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PhD, Rev. Lecturer, Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Orthodox Theology
A Case Study
Abstract: The end of World War II, in the context of the presence of the Soviet army in Romania, meant for our country the establishment of a new political regime: the communist one. This was a difficult period of time for all the Churches because the regime tried to push them to the periphery of society. Under these circumstances, we focused on one case that illustrates how a parish of the Romanian Orthodox Church, placed in the Bistrița-Năsăud County, managed in the ‘80s to build a new church, although the state authorities did not agree to it. It was neither simple nor risk-free. As proof stands that, despite the protection he managed to offer, the Eparchial Center of Cluj was forced, in order to put the vigilance of the authorities to sleep, to "punish" the priest, sending him for a whole month to the monastery.
As a conclusion, we can say that in the last decade of the communist regime there was a weakening of the pressure over the Church, which allowed, at the level of the whole country, the construction of a quite large number of places of worship.
Keywords: edification of churches, communist regime, faith, demolition of churches, Blăjenii de Jos