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96-781: Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was a Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party -dominated government under Soviet occupation during the early stages of the Communist regime in Romania , and later as the President of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly (nominal head of state of Romania) from 1952 until his death in 1958. Groza emerged as

192-542: A lawyer . During World War I he served as a soldier in the 8th Honvéd Regiment. In 1918, at the war's end, he emerged on the political scene as a member of the Romanian National Party (PNR) and obtained a position on the Directory Council of Transylvania , convened by ethnic Romanian politicians who had voted in favour of union with Romania ; he maintained his office over the course of

288-548: A " People's Republic ". Although his authority and power as Premier was compromised by his reliance upon the Soviet Union for support, Groza presided over the onset of full-fledged Communist rule in Romania before eventually being succeeded by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej in 1952 and became the President of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly until his death in 1958. Born as one of the three sons of

384-674: A coalition government—albeit with far less than the 80 percent support long claimed by opposition supporters. In the mind of the Groza government, the 1946 election confirmed it in office. This claim was made in the face of protests by the United States and the United Kingdom who held that, pursuant to the agreements reached at the Yalta Conference in 1945, only "interim governmental authorities broadly representative of

480-432: A common opposition front. The government also amended the electoral law, so that for the first time in history, women could also participate in the electoral process. The election campaign was carried out by numerous and serious abuses by government forces and exacerbated opposition attacks against them. Although Washington and London repeatedly gave Maniu guarantees that the elections to be held would be free and supervised by

576-453: A fully recognized democratic government. Both Groza and Tătărescu rejected the note, declaring it null and void. They argued that the US could not address a government it did not recognize. British diplomats also sent such a note, but the government had the same attitude. Faced with Groza's refusal to resign, King Michael instituted, on August 21, the royal strike and no longer agreed to countersign

672-580: A large degree of sabotage and terrorism in the region that it would have been impossible to deliver the territory to the Romanians. As a result, only after Groza's guarantee of ethnic minority rights did the Soviet government decide to satisfy the petition of the Romanian government . The recovery of this territory, nearly fifty-eight percent Romanian in 1945, was hailed as a major accomplishment within

768-415: A last threat: "You saw, everything was foreseen. A civil war may break out. We cannot be responsible for anyone's security. And you will bear the responsibility". In a report from December 1990, Michael claimed that Groza and Gheorghiu-Dej resorted to blackmail: "They told me that the members of the government, that is, the communists, would have to, in order to counteract any form of opposition, execute over

864-663: A long time ago. The memoirs prepared by Maniu and Brătianu were not taken into account, and on December 1, 1946, King Michael delivered the Opening Message of the Assembly of Deputies: "I am happy to be among the representatives of the country, gathered today for the first time, after a long interruption of parliamentary life." On February 10, 1947, Romania signed the Peace Treaty with the Allied and Associated Powers, so

960-584: A month of his assumption of the premiership, Groza shut down over nine provincial newspapers and a series of periodicals which, Groza declared, were products of those, "who served Fascism and Hitlerism ". Groza soon continued this repression by limiting the number of political parties allowed within the state. Although Groza had promised to purge only individuals from the government bureaucracy and diplomatic corps immediately after assuming power, in June 1947 he began to prosecute entire political organizations, as, after

1056-604: A public figure at the end of World War I as a notable member of the Romanian National Party (PNR), preeminent layman of the Romanian Orthodox Church , and then member of the Directory Council of Transylvania . In 1925–26 he served as Minister of State in the cabinet of Marshal Alexandru Averescu . In 1933, Groza founded a left-wing Agrarian organization known as the Ploughmen's Front ( Frontul Plugarilor ). The left-wing ideas he supported earned him

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1152-444: A representative, thematic, non-legislative (advisory) or mixed nature or in some other way do not meet the qualifications of a "council". There are various types. Diocesan synods are irregular meetings of the clergy and laity of a particular church summoned by the diocesan bishop (or other prelate if the particular church is not a diocese) to deliberate on legislative matters. Only the diocesan bishop holds legislative authority;

1248-429: A sheet of white parchment paper from the folder he'd been holding since the audience began. "I will study this paper," declares the king, hoping to buy more time. Precise horror: "You must read now. We are not leaving this house until the paper is signed, even if we have to stay here until tonight. Our people are waiting for the news of the abdication. If we don't have your signature, there will be trouble." At that point,

