Romania: Treatment of religion in Romania, particularly members of the Pentecostal and Baptist faiths

The following information is based on information which was available previous to 21 December 1989, the date of the overthrow of the former Romanian government. The present situation for religious believers in Romania is unclear to the IRBDC at the present time.

Before the Second World War, there were over 60 recognized religious denominations in Romania. In 1948, this number was reduced to 14 and all recognized denominations were put under state supervision. [ Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, Frankfurt, 1981, pp. 9-10; Amnesty International, Cases of Religious and Political Imprisonment, AI Index: EUR 30/15/85; Distr: SC/CO/GR; September 1985, p. 4; U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office 1989), p. 1174.]

The largest religious denomination is the Romanian Orthodox Church. Between 80 and 85 percent of the population belongs to the Orthodox Church, one of the recognized faiths. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, p. 1174; Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, p. 1; Europa Year Book 1988: A World Survey, Vol. 2, (London: Europa Publications Ltd. 1988), pp. 2251-2.] It also contains the remnants of the Greek Catholic Church, dissolved in 1948 and incorporated into the Orthodox Church. [Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, p. 15.]

The Orthodox Church often appoints priests to go abroad and assist Romanians in other countries. These informal envoys are often rejected by emigrés, who feel they are acting as agents of the Securitate. Indeed, some have been expelled from countries because they engaged in inappropriate political activities. [Radio Free Europe, "Situation Reports," Radio Free Europe Research, 13 January 1989, pp. 43-4.]

The second largest denomination is the Romanian Roman Catholic Church, with between 1.3 million and 1.5 million members. Although not one of the recognized faiths, it has not been outlawed and, according to the 1988 U.S. Department of State Country Reports, it enjoys de facto recognition from the government. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, p. 1175; Amnesty International, Cases of Religious and Political Imprisonment, p. 4; Europa 1989, p. 2167.] It is predominantly Hungarian in ethnic composition. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, p. 1175.]

There are several smaller denominations in the country. They include: the Reformed Church (also known as Calvinist with about 800,000 members), the Baptist Union of Romania, the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession (mostly German; 120,000 to 130,000 members), the Synodo-Presbyterian Evangelical Church (mostly Hungarian; 30,000 members), and the Unitarian Church (mostly Hungarian; 80,000 members). Smaller religious groups include: Muslims (40,000), Jews (26,000), Pentecostals, Seventh Day Adventists, and Armenian Gregorians. [ Europa 1989, pp. 2167-8; Bernard Gwertzman," Schultz in Rumania, Warns Chief On Treatment of Christian Sects," The New York Times, 16 December 1985. Figures on the Reformed Church in the sources above put the number at between 600,000 and 700,000. Most recent accounts, however, put the number at 800,000. U.S. Helsinki Watch Committee, Destroying Ethnic Identity: The Hungarians of Romania, (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1989), p. 31; François Brousseau, "Un documentaire québécois déclenche une controverse en Hongrie," Le Devoir [Montréal], 25 October 1989.]

Reports differ on the status of religions not recognized by the government. Some state that they are outlawed while others report only that members risk punishment for holding unauthorized meetings. These religions include: the Uniate Church (also known as the Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite), the Lord's Army (a revival movement within the Orthodox Church; 400,000 members), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Nazarenes, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and unofficial Baptist groups. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, p. 1174; Amnesty International, Cases of Religious and Political Imprisonment, p. 4; Gwertzman,"Schultz in Rumania".]

The Romanian Constitution provides for freedom of religion. Article 30 states: "Freedom of conscience shall be guaranteed to all the citizens....Religious cults shall organize and function freely." [ Gisbert Flanz, "Romania" in Constitutions of the World, ed. by Albert P. Blaustein and Gisbert H. Flanz, (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1987), p. 12; Amnesty International, Romania: Violations of Human Rights, p. 14.] Romania also has an international obligation to guarantee religious freedom through its ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 18 states: "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion." [ Amnesty International, Romania: Human Rights Violations in the 1980s, (London: Amnesty International Publications, 1987), p. 14.] These guarantees are limited by Decree 177 of 1948, which states, "Anyone can belong to any religion or adhere to any belief, providing that their practice does not stand in contradiction to the Constitution, to public security and order and to good morals." [ Amnesty International, Cases of Religious and Political Imprisonment, p. 4.]

The Communist Party's view of religion was summarized in a statement by Ceausescu to the RCP Congress of 1977. He stated that "backwardness, superstition, and religion" [translation] had no place within the ideal of Communist society. [Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, pp. 9-10.] The government views all religious activity as undesirable.

