A dominant orthodoxy
The Orthodox are in the overwhelming majority: they represent 86.45% of the population, according to the latest 2011 census. The Romanian Orthodox Church is the second largest in the Orthodox world, after the Russian Church. Recognised as autocephalous (independent) since 1885, it was raised to the rank of patriarchate in 1925. The Romanians are the only Latin people of Orthodox confession and, according to legend, one of the oldest Christian peoples, evangelized from the 1st century onwards by the Apostle Andrew. The 1991 Constitution guarantees religious freedom and does not proclaim any state religion. In practice, however, the Orthodox Church and the State are intimately linked: for example, politicians are happy to appear at religious ceremonies and the Patriarch blesses the President at his inauguration. Many classrooms display a crucifix or an icon, although since 2015, enrolment in religion classes, very often akin to Orthodox catechism, is no longer automatic. The Orthodox Church enjoys an important prestige in society: according to polls, it is the institution in which Romanians have the most confidence, after the army. It is willing to make its voice heard in social debates, as in the referendum on same-sex marriage (which, however, failed, with only 20% of voters turning out at the polls). Another sign of his ambition: at the end of 2018, the gigantic Salvation Cathedral of the Romanian nation, the largest in the Orthodox world, was inaugurated behind the Parliament building. The project, which is largely financed by public funds, is still a huge and still unfinished project, but one that is still causing many people to grit their teeth.
A mosaic of faiths
Reflecting its ethnic diversity, Romania has a wide variety of religions: eighteen faiths are recognised and financially supported by the state. According to the 2011 census, Catholics (Romanian or Hungarian) represent 4.6% of the population. The majority are in Transylvania, as well as in Moldova. Protestants, on the other hand, make up a total of almost 7% of the population. They are mainly from the Hungarian minority, divided between Calvinists and Unitarians, and from the small Saxon minority (Lutherans, 0.1%). However, neo-Protestant, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Baptist and other Seventh-day Adventist cults have developed quite markedly since 1989. Pentecostals, who account for nearly 2 per cent of the population, are even the fourth largest religious community in the country. There are also Greek Catholics (0.8 per cent), Muslims (0.3 per cent) and Jews (0.1 per cent). Greek Catholics are numerous in the north and west. This Church, born after the integration of Transylvania into the (Catholic) monarchy of the Habsburgs at the end of the 17th century, is united with Rome, but continues to follow the Eastern rite. Also known as the United Church, it was the second largest denomination in the country, but was declared illegal in 1948 and was fiercely repressed. Even today, it is still struggling to recover the property confiscated from it under communism. Muslims, mostly from the Turkish and Tatar minorities, are concentrated in Dobrogea and Bucharest. They practice Sunni Islam. The Jewish population, which stood at 750,000 in 1930, had shrunk to around 3,000 in 2011, mainly in Bucharest.
The post-Ceauşescu revival
Under the communist regime, all religion was theoretically forbidden. In practice, even apparatchiks went to church for baptisms, weddings and funerals. The Orthodox Church itself played a troubled role, still taboo, during the dictatorship, accused of complacency or even complicity with the regime. This did not prevent Ceaușescu from razing some 20 churches in Bucharest in the 1980s. Several others were even moved, camouflaged in dead ends or smothered between two buildings. After the Revolution, there was a revival of religious fervour. Many buildings were renovated and new constructions flourished: of the country's 27,000 or so places of worship, a third date from after 1989.
Religion in everyday life
Religion is an integral part of Romanian life. Baptism and marriage are almost unavoidable steps: not being baptized is extremely rare, as are civil marriages. Many religious holidays mark the year and the multiple periods of fasting (post) are still quite common, especially among the elderly. The most important are before Easter, Christmas and Holy Mary. All products of animal origin (meat, milk, eggs, etc.) are then banned. It is not rare, either, to see people signing themselves in front of a church. However, the faithful are not so numerous to go regularly to mass. If faith is alive in certain circles, Romanian religiosity seems to be linked above all to identity and attachment to traditions.
A year punctuated by celebrations
A large number of celebrations punctuate the Romanian year. Most of them are religious, often associated with the cycles of nature, the rural calendar and very ancient rites, whose pagan character is still vividly expressed.