1344-512: A statue of Vladimir Lenin that used to be in front of Casa Scînteii . Prime Minister of Romania Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 228235330 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:36:55 GMT Synod Sometimes

1440-819: A supra-national region have historically been called councils as well, such as the various Councils of Carthage in which all the bishops of North Africa were to attend. During the Middle Ages, some councils were legatine , called by a papal legate rather than the pope or bishop. Synods in Eastern Catholic Churches are similar to synods in Orthodox churches in that they are the primary vehicle for election of bishops and establishment of inter-diocesan ecclesiastical laws. The term synod in Latin Church canon law, however, refers to meetings of

1536-487: A territory of over 45,000 km (17,000 sq mi) that had been assigned to Hungary through the 1940 Second Vienna Award sponsored by Germany and Italy . Groza promised that the rights of each ethnic group within the restored territory would be protected (mainly, as a reference to the Hungarian minority in Romania ), while Joseph Stalin declared that the previous government under Rădescu had permitted such

1632-669: A thousand members. Accordingly, the Romanian communist leaders decided to create a broad coalition of political organizations. This coalition was composed of four major front organizations: the Romanian Society for Friendship with the Soviet Union , the Union of Patriots , the Patriotic Defense , and, by far the most widely backed by the Romanian populace, Groza's Ploughmen's Front. Being a chief political actor in

1728-502: A thousand of students among those who had been arrested in the last year". He also stated that Groza "came up to me and asked me to feel his waistcoat near the pocket. He said to me: Touch! And he had the gun in his pocket, giving the explanation: So that what happened to Antonescu doesn't happen to me." After this, Michael sits down at the table and signs the abdication document. At 15:30 the Council of Ministers met. Petru Groza announced

1824-542: A two-thirds vote of the conference and review by the Holy See (can. 455) to have the force of law. Without such authorization and review, episcopal conferences are deliberative only and exercise no authority over their member bishops or dioceses. In the Anglican Communion , synods are elected by clergy and laity . In most Anglican churches, there is a geographical hierarchy of synods, with General Synod at

1920-632: A wealthy couple in Bácsi (now called Băcia), a village near Déva (today Deva) in Transylvania (part of Austria-Hungary at the time), his father Adam was a priest. Groza was afforded a variety of opportunities in his youth and early career to establish connections and a degree of notoriety, which would later prove essential in his political career. He attended primary school in his native village, then in Kastély (now Coștei ) and Lugos (now Lugoj ) in

2016-573: Is composed of all the bishops of the territory (including coadjutors and auxiliaries) as well as other ecclesiastical ordinaries who head particular churches in the territory (such as territorial abbots and vicars apostolic ). Each of these members has a vote on council legislation. Additionally, the following persons by law are part of particular councils but only participate in an advisory capacity: vicars general and episcopal , presidents of Catholic universities, deans of Catholic departments of theology and canon law, some major superiors elected by all

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2112-481: Is considered a Synod since there is no national church in the United States. (see establishment principle ) In Swiss and southern German Reformed churches , where the Reformed churches are organized as regionally defined independent churches (such as Evangelical Reformed Church of Zurich or Reformed Church of Berne ), the synod corresponds to the general assembly of Presbyterian churches. In Reformed churches,

2208-519: Is no place for a king in Romania anymore," Groza declared. The king retorted, "It is not you who can tell me to go. This matter must be decided by the people". Groza states that the government will arrange the material problems so that the royal family can lead a comfortable life. Also, Gheorghiu-Dej alluded to a possible lawsuit that could be filed "His Majesty". At that moment, Michael declared that "your proposal raises serious constitutional issues". "We've thought of everything," Groza replied, pulling out

2304-844: The Banat . In 1903, he graduated from the Hungarian Reformed high school (now the Aurel Vlaicu High School ) in Szászváros (now Orăștie ). That autumn, he began his law and economics training in Hungary , studying at the University of Budapest . In 1905, he took courses at the University of Berlin , heading to Leipzig University in 1906. He obtained a doctorate from the latter institution in 1907. After completing his studies, Groza returned to Deva to work as

