Clergy Out of Electoral Process in the Romanian Orthodox Church

The Holy Sinod of the Romanian Orthodx Church decided that the lay and the midd clergy [priests and deacons] will only have a consultative role in the process of electing Bishops.

This was a very hard decision to be taken but with a very littlle or [ better to say] no debate at all.

The early tradition of the Romanian Orthodox Church regarding the election of the Bishops was that the 2/3 lay and 1/3 clergy are participating in electoral process of hierarchs.

The only hierarch against the decision to take out the lay people was the Archbishop of Cluj, Bartolemeu Anania who criticize from the very beginnning the initiative to discuss this topic that leads the Romanian Orthodox Church in a corner of a Clericalist Institution, not anymore belonging to the faithfull.

In an interview given to BBC, Radu Preda, Theologian and Profesor at Babes-Bolyai University was also critical and called it " a Palace puch against the Church".

The decision makes Patriarch Daniel the last democratically elected hierarch in the Romanian Orthodox Church, while all new bishops will be viewd as representatives of the clericalist line in the Church.

An inside-Church Attempt to Limiting Chances of Daniel of Moldova

In context of media scandal regarding hierarchy cooperation with Securitate the declaration of Nicolae, Metropolitan of Banat, stating that the most merituous to candidate for Patriarchal position is Danel of Moldova seems to be a hiden attempt to limiting the real chances of Metropolitan Daniel.

Nicolae of Banat is the oldest in bishophood from among Romanian Orthodox Hierarchs. He recognized in 1990 that he cooperated with the Secret Police of the Communiste regime and gave tham information even regarding the priests under his authority.

Although he never retired Metropolitan Nicolae said to that a Law on Lustration is necessary in Romania as well as improvement of lustration procedures.

Fr. Constatnin Stoica, the Official Spoksman of the Partiarchate said Dinescu Could be Subject to a Conviction from Three Months to Three Years

As Memeber of the National College for Studying the Securitate Archives Dinsecu violeted the law on handeling and administrating the information by issuing false information on former Archbishop of Sibiu, Anthony.

Potential Candidates for Patriarchal Chair of Romania under the attention of the National College for Studying the Securitate Archives

The National College for Studying the Securitate Archives stated today to mass-media that all potential candidates for the position of Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church will be invited for interview and their files will be checked.

It means that about twenty five Bishops, Archbishops and Metropolitanes will have soon given to public all information either they had or had not cooperation with Foreign Inteligence Department or the Securitate Service of former Communiste Regime and were involved or made political police activities.

On 9th of September, Elections for a New Patriarch

According to Orthodox Canons new elections are possible to be held right after the mourning 40 days period. It was offically said that on 9 of September the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church will organize elections for the new Patriarch of Romania. The procedures of elections are as following. The Synod will come with make proposals for candidates and the National Electoral Collegium (NEC) will elect one candidate. The National Electoral Collegium is formed 1/3 Clergy and 2/3 Lay people. The media already begun to speculate that in the NEC there are to meny people connected with political parties and there is possible that te politicians might influence the election of the new Patriarch of Romania.