Clerics of the Romanian Orthodox Church, "Parents" of the "Great Union" Prof. PhD D.H.C. Nicolae V. DURĂ, Academy of Romanian Scientists

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1 Clerics of the Romanian Orthodox Church, "Parents" of the "Great Union" Prof. PhD D.H.C. Nicolae V. DURĂ, Academy of Romanian Scientists Abstract: The testimonies of our national History certify that the historical act of 1918 whereby the ideal of the Romanian nation was achieved, i.e. the "Great Union", actually crowned the efforts and sacrifices brought over centuries by those whose (majoritarian or minoritarian) national identity identified itself with the aspirations of the Romanian people for the liberty and national sovereignty. At the national level, a considerable contribution to the achievement of the Great Union of 1918 was brought by the Romanian orthodox clergy, who proved to be not only real mentors of Nation, but also dignified examples to be followed, both by means of their creed fight, expressed in the city agora and in the Assembly of the People's Representatives, and by their appeal the pulpit of the Churches, and even by the sacrifice of their lives in the battle field. In order to illustrate this reality, in this interdisciplinary study we will briefly outline the defining features of the contribution of some orthodox clerks for the achievement of the Great Union, accompanied naturally by some edifying historical testimonies from different historical sources, as well as from their works and their patriotic speeches.. Key words: Romanian Orthodox clergy, national Identity, Great Union, historical Testimonies, constitutional Provisions "The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union" 1 proclaimed in Nice (France) on December 7, 2000 and confirmed by the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force in 2009 also refers to the "national identity of the EU Member States" 2, including the "national identity" of the Romanian State. 1 Carta drepturilor fundamentale a Uniunii Europene, Preambul (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Preamble), in Jurnalul Oficial al Uniunii Europene (Official Journal of the European Union), C 303/ , p. 1. Concerning the contents of the "Charter", see N. V. Dură, C. Mititelu, The Treaty of Nice, European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, in 8 th Edition of International Conference The European Integration Realities and Perspectives Proceedings, Danubius University Press, Galati, 2013, pp The Charter's legal value is equal to that of the Treaties ratified by the Romanian Parliament, which, according to the law, are part of the Internal Law (Article 11, paragraph 2 of the Romanian Constitution). 1

2 Over the centuries, the Orthodox clergy of the Romanian people has also contributed to its assertion; their endeavors culminated in the 1918 historical act, i.e. the Great Union. Later, in 1923, the "Kingdom of Romania" became "a unitary and indivisible national state" (Romanian Constitution of 1923, Art. 1), and nowadays, our country is "a national, sovereign and independent, unitary and indivisible state" (Constitution of October 31, 2003, Art. 1). However, this "national independence" was achieved only by the assertion of the Romanian people s "identity" and "national unity", which was fulfilled in 1918 by the return to the "Country" of some lands possessed ab antiquo by the Romanians. In this study, we will present succinctly the contribution of the Orthodox clergy representative personalities of the Romanian nation accompanied, of course, by some historical testimonies about their patriotic-national activity from the respective period, as well as by some edifying testimonies extracted from their speeches. These testimonies reveal that through their activity they contributed directly and indirectly to the fulfilment of the Romanian ideal, i.e. the reunification of the country and the achievement of the national and state unity in The national historical testimonies show that, at the national level, considerable contribution to the achievement of the "Great Union" in 1918 was also brought by the Orthodox clerics. They were exemplary through their fight creed, expressed in the city agora and in the Assemblies of the People's Representatives, or though their patriotic-romanian