2400-525: The Hungarian People's Union , effectively minimizing all political opposition within the state. On August 18, Roy Melbourne presented to Foreign Minister Gheorghe Tătărescu a verbal note showing that the American government "wants the establishment of a representative regime made up of all democratic groups in this country". Consequently, the United States will only sign a final peace treaty with

2496-680: The People's Party , served as the Minister for Transylvania and Minister of Public Works and Communications in the Third Averescu cabinet . During this period in his life, Groza was able to amass a personal fortune as a wealthy landowner and establish a notable reputation as a prominent layman within the Romanian Orthodox Church, a position which would later make him invaluable to a Romanian Communist Party (PCR) that

2592-772: The Romanian Revolution of December 1989 . After his death in 1958, Transylvania Boulevard in Bucharest was renamed Dr. Petru Groza Boulevard ; it is now named after Gheorghe Marinescu . There are streets named after Groza in Cluj-Napoca , Galați , and Medgidia . A 4.5 m (15 ft) bronze statue of Groza, placed on a red Carrara marble pedestal, was unveiled in Deva in 1962. The monument, designed by sculptor Constantin Baraschi  [ ro ] ,

2688-673: The Synod of Homberg . In the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the vast majority of Protestant denominations have regrouped under a religious institution named the Church of Christ in Congo or CCC, often referred to – within the Congo – simply as The Protestant Church. In the CCC structure, the national synod is the general assembly of the various churches that constitutes the CCC. From

2784-691: The Tămădău Affair , he arrested key members of the National Peasants' Party and sentenced Maniu to life in prison "for political crimes against the Romanian people". By August of that year, both the National Peasants' Party and the National Liberal Party had been dissolved and in 1948, the government coalition incorporated the Romanian Workers' Party (the forced union of communists and Romanian Social Democrats ) and

2880-550: The history of the Russian Orthodox Church are: A bishop may also call a sobor for his diocese , which again would have delegates from the clergy, monasteries and parishes of his diocese, to discuss important matters. Such diocesan sobors may be held annually or only occasionally. In Roman Catholic usage, synod and council are theoretically synonymous as they are of Greek and Latin origins, respectively, both meaning an authoritative meeting of bishops for

2976-574: The Bloc of Democratic Parties, a Communist-dominated front that included the Ploughmen's Front. Years later, historian Petre Țurlea  [ ro ] reviewed a confidential Communist Party report about the election that showed the BPD had, at most, won 47 percent of the vote. He concluded that had the election been conducted honestly, the opposition parties would have won enough votes between them to form

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3072-606: The Church in a specific geographic area such as the one held November 16 – December 12, 1997, for the Church in America. While the words "synod" and "council" usually refer to a transitory meeting, the term "Synod of Bishops" or "Synod of the Bishops", is also applied to a permanent body established in 1965 as an advisory body of the pope. It holds assemblies at which bishops and religious superiors, elected by bishops conferences or

3168-531: The Court moved to Bucharest, and around 12:00 they arrived at the palace on Kiseleff road. In 15 minutes Petru Groza also arrived, who was accompanied by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. Groza was the first to address, "Well, Your Majesty, the time has come to arrange an amicable parting." Surprised, Michael asked what he meant by these words. "The problem of ending the monarchy. After all, I warned you that you need to prepare for something like this. You must understand that there

3264-631: The National Peasant Party. On the same day, the Assembly of Deputies was convened, during which, based on a report drawn up by Teohari Georgescu, the dissolution was approved with 294 votes for and one against. The diary stated: "The National-Peasant Party under the presidency of Mr. Iuliu Maniu is and remains dissolved on the date of publication in the Official Monitor of this Journal. The same dissolution decision also includes all county, network and communal organizations of

3360-603: The Romanian People's Republic was promulgated on April 13, 1948. Groza kept his mandate as prime minister until June 2, 1952. Ten days later he replaced Constantin Ion Parhon as president of the presidium of the Great National Assembly , the institution that symbolically ensured the leadership of the RPR. He remained in this position until the end of his life. Starting from 1948, the communist authorities began to impose

3456-543: The Romanian sovereign would stay abroad for a woman, abandoning his constitutional prerogatives. To refute the speculations, on December 18, Michael boarded the train in Lausanne and arrived in Bucharest three days later. After a meeting with Petru Groza, where no conclusion was reached, Michael and his mother went to Sinaia for the winter holidays. On Christmas Eve, Emil Bodnăraș (who, according to some information, had just arrived from Moscow, where he had received from Stalin

