REMEMBRANCE IN TIME - Index of

THE GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH OF
ROMANIA – DIFFERENT FORMS OF
ANTI-COMMUNIST RESISTANCE
Sergiu SOICA 1
The Greek Catholic Church, having 1.5 million members, was condemned by
Communism in December 1948 because its bishops and priests did not agree the new
changes of the communist regime. The refusing to sign the declaration leads to the
arresting of the hierarchs and priests of the Greek Catholic church. This church continued
to function clandestinely. According to the Pontifical Register, in 1948 the Greek
Catholic Church used to have 208 priests 2 . From these 208 priests we identified 39 priests
who were against joining the Orthodox Church. These personalities of the Greek Catholic
Church had a tragic destiny and showed a remarkable form of anticommunist resistance
during 1948 and 1964, they passed by 26 places of detention and also by Danube-Black
Sea Canal, Balta Brailei and by the lead mines from Northern Romania. Most of them
started the journey in the communist prisons from Timisoara Penitentiary (22 priests) 3 .
Other detention places were Sighet Penitentiary, Gherla, Aiud, Oradea and others. From
1964 they were under controlled accommodation.
1 George BariŃiu Institute of History of the Romanian Academy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
2 Annuario Pontificio, Roma, Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1948. Cluj-Gherla p. 156; Făgăraş
Alba-Iulia p. 180, Oradea p. 196, Maramureş 247
3 According: http://www.crimelecomunismului.ro/ro/fise_detinuti_politici/fise_detinuti/