preaching, in the pulpit of the sanctuary, but also through their sacrifice on the battlefield, while defending the country. In fact, the Romanian historiography has also insisted that "due to priests (...), the degree of involvement of the Romanian social strata also grew" 3 in the historical provinces (Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bucovina), which were returned to the country. Thus, all the social categories in these Romanian lands even those whose national identity was "minority" (Jews, Greeks, Armenians etc.), but who identified themselves with the Romanian people s aspirations of freedom and national unity, got involved in the "Great Union" process. The historical and national testimonies also confirm that the sons of the Orthodox Romanian Church in Transylvania, i.e. clergy and laity, "made a significant contribution" not 3 M. Ș. Ceaușu, M. Iacobescu, Basarabia, in Istoria Românilor (The History of Romanians), vol. VII, tom II, 2nd ed., Ed. Enciclopedică, București, 2015, p

3 only to "the great peasant rebellion of 1784 under the leadership of Horia, Closca and Crişan", but also to "the writing of the famous Supplex Libellus Valachorum of 1791" 4. Since this Memorandum claimed the emancipation of the whole Romanian nation, and, ipso facto, it asserted its national identity and unity, at the end of the 18 th century, the "Nation" ranked the first among the Romanians claims and "the Confession ranked the second" 5. Indeed, since 1791, the ministers of both Churches in Transylvania, i.e. the Orthodox and the Greek Catholic ones, have claimed rights for their members primarily in the name of the "Romanian Nation" 6 and then in the name of their confession (Orthodox or Greek Catholic). The establishment of the Austro-Hungarian dualist state in 1867 had negative consequences not only for the "political, social, canonical and cultural life of the Transylvanian Romanians" 7, but also for the right to religious freedom 8 of the members of the two Churches of the Romanian nation, i.e. the Orthodox Church and the Greek Catholic Church (United with Rome), hence the concerted actions of the two Churches against the annexation of Transylvania to Hungary and the Transylvanian Romanians claim of their legitimate rights. 4 M. Păcurariu, Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe Române (History of the Romanian Orthodox Church), vol. III, 3rd ed., Iași, 2008, p Ibidem, pp About the history of this right provided by both "Jus naturale" and "Jus gentium", and its manifestation forms - from the past to the present day - see N. Dură, Mititelu C., Principii şi norme ale Dreptului Uniunii Europene privind drepturile omului şi protecţia lor juridică (Principles and norms of European Union law on human rights and their legal protection), Ed. Arhiepiscopiei Tomisului, Constanţa, 2014; Idem, The Freedom of Religion and the Right to Religious Freedom, in vol. SGEM Conference on Political Sciences, Law, Finance, Economics & Tourism, vol. I, 2014, Bulgaria, pp ; Idem, The right to Freedom of Religion in the Jurisprudence of the European Court, in Journal of Danubius Studies and Research, vol. IV, no. 1/2014, pp ; Idem, The human fundamental rights and liberties in the Text of some Declarations of the Council of Europe, in Proceedings of the International Conference Exploration, Education and Progress in the Third Millennium, (Galati, 2013), vol. I, no. 5, Ed. ProUniversitaria, Bucureşti, 2015, pp. 7-22; N. Dură, Drepturile şi libertăţile omului în gândirea juridică europeană. De la Justiniani Institutiones la Tratatul instituind o Constituţie pentru Europa (Human Rights and Freedoms in European Legal Thought. From "Justiniani Institutiones" to the "Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe"), in Analele Universităţii Ovidius. Seria: Drept şi Ştiinţe Administrative (Ovidius University Annals. Series: Law and Administrative Sciences), no. 1, 2006, pp ; Idem, Drepturile şi libertăţile fundamentale ale omului şi protecţia lor juridică. Dreptul la religie şi libertatea religioasă (Human rights and fundamental freedoms and their legal protection. The right to religion and religious freedom), in Analele Universităţii Ovidius. Seria: Drept şi Ştiinţe Administrative (Ovidius University Annals. Series: Law and Administrative Sciences), no. 3, 2005, pp. 5-33; Idem, Les droits fondamentaux de l homme et leur protection juridique, in Analele Universităţii Dunărea de Jos (Annals of Lower Danube University) Galaţi, Fascicle XXII, Drept şi Administraţie publică (Law and Public Administration), no. 2, 2008, pp ; Idem, The right to freedom of religion, in Annales Canonici, 10 (2014), p ; Idem, The Right to Religion: Some Consideration of the Principal International and European Juridical Instruments, in Religion and Equality. Law in conflict, ed. by W. Cole Durham Jr. and Donlu Thayer, Routledge, UK, 2016, pp