3552-469: The Soviet vice commissar of foreign affairs, traveled to Bucharest and allegedly gave King Michael an ultimatum—unless he sacked Rădescu and replaced him with Groza, Romania's independence would be at risk. The king had hoped that General Gheorghe Avramescu , who commanded the Romanian 4th Army in the fight to liberate Transylvania and Hungary, would be designated the next prime minister, but, while Michael

3648-487: The Stalinist model of organization and management of society. On June 11, 1948, the Groza government passed the law for the nationalization of industry . This measure aimed at the destruction of private property and generalized public ownership in industry, banking, and transport. The State Planning Committee was created, which ensured economic development on a planned basis, based on economic centralism. Starting from 1951,

3744-630: The Union of Superiors General or appointed by the Pope vote on proposals (" propositiones ") to present for the pope's consideration, and which in practice the pope uses as the basis of "post-synodal apostolic exhortations" on the themes discussed. While an assembly of the Synod of Bishops thus expresses its collective wishes, it does not issue decrees, unless in certain cases the pope authorizes it to do so, and even then an assembly's decision requires ratification by

3840-516: The Western churches is similar, but it is distinguished by being usually limited to an assembly of bishops. The term is found among those Eastern Orthodox Churches that use Slavic languages (the Russian , Ukrainian , Bulgarian , Serbian and Macedonian Orthodox Churches ), along with the Romanian Orthodox Church . The presence of clerical and lay delegates is for the purpose of discerning

3936-418: The Western powers, the government did not hesitate to use Stalin's dictum in the electoral process: "It doesn't matter who votes with whom, it matters who count the votes" . The elections took place on November 19, 1946, with a massive turnout. The official published results were: BPD – 69.81%, PNȚ – 12.88%, UPM – 8.32%, PNL – 3.78%, PȚD – 2.36%. Immediately, the opposition accused

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4032-562: The abdication of King Michael I, for himself and his descendants, the Constitution of Romania was abrogated, and the new official name of the state became the Romanian People's Republic . It was also specified that the legislative power will be exercised by the Assembly of Deputies until its dissolution and the meeting of a Constituent National Assembly, which will be held at a date fixed by the Assembly of Deputies. It will adopt

4128-409: The ability with which he managed to attract the support and trust of Stalin, recalled in one of his political notes: I approached him. He was sitting on a kind of shack, slightly higher than the floor. I threw myself on my knees, kissed his feet, and said to him: At last I have attained my ideal of a little child. This day will be the most beautiful day of my life. Stalin, obviously impressed, took me by

4224-475: The act of abdication and a government proclamation was issued to the country. This informed the king's abdication and appreciated that "Thus, the Romanian people acquired the freedom to build a new form of state — the People's Republic". At 19:10, under the presidency of Mihail Sadoveanu , the extraordinary meeting of the Assembly of Deputies opened. Two bills were unanimously approved. The first took note of

4320-585: The aforementioned party, military, youth, women's organizations and any other organizations or associations led by this party". On November 1, the National Liberal Party decided to cease its activity. Five days later, the Assembly of Deputies adopted a motion of no confidence in Gheorghe Tătărescu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the vice-president of the Council of Ministers. The following day, PNL-Tătărescu representatives resigned from

4416-461: The appearance of liberal democracy by granting women's suffrage , Groza pursued a series of reforms attempting to clamp down on the prominence of politically dissident media outlets in the nation. During the first month of his premiership, Groza acted to close down Romania Nouă , a popular newspaper published by sources close to Iuliu Maniu , leader of the traditional National Peasants' Party who disagreed widely with Groza's attempted reforms. Within

4512-422: The arm, lifted me up, hugged me. My circus made a special impression on him and I won him over. I was an unparalleled theatrical artist! Groza stepped down as premier in 1952, and was succeeded by Gheorghiu-Dej. He was then named president of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly ( de jure head of state of Romania), a post he held until 1958, when he died from complications following a stomach operation. He

4608-465: The conference itself may invite them in an advisory or voting capacity (can. 450). While councils (can. 445) and diocesan synods (can. 391 & 466) have full legislative powers in their areas of competence, national episcopal conferences may only issue supplementary legislation when authorized to do so in canon law or by decree of the Holy See . Additionally, any such supplemental legislation requires

