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136-467: Death was a central part of the Iron Guard's ideology. Its members, known as "Legionnaires", were officially asked "to embrace death" if needed; in practice, they were supposed to be ready to both give and embrace death—in other words, to be willing to assassinate their political enemies at the risk of their own lives. This "Legionnaire's death" was widely celebrated. For instance, the second verse of

272-583: A 13-page laudatory review of Nichifor Crainic's infamous antismetic book Transfigurarea Românismului (The Transfiguration of Romanianism) . Antisemitism was also present in regional journals, a leading example being Dumitru Stăniloae 's Telegraful român ( The Romanian Telegraph ). Orthodox chaplains in the Romanian army cultivated the Judeo-Bolshevik myth. A particular case was Romanian-occupied Transnistria . On August 15, 1941, The Holy Synod established

408-560: A Romanian Orthodox Church that was already no stranger to antisemitism. It became particularly evident in the second half of the 1930s in the writings of theologians such as Nichifor Crainic , Nicolae Neaga or Liviu Stan . In 1936, Crainic published a seminal text titled Rasă și religiune (Race and Religion) . While rejecting the Nazi idea of a superior Germanic race, as well as the fascination with Germanic paganism, Crainic argued that some races are indeed superior based on their accomplishment of

544-456: A controversy). In his private notes, Eliade wrote that he took no further interest in the office, because his visits abroad had convinced him that he had "something great to say", and that he could not function within the confines of "a minor culture". Also during the war, Eliade traveled to Berlin , where he met and conversed with controversial political theorist Carl Schmitt , and frequently visited Francoist Spain , where he notably attended

680-516: A correspondence with the Ceylonese -born philosopher Ananda Coomaraswamy . In 1936–1937, he functioned as honorary assistant for Ionescu's course, lecturing in Metaphysics . In 1933, Mircea Eliade had a physical relationship with the actress Sorana Țopa, while falling in love with Nina Mareș, whom he ultimately married. The latter, introduced to him by his new friend Mihail Sebastian , already had

816-456: A daughter, Giza, from a man who had divorced her. Eliade subsequently adopted Giza, and the three of them moved to an apartment at 141 Dacia Boulevard . He left his residence in 1936, during a trip he made to the United Kingdom and Germany, when he first visited London, Oxford and Berlin . After contributing various and generally polemical pieces in university magazines, Eliade came to

952-664: A diabolical temptation that had led the Iron Guard to undermine the state and the Conducător . Many of the clergymen who had participated in the Rebellion were, however, shielded by their bishops and continued parish work in remote villages. Romania's participation in World War II on the Axis side after June 1941 would provide them with opportunities for rehabilitation. By the early 1940s, Orthodox theologians such as Nichifor Crainic already had

1088-612: A free hand to deal with any and all suspected members of the Iron Guard, and thousands of young men were shot, hanged from telegraph poles, or tortured to death. A few hundred escaped to Germany . Romanian Orthodox Church Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The Romanian Orthodox Church ( ROC ; Romanian : Biserica Ortodoxă Română , BOR ), or Patriarchate of Romania ,

1224-783: A friend of Justinian's. The Social Apostolate called on clerics to become active in the People's Republic , thus laying the foundation for the church's submission to and collaboration with the state. Fr. Vasilescu, an Orthodox priest, attempted to find grounds in support of the Social Apostolate doctrine in the Christian tradition, citing Augustine of Hippo , John Chrysostom , Maximus the Confessor , Origen and Tertullian . Based on this alleged grounding in tradition, Vasilescu concluded that Christians owed submission to their secular rulers as if it were

1360-454: A glorification of Moța and Marin and their sacrifice and reflected the Guard's obsession for martyrdom. Intended as a bi-monthly Predania printed a total of twelve issues before being banned by the authorities. It stood out for its profoundly anti-ecumenical editorial line, publishing attacks against Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals. Also in the aftermath of Moța and Marin's grandiose funeral,

1496-501: A lengthy record of producing propaganda supporting the concept of Judeo-Bolshevism . After 1941 the idea became commonplace in central church newspapers such as Apostolul or BOR . A particularly infamous article was signed by Patriarch Nicodim himself and published in BOR in April 1942. It referred to the danger of domestic enemies whom he identified as mostly being Jewish. In 1943 BOR published

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1632-589: A list of party members with county -level responsibilities (published in Buna Vestire ). The stance taken by Eliade resulted in his arrest on July 14, 1938, after a crackdown on the Iron Guard authorized by King Carol II . At the time of his arrest, he had just interrupted a column on Provincia și legionarismul ("The Province and Legionary Ideology") in Vremea , having been singled out by Prime Minister Armand Călinescu as an author of Iron Guard propaganda. Eliade

1768-690: A mandatory retirement age for clergy, thus providing authorities with a convenient way to pension off old-guard holdouts. The 4 August 1948 Law on Cults institutionalised state control over episcopal elections and packed the Holy Synod with Communist supporters. The evangelical wing of the Romanian Orthodox Church, known as the Army of the Lord , was suppressed by communist authorities in 1948. In exchange for subservience and enthusiastic support for state policies,

1904-642: A mass confiscation of monastic estates in the face of stiff opposition from the Greek hierarchy in Constantinople, in 1865 pushed through a legislation that proclaimed complete independence of the church in the principalities from the patriarchate. In 1872, the Orthodox churches in the principalities, the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia and the Metropolis of Moldavia , merged to form the Romanian Orthodox Church. Following

2040-659: A mission, rather than a new bishopric, in Romanian-occupied territories across the Dniester . The assumption was that Soviet atheist rule had destroyed the Russian Orthodox Church and the Romanian Orthodox Church took it upon itself to "re-evangelize" the locals. The main architect of the enterprise was Archimandrite Iuliu Scriban . In 1942 the Mission evolved into an Exarchate and was taken over by Visarion Puiu . Many of

2176-463: A physical relationship with her. Eliade received his PhD in 1933, with a thesis on Yoga practices. The book, which was translated into French three years later, had significant impact in academia, both in Romania and abroad. He later recalled that the book was an early step for understanding not just Indian religious practices, but also Romanian spirituality. During the same period, Eliade began

2312-579: A preferential treatment of Orthodox parishes. The state funds all the expenses of Orthodox seminaries and colleges, including teachers' and professors' salaries who, for compensation purposes, are regarded as civil servants. Since the fall of Communism, Greek-Catholic Church leaders have claimed that the Eastern Catholic community is facing a cultural and religious wipe-out: the Greek-Catholic churches are allegedly being destroyed by representatives of