4 For example, on May 3/5, 1868, the so-called "Pronunciation" was published in Blaj, which protested "against the annexation of Transylvania to Hungary" 9. "Many priests, especially from Blaj, contributed to its writing. In 1881 (April 30/ May 2/14) the "National Conference of the Electoral Circles of the Romanians in Transylvania, Banat, Crişana and Maramureş" took place in Sibiu, which decided "the unification of the Romanian National Party from Banat and Hungary with The Romanian National Party of Transylvania in a single party, with the name of the latter" 10. On May 2/14, 1881, the Orthodox Bishop Nicolae Popea of Caransebes 11 was elected President of the Romanian National Party, "whose purpose was to group all Romanian political forces in their approach to defend the national identity". And, in January 1892, the Romanian National Party established in 1869 wrote a Memorandum to Emperor Francis Iosif I, "presenting the main claims of the Transylvanian Romanians" 12. "Some priests and professors of theology" 13 were among the 25 members who were part of the Drafting Committee of this "Memorandum". The imposing delegation of 300 Romanians who left on May 28, 1892 to Vienna to present the Memorandum to the Emperor, also included several Transylvanian clerics of the Orthodox Church. The Budapest government initiated a so-called "agitation" process against those who participated in the drafting and dissemination of the Memorandum in May Among the persons sentenced to prison in Szeged and Vat, there were also several Orthodox priests "who were part of the Central Committee of the Romanian National Party" and which had played "a significant role in drafting the Memorandum" M. Păcurariu, Istoria Bisericii (History of the Church...), p G. Iacob, Tabel cronologic (Chronological table), in Istoria Românilor (History of Romanians), vol. VII, tom II, 2nd Ed..., 2015, p For his scholarly activity, materialized in reference works in the specialized (theological and historical) literature, Bishop Nicolae Popea was elected member of the Romanian Academy (cf. D. Alic, Episcopul Nicolae Popea al Caransebeșului membru activ al Academiei Române (1899). Însemnări în Periodicul bisericesc (Bishop Nicolae Popea from Caransebes - active member of the Romanian Academy (1899). Notes in the Church Periodical), apud 12 M. Păcurariu, Istoria Bisericii... (History of the Church...), p Ibidem, p

5 The monk-priest (hieromonk) Vasile Mangra was one of them; he was "one of the leaders of the Transylvanian Romanians who struggled for national and political rights"; as such, in 1892, "he was part of the delegation that took the Memorandum to Vienna" 15. The son of the priest, born on May 25, 1850 in Sălişte - Săldăbagin, Bihor County, Vincențiu Mangra (who became Vasile Mangra after entering monasticism in 1876) studied Theology at Arad and Law at Oradea. When he was only 25 years old, young Mangra was appointed a teacher at the Theological Institute of Arad, and in 1878 he was granted tenure and taught "Church Law and Church History". However, in 1893, he was removed from this teaching position at the request of the Hungarian government, which considered him a dangerous spirit that was not allowed to educate young people 16. In 1901, hieromonk Vasile Mangra was elected Bishop of Arad, "but he was not recognized by the Hungarian government because of his political activity" 17. In 1909, he was elected member of the Romanian Academy, and in 1916 Bishop Vasile Mangra became Metropolitan of Transylvania. Nevertheless, after two years, he died in Budapest ( October 1/14, 1918), i.e. two months before the Great Union that took place on December 1, Regarding his activity as an active militant of the Romanian national unity, the