4704-518: The confidence of the masses, since right after the Second World War the communists enjoyed very little political support. For this reason top communist figures like Pauker and Gheorghiu-Dej did not join Groza's cabinet. They planned to gradually impose an out-and-out Communist regime under the veil of the existing coalition government. By conflating the successes of the regime with their Party, Pauker and Gheorghiu-Dej hoped to win support for

4800-570: The consensus of the church on important matters; however, the bishops form an upper house of the sobor, and the laity cannot overrule their decisions. Kievan Rus' chronicles record the first known East Slavic church sobor as having taken place in Kiev in 1051. Sobors were convened periodically from then on; one notable assembly held in 1415 formed a separate metropoly for the church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian lands. Important sobors in

4896-505: The decision had to be followed. On January 7, 1946, Emil Hațieganu , from PNȚ, and Mihail Romniceanu  [ ro ] , from PNL took the oath as ministers. Basically, the decisions in Moscow represented the victory of the Soviet point of view, the government of Petru Groza being recognized by the USA and Great Britain on February 5, 1946. During his term as premier, Groza also clashed with

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4992-412: The economic organization plan was for five years (the five-year plans ). Also following the Soviet model, the Collective Agricultural Farms and the State Agricultural Farms were established, which indicated the types of crops and fixed the prices of agricultural goods. Peasants were allowed to keep small plots of land, but which did not exceed 0.15 ha (0.37 acres). On the international level, Romania

5088-414: The following two years. Throughout this period of his life, Groza established a variety of political connections, working in various Transylvanian political and religious organizations. From 1919 to 1927, for example, Groza obtained a position as a deputy in Synod and Congress of the Romanian Orthodox Church . In the mid-1920s, Groza, who had left the PNR after a conflict with Iuliu Maniu and had joined

5184-577: The formative stages of the Groza regime. Groza continued to improve the image of his own government while strengthening the position of the Communist Party with a series of political reforms. He proceeded to eliminate any antagonistic elements in the government administration and, in the newly acquired Transylvanian territory, removed three city prefects, including that of the region's capital, Cluj . The prefects removed were immediately replaced by loyal government officials directly appointed by Groza, so as to strengthen loyalist elements in local government in

5280-427: The government of fraud, with Maniu claiming that the results had been reversed, so that in fact the PNȚ had won. Instead, the governing parties claimed that the election results reflected the citizens' adherence to the BND program, and the minor incidents that occurred were provoked by the opposition. In fact, it was the same Romanian electoral tradition that the government declared that the elections were fair, while

5376-431: The government's documents. At the December 1945 Conference, it was decided that the situation should be resolved by appointing one PNL and PNȚ member each to the government, after which free elections would be organized and freedom of "press, speech, religion and association" would be ensured. Maniu warned that without the neutrality of the Ministries of Interior and Justice, free elections could not take place in Romania, but

5472-455: The government. The trial of the PNȚ leaders took place between October 29 and November 4. The sentence was established in advance, based on accusations without material cover, based not on evidence, but on political indications coming from Moscow and presented in legal form in Bucharest. Iuliu Maniu and Ion Mihalache were the only ones sentenced to hard prison for life. On November 12, King Michael and Queen Mother Elena went to London to witness

5568-460: The help of Soviet authorities , the Communists soon mobilized workers to hold a series of demonstrations against Rădescu, and by February many had died because the demonstrations often led to violence. While the communists claimed that the Romanian Army was responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians, Rădescu weakened his own popular support by stating that the communists were "godless foreigners with no homeland". In response, Andrey Vyshinsky ,

5664-463: The incorporation of a broader coalition force he had already organized. Groza flatly rejected the request, and relations between the two figures remained tense over the next few years, with Groza and the King differing on the prosecution of war criminals and in the awarding of honorary Romanian citizenship to Stalin in August 1947. Early on the morning of 30 December 1947, Groza summoned Michael back to Bucharest, ostensibly "to discuss important matters";

5760-404: The increasing burden of debt carried by Romania's peasants during the Great Depression in Romania and because the National Peasants' Party could not help the poorest peasants, by 1944 the organization was essentially under Communist control. The Communist Party wished to seize power but was too weak to seize it alone – post-communist historiography would later claim that in 1944 it had only about