2448-562: A result of measures passed in 1947–48, the state took over the 2,300 elementary schools and 24 high schools operated by the Orthodox Church. A new campaign struck the church in 1958-62 when more than half of its remaining monasteries were closed, more than 2,000 monks were forced to take secular jobs, and about 1,500 clergy and lay activists were arrested (out of a total of up to 6,000 in the 1946-64 period ). Throughout this period Patriarch Justinian took great care that his public statements met

2584-576: A violent insurrection known as the Legionary Rebellion . The putsch failed and out of the 9000 people arrested, 422 were Orthodox priests. Some particularly violent episodes during the insurrection directly involved the Orthodox clergy. Students and staff of the Theological Academy in Sibiu, led by Professor Spiridon Cândea and assisted by Iron Guard militiamen rounded up Jews in the courtyard of

2720-482: Is a titular office granted in 1776 by Ecumenical Patriarch Sophronius II to the holder of the office of Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia , the precursor position of the Orthodox Church to the today Patriarchate of Romania. Dumitru Stăniloae (1903–1993) is considered one of the greatest Orthodox theologians of the 20th century, having written extensively in all major fields of Eastern Christian systematic theology . One of his other major achievements in theology

2856-627: Is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches , and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church . Since 1925, the church's Primate has borne the title of Patriarch . Its jurisdiction covers the territories of Romania and Moldova , with additional dioceses for Romanians living in nearby Serbia and Hungary , as well as for diaspora communities in Central and Western Europe , North America and Oceania . It

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2992-553: Is considered to be an "ambiguous provision". Currently, the state provides the funds necessary for paying the salaries of priests, deacons and other prelates and the pensions of retired clergy, as well as for expenses related to lay church personnel. For the Orthodox church this is over 100 million euros for salaries, with additional millions for construction and renovation of church property. The same applies to all state-recognised religions in Romania. The state also provides support for church construction and structural maintenance, with

3128-851: Is organized in the form of the Romanian Patriarchate . The highest hierarchical, canonical and dogmatical authority of the Romanian Orthodox Church is the Holy Synod . There are ten Orthodox Metropolitanates , twenty archbishoprics , twenty-three bishoprics in total, of which four metropolitans and nine bishops administer the Church services for the Romanian Diaspora in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Oceania. An estimated number of over twelve thousand altar servers in parishes, monasteries and social centres of

3264-608: Is promoted to the highest office in the shortest of times"). He approved of an ethnic nationalist state centered on the Orthodox Church (in 1927, despite his still-vivid interest in Theosophy , he recommended young intellectuals "the return to the Church"), which he opposed to, among others, the secular nationalism of Constantin Rădulescu-Motru ; referring to this particular ideal as "Romanianism", Eliade was, in 1934, still viewing it as "neither fascism, nor chauvinism ". Eliade

3400-682: Is the 45-year-long comprehensive series on Orthodox spirituality known as the Romanian Philokalia , a collection of texts written by classical Byzantine writers, that he edited and translated from Greek. Archimandrite Cleopa Ilie (1912–1998), elder of the Sihăstria Monastery , is considered one of the most representative fathers of contemporary Romanian Orthodox monastic spirituality. Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade ( Romanian: [ˈmirtʃe̯a eliˈade] ; March 13 [ O.S. February 28] 1907 – April 22, 1986)

3536-622: Is the only autocephalous church within Eastern Orthodoxy to have a Romance language for liturgical use. The majority of Romania 's population (16,367,267, or 85.9% of those for whom data were available, according to the 2011 census data ), as well as some 720,000 Moldovans , belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church. Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church sometimes refer to Orthodox Christian doctrine as Dreapta credință ("right/correct belief" or "true faith"; compare to Greek ὀρθὴ δόξα, "straight/correct belief"). The Orthodox hierarchy in

3672-451: The Black Sea . In parallel, Eliade grew estranged from the educational environment, becoming disenchanted with the discipline required and obsessed with the idea that he was uglier and less virile than his colleagues. To cultivate his willpower, he would force himself to swallow insects and only slept four to five hours a night. At one point, Eliade was failing four subjects, among which was

3808-575: The Decemviri , shot Mihai Stelescu in his hospital bed between 38 and about 200 times on July 16, 1936. After shooting him, they cut him into pieces with axes and danced around the body of the victim. Four of those involved in Stelescu's execution were theology students. Stelescu had left the Iron Guard, forming the rival Crusade of Romanianism , and launching a series of public attacks against Codreanu. Codreanu could not abide this betrayal, although both he and

3944-594: The Great National Assembly . The members of the church's hierarchy and clergy remained mostly silent as some two dozen historic Bucharest churches were demolished in the 1980s, and as plans for systematization (including the destruction of village churches) were announced. A notable dissenter was Gheorghe Calciu-Dumitreasa , imprisoned for a number of years and eventually expelled from Romania in June 1985, after signing an open letter criticizing and demanding an end to

4080-581: The Legionnaires' Rebellion and Bucharest Pogrom . The Nicadori assassinated Prime Minister Ion G. Duca at Sinaia train station at 10:00 pm on December 29, 1933. This was the first major political assassination in Romania since Barbu Catargiu was shot in 1862. The Nicadori killed Duca because he had arrested thousands of Legionnaires during the 1933 election campaign , also leaving 18 dead; and because he had allowed for increased Jewish immigration while blocking that of Aromanians to Dobrudja . Their name

4216-576: The Nationalist faction led to the organization of massive processions in Romania, particularly in Bucharest where they were interred. Hundreds of Orthodox priests participated and Metropolitans Nicolae Bălan of Transylvania and Visarion Puiu of Bukovina held special services. Shortly after the funeral, Orthodox theologian Gheorghe Racoveanu and priest Grigore Cristescu founded the theological journal Predania (The Tradinion) . The first issue featured

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4352-632: The Romanian Army from the Eastern Front ("[In his place], I would not be grinding it in Russia"). Eliade also claimed that such contacts with the leader of a neutral country had made him the target for Gestapo surveillance, but that he had managed to communicate Salazar's advice to Mihai Antonescu , Romania's Foreign Minister . In autumn 1943, he traveled to occupied France , where he rejoined Emil Cioran , also meeting with scholar Georges Dumézil and

4488-588: The Romanian Writers' Society , of which he had been a member since 1934. In summer 1937, through an official decision which came as a result of the accusations, and despite student protests, he was stripped of his position at the university. Eliade decided to sue the Ministry of Education , asking for a symbolic compensation of 1 leu . He won the trial, and regained his position as Nae Ionescu's assistant. Nevertheless, by 1937, he gave his intellectual support to

