The beginnings of the Greek-Catholic Church in the county of Bihor

- 18th century -

The beginning of the eighteenth century meant for the sordid Greek-Catholic community
in Bihor a troubled time due to the conflicts between the Churches, the wars waged on this
territory and the poor administration of the Romanian parishes. With the death of Augustin
Benkovics (Roman-Catholic Bishop) and that of Joseph of Camillis (the envoy of Munkaci in
Oradea to organize the Greek-Catholic community here), the links between the two dioceses that
brought so many gains in such a short period of time were scattered.

The new Bishop, Emeric Csaki (1702-1723), trying to restore the area of Bihor county
from a confessional point of view, chose Mihai Kebel as the head of the Greek-Catholics in the
first phase. He did not have much success, and the next year Paul Laszlo is called, a priest in
Beiuș. He is sanctified as the archpriest of the Romanian Greek-Catholics in 1713. Laszlo was
very active as a priest and an administrator. He began the reconstruction using monk orders and
the Jesuit movement to establish a starting point in Oradea. Because of this, in the first years
after his coming, he had to rebuild and help both the Latin and the Greek-Catholic Church1. The
decade of war (the military actions of Francis Rakoyi II) and the lack of administrative control of
the Church almost destroyed the frail Greek-Catholic community created by Benkovics and
Camillis. A very short time was not enough to form a strong and deep connection.

A school and a chapel are being established in Oradea with a 12-member consistory,
most of them Romanians, who start to print the points of the Greek-Catholics. By opening this
new institution, historian Iacob Radu highlights two interesting aspects. Through the
participation of Romanian priests in public institutions, they begin to see the benefits of the new
rite while accommodating with it. Secondly, the printing and transmission of the main points of
the Greek-Catholic faith will try to highlight the ecclesiastical differences that Romanians were
not aware of. Culture played an important role in promoting the faith in Bihor. In order to get
closer to the Romanian communities, Laszlo chose the image of Saint Nicholas, known to the
Orthodox, as a seal.

He is the one who put the first structure of the frail Greek-Catholic church from Bihor
county on its feet. He is named as a parish priest in Beiuș in 1712, and in 1713 he receives the
title of canonical and archdiocese of the Greek-Catholic Romanians from the diocese from
Bishop Csaky with the title of canonicus Varadiensis ac per diocesim ritus graeci arhidiaconus.
He is the first archdeacon who draws the documents of a canonical visit for Bihor county, which

1
Sana Silviu, Secvenţe de istorie ecleziastică, editura Universităţii din Oradea, 2009, p. 31
occurred between 1724-1725, where there were mentioned the state of the parishes, the master of
the land in the localities, the names of the priests, the civil status, the age, by whom were they
ordained, the data about the parish and the church , the building material used, the state of the
edifices, if there are registers of civil status, the garments of the priests and the saint that was
patron at each and every parish2. From Paul Laszlo we find that during this period there are four
Archdeacon districts: Beiuș, Oradea, Laksag and Crişul Repede. The greatest success that Greek-
Catholic rite has had is in Beiuș and Oradea districts. Until 1736, there are mentioned four
Archdeacons mentioned, with 178 priests who recognize the Latin Bishop and there are also
mentions about the districts of Locului, Besztercze, Barcău and Ier, with Archdeacons George
Papp from Beiuș, Ioan Papp from Beliu, Petru Papp from Oradea and Mihai Papp the
Archdeacon of Laksag3.

Relations between Bihor and Munkaci continued throughout the 18th century. The
Greek-Catholic Bishop of Munkaci, John Iosif Hodermarszky, came in June 1713 in a canonical
visit to Oradea. He, as a Bishop of the Greek-Catholicks of Eastern tradition, informed Emeric
Csaky on June 5, 1713, about the state of the Romanian Churches in Bihor county, stating that
many priests were hijacked by the actions of the Serbian Church 4. Bishop Csaky received an
important help in rebuilding of the Greek-Catholic rite in the county of Bihor from the Munkaci
diocese. Hodemarszky largely continued the work of Camillis, but slowly his jurisdiction would
be taken over by the Latin Church of Oradea.

