Markus or Marcu Glaser (April 25, 1880 – May 25, 1950) was an

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

-born

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

cleric,

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Iaşi Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Biography

Early career and wartime assignment

Born in the village of

Landau Landau (), officially Landau in der Pfalz (, ), is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990), a long ...

in what is now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

to a Black Sea German family deported from southern Russia, he studied at the

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

seminary before continuing his education at the

Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum The ''Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum'', or simply ''Collegium Germanicum'', is a German-speaking seminary for Catholic priests in Rome, founded in 1552. Since 1580 its full name has been ''Pontificium Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum de Urb' ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He took a doctorate in philosophy and theology before being ordained in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

in 1907. From that year until 1916, he taught at and was deputy director of the Saratov seminary. In 1916, he was transferred to Chişinău, with duties covering the province of

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

until 1920. In 1924, he was named secret chamberlain to

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

, and papal prelate in 1930. In 1939, he was named rector of the Iaşi seminary and in 1942, head of the Catholic mission to the

Transnistria Governorate The Transnistria Governorate () was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. A Romanian civilian administration governed the territo ...

, with his headquarters at

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

. There, he was consecrated

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Caesaropolis Caesaropolis () was a Byzantine city on the coast of eastern Macedonia (region), Macedonia. It was founded in 836 by the ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' Alexios Mosele (Caesar), Alexios Mosele to consolidate Byzantine control over the Slavic tribes of ...

in July 1943. While in Odessa, he clashed with the German Army and especially the SS, who wanted to stop all religious activity by Catholics in the area. Due to Romania's losses on the Eastern Front, he retreated westward beyond the

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

. In September 1944, following the death of Bishop

Mihai Robu Mihai Robu (10 April 1884 – 27 September 1944) was a Romanian cleric, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Iași. Born in Săbăoani, Neamț County, He entered the Roman Catholic Theological Institute of Iași in 1894, being ordained deacon ...

, he was named Apostolic Administrator of the Iaşi Diocese. Dănuţ Doboş
Marcu Glaser
(September 2005) at the Iaşi Roman Catholic Diocese site; accessed May 15, 2012

Troubles with the Soviets and death

Requests by the

nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

for official recognition of Glaser's position were denied by the Religious Affairs Ministry in April and June 1945. In April 1946, minister

Mihai Ralea Mihai Dumitru Ralea (also known as Mihail Ralea, Michel Raléa, or Mihai Rale;Straje, p. 586 May 1, 1896 – August 17, 1964) was a Romanian social scientist, cultural journalist, and political figure. He debuted as an affiliate of Poporanism, th ...

explained that to do so might anger the Soviet occupiers, as Glaser was born in Ukraine and had been active on what was now Soviet territory. Starting in 1945, he was subjected to a series of lengthy and difficult interrogations before Soviet authorities lasting four years and dealing with his activity in Odessa and Iaşi, as well as a supposed visit to Germany in 1942. He initially refused to appear and only did so after repeated threats from

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

officers. He headed the diocese until late 1947 when Anton Durcovici was named bishop, remaining vicar general. As such, he accompanied the bishop on pastoral visits and helped administer

chrism Chrism, also called ''myrrh'', ''myron'', ''holy anointing oil'', and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Catholic Church, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian C ...

. Following the arrest of Durcovici in June 1949, he once again took over the running of the diocese, but the authorities of the new

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

prevented him from carrying out his regular duties. In 1950, Glaser was repeatedly questioned by the

Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...

secret police in Iaşi, triggering a heart attack. He died that May in circumstances that remain unclear, and was buried in the Eternitatea cemetery.Ep. Marcu Glaser
at the Iaşi Roman Catholic Diocese site; accessed May 15, 2012

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glaser, Markus 1880 births 1950 deaths People from Mykolaiv Oblast Russian people of German descent Romanian people of German descent 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops People of Transnistria Governorate Romanian anti-communist clergy Burials at Eternitatea cemetery 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Romania