4624-722: The Securitate , the secret police . A prime example was Bishop Nicolae Corneanu , the Metropolitan of Banat , who admitted to his efforts on behalf of the Romanian Communist Party , and denounced activities of clerics in support of the Communists, including his own, as "the Church's [act of] prostitution with the Communist regime". In 1986, Metropolitan Antonie Plămădeală defended Ceaușescu's church demolition programme as part of

4760-552: The Stoics Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus , and read works of history—the two Romanian historians who influenced him from early on were Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu and Nicolae Iorga . His first published work was the 1921 Inamicul viermelui de mătase ("The Silkworm's Enemy"), followed by Cum am găsit piatra filosofală ("How I Found the Philosophers' Stone "). Four years later, Eliade completed work on his debut volume,

4896-560: The University of Calcutta . Finding that the Maharaja of Kassimbazar sponsored European scholars to study in India, Eliade applied and was granted an allowance for four years, which was later doubled by a Romanian scholarship. In autumn 1928, he sailed for Calcutta to study Sanskrit and philosophy under Surendranath Dasgupta , a Bengali Cambridge alumnus and professor at Calcutta University,

5032-459: The collaborationist writer Paul Morand . At the same time, he applied for a position of lecturer at the University of Bucharest , but withdrew from the race, leaving Constantin Noica and Ion Zamfirescu to dispute the position, in front of a panel of academics comprising Lucian Blaga and Dimitrie Gusti (Zamfirescu's eventual selection, going against Blaga's recommendation, was to be the topic of

5168-537: The international recognition of the independence of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later Kingdom of Romania ) in 1878, after a long period of negotiations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Patriarch Joachim IV granted recognition to the autocephalous Metropolis of Romania in 1885, which was raised to the rank of Patriarchate in 1925. Romanian Orthodox theological education

5304-454: The modernist short stories of Giovanni Papini and social anthropology studies by James George Frazer . His interest in the two writers led him to learn Italian and English in private, and he also began studying Persian and Hebrew . At the time, Eliade became acquainted with Saadi 's poems and the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh . He was also interested in philosophy—studying, among others, Socrates , Vasile Conta , and

5440-441: The "Avengers" – assassinated Prime Minister Armand Călinescu on September 21, 1939. Călinescu had been minister of the interior at the time of Codreanu's death, and thus had some connection with it. A few months after Codreanu was killed, King Carol 's police uncovered a plot to exact revenge on Călinescu. Carol retaliated by ordering members of the Iron Guard rounded up and put to death without trial. The exact number executed

5576-449: The 1920s is marked by the rise of antisemitism in Romanian politics with figures such as A.C. Cuza or Iron Guard founding father Codreanu . Antisemitism also became apparent in church publications. In 1925, for instance, church journal Revista Teologică (The Theological Review) published an anti-Semitic article by Sibiu professor priest Pompiliu Morușca. Morușca's article blamed the Jews for

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5712-498: The 1944 Lusitano-Spanish scientific congress in Córdoba . It was during his trips to Spain that Eliade met philosophers José Ortega y Gasset and Eugenio d'Ors . He maintained a friendship with d'Ors, and met him again on several occasions after the war. Nina Eliade fell ill with uterine cancer and died during their stay in Lisbon , in late 1944. As the widower later wrote, the disease

5848-573: The Christian essence. Crainic also denied the Jews the moral right to use the books of the Old Testament since, according to him, those prophesies had been fulfilled by the coming of Christ who had abolished the Jewish religion. The deaths of prominent Iron Guard members Ion Moța and Vasile Marin on the same day, January 13, 1937, at Majadahonda during the Spanish Civil War while fighting for

5984-514: The Christian faith as expressed by peasants. Growing up, he aimed to find and record what he believed was the common source of all religious traditions. The young Eliade's interest in physical exercise and adventure led him to pursue mountaineering and sailing, and he also joined the Romanian Boy Scouts . With a group of friends, he designed and sailed a boat on the Danube , from Tulcea to

6120-476: The Christian religion, one of mercy, was thus transformed into an ideology of murder. They drew inspiration from Codreanu himself, who had planned a large number of political assassinations with Ion Moța , and who had killed a policeman in Iași in autumn 1924. At his trial for that deed he proclaimed, "it was my faith and my love of this country that guided me in this struggle, in everything I did. We pledge to fight until

6256-454: The Church tried to adapt to the new political situation. In August 1945 a letter of the Holy Synod was published in BOR . Again, it blamed the Germans for the horrors of the war and claimed that the Orthodox Church had always promoted democracy. The Romania Army was also praised for having joined forces with "the brave Soviet armies in the war against the true adversaries of our country." Finally,

6392-467: The Church. Almost 400 monasteries exist inside the country, staffed by some 3,500 monks and 5,000 nuns. As of 2004, there are, inside Romania , fifteen theological universities where more than ten thousand students (some of them from Bessarabia , Bukovina and Serbia benefiting from a few Romanian fellowships) currently study for a theological degree. More than 14,500 churches (traditionally named "lăcașe de cult", or houses of worship) exist in Romania for

6528-573: The Devil's Waters'), and Romanul Adolescentului Miop ('Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent', 1989); the novellas Domnișoara Christina ('Miss Christina', 1936) and Tinerețe fără tinerețe ('Youth Without Youth', 1976); and the short stories Secretul doctorului Honigberger ('The Secret of Dr. Honigberger', 1940) and La Țigănci ('With the Gypsy Girls', 1963). Early in his life, Eliade

6664-523: The Eastern Orthodox Church, whose actions are supported and accepted by the Romanian authorities. The church openly supported banning same-sex marriage in a referendum in 2018 . The church believes that homosexuality is a sin and unnatural. The Romanian Orthodox Church also has jurisdiction over a minority of believers in Moldova , who belong to the Metropolis of Bessarabia , as opposed to

6800-610: The Holy Cross, for the country We defeat forests and conquer mountains; No prison can frighten us, Nor any torture, or enemy storm; If we all fall, hit in the forehead, Death for the Captain is dear to us! The Guard aligned itself with the Romanian Orthodox Church , which prohibits murder. However, it had ways of justifying the notion of "giving death" (a notion its founder, Corneliu Codreanu , never fully explained, as he

6936-459: The Holy Synod issued a condemnation of Freemasonry . Moreover, following the lead of Metropolitan Bălan who wrote the anti-Masonic manifest, the Synod issued a "Christian point of view" against political secularism stating that the Church was in its right to choose which party was worthy of support, based on its moral principles. Iron Guard leader Codreanu saluted the Synod's position and instructed that

