Annals of the "Ovidius" University of Constanţa. Political Science Series (Dec 2022)
NEGOTIATIONS FOR A UNION NEVER CONCLUDED. THE TWO DIOCESES OF THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX IN NORTH AMERICA
Abstract
In the first half of the 20th century, the Romanian community in the United States of America managed, after efforts that lasted several decades, to establish an Orthodox Episcopate connected to the Romanian Orthodox Church. The joy was short-lived due to the establishment of the communist regime in Romania, which also affected the spiritual life of Romanians across the Ocean. Trying to exercise control over the Romanians in the United States, the communist regime established another Episcopate, parallel to the existing one, producing a rift that is still preserved today. After the fall of the communist regime, the two dioceses of the Romanian Orthodox made mutual gestures of reconciliation and rapprochement, and from the mid-2000s they engaged in a surprising and accelerated unification process. This study traces the stages of this unification process, the content of the proposals that were made in this regard and its outcome. Also, in the conclusions, the study tries to provide some background explanations regarding the causes that led to the failure of the entire enterprise.
