Some Considerations on the Apostolic Visit to the Transylvanian Territories Annexed by Hungary – 1942

Abstract

The Vienna Diktat of 30 August 1940 strained the relationship between the Holy See and the Romanian Greek Catholic Church. The Church’s canonical territory was divided between two states, Romania and Hungary, making governance by Archbishop and Metropolitan Alexandru Nicolescu nearly impossible. The new administrative-territorial configuration effectively displaced almost entirely three of the five eparchies: Oradea Mare, Cluj-Gherla, Maramureș, and part of Alba Iulia and Făgăraș, placing them under the jurisdiction of the church leadership in Blaj.

The Holy See’s decision in 1942 to send an apostolic visitor to the Transylvanian territories under Hungarian rule was intended to ascertain the true situation and demonstrated the ongoing concern of the Romanian governing bodies – the State Secretariat and the Congregation for the Eastern Churches – for defending the interests of the Romanian Church United with Rome in these territories.

The reports of Bishop Saverio Ritter, Apostolic Visitor in Transylvania, compiled following his visit between July and September 1942, offer intriguing insights into the three eparchies that came under Hungarian rule. These observations can help us avoid a politicized and ideologically driven interpretation of this period in history.