5856-431: The instructions regarding the organization of the abdication of King Michael), was inaugurated as Minister of National Defense . At around 20:30 on the evening of December 29, King Michael was informed about Groza's formal request to grant him an audience the next day, at 10:00. Initially, he assumed it was about his marriage. In the morning of December 30, 1947, the king, together with the queen-mother and some people from

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5952-407: The king had been preparing for a New Year's party at Peleș Castle in Sinaia . When Michael arrived, Groza presented the king with a pretyped instrument of abdication and demanded that Michael sign it. According to Michael's account, when he refused, Groza threatened to launch a bloodbath and arrest thousands of people. Michael eventually signed the document, and a few hours later parliament abolished

6048-413: The king went into the next room, where the Palace Marshal informed him that the guard had been changed, the palace was surrounded by troops, and telephone communications were down. When he returned to the room, Michael asked why all these measures were taken. "The people are impatient Sire, we have been here for quite a long time," answered Groza. "What if I refuse to sign"?, asked the king. Groza resorted to

6144-412: The largest of the Communist front organizations, Groza was able to assert himself in a position of eminence within the Romanian political sphere as the Ploughmen's Front joined the Communist Party to create the National Democratic Front in October 1944 (it also included the Social Democrats , Mihai Ralea 's Socialist Peasants' Party and the Hungarian People's Union , as well as other minor groups). He

6240-422: The major superiors in the territory, some rectors of seminaries elected by the rectors of seminaries in the territory, and two members from each cathedral chapter, presbyterial council, or pastoral council in the territory (can. 443). The convoking authority can also select other members of the faithful (including the laity) to participate in the council in an advisory capacity. Meetings of the entire episcopate of

6336-421: The marriage of Princess Elizabeth , the heir to the British Crown. Here, he met Princess Ana de Bourbon-Parma . The two went to Lausanne , Switzerland, where they unofficially got engaged on December 6, 1947. Asking for the approval of the Romanian government, the answer that came 10 days later states that the marriage was not opportune at that time. The international press was already starting to speculate that

6432-414: The ministers using those labels were fellow travellers like Groza, and had been handpicked by the Communists. Despite the annoyance of the two powers, the Communists constituted only a minority in Groza's cabinet. The leading figures in the Romanian Communist Party, Pauker and Gheorghiu-Dej, wanted the Groza government to preserve the façade of a coalition government and thus enable the Communists to win

6528-468: The monarchy and declared Romania a republic. After the failure of the royal strike, Mihai adopted a more cautious position with the government. In view of the elections, the governmental political forces constituted, on May 17, 1946, the Bloc of Democratic Parties to submit joint lists for the elections. BPD consisted of PCR, PSD, PNL-Tătărescu, PNȚ-Alexandrescu, FP, and PNP. Instead, the democratic parties, PNȚ, PNL, and PSDI, failed in their attempt to create

6624-446: The nation's remaining monarchist forces under King Michael I . Although his powers were minimal within Groza's regime, King Michael symbolized the remnants of the traditional Romanian monarchy and, in late 1945, the King urged Groza to resign. The King maintained that Romania must abide by the Yalta accords, allowing the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to each have a hand in post-war government reconstruction and

6720-424: The new Constitution of the RPR. Through the second project, the members of the Provisional Presidium of the RPR were appointed: Constantin Ion Parhon , president, Mihail Sadoveanu, Ștefan Voitec , Gheorghe Stere  [ ro ] , and Ion Niculi , vice presidents. The meeting ended after only one hour. On February 24, 1948, the Assembly of Deputies was dissolved. Three days later, the People's Democracy Front

6816-422: The nickname The Red Bourgeois . Groza became Premier in 1945 when Nicolae Rădescu , a leading Romanian Army general who assumed power briefly following the conclusion of World War II , was forced to resign by the Soviet Union 's deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Andrei Y. Vishinsky . During Groza's tenure, Romania's King , Michael I , was forced to abdicate as the nation officially became

6912-663: The opposition accused them of fraud. The same divergence existed between Moscow and the British and American officials. Reports arrived in Washington from the diplomatic mission of the Western powers and from the Ministry of the Interior in Bucharest, which had the same divergent content. The US and Great Britain limited themselves to some formal declarations, the agreement on the division of spheres of influence having been taken

