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Published by
The Associated Press,
August 31, 2005
Romanian Orthodox
Cleric Dies at 78 |
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By LUCIA STANA-SEVIANU
Associated Press Writer
CLUJ, Romania (AP) - Archbishop Antonie Plamadeala,
a Romanian orthodox cleric and former political
prisoner who invited the Rev. Billy Graham to
preach in Romania during the darkest years of
Communism, has died at the age of 78, the church
said Wednesday.
Plamadeala, who headed the Orthodox Church in
the northwest Transylvania region, died late
Monday in the central city of Sibiu, several
years after suffering a debilitating stroke.
He was considered one of Romania's top
theologians, publishing books in Romania and
abroad. In 1985, when he was chairman of the
church's foreign relations department, he
invited Graham to preach in Romania on behalf of
a group of 14 religious denominations. Graham
accepted and went on an 11-day preaching tour in
Communist Romania.
The Romanian Orthodox Church called Plamadeala
``an example of patience and wisdom,'' adding
that it lost ``a great cleric and scientist, who
loved his church and nation.''
Plamadeala became an Orthodox monk in 1949. That
year, he was tried in absentia for
anti-communist activity and sentenced to seven
years in prison. He was arrested in 1954 and
incarcerated until 1956 in a prison for
political prisoners near Bucharest.
After his release, he worked in factories for
years until he was allowed to rejoin the church.
Plamadeala later rose rapidly through the church
ranks.
Plamadeala was known as an ecumenical figure,
and was a member on a dialogue committee between
the Orthodox and the Catholic churches. He also
represented the Romanian Orthodox Church at
international meetings and conventions.
``He was known for his openness to other
denominations and his good command of English,''
said Dan Chiachir, a commentator on Orthodox
affairs. ``He did church diplomacy but also
diplomacy for the state,'' he added. ``But his
sun set after (the fall of communism in) 1989
because he was seen as having collaborated too
much with the
former Communist government.''
He studied theology at the Orthodox Seminary in
Chisinau and the Theology Universities in Cluj
and Bucharest. He later got a doctorate from the
Theological Institute in Bucharest in 1959,
followed by another doctorate at Heythrop
College in Oxford in 1971.
A funeral will be held Thursday in the
Transylvanian city of Sibiu, with burial Friday
at the nearby Brancoveanu Monastery in Sambata.
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