De la proclamarea bisericii autocefale a României (1885) la ridicarea în rangul de Patriarhie (1925): premise istorice și canonice
From the Proclamation of the Autocephalous Church of Romania [1885] to Its Elevation to Patriarchate [1925]: Historical and Canonical Premises

Author(s): Ioan Panaiotópulos
Contributor(s): Ion-Marian Croitoru (Translator)
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, History of Church(es), Theology and Religion
Published by: Ideas Forum International Academic and Scientific Association
Keywords: Church; State; Empire; Priesthood; cooperation; symphonia; autocephaly; Ecumenical Patriarchate; Orthodox Church of Romania; Romanian Patriarchate;
Summary/Abstract: The Church and the State, as two complete forms of social organization, each exercise a mission that is, on the one hand, different, and on the other hand, complementary. The purpose of the Church is the salvation of man, integrating him into the Body of Christ through Baptism, Chrismation, and the Divine Eucharist. The State has the duty to care for social cohesion, justice, and the good order of public life, according to natural and divine law. In the first Christian centuries, the Church and the State coexisted as distinct authorities. Nevertheless, the Greco-Roman world allowed an organic cooperation between the two. In the Byzantine period, this relationship took the form of a “cooperation”, that is, a collaboration between the Empire and the Priesthood, in a spirit of mutual respect and distinction of competences. Even so, Byzantine history experienced moments of conflict, such as during the reign of the iconoclast emperor Leo VI, who proclaimed that “I am both emperor and priest”, leading this conflict to the extreme form of caesaropapism, which caused a deep crisis in the relations between Church and State, until their restoration through the Triumph of Orthodoxy (843). The historical evolution of the Orthodox Church of Romania constitutes a characteristic example of the way in which national development was closely linked with ecclesiastical “emancipation”. This Church, having a decisive role in the formation of Romanian national identity, was at first subject to the spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Through long efforts and in the context of a national consciousness coming to the surface, this Church succeeded in being proclaimed autocephalous, in 1885, and, subsequently, was elevated to the rank of Patriarchate, in 1925.

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