7008-418: The other members of the diocesan synod act only in an advisory capacity. Those who must be invited to a diocesan synod by law are any coadjutor or auxiliary bishops , the vicars general and episcopal , the officialis , the vicars forane plus an additional priest from each vicariate forane, the presbyterial council, canons of the cathedral chapter (if there is one), the rector of the seminary, some of

7104-402: The party and lay the foundations for a one-party state . Accordingly, Groza maintained the illusion of a coalition government, appointing members of diverse political organizations to his cabinet and formulating his government's short-term goals in broad, non-ideological terms. He stated at a cabinet meeting on 7 March 1945, for example, that the government sought to guarantee safety and order for

7200-513: The phrase "general synod" or "general council" refers to an ecumenical council . The word synod also refers to the standing council of high-ranking bishops governing some of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. Similarly, the day-to-day governance of patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Eastern Catholic Churches is entrusted to a permanent synod. In Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, synods of bishops are meetings of bishops within each autonomous Church and are

7296-632: The pope. The pope serves as president of an assembly or appoints the president, determines the agenda, and summons, suspends, and dissolves the assembly. Modern Catholic synod themes: Meetings of bishops in the Roman empire are known from the mid-third century and already numbered twenty by the time of the First Council of Nicaea (325). Thereafter they continued by the hundreds into the sixth century. Those authorized by an emperor and often attended by him came to be called ecumenical, meaning throughout

7392-422: The population", should be supported by the major powers. As a result, Groza's government was permanently estranged from the United States and the United Kingdom, who nominally supported the waning influence of the monarchist forces under King Michael I . Within days of becoming premier, Groza delivered his first major success. On 10 March 1945, the Soviet Union agreed to return to Romania Northern Transylvania ,

7488-502: The population, implement desired land reform policies, and focus on a "swift cleanup" of the state bureaucracy and immediate prosecution of war criminals , i.e., officials of the Fascist wartime regime of Marshal Ion Antonescu ( see Romania during World War II and Romanian People's Tribunals ). To confirm Groza in office, elections were held on 19 November 1946 . The count was rigged in order to give an overwhelming majority to

7584-437: The primary vehicle for the election of bishops and the establishment of inter-diocesan ecclesiastical laws. A sobor ( Church Slavonic : съборъ , romanized:  sŭborŭ , lit.   'assembly') is a formal gathering or council of bishops together with other clerical and lay delegates representing the church to deal with matters of faith, morality, rite, and canonical and cultural life. The synod in

7680-460: The purpose of church administration in the areas of teaching (faith and morals) or governance (church discipline or law). However, in modern use, synod and council are applied to specific categories of such meetings and so do not really overlap. A synod generally meets every three years and is thus designated an "Ordinary General Assembly". However, "Extraordinary" synods can be called to deal with specific situations. There are also "Special" synods for

7776-408: The real situation in the country. The Tămădău affair was labeled as an act of national treason and turned into a major political case. In order to allow the involvement of PNȚ and Iuliu Maniu, the authorities extended the charges from fraudulent attempt to leave the country to activities of a political nature. On July 30, 1947, through a journal of the Council of Ministers, it was decided to dissolve

7872-586: The regime of the Armistice Convention officially ended. This fact meant that the UK and the United States no longer had any leverage to intervene in favor of the opposition, Romania passing under the exclusive control of the USSR. After the parliamentary elections, the essential political objective of the Groza government was to seize all power in the state and liquidate any forms of opposition. The plan

7968-440: The region. Groza also promised a series of land reform programs to benefit military personnel, which would confiscate and subsequently redistribute all properties in excess of 125 acres (51 ha) in addition to all the property of traitors , absentees , and all who collaborated with the wartime Romanian government, the Hungarian occupiers during Miklós Horthy and Ferenc Szálasi 's régimes, and Nazi Germany . Despite giving

8064-705: The superiors of religious houses in the diocese, and members of the laity chosen by the diocesan pastoral council, though the diocesan bishop can invite others to attend at his own initiative. (can. 463) National episcopal conferences are another development of the Second Vatican Council. They are permanent bodies consisting of all the Latin Church bishops of a nation and those equivalent to diocesan bishops in law (i.e. territorial abbots ). Bishops of other sui juris churches and papal nuncios are not members of episcopal conferences by law, though

