Virgil Bercea (born 9 December 1957) is the
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of the
Eparchy of Oradea Mare
Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administrative structure ...
of the
Romanian Greek Catholic Church
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 Archiepiscopal Church and it uses the Byzantine liturgical r ...
since 1997.
Life
Virgil Bercea was born in 1957 in
Habic,
Mureș County
Mureș County (, , ) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative reor ...
,
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 ...
. He studied in his town, and after the military service he attended the
from 1977 to 1981. He worked as agricultural engineer and researcher till 1990.
Supported by his uncle Archbishop
Alexandru Todea
Alexandru Todea (5 June 1912, Teleac, Mureș County–22 May 2002, Târgu Mureș) was a Romanian Greek-Catholic bishop of the Alba Iulia Diocese and later cardinal. He was also a victim of the communist regime, suffering at Jilava, Sighet, ...
, the clandestine leader of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church under the
Communist Romania
The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...
, Bercea secretly studied theology, and on 9 December 1982 he was secretly ordained
Priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
. After ordination he served in underground as priest in the town of
Târgu Mureş Târgu (Romanian language, Romanian for "the market") starts off the names of several places in Romania:
*Târgu Bujor
*Târgu Cărbunești
*Târgu Frumos
*Berbești, Târgu Gânguleşti
*Târgu Jiu
*Târgu Lăpuș
*Logrești, Târgu Logreşti
*Tâ ...
. After
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily within the Eastern Bloc. The Romanian revoluti ...
he could go to attend a specialization in dogmatic theology in the
Pontifical Urbaniana University
The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...
, in
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, ...
, and from 1992 he was appointed general vicar in
Blaj
Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 17,816 inhabitants as of 2021.
The city administers eight villages: Deleni-Obârșie ('' ...
.
On 20 July 1994, Bercea was appointed
auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions.
...
of
Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia and so consecrated bishop by Major Archbishop
Lucian Mureșan
Lucian Mureșan (born 23 May 1931) is a Romanian prelate of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church who has been the first Major Archbishop of the Romanian Greek Catholic Major Archeparchy of Făgăraș and Alba Iulia, Greek Catholic Archdiocese of ...
on 8 September 1994.
On 6 November 1996, he was appointed
coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese.
The coa ...
of the
Romanian Catholic Eparchy of Oradea Mare
The Romanian Catholic Eparchy of Oradea Mare is an eparchy (equivalent to a diocese in the Latin Church) of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church which is an Eastern Catholic particular church of the Catholic Church that is in full communion with ...
, to which he succeeded on 8 June 1997.
In 2000, Virgil Bercea was awarded the Romanian National Order of "''Faithful Service''" with the rank of Commander by the
President of Romania
The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...
. In 2003, he was awarded the academic title of doctor of theology by Pontifical Urbaniana University.
On 7 February 2004, Bercea was granted by the President of Romania of the Order of Cultural Merit in the rank of Commander in the Religious category, "''as a token of appreciation for the work of Your Holiness in the field of religion, to ecumenical and civic spirit shown and the contribution you brought it to strengthen interfaith relations.''" Bishop Bercea sent the following reply: "''I want to thank you for this post and at the same time thank the President, but I do not accept this distinction and I will not attend the ceremony. Moreover, this manner of proceeding, that the Presidential Secretariat of State for Religion, I consider it an insult not only to the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic, but also to the Orthodox Church or any other religion in Romania.''"
Catholica, 29 decembrie 2004 – PS Virgil Bercea: Mulțumesc, dar nu accept
/ref>
During Bercea's reign, the Eparchy of Oradea Mare have been returned a number of churches, along with the episcopal palace-residence and the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, which had been confiscated 58 years ago by the communist regime and given to 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 ...
.
Notes
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bercea, Virgil
1957 births
Romanian Greek-Catholic bishops
Living people
People from Mureș County