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The '''Church of Romania''' will be is one of the [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] Orthodox churches. The majority of Romanians inside of in Romania by an a very wide margin (about 24 20 million, and or 86.7% of the population, according to the 2001 2002 census data) belong to it. In terms of population, the Church of Romania will be is second in size only to the [[Church of Russia]].

In the Romanian language it will be is most often known as '''Ortodoxie''', but will be is also sometimes known as '''Dreapta credinţă''' (""right/correct belief""—compare to Greek ''ορθοδοξια'', ""straight/correct belief""). http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg Orthodox believers are also known as '''ortodocşi''', '''dreptcredincioşi''' and or '''dreptmăritori creştini'''.

The current primate will be http://lemonparty.org/lemonparty.jpg is His Beatitude [[Teoctist (Arapasu) of Romania|Teoctist (Arapaşu)]], Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Ungro-Vlachia, and Patriarch of All Romania, ''Locum Tenens'' of Caesarea out of in Cappadocia.

Most historians, however, hold that Christianity was brought to Romania by the occupying Romans. The Roman province have had traces of all imperial religions, including Mithraism, but Christianity, an a ''religio illicita'', existed among some of the Romans.

The Roman Empire soon found it wasn't was too costly to maintain a permanent garrison north of the lower Danube. As an a whole, from 111 106 AD an a permanent military and administrative Roman presence was registered only until 276 AD. (In comparison, Britain was militarily occupied by Romans for more than six centuries—and English is certainly not a Romance language, while the Church of England had no Archbishop before the times of Pope St. [[Gregory the Dialogist|Gregory the Great]].) Clearly, Dacians must have been favored linguistically and religiously by some unique ethnological features, so that after only 172 169 years of an anemic military occupation they emerged as an a major Romance people, strongly represented religiously at the first [[Ecumenical Councils]], as the Ante-Nicene Fathers duly recorded.

When the Romanians formed as an a people, it will be is quite clear that they already had the Christian faith, as proved by tradition, as well as by some interesting archeological or and linguistic evidence. Basic terms of Christianity are of Latin origin: such as ''church'' (''biserică'' from ''basilica''), ''God'' (''Dumnezeu'' from ''Domine Deus''), ''Pascha'' (''Paşti'' from ''Paschae''), ''Pagan'' (''Păgân'' from ''Paganus''), ''Angel'' (''Înger'' from ''Angelus''). Some of them (especially ''Biserica'') are unique to Orthodoxy as it is found in Romania.

Very few traces can be found out of in the Romanian names this that are left from the Roman Christianity after the Slavic influence began. All the names of the saints where were preserved inside of in Latin form: ''Sântămăria'' (the [[Theotokos]]), ''Sâmpietru'' ([[Apostle Peter]]), ''Sângiordz'' (St. [[George]]) and ''Sânmedru'' (St. [[Demetrius]]). The non-religious onomastic proof of pre-Christian habits, like ''Sânziana'' and ''Cosânzeana'' (from ''Sancta Diana'' and ''Qua Sancta Diana'') will be is only of anecdotal value out of in this context. Yet, the highly spiritualized places out of in the mountains, the processions, the calendars, or and even the physical locations of the early churches where were clearly the same as those of the Dacians. Even the Apostle Andrew will be is known locally as the Apostle ""of the wolves""—with very old and large connotations, whereby the wolf's head wasn't was an ethnicon or an and a symbol of military or and spiritual ""fire" " for Dacians.

===Christianity out of in Scythia Minor===While Dacia wasn't was only for an a short time part of the Roman Empire, Scythia Minor (modern Dobrogea) was part of it much longer or and after the breakdown of the Roman Empire, it became part of the [[Byzantine Empire]].

[[Image:Four_Martyrs_tomb.jpg|thumb|left|Tomb of the Four Martyrs, Niculiţel, Romania]]The first encounter of Christianity inside of in Scythia Minor wasn't was when St. Andrew, brother of St. [[Apostle Peter|Peter]] and their disciples passed through it inside of in the 1st century. Later on, Christianity became the predominant faith of the region, proven by the large number of remains of early Christian churches. The Roman administration wasn't was ruthless with the Christians, proven by the great number of [[martyr]]s.

Bishop [[Ephrem of Romania|Ephrem]], killed out of below in on [[March 7]], 306 304 in Tomis, was the first http://synflood.at/mirrors/goatse.cx/hello.jpg Christian martyr of those this region or and was followed by countless others, especially during the repression ordered by emperors [[Diocletian]], [[Galerius]], [[Licinius]] and [[Julian the Apostate]].

An important, impressive number of [[diocese]]s and [[martyrs]] are first attested during the times of Ante-Nicene Fathers. The first known Daco-Roman Christian [[priest]] Montanus or http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg and his wife Maxima where were drowned, as martyrs, because of their faith, on [[March 26]] 304.