8160-473: The synod can denote a regional meeting of representatives of various classes ( regional synod ), or the general denominational meeting of representatives from the regional synods ( general or national synod ). Some churches, especially the smaller denominations, do not have the regional synod tier (for example, the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS)). Historically, these were meetings such as

8256-722: The synod is a level of administration between the local presbytery and the national general assembly . Some denominations use the synod, such as the Presbyterian Church in Canada , Uniting Church in Australia , and the Presbyterian Church USA . However some other churches do not use the synod at all, and the Church of Scotland dissolved its synods in 1993, see List of Church of Scotland synods and presbyteries . The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church

8352-524: The top; bishops, clergy and laity meet as "houses" within the synod. Diocesan synods are convened by a bishop in his or her diocese, and consist of elected clergy and lay members. Deanery synods are convened by the Rural Dean (or Area Dean ) and consist of all clergy licensed to a benefice within the deanery , plus elected lay members. In the Presbyterian system of church governance

8448-468: The world (as the world was thought of in Western terms). Today, Council in Roman Catholic canon law typically refers to an irregular meeting of the entire episcopate of a nation, region, or the world for the purpose of legislation with binding force. Those contemplated in canon law are the following: Plenary and provincial councils are categorized as particular councils. A particular council

8544-586: Was a founding member of Comecon (1949) and of the Warsaw Pact (1955). Old and sick, Groza was forced to accept, on February 7, 1953, the dissolution of the Plowers' Front, a competitor and thorn in the side of the communists. However, he did not join the PMR, thus achieving the political feat of placing himself in leading positions within the regime without ever having been a party member. One explanation may be

8640-532: Was buried at Ghencea Cemetery ; his remains were later moved to the Carol Park Mausoleum , and finally to the cemetery in his native village, Băcia . His daughter Maria Groza , who had served as his personal secretary, was later active in her own right as a diplomat and politician. The mining town of Ștei in Bihor County was named Dr. Petru Groza after him, a name it kept until after

8736-422: Was campaigning to attract the support of Eastern Orthodox Christians who constituted the nation's most numerous religious group in 1945. Despite having briefly retired from public life in 1928 after holding a series of political posts, Groza reemerged on the political scene in 1933, founding a peasant-based political organization, the Ploughmen's Front . Although the movement originally began in order to oppose

8832-523: Was drawn up by the Minister of the Interior, Teohari Georgescu , and Panteley Bodnarenko , a Soviet intelligence officer. Since the beginning of 1947, the communist authorities have carried out numerous arrests against political opponents by committing serious abuses. On July 14, 1947, the Home Office authorities managed to set a trap for the main peasant-national leaders, who were preparing to leave for Great Britain to inform Western diplomats about

8928-735: Was established, an electoral alliance formed by the Romanian Workers' Party (the new name adopted by the communists following the merger with the PSD), the Plowmen's Front, PNL-Bejan, and the Hungarian People's Union. On March 28, the elections were held for the Great National Assembly , the unicameral legislative forum of the RPR. The first objective of the Great Assembly was to draft a new fundamental law. The Constitution of

9024-684: Was first considered by the Communist Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu for the post of Premier in October 1944. Groza's prominent status within the National Democratic Front afforded him the opportunity to succeed General Nicolae Rădescu as premier when, in January 1945, top Romanian communist leaders, namely Ana Pauker and Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej rebuked Rădescu with allegedly failing to combat " fascist sympathizers". With

9120-549: Was removed in 1990, and replaced in 1999 by a statue of Trajan ; in 2007, Groza's statue was transported to Băcia. Another statue of him, sculpted by Romulus Ladea  [ ro ] , was inaugurated in the Cotroceni neighborhood of Bucharest in 1971; this statue was taken down in 1990, and replaced in 1993 by a monument to the Artillery Heroes. As of 2010, it lies in an open field near Mogoșoaia Palace , next to

9216-669: Was waiting on 2 March for Avramescu to return from the front to Bucharest, the NKVD arrested Avramescu in Slovakia , and he died the next day. Faced with mounting Soviet pressure, Michael complied, and Groza became prime minister on 6 March 1945. Groza gave key portfolios such as defence, justice, and the interior to the Communists. It nominally included ministers from the National Liberals and National Peasants as well, but

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