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7072-498: The Iron Guard, in which he saw "a Christian revolution aimed at creating a new Romania", and a group able "to reconcile Romania with God". His articles of the time, published in Iron Guard-affiliated papers such as Sfarmă-Piatră and Buna Vestire , contain ample praises of the movement's leaders ( Corneliu Zelea Codreanu , Ion Moța , Vasile Marin , and Gheorghe Cantacuzino-Grănicerul ). The transition he went through

7208-607: The Jewish population, the other being the metropolitan Nicolae Bălan of Transylvania. Evidence also surfaced that Simedrea personally sheltered a Jewish family in the metropolitanate compound. Priest Gheorghe Petre was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for having saved Jews in Kryve Ozero . Petre was arrested in 1943 and court-martialed but was released in 1944 for lack of evidence. After King Michael's Coup on August 23, 1944, Romania switched sides. The coup had been backed by

7344-427: The Jews as parasites who suck the bone marrow of the Romanian people and who should leave the country. The Orthodox church directly or indirectly supported far-right parties and antisemitic intellectuals in their anti-Jewish rhetoric. At the time many Orthodox priests had become active in far-right politics, thus in the 1937 parliamentary elections 33 out of 103 Iron Guard candidates were Orthodox priests. Overall,

7480-405: The Nicadori in 1934: "Three young students have committed an act in the service of a great cause. You all know what that act was. Their sacrifice was inspired by a great idea. It was done in the name of a great idea. They performed this act, and now they are paying the price." For the Legionnaires, the murder of a political enemy or a traitorous comrade meant sacrificing oneself for a greater cause:

7616-413: The Orthodox clergy and setting up a pro-regime, secret police-infiltrated Union of Democratic Priests (1945), the party endeavoured to secure the hierarchy's cooperation. By January 1953 some 300-500 Orthodox priests were being held in concentration camps, and following Patriarch Nicodim 's death in May 1948, the party succeeded in having the ostensibly docile Justinian Marina elected to succeed him. As

7752-457: The Orthodox faithful were asked to fully support the new government. Later that year BOR published two relatively long articles authored by Bishop Antim Nica and, respectively, by Teodor Manolache. Both articles dealt with the Holocaust and painted the Romanian Orthodox Church as a savior of Jews. Romania officially became a communist state in 1947. Restricted access to ecclesiastical and relevant state archives makes an accurate assessment of

7888-443: The Romanian Orthodox Church's attitude towards the Communist regime a difficult proposition. Nevertheless, the activity of the Orthodox Church as an institution was more or less tolerated by the Marxist–Leninist atheist regime, although it was controlled through "special delegates" and its access to the public sphere was severely limited; the regime's attempts at repression generally focused on individual believers. The attitudes of

8024-401: The Romanian Orthodox believers. As of 2002, almost 1,000 of those were either in the process of being built or rebuilt . The patriarchal chair is currently held by His Beatitude Daniel , Archbishop of Bucharest , Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrudja , Locum Tenens of Caesarea in Cappadocia and Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The title of Locum tenens of Caesarea in Cappadocia

8160-492: The Romanian Senate. However, the context also allowed a number of young theologians like Nichifor Crainic , Ioan Savin , or Dumitru Stăniloae to study abroad. These theologians proved extremely influential after their return to Romania and helped shape theological academies. With a few rare exceptions, like Gala Galaction , the Romanian Orthodox theologians of this period embraced nationalism . Their scholarly works are thus imbued with nationalist ideology. The second half of

8296-437: The Romanian state. In 1941, during his time in Portugal, Eliade stayed in Estoril , at the Hotel Palácio. He would later find a house in Cascais , at Rua da Saudade. In February 1941, weeks after the bloody Legionary Rebellion was crushed by Antonescu, Iphigenia was staged by the National Theater Bucharest —the play soon raised concerns that it owed inspiration to the Iron Guard's ideology, and even that its inclusion in

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8432-418: The Synod's proclamation should be read by Guard members in their respective nests (i.e. chapters). In 1937, the Goga - Cuza government was the first to adopt and enact antisemitic legislation in the Kingdom of Romania, stripping over two hundred thousand Jews of their citizenship. That very same year, the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Cristea made an infamous speech in which he described

8568-420: The Western European public. He was also briefly involved in publishing a Romanian-language magazine, titled Luceafărul ("The Morning Star"), and was again in contact with Mihai Șora , who had been granted a scholarship to study in France, and with Șora's wife Mariana . In 1947, he was facing material constraints, and Ananda Coomaraswamy found him a job as a French-language teacher in the United States, at

8704-421: The academy and forced them to hand over their valuables at gunpoint. Monks from the Antim Monastery in Bucharest, led by their abbot, armed themselves and, using explosives, blew up a Synagogue on Antim Street. The numerous Jewish inhabitants of the neighborhood hid in terror. After Antonescu and the Army crushed the insurrection, the Holy Synod was quick to condemn the Legionary Rebellion and publicly paint it as

8840-418: The actions of Mahatma Gandhi and the Satyagraha as a phenomenon; later, Eliade adapted Gandhian ideas in his discourse on spirituality and Romania. In 1930, while living with Dasgupta, Eliade fell in love with his host's daughter, Maitreyi Devi , later writing a barely disguised autobiographical novel Maitreyi (also known as "La Nuit Bengali" or "Bengal Nights"), in which he claimed that he carried on

8976-497: The assassins (rather implausibly) denied he knew about the plan or had consented to it. Ion Caratănase led the squad; its other members were Iosif Bozântan, Ștefan Curcă, Ion Pele, Grigore Ion State, Ion Atanasiu, Gavrilă Bogdan, Radu Vlad, Ștefan Georgescu, and Ion Trandafir. Arrested immediately, the men were sentenced to hard labour for life. They were all killed, along with the Nicadori and Codreanu, on November 30, 1938, while being transported to Jilava prison. Răzbunătorii –

9112-610: The attention of journalist Pamfil Șeicaru , who invited him to collaborate on the nationalist paper Cuvântul , which was noted for its harsh tones. By then, Cuvântul was also hosting articles by Nae Ionescu. As one of the figures in the Criterion literary society (1933–1934), Eliade's initial encounter with the traditional far right was polemical: the group's conferences were stormed by members of A. C. Cuza 's National-Christian Defense League , who objected to what they viewed as pacifism and addressed antisemitic insults to several speakers, including Sebastian; in 1933, he

9248-430: The author of a five volume History of Indian Philosophy . Before reaching the Indian subcontinent , Eliade also made a brief visit to Egypt . Once in India, he visited large areas of the region, and spent a short period at a Himalayan ashram . He studied the basics of Indian philosophy , and, in parallel, learned Sanskrit, Pali and Bengali under Dasgupta's direction. At the time, he also became interested in

