REMODELĂRI ALE SCHIȚEI DE BIOGRAFIE A PROTOPOPULUI NICOLAE RAȚIU (1750-1805), DIN 2005
Reconfigurations of the Biographic Sketch of Protopope Nicolae Rațiu (1750-1805), Drawn in 2005

Summary/Abstract: This paper debates again biography and activity of the priest and Orthodox protopope of Alba Iulia (or Bălgrad) Nicolae Rațiu (1750-1805). Firstly, we did that with the purpose of adjusting some opinions expressed by the authors of this paper, in a study from 2005, on the same subject, and also to address some new information that appeared in social and political journalism in this field, the same time with auction of the so-called handwritten Psalter of the above mentioned protopope, in the current year (2018). The respective Psalter was copied at the Mother of God Monastery, also named Afteia, from Plăișorul Ciorii (thus, located at the border of Cioara locality, whose current name is Săliște from Alba county), by the scribe Eustathie, executing the commission given to him by hieromonk Ioanichie, who bore the cost of making this handwritten copy, of great patrimonial value. The purpose of commissioning the copy, inclusively the binding, was that of giving the resulted volume to a certain priest Nicolae, likely his relative so that this to pray for the donor and also his salvation. The recipient of this gift was considered to be Nicolae Rațiu, the future protopope of Bălgrad, after 1787. Similarly, was also considered that this handwritten Psalter, on which Nicolae Rațiu made at least three handwritten ownership marks, was used by him also when Horea and Cloșca, leaders of the peasant revolt from Transylvania, from 1784-1785, took communion, before their execution, on the spot ”La furci”(Pitchforks’ Spot), from Alba Iulia, on 28 February 1785, fact that especially aroused the participants’ interest at the auction from 2018. We attempted to use all this historical information for a more thorough understanding of the biography of the future protopope of Alba Iulia. Additionally, we also considered the bibliographic contributions following 2005, on the given subject, especially those made by theologian Alin Albu. Although the biography and ecclesiastic activity of the protope are not fully known, we consider that by our comments we contribute to a more substantial historical foundation of the whole matter, to divert current and future researches to deepen and shed light on it, a direction by which also we, on the current occasion, took several steps forward.

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