Since Arapaşu kicked the bucket, the religious segment of Romania has an opportunity to shed off some of the social baggage of the communist and PSD periods.

What’s interesting and shameful is the degree to which national politics and a single church remain intertwined at high-levels.

Last I remembered, when high priest Toady was choreographing the fairytale show, CNSAS actively stalled efforts to open records on collaboration between the Communist Party and those priests they put in charge of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Now that the former communist-placed patriarch no longer exists, the ROC is undergoing the spectacle of choosing a new headmaster replete with all the political in-fighting and backstabbing one might expect from the clergy leadership.

In the midst of all this, Forumul Civic Romanesc — as part of its’ continued involvement in lustraţia — has been calling on CNSAS to open the files on those 20-odd vultures pecking eyes for helmsmanship of this particularly wealthy Romanian tax-free institution.

And, surprisingly, it appears the investigators are going to take action based on the situation.

Apparently, there will be a round of file inspection and archive cautaing which may reveal some of the sordid past of those communist-compliant priests who have risen to power inside the golden halls of Christianity.

Perhaps a few heads could roll and the political balance might be upset, depending on who holds what cards and who has friends in what places (we’re left to assume that CNSAS is not immune to influences).

My summary of the unfolding events is a split opinion. I think the Romanian people deserve to have those communist puppets currently dominating the supposedly sacrosanct pulpits ousted as the betrayers and charlatans they have been and continue to be.

On the other hand, I am disappointed that the lustration process continues to be heavily-driven by the impropriety of politics rather than any semblance of independence.

I’m strongly of the opinion that Romania should further separate the interests of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Romanian government. The constitution specifies a freedom of religion, but such ideals rings hollow when the government openly courts and favors a particular brand of belief.

At the end of the day, after what took place for so many lives squandered, I think each file opened and shared on any tainted persons is a good thing for Romania. Let’s hope the information flows.

In Romania, the official way one refers to religions is to use the term “cult.” This, of course, brings forth some smugness from the native English speaker. It is a funny world we live in where the words we use are the same, including the denotative meaning if not the connotative meaning.

In Bucovina, the north east part of Romania, there are the famous painted churches dotted across the land in various small towns. With some effort, one can drive around to see one or more (though not all churches in the area are actually decorated with frescos).

While there were some interesting zodiac signs prominently displayed on more than one “painted church” as further evidence of how much Christianity has borrowed from other religions and cultures in order to spread its’ acceptance, the predominant themes among the paints were demons, death, and killing.

If all the world is truly a stage and we are but players, then there can be no tragedy without comedy. Some places manage to celebrate the lives of those passed. Even poke a little fun.

In Sapanţa, along the Ukrainian border in the Maramureş region of northwest Romania, there lives a relatively new tradition of greeting death with a smile. There the grave markers broadcast in vibrant colors miniature descriptions of the person whose body lies below.

Some of them are down right funny. Some are poetic. Some are clever. Some are just down to earth. But none of them are depressing or angsty. Sapanţa tends to celebrate the human that was and remind us all to consider how we, too, will be remembered after we’re gone.

If you have not yet been to Sighetu Marmatiei, then you simply must put a visit on your next vacation itinerary. Formerly home to a notorious communist prison, it now hosts a memorial museum about horrible things Romanians had to endure.

It is easily the best museum in all of Romania, on any topic, with an enormous body of materials, remnants, photos, letters, raw original documents, and detailed historiography of the events before and during those years.

It would be difficult to think of any other museum throughout all of central and eastern Europe which matches the depth and quality of this facility. You owe yourself a visit.

Don’t worry about getting upset. You’ll find others inside the museum who are unable to stop the tears from streaming down their cheeks as they come face-to-face with the harsh reality and the real people.

…make a match, find me a find, catch me a catch.

Meanwhile, way way way up on top of a mountain (not on top of old smokey all covered with cheese), the hundreds years old matrimonial exchange festival was taking place.

Historically, one would have come to buy a wife, but these days it’s mostly beer and mici.