9384-513: The autobiographical Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent . Between 1925 and 1928, he attended the University of Bucharest 's Faculty of Philosophy and Letters in 1928, earning his diploma with a study on Early Modern Italian philosopher Tommaso Campanella . In 1927, Eliade traveled to Italy, where he met Papini and collaborated with the scholar Giuseppe Tucci . It was during his student years that Eliade met Nae Ionescu , who lectured in Logic , becoming one of his disciples and friends. He

9520-501: The bombing of Bucharest by German zeppelins and the patriotic fervor in the occupied capital at news that Romania was able to stop the Central Powers ' advance into Moldavia . He described this stage in his life as marked by an unrepeatable epiphany . Recalling his entrance into a drawing room that an "eerie iridescent light" had turned into "a fairy-tale palace", he wrote, I practiced for many years [the] exercise of recapturing that epiphanic moment, and I would always find again

9656-413: The capital in 1914, and purchasing a house on Melodiei Street, near Piața Rosetti , where Mircea Eliade resided until late in his teens. Eliade kept a particularly fond memory of his childhood and, later in life, wrote about the impact various unusual episodes and encounters had on his mind. In one instance during the World War I Romanian Campaign , when Eliade was about ten years of age, he witnessed

9792-644: The church became increasingly involved in politics and, after King Carol II assumed emergency powers, Patriarch Miron Cristea became prime-minister in February 1938 . In March 1938, the Holy Synod banned the conversion of Jews who were unable to prove their Romanian citizenship. Cristea continued the policies of the Goga-Cuza government but also advocated more radical antisemitic measures including deportation and exclusion from employment. Cristea referred to this last measure as "Romanianization". The church newspaper Apostolul

9928-413: The church's members, both laity and clergy, towards the communist regime, range broadly from opposition and martyrdom , to silent consent, collaboration or subservience aimed at ensuring survival. Beyond limited access to the Securitate and Party archives as well as the short time elapsed since these events unfolded, such an assessment is complicated by the particularities of each individual and situation,

10064-648: The communists; the Church, known for its long-term record of anti-Soviet and anti-communist rhetoric now found itself in an awkward position. Patriarch Nicodim was quick to write a pastoral letter denouncing the previous dictatorship, blaming the Germans for the events that had taken place in Romania during the 30s and during the war and praising "the powerful neighbor from the East" with whom Romania had, supposedly, always had "the best political, cultural, and religious relations." Starting in 1944, and even more after Petru Groza became Prime-minister with Soviet support in 1945,

10200-401: The death-exalting literature produced by that segment of the intellectual élite which had proved receptive to Legionnaire ideas: Mircea Eliade , Radu Gyr , Constantin Noica , and others. The Legionnaire's death was amply practiced. Many gave their lives certain that the movement and the national cause would be strengthened; they never hesitated to kill in the name of the same idea. Aside from

10336-549: The economic situation of Romanians in Bukovina . It is a testimony of an older form of anti-Semitism going back to the 19th century. The Romanian Orthodox Church would evolve different forms of antisemitism in the 1930s. The Concordat of 1927 also triggered anti-Catholic reactions. The rise of Nazi Germany exposed Romania to the Reich's theological ideas. This mixture of nationalism, racism and theological thought found fertile ground in

10472-549: The end". He was acquitted, as was Moţa (who shot Vernichescu, the man who revealed the assassination conspiracy, seven times, albeit not fatally); both were acclaimed as heroes. As assassinations rendered their perpetrators heroes, they became a sought-after activity for Legionnaires, and Codreanu further enticed them: "The day after the victory of the Legionnaires we shall convene an Extraordinary Tribunal called upon to judge, for high treason : ... all those who, in defiance of

10608-513: The far right. They displayed his rejection of liberalism and the modernizing goals of the 1848 Wallachian revolution (perceived as "an abstract apology of Mankind" and "ape-like imitation of [Western] Europe"), as well as for democracy itself (accusing it of "managing to crush all attempts at national renaissance", and later praising Benito Mussolini 's Fascist Italy on the grounds that, according to Eliade, "[in Italy,] he who thinks for himself

10744-635: The future Legionary Romania". In 1927, at the Guard's very creation, its members swore to be "strong by severing all ties connecting us with mundane things ... by serving the cause of the Romanian nation and the cause of the Cross". By claiming to renounce material wealth and invoking the Cross , the Legionnaires were channeling Christ : they believed they would die for the nation as he had died to redeem mankind. Vasile Marin , who made important contributions to Legionnaire doctrine, amplified on this notion when he praised

10880-678: The help of Alexandru Rosetti , he became Cultural Attaché to the United Kingdom, a posting cut short when Romanian-British foreign relations were broken. After leaving London he was assigned the office of Counsel and Press Officer (later Cultural Attaché) to the Romanian Embassy in Portugal , where he was kept on as diplomat by the National Legionary State (the Iron Guard government) and, ultimately, by Ion Antonescu 's regime. His office involved disseminating propaganda in favor of

11016-417: The highly influential Nicolae Bălan publicly declared their refusal to enter the race. Both of these bishops held pro-German, pro-Iron-Guard and antisemitic views and it is reasonable to assume that King Carol II's opposition was instrumental in their refusal. Thus, the patriarchal office passed to a reluctant Nicodim Munteanu . King Carol II abdicated on September 6, 1940. An openly pro-German coalition of

11152-417: The hymn used by the Guard's youth wing is: Moartea, numai moartea legionară Ne este cea mai scumpă nuntă dintre nunţi, Pentru sfânta cruce, pentru ţară Înfrângem codrii şi supunem munţi; Nu-i temniţă să ne-nspăimânte, Nici chin, nici viforul duşman; De cădem cu toţi, izbiţi în frunte, Ni-i dragă moartea pentru Căpitan! Death, only a Legionnaire's death Is our dearest wedding of weddings, For

11288-579: The idea that the nation included both the dead and the living, with its heroes providing assistance to the latter when invoked. This element of their ideology involved an authentic mystique of the idea of dying for one's nation, as those killed in the course of their duties automatically became heroes who could continue to support their living comrades' undertakings. This enthusiasm for death motivated Moţa, who went to Spain to die for Romania so that (as he believed) his country would be redeemed in God's eyes, as well as in

