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The Life of the Romanian Theologian Antonie Plamadeala As a Runaway from the Secret Police and As a Political Prisoner in Communist Romania

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The Life of the Romanian Theologian Antonie Plamadeala As a Runaway from the Secret Police and As a Political Prisoner in Communist Romania The Life of the Romanian Theologian Antonie Plamadeala as a Runaway from the Secret Police and as a Political Prisoner in Communist Romania Cristina Plamadeala A Thesis in The Department of Theological Studies Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Theological Studies) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada September 2015 © Cristina Plamadeala, 2015 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Cristina Plamadeala Entitled: The Life of the Romanian Theologian Antonie Plamadeala as a Runaway from the Secret Police and as a Political Prisoner in Communist Romania and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Theological Studies) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final Examining Committee: __________________________________Chair Chair’s name __________________________________Examiner Examiner’s name __________________________________Examiner Examiner’s name __________________________________Supervisor Supervisor’s name Approved by_______________________________________________________ Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director _______2015 _______________________________________________________ Dean of Faculty ii ABSTRACT The Life of the Romanian Theologian Antonie Plamadeala as a Runaway from the Secret Police and as a Political Prisoner in Communist Romania Cristina Plamadeala The present work discusses the life of the Romanian theologian Antonie Plamadeala (1926-2005) in the1940s-1950s. More specifically, it tells the story of his refuge from Bessarabia to Romania, of his run from Romania’s secret police (Securitate) and of his years of incarceration as a political prisoner for alleged ties to the Legionary Movement, known for its Fascist, paramilitary and anti-Semitic activity and rhetoric. This work argues that Plamadeala was most likely not a Legionary, as initially accused by Securitate. Instead, his arrest may have been caused by his involvement in the resistance movement against the Communist regime, first through his involvement with the publication of the newspaper The Echo of Bessarabia and, later, via his association with Legionaries and ties with the Vladimiresti monastery, known for its blunt stand against Communism in the 1950s. In regards to his experience in prison, this thesis suggests that Plamadeala’s prison years were determinetal to his inner identity and character. iii AKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank my supervisor Dr. Lucian Turcescu for the ideas and feedback provided in the process of writing of my thesis, which helped improve its quality greatly. In addition, I thank the entire Department of Theological Studies at Concordia University for allowing me to be their student, an opportunity from which I grew both academically and personally. My gratitude, also, goes to the staff at the Moldovan National Archives, in Chisinau, Moldova and at the National Council for the Study of Securitate Archives, in Bucharest, Romania for allowing me to consult the archival files which served as basis of my present research. Last but not least, I also thank my family, without whom nothing in my life would have been possible. iv FOREWORD AND DEDICATION When I was about ten years old, I received through my father a gift, a very unusual gift for a little girl who read mostly fairy tales—a collection of “heavy literature,” a set of books with theological and philosophical undertones written by someone who, as my father explained to me, was a distant relative of ours. The author’s name was Antonie Plamadeala, and he was then (1994) a Metropolitan of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Puzzled and confused, I placed those books on a book shelf, promising myself that one day I will be able to read and understand them, but also to find out about the man who gave me those books. As a child, I knew that Antonie’s family left my country for Romania in 1944 while my grandfather, Ilie Plamadeala, for reasons unknown to me, could not. When I thought about my grandfather Ilie, I often wondered what happened to the Plamadealas who crossed the Prut River during World War II, attempting to avoid the Soviet invasion of Bessarabia. In this thesis, I tell their story, with a focus on the life of Antonie. In a way, I am telling the story my grandfather most probably wished he knew, but died without finding out about it. That is why this thesis is dedicated in his honor. Ilie Plamadeala passed away in 1997, in my native village Dahnovici, in the Republic of Moldova. iii Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Literature review and problematic.................................................................................................................................. 1 Research questions and hypothesis ................................................................................................................................. 2 Key sources ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Archival research objectives ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Reliability to tell the truth or lack thereof of archival files and memoirs ........................................................... 4 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Final thoughts ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 1 Bessarabia and the refuge across the Prut River .................................................................................. 8 Bessarabia .............................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Stolniceni-Plamadeala’s native village ....................................................................................................................... 11 The order of arrest ............................................................................................................................................................. 14 Chapter 2 Antonie Plamadeala and the Legionary Movement ........................................................................... 18 A brief history of the Legionary movement ................................................................................................................ 18 Students’ accusations of ties to the Legionary movement ..................................................................................... 20 The establishment of the Communist regime in Romania and its relation to the Orthodox Church ........ 22 The manifesto “Christian Brothers” and the commencement of students’ arrests ....................................... 28 The Legionary Movement as revealed by Securitate documents ......................................................................... 29 Chapter 3 Years on the run from the Securitate, 1948-1954 .............................................................................. 36 About the impossibility to understand fully the years as a runaway in Plamadeala’s life .......................... 36 Plamadeala’s life on the run within a historical context ....................................................................................... 37 First year on the run: from Bucharest to Brasov and Bucharest again, then to Baia Mare ...................... 38 Studies in Cluj ...................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Entrance in the monastic life .......................................................................................................................................... 43 Crasna Gorjeana and Slatina ......................................................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 4 The arrest ............................................................................................................................................................ 50 The arrest at the St. Parascheva feast in Iasi ............................................................................................................ 50 Mystery behind Plamadeala’s arrest ........................................................................................................................... 53 The Vladimiresti controversy .......................................................................................................................................... 53 From Iasi to Bucharest and then to Jilava Prison ................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 5 Trial and prison discharge ...........................................................................................................................
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