Neo-Legionarism () is a

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...

movement in

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 ...

that emerged in the 1990s following the fall of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

in the country. It is endorsed by a series of organizations that claim to be the successors of the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...

(whose followers were known as "Legionaries") founded by

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (; 13 September 1899 – 30 November 1938), born Corneliu Zelinski and commonly known as Corneliu Codreanu, was a far-right Romanian politician, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or ''The Legion of ...

in 1927. Its main characteristics include

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnostate/ethnocratic) approach to variou ...

and

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

. Links between neo-Legionary organizations and priests of the

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

are a documented phenomenon in Romania. Neo-Legionarism has kept the "" movement active. In 2014, a monk at Petru Vodă Monastery in

Neamț County Neamț County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. The county takes its name from the Neamț River. Demographics Population In 2011, it had a population of 470,766 ...

delivered a pro-Iron Guard sermon, prompting the church hierarchy to condemn him. Earlier, a group of nuns had sung the Legionary tune ''Sfânta tinerețe legionară'' ("Holy Legionary Youth") for the birthday of prominent monk .

Noua Dreaptă ''Noua Dreaptă'' () is an ultranationalist, far-right organization in Romania and Moldova, founded in 2000. The party claims to be the successor to the far-right Iron Guard, with its aesthetics and ideology being directly influenced by the fas ...

("New Right") and the

Everything For the Country Party The Everything for the Country Party (, TPT) was a far-right political party founded in Romania in 1993. It was founded by former members of the fascist Iron Guard from the interwar period, which also referred to itself as ''Everything for the Co ...

have been described as neo-Legionary. The latter was founded in 1993 and drew support from members of the original Iron Guard. The

Alliance for the Union of Romanians The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (, AUR) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Romania and Moldova. It was founded in 2019 ahead of the 2020 Romanian local elections, 2020 Romanian local and 2020 Romanian legisl ...

has also been associated with this current, although its leaders have denied any such connection, and so has been the

United Romania Party The United Romania Party () was a Romanian nationalist political party. It was founded by former members of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), such as Bogdan Diaconu and Greater Romania Party (PRM), like Horațiu Șerb, Vasile Vlasin and Valer ...

by ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

''.

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* {{Romanian nationalism Neo-fascism in Romania Iron Guard History of Romania (1989–present) Eastern Orthodoxy and far-right politics Antisemitism in Romania Totalitarian ideologies Christian fascism

See also

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