STRATEGII CLANDESTINE ÎN PRACTICA RELIGIOASĂ GRECO-CATOLICĂ DIN COMUNA MAIERU, JUDEŢUL BISTRIŢA NĂSĂUD, ÎN TIMPUL PERSECUŢIEI COMUNISTE (1948-1989)
SECRET STRATEGIES FOR CATHOLIC RELIGION IN MAIERU (BISTRIŢA NĂSĂUD) DURING THE COMMUNIST SYSTEM (1948-1989)

Summary/Abstract: This paper tries to reconstitute the secret strategies for Catholic religion in Maieru (BN) during the communist regime. According to the declaration of the living witnesses, one can draw the conclusion that the Catholic Church still functioned, even illegally. Oficially this institution was abolished by the 358/1948 Decree. Fortunately the Catholic priest Iuliu Pop was set free from prison, but only after his brother signed a paper by which he was transfered to Orthodoxism. Devoted to Catholic cult, Iuliu Pop continued to celebrate the Holy Liturgy. The news is spread quickly and the priest had been observed by authorities. He never gave up and when there were strangers in the church, the specific Catholic parts of the Holy Liturgy were only thought of, not pronounced. After a period of time when his activity was watched, in 1960 due to the fact that Iuliu Pop did not gave up Catholicism, he was dismissed and forced to leave Maieru. After 1960 the Catholic Liturgy continued to be celebrated not inside the church but in villagers houses, who had risked, in fact, everything for the priest, catholic monks and believers. The house of nun Lucia Coruţiu became in a short time a place for praying; priests and monks came here in secret to preach. However, all of them - priests and believers - risked everything to keep the secret of Catholic Liturgy and the sacred value of Euharistia. From the confessions of Ilişca Adronesi, Father Augustin and others one could realize the way in which Catholic believers had continued their religious life in their own way, outside the Holy Church: “when we gathered to pray we covered the windows with a lot of blankets, so none could see any light, we locked up the doors and the gate and the Liturgy took place with a very slow voice. The believers came one by one, dressed as if they went to work, so nobody could suspect anything.” By all risks, the missionary monks Iustin Sabău and Sabin Dâncuş tried to gather a lot of young people to train and pray together. In 1979, at Dej, His Holiness Dragomir of Maramureş set free from prison and in a very secret way ordained Emil Bazga, Augustin Partene, Ioan Vranău; they continued to preach clandestinely in Maieru and its neighbourhood. During this time, about ten girls joined the Bazilian Order. Despise all hardships, during the communist system, the Catholic church of Maieru managed to survive especially due to the strong belief in God.

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