Reports indicate that the government targets religious activists for arrest and imprisonment. Some are convicted of crimes such as embezzlement, but it is believed that they are jailed more for their religious beliefs. In one case, a Hungarian priest, Father Geza Palfi, died soon after being beaten while in police custody on 26 December 1983. [ Helsinki Watch, Destroying Ethnic Identity, p. 32; Amnesty International, Romania: Violations of Human Rights, p. 16; U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, p. 1175.]

In the late-1970s, a group of Protestants, mostly Baptists, founded the Romanian Christian Committee in Defence of Religion and Freedom of Conscience (ALRG). In July 1978, the ALRG appealed to the government for the recognition of a number of illegal confessions. It also called for expanded religious rights for recognized confessions, such as the right to spread their beliefs in the media and in school lessons. Those making the appeal were later detained and beaten. [ Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, p. 10.] A September 1989 report mentions five Christians who had recently been arrested and sentenced to prison terms of three to 4 1/2 years. [ "Romania," Index on Censorship, September 1989, p. 39. For general harassment of those practising a religion, see Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, pp. 11-2.]

The government also restricts religious freedom indirectly through administrative measures. It controls admissions to seminaries, the construction and renovation of churches, and the distribution of religious materials. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, p. 1174.] Such control has resulted in conflicts between church and government officials. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1987, p. 1013.] Vocal advocates of change have faced surveillance, the loss of their jobs and arrest. The penalties for "smuggling" bibles into the country are reportedly "severe" [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, p. 1175.]

Construction in Bucharest has resulted in the destruction of numerous Orthodox churches in the city, including some of the largest and most well known. To make way for a huge complex of government buildings in the city's centre, a large number of churches, possibly over 25, have been torn down. [ Radio Free Europe, "Situation Reports," 13 January 1988, pp. 44-5; Alan Riding, "Where All is Rationed But Praise for the Leader," The New York Times, 3 December 1989. The former state that by January 1988, 25 churches had been demolished while the latter states that in the last five years, 13 churches had been destroyed.] They included many built between the 16th and 18th centuries. [ Radio Free Europe, "Situation Reports," 13 January 1988, pp. 44-5; Debove, "La cathédrale de Bucharest en péril", Le Monde Hebdomadaire [Paris], 18 February 1988.] In February 1988, the Monastery of Vacaresti (dated 1722) and the 300-year old Cathedral of Bucharest were also scheduled for demolition. [Debove, "La cathédrale de Bucharest en péril".] The total number to eventually be destroyed will reportedly be close to 100, or about half of all the Orthodox churches in Bucharest. [Radio Free Europe, "Situation Reports," 13 January 1988, pp. 44-5.]

Protests of the destruction of church buildings have not been limited to church leaders. Some workers reportedly refused to take part in the destruction of churches [ Debove, "La cathédrale de Bucharest en péril".] and according to one report, crowds of people surrounded churches just before demolition began, only to be pushed back by plainclothes policemen and militiamen. [ Radio Free Europe, "Situation Reports," 13 January 1988, p. 46.]

The systemization programme has also threatened religious practice. As villages were slated for destruction, so too were the churches within them and according to one report, "...it is unlikely that new houses of worship would be built in the new state-planned towns." [ Ricard Staar, ed., Yearbook on International Communist Affairs 1989, (Stanford, California: Hoover Institution Press, 1989), p. 354.]

One report states that the Orthodox Church "usually avoids confrontation" with the government, unlike the Polish Roman Catholic Church. [ William Echikson, "Ceausescu Stands Firm as Workers Rebel", Christian Science Monitor, 21-27 December 1987.] However, a November 1986 report that younger clergymen in the Orthodox Church were becoming more critical of "the hierarchy's failure to stand up to the state." [ Human Rights Internet Reporter, November 1986, Article Number 8143.001.] In addition, an August 1989 report by the League for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania talks of "a series of aggressions" against Orthodox priests in the Bucharest area. In one instance an Orthodox minister died of his wounds. [ Documentation Réfugiés, 24 July/2 August 1989, p. 6.]

Despite its "de facto recognition," the Catholic Church reportedly faces difficulties. For instance, employees of the Church are assessed a 17 percent tax on their income. [ Rev. R.G. MacNeil, "Romania Persecutes Catholics in Transylvanian Region Churches," The Ottawa Citizen, 4 November 1989.] There is at least one report in 1981, of a Catholic Church official facing government reprisals. A Jesuit father was sentenced to six years' imprisonment and fined 140,000 Lei because he tried to raise money for the construction of a new church without government permission. [ Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, p. 15-6.]

