Hero Cult among Romanians
Hero Cult among Romanians

Summary/Abstract: The Feast of the Ascension has a special meaning for us, romanians, because now are remembered all the heroes of our nation who sacrificed their lives for the defense of the Motherland and the Orthodox Church. This vivid belief in the nation's heroes turned into a cult of heroes especially after the end of the First World War, when the “Society of Tombs of Heroes Fallen in War” was established at the urging of King Ferdinand I of Romania. The activity of this society could be traced, throughout history, in three directions: finding the graves of the heroes fallen in the war, setting up and taking care of the graves, monuments dedicated to them, as well as organizing and holding the “Heroes' Day”. After the Second World War, the activity of the society ceased, and the commemoration of the nation's heroes was strongly affected by the new communist ideology, the heroes of the Red Army being commemorated instead, not on the feast of the Ascension as it was before, but on May 9. This situation lasted until 1989 when, with the fall of the communist regime, the tradition of commemorating heroes on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord was revived, and from 1997 the “National Association of the Cult of Heroes «Queen Mary»” resumed its activity.

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