Teophilus Seremi (also spelled ''Szeremi''; died July 1697) was an Orthodox bishop and metropolitan of Bălgrad (of

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 ...

) between 1692 and 1697. His name was Thomas Seremi layman and was part of the gentry Teiuş (nemes). He started the negotiations for union with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

, laying the foundation of the

Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome is a ''sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic Church, in full union with the Catholic Church. It has the rank of a Major Archbishop, Major Archiepiscopal Church and it uses the Byzanti ...

. After discussions with the Jesuit Ladislas Baranyi, Theophilus Seremi convened in 1697 metropolitan council. Through a conciliar document dated 21 March 1697 decided the union with Rome following the rules of the council of Florence and previous examples of the

Union of Brest The Union of Brest took place in 1595–1596 and represented an agreement by Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Ruthenian portions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to accept the Pope's authority while maintaining Eastern Orthodox liturgical ...

and training

Mukacheve Mukachevo (, ; , ; see name section) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated in the valley of the Latorica River and serves as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion. The city is a rail terminus and highway junct ...

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

diocese. Romanian clergy would receive the same privileges and immunities as the Latin-rite clergy. On 4 April 1697 the Imperial Chancellor Franz Ulrich Kinsky, presented in Vienna requested the union of the Metropolitan Bishop Theophilus of Bălgrad with the Catholic Church and an Imperial resolution favorable in this respect.

Sources

Biography on the website of the Romanian Church United with Rome
*Romanian Church History by Nicolae Iorga. *

Gheorghe Șincai Gheorghe Șincai (; – November 2, 1816) was a Romanian historian, philologist, translator, poet, and representative of the Enlightenment-influenced Transylvanian School. As the director of Greek Catholic education in Transylvania he broug ...

, Works, III, Chronicle of Romanians and more nations ed. Fugariu F., Bucharest, 1969

- Biografie pe situl Bisericii Române Unite cu Roma. Year of birth unknown 1697 deaths Romanian people in the Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711) Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Romanian Orthodox Christians Primates of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church Romanian Greek-Catholics {{RomanianGreekCatholic-bishop-stub