Romanian historians noted among other things that "after the leaders of the Romanian National Party had been arrested, a provisional Committee was elected, headed by the hieromonk Vasile Mangra from Arad, who was one of the leading militants of the Romanian national movement" 18. The same Orthodox hieromonk, i.e. Vasile Mangra, also had the undeniable merit of having convened in Sibiu on November 28, 1894, "a great protest assembly against the condemnation of the Memorandum". At the same time, he initiated and convened "a Congress 15 Chestiunea româno-maghiară în viziunea Mitropolitului Vasile Mangra (The Romanian-Hungarian issue in the vision of Metropolitan Vasile Mangra), apud 16 Vasile Mangra, apud 17 In the last years of his life, the Romanian Patriot Vasile Mangra, who was the "last Metropolitan of Transylvania from the dualist, historical and patriotic era", was "much attacked, mocked and even insulted", and after his death he even excluded "from the Romanian Orthodox Church Diptychs" (Al. Chituță, Viața mitropolitului Vasile Mangra, între nedreptate și adevăr (Metropolitan Vasile Mangra's life, between injustice and truth), apud However, more and more historians believe that "the work and life of this Transylvanian Metropolitan should be reviewed for a correct knowledge of historical truth" (I. Ţene, Cum erau hărțuiți intelectualii români de Statul dualist pentru participare în mișcarea memorandistă. Cazul Vasile Mangra! (How the Romanian intellectuals were harassed by the dualist state for their participation in the the memorandum movement. The Case of Vasile Mangra!), apud 18 M. Păcurariu, Istoria Bisericii... (History of the Church), p

6 of the oppressed nationalities from Hungary, which took place in Budapest on August 10, 1895, and which was attended by Romanian, Slovak and Serbian representatives" 19. Other Orthodox Transylvanian priests priests of myrrh or hieromonks were convicted in "press processes" or in "agitation proceedings against the Hungarian state" for their positions in the publications of the times 20. For example, we mention the priest Ioan Lupas (professor at the Academy of Theology from Sibiu), the priest Cornel Popovici from Bihor, the priests Gheorghe Muresan and Mihail Ciurdariu from Satu Mare 21 etc. During the War of , "nearly 150 priests, both Orthodox and united, were thrown into the prisons of Cluj, Târgu-Mureş, Odorhei, Oradea, Timişoara, Caransebeş, Seghedin, etc. Some of them were sentenced to death or to prison for "homeland betrayal" or for "espionage in favor of Romania" 22. For a better edification of the actions undertaken by the Hungarian authorities in order to repress the national independence manifestations of the Romanians in Transylvania, we recall that, among others, "eight priests were shot by the Hungarian army soldiers (after being tortured), at the beginning of 1919" 23. At the same time, "over 200 priests and around 15 priest wives (some with small children) were deported to Sopron County, the most remote region of West Hungary. There they lived in the worst mess, in forced domicile (...). Several priests lost their lives in this exile" and around "20 priests died a few months after their release from prison or deportation" 24. It should be noted that, after the historical Great Union of 1918, the Hungarian authorities continued to oppress the Romanians, and even to exterminate them physically by all kinds of tortures, deportations, sentences to prison, and finally by shooting them, etc. Among these martyrs of the Romanian nation after the Great Union there were also numerous Orthodox priests. The Hungarians applied the same degrading and inhuman treatment to the Romanians in Bukovina, which had been annexed to the Habsburg Empire in During its annexation, See their names, and their sentence to imprisonment, la M. Păcurariu, Istoria Bisericii... (History of the Church), p Ibidem, p Ibidem, p