The episode of the conversion of Orthodox Bishop of Arad Ioanichie Martinovici to the
Greek-Catholic rite is presented as a victory of the rite, a fact which demonstrates that the
movement was viewed with good eyes. In 1713 he was ordained, and by the decree of Clement
XI of May 27, 1715, he was given jurisdiction and authority over the Greek-Catholics in the
counties of Arad, Bichiș, Zărand and Bihor.

This jurisdiction granted to Martinovici will become the pretext under which future
Serbian Bishops will also seek authority in Bihor County (the investigations in the year ’20, ’30
and ’50). From the point of view of the canonical law, Pope Clement granted this authority only
after he joined the Greek-Catholic rite. The Orthodox Bishops would ignore this, claiming that
he was at the same time the Bishop of Arad. The problems lie in the way Romanians religiously
identify themselves; they often declared themselves Greek-Catholics, when things went better,
sometimes they declared themselves Orthodox when the connection with the Greek-Catholic
Church was weakening. His canonical visits during 1724-1725 mentioned in the document
drawn up on July 18, 1725 and called Visitatio et instructionaliter elaborated connotation
presliterorum graeci ritus, points all the communes visited, and following discussions with local
priests, considered that 58 church communities of the 91 visited, presents the readiness of

2
Idem, Pentru sufletele credincioşilor săi, editura Universităţii din Oradea, Oradea, 2011, p. 47.
3
Ibidem.
4
Sana Silviu, Secvenţe de istorie ecleziastică, p. 32
acceptance of the Greek-Catholic Church. The greatest success he achieved was in Beiuș and
Oradea districts5. Martinovici has worked closely with Laszlo, which has earned many victories
for the Greek-Catholics in Bihor, but soon they will face resistance from the Bishop of Arad,
Vinchenție Ioanovici, Martinovici's successor.

The first inquiry in the county caused a general disorganization within the Greek-Catholic
Church, both from an administrative point of view and from a religious point of view, with many
Romanians from the Bihor county villages declared themselves as Orthodox.

Iacob Radu, uses a rather "romantic" perspective, arguing that in fact the Romanian
community has always held the faith that links them to the West, but many were frightened by
the Serbian bishop. To prove his theory, the historian presents a letter dated 17th of April 1736,
in which many priests, 178, headed by their Archdeacons of Beiuş, Beliu, Oradea and Vaşcău,
addressed the primate of Strigoniu, saying that it was eight years ago (when the first
investigation was carried out), only the threats and terror of the armed men sent on them by the
Serbian Bishop made them not to declare their Greek-Catholic faith; but now illuminated and
strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit, they no longer depart themselves from the Greek-
Catholic Church of salvation, and in order to be steadfastly to this end they ask for the protection
of His Holiness6. The passage of these priests with their communes to the Greek-Catholic rite
would have happened following the decrees of Bishop Ioan Okolischi of 19th of July and 16th of
December 1735, declaring that he would not perceive certain taxes and duties from the priests
and the people who would submit him to spiritually, nor will he let any change be made to the
ceremonies, fastings and celebrations prescribed in the Oriental Church7.

Isaia Antonovici (the Orthodox Bishop of Arad) visited the Bihor county in 1732, but in
the land of Beiuș he was banished by the Bishop's estate administrators. The author of this action
was Pavel Forgach, count of Ghimiș, who became a vicar and then a Latin Bishop in Oradea8.
The Bishop of Arad then demanded an investigation as in 1727. At first, Forgach opposed it, but
then, threatened that Antonovici would be given permission and military assistance to visit
Bihor, Forgach agreed to the investigation. Thus, the investigation was made between 21st of
February and 11th of March 17379. Following the investigation, the conclusion was that many
Romanians declared themselves Greek-Catholics.

