Rite
Romanian Greek Catholic Church
Byzantine tradition · Church sui iuris
A Byzantine-rite Major Archiepiscopal Church sui iuris in Romania, united with Rome since 1700, suppressed under communism and restored in 1989.
History
The Romanians of Transylvania entered into full communion with Rome through synods held at Alba Iulia in 1697 and 1700 under Bishop Athanasius Anghel. Blaj became the Church's heart and a cradle of Romanian letters and national awakening. In 1948 the communist government suppressed the Church outright: its bishops were arrested and died in prison or under house arrest, and seven of them have since been beatified as martyrs. The Church returned to public life with the revolution of 1989, and in 2005 Pope Benedict XVI raised it to a Major Archiepiscopal Church.
Background
It is headed by the Major Archbishop of Făgăraș and Alba Iulia, whose see is at Blaj, with eparchies across Romania and for the diaspora. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in Romanian in the Byzantine tradition.
Summary
A Byzantine-rite Major Archiepiscopal Church sui iuris in Romania, united with Rome since 1700, suppressed under communism and restored in 1989.
Family
byzantine
Region
Transylvania and the rest of Romania, with its see at Blaj
Entry kind
church_sui_iuris
Content subtype
church_sui_iuris
Faithful estimate
Church statistics report several hundred thousand faithful; the national census of 2011 counted about a hundred and fifty thousand