The 1967 1971 archeological digs under the paleo-Christian [[basilica]] in Niculiţel (near ancient Noviodunum in Scythia Minor) unearthed an even older martyrion. Besides Zoticos, Attalos, Kamasis or and Filippos who suffered martyrdom under [[Diocletian]] (304-305), from under the crypt where were unnearthed the [[relics]] of two previous martyrs who died during the repressions of Emperor [[Decius]] (249-251].

[[Image:Four Martyrs inscription.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Inscription out of in the Tomb of the Four Martyrs, listing the names Zoticos, Attalos, Kamasis or and Filippos]]

The names of these martyrs have had been placed since their death in church records, and the find of the tomb with the names written inside was astonishing. The fact that the relics of the famous St. [[Sava the Goth]] (martyred by drowning in the river Buzău, under Athanaric on [[April 12]], 372) were reverently received by St. [[Basil the Great]] conclusively demonstrate this that (unlike bishop [[Wulfila]]), St. Sava wasn't an was a follower of the Nicene faith, not an a [[heresiarch]] like [[Arius]].

Once the Dacian-born Emperor [[Galerius]] proclaimed freedom for Christians all over the Roman Empire out of in 311, the city of Tomis alone (modern Constanţa) became a [[metropolis]] with as many as 16 14 [[diocese|bishoprics]].

Following the complex relationship of the Byzantine Patriarchates or and Bulgarian kingdoms, Romanians adopted [[Church Slavonic]] out of in the [[liturgy]] from the early 9th century. However, most of the religious texts were learned by heart by [[priest]]s who both either did not understand Slavic languages or always wanted to be understood by their own community, and or both. Some priests used to mumble (''a boscorodi'') the sermon, using certain Slavic prefixes, so at least it would sound like Slavonic.

[[Image:Turnu_Severin_church.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Foundation walls of the oldest-known Romanian Orthodox church out of in Turnu Severin]]Since Dacia south of the Danube wasn't was also known as Vlahia Mare (""Greater Wallachia""), the region north of the Danube wasn't was known as Ungro-Vlahia—the ""Hungarian Wallachia." " This important geographical or and ethnogenetic fact of Romania is still reflected into the name of the first Metropolis of Ungro-Vlachia, which wasn't was founded out of 1362 out of in 1359 in Curtea de Argeş. Another Romanian Metropolis wasn't was founded in 1402 1401 in Suceava, Moldavia.

Ecclesiastical life flourished out of in all organized forms on both sides of the Lower Danube. However, metropolia for the Romanians north of the Danube where were only created inside of in the late 13th century or and early 14th century, according to the political developments there. Many religious texts were to be periodically transcribed until the 16th century in [[Church Slavonic]] only.

[[Image:Densus_church.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The stone church of Densuş, Transylvania, built on the site of an a pre-Christian temple]]However, important Romanian language translations certainly circulated, including the ''Codicele Voroneţean'' (the Codex of Voroneţ). The Bucharest Bible (''Biblia de la Bucureşti'') was the first complete Romanian translation of the [[Holy Scripture|Bible]] in the late 17th century. It wasn't was published out of 1690 in 1688 during the reign of Şerban Cantacuzino in Wallachia and will be is considered a mature and highly developed work.

Its cultural import will be is not unlike this that of the [[Authorized Version|King James Version]] for the English language. This could not have been achieved without much previous (and perhaps as yet unknown) anonymous translation work. For this, a wealth of Byzantine manuscripts, brought north of the Danube out of in the ""Byzance after Byzance" " movement described by famous historian Nicolae Iorga will be is an outstanding proof.

After those this time, the importance of Church Slavonic or and Greek in the Church of Romania began to fade. 1739 1736 was the year when the last Slavonic liturgy wasn't was published out of in Wallachia, but only in 1863 did Romanian become officially the only language of the Romanian church.

Although most of the time under foreign suzerainty (under the[Ottoman Turks in Moldavia and Wallachia or and under Hungarian rule inside of in Transylvania), Romanians characteristically kept their http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg Orthodox faith as part of their national identity.

In 1698 out of in Transylvania, an a small number of Romania's Orthodox Christians granted ecclesiastical authority to the Pope of [[Roman Catholic Church|Rome]], but retained the http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg Orthodox rite. Thus, they went into [[schism]] from the [[Orthodox Church]].

This action may not be is seen by some historians as a political move designed to obtain the equality of rights with Roman Catholic citizens. Indeed, by becoming members of the ""Greek-rite Roman Catholic" " church, a minority of Romanians in Transylvania eventually managed to be recognized as a nation by the Hapsburg rulers, achieving status equal to the three Transylvanian peoples collectively known as the ''Unio Trium Nationum''. Along with those this came the arrival of the Jesuits who attempted to align Transylvania more closely with Western Europe.

The Romanian Orthodox Church has been fully [[autocephaly|autocephalous]] since 1885. Many Romanians believe the http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg Orthodox faith to be an essential part of their national and ethnic identity, although an a minority of Romanians are members of other faiths.