Christmas and New Year. If Easter is the most important celebration of the Orthodox calendar, the end of the year celebrations are also the subject of rich traditions, mixing religious and ancestral rituals. The result is a magical atmosphere. Throughout the Christmas period (Crăciun), until the New Year (Anul nou), children go from house to house to sing traditional hymns, called colinde. They can be performed in costumes, accompanied by instruments or choreography. The colindători are rewarded with money, nuts or colaci (traditional buns). The tradition of the colindat was included in 2013 in the Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. In the countryside, very ancient rituals remain, for the passage to the New Year. Sometimes confused with the colindat, they aim to chase away evil spirits or to invoke good harvests. The children go around the houses with a minicharrue (plugușorul) or sorcova, a wand decorated with artificial flowers, wishing the inhabitants health and prosperity. In some areas, such as Maramureș and Bucovina, masked and costumed processions still roam the villages, singing and dancing. They include men dressed as goats (symbol of fertility), bears (symbol of rebirth) or horses (symbol of the sun). In Bucovina, there are also other village figures such as the elders, the drunkard or the bourgeois, who are gently mocked on this occasion. At Comănești, in Moldavia, the inhabitants even wear real bearskins. As everywhere in Europe, Santa Claus (Moș Crăciun) also brings presents to Romanian children on the evening of 24 December. This was not always the case: under communism, the word Crăciun, which was considered too religious, was banned from the vocabulary and Santa Claus was renamed Moș Gerilă (Father Gel). The meal is composed of pork-based dishes: sarmale, piftie, etc. In the countryside, tradition dictates that a pig be slaughtered for Christmas. They also eat cozonac, a kind of filled brioche. The most religious people go to midnight mass. The New Year is celebrated during the night of December 31 to January 1, throughout the country. We drink a lot, we gather in the big squares of the cities despite the cold and everyone shoots small fireworks from his courtyard or the roof of his building. The sky of Bucharest then ignites with thousands of colourful sparks.
Celebrate the saints. Several important saints (sfânți) are celebrated during the year. On these days, people who bear the first name of one of these saints are also congratulated and given gifts. On 23 April, St. George's Day (sfânt Gheorghe) marks the beginning of the pastoral summer. It is from this day on that shepherds take their flocks into the mountains. To chase away evil spirits, prevent them from stealing the milk or making the animals sick, branches are hung on the doors and windows of houses and stables. On May 21, Constantine and Elena, the holy emperors of Constantinople, are celebrated. On this day, one should not work the land: it is said that those who go to the fields will be invaded by pest birds. The feast that coincides with the birth of St. John the Baptist on June 24th is called Sanziene or Drăgaica. Linked to the summer solstice, it has pagan accents and very ancient roots. It celebrates the explosion of nature and fertility. On the night of the 23rd to 24th, large fires are lit to chase away evil spirits. It is said that the sky opens and comes into contact with the earthly world. The Sanziene, considered to be good fairies of the fields, sing and dance. This is the best time to gather medicinal plants, whose powers are multiplied tenfold by the Sanziene. St. Elijah's Day (Ilie), on July 20, sounds the middle of the pastoral summer. Around this date traditional fairs are organized. In the past, this was an opportunity to do business and meet people, even to find a soul mate and conclude a marriage. On October 26th, St. Dimitri (Dumitru), patron saint of shepherds, brings winter. The sheep must have returned from the mountains by this date. On the night of the 25th to the 26th, fires are lit in some localities, such as at Mățău, where the highest hill in the country is located. Again, this is a very ancient ritual. On November 30th, André (Andrei), the patron saint of Romania, is celebrated. The night of the 29th to the 30th is reputed to be magical. Young girls can see their future husband in a dream. But the ghosts are also prowling around: to protect themselves from them, garlic is hung on the windows.
Mărțișor and Dragobete. These are two traditions that have no religious connotation. The feast of Mărțișor, March 1st, marks the arrival of spring. It is very popular: on this day, everyone gives themselves a kind of lucky charm, decorated with two braided threads: one red, the other white, symbolizing winter and spring. Many stalls of trinkets bloom on the sidewalks on this occasion. Celebrated on February 24th, Dragobete is the local equivalent of Valentine's Day, the patron saint of love. In the past, young girls and boys used to spend this day together, a time when couples were formed. Fallen into disuse, this festival has been enjoying a revival in popularity in recent years.