7 the priests in Bucovina were usually imprisoned "in the Thalerhof camp near Graz, where some died from inhuman living conditions" and "others" were "assassinated" 25. However, it should not be ignored or overlooked that among the representatives of the Romanian Government who went to various Governments of the world in view of the international recognition of the Great Union, there were also some Orthodox priests. For example, in 1917, Vasile Lucaci one of the famous fighters for the recognition of the Romanian people s historical rights was sent by the Romanian Government "to the United States (through Siberia), together with the Orthodox priest Ioan Moţa from Orastie and the journalist Vasile Stoica" 26. Historical testimonies also reveal that "many priests participated as leaders of the people they pastorated at the Assembly held at Alba Iulia on December 1, 1918, "along with 100,000 Romanians who had come to voice the centennial will of the Transylvanian Romanians, i.e. to unite with their brothers from over the Carpathians" 27. It must be pointed out that through its people, and especially through its clerics, the Romanian Orthodox Church has made an essential and meritorious contribution not only to the organization of the historical "Assembly" at Alba-Iulia on December 1, 1918, but also to "the immediate preparation of this epochal act in the history of our country" 28. For instance, in the Romanian National Council headquartered in Arad and founded on October 18/31, 1918 Vasile Goldiş 29 (Secretary of the Consistory of Arad Episcopate) played a decisive role. Born in a family of priests (grandfather and father, including his mother s), Vasile Goldiş who was a scholarship beneficiary of the Orthodox Episcopate of Arad at the Universities of Budapest and Vienna, and a teacher of history and Latin at the Pedagogical- Theological Institute of Caransebes 30 would read the historical Declaration of the Union between Transylvania and Romania on December 1, 1918 at Alba Iulia. Then, a few days after the historical act of the Great Union, the "Romanian National Guards Commandment" was founded at Arad. Under the aegis of this great Romanian patriot, the Commandment organized "People's Assemblies" in all the towns and villages of Transylvania, Banat, Crişana and Maramures; there, "the Church's servants (bishops, vicars, Ibidem, p Ibidem, p Ibidem, p See, F. Cristea, Făuritori ai Marii Uniri Vasile Goldiș (Founders of the Great Union - Vasile Goldis), apud 30 Vasile Goldiș, apud 7

8 counselors, theology professors, archpriests and parish priests) were in the front rows of unity fighters " 31. As far as the Orthodox bishops are concerned, i.e. Ioan Papp from Arad and Dimitrie Radu from Oradea, it is known that they were Presidents of the Constituent National Assembly 32, which was founded on that day of the Romanians chosen spiritual uplifting, i.e. on December 1, In addition, the "Great National Council (a kind of Parliament)" consisting of 212 members "apart from bishops" also encompassed "numerous professors of theology, archpriests and priests" 33. On the same day, i.e. December 1, 1918, Bishop Miron Cristea from Caransebes 34, who would become the first Patriarch of Romania in 1925, held his memorable speech on Horea Field. However, it should not be overlooked that after the Great Union of December 1, 1918, the situation in Banat was still "confusing", as this Romanian province remained "under military occupation" 35. Nevertheless, even in this old Romanian land, the Orthodox clerics were the foremost leaders of those who took the stand of the struggle for national emancipation and defense of Romanian rights. For example, at the beginning of 1919, the "Banat League" was established in Banat, "under the active presidency of Dr. Avram Imbroane" (who was then ordained a deacon). In addition, "some priests" were among the leaders of the "Banat League". Among the members of the delegations sent by the League abroad to "inform the world s public opinion and the Paris Peace Conference" through Memoirs about the breach of the Historical Rights of the Romanian People in Banat, an ancient Thraco-Geto-Dacian province 36, there were also members of the Orthodox clergy, such as priest Dr. Ioan Sarbu from Rudaria, the "renowned 31 M. Păcurariu, Istoria Bisericii... (History of the Church), p Ibidem, p Ibidem, p See, G. Kvesitadze, N. V. Dură, The Roots of the Georgian and Romanian Science and Culture, Ed. Academiei Oamenilor de Ştiinţă din România, Bucureşti, 2017, pp ; N. V. Dură, Biserica Vlahilor (Românilor) din Nordul Dunării şi relaţiile ei canonice cu principalele Scaune episcopale din Sudul Dunării (sec. IV-XIV) (The Church of the "Vlachs" (Romanians) in the North