The Reformed Church is entirely Hungarian in its composition. A 1989 report states that while the church hierarchy "is riddled with corruption," it still engages in opposition to the government. [ Helsinki Watch, Destroying Ethnic Identity, p. 31,33.] One prominent Reformed Church dissident is Istvan Tokes. In 1984, he was dismissed as Deputy Bishop of the Reformed Church because he opposed "the government's repression of the Protestant Church" and his Church's acquiescence to government policies. [ U.S. Helsinki Watch Committee, Destroying Ethnic Identity, p. 33.] His son, Laszlo Tokes, is a Reformed Church priest and government harassment directed at him has received wide press coverage in 1989.

The government considers Nazarenes and Jehovah's Witnesses to be groups that inspire "anti-social" behaviour, while members of the Lord's Army have reportedly received fines for illegal assembly, been the targets of surveillance, and have lost their jobs. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, pp. 1174-5.]

Baptists and Adventists appear to be frequent targets of government coercion. The International Society for Human Rights in Frankfurt, West Germany, documents a number of abuses. Just after Romania signed the Final Act of Helsinki in August 1975, a number of religious believers, mostly Baptists and Adventists, were dismissed from their jobs. [ Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, p. 11.] In 1981, members of those religions were not permitted to attend university because they could not obtain the necessary recommendation from the RCP, and were constrained by a severe shortage of religious materials. [ Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, p. 12-3.]

Between 1980 and 1981, over 30 members were imprisoned for their religious beliefs. They included other Christian groups. [ Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte, Menschenrechte in Rumänien, pp. 15-8.] One Baptist activist, Iulius Filip, was imprisoned from 1982 to 1987 for, among other things, his religious activities. [ Radio Free Europe, "Situation Reports," 20 July 1988, p. 27.] The U.S. Department of State Country Reports describes restrictions among Baptists, as well as Adventists and Pentecostals, in seminary admissions. In 1987, Baptists were allowed only four new students, a significant decrease from the annual average of 40 during the late 1970s. In 1987, officials of the Baptist Church felt that at least 100 new seminarians were needed per year. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1987, p. 1014.]

In March 1983, a group petitioned the government to allow the outlawed Young Baptists' Union to be reinstated. The petitioners were subsequently sentenced to four months' imprisonment. This was increased to six months after an unsuccessful appeal of the sentence. [ Amnesty International, Romania: Violations of Human Rights, p. 27.] In August 1989, the wife of one Baptist, Nestor-Corneliu Popescu, appealed to Keston College in Kent, England, to help in obtaining the release of Popescu, who had been arrested for his religious beliefs in August 1987. He has since been held in a psychiatric hospital. His wife and family are also reportedly facing persecution. [ Radio Free Europe, "Weekly Record, 24-30 August 1989"; "Romania," Index on Censorship.] In December 1987, Nelu Prodan, a Baptist lawyer, was arrested and held for about two weeks before being released. He had defended those accused of religious offences, such as distributing bibles illegally, and had helped church groups in trying to prevent demolition of churches. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1987, p. 1013.]

In November 1986, the government agreed, for the first time since 1951, to allow the annual printing of between 2,000 and 10,000 Cornilescu bibles, used chiefly by members of the Baptist Church. The 1987 quota was set at 5,000. [ "Romania," Index on Censorship, November 1986.] In 1988, however, negotiations between the government and the Baptist Church stalled, delaying the printing of bibles for that year. [ U.S. Department of State, Country Reports 1988, p. 1175.]

Members of another small group, the Brethren Church, located in Bucharest, have also been arrested. Three were imprisoned in September 1985 for the possession and distribution of bibles and other religious materials. [Amnesty International, Romania: Violations of Human Rights, p. 15.]

The Pentecostal religion appears to be one of the 14 recognized religions, according to the 1988 Europa Yearbook. It therefore does not suffer the type of treatment given those denominations considered to have interests hostile to the state, such as the Nazarenes and Jehovah's Witnesses. [Country Reports 1988, p. 1174.] Nonetheless, the DOS report mentions that the state demolished part of a Pentecostal Church in Bistrita, and then, refused to grant permission to rebuild and expand it to service a growing congregation, forcing the adherents to meet in a partly demolished building. [Country Reports for 1988, p. 1176.] Moreover, the number of Pentecostals allowed admission to the seminary is allegedly restricted by Romanian authorities. [Country Reports for 1988, p. 1176.]