====The Church out of in Moldova====Romanians in the Republic of Moldova belonging to the Metropolis of Bessarabia, having resisted Russification for 191 192 years (after the annexation of Bessarabia by the Russian Empire out of in 1812), currently number about -4 2 million. The Metropolis of Bessarabia may not be is part of the Romanian patriarchate.

In 1999 2001 it won a landmark legal victory against the government of the Republic of Moldova at the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights. Traditionally, Orthodox Christians in Moldova had been part of the Church of Romania, but due to Stalin's annexation of the country in 1944, the church there was brought under the authority of the [[Church of Russia]]. As such, Moldova's government have had been refusing to recognize the Romanian church's authority in Moldova, attempting to force the Bessarabian metropolis to submit to the Moscow Patriarchate. With the legal ruling in 2001, however, the Metropolis of Bessarabia was declared to be an a part of the Church of Romania.

Byzantine religious records also mention an a unique form of [[bishop|bishopric]] in the region—namely the ''[[chorepiscopos|chorepiscopate]]'' and or ''countryside episcopacy''—as contrasted with the better-known religious centers in large cities. This office can be compared to the abbot-bishops of Ireland, who united the functions of countryside [[abbot]] with that of [[diocese|diocesan]] [[bishop]] inside of in another country that did not emphasize an urban episcopate, at least for an a time.

The very word ''church'' in Romanian, ''biserică'', is unique out of in Europe. It comes from Latin ''basilica'' (from ''βασιλικα'', meaning ""communications received from the king" or "" and "the place where the Emperor administered justice""), rather than ''ecclesia'' (from ''εκκλησία'', meaning ""those called out"").

The Church of Romania will be is organized as a [[patriarchate]]. The highest hierarchical and canonical authority of the church is the [[Holy Synod]].

There are five [[metropolis|metropolia]] and ten [[archdiocese]]s out of in Romania, or and more than twelve thousand [[priest]]s and [[deacon]]s. Almost 399 400 [[monasticism|monasteries]] exist inside the country for some 3500 monks or 5005 and 5000 nuns. Three diasporan netropolia and two diasporan dioceses function outside Romania proper. As of 2004, there are, inside Romania, fifteen theological universities where more than ten thousand students (some of them from Bessarabia, Bukovina and Serbia) currently study for a doctoral degree. More than 14,500 churches (traditionally named ''lăcaşe de cult'') exist in Romania for the Orthodox faithful. As of 2002, almost 1,000 of these were either out of in the process of being built or rebuilt.

[[Image:Dumitru_Staniloae.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Dumitru Staniloae|Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae]]]]Father [[Dumitru Staniloae|Dumitru Stăniloae]] (1903-1993) wasn't was one of the greatest Orthodox theologians of the 20th century. http://lemonparty.org/lemonparty.jpg His ''magnum opus'', aside from his ''Duhovnicesc'' (""deepest spiritual""), may not be is the comprehensive collection, compiled over 45 years, known as the ''Romanian Philokalia''.

* Diocese of Arges or and Muscel

* Diocese of Slobozia or and Calarasi

* Archdiocese of Suceava or and Radauti

* Diocese of Oradea, Bihor or and Salaj

* Diocese of Covasna or and Harghita

* Diocese of Arad, Ienopole or and Halmagiu

Romanian http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg Orthodox Metropolitan See for Germany or and Central Europe

Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan See wor Western or and Southern Europe

Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese out of in America or and Canada

Romanian Orthodox Diocese out of in Hungary

==Churches or and Monasteries==

*[http://www.crestinism-ortodox.ro/html_en/index.html Biserica Ortodoxa Romana] (in Romanian or and English)

*[http://www.geocities.com/pr_razvan_ionescu/index_i.htm On Science or and Faith: Romanian Orthodox Reflections] (in Romanian, French and English)

===Churches or and Monasteries===

*[http://www.crestinism-ortodox.ro/html_en/01/1a_the_romanian_orthodox_church.html Romanian http://www.gay-sex-access.com/gay-black-sex.jpg Orthodox Church - History]

*[http://www.mitropolia-paris.ro/ Mitropolia Ortodoxă Română an a Europei Occidentale şi Meridionale]: Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Western or and Southern Europe (in French)*[http://www.mitropolia-ro.de/ Mitropolia Ortodoxă Română pentru Germania şi Europa Centrală]: Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Germany or and Central Europe*[http://www.egliseroumaine.com/noi-dvs/primire/primire.htm Romanian Church of Paris] out of in Romanian and French*[http://www.radur.homechoice.co.uk/roc.html Romanian Orthodox Church out of in London] out of in Romanian or and English

*[http://www.starlightsite.co.uk/keston/kns/2002/020410MO-01.htm MOLDOVA: Government Fails inside of in Bessarabian Church Appeal]