of the Danube and its canonical relationships with the main episcopal chairs in the Southern Danube (4th-14th centuries)), in Studii Teologice (Theological Studies), LIV (2002), no. 3-4, pp ; Idem, The Scythian Monks (Daco-Roman) and their Contribution to the European Christian Humanist Culture, in vol. Dialogue of Civilizations, ed. David Muskhelishvili, New York, Nova Science Publishers, 2010, pp ; C. Mititelu, The legislation of emperor Justinian ( ) and its reception in the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic space, in Analecta Cracoviensia, 48 (2016), pp ; Idem, Dacian-Roman Cultural Personalities from Scythia Minor (4 th -6 th Centuries) and their Contribution to the Affirmation and Promotion of a Humanistic-Christian Culture at European Level, in 3rd Central & Eastern European LUMEN New Approaches in Social and Humanistic Sciences, Chisinau, 2018, Iasi & London, pp

9 historian" 37, dr. Avram Imbroane, about whom Gala Galaction wrote that he "entered into the national history of the Romanian people" 38 etc. An exceptional contribution to the achievement of the historical union of December 1, 1918 was also made by many Orthodox clerics from the Kingdom of Romania. They both held courageous speeches in the struggle for national emancipation and reunification of the country and served as "military priests on the battlefield" 39. Some of them sacrificed their lives for the protection of their homeland, such as the priest Ştefan Ionescu-Cazacu from Poiana Olt, the priest Nicolae Armăşescu from Tomşani-Vâlcea, the priest Nicolae Furnică from Urziceni, Ialomita etc. Other military orthodox priests were taken prisoners and then deported and imprisoned in camps in Germany (Tuskel, Lansdorf and Stransuld etc.) and Bulgaria (Kardjali). One of them was the priest Ioan Florescu from Dâmboviţa, a professor at the Faculty of Theology in Bucharest, who was imprisoned in the camp from Kardyali "for almost two years" 40. All these sacrifices of the Orthodox Romanian clergy on both sides of the Carpathians inevitably contributed to the "church unification of 1918", which is rightly considered by the theologian, historian, priest and universitary professor Milan Şesan "as an act of strengthening the political unity of the Romanian State" 41. Through their patriotic and Romanian attitude and sacrifice, all these clergymen have entered into the gallery of the outstanding men of the Romanian history during their lifetime, because these exceptional servants of the Romanian Orthodox Church and of the Romanian people brought a meritorious contribution to the implementation of the historic act of December 1, As mentioned above, one of the "Fathers" of the Great Union (1918) was also Bishop Elie Miron Cristea. At the Great Assembly of the Union of December 1, 1918, in Alba Iulia, he held "a long and moving prayer of humility in victory and thanksgiving in hope (...) in 37 M. Păcurariu, Istoria Bisericii... (History of the Church), p Apud N. Ghinea, Preotul Avram Imbroane, un luptător bănățean pentru unirea de la 1 decembrie 1918 (Priest Avram Imbroane, a Banat fighter for the union of December 1, 191), in Biserica Ortodoxă Română și Marea Unire (The Romanian Orthodox Church and the Great Union), vol. II, Ed. Basilica, București, 2018, p M. Păcurariu, Contribuția Bisericii la realizarea actului Unirii de la 1 decembrie 1918 (The Contribution of the Church to the Union Act of December 1, 1918), in vol. Biserica Ortodoxă Română și Marea Unire (The Romanian Orthodox Church and the Great Union), vol. I, Ed. Basilica, București, 2018, pp Ibidem, p M. Șesan, Unificarea bisericească din 1918 ca act de întărire a unității politice a Statului român (The Church unification of 1918 as an act of strengthening the political unity of the Romanian State), in vol. I. Biserica Ortodoxă Română... (The Romanian Orthodox Church...), p

