Politics and Religion in Communist Romania—Case Studies: André Scrima and Valeriu Anania

Abstract

(1) Background: The present research aims to emphasize the interest of the Securitate in theological matters with the help of information provided by the Romanian Securitate Archives. To this end, we will focus on two important personalities of the Romanian theological space, namely André Scrima (1925–2000), who left Romania in 1956 and refused to go back, and Valeriu Bartolomeu Anania, who was imprisoned for political reasons and later sent to the USA between 1966 and 1977. Both were writers and theological and cultural personalities (Scrima was well known internationally, while Anania had made a name for himself within the borders of the country). Therefore, the question this research will try to answer is the following: What was the interest of the Romanian Securitate in terms of religious aspects and particularly in the Orthodox Church? (2) Results: This analysis of the documents from the Romanian Securitate Archives proves that, although such an interest existed, it was rather superficial and was mostly related to the potential relations between politics and theology. (3) Methods: This analysis is qualitative and consists of a case study based on the interpretation of primary sources. (4) Conclusions: The conclusion of this research is that the Romanian Securitate was interested in the personalities and the work of André Scrima and Valeriu Bartolomeu Anania and their relationships with various people. However, the theological aspect was only of secondary interest to the Romanian Securitate.

Keywords

• Second Vatican Council
• ecumenism
• literature
• theological approach
• theological meetings