O ISTORIE „PRIN CEI MICI”: CRONICA PROTOPOPULUI LUPŞEI, VASILE GAN (1902)
A History “made by someone”: Chronicle of Lupşa’s Protopope, Vasile Gan (1902)

Summary/Abstract: A chronicle issued by an ecclesiastic, part of fund of Baia de Arieş Orthodox Arch-priestship from National Archives, Alba County Department drew our attention by its novel character: its author initiated it in 1902, one year before printing the circular of metropolitan Ioan Meţianu, and history that wished to be retraced was that of an important archpriestship, Lupşa archpriestship, led by its author since 1901. Despite the small number of pages, pieces of information held by the author of the chronicle at the moment of its issuing are numerous. The beginnings of the archpriestship are marked by Vasile Ganm, first decades of XIXth century and strengthening of union in parishes that revolved around Bistra, archpriestshiep of Bistra crumbling faith unity and determining Orthodoxes to gather around Lupşa, the protopope reconstituting the row of Lupşa’s protopopes along a century from Ioan Nandrea till date of issuing the chronicle. Then, there are analysed other aspects of Orthodox communities that he shepherded, school issues, construction of churches, organisation and functioning of archpriestshiep in the past or contemporaneity, attempt of disbanding it during 1871-1881. The chronicle’s pages also gave us the occasion of valorizing content of other documents part from the fund that got to Alba department of National Archives, documents that record appreciations showed by protopope Vasile Gan, some placing them in footers, while others, that we considered useful for clearing other subjects, we placed at the end of the chronicle. Reader of the writing effort made by Lupşa’s protopope is thus invited to a perusal that wishes to be only updated with content of ecclesiastic papers held at this time by an archival fund, without having any pretension of an exhaustive research or completion. On the contrary, it is rather an invitation for opening new subjects concerning life of Orthodox communities from this area.

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