Iosif Blaga (July 1, 1864–June 2, 1937) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

-born

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n literary theorist, aesthetician, priest, politician and educator. Born in Lancrăm, near

Sebeș Sebeș (; German: ''Mühlbach''; Hungarian: ''Szászsebes''; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Melnbach'') is a city in Alba County, central Romania, southwestern Transylvania. Geography The city lies in the Mureș River valley and straddles the river ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

, he studied at the local high school and in

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

, where he obtained a baccalaureate in 1884. He then studied at the

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

theological seminary in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

(1884–1887) and at the Faculty of Letters of the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

(1887–1891), earning a doctorate in philosophy with a thesis on the problem of attention from a psychological and pedagogical viewpoint. He was a teacher and later principal at Andrei Șaguna High School in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

. From 1901 to 1912, he headed a society for promoting Romanian-language theater. While traveling in Norway, Sweden and France from 1916 to 1919, he advocated on behalf of his native province, as well as for Romania, then under occupation by the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

. He took part in a press committee in Stockholm, while in Paris, he helped draw an ethnographic map of Transylvania as part of the National Council for Romanian Unity. He was an elected member of the Great National Assembly that proclaimed the

union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a Public holidays in Romani ...

at Alba Iulia.Rodica Pandele, ''Marea Adunare Naţională întrunită la Alba Iulia în ziua de 1 Decembrie 1918'', p. 47. Bucharest: Editura Ars Docendi, 2018, ISBN 978-606-9980-552 He returned to Brașov in 1919, and served as chief school inspector in the area from 1924 to 1925. Blaga was ordained archpriest of Brașov in 1924; his parish was St. Nicholas Church in

Șcheii Brașovului Șcheii Brașovului (, or more recently ''Obere Vorstadt''; traditional Romanian name: ''Bulgărimea'', colloquially ''Șchei'') is the old ethnically Bulgarian and Romanian neighborhood of Brașov, a city in southeastern Transylvania, Romani ...

.Description
at the Brașov archpriest’s district site Blaga represented

Săcele Săcele (; German: ''Siebendörfer''; Hungarian: ''Négyfalu'', between 1950 and 2001 ''Szecseleváros'') is a city in Brașov County, Romania, in the Burzenland area of southeastern Transylvania, with a population of 30,920 inhabitants in 202 ...

in the

Romanian Senate 2012–2016 2008–2012 In December 2008, the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) and the political alliance established between the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Conservative Party (PC) formed a coalition government. 2004–2008 In the ...

, of which he was vice president. He was part of the

ASTRA Astra (Latin for "stars") may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became t ...

national council and of the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

council. He published several didactic, oratorical and psychological works, as well as literary theory: ''Teoria dramei'' (1899) and ''Din estetica tragicului'' (vol. I-II, 1900–1901). He was the uncle of

Lucian Blaga Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanians, Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He is considered one of the greatest philosophers and poets of Romania, and a prominent philosopher of the twenti ...

. Late in life, he belonged to the

Romanian Front The Romanian Front (, FR) was a moderate fascist party created in Romania in 1935. Led by former Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, it originated as a right-wing splinter group from the mainstream National Peasants' ...

. He died in Brașov in 1937,Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 168. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. and was buried in the city’s Groaveri cemetery."†Protopop Iosif Blaga", in ''

Gazeta Transilvaniei ''Gazeta de Transilvania'' was the first Romanian-language newspaper to be published in Transylvania. It was founded by George Bariț in 1838 in Brașov. It played a very important role in the awakening of the Romanian national conscience in Tran ...

'', Issue 43/1937, p. 1

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaga, Iosif 1864 births 1937 deaths People from Sebeș Romanian Austro-Hungarians Eötvös Loránd University alumni Romanian Orthodox priests Delegates of the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia Members of the Senate of Romania Romanian Front politicians Romanian schoolteachers Heads of schools in Romania Romanian literary theorists Burials at Groaveri cemetery