the fundamental
difference in church-state relations in these two periods. Before 1948,
for instance, the churches could receive income from property and
donations in addition to the state subsidy. More important, however, the
earlier law gave the state no right to interfere in matters of belief
except in the case of minor sects whose specific beliefs were subject to
approval. The 1948 law makes the state the ultimate authority on matters
of faith as well as administration. Thus the intent of the earlier law
appeared to be the regulation of the activities of essentially
independent bodies, but the intent of the present law is to give
complete authority and control to the state.

In practice, state control of religious bodies has been carried out
through its control over finances and through its confirmation of
clerical appointments. No changes have been made in the traditional
methods of selecting and appointing clergy and laymen for the various
positions in the church. By using its power to confirm these selections,
however, the state has managed to fill all the important positions and
decisionmaking bodies with persons willing to cooperate and carry out
state policy. The state has refused to grant recognition to the Roman
Catholic Church because of the church's belief in the supremacy of the
pope in all matters of faith and morals and in church administration;
however, the church does function with the tacit agreement of the
regime.

THE ROMANIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

The Romanian Orthodox Church is the most important church in the country
and the one into which the vast majority of Romanians are born. It is an
independent Eastern Orthodox church headed by a patriarch in Bucharest.
Its membership in the 1950s, after the incorporation of the Uniate
church, was estimated at more than 15 million.

Romanians were introduced to Christianity during the period of Roman
rule of Dacia. By the tenth century they were known to be following the
Slavonic liturgy of the Eastern Christian Church. Old Church Slavonic
remained the liturgical language until the late sixteenth century, when
it began to be replaced by Romanian.

During the period of Turkish rule in Walachia and Moldavia and of
Hungarian rule in Transylvania, the Romanian Orthodox Church helped to
maintain the national consciousness of the Romanian people and was
active in their struggle to achieve national unity and independence (see
ch. 2). The Turkish policy of reli