In the early 1730s, when they were kicked out of their only church in Velența, due to
Count Paul Forgach they receive a house in the Oradea’s market where they opened a chapel.
And first, because the chapel placed in the house they were given was too small and

5
Ibidem, p. 38.
6
Iacob Radu, Istoria Diecezei Orăzii-Mari 1777-1927, Oradea, 1932, p. 18
7
Ibidem
8
Lupşa Ştefan, op. cit., p. 33
9
Ibidem, p. 34.
inappropriate for the solemn conduct of the divine cult, according to the oriental ritual, in 1739
he bought from the city a high-placed land within a built-up area, where the cathedral church is
today and a church and a house for the future Bishop is built. For clergymen, he asked Rome
that four young Romanians to be admitted to the De Propaganda Fide College, but he could only
get a seat for two. In order to attract the Greek-Catholics, he renewed the exemption given to
them by his predecessor Ioan Okolischi and the poorer priests made them reverends or mandur
as they say from cloth brought from Leipzig and to help them more efficiently he set up a cloth
factory in the commune of Finiș, near Beiuș10.

The first auxiliary Bishop was Meletie Kovacs, but the appointment process was a
complex one that lasted for a long, since the time of Bishop Emeric Csaki. He wanted his
successors to appoint a Bishop close to the people. Csaki addressed Inochenție Micu-Klein, who
was the Romanian Bishop of Făgăraș. He recommended Vasile Hataş, wich was the Archdeacon
of Făgăraş in 1716, and whom in the electoral synod of Alba Iulia, that was held on the 4th of
June 1728, was a candidate for the post of Bishop and came in the third place. Vasile Hataş came
to Oradea in the spring of 1738 and was well received by Bishop Csaki. The issue of his
appointment as a Bishop, however, was difficult, and he had yet to say goodbye to the
Archdeacon's office, since the Archpriest of Oradea as well as of the entire county of Bihor, as
we shall see, was Meletie Kovaci for several years, and only in 1746 was he proposed to Rome
to be named Bishop, but he did not receive the title because on the 26th of June, 1746, he
deceased11. Under these circumstances, Meletie Kovaci came as a candidate because he had the
necessary experience regarding the space of the county, but more importantly he was fluent in
Romanian, coming from a Macedonian-Romanian family settled at Ineu. In the papal consistory
of 12th of July, 1748, Meletie was appointed Bishop of Tegea, a city in Arcadia, and also at the
time was named the suffragan Bishop or Vicar of the Greek-Catholic rite of Oradea in the sense
of the IX Canon of the Lateran Council IV of 1215. The salary was set at 1,500 florins annually
and he was consecrated as a Bishop on the 11th of December, 174812. Even before his election as
a Bishop there were numerous divergences with the Orthodox Bishops of Arad because of
jurisdiction. His title did not offer Kovacs total independence, being under the jurisdiction of the
Roman-Catholic Bishop.

Serbian Bishops mainly pursued the financial benefits of their jurisdiction and not the
wellbeing of the Orthodox Romanians. This is also the case for the second investigation that
took place in the 1730s. The Emperor, in order to put an end to such misunderstandings and
tribulations, issued on 1st of March, 1735 a patent in which through the Deputy Council it was
stated that the differences between the Vicar and the Bishop of Arad were known, as the Vicar
claimed, and that the Romanian inhabitants in the episcopal territory were Greek-Catholics,
preventing the Bishop from acquiring their rights - orders that in the county there will be issued

10
Iacob Radu, op. cit., p. 19
11
Iacob Radu, p. 20.
12
Iacob Radu, p.22-23.
some commissioners who, in the presence of the deputies sent by both Bishops, will investigate
which Romanian inhabitants in the county declared themselves Greek-Catholics and those who
did not13.

As soon as the Bishop of Arad learned of the commission's issue, he began to organize
himself. He asks the Emperor through his Metropolitan that the privileges given to the Serbian
nation should be respected by the other subjects of his Majesty (under the Serbian nation he also
understood the non-Greek-Catholics Romanians). On 8th of June, the Emperor publicly stated
that the rights and privileges granted by his glorious predecessors were to be respected by all, the
laymen and the clergy alike.