10 simple words, but so true and proper that they seemed to speak on behalf of the very Romanian being" 42. Bishop Elie Miron s words were indeed a thanksgiving prayer to God for blessing the achievement of the national unity of his people: "Lord, (...) You have seen our fathers grievance and you have heard their cry, for they have become like the flower in the hoarfrost and their soul was rack and ruin and their body was stuck to the ground (...). You helped us to win the war with joy and we chased the sons of arrogance (...). God, (...) guide our traces and deeds Bishop Elie Miron Cristea prayed just like the psalmist Yahweh had prayed for his people to dwell in this place, and to take great majesty and eternal name" 43. The Orthodox Bishop Elie Miron Cristea was also one of the four Transylvanian delegates who brought the Union's Document to Bucharest, where he held other fulminating speeches, including the one at Gara de Nord (North Station). Finally, in 1917, in his Christmas Pastoral, the worthy hierarch who showed a high patriotic conscience and dignity dr. Elie Miron Cristea, bishop of Caransebes, demanded among other things "to grant to every people what is also due and what is given by the natural and divine right (...); and to grant to every people the right to develop freely and not to hinder their nationality" 44. In other words, the Orthodox hierarch Elie Miron Cristea referred expressly to both "Jus naturale" 45 and "Jus divinum" 46, which really give grounds to the existence of any people to 42 A. Plămădeală, Contribuții istorice privind perioada Elie Miron Cristea. Documente și corespondență (Historical contributions for the period Elie Miron Cristea. Documents and correspondence), Sibiu, 1987, p Ibidem, pp Elie Miron Cristea, Pastorale și Cuvântări ale unui episcop român în țară sub stăpânire străină (The Pastorals and Sermons of a Romanian bishop in a country under foreign rule), București, 1923, p Vezi, N. V. Dură, Ideea de Drept şi Dreptate în percepţia gândirii vechiului Drept românesc (The idea of "Law" and "Justice" in the perception of the old Romanian Law), in Revista de Teologie Sfântul Apostol Andrei (St. Andrew Theology Journal), VI (2002), no. 1, pp ; Idem, Despre Drept şi natura sa (About Law and its nature), in Revista de Teologie Sfântul Apostol Andrei (St. Andrew Theology Journal), VI (2002), no. 1, pp ; Idem, Ideea de Drept. Dreptul, Dreptatea şi Morala (The idea of Law. "Right," "Justice," and "Moral"), in Analele Universităţii Ovidius. Seria: Drept şi Ştiinţe Administrative (Ovidius University Annals. Series: Law and Administrative Sciences), vol. I, year 2004, pp ; Idem, Despre Jus naturale. Contribuţii filosofico-juridice (About "Jus naturale". Philosophical-legal contributions), in Revista de Teologie Sfântul Apostol Andrei (St. Andrew Theology Journal), year XVIII, no. 1 / 2014, pp Idem, Dreptul în percepţia Părinţilor Bisericii ecumenice din primul mileniu (The Law in the Perception of the Fathers of the Ecumenical Church in the First Millennium), in Revista de Teologie Sfântul Apostol Andrei (St. Andrew Theology Journal), X (2006), no. 1, pp. 7-16; Idem, Law and Morals. Prolegomena (I), in Acta Universitatis Danubius. Juridica, no. 2/2011, pp ; Idem, Law and Morals. Prolegomena (II), in Acta Universitatis Danubius. Juridica, nr. 3/2011, p ; Idem, Loi morale, naturelle, source du Droit naturel et de la Morale chrétienne, in vol. La morale au crible des religions (Studia Arabica XXI), coord. M. Th. Urvoy, Éditions de Paris, 2013, pp ; Idem, The Right and its Nature in the Perception of the Roman Jurisprudence and of the Great Religions of the Antiquity, in vol. LUMEN: Rethinking Social Action. Core Values, coord. A. Sandu et all., Medimond, Bologna, 2015, pp

11 manifest and express their independence and national unity. Or what else did the Romanian people do through the Great Union of 1918?! Instead of Conclusions, we could say that from the express references of specialized scholars (theologians, historians, literary historians, jurists etc.) as well as from the historical sources evoked in the above lines, we found out also testimonies about the meritorious contribution of some clergymen of the Romanian Orthodox Church true "Fathers" of the "Great Union" to the achievement of the historical reunification of the country. Therefore, we bring a pious posthumous commemoration to these clergymen of the Romanian Orthodox Church upon the centennial anniversary of the Great Union of December 1, 1918, which transformed the Kingdom of Romania into "a unitary and indivisible national state" (Article 1 of the Romanian Constitution of 1923), and put the basis for Romanian of today, as a sovereign and independent state (Article 1 of the Romanian Constitution of 2003). 11