11424-541: The laws of this country, persecuted, imprisoned, or otherwise caused harm to the Legionnaires and to their families ... no one shall escape judgment". Codreanu's former deputy Mihai Stelescu , after leaving the Legion, publicly accused Codreanu of sacrificing young men for the advancement of his own career, and of devising a type of murder based on "manipulation of the masses", using others as assassins and leaving them to face justice. Furthermore, Legionnaires were animated by

11560-672: The long awaited revival of this Romanian nation, the aim of all our efforts, struggle, and sacrifice", the Legionnaires were ready to sacrifice themselves, to become martyrs for their country. It was during the Legionnaire-dominated Students' Congress of April 3–5, 1936, held at Târgu Mureș , that the death squads were officially established. However, writing in The Nest Leader's Manual , which appeared in May 1933, Codreanu taught: "A Legionnaire loves death, for his blood shall cement

11696-784: The majority, who belong to the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova , under the Moscow Patriarchate . In 2001 it won a landmark legal victory against the Government of Moldova at the Strasbourg -based European Court of Human Rights . This means that despite current political issues, the Metropolis of Bessarabia is now recognized as "the rightful successor" to the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia and Hotin, which existed from 1927 until its dissolution in 1944, when its canonical territory

11832-467: The military headed by marshal Ion Antonescu and the Iron Guard took over. Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu's reaction was cautious and his September 1940 address was unenthusiastic. Munteanu, like Cristea before him, feared the anti-establishment nature of the Guard. But the Iron Guard was highly influential on the Church's grassroots. In January 1941, seeking full control of the country, the Iron Guard attempted

11968-572: The missionaries were former affiliates of the Iron Guard, some were seeking rehabilitation after the 1941 insurrection. Abuse against the Jewish population was widespread and numerous reports of Orthodox priests partaking and profiting from the abuse exist. In 1944, Visarion Puiu fled to Nazi Germany, then, after the war, in the West. In Romania he was tried and convicted in absentia after the war. Many priests active in Transnistria also faced prosecution after

12104-527: The need for urbanization and modernisation in Romania. The church hierarchy refused to try to inform the international community about what was happening. Widespread dissent from religious groups in Romania did not appear until revolution was sweeping across Eastern Europe in 1989. The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church Teoctist Arăpașu supported Ceaușescu up until the end of the regime, and even congratulated him after

12240-538: The newly acquired territories and, generally speaking, manage the relationship with the state. The legislation was intricate. The Statute on the organization of the Romanian Orthodox Church adopted by the Romanian parliament on May 6, 1925, counted 178 articles. The law on the functioning of the Romanian Orthodox Church counted 46 articles. Legislators adopted the Transylvanian tradition of mixing clergymen and laymen in administrative assemblies and granted bishops seats in

12376-526: The non-political Petrescu and Ionel Jianu , and Belu Zilber , who was a member of the illegal Romanian Communist Party . The group also included Haig Acterian , Mihail Polihroniade , Petru Comarnescu , Marietta Sadova and Floria Capsali . He was also close to Marcel Avramescu , a former Surrealist writer whom he introduced to the works of René Guénon . A doctor in the Kabbalah and future Romanian Orthodox cleric, Avramescu joined Eliade in editing

12512-473: The notion of God's omnipotence . However, he contended that Ionescu's text was not evidence of antisemitism. In 1936, reflecting on the early history of the Romanian Kingdom and its Jewish community , he deplored the expulsion of Jewish scholars from Romania, making specific references to Moses Gaster , Heimann Hariton Tiktin and Lazăr Șăineanu . Eliade's views at the time focused on innovation—in

12648-444: The political elite encourage nationalism as a means to strengthen its position against Soviet pressure. The Romanian Orthodox Church, an intensely national body that had made significant contributions to Romanian culture from the 14th century on, came to be regarded by the regime as a natural partner. As a result of this second co-optation, this time as an ally, the church entered a period of dramatic recovery. By 1975, its diocesan clergy

12784-418: The premier. Huge floodlights from army trucks illuminated the area so that the assembled crowd could watch as the nine men were shot in the head with their own guns. The bodies were left under the lights for days. Above them was a large banner reading: De acum înainte, aceasta va fi soarta trădătorilor de țară ("From now on, this shall be the fate of those who betray the country"). Soldiers and police were given

12920-523: The program was a Legionary attempt at subversion. In 1942, Eliade authored a volume in praise of the Estado Novo , established in Portugal by António de Oliveira Salazar , claiming that "The Salazarian state, a Christian and totalitarian one, is first and foremost based on love". On July 7 of the same year, he was received by Salazar himself, who assigned Eliade the task of warning Antonescu to withdraw

13056-422: The property rights over as many as 2,500 church buildings and other assets belonging to the (by then-outlawed) Romanian Greek-Catholic Church were transferred to the Romanian Orthodox Church; the government took charge of providing salaries for bishops and priests, as well as financial subsidies for the publication of religious books, calendars and theological journals. By weeding out the anti-communists from among

13192-422: The regime's standards of political correctness and to avoid giving offence to the government; indeed the hierarchy at the time claimed that the arrests of clergy members were not due to religious persecution. The church's situation began to improve in 1962, when relations with the state suddenly thawed, an event that coincided with the beginning of Romania's pursuit of an independent foreign policy course that saw

13328-547: The regime's violations of human rights. In an attempt to adapt to the newly created circumstances, the Eastern Orthodox Church proposed a new ecclesiology designed to justify its subservience to the state in supposedly theological terms. This so-called "Social Apostolate" doctrine, developed by Patriarch Justinian, asserted that the church owed allegiance to the secular government and should put itself at its service. This notion inflamed conservatives, who were consequently purged by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej , Ceaușescu's predecessor and

13464-476: The same class as Arșavir Acterian , Haig Acterian , and Petre Viforeanu (and several years the senior of Nicolae Steinhardt , who eventually became a close friend of Eliade's). Among his other colleagues was future philosopher Constantin Noica and Noica's friend, future art historian Barbu Brezianu . As a child, Eliade was fascinated with the natural world, which formed the setting of his very first literary attempts, as well as with Romanian folklore and

13600-436: The same plenitude. I would slip into it as into a fragment of time devoid of duration—without beginning, middle, or end. During my last years of lycée, when I struggled with profound attacks of melancholy , I still succeeded at times in returning to the golden green light of that afternoon. [...] But even though the beatitude was the same, it was now impossible to bear because it aggravated my sadness too much. By this time I knew

13736-454: The short-lived esoteric magazine Memra (the only one of its kind in Romania). Among the intellectuals who attended his lectures were Mihai Şora (whom he deemed his favorite student), Eugen Schileru and Miron Constantinescu —known later as, respectively, a philosopher, an art critic, and a sociologist and political figure of the communist regime . Mariana Klein , who became Șora's wife,