Naturally, this event could not have passed without the Vicar of the Latin Bishop making
his observations. And as it happened, what until here, and after 1758 again, they all denied, that
they affirmed the Latin origin of the Romanians: For the Romanian nation has nothing to do
with the Serbian people; they, on the contrary, the difference between Romanians and Serbs is
alike heaven from earth, which even their names show, and also proves the different language of
Romanians and Serbs, for Romanian is nothing more than a spoiled Latin language14.

We are less than a decade since the failed attempt of Inochențiu Micu-Klein in 1744 and
the two Supplex Libellus Valachorum advanced by the Transylvanian School at the end of the
eighteenth century. Here, in the county of Bihor, the Latin origin of the Romanians is highlighted
and supported, ironically, not by the Romanians, but by the Latin Episcopate. This letter
demonstrates the major impact that the Greek-Catholic Church has had from an ethnic point of
view. Of course, in the context in which it was sent, it was not intended to grant Romanians
rights, but indirectly laid the foundation for future petitions.

It also states the importance of the diploma issued by Bishop Ioan Okolischi on the 19th
of July, 1735 for those in Beiuş who had a significant impact. This diploma wins numerous
villages for the Greek-Catholics among which we can list: Nimăeşti, Curăţele, Cresuia, Burda,
Hinchiriş, Kasnics, Căcăceni, Ţârcata, Lazuri, Saca, Sânmartin, Pociovelişte, Cărbunari, Selişte,
Talepc, Kilik, Fiziș, Otorem, Merag, Budureasa, Balileu, Mezieș, Sohodol, Vintere, Meziad,
Fenyeres, Căbești-Pocola, Petrani, Dsoszam-Forro, Drăgoteni, Săucani, Prisaca, Roșia, Gyelany,

13
Tăşiedan Ştefan, Icoane din viaţa poporului român din Bihor (1730-1735) în Cultura Creştină,
numărul 2, 25 ianuari 1913, p. 51.
14
Ibidem, p. 52: The original text is presented in the following way translated from Latin: Quod
necno nesciat nationem hanc Valachicam Popula Rosciano, v. Serviano, nulla penitus affinitate
esse conjunctum, quin notius linqua, moribus, conditione toto coelo esse distictam: Valachi,
Romanians, seu Romani vernacular linqua vocantur, quorum Idioma corrupte. Latinum esse
dignoscitur.
Urviniș, Sămiclăuș, Șoim, Josani and Gurbeşti. The diploma clearly highlights the affirmation of
priestly rights and the exemptions enjoyed by the Greek-Catholics15.

On the 21st of April 21, 1736, Archbishop Mihai complained to the Latin Bishop that a
weekend ago, from 12 to 13 April the non-Greek-Catholics held a meeting in Spinuș where they
condemned the Latin Bishop. He reports what happened to the Deputy Council and is named
General Quadragni to stabilize the situation. Gheorghe Lazăr and Gavril Szohe from Sârbi,
Gheorghe Kiss from Suiug, Nicolae Borduş from Varviz, Gheorghe Pap from Baromlak, Lazăr
Moza from Popeşti and Simieon Szarka from Voievodeni are caught16. Finally, the prisoners are
released under the pretext that the meetings they held were organized for religious purposes.

It should be noted that from the beginning, the promoters of the Greek-Catholic Church,
have endeavored to train the followers not only in piety (in faith), which implies an adequate
knowledge of the rite and of the Church books, but also in the litteris (in culture), but schools and
seminars were needed to this end17. For example, young Romanians could attend the "Saint
Adalbert" seminary in Trnava, opened in 1714. The seminar accepted Romanians as well as
Ruthenians or Serbs18.

Also, between 1740-1741, the Latin seminary from Oradea, finished by Nicolae Csaky,
was opened, but started by his brother and predecessor Emeric Csaky. Until 1765, 93 parishes
were registered, with 110 priests, of whom 7 had theological studies in Rome, Trnava, Oradea or
Cașovia19.

