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The releationship between the romanian orthodox church and the

Iron iron guard

The Relationship between the Romanian Orthodox Church with the IronGuard was one of ambivalence: while the Romanian Orthodox Church supported

much of the fascist organization's ideology, it did not outright support the

movement. Nevertheless, many individual Orthodox clerics supported the Iron

Guard and spread their propaganda.

The Orthodox Church promoted its own version of nationalism which highlighted

the role of Orthodoxy in preserving the Romanian identity. Starting with the 1920s,

Orthodoxy became entangled with fascist politics and antisemitism: the most

 popular Orthodox theologian at the time, Nichifor Crainic, advocated in his

magazine Gândirea a mix of Orthodoxy and nationalism, while philosopher  NaeIonescu argued that Orthodoxy is inseparable from the Romanian identity.[1] 

Iron Guard's Orthodoxism[edit]

A major theme in the ideology of the Iron Guard was Orthodoxism, which

separated them from other movements within the European fascism. While the

Italian Fascism and the German Nazism manifested a certain independence, if not

an outright hostility toward the Church, the Iron Guard combined Orthodox

mysticism with Romanian autochthonism and traditionalism.[2] While the IronGuard shared antisemitism with the their Western counterparts, they had a more

traditional societies' antisemitism, by seeing Jews as exponents of the modernity

which they rejected.[2]

Priests' collaboration with the Iron Guard[edit]

Many priests were active members in the Iron Guard, publishing articles

supporting it and being involved in its public processions, such during the Funeralsof Ion Moța and Vasile Marin, when the funeral procession of the two Iron Guard

members killed in Spain was led by over 200 Orthodox priests.[3]

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