Religion and Politics in the inter-war Romania. Comparative perspective

Course Code: MTC107 • Study year: I • Academic Year: 2022-2023
Domain: Theology - Masters • Field of study: Comparative Theology
Type of course: Compulsory
Language of instruction: Romanian
Erasmus Language of instruction: English
Name of lecturer: Viorel Alin Albu
Seminar tutor: Viorel Alin Albu
Form of education Full-time
Form of instruction: Lecture
Number of teaching hours per semester: 42
Number of teaching hours per week: 3
Semester: Autumn
Form of receiving a credit for a course: Grade
Number of ECTS credits allocated 6

Course aims:

- to define, describe, and explain the key concepts, theories, methods specific to the historical discourse and to develop in MA students some specific skills about the quantitative and qualitative historical research;
- to identify and use the specific bibliographic and archival resources;
- to develop skills of analysis and interpretation of historical data;
- to identify the most important events and personalities which have marked the historical evolution of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Romanian culture in the inter-war period, and to notice the dynamics of events;
- to apply the principle of right interpretation of the historical phenomenon by the just reporting to its influence on the present

Course Entry Requirements:

N/A

Course contents:

1. Introduction. Technical note; 2. The Vienna Dictate - political and religious consequences; 3-4. The phenomenon of the refuge (1940s, 1943-1944s); 5-6. The drama of the refugee Orthodox clergy; 7. The Legionary Movement in Transylvania (especially the ”Rebellion” from January 1941) - the attitude of the Transylvanian clergy; 8-9. The Transylvanian Orthodox clergy and political actions; 10. The Metropolitan Nicolae Bălan - his political attitude between 1940-1945; 11-12. The attitude of the Transylvanian clergy towards the war and towards its effects; 13. The ROC and the ”Jewish issue”; 14. Retrospection.

Teaching methods:

Lecture, exemplification, conversation, debate, analysis of documents.

Learning outcomes:

- critical, selective and systematic attitude towards historical information; - ability of applying the principles for understanding a historical document in an appropriate manner, respectively, to take into account all elements involved (linguistic, socio-cultural, political, religious, etc.), and interpret both in a synchronous and diachronic mode; - critical reading skills on bibliographic sources and ability to initiate own research; - interpretation and critical evaluation of the history of the Romanian Church in the inter-war period.

Learning outcomes verification and assessment criteria:

Written paper-interpretative essay – 20%. Frontal evaluation/ Oral exam: 80%

Recommended reading:

Alexandru Moraru, Aspecte din activitatea ierarhului Nicolae Colan din perioada 1940–1944, în vol. „Omagiu mitropolitului Nicolae Colan (1893–1993)”, Renasterea , Cluj-Napoca , 1995 , p. 101-113
Mihai Fătu, Biserica românească din nord-vestul ţării sub ocupaţia hothystă (1940–1944), EIBMBOR , Bucuresti , 1985 , x
Cosmin Cosmuța, Vicariatul Ortodox Alba Iulia 1940-1945, PUC , Cluj-Napoca , 2013 , 422 p
George Enache, Ortodoxie şi putere politică în România contemporană (Orthodoxy and Political Power in Contemporary Romania), Nemira , Bucureşti , 2005 , 592 p
Alin Albu, State and Church in World War II. A political and ecclesiastical perspective on the national vocation of the Orthodox clergy, în vol. „Religion and Politics. The Church-State relationship: from Constantine the Great to post-Maastricht Europe”, Reîntregirea , Alba Iulia , 2013 , p. 489-504