An important seminar that brought many benefits to Romanians passionate about culture
and theology was held by the "Saint Barbara" College in Vienna. It was founded by Empress
Maria Theresa in 1775. Those who participated were sons of noblemen, free peasants, priests
from the counties of Bihor, Satu Mare, Sălaj and Arad20. Among the former students were a
Metropolitan, five Bishops of the Diocese of Oradea and one Bishop of the Greek-Catholic
Dioceses of Gherla, Lugoj and Munkaci21.

Theology of the second half of the 18th century will have four years, and since 1779 we
have a curriculum approved personally by the Empress; in the first year the history of the
Church, the Hermeneutics, the Old Testament and the Hebrew language were learned; in the
second year the New Testament, the Canonic Law, the Hermeneutic and the Greek language

15
Idem, Icoane din viaţa poporului român din Bihor (1730-1735), în Cultura Creştină, numărul
3, 10 februarie, 1913, p. 84.
16
Ibidem, p. 82.
17
Iudita Căluşer, Episcopia Greco-catolică din Oradea, editura Logos ’94, Oradea, 2000, p. 120.
18
Ibidem, p. 121.
19
Ibidem, p. 122.
20
Ibidem, p. 128.
21
Ibidem, p. 129.
were studied; in the third year the dogmatic and moral theology (part I) the second part as well as
polemics and pastoralism were studied in the fourth year22.

The objective of education is to teach religious people who are first and foremost aware
of the duties to the Church and their peers, and the practical purpose is primarily to ensure the
ecclesiastical intellectuals here (priests, pastors, teachers, professors) necessary for the
functioning of the institutions of worship and religious education. The Vienna Court, as it began
to rule over Transylvania, strengthens the positions of Catholicism in the Principality, and is
concerned with expanding Latin education. In order to prepare the Roman-Catholic and Greek-
Catholic clergy, scholarships are offered at the Roman-Catholic colleges where they teach Latin
in Vienna (Pazmaneum and Saint Barbara), Rome (De Propaganda Fide), Trnava (where the
future Bishop of Blaj Inocheție Micu will study), as well as at the Catholic Gymnasiums
reorganized in Transylvania and Partium. The Romanians also have access to these schools, as
opposed to sons of Greek-Catholic priests from the villages, who, traditionally transmitted the
priesthood to the family23.

In the western parts, the Romanian confessional education, both the Orthodox and the
Greek-Catholic, is represented by the village schools (especially from the parts of Arad, Oradea,
Beiuș). The village teachers were trained in the normal Romanian schools in Oradea (since
1733).

Petru Tămâian presents the real statistics of the seminar in Oradea, where we have about
26 pupils each year, no corigent or repetitive pupils and 10% of them promoted with the
qualification F.B. (Very Good). Out of the 26, only 2 were paying for the costs of schooling, the
rest being scholars24.

Historian Doru Radosav continues on the same cultural route, demonstrating the success
of various educational institutions in Bihor. An appreciable number of Romanian youth attend
Roman-Catholic high schools in Carei and Satu Mare. Thus, in 1754 there were 17 Romanian
students at the Catholic gymnasium in Carei25. He argues that because of the links with the
different cultural centers the Romanians benefited from an extension of their spiritual and mental
horizon. Local schools were important, but the real chances came from their heading to the West.
At the same time, the connection between Munkaci and Bihor is not only ecclesiastical but also

22
Ibidem, pp. 138-139.
23 Cernovodeanu Paul, Concluzii, capitolul X din Istoria românilor, volumul VI, editura
Enciclopedică, 2002, p. 842.
24
Tămâian Petru, Istoria seminarului şi a educaţiei clerului român unit de Oradea, Oradea,
1930, p. 62.
25
Radosav Doru, Carte şi societate între secolele XVII-XIX, editura Fundaţia Culturală “Cele
Trei Crişuri”, Oradea, 1995, p. 58.
cultural. Zenovie Păclișan in his analysis summarizes the cultural aspects by asserting that in our
language the words referring to the fundamental notions are of Latin origin26.

