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 RUMANIA

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RUMANIA

tutional government by the Convention of Paris (1858) ; the further wishes of the people for the union of the two territories and the nomination of a prince from one of the ruling houses of Europe were not ful- filled, the two principalities being kept separate and each electing a prince for life. In 1859, however, a personal union was effected, Colonel Alexander John Cuza being elected for Moldavia on 17 January and for Wallachia on 24 January ; the double election was ratified by the Porte after some hesitation. In 1861 Cuza estabU.shed, instead of the separate ministries, a common ministry and a common representative as- sembly, and in 1862 the union of the principalities, henceforth known as Rumania, was proclaimed. Prince Cuza introduced a series of reforms; the most important were the secularization of the Greek mon- asteries, the law dealing with public instruction, the codification of the laws on the basis of the Napoleonic Code, and especially the land laws of 1864, by which the peasants were given free possession of the land and the remnants of serfdom, socage and tithes, were abolished. As the chamber, which was controlled by the boyars, was particularly opposed to the last meas- ure, Cuza abolished the chamber in 1864 and gave the country a new constitution with two chambers. Not- withstanding all his services, Cuza brought the coun- try into a financial crisis. A conspiracy was formed against him, in which the army participated; on the night of 22 February, 1866, he was seized by the conspirators and compelled to abdicate the following morning.

After Count Philip of Flanders, brother of King Leopold of Belgium, had refu.sod the sovereignty, the Catholic prince, Charles of HohenzoUom-Sigmarin- gen, was elected hereditary prince at the instance of Napoleon III on 14 April, 1866. On 22 May he en- tered Bucharest, and after sonic months was recog- nized by the Porte, although Rumania had again to recognize its obligation to pay tribute. From the be- ginning of his reign Charles had great (Ufficulties to overcome; the development of the country had been prevented by centuries of foreign occupation, com- merce and manufacture were to a great extent in the hands of foreigners, the land was for the most part in the power of a few great landowners, while the mass of the population were poor and burdened with heavy taxation. Notwithstanding frequent rotation in power of the political parties, a series of reforms were passed, and the armj^ organized after the Prussian model, made creditably efficient. When the Russo- Turkish War broke out in 1878, Rumania made a treaty with the tsar, allowing the Russian troops to march through its territory, and on 22 May, 1877, declared its independence of the Porte. At the storming of Plevna and the besieging of other places the Rumanian army rendered very imjxjrtant services to Russia — ser\'ices for whii-h Russia showed no grati- tude. The complete independence of Rumania was recognized by the Congress of Berlin (13 July, 1878), but it was compelled to cede to Russia Bessarabia, which it had acquired in 1856, and to content itself with the less important Dobrudja. In consequence of this disappointment Rumania has since favoured Ger- many and Austria in its foreign policy. On 26 March, 1881, Charles had himself crowned king. The new kingdom soon began to display a successful acti\aty in both the material and intellectual domains. The natural richness of the land was developed, the building of roads and railways promoted, and the standard of public instruction raised. Between 1882 and 1885 the independence of the Orthodox Church in Rumania from the Patriarchate of Constantinople was effected, and in 1883 the Archdiocese of Bukarest was erected for the CathoHcs. Thanks to its intellectual and material development and its military strength, Ru- mania has become an important factor in European politics. Grievous conditions, however, still prevail

in the country in one connexion — the distribution of the land and real property. Almost half of the landed interest (over 47 per cent) is vested in the hands of scarcely 4200 persons, so that Rumania out- rivals Southern Italy as the land of big estates with all the resulting evils. As these great landowners possess pohtical as well as economical power, and exercise it to the detriment of the peasants, a serious rising of the peasants broke out in 1907, and could be suppressed only with the aid of the army after the proclaimirig of rnartial law. To abolish gradually these evil condi- tions and to protect the peasants from the oppression of the landowners and lessees and from usury, a series of excellent agrarian reforms have been introduced since 1907 and have been in many cases already en- forced.

II. Present Condition. — The area of Rumania is 50,720 sq. miles; according to the census of 1899 the population was 5,956,690 (at the beginning of 1910 the estimated population was 6,865,800). In 1899 the population included: 5,451,787 Greek Ortho- dox (over 91-5 per cent), 149,677 CathoUcs (2-5 per cent), 22,749 Protestants, 15,094 Lippovans, 5787 Armenians, 266,652 Jews, 44,732 Mohammedans, 222 of other religions. According to nationality the popu- lation was as follows: 5,489,296 Rumanians, 108,285 Austrians and Hungarians, 23,756 Turks, 20,103 Greeks, 8841 ItaUans, 7964 Bulgarians. 7636 Germans, 5859 foreign Jews, 11,380 of other nationalities. Ac- cording to the constitution of 19 June, 1866, Rumania is a constitutional monarchy, the legislative power being vested jointly in the king and parliament. The national assembly consists of two chambers, a senate and a house of representatives. To the senate be- long the adult princes of the royal house, the eight bishops of the Orthodox Church, one representative of each of the two national universities, and 110 members elected by two electoral colleges; the house of representatives consists of 183 members elected by adult Rumanians paying taxes organized into 3 electoral colleges. The bills passed by Parliament receive the force of laws only when sanctioned by the king. While according to the constitution the Greek Orthodox is the State Church, liberty in the practice of their religion is granted to all the other Churches, and the State refrains from all interference in the election and appointment of the clergy of the various denominations. State support is given only to the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church of Rumania declared itself independent of the Patriarch of Con- stantinople in 1859, a declaration which was not recognized by the latter until 1885. The supreme ecclesiastical authority is the Holy Synod, consisting of the two metropolitans, the six bishops, and the eight titular archpriests of Rumania; its duties are to preserve the unity of the Rumanian with the Eastern Church in dogma and the canons, to maintain eccle- siastical discipline within the territory of Rumania, and to decide all purely ecclesiastical spiritual and legal questions according to the holy canons. The choice of bishops is vested in an electoral body com- posed of the eight bishops, the titular archpriests, and all the Ortliodox representatives and senators; the election is by secret ballot. For ecclesiastical administration the country is di\'ided into eight eparchies (dioceses), of which the eparchies Ungro- Wallachia, with its scat at Bukarest, and Moldau, and Sucea, with its seat at Jassy, are metropolitan. The Primate of Rumania is the Metropolitan of Bukarest. For the Catholics of Rumania have been erected the Archdiocese of Bukarest and the Diocese of Jassy. The ancient Catholic Church of Rumania disappeared when the p(>ople, influenced by the Bulgars, placed themselves under the juristfiction of the Greek Church in the ninth century and thus became involved in its schism.

The seed of the modern Catholic Church in Ru-