13872-513: The state murdered one hundred demonstrators in Timișoara . It was not until the day before Ceaușescu's execution on 24 December 1989 that the Patriarch condemned him as "a new child-murdering Herod ". Following the removal of Communism, the Patriarch resigned (only to return a few months after) and the Holy Synod apologised for those "who did not have the courage of the martyrs ". As Romania made

14008-529: The statement by alleging that Zilber was himself a secret agent, and the latter eventually retracted his claim). Eliade's articles before and after his adherence to the principles of the Iron Guard (or, as it was usually known at the time, the Legionary Movement ), beginning with his Itinerar spiritual ("Spiritual Itinerary", serialized in Cuvântul in 1927), center on several political ideals advocated by

14144-474: The study of the Romanian language . Instead, he became interested in natural science and chemistry , as well as the occult , and wrote short pieces on entomological subjects. Despite his father's concern that he was in danger of losing his already weak eyesight, Eliade read passionately. One of his favorite authors was Honoré de Balzac , whose work he studied carefully. Eliade also became acquainted with

14280-438: The summer of 1933, he replied to an anti- modernist critique written by George Călinescu : All I wish for is a deep change, a complete transformation. But, for God's sake, in any direction other than spirituality . He and friends Emil Cioran and Constantin Noica were by then under the influence of Trăirism , a school of thought that was formed around the ideals expressed by Ionescu. A form of existentialism , Trăirism

14416-495: The territory of modern Romania had existed within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople until 1865 when the churches in the Romanian principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia embarked on the path of ecclesiastical independence by nominating Nifon Rusailă , Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia, as the first Romanian primate. Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza , who had in 1863 carried out

14552-514: The three cases discussed below, Iron Guard members were responsible for the Jilava Massacre at the eponymous prison on the night of November 26–27, 1940, when 64 political prisoners, 46 officers and guards, and a number of military detainees were killed; the murder of Nicolae Iorga and Virgil Madgearu that same night; other killings during the National Legionary State ; and the deaths of hundreds of officers, civilians, and Bucharest Jews during

14688-518: The time, as well as his other far-right connections, came under frequent criticism after World War II . Noted for his vast erudition, Eliade had fluent command of five languages ( Romanian , French, German, Italian, and English) and a reading knowledge of three others ( Hebrew , Persian , and Sanskrit ). In 1990 he was elected a posthumous member of the Romanian Academy . Born in Bucharest , he

14824-462: The transition to democracy, the church was freed from most of its state control, although the State Secretariat for Religious Denominations still maintains control over a number of aspects of the church's management of property, finances and administration. The state provides funding for the church in proportion to the number of its members, based on census returns and "the religion's needs" which

14960-472: The understanding each had about how their own relationship with the regime could influence others and how it actually did. The Romanian Workers' Party , which assumed political power at the end of 1947, initiated mass purges that resulted in a decimation of the Orthodox hierarchy. Three archbishops died suddenly after expressing opposition to government policies, and thirteen more "uncooperative" bishops and archbishops were arrested. A May 1947 decree imposed

15096-472: The war, although communist prosecutors were mostly looking for connections to the Iron Guard, rather than explicitly investigating the persecution of Jews. Historical evidence regarding the Romanian Orthodox Church's role in World War II is overwhelmingly incriminating but there are a few exceptions. Tit Simedrea , metropolitan of Bukovina is one two high-ranking bishops known to have interceded in favor of

15232-551: The will of God. Once recalcitrants were removed from office, the remaining bishops adopted a servile attitude, endorsing Ceauşescu's concept of nation, supporting his policies, and applauding his peculiar ideas about peace. In the wake of the Romanian Revolution , the church never admitted to having ever willingly collaborated with the regime, although several Romanian Orthodox priests have publicly admitted after 1989 that they had collaborated with and/or served as informers for

15368-533: The world to which the drawing room belonged [...] was a world forever lost. Robert Ellwood , a professor of religion who did his graduate studies under Mircea Eliade, saw this type of nostalgia as one of the most characteristic themes in Eliade's life and academic writings. After completing his primary education at the school on Mântuleasa Street, Eliade attended the Spiru Haret National College in

15504-471: Was "needless to explain why that is". At signs that the Romanian communist regime was about to take hold, Eliade opted not to return to the country. On September 16, 1945, he moved to France with his adopted daughter Giza. Once there, he resumed contacts with Dumézil, who helped him recover his position in academia. On Dumézil's recommendation, he taught at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. It

15640-537: Was a Romanian historian of religion , fiction writer , philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago . One of the most influential scholars of religion of the 20th century and interpreter of religious experience, he established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day. His theory that hierophanies form the basis of religion, splitting the human experience of reality into sacred and profane space and time, has proved influential. One of his most instrumental contributions to religious studies

15776-480: Was a journalist and essayist, a disciple of Romanian philosopher and journalist Nae Ionescu , and a member of the literary society Criterion . In the 1940s, he served as cultural attaché of the Kingdom of Romania to the United Kingdom and Portugal. Several times during the late 1930s, Eliade publicly expressed his support for the Iron Guard , a Romanian Christian fascist organization. His involvement with fascism at

15912-440: Was also the synthesis of traditional and newer right-wing beliefs. Early on, a public polemic was sparked between Eliade and Camil Petrescu : the two eventually reconciled and later became good friends. Like Mihail Sebastian, who was himself becoming influenced by Ionescu, he maintained contacts with intellectuals from all sides of the political spectrum: their entourage included the right-wing Dan Botta and Mircea Vulcănescu ,

16048-421: Was among the signers of a manifesto opposing Nazi Germany 's state-enforced racism. In 1934, at a time when Sebastian was publicly insulted by Nae Ionescu, who prefaced his book ( De două mii de ani... ) with thoughts on the "eternal damnation" of Jews, Mircea Eliade spoke out against this perspective, and commented that Ionescu's references to the verdict " Outside the Church there is no salvation " contradicted

16184-559: Was derived from the first letters of the group members' names: Arrested right away, the trio was sentenced to hard labour for life. While in prison, Caranica wrote a book on Aromanian issues, and Belimace, among other works, wrote Revoluția fascistă ( The Fascist Revolution ). They were all killed, along with the Decemviri and Codreanu, on November 30, 1938, while being transported to Jilava Prison . The Decemviri, so called because they numbered ten men, like their Ancient Roman equivalents,

