Niculae M. Popescu (February 10, 1881–February 11, 1963) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n theologian, historian and priest of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Born in

Dâmbovicioara Dâmbovicioara is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Ciocanu, Dâmbovicioara and Podu Dâmboviței. The Dâmbovița River has its source in Podu Dâmboviței, on the Curmătura Oticului, a mountain ...

Dâmbovița County Dâmbovița County (also spelt ''Dîmbovița'', ) is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște, the most important economic, political, administrative and cultural center of the county. It has an area of ...

, his father was a priest. He attended Nifon Seminary in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

from 1893 to 1901, and in 1902 took his high school graduating examination at Saint Sava National College. He attended two faculties at the University of Bucharest, theology and literature, obtaining degrees in 1907 and 1908. From 1910 to 1913, Popescu attended courses in history and Byzantine studies at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, taking a doctorate in history in 1913. He served as a deacon at Zamfira Monastery from 1908 to 1910, at the Romanian Orthodox chapel in Vienna during his time there and, from 1913 to 1920, at Bucharest's

Cotroceni Monastery Cotroceni Palace (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Palatul Cotroceni'') is the official residence of the President of Romania. It is located at ''Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1'', in Bucharest, Romania. The palace also houses the National Cotroceni Mus ...

. Between 1919 and 1923, he directed the chancery for the

Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia The Metropolis of Wallachia and Dobruja, headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, is a metropolis of the Romanian Orthodox Church. History The Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia was created, in 1359, by Callistus I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constanti ...

. Ordained a priest, he served at two parishes: Schitul Măgureanu (1920 to 1926) and Bradu Boteanu (1926 to 1933). Popescu directed the Nifon seminary from 1923 to 1924, and from 1922 to 1946 headed the Romanian church history department in Bucharest's theology faculty, a post he secured upon Nicolae Iorga's recommendation. Elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1920,"Niculae M. Popescu"
entry in Mircea Păcurariu, ''Dicționarul Teologilor Români'', Editura Univers Enciclopedic, Bucharest, 1996 he was elevated to titular status in 1923 and stripped of membership by the new communist regime in 1948.

Păun Otiman Păun Ion Otiman (born 28 May 1942) is a Romanian agricultural scientist and economist, University Professor, member of the Romanian Academy, Romanian Senator and former Rector of the Banat University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Med ...

"1948–Anul imensei jertfe a Academiei Române"
in ''Academica'', Nr. 4 (31), December 2013, p. 122 He was the academy's vice president from 1939 to 1943. He taught religion to once and future

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Michael I of Romania from 1932 to 1940; the two remained close thereafter. From 1923 to 1948, he belonged to the historic monuments commission, and served as general secretary in the Religious Affairs Ministry between 1931 and 1939. He took part in the Byzantinology congresses at Bucharest (1924), Belgrade (1927), Sofia (1934) and Rome (1936). From 1927, he presided over a choral society, organizing concerts at home and abroad. He published studies on church history and the history of Romanian culture, as well as monographs about various bishops and priests. Popescu's son Mihai, a theater actor, died in 1953; his wife Eufrosina followed in 1955. In 1960, he donated his personal library, numbering over 7,000 books, including rare titles and manuscripts, to the Romanian Patriarchate. He was buried at Bellu Cemetery. Aside from Iorga, his friends and correspondents included , Vasile Pârvan,

Sextil Pușcariu Sextil Iosif Pușcariu (4 January 1877 – 5 May 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian linguist and philologist, also known for his involvement in administrative and party politics. A native of Brașov educated in France and Germany, he was ...

, and

Ioan Bianu Ioan Bianu (1856 or 1857 – February 13, 1935) was an Imperial Austrian-born Romanian philologist and bibliographer. The son of a peasant family from Transylvania, he completed high school in Blaj, where he became a disciple of Timotei Cipariu a ...

.Preot Acad. Nicolae M. Popescu (1881-1963)
at the Holy Synod Library site

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popescu, Niculae 1881 births 1963 deaths People from Dâmbovița County University of Bucharest alumni Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Titular members of the Romanian Academy Romanian Orthodox priests Romanian Byzantinists Romanian historians of religion Romanian theologians 20th-century Romanian historians Eastern Orthodox theologians Historians of Christianity Burials at Bellu Cemetery