The Ultranationalist Newsroom: Orthodox “Ecumenism” in the Legionary Ecclesiastical Newspapers

Abstract

The present paper discusses the anti-Greek Catholic and anti-Jewish attitudes of some Orthodox clergy as reflected in the interwar legionary press. By making reference to several newspapers (Legiunea, Predania, Glasul Strămoșesc) the article sheds light on the political mobilization of the legionary Orthodox clergymen and intellectuals in support of the xenophobic agenda regarding other denominations (especially the Greek-Catholics) and religious groups (the Jews) in interwar Romania.

Catholics

“…According to Ionuţ Biliuţă it was the 1927 concordat that disillusioned the Romanian Orthodox clergy with democracy and caused them to turn their sympathies increasingly towards right-wing and fascist politics. 51 Indeed, a new group of writers calling themselves 'Orthodoxists' rose to prominence in the midst of the anti-Catholic sentiment of the late 1920s, pushing Orthodox public discourse further towards ultranationalism. 52 The priest Ion Dobre, better known by his pen name of Nichifor Crainic, established his reputation after the First World War by publishing poetry with nationalist overtones and engaging in debates about Romanian culture with other literary critics.…”