16320-488: Was especially attracted to Ionescu's radical ideas and his interest in religion, which signified a break with the rationalist tradition represented by senior academics such as Constantin Rădulescu-Motru , Dimitrie Gusti , and Tudor Vianu (all of whom owed inspiration to the defunct literary society Junimea , albeit in varying degrees). Eliade's scholarly works began after a long period of study in British India , at

16456-641: Was especially dissatisfied with the incidence of unemployment among intellectuals, whose careers in state-financed institutions had been rendered uncertain by the Great Depression . In 1936, Eliade was the focus of a campaign in the far right press, being targeted for having authored "pornography" in his Domnișoara Christina and Isabel și apele diavolului ; similar accusations were aimed at other cultural figures, including Tudor Arghezi and Geo Bogza . Assessments of Eliade's work were in sharp contrast to one another: also in 1936, Eliade accepted an award from

16592-437: Was estimated that, at the time, it was not uncommon for him to work 15 hours a day. Eliade married a second time, to the Romanian exile Christinel Cotescu. His second wife, the descendant of boyars , was the sister-in-law of the conductor Ionel Perlea . Together with Emil Cioran and other Romanian expatriates, Eliade rallied with the former diplomat Alexandru Busuioceanu , helping him publicize anti-communist opinion to

16728-482: Was given to laconic pronouncements). Codreanu noted that, given the opposition the Guard faced from the state, other political parties, and the media, the Legionnaires had made "the decision to embrace death. The 'death squad' is the expression of this determination, shared by all Legionnaires in the country. It means that these youths are willing to accept death . They are willing to move forward, through death". He suggested that in pursuing their goal, "a new Romania and

16864-458: Was his theory of eternal return , which holds that myths and rituals do not simply commemorate hierophanies, but (at least in the minds of the religious) actually participate in them. Eliade's literary works belong to the fantastic and autobiographical genres. The best known are the novels Maitreyi ('La Nuit Bengali' or 'Bengal Nights', 1933), Noaptea de Sânziene ('The Forbidden Forest', 1955), Isabel și apele diavolului ('Isabel and

17000-494: Was instrumental in propagating Cristea's antisemitic ideas throughout his premiership but church press as a whole became flooded with antisemitic materials. Miron Cristea died in March 1939. Soon after, the Holy Synod voted to uphold regulations adopted under Cristea banning the baptism of Jews who were not Romanian citizens. Cristea's death led to elections being held in order to select a new Patriarch. Metropolitans Visarion Puiu and

17136-690: Was kept for three weeks in a cell at the Siguranța Statului Headquarters, in an attempt to have him sign a "declaration of dissociation" with the Iron Guard, but he refused to do so. In the first week of August he was transferred to a makeshift camp at Miercurea-Ciuc . When Eliade began coughing blood in October 1938, he was taken to a clinic in Moroeni . Eliade was simply released on November 12, and subsequently spent his time writing his play Iphigenia (also known as Ifigenia ). In April 1940, with

17272-409: Was never known; estimates were as high as six thousand. In response, nine young Legionnaires ambushed Călinescu while he was on his way to work. They were: They fired over twenty bullets into his body, also killing his driver and wounding his bodyguard. The assailants were caught shortly before midnight on the day of the attack. On King Carol's orders, they were taken to the spot where they had killed

17408-609: Was numbering about 12,000, and the church was already publishing by then eight high-quality theological reviews, including Ortodoxia and Studii Teologice . Orthodox clergymen consistently supported the Ceaușescu regime's foreign policy, refrained from criticizing domestic policy, and upheld the Romanian government's line against the Soviets (over Bessarabia) and the Hungarians (over Transylvania). As of 1989, two metropolitan bishops even sat in

17544-419: Was one of Eliade's female students, and later authored works on his scholarship. Eliade later recounted that he had himself enlisted Zilber as a Cuvântul contributor, for him to provide a Marxist perspective on the issues discussed by the journal. Their relation soured in 1935, when the latter publicly accused Eliade of serving as an agent for the secret police, Siguranța Statului (Sebastian answered to

17680-502: Was placed on church music, canon law, church history, and exegesis. After World War I , the Kingdom of Romania significantly increased its territory. Consequently, the Romanian Orthodox Church needed massive reorganization in order to incorporate congregations from these new provinces. This led to shortages and difficulties. The Church had to establish a uniform interpretation of canon law. It had to handle public funds for paying clergymen in

17816-521: Was probably caused by an abortion procedure she had undergone at an early stage of their relationship. He came to suffer from clinical depression, which increased as Romania and her Axis allies suffered major defeats on the Eastern Front. Contemplating a return to Romania as a soldier or a monk , he was on a continuous search for effective antidepressants , medicating himself with passion flower extract, and, eventually, with methamphetamine . This

17952-473: Was probably not his first experience with drugs: vague mentions in his notebooks have been read as indication that Mircea Eliade was taking opium during his travels to Calcutta . Later, discussing the works of Aldous Huxley , Eliade wrote that the British author's use of mescaline as a source of inspiration had something in common with his own experience, indicating 1945 as a date of reference and adding that it

18088-582: Was put under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church's Moscow Patriarchate in 1947. After the debut of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Romanian Orthodox Church in Moldova has seen a significant number of parishes switching afilliation from the Moscow controlled Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova to the Metropolis of Bessarabia, sometimes smoothly, otherwise through intense debates and highly polemicized switches. The Romanian Orthodox Church

18224-631: Was similar to that of his fellow generation members and close collaborators—among the notable exceptions to this rule were Petru Comarnescu , sociologist Henri H. Stahl and future dramatist Eugène Ionesco , as well as Sebastian. He eventually enrolled in the Totul pentru Țară ("Everything for the Fatherland" Party), the political expression of the Iron Guard, and contributed to its 1937 electoral campaign in Prahova County —as indicated by his inclusion on

18360-584: Was the son of Romanian Land Forces officer Gheorghe Eliade (whose original surname was Ieremia) and Jeana née Vasilescu. An Orthodox believer, Gheorghe Eliade registered his son's birth four days before the actual date, to coincide with the liturgical calendar feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste . Mircea Eliade had a sister, Corina, the mother of semiologist Sorin Alexandrescu . His family moved between Tecuci and Bucharest, ultimately settling in

18496-523: Was underdeveloped at the end of the nineteenth century. The theological institute at Sibiu , for example, had only one theologian as part of its faculty; the rest were historians, journalists, naturalists, and agronomists. The focus of priestly education was practical and general rather than specialized. In the early twentieth century, the curriculum of a priest included subjects such as hygiene, calligraphy, accountancy, psychology, Romanian literature, geometry, chemistry, botany, and gymnastics. A strong emphasis

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