In the county of Bihor, a Romanian school was established in 1747 which helped the
priests to form themselves theologically; the successes of the Catholic missionaries continue, so
that in 1735, there are 148 Greek-Catholic villages registered in Bihor, and in 1753 number rose
to 244 priests27.

The emphasis on the cultural impact of the Greek-Catholic Church demonstrates more
than any of the advantages enjoyed by Romanians during this period. In the second half of the
eighteenth century, student monks and Greek-Catholic clergy were sent to study in western
universities: studying in Rome they also collected documents about the history of the Dacian-
Romans and were the first to find historical sources that could plead for the origin Latin of the
Romanians28.

Another method of research of this period is the external one, namely from the
perspective of the Vienna Aulic Council. This perspective brings with it the views of the
Austrian leadership and explains their actions towards the Greek-Catholics. Observing the
problems and struggles between the Greek-Catholics and the non-Greek-Catholics, the concept
of the Illyrian nation becomes very suggestive and important at the same time. The exact
meaning of the Illyrian nation was offered by Austrian Minister Bartenstein, who held important
positions in the political apparatus the Austrian state in the middle of the eighteenth century, long
being the head of the Aulic Council for Illicit Matters.

In his words, we can deduce that the Illyrian nation, according to Bartenstein's
considerations, designated three peoples: the Serbs (Raizen), the Romanians (Wallachen) and the
Ruthenians (Ruthener) who enjoyed the privileges granted by Leopold I in 1691, even though
they were in some respects very different from each other, they were all "Greeks" (of Eastern
rite) and most of them non-Greek-Catholics. The term "Illyrian nation" therefore did not have an
ethnic meaning but defined three different peoples in the Habsburg monarchy. Thus, the concept
of a polytechnic but monoconfessional nationality under the leadership of the Serbian Bishops
and Serbian Metropolitan Karlowitz was shaped29.

At first glance, we note that the Austrian leadership also ethnically distinguished people,
but it also acknowledged their confession. Bartenstein's words show that, in essence, Serbian
Bishops had every right to manifest their jurisdiction over the Romanians in Bihor. The Illyrian

26
Păclişan Zenovie, Biserica şi românismul, Cluj, 1910, p. 8.
27
Someşan Maria, Începuturile Bisericii Române Unite cu Roma, editura All, Bucureşti, 1999,
p. 156.
28
Cistelecan Alexandru, Un destin istoric. Biserica Română Unita, Târgu-Mureş, 1999, p. 34.
29
Săsăujan Mihai, Politica bisericească a Curţii din Viena în Transilvania (1740-1761), Presa
Universitară Clujeană, Cluj Napoca, 2002, pp. 75-76
nation, designating at the same time several ethnic classes, was not a problem that the
Romanians were different from the other population from a cultural and linguistic point of view,
if they had the confession as a common denominator. At the same time, this justifies the
countless attempts of the Bishops of Arad to open investigations to see the religious reality in
this area.

In his own words, Bartenstein affirms the importance of this attempt of union with the
Latin Church. Even though the Serbian Bishops had every canonical right over these
communities, the Roman-Catholic Church had the duty to present the possible union to those
who were interested and would like it. It is true at the same time that such a process may take a
long time, and it must be so because it is intended to create a depth connection, of essence, not a
superficial declaration, merely on the surface, of adherence to the Church of Rome. Following
the events that took place in the first half of the 18th century, we are tempted to say that the
events in this space were chaotic. However, the key to building a harmonious and peaceful
framework always starts from dialogue. Many times the Latin Church was too vehement and
sometimes violent to apply the points of the Union, all due to the excesses of zeal shown by the
Latin and Greek-Catholic Archbishops. At the same time, the Serbian Bishops did not want to
accept that some communities in Bihor were attracted to the Union and for fear they would lose
them, and as a result they took illegal acts to halt the whole process. The first decades of Greek
Catholicism in the county of Bihor were marked by misunderstandings and disputes, but also by
successes and the opening of new cultural and spiritual perspectives for the Romanian people.