Christian name if the people from these lands do not get rid of this pointless prejudice and do not overcome this old and vicious religious discord, then they will work against their own interests. The former name the latter not United, while the latter name the former United. , wherever they are, if they hate each-other within their own vicinity, the greatest reason for their disarray stems from the fact that some are belonging to the United Greek-Catholic cult, while others to the Eastern Orthodox cult.

I wish to thank Molly Abraham for revising a preliminary draft.

Jurnal de război by Marie of Romania